#notes from our bookshop

[anthonyjcrowleyfell]

Please stop blaming me for Trump being elected.

I had nothing to do with it! Those humans in the States came up with it all on their own.

I would definitely receive a commendation for it though, if I hadn’t retired.

[ineffableaddiction]

I interpret the coffee shop scene in S2 Ep 1 a bit differently than what I’ve read.

I don’t see jealousy at all.

This seems like a surprised reaction from Crowley. (Astonishment maybe?) Aziraphale got called out by Nina, and is clearly uncomfortable. Crowley could tell.

So later in their conversation, he teases Aziraphale, questioning why they aren’t in the bookshop.

But Crowley only wants to help Aziraphale. He knows the “something’s wrong” voice, is concerned and wants to find out what has upset Aziraphale.

When they go back to the bookshop, they’re in “us” mode, and Crowley casually holds the plate of eccles cakes while Aziraphale unlocks the shop. No signs of jealousy.

Once they enter the shop, Crowley tells Aziraphale that something a bit weird is going on with his old lot. No mention of a naked man. Our favorite demon is confused when Aziraphale says he might have an idea of what’s going in and calls for Jim.

Side note: How adorable is this? ❤️

I don’t think jealousy is even on the agenda. Aziraphale and Crowley know each other. They trust each other. It doesn’t even seem like it would cross either of their minds that anyone could interfere with the bond they have. Everyone else is in the periphery. It’s always just them. The group of the two of them.

[anthonyjcrowleyfell]

I don’t sing, Angel. You don’t dance.

Proof enough not to believe in the boxes they try to trap you in.

I was not at all astonished when Crowley sang a certain song to me today. It was perfectly off-key and wonderful to dance to.

[erenjaegerwifee]

Your Excuse To See Me

Request by: @twilightlover2007

Pairing: David 'Deacon' Kay x Fem!Reader

Summary: Deacon's case takes him to your bookshop.

Warnings: none, fluff,

Word Count: 2.4k

Disclaimer: all my characters are aged-up! If this makes you uncomfortable please do not interact with my account or any of my notes.

Main M.List | Deacon M.List

“Hey deac” Luca spoke up as Deacon entered the locker rooms. “Morning guys” he replied greeting the rest of the team. “Tan was just telling us about how Bonnie is jealous” Chris spoke up while they all got ready for their shift. “Bonnie is not jealous; I’m telling you guys she isn’t like that” Tan tries to defend. “What happened that everyone things she jealous?” Deacon asked.  

“Last night we went on a date and when we were walking to our apartment in the hallway this girl was getting harassed by this idiot and I helped her out. After he left, she told us she just moved in and it happen to come up she also spoke Cantonese. I happen to mention it was so rare to find another person who speaks it by coincidence and after that Bonnie’s mood has been off. She won’t talk, she’s basically doing everything she can to avoid making eye contact with me.”  

Deacon hisses feigning pain when he hears the story, “hate to break it to you man but that’s jealousy. I can’t believe you can’t wrap your head around this, she is jealous because that woman who speaks your language probably shares your religion and values growing up in a Chinese American home is now living next door to you. She feels less than now that she has someone to compare herself to.”  

Tan took a second to process his words before he finally understands how it all went wrong, he never even thought Bonnie would think like that. “How are you still single? You should have girls falling at your feet” Tan jokes.  

“Jokes on you bro, he does” Street says making everyone laugh as they walk out of the locker room to meet Hondo. Before much words can be exchanged, Hicks walks in with a case assigned to the team. “20-David, we’ve been handed over a case, apparently the financial crimes and the narcotics division can’t solve it and they want us to wrap up this up. Also, we have intel the man doing the money laundering are armed and dangerous.” 

Hicks goes on to explain the details of the case to the team, saying a man who supposedly goes by the name Authur Lopez has been moving money around through other people’s business. He also may be using them as a stash house. The problem is no one can seem to figure out which business he is using to clean his money. “They know he’s dealing but they can’t prove it, we need to find the proof to bring this guy in” 

“We may have a lead though, detective Chase that was previous the lead on this case said he found Auther has an old high school girlfriend who recently moved to town, we aren’t sure if they have had any contact but it’s worth checking out, she might know somewhere he might hide” Hicks finishes up letting the team take the case. Street and Tan both start researching your home and workplace addresses and they found something. 

“She owned a bookshop, just opened a couple months ago, around the same time we caught wind of Authur and around the time she moved into town, her business could be the one she’s using, she sells books, it can be a good cover if her business gets traffic, and judging by the location I think she’d be doing well.” Street says as he pulls up the location of your shop on the screen for the team to see.  

“I found her home address, it’s an apartment complex about 3 blocked from the shop.” Chris says and pulls the location for them to see. “Okay Street, Tan with me we’ll check out her apartment. Luca, Chris and Deacon you can check out her shop she might be there, she what she knows if she’s willing to talk.” Honda hands out their assignments and everyone jumps in a car their destination.   

When Deacon, Chris and Luca arrive at the bookshop they walk in and don’t immediately see anyone around. They walk a little deeper into the shop and you step out from one of the isles the shop isn’t so big that someone can hide, unless they are in the back room. “Hi there, is there something I can help you with?” you say in a sweet voice.  

At the sound of your voice Deacon whips his head, he stutters a bit when he sees you for the first time. Your hair fell curly down your back, you wore jeans that fit your hips but flared down over your ankles with cute brown sandals, you wore a gorgeous floral top that complimented your skin tone so perfectly. “Hi, Ms. Y/n? I’m Sergeant Kay, this is officers Alonso and Luca, we are here to ask you a few questions.”  

You look up at the handsome sergeant standing in front of you and your brain almost lags. “Sure, happy to help” you smile at him clasping your hands together. You gesture to the chairs and small sofas scattered around the room for them to sit and you do the same. “Ms. Y/n, we believe a man you know has been involved in some illegal activity and we wanted to know if you had any information you could share” the girl who’s name you learned was Chris spoke up. 

“Who?’ you asked her, “The name Auther Lopez ring a bell?” Luca asked you. Authur Lopez, you were never able to look at men the same after him, he was your high school sweetheart. You were going to marry him. That was until you found out he was dealing in high school and left him. “A couple months ago he found my shop, said he was keeping tabs on me and asked if I would consider giving him a job. Auther and I dated in high school, I broke up with him when I found out he was dealing, not only that but he was on them. I’m not sure what I never asked. When I hired him, he promised he was clean and so I agreed. Actually, his shift is meant to start in about 10 minutes, he has to come here.” 

“What is he involved in?” You asked them directly your question to no one in particular. “We believe he dealing again, or maybe he never stopped who knows. We need to bring him in a find the location of his stash house before he can distribute his product.” Luca spoke to you.  

“You’re welcome to wait here until he shows then, I had no idea he was still dealing” Luca made a call to someone while Chris asked to look around the shop and you agreed. Deacon didn’t move though, he sat right there in front of you the whole time. “Are you back together?” his voice was quite as he spoke but you heard him, “No, I’m not interested in starting things back up with him, he has done nothing but disappoint me, I only gave him the job because he said he needed it and he was getting clean.” you matched him tone while you looked at him. 

He was so pretty you could barely take your eyes off him, if you weren’t looking at his chest printing out in the tight SWAT t-shirt you were looking at his chocolate brown eyes, if not that, the you have never seen a man look so good with a beard and that usually wasn’t something you’d go for, the hints of grey just did something to your brain.  

Deacon wasn’t any different, he was too busy staring at you to realize you were staring back, he admired the way your curls look so full but not frizzy at the same time, the way he so easily got lost in your beautiful eyes, and let’s not talk about your figure, he has never seen anyone look so beautiful before.  

“So, Sergeant Kay-” 

“Deacon, call me Deacon” 

“Deacon, you’re a SWAT sergeant what is that like?” you smile when you ask him. He was confused for a quick second how did you know he was in SWAT? Until he remembered he was working, he was dressed in uniform. “It’s good, I like it, it’s dangerous and it’s a lot of work but it pays off in the end. So, books?” he returned the question.  

“Yea, I've always been a reader” you giggle as you continue, “It’s very calming to read, takes my mind off things when I’m stressed, a way to pretend you’re someone else.” 

“How could you want to be someone else?” his tone was breathy, it had a hint of a chuckle in it, it made you blush. It was so easy to get caught up in him you forgot all about what he was here for. Luca walked back into the shop; the noise of the chimes pulled you back to reality. He was met with the sight of you and deacon staring at each other with flirtatious smiles and cleared his throat to get your attention. 

“The others arrested Authur on his way here, they have him in custody. Hondo said meet back at HQ” Chris moves out with Luca and Deacon was about to follow them, “Wait!” you stopped him resting you hand on his arm to stop him from walking. You ran into one of the isles and grabbed a book off the shelf, “Here, an excuse for you to come back that isn’t work related. Now you can go” you smiled at him sweetly and he chuckled at your sweet gesture. “I’ll take you up on that.”  

Deacon walked out the bookshop with a wide grin in his face and he sees Chris and Luca waiting for him with matching grins, seems Luca had filled Chris in and they both clocked the book he didn’t walk in there with. “Ouu someone’s got a crush” Chris said in a sing song tone.  

A few days later the case was wrapped up and Deacon was sitting on a comfortable chair in the SWAT main room with his legs propped up as he read the book you gave him. He isn’t you paid attention to the book you handed in when you grabbed it but it was an interesting book.  

He has been teased non-stop by the team since they all heard about what happened, no one can see him sitting with that book in his hand without saying something about you. They even went as far as to make a bookmark with your face on it and stick it in his book so every time he opened it, he would see you. It was entertaining the say the least but now that the book was in his hand and finished, he felt nervous to see you again, this time he had no motive to hide behind other than he just wanted to see your pretty face again. 

