#we're on our side | crowley interactions

[paperclipninja]

Middle of the night GO thoughts after reflecting on a couple of comments that the 'you're being silly' scene is actually not just the adorable soft exchange I have been caught up in. I mean it is, but it also isn't.

And it got me thinking that the whole of season 2 is like this, almost the entire time we have two truths in play. The whole season is one of duality.

A few examples (there are many more woven throughout but just to illustrate the point):

Right off the bat, the opening scene, it's both ominous and hopeful. Aziraphale is restrained while angel Crowley full of abandon; one angel is aware of the danger of questioning, the other is naïve. Both are experiencing the same moment in rather different ways. It sets the tone of the season immediately and puts in motion this layered truth within the story.

The minisode with wee Morag and Elspeth, the entire graverobbing premise presents us with the dual truth that digging up the dead is bad but the selling of the bodies to the surgeon, thus contributing to saving lives, is good.

Aziraphale grapples with the duality here, justifying the actions of Elspeth by convincing himself that one truth is greater than the other. We also see that Crowley is far more able to recognise the complexity of multiple truths being valid depending on circumstance. This whole minisode feels like Neil showing his hand a little bit, the duality is so explicitly addressed, meanwhile we, the audience, are engaged in a larger unfolding story in which we are observing similar layered truths playing out in different ways.

Now the scene that made this whole thought process unravel, still one of my favourite scenes and will remain so, is the "smitten, I believe...you're being silly" exchange. It is both tender and awful.

Here we have Crowley, expressing his very real fear of JimGabriel, opening up to Aziraphale that he doesn't feel safe in the bookshop because of the constant fear he will wake up, and Aziraphale just looks at him with heart eyes and tells him he's being silly. This flags so loudly that we're watching two characters who are experiencing very different versions of their current reality, due to past experience, yes, but also, Aziraphale and Crowley each have their own idea about the right way to react to the current situation.

It's been pointed out by many before me, but the ball is another example of incredible juxtaposition and an extraordinary display of two truths existing at once. It is both incredibly romantic and an actual nightmare.

It is reflected, once again, in the way Aziraphale and Crowley are experiencing it, we know one character is caught up in the romance, the other in the horror show, but as a viewer, we are being tasked with holding both truths in our mind simultaneously. And both are true.

Aziraphale the entire season is both giddy in love and completely dismissive of Crowley. It is adorable and infuriating at the same time.

And yes, it is a reflection of the very duality the entire premise of Good Omens presents us with - that something can be good and bad at the same time, pure and corrupt, that the entire binary of Heaven and Hell/good and evil is flawed because those concepts can and do co-exist.

But the way it is seen in the interactions on a personal level this season is what has leapt out at me. It's why I think we see people falling into different interpretations of a lot of the scenes and moments, because they are more than that, they are observations. We are often observing two sides of the same coin, and both are true. The sheer genius of it and the way it is a mirror to the characters and the entire concept of the show we are observing is, quite frankly, mind boggling.

And it all comes to a head in the final fifteen™. There is so much duality in play here that it is no wonder there are hundreds of posts untangling bits of it and trying to extract the meaning from within the many layers. It's because we are given two truths in this final scene that are both heartbreaking.

Crowley loves Aziraphale and wants them to be together, free at last. Aziraphale loves Crowley and wants them to be together, free at last.

BUT

Aziraphale wants to use the system to keep them both safe. Crowley wants to escape the system to keep them both safe.

And then all the moments of duality between them throughout the season reach a critical juncture: Aziraphale in love but dismissive, Crowley understanding that Heaven = good is too simplistic and trying to compel Aziraphale to remember the lesson from Edinburgh ("when Heaven ends life here on Earth, it'll be just as dead as if Hell ended it"), Crowley trying to use the notion of romance to counter the nightmare with a desperate kiss.

It's a complete inversion of those two truths in the opening scene of the season, the entire scene is at the same time ominous and hopeful, but it is Aziraphale who largely being naïve and Crowley who is aware of the danger.

I mean, it was all spelled out for us really, this duality and the fact that those multiple truths in play were always going to come to a head. It was all there, wrapped up in this quote:

"What does your exactly mean, exactly? I feel like your exactly and my exactly are different exactlies".

[mimisempai]

My gain

Summary

A nightmare causes Aziraphale to relive a painful scene from his past. But the awakened demon will do anything to comfort his troubled angel.

