#how we feeling book omens crew?

[semiprecioussideblog]

Well said!

I felt that a lot of what makes Good Omens what it is was missing from this season. Even between what was established in season 1 of the show and season 2 the storytelling and characterization was so different it was jarring and confusing. It now feels like book fans dodged a bullet with season 1 being as good and as true to the book as it was. As pointed out in an earlier post Azirphale and Crowley aren’t the sole protagonists of Good Omens, it felt strange following their lives and no one else’s if this is supposed to continue the original story. I have many questions about the Them and Anathema Device I would have loved to see properly explored!

There were a few moments (actually funny bits) that stood out this season but overall it was quite messy.

Ranting with spoilers below

I got the feeling the “nazi zombie minisode” was meant to be funny but I found it very hard to sit through. To spend so much time on that instead of anything else..I needed a break before watching the remaining episodes.

Aziraphale SIMPLY GIVING UP HIS BOOKSHOP and rejoining Heaven!? Especially after the show-universe had the whole “each side tried to destroy them” thing go down in season 1?? The kiss was rough. I do not want to see angst injected into one of my favorite fictional relationships. Their relationship isn’t dramatic, its the circumstances they face together that want to take away the things they love!! I have many thoughts I��d love to rave about to other book nerds.

I'm so so sorry but if the actual creator and author of the characters wrote the script and made all the decisions then I think "it was OOC" maybe isn't the right phrasing 😭

So? If, first of all, HALF OF the actual creators and authors of the characters, made decisions for the characters that undoes the characters and what they stand for in the source material (the book) completely, you're damn right I'll be calling them OOC from the source material.

[fuckyeahgoodomens]

The Chic Magazine interview with the Good Omens cast and crew by Keeley Ryan, August 2023 :)

'It was wonderful to get the Good Omens family back together'

There were plenty of miracles, mysteries and mayhem when Good Omens returned to the small screen for a second season.

The PrimeVideo series, which was originally based on Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman's best-selling novel, is heading beyond the source material this season.

The six-part series highlights the ineffable friendship between Aziraphale, a fussy angel and rare-book dealer, and the fast-living demon Crowley.

And while the duo put a stop to the apocalypse last time, there are the sparks of a new mystery that will take viewers from before The Beginning, to biblical times to grave robbing in Victorian Edinburgh; the Blitz of 1940s England to the modern day.

The cast includes David Tennant and Michael Sheen as Crowley and Aziraphale, Jon Hamm, Maggie Service, Nina Sosanya, Miranda Richardson, Shelley Conn, and Derek Jacobi also star in the series.

And Michael Sheen told how the Good Omens "world has grown" with season two - and opened up about his first day back at Aziraphale's bookshop.

In an interview conducted before the SAG strike, he said, "It was lovely to be back in the bookshop after having seen it burnt down the ground.

"Clearly I had managed to save a few books! Actually, it was extraordinary - your brain does a double take - my desk, the cash machine, the record player - everything is all so familiar even though it is a totally different location.

But we have expanded - there is much more of the world of Soho here including Aziraphale's favourite the magic shop and my favourite the pub - our world has grown."

The actor also praised Neil Gaiman's writing, noting how there's "something about the way Neil sees the mundane that is extraordinary."

He said, "His writing has such a breadth of reference and yet is so accessible and entertaining even when taking on big epic or philosophical issues.

There's something about the way Neil sees the mundane that is extraordinary. When things filter through his imagination they emerge in an entirely unique way and yet it feels like it's always been there.

Add in the sprinkling of the imagination of Terry Pratchett and cocktail has been created - utterly familiar."

Producer Sarah-Kate Fenelon told Chic how the second season of Good Omens is "building on the universe" - and how they had been "sowing the seeds of a second season without anybody knowing" last season. "

She said, "I work with Neil Gaiman and know in part that Gabriel, who is played by Jon Hamm, his character is not in the book of Good Omens - but it was included in the first season. We were sowing the seed of a second season without anybody knowing.

"That character was written by Neil and Terry as a potential second book. They never got to write it, but now we're able to tell Gabriel's story. It's kind of a lovely evolution, where we're just expanding the universe.

"A lot of locations on the set are locations from season one. We've also been able to explore new shops, like we've got the record shop and we've got The Dirty Donkey pub, which we go into - it was in season one, but we never got to go into it.

"Season two is just building on the universe."

The Wicklow native added that it was "wonderful to get the Good Omens family back together" for a second season.

She said, "We were lucky that a lot of our crew and creative talent were able to come back for a second season. But also, we had our cast return. Miranda Richardson plays a totally different character this season and we have a new Beelzebub.

"And then obviously, we've got Maggie and Nina playing themselves, Maggie and Nina, as written by Neil. It was wonderful to get the Good Omens family back together again."

Noel Corbally, who works as an associate producer on the series, recalled how they marked a special anniversary of the first season's release while prepping for season two.

The Irishman said, "We went for dinner that night to relive the celebration, happy to be back again.

"Even now, it's been more than a year since we wrapped and to be able to come back into the studio that's just been frozen in time with everything wrapped up — we had a week to turn it back to life, have it be a live street again.

"It's been a week. But it's been amazing. We had our original lighting team come back, our original art department — and they've just done a fantastic job."

And while there are plenty of easter eggs for fans to spot throughout the six episodes, the pair shared their favourites.

Noel shared, "I think that my favourite easter egg is actually in the record shop. It's a song that we play in the background. It's so subtle, but it's from the musical Happy As A Sandbag.

"Maggie's character Maggie runs the record shop, which was owned by her grandfather in the story. But the musical, Happy As A Sandbag, Maggie Service the actress - her mother and father met on the musical and fell in love. Having that was an homage to them for bringing us Maggie."

Sarah-Kate said, "I quite like the easter eggs in the title sequence. If you look really closely, there is a Gabriel or Jim in every shot, which people tend not to notice. It's like Where's Wally?"

Rob Wilkins, who manages Terry Pratchett's estate and serves as narrative EP, told how he was "elated" for the second season to be out — and about moving beyond the book's source material.

He explained, "There were lots of nerves, because there is no source material. There's no book. I went through the whole of season one with the mantra that we've got a beginning, a middle and an end.

"And at the end of season one, which was the only season at the time, I felt very relaxed - we're all grounded through Terry and Neil's words, and that's fine. We know where we're going, we've got the novel to refer to.

"And so with season two, of course there's going to be nerves — there's no source material.

"But Neil is 50% of the creative team that brought you Good Omens, so in him we trust. And we genuinely do, from the bottom of my heart - of course we do.

"There's excitement about what Neil is going to bring from the page and from the page to the screen, but trepidation as well — I'm a fan as much as anybody else, I want to know where the stories are going."

Rob added that some of his own favourite easter eggs within the second season include a nod to Terry in The Dirty Donkey pub - as well as a special sight in the bookshop.

He said, "I love the fact that in the bookshop, Teny's hat and scarf are just hanging there. Terry, as a huge patron of bookshops around the world, he just left his hat and scarf in there and moved on one day and left them behind.

"That's a lovely one for me, as well - it means more to me, I think, than anything else."

Rob opened up about the success of the first season - and why it was something that he didn't necessarily expect.

He continued, "There's the Terry Pratchett fandom, there's the Neil Gaiman fandom and push them together and there's a big crossover. But what we created with season one, we created Good Omens fandom from the show.

"People came to Neil's work and Terry's work through the show. It created something entirely individual of its own making, and that freaked me out because I didn't see that one coming.

"I didn't see that as a thing. I thought the fans would be rooted in Terry or Neil. I didn't realise that the ineffable husbands in all of that - I love David and Michael, but I didn't realise the love people would have for them as our demon and our angel.

"I shouldn't be surprised. It's just my admiration for them as actors and for what they do, and for people getting it I think that that's the thing that's meant a lot to me, that people have understood what we tried to do."

Costume designer Kate Carin told how having the opportunity to join Good Omens' second season was a "gift" - and opened up about why it was impossible to pick a favourite scene.

She explained, "When you see the whole show - you think, when you're watching episode one, you're like, 'oh my god, that's the best'. But then you watch something in episode two and it's like, 'that's awesome!'

"I would say that I'm a disciple of the show now. I didn't know the book when I was approached about the job. I'd obviously heard of it, and I'd seen season one — as a punter, I watched it.

"To get the opportunity to come and work on season two, it's a gift for a costume designer.

"You do fantasy, you do period, you do contemporary and all of the wavy lines in- between - you're given a lot of rope to play with."

The character of Shax, played by Miranda Richardson, was a "really fun character to design for" - as Kate told how plenty of ideas jumped to mind after reading the description.

She said, "When Neil writes on the page that you have a 50s inspired female demon, that gives you a lot of scope to play with. "

And when I started drawing her, I actually had to stop myself because I kept coming up with ideas."

And with the series jampacked with magical moments and settings, set decorator Bronwyn Franklin told how there was one particular shop that has a "certain magic'!