“Hey Deac, we’re gonna hit up Luca’s food truck, do you wanna come with?” Chris asked Deacon as she packed up her things at the end of the shift. “I’d love to but, I have to swing by the bookshop and return this book y/n gave me” He waited patiently for the teasing and right on cue, “You going ask her out?” Chris was grinning like a school girl.  

“I want to, I will, I’m gonna...maybe”  

“Sergeant Kay is nervous? There is a first for everything. But seriously all jokes aside, I saw the way you looked at each other. She will say yes, no need to doubt yourself” Chris smiled at him and punched his shoulder as they walk out of the locker room.  

Deacon rushed to his car saying a quick goodbye to the team and driving to the bookshop before you closed. He opened the door and say you writing something sitting on a high chair behind the desk. “Hey” he said with a small smile.  

You look up from your book and smiled when you saw him, “You came back” you said matching his smile as it grew larger, “I guess my excuse to come see you worked, great book by the way, never thought I’d be into enemies to lovers but apparently I am” he chuckled and put the book down on the desk. 

“I’m glad you liked it; I wasn’t sure you were the type” you giggled. There was a moment of silence between you. A moment where you just stared at each other, admiring. “I have to close up the shop now, it was really nice of you to come back Deacon, it was nice to see you” Deacon smiled at your words knowing exactly how you feel.  

“It was nice to see you too.... hey do you want to join me for some dinner? I know a great food truck not far from here, we could swing by and get something” you wanted to burst with happiness, you didn’t think he had it in him to ask you out but he did.  

“Of course I’ll go with you, let me just grab my purse and lock up” you smiled you sweet smile at him and you giddily ran to the back room to get your stuff, hearing him laugh at your antics.  

When he opened the car door for you at the food truck you smiled and took a big inhale. He watched you fall in love with the smell of the food and you walked right up to the menu, “I don’t know what to get” you said to him, “Order for me”  

Deacon was about to speak when he heard his name being called out, his team was still here. He turned his head in sync with yours and watched a bunch of people walk up to you both. You instinctively stepped closer to Deacon but you quickly recognized Chris and Luca from earlier in the week.  

“I see you asked her out” Chris said. 

“I can’t believe it took him so long” another boy said who introduced himself as Jim Street 

“Oh, give him a break, it’s been a week” their team leader spoke up, Hondo. Their comments made you blush and you hid your face with your hands giggling. Deacon put his arm around your shoulder to shield you from the teasing while they laughed at the situation wholeheartedly. You're so happy Sergeant Kay came to your bookshop.  

🔹I hope you all enjoyed reading! I’d love for anyone to Reblog my work, Like and Comment so it can be shared! I’ve been wanting to write for Deacon for a while and I’m finally starting!

🔹On another note. Deacon is hot as fuck. And I want to write him in a nsfw kind of way. Eventually not atm I’d like some feedback on how you would feel after reading my work.

Taglist:

@twilightlover2007 @fluentmoviequoter @just-a-girl-who-wrytes @spnshortcake

[fuckyeahgoodomens]

Good Omens graphic novel update: December 2024

We promised a graphic novel treat for December to send off 2024, which we have at the end of the update, so let's dive in!

Colleen has been working diligently ahead of the graphic novel going to print next month, which she discussed over on Patreon. For those looking for more behind the scenes on both Good Omens and Colleen's work more broadly, we recommend either following her Substack, or subscribing via Patreon, as she approaches the finish line.

A snapshot from our production HQ where dummy books of the graphic novel, slipcase and other editions of Good Omens have been arriving thick and fast. The graphic novel (slipcased version shown) has quite the heft to it. It's going to be such a magnificent object inside and out.

Here, we're testing out the various papers, finishes, embellishments and more – everything is falling into place!

Merch-wise, some more delights. The A.Z. Fell & Co tote bag design is in, one side in celebration of our favourite angelic bookseller, the other as if it's been purchased from the bookshop itself, so you can take your pick.

We've got more pins that will be available in the 3-pin set add ons. While the full list will be available in 2025, we're happy to share a few more to get excited about:

On the trading card front, have a look at some of the base deck designs by Steve Gregson and Kirsty Hunter in situ as this all comes together rather nicely, and causes a heated game or two behind the scenes.

And, a quick admin note to wrap up that we always recommend checking the FAQ page as a first port of call for any queries. If you have questions tied to specific tiers, we'd suggest checking the last few updates if your answer can't be found on the FAQ. If there is any information required for your pledge, we will be in touch. We will be back at full steam in the New Year!

Thank you.

So, to wrap up this year's updates, we give you the draft of the full first scene of the graphic novel, artwork by Colleen Doran and lettering by Lois Buhalis. If you'd like to wait until the graphic novel publishes in Spring, skip everything after the ducks!

To 2025 🥂

Until next time.

+ post from Colleen Doran:

Good Omens: You Get...Stuff Like This

In the most recent Good Omens update at the Kickstarter, a few people got upset at the suggestion that you have to get past my paywall here to see Good Omens updates.

Except you really don't, and the post doesn't actually say you do. You get a bit more, like pics of my studio, a discussion of tools and process - but not all of that is exclusively about Good Omens.

I think the Dunmanifestin team just wanted to draw a little attention to my blogs and other works, for which I am very grateful.

As my Patreon supporters already know, Good Omens info posted here gets to the Substack and Kickstarter eventually. And since most of my posts here aren't just about Good Omens, but my other projects and personal stuff, as well as links to our weekly Virtual Art Studio sessions, I think I'm justified in keeping that material behind a paywall.

In fact, I don't think I've posted much stuff about Good Omens since the summer: pages of flats like the one you see above, a few studio photos, and color tweaks.

Also, me boo-hooing about my nerves and health.

But for those who feel left out missing even this small amount of stuff, then the screen shot above is for you.

That's called a flat.

It's a prelim color before adding final color.

Here's what the final color looks like.

So I've posted a handful of this sort of thing since this summer, but frankly, there's even more of my sketches and so on posted at my Instagram that aren't here at all.

For those who don't know, I am doing most of the color myself on the book, but I am working with assistants. I'm not sure how much the Dunmanifestin team wants out there before the big reveals, but here's a snippet of a sky.

In the first image, my flat color.

And after my assistant worked on it.

Here, I've done a repaint. Sometimes I do very extensive repaints after the assistant works on a page. Sometimes not so much. I didn't use assistants on many pages at all. About 80% of the labor on the color of the book is my work.

However, the assistants have been a big help, and I am very appreciative of them.

I will make a point to go through all my prior posts and get every single bit of art that you haven't seen and make it public for all of you in the coming weeks. I need to excise it from previous posts. As I respect the privacy of all my readers, I never make prior posts public without their permission as they may not want their comments or identities to be public.

Thanks so much for everything!

[mimisempai]

A kind of magic

Summary

Crowley enters the bookshop and finds Aziraphale knitting. Something he has never seen him do since they met. Naturally, he wants to know all about it.

Notes

It's spring and I'm still cold, so a bit of fluff to keep me warm.

On Ao3

Rating G - 599 words

"What are you doing, Angel?" 

The demon could not hide the surprise in his voice as he entered the living room to see his lover knitting.

Aziraphale looked up at Crowley as his hands continued to move, the needles clicking as he continued his work.

He smiled in amusement and replied with a question, "What do you think I'm doing, my dear?" 

Crowley gestured to the angel's hands as he sat down next to Aziraphale on the sofa, the angel turning to face him.

"Since when do you knit? I don't think I've seen you do it in all the time we've known each other."

Crowley had asked the question softly, without a trace of judgment in his voice.

Aziraphale replied with a slight blush in his cheeks, "Since today?"

"Oh, and is there any particular reason you started today?"

Aziraphale gently placed his work on the coffee table, then raised his hand and placed it on Crowley's cheek, "Every time you come in, your cheeks are red from the cold. I noticed you didn't have a scarf, so I decided to take matters into my own hands, literally."

Crowley laughed softly without mocking Aziraphale, "You really are too adorable, you know..."

Then he wrapped an arm around the angel's shoulders and pulled him closer, capturing his lips in a tender kiss.

For a long minute, the half-knit scarf lay on the table, and if Crowley's cheeks flushed, it wasn't from the cold. 

A little later, Aziraphale had returned to his knitting, and Crowley had leaned his head against the angel's shoulder, his feet up on the sofa, watching him, not knowing what was more fascinating, the focused expression on his lover's face or the nimble fingers that gave Crowley the impression he was watching magic being performed.

He kissed the shoulder under his cheek and said softly, so as not to disturb Aziraphale, "You know, Angel, I really believe you don't have to be an angel to do magic."

"Hm?"

Aziraphale gave Crowley a puzzled look.

"That drive you have inside of you to want everyone around you to be happy all the time, and especially to act accordingly, that's magic, Aziraphale."

Aziraphale chuckled self-deprecatingly: "There's nothing magical about it."

Crowley sat up, took Aziraphale's face in his hands and, looking into his lover's eyes, said in a determined voice that allowed no contradiction, "It is magical for the person you do it for, I promise you, Aziraphale. I am the first to testify to that and I know many people who could testify as well."

He sealed his words with a kiss, leaving Aziraphale no time to respond.

A little later, Aziraphale had once again resumed his knitting and Crowley was reading the newspaper at the other end of the sofa, his feet on Aziraphale's knees, in peaceful silence.

Aziraphale broke the silence and said hesitantly, "I'm afraid sometimes that you put me on a pedestal and I don't live up to your expectations. I'm not perfect, you know."

Crowley moves closer and says, "I know that, Angel. But you will never disappoint me because I have no expectations of you, just as I know you have none of me. Both you and I have long been subject to the expectations of others, so I certainly do not want that in our relationship."

Aziraphale nodded gently and leaned forward to give Crowley a tender kiss.