Notes

Prompt : "I've got you"

On Ao3

Rating G -  1113 words

The three angels looked at him coldly, no expression on their faces as he tried to explain his point of view.

“The, erm, the whole choosing sides thing.”

He stammered, as he always did, for he knew that no matter what he said, they had no respect for him since the beginning of time. But he went on, for he couldn't let them have their way. Not this time.

"Erm, what I think is that there obviously has to be two sides. That's the whole point. So people can make choices. That's-- that's what being human means."

Who could understand it better than him.

"Choices. Our job as-as angels should be to keep all this working so they can make choices."

Not surprisingly, Uriel looked him in the eye and replied flatly, almost robotically, "You think too much."

But what he hadn't expected was the violent blow Sandalphon delivered to his stomach.

Gasping for breath, he bent double before Uriel pulled him to his feet, grabbed him by the collar and slammed him against the wall.

Shocked and panting, Aziraphale tried to speak.

"You...you mustn't. Why would you do this?"

He looked at the three angels in turn and continued, “We're the good guys. I have to warn you that-- that I'm going to take this entire interaction up with... up with... a higher authority."

Uriel brought their face close to his and replied sarcastically, almost whistling, “You really think upstairs will take your call? You're ridiculous."

"No, you can't. You're angels. You're supposed to do good! No..."

Aziraphale jerked awake, the last words on his lips before he realized he'd just had a nightmare.

All around him was silence, and the only sound that seemed deafening was the beating of his heart as he relived this terrible memory in his dream.

He couldn't help but run his hand over his stomach where Sandalphon had hit him. 

It had been a long time since he'd been so convinced that his side was the good side, the side that had to win. But to have received proof of it in such a physical way had shocked him so much at that moment. 

"Angel?"

Crowley stretched, then straightened before sitting down next to Aziraphale against the headboard.

"Angel? Are you all right?"

Aziraphale hadn't realized he was still rubbing his stomach and froze when he saw the demon's confused expression.

He shook his head and replied in a voice hoarse with the raw emotion he felt after his nightmare.

"I'm fine."

But Crowley wasn't fooled. He cupped the angel's chin between his fingers and, lifting it toward him, said softly, "And this is what it means to be fine?"

His thumb wiped away a tear that had rolled down the angel's cheek.

Aziraphale, embarrassed that he hadn't even noticed he was crying, tried to wriggle out of the demon's grip, but the demon would have none of it and wouldn't let him turn away.

He asked softly, "Was it a nightmare?"

Aziraphale nodded.

"Something like that."

Crowley released the angel's chin and wrapped his arms around him, pulling him to his chest and saying in a soothing voice, "Come here, Angel. I've got you."

Aziraphale lifted his head, opened his mouth several times to try to explain, but Crowley held him close and, after kissing his hair, whispered softly against the angel's head, "You don't have to tell me anything. "

Aziraphale surrendered, letting Crowley hold him for a few moments as the demon whispered words of comfort while gently stroking the angel's back.

Suddenly, Aziraphale murmured against his chest, "I'm sorry, Crowley. I'm so sorry. I was so wrong. I'm sorry..."

Crowley, once again confused, pulled the angel away a bit to get a better look at his face and asked, "What are you sorry for, Angel?"

Aziraphale replied in a hesitant voice, "I am sorry for all the times I reminded you that you were a demon, that it was in your nature to do evil. I made so many mistakes and probably hurt you a lot. Especially when the worst was on my side. That day..."

In a low voice, broken by gasps, he recounted what had happened, the memory that had triggered this nightmare.

When he finished, Crowley hissed through his teeth, "I should have blown the flames harder that day. Pray to God Sandalphon never faces me again, Angel, for I will not hold back."

This had the merit of bringing a slight smile to the Angel's lips, but the fleeting smile vanished as quickly as it had come as Aziraphale muttered, "I'm still sorry."

Crowley shook his head, then placed his hand on the angel's cheek and said in a soft tone, "Don't be Angel. For all the times you've insisted on my demon nature, you've told me just as many times that I'm nice and kind. You're nothing like your... ex-colleagues. I saw with my own eyes how they treated you, even if I didn't realize the extent of it. But that's over now. You don't owe them anything anymore. You don't have to try to live up to their expectations. They never realized what a treasure they had in their camp, and now it's their loss and my gain."