She said, "I actually think the magic shop is my favourite shop. The bookshop used to be, but now that l've done it twice - it's still beautiful. It is Aziraphale's home. It feels more magical because Aziraphale lives there, and there's the whole angelic side.

"But this one, it really has a certain magic. From a set decorator's point of view, it's a joy. Will Godstone, he gets to sit there and he's got his little cash register and if he's got no customers, he can sit there and have a little cup of tea.

"You just have to feel that person, live that person and think that it's yours. I always come into a space like this and think, 'how would I like to be?' Because if it makes me happy, it'll make the cast member happy, it'll make the viewers happy."

Michael Ralph, who is the series' production designer, told how while it's impossible to pick a favourite set, the bookshop is "one that will resonate most'.'

Aziraphale's bookshop contains more than 7,000 real books and Michael noted that it was important for the setting to feel real, not just for the audiences at home but for the cast and crew.

He said, "There's not a fake book in here. Couldn't do that. In a way, if you look at any bookshelf - I spent almost a day just moving books around, to make the bookshelves look like they're real. They could be flat dressed, and then they're not real. But this is real, when they're just moved around a little bit; or people have pulled them out and put them in incorrectly.. .that's what's real about a bookshop."

[xmads-omensx]

Not sure if I can request things but if you would be willing. Could you write Noah in an established relationship and maybe his girl is a part of the crew and like mid tour he starts to notice that she starts sleeping a lot when she never sleeps during the day and then her standing by the barricades snapping pics of her and fainting. Thank you so much!

Word Count: 1,531

Pairing: Noah Sebastian X reader

Content Warnings: fainting, mentions of exhaustion, established relationship, swearing, fluff, mentions of burn out, mentions of hospitals

Tags: @shayeanna-ashlie @alwaysfightforwhoyouare @supersquirrel1996 @dontwantthemoney @tosoundlessdarkistare @collisionofyourkissmakesitsohard @klutzy-kay24 @heyyoplayer @lacy1986 @collidewiththesav @kenjipepsi1 @follow-me-down-to-wonderland @chey-h @thisbicc @fadingangelwisp @heyyoplayer @dsireland86 @missduffsblog @overmydeadbodysblog @dominuslunae @littlebear423 @blade-dressed-in-red @rumoured-whispers @kait16xo @eclipseeetop @xxkittenkissesxx @theanarchymuse95 @blackveilomens @lilgarbitch @lil-garbitch @concretejunglefm

I had been touring with Noah for as long as I could remember.

It was how we met.

Matt had hired me originally as his assistant tour manager, before shifting me to be Bryan’s assistant as well as remaining as Matts assistant when he discovered my passion for photography.

Whilst touring with Bad Omens, I developed feelings for Noah very rapidly, as he did the same towards me.

It was a lot of awkward skirting around eachother as we flirted like high school children, both too afraid to actually admit how we felt towards eachother out of the pure fear that the other didn’t feel the same way.

In fact, it was Matt who had forced us together in the end.

He had sent Noah and I to get some cables from the bus individually, forcing us to be alone, when Bryan pushed the two of us into the back of the van, refusing to free us until we admitted how we felt.

We have been happily together ever since.

After that, touring became a lot more bearable considering the fact that I was doing it with the person I loved more than anything else in the world.

The Australia tour was something that I had been really looking forward to, mainly since I had never been there before. I was sick the last time that Bad Omens played there, so I had to sit it out, which had not been enjoyable for anybody since the guys had to put up with Noah’s whining and Bryan and Matt had to do double the work.

Matt and I had met up about three months prior to the tour beginning in order to make the adequate preparations and make sure that everything was in order before we all made the insanely long journey down under.

It was a long and arduous process, making sure the appropriate flights and hotel rooms had been booked, then organising fun things for the guys to do on their off days all while editing photos that I had taken for another band that I had just toured with as their photographer.

My workload was most definitely a lot more than I was used to, but it was a challenge that I embraced with wide open arms since I felt insanely lucky to be in the position that I was in.

Noah had been a massive help as Matt and I prepared for the tour.

He took on my chores on top of his own to balance out my workload, he ran errands for me that I didn’t quite have time to run and was an overall incredible help whilst I prepped.

When the time came to actually go on said tour, Noah was a stressed wreck, which was expected when going on any tour that Bad Omens did, especially when it was the first tour back from their break due to Noah’s burn-out.

I had made sure everybody was all packed and ready to go, making extra sure that Noah knew that I had triple checked both of our luggage.

The flight had gone smoothly, with me napping for most of it, which had admittedly shocked Noah since I notoriously could not get to sleep on planes, but it was a great sleep so I wasn’t going to complain.

“Baby, we’re here.” Noah had whispered with a kiss on my forehead as we landed in Melbourne for the first few shows of the tour.

I awoke groggy, but happy to see my boyfriend’s face smiling down at me.

Strangely, I still felt tired despite having slept for most of the flight. Assuming it was just jetlag getting to me, I went about starting to prepare the first show of the short tour.

Matt and I met up at a nearby café to discuss last minute arrangements for the first show. We went over the visuals, the timings, the pyro and pretty much anything and everything in-between.

I could barely hide the exhaustion on my face as we worked.

“Hey, are you okay?” Matt asked with a concerned expression.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just tired. I’ve never flown that far before.” I replied with a weak laugh.

“Oh dude tell me about it.” He sighed, taking his cap off and running his hand through his hair before replacing the cap back on his head. “I mean, I’m pretty much done with you here, so why don’t you go and find Bryan and talk about what his plan is?”

“Sounds good.” I said with a laugh, standing up and patting his shoulder before leaving the café and returning to the hotel.

Bryan was hanging out with Noah and Nicholas in the hotel room that Noah and I were sharing. I could hear their laughter from the hallway as I got closer and closer.

“Hey idiot.” Nicholas sighed when I walked through the door.

“Hey!” Noah scolded, throwing the pillow that he held over his lap at his best friend’s head.

I laughed at their behaviour before sitting on the small sofa next to Bryan.

We began to go over our plan for the tour as Noah and Nicholas continued hitting eachother with pillows and laughing at eachother.

“So I will go behind the guys, and you go just in front of the barricade, that way we cover all bases.” Bryan said, but his voice had begun to grow quieter in my ears.

A hand brushed my shoulder. It was Bryan.

“You okay, Y/N?” He asked, eyebrows furrowing with concern.

“Yeah, just tired.” I replied, stifling a yawn.

“Alright, everybody out.” Noah demanded, standing up and hitting Bryan on the back of the head with the pillow he had been hitting Nicholas with.

The two other men stood up and shuffled out of the room, leaving Noah and I alone.

“Wanna sleep?” He asked, gently cupping the side of my face and stroking it with his thumb.

“I think a little nap will help me out.” I sighed, kissing his palm, making him smile.

Noah pulled away from me and pulled the duvet back on the bed, getting it ready for me to crawl in and finally get some sleep.

The first few dates of the tour had been like that.

We would arrive at the city, I would take a nap, then we would do the show.

It was a cycle that had been concerning Noah more and more since I never usually napped during the day.

Noah had been urging me to go see a doctor whilst we were on tour, but obviously I didn’t want to listen to him.

He had a tendency to be overprotective and overbearing at times when it came to both touring and my health.

It all came to a head one night on the tour when I was by the barricade taking photos like I did every night, when suddenly my head began to spin and my eyes became blurry.

I could no longer hear the music as the venue faded to black around me, enveloping me in a pitch black void.

When I awoke, bright LED lights practically blinded me.

I tried to sit up, but my body wouldn’t let me.

No, scratch that.

A heavy body lay over half of my torso.

A dark-haired head lay on my chest, rising and falling slightly along with my breaths.

Noah.

I reached my hand up and stroked his hair away from his face gently.

He stirred and looked up at me with worried eyes, before lunging up and engulfing me in a crushing bear hug.

“I was so worried about you!” He exclaimed into my hair.

I didn’t know what to say, so I settled for pulling him in closer.

“The doctors think that you’re burned out and exhausted. You’ve been working yourself too hard with doing assistant tour manager, assistant photographer as well as working for other bands on top of Bad Omens. You need to lighten your workload.” Noah explained.

“But-“ I went to argue but he cut me off.

“I understand you love what you do. Trust me I understand how much this sucks. But you seriously need to slow down. I have been so worried about you all tour, and now you’re in fucking hospital. Let me help you.” Noah pleaded.

“I-“ I tried to argue, but he was right.

I was pushing myself far too much, therefore I was exhausted.

Being burned out explained why I had been sleeping so much on this tour. it explained why I felt so awful constantly.

And worst of all, I had been worrying Noah.

“Fine. I’ll slow down.” I sighed. “But promise me that no one will get mad at me.”

“Baby, nobody is mad at you.” Noah comforted, rubbing my arm with his large hand.

“Really.” I asked quietly.

He simply nodded his head and pulled me into his chest.

“It’s okay, baby, you’re safe with me.” He whispered, kissing the top of my head. “You need to take breaks sometimes, you told me that yourself.”

“Yeah, I guess I did.” I laughed.