And these days, though winter was supposed to be over several weeks ago, it was not uncommon to see Crowley strolling down Whickber Street, the red scarf proudly wrapped around his neck.

_________

Still not beta'd

Still not my native language

Still hoping you'll enjoy this story  🥰

Still thanking you for bearing with me 😝

Ineffable Growing Love series : here

Ineffable fan fictions Masterpost : here

[queerfables]

Alright GO fans, let's talk Sodom and Gomorrah. This biblical story comes up a few times in Good Omens canon, a kind of offhand mention each time, and the most interesting part to me is the implication that Aziraphale was there.

If you only know the cliff-notes version, you've probably heard it as the story of God condemning homosexuality to the point of wiping out several cities over it. Maybe you've heard this too, but - that's not exactly what happened. Look, I'm an atheist, I have no dog in this race. If I thought it was about smiting people for homosexuality, I'd be happy to call God a wanker and move on. But I've read the story of Sodom and Gomorrah (You can too! It's very short!) and I've read other parts of the Bible that reference it, and I think a much more straightforward interpretation is that it's about offering hospitality and protection to strangers. It's also about the consequences of wanton cruelty, and God laying waste to those deemed beyond salvation.

In Good Omens, the book, Aziraphale and Crowley discuss Sodom and Gomorrah this way:

"Come off it. Your lot get ineffable mercy," said Crowley sourly.

"Yes? Did you ever visit Gomorrah?"

"Sure," said the demon. "There was this great little tavern where you could get these terrific fermented date-palm cocktails with nutmeg and crushed lemongrass-"

"I meant afterwards."

"Oh."

According to the book, then, Aziraphale at least saw the city after it was destroyed. Maybe Crowley saw the aftermath too or maybe he just heard about it. They both understand it as horrific.

The show is more direct, and suggests that Aziraphale was there during the actual destruction. Gabriel asks if Aziraphale remembers Sandalphon. Aziraphale does.

"Sodom and Gomorrah. You were doing a lot of smiting and turning people into salt. Hard to forget."

Aziraphale regards Sandalphon warily during the conversation. I believe we're supposed to interpret this scene based on the popular understanding of Sodom and Gomorrah as cities that God wiped out because of the inhabitants' sins. The obvious implication, then, is that Sandalphon is the heavy, the one called in to deal with disobedience. He's trigger-happy, relishes violence, and Aziraphale has seen what he's capable of. From the careful way Aziraphale discusses their prior acquaintance, I think he feels the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah was a tragedy and believes Heaven's actions were disproportionate and unjust.

I'm confident this is how we're supposed to read the scene. In the context of the story, we're supposed to understand that Aziraphale doesn't approve of the smiting, and that he feels threatened by Gabriel and Sandalphon coming into his bookshop and pressing him about Armageddon. But I'm fascinated by what it would mean if Aziraphale and Sandalphon's history really tracks onto the story of Sodom and Gomorrah. Because if Good Omens' version of Sodom and Gomorrah is at all biblically accurate, and if Aziraphale was there... it's kind of mind-blowing, actually, that he still feels so much compassion for the people who died and still thinks Sandalphon was wrong.

I'm going to explain why, but fair warning, it gets ugly. I promise nobody is actually raped, and I think that promise in itself says plenty.

According to the Bible, Sodom and its surrounding cities are accused of being overrun with sin. God sends two angels to Sodom to verify this, intending to destroy everything if they find it to be true. In the world of Good Omens, I think one of these angels must be Aziraphale. The other one is likely Sandalphon, but in the Bible it's God rather than either of the angels who rains down burning sulfur on the cities so it's possible it's someone else, and Sandalphon is only on smiting duty. Without anything else to go on, though, let's assume it's Sandalphon.

So our two angels arrive at Sodom in the evening, and at the gate to the city, they meet Lot. Lot is an immigrant who has made his home in Sodom, and I think the implication is that this is why he's not completely steeped in sin like everyone else. In any case, he immediately offers to put the angels up for the night, and although they'd planned to stay in the square, Lot is really insistent. He is a good host! Also, he knows the city is dangerous. So the angels go to his house and he makes dinner for them, and then before they can go to bed, a mob shows up at the door.

See, the men of Sodom have heard about the strangers staying with Lot. They surround his house and demand he hand them over. The New King James Version puts it this way: And they called to Lot and said to him, "Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us that we may know them carnally." Several other translations say that the men wanted to "have sex with them". But I mean. It's a fucking mob. They've surrounded the house. We all get what this is, right?

So Lot goes out to meet the men, and he says "Don't do this terrible thing." Off to a good start! Then he says, "Tell you what, I have two virgin daughters. Do what you like to them and we'll say no more about it." Oh boy. Dad of the year award, right there. But still, he insists, "The angels are under my roof and my protection."

The men outside Lot's house are pissed. They say, "You're an outsider, who are you to judge us?" They threaten to do worse to him than to the angels. They swarm him and almost break the door down, but the angels pull him back inside.

The angels then strike the mob with blindness to stop them getting into the house. They say to Lot, "Look, you gotta take your family and get out of here. God sent us to see how bad things were and, uh, long story short, we're burning it all to the ground. You get it, right?"

Maybe you know the rest. Lot's son-in-laws don't believe him and won't leave the city. Lot's wife looks back and turns into a pillar of salt. Lot and his daughters take shelter in a small town called Zoar, and from there flee to the mountains. Everything else is destroyed.

It is a tragedy. The plains are leveled down to ash, until there's nothing left that can even grow. Was there really no one innocent in those cities? No children or animals? (You can't kill kids). Still, I think about that awful night under Lot's roof and I don't think I could blame anyone for giving up on all of it.

So what if that's the story? There were two angels in Sodom before it fell. What if it really was Aziraphale and Sandalphon, trapped through the night in a stranger's house, surrounded by men who want to rape them. Whatever their power as angels, that has to be terrifying.

If it was Sandalphon there with Aziraphale that night in Sodom, I have to wonder what he was like. There isn't any kinship or understanding from Aziraphale. Despite knowing the circumstances better than anyone, he still sees Sandalphon as a threat. Given that, I think Sandalphon must have taken a truly disturbing kind of joy in raining down vengeful fire and brimstone, beyond what you might expect from someone who was afraid or angry. Maybe he was never afraid; maybe instead he revelled in the violence building through the night as the reason he needed to tear everything down. Maybe he was afraid in the terrible way that exposes the depths someone will sink to to protect themselves (maybe offering his daughters was never Lot's idea). Or maybe Aziraphale just tried to reach out to him afterwards, to offer understanding and ask for some in return, and Sandalphon shot him down so coldly and viciously that Aziraphale knew immediately this wasn't something he was allowed to have feelings about. Whatever happened that night, it left Aziraphale feeling more of an outsider from Heaven than ever.

But if it happened that way, it happened this way too: Aziraphale survives a night like that, and when he looks out into the breaking dawn, he thinks, these cities don't deserve to burn. He sees the good in a place that's just shown him its absolute worst. I think that says everything about him as a character, actually. Of course he won't give up on Heaven. Of course he'll fight tooth and nail for his home on Earth. Whatever the worst is, there are still things worth saving. There are still, always, people worth protecting.

On that note, before I wrap this up, I want to go back to Lot's words to the men of Sodom, and draw a parallel that makes me feel some kind of way. Because when Lot declares the angels under his protection, what he says is essentially, "Do not do anything to these men, for they have come under the shadow of my roof for protection." And all I can think about, reading these lines, is Aziraphale standing in his bookshop as it's surrounded by hostile demons, and telling the angel under the shadow of his roof, "You came to me. I said I would protect you. And I will."

[the-ineffable-dance]

In this post, I took a look at the beginning of the Final Fifteen and how Aziraphale's walk back to the bookshop is not the look of an excited or happy angel... instead, it looks like he's upset and desperately making a plan. Whelp, it's time for the next step of the heartbreak that is the Final Fifteen... Aziraphale's dance.

The first thing that happens when Aziraphale enters the bookshop is Nina and Maggie head out from their chat with Crowley. We follow them out, and the camera leaves them and joins the Metatron as he approaches Muriel on the patio reading a book. He checks in on her, and then straightens up, turning around. This gives him the perfect vantage point to stare straight into the bookshop window right at where our angel and demon are talking.

As you can see in the gif above, Aziraphale can see him from where he's standing. Before he even looks at Crowley, he sees the Metatron through the window.

Crowely starts his confession. He doesn't get very far... but really, he doesn't need to. These are two beings who know each other so well they can tell by tone of voice how the other is feeling. And Aziraphale knows just from the tone what Crowley is trying to say. There's a reason that it's taken them 6000 years to say how they feel... it's dangerous. It was never an unnecessary fear on their part, it was a very real and very present danger. And now, Crowley is about to say all the things that Aziraphale wants to hear, and the danger IS STARING AT THEM THROUGH THE WINDOW.

He hasn't even really looked at Crowley yet... heard the tone that Crowley was using, and looking out the window... Yep! Metatron, right there. Note his hands. Up and down. I didn't watch all of Extraordinary Attorney Woo for nothing! Those are "woah woah" hands. Like, stop talking, stop talking, STOP TALKING.

When he finally does look at Crowley, that's not a happy face. Not the face of someone that's finally hearing the confession they've been longing for for millennia. Michael Sheen has given Aziraphale the most endearing heart eyes throughout season 2...

But no heart eyes here? If everything went great with the Metatron and Aziraphale is completely on board with returning to Heaven with Crowley by his side, why in the world would he interrupt this moment? Letting Crowley profess his love would only strengthen Aziraphale's push to stay together. It is "Incredibly good news" after all. No, things did NOT go well with the Metatron, and they are in trouble. And so, Aziraphale is starting to panic. Crowley isn't paying attention to the "shush" hands, or his repeated looks out the window, so the only thing left is to interrupt. Aziraphale's bumbling rush to cut Crowley off feels a lot like "I can't let you continue so you don't incriminate yourself."