Crowley pushed Aziraphale back slightly and, leaning forward, gently lifted the top of the angel's pajamas before planting a tender kiss on the angel's stomach, where Sandalphon had punched him.

He murmured again, "So much my gain."

He pressed another kiss to the same spot and continued, "My very own angel, neither good nor bad, just the right amount of both and perfect for me."

As he pressed another kiss to Aziraphale's stomach, the angel leaned forward and tangled his fingers in the demon's hair, pressing a lingering kiss to it.

Then he whispered, "You have no idea how much I love you right now."

Crowley pulled himself up until he was astride Aziraphale's legs, and after wrapping his arms around the angel's neck, he said softly, "I think I have a little idea. Probably as much as I love you."

He brought his mouth close to Aziraphale's ear and said softly, "My brave angel. My strong angel. My good angel. My beautiful angel. My clever angel."

Aziraphale, shivering at the feel of Crowley's breath on his skin and the sound of his words in his ear, cupped the demon's face between his hands and pressed his lips to his in a deep, long kiss that made him forget the last remnants of his nightmare.

As for the demon, he told himself that heaven had no idea what they had lost. 

But Crowley knew what he had gained.

_________

Still not beta'd

Still not my native language

Still hoping you'll enjoy this story  🥰

Still thanking you for bearing with me 😝

South Downs cottage series : here

Ineffable fan fictions Masterpost : here

[blazenfire223]

Good Omens Love Letter- by @/elnorawhittaker

Day 12. Favorite GO Quote

As always, I have a few:

S1:

• "Got any better ideas? Got One Single Better Idea?" SASSY AZIRAPHALE KILLS ME ALWAYS

• "For my money it was an ordinary cock-up" JUST CROWLEY SHUTTING DOWN AZI IT'S FUNNY

• "Funny if we both got it wrong, eh? If I did the good thing and you did the bad one?" Crowley looks adorable here and Aziraphale's little laugh before quickly saying "No! It wouldn't be funny at all!" Is very cute. The poor thing is so anxious

• The bits from "Didn't you have a flaming sword?" To "I gave it away!!" It's sooo good!

• Also, "Here you go, flaming sword, don't thank me." That line is so funny to me.

• "No dog." "No dog." "Wrong boy." "Wrong boy" Them being increasingly upset and disappointed is, once again, funny

• "Something's changed.." "It's a new cologne. My barber suggested..." "I know what you smell like!"

• "Thank you for my pornography!" Gabriel is such an idiot /pos

• "Crowley! You can't do 90 miles an hour in central London!" "Why not?" "You'll get us killed!! Well, inconveniently discorporated...What's a Velvet Underground?" "You wouldn't like it." "Oh. Be-bop" This entire interaction lives in my brain.

• "I would always know the stain was there..Underneath, I mean 🥺🥺🥺🥺" GOD HE IS SUCH A PRINCESS! HE GOT CROWLEY WRAPPED AROUND HIS FINGER I SWEAR

• "Oh Lord, heal this bike" "I got carried away."

• "What else am I gonna be? An Ardvark?"

• "Little demonic miracle of my own. Lift home?" 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

• "I'll give you a lift. Anywhere you want to go." "...You go too fast for me, Crowley" T^T

• "Most books on witchcraft will tell you witches work naked. That is because most books on witchcraft were written by men."

• "Oh...Fuck!"

• "Oodles of them. Pots of nipples! Nipples everywhere!"

• "You don't have a side. Neither of us do. We're on our own side now."

• "I think none of this would gave worked out if you weren't, at heart, just a little bit, of a good person." "Of if you weren't, deep down, just enough of a bastard to be worth knowing."

• "To the world."

S2:

• "She had balls!"

• "You told my only friend to shut his stupid mouth and die. And I Did Not Care For It." PROTECTIVE CROWLEYYYYYYY

• "I rather thought I might take the car....Our Car" HE IS SUCH A BASTARD!

• "Look at you, you're gorgeous!"

• "Vavoom!"

• "Perhaps you could tell me. While we dance." I SWEAR THIS WAS ALL AN EXCUSE FOR HIM TO DO ROMANTIC/FUN SHIT WITH CROWLEY

• "Well!" (Bildad scene) THE SMUGNESS IN AZI IS SO FUCKING STRONG HERE

• "You were right. You were right. I was wrong. You were right."