Noah always knew exactly what to do or say no matter what the situation was.

He just understood.

[sabine-smitten-obviously]

Good Omens - December reads part #1- fanfics recs 🤓🩷🎄

I ´ve decided to write a short summary each month about the books i read. I need this to let go of the stories, its a nice way of saying good-bye to them and to spread the love to the authors and to you. 🩷

I only read finished stories and rarely one-shots. You will find no WIPs in here, as i really like to dive deep into the plot and i keep losing track of WIPs. Also you will only find happy or at least hopeful endings here - i couldn´t handle anything else.

Thank you to @di-42 for inspiring me to do this with her own monthly review! 🤗 Check her out, she is an incredible author!

Also i try to find every author here on tumblr to link-to, but sadly some times i am out of luck. If you happen to know them, please tell them, write to me in the comments or DM me and i will update the post!

Multichapter Fanfics

Forbidden roman(ce) by WorseOmens

Sadly this story seems to have been deleted, also the author is not on AO3 at the moment. Maybe they have disabled or deleted their account. Its a pity, because it was a truly nice story.

It plays in ancient Rome. Crowley is living in a villa just outside Rome and "inherits" a slave from his uncle. For at first undisclosed reasons he tries to keep him away from his other slaves - and what other way is there than to spend time with him himself?

A nice story, only a bit angsty to me, and the last 2 chapters really cracked me to sobbing tears. I do so hope that the fic goes up again or that some of you might know the author and tell them about this. Maybe some of you have downloaded the story already (just like i had) and will still be able to enjoy it!

Lunacy by @snae-b

OMG - i have been a sucker for the whole Alien-Films for decades. If you know them (Sigourney Weaver - i mean how cool can you be stearing a hauling-robot to kill an alien?) - you know the feeling they produce.

This is exactly what this story is able to capture. Crowley is head of a mining-crew on the outer borders of the known space. Aziraphale is a geologist coming with them. The plot is an angsty pageturner which had me leave the light on at night. Just loved it and made its way to my re-read list. 👽

Love in the Garden by @tawnyontumblr

It´s the early 90ties, its UK and its gay. HIV and Aids are kind of a rumor, no one knows exactly what is going on. Aziraphale and Crowley find themselves right in the middle of it. This story is SO SO important, but please do mind the tags before you start. It will be a hard read. 🩷 To me it was very precious, this is exactly my teenager-time and i remember it all too well. Please remember i only rec stories with a happy ending! Apart from that - i am SO thankful for how far we have come concerning this disease.

Yes. Yes. Yes. Goodbye? by appleseeds

Human AU; Aziraphale is dragged to a Halloween-Haunted-Castle-"Party" by his friend Tracy. He clearly would rather curl up in bed with a book than being there, but thank Someone there is this beautiful stranger sitting across of him, who doesn´t seem to want to be here either. They go ghost-hunting through the castle - what will they find? 😅

The small ad by @theladydrgn and @sylwritesstuff

Tall, lanky ginger of arguable gender available to be your significant other ... This is the ad Crowley puts out and Aziraphale decides to call. With the family reunion ahead he doesn´t want to go there alone - again. Gabriel would be too much of a nuisance. You can imagine the rest!

I love the authors and have read more of their books in the past. They are always very easy to follow, funny and satisfyingly smutty. 🌶😁

Three two one, we go live by HazelSage

Crowley is falling in love with his secretary Aziraphale, while secretly being addicted to a camboy called "not an angel". What he doesnt know - Aziraphale has a secret side-hussle ...

The story is merely an excuse for writing lots of cam-scenes with Aziraphale having solo-sx for his fans-only-channel. Do mind the tags !! Plot-to-Smut-Ratio = 15:85 😁

Tastes by @tawnyontumblr

Aziraphale is bound to be wedded and searches Crowley´s help to become a rake so that his betrothed doesn´t want to marry him any longer. Love in regency times, gentle gender discussions in a time that no-one even knew or at least talked about it. Wonderful story that had me re-read whole pages because they were so touching. Also: very hot!

One-Shots!

Anthony J. Crowley, Retired Demon and Airbnb Superhost by @theoldaquarian

I found this story through another rec from @di-42 and it really had me laughing. Crowley rents his flat out as an Airbnb and here you can read what people say about it. Very funny! 😅 The author seems to have deleted their tumblr-account, so i couldn´t link them.

Naked and afraid: Jingle Hell by @klikandtuna

Crowley and Aziraphale don´t know each other, they participate in the same TV-Show, which is called "Naked and Afraid" and is set in the Jungle. It´s a survival show. The rest is a very funny plot exclusively consisting of banter and scene-descriptions.

Not really a One-Shot, it´s over 20k, but i stumbled in and it was just so funny that i kept on reading. Biggest laugh: "I’m about to lose a testicle to frostbite." 😅 A christmas-story you can read all year through.

Some strangeness in the proportion by @trailingoff

Set after the end of S1. Aziraphale has been punished by the "destruction of the demon" and he grieves deeply. He moves into Crowleys flat and just wants to be alone. If just this angel wouldn´t keep showing up, trying to help him overcome his feelings.

Loved this one, it was written before S2 and somehow i wonder if it doesn´t hit to the point with its message ... Also a bit longer for a one-shot with 11.500 words.

Puttin on the Ritz by @moonyinpisces

It´s New York, it´s the 1920ies and Aziraphale is on a heavenly mission, when he accidentally bumps into Crowley. As part of their arrangement Crowley decides to take over and Aziraphale gets to watch a demonic temptation for the first time. Will he be able to resist? A short, funny, fluffy smut story. 😉

Incredible Artwork by Zoe @vavoom-sorted-art 🩷

Green Light by @dragonfire42

After the second not-coming Aziraphale decides it´s time for him to finally "cum". He uses all the historical appropriate terms to tell Crowley his wish and can´t fathom why Crowley doesn´t understand. At least at first. When he does, 6000 years of pining break loose. Very funny!

All i want for christmas by @naromoreau

Oh i loved that story so much! Crowley is the single-dad to Warlock, Aziraphale the single-dad to Adam. They meet at school for the christmas-party of their kids, where Aziraphale also acts as Santa Claus and asks Crowley to help him dress up. How they end up in the janitory closet? Guess you have to find out! Very sweet and hot. 🎅🩷

So thats 13 fanfics in the first 8 days - wow. I never kept track of my readings this way and i am a bit surprised myself. thanks to all the wonderful authors for making my nights! 🤗

[dsireland86]

Can i request a Noah Sebastian x fem reader fic? I was thinking maybe she reader is a good friend of the Bad Omens crew and she wants to give Noah a special gift while on tour since he's been so burnt out and Maybe it's set a little after Keaton Pierce passed away and he hasn't really had time to grieve and gifts him a Photo of him and Keaton with a note written by him on the back of it maybe? and he gets emotional and they confess feelings?

Oh man.... this hits hard. Okay, I think I can do this. 💔🖤 I've never written anything regarding Keaton or his passing. I've kind always felt scared to. But when this request hit my inbox, it made me realize that maybe I've never given myself the proper time to mourn his loss. It will be 3 years he's been gone, and yet every time I listen to Too Close Too Touch, it feels like he's still here. I still miss Keaton every day. Writing this story has been healing. Thank you to the Anonymous who's asked me to write something so beautiful. I hope I can capture the emotion of what Keaton really meant to us all.

*Author's Note: I waited on posting this story, given the fact that none of this story is factual, but it involves something that's really personal to not just me, but to others, I'm sure. In no way shape or form is this story meant to disrespect Keaton or his death. It is just something I thought about when thinking of how it affected Noah. I know, it's silly. But for someone like me who didn't know Keaton personally and was affected by his death, I can't imagine what his friends and family felt. Again, this is just a fictional story based on actual people. If you're offended by the idea, then please don't read it, not just for me, but also for the Anon. who requested the story.*

Her Special Gift

Tag list: @philomenie @supersquirrel1996 @foliosgirl @angelmarie89 @fadingintothegrey @thisbicc @lacy1986 @dominuslunae @shayzillaaaa @mrsnoahsebastian @flowery-mess @iloveyoutodeathbutimdrowning @stardustsirenmelody @romanreigns-supreme @anything-more-than-human @into-the-grey @rumoured-whispers @myownthoughts12 @sister-sebastian @missduffsblog @bngurngheart  @somebodyllelse @xxkittenkissesxx @dizzylmwahh @kenjipepsi1 @blackveilomens @chey-h @disappearintothegrey @jilliemiw86 @pathion @fear-its-beauty @an0mallly  @collisionofyourkissmakesitsohard

The months that followed Keaton's death become different. After Keaton's funeral, things between Noah and I shifted from being just casual friends to almost like best friends. We started hanging out together more and playing video games, watching old black and white movies, or diving into sometimes deep, theological discussions that always ended with an argument about who was right. Late night pizza and anime dates and tea and book lazy days started to become a habit for us when he wasn't working with the band, and I grew to love them more than I ever thought I would. It seemed that Noah and I had traded our friendship with Keaton for a friendship with each other. We became part of the healing process for each other, sharing stories and memories that only we knew. Spending time with Noah was the best. He was the best, but the way I started to feel about him was getting harder for me to deny and I knew if I ever confessed anything regarding the way I felt, it would ruin everything Noah and I had built in the last few months.