SO!! Azi jumps in with his version of his conversation with the Metatron. The "Good News" - "I... (mouth working furiously without sound)... the Metatron..." I don't think it's 'normal Aziraphale stutter' in the moment between those two words. There are plenty of times when Azi gets a little tongue tied when he's too excited (either due to lying OR trying to impress Crowley). But usually when he does that, he looks up and to the left. Instead, this time he makes eye contact with Crowley and does not look away. If you look closely, I'm nearly certain that he mouths the words "We Need Help."

What convinces me of this even more is that Crowley begins to watch him very intently. He's frustrated... certainly! But he doesn't fall into their normal banter. No quips, no growling at being cut off, no gentle arguing. He can absolutely tell from Aziraphale's tone that this is his "Something's Wrong Voice" and instantly listens.

Then the full dance begins. Aziraphale does begin his normal stutter with the wandering hands... he's trying to not say the wrong thing here and make their situation worse while still being convincing that he's going along with what the Metatron wanted.

Crowley tries to play along... until the offer to become an angel again comes up. I don't think that Aziraphale knows just how painful that concept is for Crowley. And with good reason, because I highly doubt that Crowley has been honest with him about it. Aziraphale loves Crowley for ALL that he is, but since he doesn't know how hurtful this will be, he just blunders right into the offer.

Crowley is so hurt? (Offended? Enraged?) by the concept of becoming an angel again, that he can't keep up the dance they've been putting on for the Metatron. In fact, he immediately fires off "And you told him just where he could stick it then." It's not actually a question for Aziraphale... He knows they're being listened to. He's directly telling the Metatron where he can stick it. "We're better than that" = "We're better than YOU (Metatron)"

And we watch the smile fall from Aziraphale's face. IMO, there is no question that Aziraphale suffers from CPTSD. People (and people shaped beings) with CPTSD can have a very hard time when there is a sudden, unexpected emotional response to something they've done or said. He thought they were on the same page, and suddenly Crowley isn't playing along, and he's angry. Furious. And Aziraphale falls back on old habits as he tries to regain his footing... thus, the unfortunate comment of "You're the bad guys." It's a terrible thing to say. And I'm not trying to excuse Azi for saying it... but it was a trauma response to an unexpected situation.

"Tell me you said no!" "If I'm in charge, I can make a difference."

The dance is over... these lines are not for the Metatron's benefit, or anyone else's. This is real. Crowley wants Aziraphale to say no to the Metatron, regardless of the situation. Aziraphale thinks he can only thwart the Metatron/ protect Crowley and the world by going to Heaven.

Ouch my heart! Onward to Crowley's confession (and possibly a post about the prologue to this heartache and the conversation between Azi and Metatrash)

[crowsofdarkness]

Neighbors: Part Two

-gif/pictures not mine. credit to owner. I created the collage cover-

Parings: Bill Skarsgard x OFC! Rose

Word Count: 4,217

Content Warnings: language, angst, mentions of traumatic birth, mentions of dark thoughts.

Summary: Bill finally reads the letter Rose left him underneath his door all those months ago.

Authors Note: So this will be a three-parter! I'm not sure when the final part will be posted.

Read Part One first.

ROSE

Letting out a long yawn, I pulled the front door to my bookshop closed tight and tucked my jacket closer to my chest. It was Sunday evening, which meant I closed the shop at five but stayed back in my office for three hours to do office work since I’d been extremely behind the last few weeks. 

Hell, I’d been extremely behind with everything in my life the last few months. 

Quickly typing away a message to my across the hall neighbor Betty letting her know that I’ll be back home in less than five minutes; my bookstore was right around the block from my apartment and I always walked to and from. 

Betty: No worries, hun. We’re all good here.

Pocketing my phone, I adjusted my bag over my shoulder and turned the corner to see my apartment complex come into view. I wanted nothing more than to take a hot bubble bath, lounge on my couch with my favorite cop show, and fast asleep by eleven. But I knew that was a pipe dream. I hadn’t been able to have a night like that in months. 

Stepping through the lobby, I smiled at a few of my fellow neighbors who were at their mailboxes and was thankful no one was in the elevator with me, not having the energy for conversation. The second I stepped off the elevator once the doors opened, my eyes immediately landed on Betty, who was standing in front of my door. 

“Hey, everything alright?” I asked. 

Her pepper colored hair had fallen out of the bun she had it in earlier today and she hastily pushed away the lose strands with one hand while the other hand held onto Floki’s leash. 

“Oh, hi hon. She was a bit fussy tonight so I took her for some fresh air. I hope that’s alright.” 

Immediately I waved her off and set my bag on the floor so I could give some love to Floki. 

“More than alright, Betty. You don’t even have to ask,” I smiled at her before bending at the knees to smile at the sleeping form in the stroller. “Seems like fresh air always helps.”

Betty nodded with her own smile, slowly pushing the stroller back and forth. “She last had a bottle about twenty minutes ago before our walk. So you should be good for a few hours.”

I know I shouldn’t do this but I’d been gone for fifteen hours today and I missed the baby smell. I missed my daughter. Picking up Astrid, I held my seven week old daughter close to my chest, leaving kisses all over the top of her head. 

“Betty, I don’t know what I would do without you. You’ve helped me so much the last few months. I wish I could repay you somehow,” I said the same words I always did when I picked up Astrid from her. 

“Now what did I say about those words?” My older neighbor pointed a finger at me. “I know first hand how hard it is to be a single mother. I had no help so I refuse to have someone as good as you go through it alone.”

“Was Floki a good boy today?” I motioned towards my cocker spaniel, who had been sitting quietly in front of my apartment door. 

“He was the absolute best boy,” Betty beamed while scratching Floki’s head. “I can’t believe you trained him to grab the diapers for you!” 

I did the best I could do shrug while still holding Astrid. “He’s a smart pup, what can I say?”

We chatted for a few more minutes and when Astrid began to fuss in my arms, Betty offered to hold her which I gladly allowed. 

“You can go home, you know? You’ve had a long day.” I said while unlocking my door, but not yet opening it. 

By now, Astid was wide awake playing with Betty’s necklace. “I don’t see my grandkids much since they live in California so I’m soaking up these moments even though I’m technically off the clock.” 

I giggled. “Well, I don’t need you tomorrow. I decided to close the bookshop. I need a day home to recoup.” 

“Very well deserved, Rose,” Betty hummed. “You’ve been working all day every day for the last month. Not to mention, being on your own for your entire pregnancy. I’m glad you took my help last month.”

“Which is why I’m so thankful for you, Betty,” I squeezed her arm. “You’re here all day watching Astrid for me so I can keep my business running.”

“It helps that your daughter is such an easy baby,” she said. 

Internally I had to snicker at that comment because for me, Astrid had been anything but easy. For the first few weeks, I did everything on my own. Stayed up all night nearly every night because all Astrid would do was cry. No matter how many times I fed, walked, or laid her in her swing, she was never happy unless she was held in my arms. Which made things hard for me, especially running my bookstore. I had it closed for an entire month, opening it a few weeks ago, so that’s why I spent the last couple of nights staying well past closing to catch up. 

“Did you ever talk to Astrid’s father?” Betty asked, wrapping the blanket tighter around Astrid. 

At the mention of him, I did my best to hide the distaste that was so close to appear on my face. I never told Betty who Astrid’s father was, only kept my answers simple when she asked. 

“Just a one time hookup. Wasn’t anything important.”

“I haven’t heard from him in almost a year,” I answered, flicking my eyes over towards the door next to mine. 

Apartment 4C. 

“Do you want me to stay and help you put Astrid to bed? I don’t mind,” Betty asked, changing the subject when she realized how uncomfortable I became at the mention of Astrid’s father. 

“You’ve been here long enough, Betty. Go home and rest,” I told her one more time, reassuring her Astrid and I would be fine tonight. “But do you mind holding her for me for a few more minutes so I can get Floki inside first? I don’t need him running off tonight.”

“Of course, hon.” 

I grabbed Floki’s leash and headed inside of my apartment. Once he was settled inside of my bedroom, I tossed my things onto my couch before walking towards the open door, hearing voices.

“Bill! It’s so good to see you!” 

Nearly stumbling over my feet, I felt my heart lurch in my throat when I came to a halt in my doorway, watching someone I thought I’d never see again.

“Oh, I can’t even begin to say how much I’ve missed your warm smile, Betty. How have you been?” Bill gave her a smile while stepping off the elevator. 

I still couldn’t move, couldn’t fucking breathe at seeing him again. He still looked breathtakingly gorgeous like he did that night. Some facial hair covered his face and I wanted nothing more than to feel it beneath my fingers. 

Focus! Don’t forget what he did to you!

A low scowl fell on my lips as Bill smiled at Astrid, who had woken up at the sound of voices. 

“Hi,” he cooed while wiggling a finger at her. “Is this your granddaughter, Betty?”

“No. This is Astrid, Rose’s daughter. She’s almost two months old.”

Just as my name sounded, I stepped through the threshold and Bill’s eyes landed on me, both of us frozen in time. Everything fell away as he continued to stare at me before slowly grazing his eyes over to Astrid then finally, back to me. It was as if he was thinking something over in his mind, over and over. As if a lightbulb went off in his head, Bill’s lips began to part just before Astrid began to cry which seemed to have broken me from my trance. 

“Uh,” I shook my head and gently took Astrid from Betty. “I should get her inside and get her a bottle.” 

“You sure you don’t want any help, hon?”

I quickly shook my head again at Betty, quietly bidding her a goodnight and watched as she stepped into her apartment across the hall. Still avoiding my tearful gaze at Bill, I pulled the stroller into my apartment and was about to shut the door when a strong hand halted my door from moving. 