I KNOW I HAVE MORE BUT I CANT THINK OF THEM RN and I don't feel like rewatching S2 just so I can remember them. I know there is definitely a moment with Job's son that I love so much because he's such a Sassy fruity bastard!! Also some lines from Muriel but I can't think of them rn T^T

[avoicebehindthestars]

How much Aziracrow can we hope for? (I did the maths)

tl;dr It's 17 minutes.

I went over both seasons of Good Omens over the past few days and I wrote down how much screentime Aziraphale and Crowley have in them. Then I did some maths…

*Btw. I've rounded my equations for clarity because I reckon tiny fractions don't matter that greatly. I have a whole excel chart with the scenes length counted in seconds and meticulous calculations based on that if anyone wants to see.*

I'll start with season 2 because it has spoiled us rotten. The season (without the opening and ending credits - though I did include e6 credits up to the point where their faces blur out) lasts 259 minutes. The scenes with Aziraphale and Crowley take up 118 minutes of that. That's 45.5%. If you apply that number to the 90m, you get:

90*45.5% = 41

Forty one minutes of Aziraphale and Crowley's shared screentime. Depending on how you take it, it doesn't sound like much (in fact it's 21 minutes less than all their screentime in the minisodes), but it's like an entire season 2 episode made up entirely out of their screentime.

Except…

Over a half of their screentime (62 minutes to be exact) in s2 is in the minisodes. And, let's be real, we're not getting any of that with just 90 minutes to tell the story of another Armageddon't. So! Season 2 minus the minisodes is reportedly 142 minutes. 56 minutes of that are taken by Aziraphale and Crowley in scenes together, which gives us 39.5%

90*39.5% = 35.5

That's roughly 35 minutes 30 seconds. Still doing okay with that? You'd better, because we're about to leave our sweet delululand.

Season 3 was never supposed to be like season 2. That was our "gentle, quiet and romantic" intermission, a backdoors prologue to the final season. Season 3 was always supposed to be like season 1: another mad-paced stop-the-apocalypse narrative. Just like the majority of season 1 focused on Adam and a plethora of side characters that had a role to play in stopping the Armageddon, the 90m will have to tell the story of the Second Coming and show how those characters move across the board towards stopping it (let's remember that Shadwell is low-key confirmed to return, so yes, we are getting thost side characters and each of them will need screentime); as well as the child of god themself, of course.

So, let's look at the numbers for s1 instead. Season 1 lasts a little over 306 minutes (again, minus opening and ending credits). The scenes with Aziraphale and Crowley take up 73 minutes of that. That's 23.8%.

90*23.8% = 21.5

Twenty one minutes and thirty seconds. Ouch.

Unfortunately, we're not done yet. 30 minutes of Aziraphale and Crowley's shared screentime is in the first half of e3 (the much-loved through-the-ages sequence) and the second half of e6 (the body swap plotline) - both of which only found their way into Good Omens because there was time left. The scenes in total last 56 minutes (btw I decided to count in the whole epilogue, minus the Ritz, even though a lot of it shows the aftermath for other characters - if I'd counted that into the "main" season, seeing as a lot of it is in the novel, the numbers would look even worse), leaving 250 minutes of the actual season 1. The scenes with Aziraphale and Crowley now take up a bit under 48 minutes. That gives us 19%. So, ready for the final equation?

90*19% = 17

Seventeen minutes of Aziraphale and Crowley's shared screentime.

That's less than 2/3 of the through-the-ages sequence. It's roughly as much as there is of them in s1e1 (only the episode itself is 47 minutes long - it's the second most Aziracrow-heavy in all of s1).

And just so we're clear, when I jotted down the scenes to include, I took ALL scenes that have both Aziraphale and Crowley in them - not only those that are about them, when they are talking or otherwise interacting, focused on each other, but also e.g. when Crowley talks to Gabriel and Aziraphale stands in the background, or when they bring back Job's children. I did that because MS and DT are brilliant actors and I firmly believe they can saturate each such scene with love and longing so much that it'll leak off our screens. See? I can be quite the optimist.

So yeah, enjoy your New Year and the upcoming 6 weeks of filming, I guess.

[the-hovel-of-a-nerdy-rabbit]

A while back (before I was on Tumblr), there was a post about Aziraphale and Crowley watching musicals and it said that most of the shows they watched were Sondheim, but they enjoyed Hamilton. Instead of thinking "Aw that's cute that they watched Hamilton," my musical theatre brain tried to deduce which Sondheim musical would be THEIR musical.