"You feeling okay?" Noah's hand on my shoulder startled me. I was sluggishly slow today, exhausted from the last two nights of the tour. "Yeah, I'm good. Just tired. Still trying to adapt," I chuckled. Noah smiled, taking the box of shirts from me. "I'll help." "Thanks," I said, returning his smile. We sat the boxes down on the table, and I turned to head back to the truck and get one more when Noah gently grabbed me by the arm. "Hey, wait." I looked up at his tall frame, a little alarmed. His chocolatey brown eyes softened. "Are you sure you're okay? You're usually not so puffy around the eyes like you are today." "Oh what, you're keeping up with my skin care routine now?" I was joking, but Noah seemed more serious about it than I was. "Have you been crying?' Noah turned me towards him a little so he could examine my face better. What was I supposed to tell him? That the truth was I really had been crying myself to sleep the last two nights because I'd found a photo of him and Keaton together? Yeah, no. I pushed Noah's hand away gently, reassuring him I was okay. Walking back to the truck, I broke down, sneaking around a corner to quietly sob alone.

Three weeks into the tour, everyone seemed to be doing alright; tired and sore, but okay. I was feeling better, too, but Noah wasn't. He was looking a little worse for wear. If there weren't puffy bags under his eye, then there were dark purple circles under them, painting the clear picture of pure, straight-up exhaustion. Noah was burning out.

"Matt, he needs a day off. He needs to rest. I mean, look at him for god's sake," I cried quietly, throwing my hands in Noah's direction. He was sitting on one of the equipment boxes, leaning back against the wall, his head laid back, arms folded across his chest and eyes closed. He looked as if he was actually asleep.

"Fuck. I know he does," Matt sighed. But we have a show to do tonight, and one tomorrow." "Matt, " I said, shaking my head, "I don't think Noah's going to last one more show. Tonight, maybe, but tomorrow," I glanced over at Noah just as his head fell to the side, catching himself quickly and sitting up right only to close his eyes again. "Fuck!" Matt yelled. "Alright, let me see what I can do about tomorrow. Do you think you could pep talk him into doing tonight's show?" Noah sat up and stretched, yawning and beckoning me over to him. "Yeah, okay, I'll try, but don't get pissy with me if Noah refuses," I demanded with a finger pointed at his chest. Matt chuckled. "Deal. Hey, thanks." I shot him a quick grin before walking over to Noah.

He reached for me before I was even close, which wasn't really like him at all. But I gave in, letting him pull me in between his legs and hug me. Noah's body was so warm despite the white tank he wore, showing off so many of his colorful tattoos. I thought about the stories I knew of some of them, and wondered about the others, tracing them as they wrapped and curled over his bicep and towards his back. I felt him hum in approval of my touch, the vibration coming from deep in his chest as he softly laid his head in the nook between my neck and shoulder. I caressed his back, guiding my hands slowly up and down, and feeling him relax against me. "Feel good?" "Mmm," he mumbled his answer. Noah's arms dropped, falling to his sides. His fingers, so long and slender, gripped my leggings, pulling me closer. "Noah," I whispered, unsure of what to say or do. "Yeah?" "What are you doing? People are looking at us." I spoke softly into his chest, scared to look around. "Only Matt." I looked up, glancing behind me, seeing that he was right. "Does me holding you like this make you feel uncomfortable?" I focused my sight back on Noah, my eyes clicking back and forth over his face. "No," I answered honestly. The small smile that lifted the corners of Noah's mouth made my heart skip a few beats.

"You look really tired." Noah nodded while locking his hand together behind my back, allowing me to rest mine on his chest. The faint smell of his deodorant mixed with the lingering scent of his cologne swept over my nostrils caused me to breathe in deep. Noah smelled fresh and clean even though he hadn't showered since the night before. "I'm pretty exhausted. I didn't sleep right last night." "Why not?" Noah sighed letting me partially go to fun a hand through his hair. "Noah, what's wrong, what is it?" I tipped my head, straining to make eye contact with him.

Finally, I turned his head to look at me. "Talk to me. I'm here." A vacant stare suddenly took over Noah's face, as if he were reminiscing something. "I had a dream," he admitted, quietly, "about Keaton." His almond shaped eyes shifted to mine and the pain that engulfed them was overwhelming, shattering my heart.

"Noah, I'm," "Don't," he sighed heavily, shaking his head slightly. "You don't have to say you're sorry or anything like that. I think it's a sign, like maybe Keaton himself is trying to tell me something." "What do you mean?" I wasn't following as easily as I thought I should be. "I never gave myself time to grieve for him. I mean, it all happened so fast, I barely remember everything." "Like what? I was there for pretty much all of it." Noah smiled, running his finger down my cheek. "Yeah, you were, weren't you? My little moon; always follows me even when there's light." I shrugged. "That's what friends do, right?" Noah cocked his head to the side, narrowing his eyes.

"Friends?" "Yeah," I replied, my heart thundering against my chest. "We're friends, right? I mean at least we were five seconds ago." Noah reassured me with a smile, pulling me against his chest. "Yeah, little moon, we're still friends." "Is that your new name for me now? Little moon?" "Why? You don't like it?" "No, love it," I replied with the hint of a smile in my voice. Noah didn't say anything, only squeezed me tighter.

"What was your dream about?" There was a long pause. "A mix of random stuff, but it all had Keaton in it." More silence. "I wish he was still here. I fucking miss him so damn much that it hurts." The pain in Noah's voice hurt. I looked up to find him squeezing his eyes closed, finger and thumb locked in them "Come with me," I said, taking his hand and pulling him out with me to the bus. "What are we doing?" "You'll see."

We climbed in, throwing out mumbled greetings to Nicholas and Folio who were eating bags of chips and talking, laughing hysterically after one would say something to the other. I rolled my eyes, grinning from knowing why.

I got to the bunks and stopped. "What's this about?" Noah asked, a bit annoyed. "I have something for you that I found recently; something I was meant to give you a long time ago, but apparently completely forgot about." "Okayyyy, what?" I stared at Noah for a moment, wondering if this really was the right time to do this and as brief memories of him and Keaton flashed through my brain, I was reassured.

Bending down into my duffle bag, I grabbed the book that had the picture in it, and handed it to Noah. The moment Noah saw it, his eyes welled up with tears.

"Read the back; alone," I told him, knowing it was going to gut him. He didn't argue. He just turned and walked off into the tiny bathroom and closed the door.

I heard the faint clicking sound of the lock turning and took a deep breath, hoping to prepare myself for what came next.

When Folio and Nicholas eventually left, I seized the opportunity to sit and wait for Noah. There was no way I was leaving without knowing Noah was okay. And then I heard it. The low, almost inaudible sound of weeping.

My heart hit the bottom of my stomach. Noah was finally letting out all the pent-up sadness, pain, and hurt for his friend he'd silently been carrying all these months. I waited a moment before going over to the bathroom door. I quietly knocked. "Noah... I'm here," was all I could say. "He's gone. Keaton's really gone, and there's nothing I can do to bring him back," Noah said through gritted teeth and tears. "Why? I don't understand! Why him!"

"Why anyone? Why is death even a thing," I said gently. There was silence on the other side of the door. "Keaton had a great life. He was in love with life. He loved taking pictures and performing. He loved his fans and followers of the band, always making it a point to tell them on his Instagram." "Yeah, that joker loved posting stuff on there, didn't he," Noah chuckled through a stuffy nose. "I went through it, and it's what reminded me of the picture you're holding in your hands. I'd completely forgotten about it until packing and I picked up my touring book and that picture fell out. I'm so sorry I forgot, Noah. I really meant to give it to you sooner." "Maybe that was meant to happen because the universe knew his death was coming." The idea gave me chills.

There was more silence. "I fucking miss him. I miss my friend." "I know you do. Me, too."

The bathroom door finally opened, and Noah appeared with cheeks stained with tears and puffy eyes. I looked up at him as he looked down at me, tendrils of his recently cut short hair falling over his eyes. He reached down for me, taking my hands and pulling to my feet, sliding his arms around my waist as he did so. I wrapped my arms around his neck, burying my face against him so he couldn't see my own tears. My lips grazed the colorful skin of his neck, so I took advantage and lightly kissed it, and I could hear the slight gasp he made as he barely lifted me off the ground.

"I wouldn't have gotten through any of this without you, Little Moon," Noah muttered into my hair. I climbed him like a tree and wrapped myself around his slender yet strong frame as his large hands slid over my bottom, squeezing it as he held me up. With our faces so close, I could feel Noah's warm breath cascade over my face. His lips were so close to mine.