“Rose?” Bill’s voice was quiet, eyes still darting between me and Astrid. “This is-.” 

“Please move. I need to shut my door,” I said with more conviction than I was feeling.

“Rose,” he tried again, his tall frame all encompassing around me. 

Astrid continued to fuss in my arms no matter how much I soothed her. 

“Leave, Bill. Now,” I said one more time. “I need to get her to bed.”

His eyes shone even though his lips were pulled down in a frown. “She’s mine?” 

I scoffed, slicing my eyes into him. “You’re joking, right? You’ve ignored me for nearly a fucking year and you have the audacity to assume she’s yours.”

As Bill started to speak, he removed his hand from my door and I took the opportunity to slam it in his face. Not before saying my final words. 

“Do what you have been doing the last year and ignore me; ignore us. Because frankly, we don’t need you. I didn’t need you my entire pregnancy, the entire birth, or the long sleepless nights. I’ve been raising Astrid by myself for the last two months. If you didn’t want to be part of her life, all you had to do was be up front and tell me. Instead, you ignored my letter and every time I knocked. You avoided me for a year because you couldn’t step up to be a father.”

“Please, Rose-.” 

“Goodbye, Bill.”

The last thing I saw before the door slammed in Bill’s face was the broken expression that crossed his soft features. 

ROSE

I awoke with a start, Astrid’s cries from her bassinet next to my bed making me rise up quickly. My room was still blanketed in darkness and the clock on my end table told me it was only two in the morning, meaning I only got an hour of sleep before Astrid woke me. 

I couldn’t sleep, no matter how hard I tried. Astrid went down pretty easily after a warm breath and bottle. Floki was quiet tonight, not barking at every little noise, which helped. He was currently laying on the pillow next to me, quietly whining. I scratched his ear, knowing how he didn’t like it when Astrid cried. 

All I thought about while trying to sleep was Bill. I’d been doing okay without him, finally starting to find a rhythm that worked for me and Astrid. Then all of a sudden, he decided to show his face. I wasn’t about to let him in Astrid's life even if he was her father. He ignored both of us, and avoided seeing me in the complex when he was here. I knew he’d been off filming throughout the last year due to what other people in the complex told me. But for him to have read the letter I slipped underneath his door and ignored it cut me so incredibly deep. 

That night in the laundry room, both of us were stupid. Having sex without protection but I truly thought we’d be fine since I was on birth control. When I brought it up to my doctor at my first appointment, she told me that since I was on antibiotics at the time, that tends to cancel out my birth control. 

“Hey, it’s alright,” I soothed Astrid. “Momma’s here.” 

Everything was not alright. 

It was almost four in the morning and Astrid had not stopped crying for the last hour no matter what I did. I fed her, changed her, rocked her, and put her in her swing. None of it worked. Hell, I even gave her a few more ounces of formula thinking she must have still been hungry but that didn’t work. So now, I was walking the length of my apartment while holding Astrid close to my chest as sang a soft tune to her. All of the lights were off in my apartment, albeit the one above the stove in my kitchen. Floki was following my steps, gazing those eyes up at me, and his soft whines filled the apartment. It was a big adjustment for him when I brought Astrid home but he warmed up to her almost immediately. He protected her and always watched as Astrid slept. 

“She’s okay,” I assured my cocker spaniel. “She’s just tired.”

Astrid continued to cry, her screams piercing my ears, and guilt ate away at me knowing how thin the walls of the apartment were. I didn’t doubt we were keeping our neighbors up and after the long day Betty already had, I didn’t need her to come over to see if I needed help. Even though I would gladly accept her help since I was seconds away from screaming myself and sitting in the middle of my bed to dissociate, I couldn’t bother her. 

“Please,” I begged Astrid as I started another lap in my living room. “Can we try and sleep? Momma is so tired, I just need a few hours.”

My entire life was a mess, along with my living room that had dirty spit up rags and laundry scattered on the couch which was clean thankfully. There was a pile of dried up formula on the floor in my kitchen because earlier I had dropped the bottle I was making but couldn’t clean it up right away. My garbage was piling up, not having the time tonight to throw it out. Betty offered to clean up my apartment while she watched Astrid but I very quickly shot her down. She does enough for me, I couldn’t ask her to clean my mess. 

I was covered in spit up and it felt like needles were continuously stabbing my brain every time she cried and I couldn’t take it any longer. I knew it wasn’t her fault, Atrid was a baby. She couldn’t tell me what was wrong. It was up to me and my instincts to figure it out. But all these weeks later and it was clear my instincts were shit. 

My feet came to a halt in the middle of my living room, my mind becoming almost a frozen state while Astrid continued to cry and Floki nails clicked against the hardwood floor as he paced circles around me. Everything was becoming too much, I felt myself becoming overstimulated and I was honestly afraid of what would happen if she didn’t stop.

I would never hurt Astrid. I would rather do something to myself before ever laying a finger on her. 

Suddenly a tender knock tapped against the wood of my door, breaking my trance from the blue of Astrid’s eyes, filled with tears. My own tears were threatening to spill as I ran a shaky hand through my copper hair, mentally preparing myself for whoever was on the other side of the door at four a.m. It couldn’t be a good thing. The last time someone knocked at my door this early, it was someone from the floor below to complain to keep it down since some people in the apartment worked early. 

As if I weren’t opening up my book store every day at eight a.m. every day. 

The knock sounded again breaking me fully from my trance so with tentative steps, I walked over to the door; Astrid was still crying and now Floki was barking which only added more to my already over-stimulated mind. I was seconds away from yelling out my frustrations. All I needed was one more thing to push me over the edge. 

And when I saw who was on the other side of my door through the peephole, I let out a scream. 

“Go away, Bill! 

“Rose, please,” his voice sounded through the door. “I just want to help. I can hear her crying.” 

Scoffing, I practically ripped open the door, blocking Floki from running out with my foot. Bill stood in front of me wearing a pair of sweats and a black shirt that clung to all of his muscles. The flannel he wore over the shirt was unbuttoned and his broad arms were crossed over his chest as those eyes pierced me in place; they were filled with so much sadness, it almost made me feel sorry for him. 

Almost. 

“Now you want to help?” I questioned while adjusting Astrid. “Where the fuck were you a year ago? Or two months ago when I almost died during her birth?! The recovery? I did it all myself, the first few weeks were so fucking hard. I was supposed to be resting but I didn’t get that chance! If it wasn’t for Betty, I don’t know how much longer I could have done it on my own.” 

“I didn’t know,” Bill shook his head. “I just got back. I found that note you left me when I got home earlier tonight. I swear.” 

I didn’t know if it was the exhaustion, my still crying daughter, or Floki trying to jump up at Bill, but his words were the final straw in how the last few months have been. 

Hell, the last year has been. 

Tears fell from my eyes and snot gathered at my nose but I didn’t have a free hand to wipe my face. 

“So what? You dip out for a fucking year after you fucked me in the laundry room? Was it that bad you avoided me?” 

“Rose,” Bill sighed. 

“You can’t disappear for a year and expect me to allow you in our lives,” I sniffled, gently trying to soothe Astrid, who seemed to have calmed down a bit. 

Maybe she was finally getting tired. 

“I didn’t know, Rose!” He repeated while running a hand over his face. “I spent four months filming and then the rest of the time I was in Sweden with my family. I got back earlier tonight and that’s when I read your note with the sonogram.” 

I studied his eyes for a moment as they filled with tears and gnawed on the inside of my cheek. As if he could tell I was still hesitant with him, Bill spoke again. 

“If I would have known before, I would not have left you to do this alone,” he swore, taking a very cautious step towards me. 

“I thought you were on the pill.” 

I gave a curt nod. “I was but I also was on antibiotics since I was sick then, those two seem to cancel each other out.”

Silence filled the air for a beat until Bill motioned behind me. “Can I please come in so we can talk?” 

“Bill,” I sighed. “I’ve only had one hour of sleep and I’m tired. The last thing I want to do is to have a screaming match with you while she just fell asleep.” 

By now, she seemed to have fallen asleep in my arms and I let out a long breath of relief. It was practically visible that the weight of the last few hours had lifted from my shoulders. 

Floki was trying to maneuver his way from around my leg to get out, most likely wanting to go use the bathroom since it has been a few hours since he was last out. Guilt ate away at me knowing that I couldn’t take him out until Astrid woke up later and we could go for our morning walk. 

Bill must have noticed my dilemma so he motioned towards Floki. “I can take him for a walk while you put Astrid down.”

My lips parted but with the pleading look in his eyes, I paused. It was evident he wanted to help. And as much as I didn’t want to admit it, I needed it. 

“Uh,” I nodded towards the hook next to the front door of my apartment. “His harness is right there. It usually takes him walking for five minutes before he goes.”

A small smile pulled at Bill’s lips. “I’ll make sure to take my time so you can have a few moments of peace to yourself.” 

With a nod, I stepped to the side to let him inside of my apartment, not bothering to stare at those ocean blue eyes any longer. I knew if I did, the walls that I built up to protect Astrid and I would come crumbling down. Giving him my back, I walked into my bedroom and locked the door behind me. 

Thankfully when I transferred Astrid into her bassinet next to my bed, she stayed asleep so I decided to take a long, hot shower in the bathroom that was connected to my room. I heard the front door open about twenty minutes ago to close a few moments after. Once I was out of the shower dressed in an oversized shirt and shorts, I checked on Astrid to make sure she was still asleep. I decided on grabbing a snack before climbing into bed to sleep. 

Not to mention, I probably should check on Floki to make sure he was fine after his walk. 