My proposal is that the musical in question is Company (but secretly).

I know I could easily say the other big titles like Into the Woods or Sweeney Todd, but Company just makes too much sense to me.

For those who are not familiar with the musical, Company is a concept musical (A musical without a linear plot but has an overall theme) about a single man named Bobby who, on his 35th birthday, is essentially having a hard time understanding marriage and relationships. Throughout the show, he interacts with all of his married friends and past relationships to answer, "What's the point of being with someone when you could be alone?"

For Bobby, each couple acts as an aspect on marriage and relationships:

- Bad Habits and Activities you may or may not do together (Sarah and Harry)

- Divorce, but still love each other (Peter and Susan)

- Knowing you and your partner's limits (Jenny and David)

- Being scared about marrying and understanding why you would want to marry (Amy and Paul)

- Being contempt can be enough and the idea of caring for someone else (Joanne and Larry)

Aziraphale and Crowley can easily see their own characteristics in Bobby and his friends while watching it for the first time. Sarah is a foodie while Harry enjoys his liquor; Peter and Susan aren't together but they are; Jenny is willing to go out of her way for David and he will actively put her first; Paul drives Amy to the brink of insanity and Amy pushes his affection away, yet they love each other like crazy; and Joanne is jaded but Larry balances her out by being over caring.

The Ineffable Husbands get to question 'why' alongside Bobby and feel that same experience of thinking you understand but realizing you may have not been right. That there is more to understanding what a relationship is.

Even though the music is wonderful, two songs will resonate with them the most, 'Sorry-Grateful' and 'Being Alive'.

'Sorry-Grateful' brings out the contradictions a spouse may feel in a relationship. It's a response to one of Bobby's questions, "Are you ever sorry that you got married?" The idea that you are in a constant barrage of enjoying or regretting your relationship just melds with the angel and demon. We're enemies, we're friends, we're on opposite sides, we're on our side.

'Being Alive' is the conclusion of all that was learned from Bobby. The understanding of why some may marry or be in a relationship is cultivated in this one song. Each little supposed annoyance that is sung adds up into a consciousness of feeling like a real person, alive and happy. It's knowing someone is there for you and knowing you are there for them.

The way Aziraphale and Crowley are there for each other...well them pre-S2E6.

I will say, I don't think they openly admit that Company was their favorite. Aziraphale may say West Side Story since it's based on Romeo and Juliet, and Crowley may say A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum (long name I know) on the comedy alone. However, this musical would be the one they watch on multiple occasions together for reasons they don't want to say, and they don't need to.

TLDR; Company has to be Aziraphale and Crowley's Sondheim Musical. Someone please make an edit of them with Being Alive (Raúl Esparza version). I don't have the talent for that. PLEAAASE!

[madraleen]

Seraph of the End: Battle in Nagoya A Pleased Commentary (ft: an ode to Miyu Irino and Kensho Ono)

-the fact that yuu doesn't give a flying fuck that he was experimented on and that he lost control and turned into a monster is both preposterous and refreshing

-yeah, see, this is good, this is what i was griping about in s1- here mika has a concrete goal, to save yuu from humans and vampires. and guren's is "kill the nagoya vampires." it's better than "kill all the vampires."

-the action scenes are definitely better than s1 directing-wise (although the long conversations mid-battle still annoy me).

-i like mika. how he's playing for and against both sides, his composure and private suffering, how he didn't kill miss soldier when she asked him to, but mercy-killed her when it was clear the vampires would torture her. i like him.

-yuu's mika-senses are tingling. no, they're sweet, they're sweet in their dynamic. and shinya and guren, i like their dynamic too.

-i can't explain it very well, but i feel like miyu irino gives yuu an extra dimension. like, he makes him more tangible? he feels very complete, like he actually exists in three dimensions, like he has a life outside of what we see? idk, like he's a real boy.

-unfortunate for the team, crowley and his girls are too strong -.-

-the drama around guren while everyone tries to save him, good stuff

-oi, i'm tearing up at the young yuu nightmare flashback with guren

-YUU'S SMILE AND JOVIAL ATTITUDE WHEN HE SAYS HE ISN'T A TEAM PLAYER AFTER ALL AND GOES TO SAVE GUREN OH MY GOD *chef's kiss*

-maybe it's because irino-san is so good at the understated, more introverted moments. he plays them so subtly and smoothly, that when he goes "SHOUNEN PROTAG GO!" it feels like a multi-faceted person rather than your typical shounen protag.