He walked us toward the back of the bus, closing the sliding door to the back lounge as we entered, sitting me down on the closest table. He pushed my legs apart, respectfully putting himself between them, and just stared at me. Noah was one of my closest friends. He'd seen me through some of my worst moments, made me feel beautiful even when I didn't feel it, and stayed up with me when I used to have nightly anxiety attacks. Yet, here I was feeling so insecure, so out of his league that I was blushing.

"Tell me we're gonna get through this together," Noah said, taking my face in his hands. I rested my forehead against his chest. "Of course we are, Noah, I'm not going anywhere." He lifted my face. "I don't mean as friends." I could hardly bring myself to look into his eyes. "You don't?" I asked barely above a whisper. Noah shook his head. His thumbs glided along my cheekbones. "Look at me." I dragged my eyes up only to see the sincerity in his eyes. "I mean as an "us". I don't think I can be just friends with you anymore, and just the idea of your perfect heart belonging to another guy terrifies me." A small laugh escaped me, and Noah grinned. "What? It's true. I don't want to be jealous, but I am."

I gave Noah a half smile. "I wouldn't call it jealousy, but more like selfish." "Selfish?" "Yeah, you demand my attention almost every time we're together. And when you see me talking with," actually the more I thought about it, Noah only got that way when another guy was involved. "With another guy," "yeah," I huffed a laugh. "Well, I guess I'm a little of both." "Since when?" Noah's eyes darted between mine. He brushed some loose hair out of my face and kissed my forehead. "Since the moment I trusted you with parts of myself I'm afraid to show anyone else." "And how long has that been?" Noah's lips were almost touching mine. I wanted this, wanted him to kiss me so I could kiss him back. "Always." I forgot to breathe the moment he bent his neck, and brought our faces closer together. A wave of heat, unlike one I'd ever felt before, crashed through me. Noah's arms wrapped around me, and he drew me into a kiss I never thought we'd share. His tongue pushed into mouth slowly yet needy as his large hands slid lazily up my spine. I gave into him completely, feeling every ounce of love pour from his kiss.

My fingers trailed up his chest until I cupped his jaw between my hands, feeling the slight hum of approval vibrate deep inside his chest. I felt like everything about Noah was going to consume me, and I was entirely okay with that. We finally broke apart, pulling our magic back into ourselves as we tried to catch our breath. "You're going to be the death of me," he growled against my cheek, leaving a slight wet kiss on my cheek. I pushed against his chest just enough to look at him. "Not if you destroy me first," I breathed, painting the lines of his jaw with my fingertips. "I never want you to stop looking at me the way you are right now. And if you do, I swear I won't stop making it up to you until your legs are shaking and the neighbors know my name."

I about died in Noah's arms right then. He pulled me into another deep kiss, touching me without any hesitation. He touched me like he owned me. I guess he had for a long time, and I just never realized it. I trusted Noah with my heart, knowing he'd take care of it forever. "So, does this mean there's an us?" I smiled, taking a deep breath while wrapped up safe in Noah's arms. "Yeah it does. I like the sound of "us". "Me too, I guess we have Keaton to thank for it." "Yeah, I guess so," getting lost in a memory of him. He'd be happy; for both of us. "I miss him, Noah. But even now, I can still feel him around." "Me, too," Noah sighed, laying his cheek on the top of my head. "Me, too."

[u2fangirlie-blog]

Good Omens Still Belongs to Terry Pratchett

Deadline announced on Sept., 9, 2024, "Good Omens Production Paused on Amazon Drama from Neil Gaiman."

Good Omens season 3 production is delayed. That's an obvious and natural consequence given the allegations of SA against Neil Gaiman.

(See Sept. 11, 2024 update below.)

Since the first week of July 2024, when the allegations came out in the news, Good Omens fans have been ripping each other to shreds over how to respond. Fans are being horrible to one another. They argue over what to think, how to feel, whether or not to boycott everything Gaiman ever wrote or produced or had his name on, or if fans should destroy their books and delete their Tumblr blogs and unpublish their fanfiction on AO3, or whether or not the artist can be separated from the art. In the court of social media, you can't still like a work of art or literature if the creator is an alleged sexual predator.

YES. ALLEGED. THAT'S CORRECT. Saying someone is guilty of a crime before they are found guilty in a court of law can lead to legal consequences for writers.

Other than denouncing SA perps and saying it's objectively terrible and wrong, I don't know how to respond to allegations of Gaiman committing SA for decades. Does anybody know?

But I will say my piece about Good Omens. Neil Gaiman didn't create it by himself. Terry Pratchett co-wrote it with him. Everyone is overlooking the most obvious reason that Good Omens season 3 might continue - Pratchett's estate is involved in production. Narrativia is the company started by Pratchett, and it continues with his daughter Rhianna Pratchett at the helm. Rob Wilkins, Terry's representative on Earth, also works with Narrativia.

So before everyone throws up hands and yells and throws out season 3 of Good Omens because it's got Neil's name in it, remember: One person didn't write Good Omens. Terry and Neil wrote it together. Decades before Terry died, he and Neil worked out the conclusion to Good Omens. They planned a sequel called 668: The Neighbor of the Beast. Terry's finale deserves to be told.

It's possible for Amazon and Narrativia to finish season 3. Look at the writing credits for seasons 2: John Finnemore, Cat Clarke, Jeremy Dyson, and Andy Nyman. It's possible to complete the series without Gaiman. Before July 2024, Gaiman said he wrote the final episode and had worked out the plot for everything. I don't recall how many episodes he finished before he vanished from the public. Michael Sheen and David Tennant both said they read the final episode script.

Remember that without the Good Omens series, Michael Sheen and David Tennant might never have met or worked together. The world could have been deprived of the greatest real life best friends forever relationship. Together with their wives, they might never have formed an ersatz polycule that everyone loves to see on social media.

We know how much David and Michael love Good Omens fans. That love is real! We know they would continue with the series to conclude the story for the fans.

In conclusion, before you take a dump all over fans because they still want to see season 3 of Good Omens, take all these facts into consideration. It's still Terry Pratchett's story. It deserves to be told.

UPDATE: Reported by Deadline on Sept. 11, 2024. Here is the inevitable news: "Gaiman has made an offer to Amazon and producers to take a back seat on the latest season so that it can continue amid crisis talks over the Terry Pratchett adaptation’s future."

Actually, this is good news for Good Omens fans and the future of season 3. As I previously posted, Good Omens was co-written with Terry Pratchett and his estate's production company is involved with the Good Omens series. It's what's right for the people who work on the series - including all the amazingly talented crew members who deserve to keep their jobs. And it's what's right for the fans. This is a smart move.

[owl-companion]

I think I can cancel NG for being a creep (potentially worse) and still love and enjoy GO.

We each have to draw the line for ourselves. And I understand that for some this means even GO/Sandman/DBD is now absolutely over for you, and I respect that position. I just don’t feel it’s authentic for me.

A week ago I would have said NG is one of my favorite authors. I’ve really enjoyed several of his books (except American Gods, i hated that book). But the Good Omens show made me a super fan, particularly because of the actors. I don’t feel like it’s honest to say I no longer want to engage with GO, but NG has absolutely fallen off my list. I will no longer be seek out or participate with new projects from him.

But I don’t think it’s necessary to cancel everything he has ever touched retroactively. He’s only one part.

I think it’s ok to still find meaning in the book, and to celebrate everyone else involved in this show we all love. The rest of the cast and crew deserve to finish this story as much as we all deserve to see it. And then not seek out new NG projects moving forward. Because now we know.

And if this all somehow disrupts the final season from happening, then I will enjoy my favorite fanfic authors giving their versions of S3 and how the story ends. (And with the AO3 filters I use to search for stories, it will be a much spicier ending than we’d get from the show!) NG put this out into the world, and it will continue despite him.

But Good Omens is ours…it is now and it always was.

[lookingatacupoftea]

Too Many Layers?

Since the NG allegations (which I find very credible and disturbing and will not otherwise address in this post -- please see this roundup for more info and share to get the word out), I've been leaning more into fanworks and starting to let go of canon, particularly s2 and possible s3* canon.

I've also been taking a more critical eye to canon and revisiting my own interpretations of Good Omens the show. Here are the questions I've been rotating in my mind:

Can we trust NG to actually write a good ending for these beloved characters?

Is s2 more poorly written than I had previously acknowledged?

One of the most interesting things about Good Omens is the sheer number of themes and layers of text and subtext that it presents. I have been wont to think of these layers largely positively. Prior to recent events, I had repressed any fleeting concerns that this multiplicity of layers was so egregious as to be a weakness. But now I'm re-considering it.

In particular, the show presents heaven and hell in contradictory ways that are, in my opinion, the root of most of the vastly different takes. Is heaven Amazon or the KGB or the Catholic Church? Is hell better than, the same, or worse than heaven? Is being an angel or a demon a job, an identity, or both? I think you can see hints of all these possible interpretations in the show itself, and the ones you gravitate toward can dramatically change how you interpret the show and particularly Aziraphale's feelings and actions. Is this lack of clarity a purposeful mystery that will be resolved in s3, a reflection of the complexities of institutions and systems in the real world, or a sign of lazy writing?