Quietly shutting the bedroom door behind me, I took all of two steps into my living room when I came to a halt. My entire apartment was spotless, even the floors were freshly mopped. The clean smell filling my nostrils. The pile of clean clothes were folded neatly on my couch and there was a basket of dirty clothes in a basket set next to my front door, ready to get taken to the laundry room. Floki was curled up in his bed in front of the electric fireplace, sleeping soundly. It seemed as if the walk Bill took him on tired him out. 

I walked into the kitchen to see Bill putting a fresh bag into the garbage and let out a quiet gasp when I noticed how spotless my kitchen was as well. 

“Hey, I thought you’d be asleep,” he said while looking over at me. 

“I decided to take a shower before. Did you clean my apartment?” I asked while pointing to the space around me. 

He scratched at the side of his head, all nervous. “Yeah, I hope that was alright. I meant it when I said I wanted to help you, Rose.”

I shifted on my feet as the feeling of relief filled my veins. I wanted to be angry with him but the more I thought about it while I was in the shower, I knew that I couldn’t hold it against him that he didn’t know. Bill was gone this last year working and visiting his family in Sweden. 

What’s stopping him from doing that again? Leaving you and Astrid alone, again?

As much as I wanted to ignore the voice in my mind, I couldn’t. There wasn’t a doubt that Bill would be leaving again, maybe soon, and would be gone for weeks at a time. He would be in and out of Astrid’s life when she needed stability. 

“Thank you,” I said. “You didn’t have to.”

Bill stuffed his hand in the pockets of his sweats and nodded. “I’m here for you, Rose. For both of you.”

The burn began to rise in my throat when I heard the sincerity in his voice and there were tears in the corner of my eyes. That familiar heavy weight of guilt was deep in my gut and I couldn’t take another moment of looking at Bill knowing that I wasn’t ready to give him what he wanted. I needed to think of my daughter. 

Astrid is his daughter, too. 

Blinking away the tears, I threw a thumb over my shoulder towards my bedroom. “I-uh-I’m going to get some sleep before Astrid wakes up. Even if it’s a few hours. Can you lock the door behind you when you leave, please?” 

I could tell he wanted to say something but refrained. Instead, he went a different route. Pulling something from his pocket, Bill handed me a small piece of paper which I took hesitantly. 

“It’s my phone number. I really want to try, Rose. As long as you’d let me. I want to be in Astrid’s life.”

I stared down at the paper in my hand for a very long moment before gazing up at him through my lashes. 

“Thank you again for taking Floki for a walk and cleaning my apartment. I appreciate it,” my voice was quiet as I turned on my heels to head into my room. 

Bill called after me, his voice begging me to stop. “Rose, please. Can you at least let me try?” 

Looking over my shoulder, I let out a shaky breath while shrugging my shoulders. “I don’t know, Bill.”

Telling him once more to lock the door on his way out, I slipped inside my bedroom, shutting the door and him out of my life. 

[ourshadowsmeanomens]

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

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

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

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

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

The current persistent theory is this:

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

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

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

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

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

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

[anthonyjcrowleyfell]

My aggravatingly crafty husband has decided to decorate our home with little white sheets that he actually cut from bed linens. They’re everywhere, including hanging from some of the plants. It’s difficult to discipline the greenery whilst there are utterly ridiculous sheets with googly eyes discouraging proper behavior and encouraging… fun.

[halemerry]

Okay so I wanna take a moment to talk about gravity. Now I know what this sounds like, but bare with me here I promise I'm not looking to do a physics lecture. But I've been rotating this around in my head for a couple days now and I think there's something really critical in the way the show presents it to us.

For example: it's one of the few things actually listed in our introduction to this show individually while our protagonists build the universe, right between matter and everything else.

The show draws our attention to it here fairly bluntly by naming it but there are other incidents that, while I would not call them subtle, are not quite as on the nose.

There are at least three times Crowley chucks something he's holding in his hands across the room. They're played for comedic bits but they all feel very weird and pointed to me - especially both times he does this to books that he seems to have no purpose for holding other than to chuck them later. It caught my attention mostly because everything in me recoiled at the idea of him doing that, but the more I thought about the way they're so visible and pointed was important. They almost feel like weird hiccups in the scene they're in.

We also get gravity as an implied threat with Gabriel climbing out the window and, of course, with every mention of a Fall. But there's also more mundane uses of gravity in the season that while not odd in isolation, the fact we get it popping up so notably is interesting to me. There's also the scene with Nina and Maggie under the awning where rainwater's weight gets pulled down by gravity, the scene in 1941 where Aziraphale drops the picture of them onto the floor before they have their gray area talk, Gabriel dropping the matchbox, and I'm sure there's more. The point is the show is littered with reminders that gravity exists.

Now I know what this sounds like. I know it seems like yeah. Duh. They're on earth. Which has gravity. Of course gravity is a factor in nearly every physical action they do. Why are you even talking about this at all?

Well, it's because of a scene that is one of my absolute favorites in the whole season: the Gravity Lesson.

The scene opens with Jim throwing a book (My Best Games of Chess, an interesting title that feels pointed) repetitively at a desk. He's testing gravity himself, looking confused.

Crowley then descends from the upper level, carrying a stack of books. He pauses his descent on the spiral staircase and notes what Jim is doing.

Then we get this shot. Notice the light here. Jim is in the light from the windows but relatively in the middle of the shot. He's an angel still, though not nearly as in the Light as he was as Gabriel. And he's notably at ground level, on earth. Meanwhile Crowley blends into the shadows of the shop itself. He continues down the staircase, sauntering vaguely downward, until he finally hits earth level to be even with Jim. There's symbolism here, in the lighting, in the way they move through these frames, in the way the staircase spirals like an orbit.

Crowley continues this same sweeping circular pattern to come around the bookshop and place him in front of Jim. Unable to resist a question, even one that wasn't asked out loud, Crowley tells him about gravity. He moves center toward Jim here. A meeting in the middle. This is the first scene we see Crowley interact with Jim in a way anything near amicable. He explains how gravity works. "It's, um... A thing that happens when objects are pulled together. In this case, they're all pulled downwards because Earth is the largest thing around."

As he speaks, Crowley moves away from Jim, toward the back of the bookshop. But he stops very rapidly because Jim goes and asks him why. Crowley frowns to himself. He says he can't remember. He says it seemed like a good idea when they were all talking about it.

He walks back to Jim, giving this question some real thought, and settles on, "So things would stay where you put them, not just drift off." And Jim, backlit by the windows still, kind of frowns and drops the book again and points out. "But it doesn't stay where I put them. It goes down."

When the book hits the table it also visibly does not land precisely over where Jim dropped it either. It settles out of place, bouncing slightly from the force of it. This is what drew my attention to this scene more than anything else.

Because it's interesting isn't it? They're both right in their assessment here. And so much of this story is about people not fitting quite where they're dropped. Aziraphale and Crowley are both caught in Earth's gravity, jostled out of their respective places. The very first shot in the intro sequence emphasizes this idea. Crowley and Aziraphale meet in the middle on earth (where Crowley then says let there be light and lights a flame to guide them going forward).

Gabriel and Beez too fall out of line as soon as they get caught in Earth's gravity. Memories are deleted, but can't entirely escape the gravity of their old home. Memories are added, but you can't predict exactly the way they'll form. Miracles backfire and don't land quite as they're expected. We obey Heaven or Hell as far as we can, but not necessarily exactly as they'd like. These shifts eventually become predictable and eventually we learn we can calculate the odds of how gravity can impact something, but as Jim shows us here a little bit of the drift still happens. In the end it's all just firing bullets at ears and pretend to catch them in our teeth.

And there's viewing this line of thinking from the perspective of God. God who functionally dropped the universe into the gravity of Fate and Choice just to see where it would land.

And then there's the Fly.

As Jim points out here, some things actively resist gravity, at least temporarily. Flies go up. This is very fun, given Beelzebub's arc this season, but I think it's getting at more than just that. Crowley and Jim both pause to watch the fly rise upward, drifting away from Jim and toward the dark half of the shop. Crowley says Jim makes a good point and then shifts into "Right, the plan, Operation: Lovebird."

Given the plot of season 1, I find the use of the word plan here pretty interesting. Especially given that the event that follows this is Crowley trying and failing to get Nina and Maggie to recreate his own meet cute. Like the idea of these two being drawn together will fix everything.

And that got me thinking about Crowley's line at the end of season 1. About what if God planned it that way. What if they're God's own Operation Lovebird. We know that together they can do very powerful things. This whole season starts with them, while trying to keep their power under control and contained, do a miracle so big it could've brought someone back from the dead nearly 25 times. Last season ends with Heaven and Hell thinking they've become something impossible. The Metatron here goes out of his way to separate the two of them like he's afraid of what they're capable of together. And he seems to have successfully managed to do this.

But a Fly can't stay in the air forever. The Fly is always drawn back to Jim. Because not all gravity is about Earth itself. The same way Gabriel's memories are drawn back to him. The same way Beelzebub and Gabriel are drawn to each other in the first place. The same way Aziraphale and Crowley have been described time and time again as drawn in by each other. They're Alpha Centauri. Twin stars orbiting each other. They're constantly going in circles around each other. It's a dance. With the hands touching in the middle. Because that is a gravity too. They complete each other the same way the Fly completes Jim.

So what about choice? Think about the Ball episode. Think about how everyone in the shop is being influenced by some sort of miracle. Their clothes and behavior shift and change and Nina in particular shows us that this is Noticeable. Forcing something in a gravity it doesn't like or want makes it have a hard time settling. It doesn't go quite where you drop it.

And then there's the chat Nina and Maggie have with Crowley. "We're not a game. We're real people," says Maggie. And Crowley tries to argue this saying that they both needed help and they both push back that it is still not his right to meddle with. A game. Like the title My Best Games of Chess. Like the thing we know God has been using as a framing device since season 1. A thing the narrative always has pushed as a bad thing.