-YUU HAS A HORN

-hell hath no fury like mika coming for yuu

-gee, the whole run of mika going through the soldiers to get to yuu is tense, GOOD STUFF GOOD STUFF

-"but if you're yuu's family, we're your family too, mika-kun" oh yoichi, oh my heart :')

-YES SHINOA, that's what i wanted from you, some mika support

-i'm gushing over the fact that shinoa et al TRUSTED MIKA ENOUGH TO LET HIM LEAVE WITH YUU, just because they trust each other's judgment, good stuff

-what did narumi ever do for his team to be used as cannon fodder WAH

-WAKE TF UP, YUU-CHAN! man, i really feel for mika

-THE BOYS ARE REUNITEDDDDD. they're sweet, they're so sweet with each other. and he's strong, dude, mika is so strong, mentally. yuu literally pulls him close and coaxes him to drink and he still refuses. yuu all but force-feeds him to keep him alive

-isn't mika a seraph of the end too though? wasn't he experimented on?

-"if it's hard, i'll find a way to turn you human again"- IF it's hard, if it's not or if mika wants to be a vampire, yuu is fine with him just being a vampire, THEY ARE SO SWEET I CANNOT

-KIMIZUKI'S SISTER?!?!?!?! WHAT?! OF ALL PEOPLE?!

-WHAT IS HAPPENING AT THAT AIRPORT, I HATE KURETA, WHAT IS HE DOING TO OUR OWN PEOPLE

-ummmmm... guren just stabbed kimizuki...

-oh he stabbed yuu too, this is going well.

-i don't know if it's because both kensho ono and miyu irino have this smoothly natural tone when they need to, but their interactions sound SO natural, like i can believe yuu and mika are two real people with a real relationship sitting and talking in a real room.

-yuu will need fifty shinoa hugs to regain his humanity after this

-BUT WHO IS THE FIRST TRUMPET

-yuu is the kind of force that it doesn't matter if you agree or disagree with him, you root for him anyway

-no no, kureto, we deal with yuu with hugs here, not fights

-so many factions! i kinda want to read the manga!

-FOUR MONTHS LATER! that's a lot of months later!

-mika and yuu have been living together? my heart. is yuu mika's only diet?

-heh, the specials are cute.

-but actually, i kinda... the manga...

[comicgeekery]

This would still be SO funny for season 3. Imagine, they have all this drama over saving the world again while also dealing with their complex feelings about the end of the last season. Every interaction so full of layers of emotion, but also there's just no time! They can't talk about big questions of love now! In a climactic moment where they need to work together, to trust each other, to save the day, they finally talk. Just a little. Just enough to say, "Of course we're still on Our Own Side." Big magic, the music swells, the elements of harmony unite in a massive kamehameha wave to blow up God or whatever. Then...Everyone just chills out or naps for a week. There's more to process, but they'll get to it. Crowley decides to make a London Drugs sign light up to say Do Drugs. He lets Aziraphale know he'll be out. Quick peck. Out on the road. And then ten consecutive hours of them both going out of their minds that that's apparently how they're getting their romance started. (Crowley buys three separate bouquets but keeps throwing them away. Aziraphale flails, puts on romantic music, turns it off, tries to write a poem, burns the evidence, and finally spends several hours trying to find a way to create an indoor rain cloud without it damaging any of his books.)

It’s bound to happen, and you know it.

[bluewhispersandabsinth]

still not a multi-fandom blog but I finished watching Good Omens 2 and I have thoughts and I want to ramble about them.

But since it's not the main theme of this blog, I don't plan to write GO fanfic again any time soon, and it's rambling about the ending, thus, spoilers, I put it under the cut.

I like that the ending of season 2 was in many ways an enhanced interaction of what happened in episode 3, season 1, including the "Come with me!" and "I forgive you." In a way, it was almost more dramatic given that Crowley didn't just want to go to one of their headquarters and stay involved with Earth and the humans together with his partner, but to elope to a different galaxy.

The speech wasn't that much different, just a bit more self-aware (important, sweet, but they still had similar conversations about "let's be on our side!" before many times, even in the BC times, and if compared, while a similar gist, it has slowly become more and more self-aware over time already, but never was full there before), it really just lacked the kiss and many of us suspected if it weren't for keeping the material a bit more mainstream appropriate when it was written, there would have been a kiss. I wonder actually if that's the reason why the scenes are so similar. To finally do what should have been done a long time before.