I had thought my takes were right (don't we all?) because I thought I understood the purpose that drove NG and the smaller set of themes captured in the book that I thought were being expanded and tweaked but ultimately preserved in the TV show as a love letter to TP. (I recommend @nofomogirl's meta on the competing book and show canons, which does a very good job at capturing the discrepancies between them and the challenges one can have in integrating them).

But clearly NG is not the person I thought he was and so I feel much less certain than I did that I understand his purpose in GO the show. How far has he strayed from the characters and themes in the book? How much has he elevated his self-insert character, Crowley, over Aziraphale? To what extent is the TV show, especially s2, overstuffed with layers and themes and clues in order to appeal to as wide an audience as possible? To what extent are flaws in the writing papered over by the top-notch acting and dedication to detail shown by the crew? Will an NG-authored s3 effectively narrow and focus and resolve some of these contradictory layers or will it continue to be a bit of a (beautiful) mess?

I don't have an answer. On the one hand, all of these layers and subtexts make the show a fascinating one for analysis and a great jumping-off point for fanworks. On the other hand, maybe a show can be too packed with themes and texts and allusions, to the extent that it sacrifices clarity.

*I respect a variety of perspectives on the topic of whether there should be a s3 and, if so, whether one should watch it. This post isn't really about and I'd rather not debate it here. Here is one petition calling for NG's removal as GO showrunner and another calling for more investigation and for companies to pull back on working with him. I believe there are also plans in the works for a fandom fundraiser to support survivors of sexual violence.

[serial-serializednovelreader]

Nova’s Notes - Dracula Daily - July 18

We’re out of the Droughtula! And onto the voyage of the Demeter….

“If Mr. Stoker has a problem with this he is cordially invited to rise from his mouldering grave and take it up with me personally.”

Truly, an iconic editor’s note! Matt is not playing around and, selfishly, I would love to actually see this showdown occur.

“Written 18 July, things so strange happening, that I shall keep accurate note henceforth till we land.”

Basically the Captain:

For real though, you know what this reminds me of? Jonathan Harker on his first day he noticed strange things occurring at the castle. Here’s what he said then:

“I began to fear as I wrote in this book that I was getting too diffuse; but now I am glad that I went into detail from the first, for there is something so strange about this place and all in it that I cannot but feel uneasy…”

Thanks to wanting to record his trip for Mina, he had already started taking detailed notes for the trip. These notes served him well in his time at castle Dracula.

Unfortunately, the captain of the Demeter was not taking detailed logs beforehand, but it’s telling that he begins to as soon as he notices something strange! Just a neat parallel I thought I would point out.

“On 6 July we finished taking in cargo, silver sand and boxes of earth. At noon set sail. East wind, fresh. Crew, five hands ... two mates, cook, and myself (captain).”

To note here, it has been twelve days since they set sail and it has taken twelve days to reach the point of someone logging the incidents. I suppose that’s a record above Dracula’s previous time with Jonathan, which was *three* days (really, more like two).

Also, sorry to put the answer to your post in here, @mermaid-above-water, but I figured it would be best! To answer your question of how many crew hands are on the Demeter….I’ll be real with you, I was going to take the captain’s number of “5” at face value, but @dramaticpandabear summed it up best with evidence: it’s 9. I’m going to be using their post as reference for the future when I make my notes You can get this number by adding 5 (hands) + 2 (mates) + 1 (cook) + 1 (captain). I definitely understand the confusion — like I said, I was confused too! No wonder the captain says he needs to take more accurate notes…

“On 11 July at dawn entered Bosphorus. Boarded by Turkish Customs officers. Backsheesh. All correct. Under way at 4 p. m.”

Everything seems fine here! Only thing to note is that I believe when he refers to “backsheesh”, he means the practice of bribing customs officers, sooo that’s fun. /s

“On 12 July through Dardanelles. More Customs officers and flagboat of guarding squadron. Backsheesh again. Work of officers thorough, but quick. Want us off soon. At dark passed into Archipelago.”

So it looks like this time they got less of a warm welcome, with more customs officers investigating their cargo. More backsheesh, and they had to leave the port much more quickly. Notice how they’re not finding anything strange in their cargo, say a “human”….hm….

“On 13 July passed Cape Matapan. Crew dissatisfied about something. Seemed scared, but would not speak out.”

At this point, they’ve just passed Greece. That’s not very far into their journey! Yet already, something strange is afoot — the crew seem scared. But about what? If I had to guess, Dracula is starting to give them strange dreams and because sailors are usually inclined to believe in the supernatural/superstition, they probably see it as a bad omen (especially if more than one of them had a bad dream). They probably don’t want to tell the captain though, either due to him not seeming to believe in the supernatural or not wanting to worry him (or because of one of the mates, who is a skeptic).

“On 14 July was somewhat anxious about crew. Men all steady fellows, who sailed with me before. Mate could not make out what was wrong; they only told him there was something, and crossed themselves. Mate lost temper with one of them that day and struck him. Expected fierce quarrel, but all was quiet.”

Yikes, I already don’t like this mate. He comes across like a massive jerk. The rest of the crew reminds me a lot of the villagers of Transylvania — steady, but scared. Crossing themselves and refusing to speak further on the matter….very much like the innkeeper and his wife when asked about Dracula. Perhaps they’ve seen other signs of his presence at this point as well (a mist appearance, perhaps?). It’s telling that the crew remains uncharacteristically quiet, rather than starting a fight after the mate hits one of them: this tells me they’re trying not to attract attention. But from what?

“On 16 July mate reported in the morning that one of crew, Petrofsky, was missing. Could not account for it. Took larboard watch eight bells last night; was relieved by Abramoff, but did not go to bunk. Men more downcast than ever. All said they expected something of the kind, but would not say more than there was somethingaboard. Mate getting very impatient with them; feared some trouble ahead.”

The first very strange thing has happened: a crew member — Petrofsky — has gone missing. That leaves them with 4 hands now, down to eight on the ship total. This is obviously affecting the captain negatively as he did not rest even after a watch. As for the “larboard watch eight bells” phrase, larboard was an archaic word for port (the left side of a ship), so he must have been assigned to watch that side, and as for eight bells, eight bells is the common signal on board a ship that a watch has ended.

We are also given a new name of one of the crew members: Abramoff. I’m going to imagine he’s one of the four remaining hands (it seems it was common practice to not have the cook stand watch at night, so I don’t think it’s the cook), since the captain keeps referring to his mates as just “mates”, though this could be proven wrong with time.

Again, the crew is much like the Transylvanian villagers: scared, yet resigned. They know already something like this was going to happen. However, one of the mates seems to be getting more and more impatient with them…

“On 17 July, yesterday, one of the men, Olgaren, came to my cabin, and in an awestruck way confided to me that he thought there was a strange man aboard the ship. He said that in his watch he had been sheltering behind the deck-house, as there was a rain-storm, when he saw a tall, thin man, who was not like any of the crew, come up the companion-way, and go along the deck forward, and disappear. He followed cautiously, but when he got to bows found no one, and the hatchways were all closed. He was in a panic of superstitious fear, and I am afraid the panic may spread. To allay it, I shall to-day search entire ship carefully from stem to stern.”

We get the name of another crew member: Olgaren. If he is another hand (and I feel like the captain would’ve specified if he wasn’t) we now know 3/5 names of the crew hands. We also get more information on a new mysterious incident — this time they have actually spotted a strange man aboard the ship, though he turned to mist (what I think happened) before Olgaren could find him). Finally, the captain has decided to take some action to allay the crew’s fears. Good!!

“Later in the day I got together the whole crew, and told them, as they evidently thought there was some one in the ship, we would search from stem to stern. First mate angry; said it was folly, and to yield to such foolish ideas would demoralise the men; said he would engage to keep them out of trouble with a handspike. I let him take the helm, while the rest began thorough search, all keeping abreast, with lanterns: we left no corner unsearched. As there were only the big wooden boxes, there were no odd corners where a man could hide. Men much relieved when search over, and went back to work cheerfully. First mate scowled, but said nothing.”

I like the captain’s delegation with giving the first mate the helm here. No use making the man search when he was obviously going to be complaining and degrading their worries the whole time. We also get it specified that this was the first mate: I choose to believe it was the first mate who’s been complaining this whole time and the captain just wasn’t taking accurate notes about it, though I could be proven wrong.

As for the boxes having nothing to hide….oh boy. That’s funny. Not in a haha way. But it is funny. Because they truly have no idea what lies in one of those boxes, but alas, the creature who resides in there is currently mist (if I’m not mistaken) and they cannot see the truth.

Of course, they don’t find anything and go cheerfully back to work. Good for morale, not good for the long-term.

That’s it for this Demeter’s log. Can’t wait for the next one!