Maggie and Nina are choosing to not let beings above them influence their choices. They actively resist being compelled by Aziraphale in the bookshop together because they know what's right. His gravity is not enough to overwhelm their choices. And at the end maybe they're not together but they're working on it. And, maybe, if they do come back together (when they do, according to Maggie) it will be when they are ready and when they are choosing each their free of the constraints of the game or higher power. And that gives me hope that's where we're headed for the Ineffables as well.

[fakemichaelsheen]

-the bookshop-

aziraphale: *examining a bouquet of flowers*

aziraphale, curious: do you know where this came from?

gabriel, shrugs: nah, they arrived this morning, boss. no note or anything.

aziraphale, sighs: I wish you wouldn’t call me that.

crowley: *enters*

aziraphale: ah, crowley! someone sent some beautiful flowers-

crowley, panics: *runs forward and frantically starts eating the bouquet*

aziraphale, trying to stop him: crowley! have you lost your mind?

crowley, mouthful of leaves and petals: you should know better than to accept gifts from strangers, angel. I thought you were clever.

aziraphale, very confused: what are you talking about? it’s a bunch of flowers! I thought it was a very thoughtful, lovely gift

crowley, gesturing: yeah, well, in future, don’t. just...leave it.

aziraphale, suspicious: why?

crowley, sweating: mind your own business *runs off*

gabriel, sweeping up the mess: he’s probably worried about hay fever.

aziraphale: ...

-the record shop, a few moments later-

maggie: *tidying*

crowley: *bursts in*

crowley, exasperated: stOP helPINg me. I can HANdle It.

maggie, unfazed: if you don’t ask him today, it’ll be poetry next.

crowley, gasps dramatically: you’re worse than our lot *leaves*

[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."

[akihiro-writes-stuff]

3 times Crowley stops the urge to kiss Azi(1+ when he doesn't)

Fandom: Good Omens

Chapter: 1/4 Next Chapter

Summary:

[Based on my Good Omens Reincarnation AU! This will be a little compilation of ficlets showcasing the different timelines where Crowley and Azi meet. The actual fanfic won't be posted yet as of now.]

Aziraphale asks Crowley for a favor, in return makes him go all PTSD for about a second.

Chapter One ✧ Cleaning with love ✧ Year 2023(Present Time)

“Why in such a hurry, angel?” the man with sunglasses asked, eyeing down the gentleman buttoning up his sleeves in a hurry.

“Oh Crowley love, don’t be down. I promise we’ll have breakfast tomorrow.” With those pleading eyes that his angel uses against him, how could he ever refuse his words? But with a sulk, he just nods. 

“By the way Crowley, can you help me at the bookshop later?” Aziraphale asked, fixing his bow tie by the mirror. Crowley just watches him do his daily routine, so serene and quiet. 

He hopes to himself that this would last

Rejuvenated by knowing they’ll hang out later, he quickly replies. “Sure, I don’t have anything scheduled today.” 

With a smile— Oh how Crowley loves his warm yet mischievous grin, he picks up his messenger bag and gives Crowley a peck as he left. 

He agreed to his simple request, it wasn’t a biggie. He can always reschedule his board meeting tomorrow. His angel always comes first. Definitely not because he was clingy. Definitely not.

He touches his cheek, still feeling the fleeting caress of his soft lips. It was a scoop of something he always craved, and now within the boundless time right now– he can enjoy it. 

“Cancel our meeting later, I had a sudden appointment.” Crowley says to the phone as he picks out a nice leather jacket.

He wonders what would be urgent that his angel needed his helping hands?

He shuts the closet doors, sprawling the jacket over the bed. “But sir, this is an annual board—”

“Cancel.” He says with finality, not leaving any room to argue. The employee on the other end sighs in resignation. 

The call ends with him victorious.

He should probably give him a raise. He notes that in his notes app.

-

Now he’s at the bookshop, holding various dusters and an apron.

“Here, take this as well.” With his signature smile, Aziraphale hands him the broom.

Scam— my angel scammed me. He thought as he arranged the clattered books, stacking them up.

And here he thought–

His thoughts were cut off when he hears a disgruntled yelp.

“Ouch!”

He’d recognise that whine anywhere.

Dropping everything in hand, he quickly runs to Aziraphale’s side with worry plastered on his face. Putting his hand to the side of his face, he questions. “What the matter, angel?” 

Aziraphale’s face winced in pain as he rubs his head, saying. “A stray book fell off.” 

Crowley looks at the assailant, and notices a lot of books weren’t placed correctly—with some barely even inserted. He also notices how slightly shaky the shelf is.

How old is this thing?

He returns his gaze to Aziraphale, who was still talking.

“The fricking spine directly hit my head—"  

But before he could even finish his sentence, it was like the books wanted to fight them because every single book on the shelf started to fall.

Without any thought, Crowley instantly shielded his angel from the books as they descended with such drama, some even pried open mid flight. 

Why are these books so heavy!? 

It hits him square on his upper back. With a grunt, he tries to flex his arms. 

One minute they were dusting the shelves and arranging books, next thing he got Aziraphale pinned between his arms, protecting him from falling books of all things.

What an unlucky day, though– at least he was here and those books didn’t topple his angel.

He realized something.

What if he didn’t came? What if he continued the board meeting? Would he find Aziraphale all bloodied up with a cracked open skull?

He didn’t even want to think about that possibility. 

He got reminded yet again of the memories, of times when he let his guard down just for a second.

That could’ve happened now if he wasn’t so absent minded!

Aziraphale, noticing him tremble, asked worriedly. “Crowley– love? Did the books hit you hard?”

He remembers the trembling face of his angel trapped underneath the rubble. He remembers the fire painfully licking his skin, remembers reaching out and clutching pul–

He felt gentle hands cradling his face. Ones so warm and affectionately sweet. Ones that he recognizes.

Snapping back to reality, he makes eye contact with his angel. He also realizes how close their faces are to each other.

“Are you back, my love?” Aziraphale asks.

Slowly, the two faces of the Aziraphale in his memories and his reality merged– reminding him that it was all past.

He stops the urge to kiss him, because right now he has unholy thoughts that he would not like to divulge in this awkward moment. 

“Yes, thanks angel.” He says– albeit blushing– as he mirrors him, caressing his face as he lets his forehead touch his.

“Thank you so much.”

[vidavalor]

Closing Doors & Pushing Buttons

A look at the visual puns in the lift/elevator scenes in S2, and how Gabriel's trip down parallels and contrasts with Crowley and Aziraphale's trips up, as requested by @noxarealis. 💕

In the last moments of S2, we have the scene where Aziraphale gets into the lift/elevator with Our Villain. We see Our Villain push/press the button for what floor once Aziraphale is in the elevator and then we hear the automated voice say what are the last lines of dialogue of the season:

Doors closing. Going up.

I think that, when taken as visual puns? This tells us pretty much everything about what's going on here.

Our Villain is pushing Aziraphale's buttons-- pressing on sore spots to try to manipulate a desired emotional response. This has resulted in Aziraphale getting into the elevator. The elevator is a trap laid by Our Villain. As a result, what's happening? Our next two visual puns-- doors closing and going up.

When we metaphorically say that a door is closing, we mean that something-- an opportunity, a situation, etc.-- is being put into the past. In a proactive sense, closing or shutting a door yourself on something can mean moving on from it. It can be a positive or a negative thing, depending on the situation, or, sometimes, a bit of both.

For example, when we see the video of Gabriel running for his life from Heaven? Even though we know he's going to make it out of there and to the bookshop, it's still a relief when we hear the disembodied voice say: Doors closing.

Gabriel isn't safe in Heaven so him getting out of there and those doors closing behind him is a good thing. It's a good thing to leave Heaven in the past for him and to go to Earth, where he has healthier opportunities. He's the only one in S2 for whom doors closing is a good thing, though, because everyone else is riding the elevator in the opposite direction.

While both Crowley and Aziraphale go up in S2, Gabriel is the one who comes down to Earth, a phrase that we use to describe someone who is more concerned with day-to-day living than with the theoretical. He's the only one of the three, main character elevator riders who finds a better way of living.

The exact etymology of the phrase down to Earth is unknown but it is speculated that it comes from a source that is an unbelievably relevant to Good Omens. The dominant theory on down to Earth is that it comes from either or both of the ideas of celestial creatures, like angels, coming down to Earth to live amongst mortal humans or from God's word being brought down to the human people of Earth.

It's also worth noting that Gabriel is the only character for whom we actually hear the disembodied voice say something else very important that is related to this:

Doors opening.

When Gabriel presses the button to summon the elevator to Earth, we know this is a good thing. He's opening doors for himself by taking himself down to Earth. He's able to do this because he has help from Beez, Crowley, and Aziraphale. There's another way forward for Gabriel because, collectively, the four of them have made one. They've all opened doors for one another.

There's also the famous quote related to this that talks about reassurance:

When The Lord closes a door, somewhere, He opens a window.

This idiom has one of the most disputed etymologies of all popular idioms. It's been mistaken for a Bible verse but it doesn't appear anywhere in The Bible. It's been credited to Alexander Graham Bell (the inventor of one of Good Omens' favorite motif-y things, the telephone) and to Helen Keller but there is no proof that either of them actually originated the phrase.

The one thing that is known is that the idiom was popularized into the mainstream by Maria using it in the very Good Omens-relevant The Sound of Music... a musical that Good Omens is pretty heavily implying that, in its universe, Crowley and/or Aziraphale basically wrote.

Once Gabriel arrives on Earth and is safe inside the bookshop, he then is shown around windows a whole bunch of times, representing the pluses and minuses of the new opportunity of his open door down on Earth. Besides the depressive episode and drunk Crowley combining to have him nearly jumping out of a window-- which is also idiomatic for being suicidal for obvious reasons-- there are some other play on words using Jim and his new life now that he's opened a door for himself and closed one on the life he used to have.

When you have a window of opportunity-- a certain amount of time in which to accomplish something... like he and Crowley and the Operation Lovebirds Vavoom...

...or, to have a window on the world being to learn more about the world that exists beyond one's own situations and experiences... like the episode in S2 that opens with Jim waking up to look out at Whickber Street from his window.

Angels can go down in different ways... including to Earth. As, where does the disembodied voice say Gabriel is going when he gets into the elevator, even as he dropped the matchbox and avoided a fall to Hell? He's still falling because a mental health spiral is really, fundamentally, what a fall is. He's still, literally, at least...

Going down.

Gabriel isn't going to Hell, though. We've seen that he's already been in metaphorical Hell already... in Heaven. It's all the same system. Someone who is going down is also someone who is not going to win, or who might die. Gabriel got into the elevator and took a risk. He had to close the door on Heaven or he wouldn't survive. He had to hope there was another door that would open for him on Earth. He took a leap of faith that he would make it, which we all have to do at different times.

Inside the elevator, there are only three buttons and the only truly different button is Earth.

Earth is blue-green and shows the planet without letters, indicative of it being a place open to people of all languages-- which is to say all people. Heaven and Hell, though, only seem like they have different buttons. The colors change on them but they both have a big, capital letter H in the center. They're both just two parts of the same system. It's all the same office building. The only way out is Earth.

I think it's also worth noting here how we see the supernatural elevator work in Good Omens. For the most part, it works like a human elevator but there are some notable exceptions.

For one thing, it only has the three buttons. You cannot ride the elevator to anywhere but Heaven, Hell, or Earth-- those are the only transport options. In human idioms, Heaven and Hell are places some people believe people go when they die. For the only options in the elevator to be Earth, Heaven, or Hell, it's looking pretty heavily like the elevator is literally life or death-- especially since Gabriel failing to take it to Earth in S2 would have meant his death.

Absent in the elevator is also anything that a human elevator would have for other buttons. There is no emergency stop, for instance. There is no help/panic button or backup phone. Once you're in this thing, you're going to wherever you selected, end of story. This adds to the life/death suggestion of the lift.

Once you're in the elevator, you can no longer contact anyone from the outside for the duration of the ride to your destination. This wasn't a big deal for Gabriel fleeing to Earth but it takes on a whole other, eerier meaning when you look at the Aziraphale elevator scene.

There is, possibility, also a connection in here to the sign on Mrs. Sandwich's building, where you take the elevator's opposite thing-- the stairs-- upstairs to some little death. How do you do that, though? Per her sign, you come upstairs-- one at a time, no pairs. The same is actually true of the elevator of more literal death, I think. Ultimately, we all do that alone.

Where the elevator does work like a human elevator, though, is in what the Gabriel scenes showed us, which is that the elevator will not move with the doors still open. Also like a human elevator? Pushing a button to select a destination will also, first, automatically close the doors. The elevator doors have to be closed for it to move-- meaning, that you have to be putting something in the past to make a move.

Choosing to make that move-- selecting a destination-- will automatically close the doors to wherever you're at so you can put it in the past. That's also symbolic of growth and change as much as it's also death, right? At some point, you're going to have to close the door on one thing in order to, really, open yourself up to something new. Every end of something else is a new beginning. Every personal armageddon is an ending that is, also, a beginning.

It starts, as it will end, with a garden and an apple.

Okay, so what about Crowley's parallel trip up in the elevator in S2?

Crowley approaches Muriel with a specific destination. He's on Earth and he's of Hell and he wants to go to Heaven. He's having a whole ball with "going to Heaven", sex-and-death innuendo that is going over Muriel's head before they get into the elevator. Even as he is, the imagery around the two of them and the elevator is more in line with literal death than little death.

All that white light in the darkness, the casket brown of the pub, the closing doors. It's a nighttime version of the same contrast of Aziraphale's choice of going into the light the next morning versus staying with the blues and greens of Crowley standing by the appropriately named Give Me Coffee or Give Me Death.

While we know that Crowley and Muriel do go up, we never actually see Crowley or Muriel push a button. Instead, Crowley tells Muriel:

Close the doors.

The camera remains outside the elevator and we watch the doors close on the two of them. These doors would have closed automatically if they had pressed the button for Heaven or Hell on the wall. There's no need, as we can see from the Gabriel and Aziraphale scenes, to take the separate step of closing the elevator doors.

While Crowley could have magically closed the doors himself, he finds that he can't actually close the doors to Earth. He needs Muriel to do it for them. He's a bit afraid. He's leaving everything he cares about here on the other side of these doors. He doesn't actually want to go to Heaven. He's not sure if this is going to work and if he'll be coming back. He has Muriel shut the door because he can't be the one who does it himself. In this way, the scene is really not terribly dissimilar to what Aziraphale does in The Final 15, even if those circumstances were also a bit different.

Speaking of that scene...

The second that Aziraphale decides to go through into the elevator, Our Villain presses the button for Heaven. In doing so, the disembodied voice comes back and, as we said above, she tells us what's happening:

Doors closing. Going up.

These are the final lines of dialogue in S2 and almost the last spoken words entirely, not counting Tori Amos' "A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square." We know doors closing mean that Aziraphale is shutting the door on the past and moving into a new state of something here. A lot of the tension comes from the fact that the doors are closing for him on Earth, which is what makes us feel that this is all Very, Very Bad. As Gabriel and the whole rest of the damn show have proven lol, Earth is the way forward. You don't want to be on the other side of closed doors blocking you from Earth for any reason because then you're, well... pretty dead.

The key bit, though, is in what else is said-- the very last bit of dialogue in S2. This is the only time in the elevator scenes that we've heard the disembodied voice say the really, really bad thing that it would be good if we didn't hear ever, really...

Going up.

Idiomatically, going up is a phrase more commonly used to describe something that is on fire, which is a whole thing related to Hell. And what happens when things go up in flames? They transform and fall. Why are there so many fire extinguishers in the shop? asked Nina, late in S2. Because there was a fire there once, Aziraphale told her. "And books can go up like..." and when those books (symbolically, people) go up, they transform into ash and fall back down.

The very last words of the season tell us what's happening to Aziraphale: he's going up. He's not going to be staying in Heaven-- he's just stopping there because he's going up in flames and going to fall to Hell. You can't actually go down without first going up. You can't fall, if you're not first placed on high.

It's also worth noting that the background of Heaven's elevator button is white light-- like what you step into when you get into the elevator. White light is synonymous with death. Additionally, the capital letter H on the Heaven button is not actually Heavenly gold in color... it's a shade of orange, the cinematic color of death, stemming from a film that Good Omens loves to reference-- The Godfather. The whole gonna make him an offer he can't refuse film.

When you say it aloud, you can hear the plot in the idioms:

Aziraphale left Earth and stepped into the light so where is Aziraphale going? He's going to Heaven. Meaning: He's going to die. He's going to literal Heaven to die a form of death and, likely, to fall to Hell. Reiterating this is also Crowley and Aziraphale fading during the closing credits splitscreen and the other time we saw that being when this dude (who eventually came back to life) faded to the stars as he died in S1:

A funny thing about the letter H, too...

The letter H evolved from the Phoenician letter inspired by it, known as heth. The heth and the eventual letter H it evolved into were inspired by its ancestor, an ancient Egyptian hieroglyph that stood for a gate.

In the the opening titles of S2, The Dirty Donkey is shown with The Resurrectionist Pub's sign hanging over it, drawing a connection between the two-- death and resurrection. In the show, the address for The Resurrectionist Pub is shown on the record that Maggie gave Aziraphale. It is 66 Goat Gate.

Bildad to the demons/kids/all people-paralleling goats, in the opening of the episode entitled The Clue: "You should know why you're about to die. God has abandoned you."

Aziraphale's miracle inhibits Mrs. Sandwich during The Meeting Ball and makes it so that, in a sense, what she's saying reflects him, too. "I'm a godforsaken seamstress..."

Who is said to have been given the keys to the gates of Heaven in the Bible lore being satirized in the story? St. Peter, right? Peter comes from petros, meaning stones or rocks, all of which are all over the goat-themed beginning of the Job minisode, as seen again below, and, way more importantly?

To peter/peter out is to be slowly exhausted. It's to diminish gradually and then cease to exist. It's to saunter vaguely downwards. It's a slow, ongoing falling that leads to a crash, which is what Good Omens really is showing us. The whole thing is Aziraphale's fall. It's about how we're all metaphorically Peter in turn-- we all fall. We're all angels and demons and very, very human.

St. Peter was a name given to his apostle by Jesus so, also relevant to this etymology-happy story is then St. Peter's real name, yes? And what was that? Simon bar Jonah.

Simon means hearing. bar is a pub-- like where the elevator is-- and also to stop something. Jonah means a dove, a pigeon, a bird.

Simon bar Jonah = can't hear no damn birds. Or: no nightingales...

We're all St. Peter/Simon bar Jonah at times. We all fall. We've all got the keys to the gates but we're human and we get tired and worn out and, when we're petering out, it impacts our ability to understand what's going on around us. We have trouble getting beyond ourselves to really hear what others are saying. As we saw, that was true of both Crowley and Aziraphale in The Final 15.

As a result, they're going up.

After all, Muriel opened the door to the elevator to Heaven for Crowley with a rather interesting hand gesture-- lifting their hand up... and then slamming it straight down again.

It actually looks like they are pulling a rope cord on an old-fashioned lamp-- a gesture that could both turn a lamp on or off, depending on what its status was when the cord was pulled. Same gesture, same elevator, same system. Angel, demon, human-- all just people. Light goes on, light goes off... light can be turned back on again.