[flameraven]

i cant stop wondering how a predator like ga*man was able to write the most beautiful romantic wholesome perfect love story ever with gomens. how. (and i believe the women i just wanna make that clear)

only way i can imagine it is that it was terrys idea for the sequel theyd planned and with that it wouldve been easy for the people working on good omens to help with that. like so much of these characters and their love story is the way michael and david act these characters out and the seasons have been co-written with other writers like finnemore etc so its never been a "ga*man" story ya know ? in all the other books i read of him he never wrote an actual love story based on mutual respect and care. its only gomens. it took me a while to figure out what was so different abt it and i think its truly more terrys story than ga*mans

Not sure why you sent this, or if it was a response to a specific post, but I thought it was worth answering, especially now that we know there's a 3rd accusation against him. Mostly, if you didn't see this post that I reblogged recently, I think it's worth a read. I think it's a comforting thought to try to categorize people into Good People and Bad People, and to write off the Bad People as doing Only Bad Things so they can be safely ignored. But I think the more uncomfortable truth is that people are complicated, and sometimes the same people who make brilliant, moving art also do terrible things. Gaiman is a very skilled writer and many people have found that his work was meaningful to them and touched their lives. I am one of them-- I have been a fan of Gaiman's work for something like 20 years. Sandman and Good Omens radically changed how I thought about religion, and Sandman showed me a whole new way comics could be used to tell stories. The TV show of Good Omens has made an incredible difference to my life and I've found a lot of value and community in writing fanfic of it and connecting with the fandom. AND, it's also true that Gaiman seems to have behaved terribly towards these women. Even if the relationships had not involved assault, pursuing much younger women is a creep move. He's hardly the first male celebrity to do so, and I'm sure he won't be the last, but I did expect better from him. But then, we don't really know anything about celebrities. We only know the persona they show us. Good Omens was a collaborative effort, and I don't think it's fair to dismiss Gaiman's writing contributions because of his personal behavior. But it's also true that the TV show is more than just his efforts -- Michael and David and all the actors and producers and crew worked hard to tell the story that affected so many people. If it helps you process this situation to think of those contributions, or Terry's, rather than Gaiman's, I think that's a valid approach. People have a lot of complicated feelings about this, and everyone has to sort them out in their own way.

[unforgivablego]

I want to say something very important.

It's about how much I love our fandom and how glad I am to be a part of it, even if just a little bit. Usually everyone is talking about the show, Neil, Michael, David or G.O. crew and i’m not saying that you are doing something wrong, I just wanna say how little we talk about ourselves.

We treat the Neil with humor, we joke about it, we ask interesting questions, how much pleasure and emotions we get and something truly beautiful comes out of it. The relationship between the creators and the fandom is so warm that sometimes it seems that we all have known each other for a very long time and it's so wonderful.

Just look at how the fandom cleaned up the information about the leak very quickly and efficiently. How much you need to appreciate the work of others and be understanding in order to treat everything that the go crew does with such trepidation.

And we are all strangers to each other, we are not directly related, we are just a bunch of very different but lovely people who are connected by something in common - love for good omens.

Yes, it may sound sentimental or strange, it's just a book or just a TV show. So what? The world is full of such things. But sometimes those things make people feel like they belong, and that's what I feel when I'm in this fandom - at home. No matter what we all worry about, we know that when we come home after hard/easy work or a bad/good day, we'll go to the Neil's page and write something kind and gentle, maybe funny and stupid, just to make someone smile or sincerely take an interest in someone else's experience. We'll write several posts about how we feel, what emotions we experience with the thought that at this moment we are not alone. It'll give us relief, someone will have a charge for the next day, someone will cheer up.

And it's wonderful.

We love everything G.O. crew does, we trust them, we trust Neil and we help ourselves to feel comfortable at the expense of him. This is a kind of symbiosis “I to you - you to me” between the creators and the fandom, and everyone puts something of themselves here.

That's what fandom is - we're all a shining example of it. Thanks to all of us for this, thanks to the G.O. crew and Neil for giving us the opportunity to be ourselves, to be something like this.

That's all I wanted to say.

Love you guys, we're perfect.

[myriicae]

I’m learning just now that people are trying to boycott s2 because it didn’t end how they wanted so let me tell you that it absolutely baffles me how someone can show such disrespectful behavior about a series that ends with a sad cliffhanger because, let me tell you, we older fans have been waiting for ENTIRE YEARS for an on-screen adaption of Good Omens (that also expands from the original stand alone book!), and the only thing I feel is grateful for everything Neil and the crew gave us

Seasons can end with sad cliffhangers, get over it

[idlebeks]

Miscellaneous Fic Recs

Star Wars

Remedial Jedi Theology by MarbleGlove

Let us consider the fact that the Jedi Order is a monastic religious organization based out of a temple, with five basic tenets of faith.

Ch 1: Death, yet the Force (meeting Anakin) Ch 2: Chaos, yet Harmony (teaching Anakin) Ch 3: Passion, yet Serenity (teaching a teenaged Anakin, good grief) Ch 4: Ignorance, yet Knowledge (Anakin is a Knight now, why is he still Obi-Wan’s problem?) Ch 5: Heresy, yet Orthodoxy (actual plot? Ie, Clones and Sith) Ch 6: Emotion, yet Peace (epilog)

Ch 7: extras / deleted scenes

The Accidental Sith, the Confused Jedi Masters, the Eager Padawan, and the Rebel Senator by ClawedandCute (Adi_Fire)

Anakin Skywalker never left Tatooine. Qui-Gon Jinn never died. Padme and Obi-Wan never met Anakin. The Clone Wars began anyway.

This is the story of a wildly Force sensitive Anakin who wants nothing to do with the Jedi and who is immediately assumed to be a Sith. This is the story of a slavery hating Padme who has to choose between the Republic and what's right. This is the story of a conflicted Obi-Wan who comes head to head with the Jedi Order's flaws and mistakes. This is the story of a living Qui-Gon Jinn who has to come to grips with his part in all that has gone wrong.

This is the story of how the Clone Wars end.

Stargate SG-1/Avatar

The Dragon-King's Temple by Kryal

Through the spite of the spirits or plain rotten chance, a door that would have been better left untouched has opened. On the other hand, with Fire and Earth as one's allies, sometimes escaping is the easy part.

Even the Dragon-King's temple floods.

Star Trek Strange New Worlds

The 1,000 Hour Sleep by spqr

“You’ve been exposed to a novel form of radiation,” M'Benga explains. “It seems to prevent you from sleeping, and yet requires sleep in order to leave your system. One thousand hours of it, by my estimate.”

“Hell of a catch-22,” Jim jokes, but his smile feels weak.

“Indeed,” M’Benga agrees, somber. “It’s lucky we have a Vulcan on the crew – we've found that despite the radiation, you’re able to sleep with the assistance of a meld.”

Good Omens

So You Need To Get Into A.Z. Fell & Co.; Now What? (A Guide For Unfortunate Bookworms) by c4llistrad

London’s antique enthusiasts and rare lit nerds alike know that if you’re looking for a specific vintage or antique book, you have a good chance of ending up in A.Z. Fell & Co. as a last resort. And if you’ve ever been in (or are currently in) this predicament, you know how much of an absolute nightmare it is trying to even get in the door. Luckily, this handy guide, the fruit of a months-long collaborative effort to create the perfect formula for gaming the A.Z. Fell system, will tell you everything you need to know, complete with a comprehensive breakdown of what, exactly, the opening hours are. Compiled by pageknight and inky of the Rare Antique Forums.

let me feel your heartbeat (grow faster, faster) by thehoyden

Aziraphale saw him sometimes in all-staff meetings, sitting toward the front but off to the side, lounging against a wall. Even then, he’d had style—wings tipped in gold and face painted with gold flakes in the pattern of the first constellation he designed. He was amazing, and eye-catching, and it was no exaggeration to say that he did not know Aziraphale even existed.

Demonology and the Tri-Phasic Model of Trauma: An Integrative Approach by Nnm

As soon as Aubrey Thyme, psychotherapist, had opened her office door and seen her new client, Anthony J. Crowley, sitting in her waiting area, she was observing and assessing him. At first glance, she paid attention to the following:

--His clothing was expensive and stylish; --He wore very strange but noticeable cologne; --His relationship to the seat he occupied could only, very loosely, be described as “sitting;” --He looked angry; --He was wearing sunglasses.

What Aubrey Thyme, a professional, thought, upon first seeing her new client was: you’re going to be a fun one, aren’t you?

[meltingpenguins]

I actually enjoyed the first season of good omens a decent amount and I had a period of time where I got back deep into fic for it, but the second season nearly completely sucked away any joy and excitement I had for the characters and the fandom. Unexpectedly, I no longer want to interact with any of it, which was the complete opposite of what I thought would happen given a second season

Same, pretty much.

Now, With Season 1 it aged like milk to me. Initially I was very much on board, there were good ideas, the cast was nifty, i even cheered for some of the eastereggs. But I'm a good old fashioned overthinker, and here's the thing:

Good Omens the book will forever hold a special place in my heart. It's what got me into writing ultimately (Discworld already got me back into reading, but GO struck that secret chord), and as I am working on two text-game and a novel right now (something I wouldn't even have dreamed of 15 years ago) I'd say it's done a good job.

I'm someone who loves to analyse stories, and Good Omens the book is one of those stories that is so incredibly smart, witty and well-constructed that it is a joy to read and re-read and re-re-read and so forth. I'd say Book Omens is one of the very few stories that has no plotholes or continuity hiccups. There is a 'Schrödinger's Plothole' aka one that depends on what you headcanon-ing happening (I can explain what I mean by that if people are curious), but that's it. Every other 'hold on' moment can be filled in with a variety of solid explanations stemming from what we are given about the world and the characters. Even why the fuel-needle has been pointing to zero since Crowley got the Bentley, even though Crowley did *buy* petrol at some point (flash bastard prolly drank it, I'd not be surprised)

The show, however, is riddled with plotholes and fridgelogic through and through, topped with quite a bit of pretentiousness and something that feels like taking the piss out of book fans and pretending it's 'loving shout outs' (no, it's not). I'll give examples for this if someone asks as well.

And s2 only got worse. It feels as if in s1 the book's plot was desperately pushing bad against some really atrocious writing, directing decisions and budget management. In s2 there was nothing to push back against it. Now, given this is still amzen we are talking about, this might be in (large) part due to their bullshit (budget cuts, shooting demands, no proper rewrites, crunch, basically all the 'fun' stuff the WGA is/was striking against).

S2 had potential and ideas, but it doesn't feel any of those were used. And to make it worse, there's already some really sour-tasting mentalities being pushed in both seasons, mentalities and world-views that weren't there in the book.

All in all, said it before, saying it again, the BEST thing for the story, the show and the fandom would be

NO s3, Neil just writes up a short story on how s3 in the amzen-verse would have gone and uploads it for free. And then either looks for a different studio, crew, cast and scriptwriter to try adapting the book again and THEN adapting Neighbour of the Beast.

or

2. S3 ditches the whole 'second coming' route and instead pushes the reset-button, declaring s1 and 2 nothing but a dream (with a proper in-universe explanation) and go through the fallout of that, fleshing out the characters proper and balancing them again.

Trying to go through with s3 on it's current wobbly, crumbling base won't work. Oh sure, there'll be drama, drama drama, and in the end crowley and az move to a cottage in the south downs, but it will again be nothing but amateurish fan-service. And for that you don't need to pay for the show. You are better off leaving kudos and comments on your fav fics, and see if the aithor has fanwork unrelated venues you can support them by financially.

[nieded]

I’ve just finished reading sit tight, take hold and holy crap it’s incredible. Your writing is so so lovely and the way you wrote all of the characters was just so nice - I really liked both Ezira and Crowley’s character development, and Newt’s role in the fic. Raph was also a delight - everyone felt really three dimensional and i really enjoyed your characterisations and the relationship dynamics between all the drivers and crew.

Putting the romance and good omens elements of the fic aside, the way the fic blends IRL F1 into itself was so cool as well. If you don’t mind me going on a bit of a tangent, I couldn’t help but feel nostalgic because of how you write about it; the culture on the grid and the way the drivers support each other, the feeling of being out on the track, how going fast is like flying. It’s not quite the same but it reminded me a lot of how myself and my sibling used to drive in a local kart league well into our late teens. we’d joke about making it into formula racing one day, but it never came to pass. We both had to quit for different reasons, but up until recently I didn’t realise how much I missed it. That aspect of the fic really reminded me of how much I love everything about the sport, and well. Maybe it’s time I booked some time at my local track and gave it another go, just for fun.

Anyway. Thank you for the amazing writing. It’s genuinely one of the best things I’ve read in a while and I just had to let you know how much I love it.

Hello! Sorry for not responding sooner. I have been unwell over the last few days, or else I would have gotten back much sooner!

Thank you so much for your lovely comment. I am still blown away that people are connecting with STTH. Especially, I am so happy you enjoyed Raph and the connections between all the characters.

And I'm so glad that the descriptions of the races felt true to you. I hope you do get to go karting soon! That sounds amazing!

Thank you so much!

[wyked-ao3]

Ok so I'm going to do this for my main two long wip's " omens, untitled pirate"

first up my original pirate work (untitled)

Q What is the first part of your WIP that you created?:

A The backstory and the world along with lore since I am mixing pirates and fae (the fae like to stay hidden so will not play a huge part in the first book/fic)

Q If your story was a TV show, what would the theme song/intro be?:

A not sure but something folk music probably

Q What are your favourite characters that you made? Why?:

A hmm that's a hard question.... Oisìn and Amon for the first book...over all jade and Kieran (ki-ran)..... Definitely personalitys

Q What other pieces of media do you think your fan base would share?:

A anything pirate related....not sure on the fae aspect as I'm changing things..

Q What has been your biggest struggle with your WIP?:

A getting the crew to agree with me ...I think they want to maroon me.

Q Are there any animals in your story? Talk about them!:

A thats a long list but on the ship there is a cat and a rooster ....they are a riot

Q How do your characters get around? (Ex. Trains, horses, cars, dragons, etc.):

A by foot or ship

Q What part of your WIP are you working on right now?:

A straightening out my first chapter (for this one I'm editing as I go....maybe lol....that might not last long)

Q What aspects (tropes, maybe) of your WIP do you think will draw people in?:

A found family, gay pirates, chaos, mythology, fae, mermaids, sirens, enemy to lovers, crew is family, anti heros and anti villain's.... villain's ...it's going to have quite a bit going on...I just hope I don't hit the tag limit......I should probably start a side note for tags and trigger warnings soon.

Q What are your hopes for your WIP?:

A to finish the saga without feeling disconnected from it (aka going against what I want to do)

Omens (supernatural fanfiction)

Q What is the first part of your WIP that you created?:

A what the plot is actually about ....not the sub plot such as breaking all 66 seals to Lucifer's cage *it's good for character growth* (I can see why the writers only did a few )

Q If your story was a TV show, what would the theme song/intro be?:

A carry on my wayward son or I see a bad moon on the rise

Q What are your favourite characters that you made? Why?:

A only one humanoid oc but if we are going animal's Roxie or emy so far

Q What other pieces of media do you think your fan base would share?:

A supernatural

Q What has been your biggest struggle with your WIP?:

A getting the seals broken.... it's taking forever

Q Are there any animals in your story? Talk about them!:

A Yes snakes, Dragon eggs, hellhounds, rooster of chaos, wyrms so far... Roxie, dusty and emy

Q How do your characters get around? (Ex. Trains, horses, cars, dragons, etc.):

A the Impala or angel

Q What part of your WIP are you working on right now?:

A the thirty seventh seal...and character growth...

Q What aspects (tropes, maybe) of your WIP do you think will draw people in?:

A omens,lore, cannon divergent possible au, slow burn background relationship...soulbonds, chaos

Q What are your hopes for your WIP?:

A to finish it before the end of next month

below the line is a blank for copy and paste

What is the first part of your WIP that you created?: If your story was a TV show, what would the theme song/intro be?: What are your favourite characters that you made? Why?: What other pieces of media do you think your fan base would share?: What has been your biggest struggle with your WIP?: Are there any animals in your story? Talk about them!: How do your characters get around? (Ex. Trains, horses, cars, dragons, etc.): What part of your WIP are you working on right now?: What aspects (tropes, maybe) of your WIP do you think will draw people in?: What are your hopes for your WIP?:

WIP Questionnaire Tag

Thanks for tagging me, @space-writes! :D

I'll do this for The Power and the Glory:

What is the first part of your WIP that you created?: The idea of a necromancer accidentally causing the zombie apocalypse. All of the other elements came later (and then tried to take over the original idea...)

If your story was a TV show, what would the theme song/intro be?: Something catchy but spooky. Khachaturian's Masquerade Waltz, maybe.

What are your favourite characters that you made? Why?: Ilaran and Lian. They're both morally ambiguous and have done some outright villainous things, so predictably I like them best :D

What other pieces of media do you think your fan base would share?: The Untamed (because necromancy), I guess

What has been your biggest struggle with your WIP?: Getting the characters to do what I want instead of taking the plot in a new and weird direction *glares at them*

Are there any animals in your story? Talk about them!: There aren't many ordinary animals, but there are immortals who can shapeshift into animals (snakes, sea serpents, a dragon, a phoenix...). These transformations tend to happen at inconvenient times if the shapeshifter isn't used to them. And they aren't always helpful -- Ilaran is afraid of heights but turns into an eagle.

How do your characters get around? (Ex. Trains, horses, cars, dragons, etc.): Mostly on foot or by horses. For longer journeys they take either the train or the airship. And for travelling to another planet they use spaceships.

What part of your WIP are you working on right now?: Currently planning book five. I got a few chapters done then got distracted, so I just need to pick up where I left off.

What aspects (tropes, maybe) of your WIP do you think will draw people in?: Probably the zombie apocalypse. But people who come for it will have to wait a long time before it gets started ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

What are your hopes for your WIP?: To finish it, then to edit it, and finally to publish it.

Tagging @lychhiker-writes, @finickyfelix, @the-golden-comet, and anyone else who wants to do this! :D