Anway, what I'm getting at -

"Let's do [radical thing] together!" - "No!" - "But...!" - "I forgive you." - One storms off (statistically, mostly Crowley) - one gets in trouble (statistically, mostly Aziraphale but then it's not gets but "gets") - dramatic reunion

seems to be a pattern throughout their friendship, including the emotional bond growing and escalating a bit further every time (yeah, it feels dramatic now, that we see it, but it's all happening and building up over 6000 years, sometimes with decades or centuries between "breakup" and reunion.)

I wonder if we'll get the full story of the 1793 prison scene. So far we've learned: Aziraphale knows that Crowely loves saving him and doesn't mind acting a little helpless/putting himself in danger and he did the "You're right, I am wrong dance" the same year. Combined with the smugness and "Oh, you!" from both sides, and Aziraphale's rather lame reasons why he ended up there and why he unfortunately, unfortunately can neither miracle nor charm himself out of jail? Yeah, that's a story that smells of a dramatic previous setup. Like a "breakup" over sides, for example.

I bet one wild fan theory that what looks extremely dramatic to us is the same song and dance they've been through countless times in 6k years and, if anyone remembers the manga and how it ended, we're steering toward a Ranma 1/2-esque resolution, maybe with more open and blunt handholding but all in all, nothing really changed aside from Crowley finally saying what Aziraphale already knew or at least expected (our angel guy doesn't seem very surprised by the confession and more pained by the timing and context than anything else).

All in all, ep6s2 feels more like the midpoint or late third of a whole season, especially if compared to the pacing and beats of the first season. And now, the second coming?

Sounds like the hint at a future conflict based on the same premise as the main arc of season 1, just from the other perspective (wouldn't be surprised if it included the concept of "The Rapture" in one form or the other, would be funny if Crowley turned out to be behind the belief in The Rapture but not to please Hell but to annoy Aziraphale with paperwork).

Anyway, it's good that things are how they're now. Aziraphale gets to step out of their routine and to experience one of his big "What ifs..." that he'd have wondered about until eternity if he hadn't been given the chance to be a proper angel in Heaven again.

And now, Crowley has to share Earth with Gabriel, Beelzebub, and Muriel, three immortal beings like him, with very different personalities from him and Aziraphale.

Choosing someone as your forever-person over others and lifechoices is only a true choice when you experience options.

If they end up together after another season and choose to stay together on Earth, independent from their backgrounds, it'll be because they truly choose to, and not brought together by proximity loneliness for being two of a kind.

I really hope that's an angle they'll go with in the future.

[voxcomentumultis]

“I licked it, so it’s mine.” He may or may not be talking about a certain angel.

[luxshine]

Random musings about Moon Knight 5

PLEASE do me a favor everyone and read the Lemire's run.

Like, seriously. This episode? PRETTY much Lemire's run with a twist and the man DESERVES the royalties that I am sure Disney is not paying him.

I loved Taweret. She is perfect, she is great, and I want her in the comics and as a plushie and as a funko and yes. I stan the goddess of the cue cards.

Also, someone give Oscar Isaac ALL the awards. This episode? PERFECTION. Chef Kiss. The interaction with himself? PEFECT. And that last two scenes? CRYING MY EYES OUT.

I was a BIT worried when I saw they gave Marc a younger brother, but then, I understand why his original reason for the did wouldn't quite fly for Disney +. YEs, the abusive mother was horrifying -in the comics, their mother is a lot nicer. It's their father, who happens to be a rabbi, the one who can't quite deal with the knowledge that now he has two sons in one body when Steven first appears. Then again, in the comics, when Steven first appears, he does so as Marc's Imaginary friend, and it's not until much later when they... uhmm.. merge/unmerge? This is complicated. - but it's a LOT better than "neighbor is a hidden nazi who abuses children and Marc's father knew so Marc created a friend to protect him from that knowledge after he was a victim of said abuse" for the platform in question.

Dr. Harrow was PERFECT. And I kind of like him being completely clueless, even if I know he's just a figment of Marc/Steven's imagination right now.

I missed Khonshu's voice! But yeah, Steven is right. Khonshu is a manipulative prick!

Last scenes had me crying. Especially as the roles changed and Steven became the protector -and, as he accepted he was the alter and not the original- sacrificed himself in a way to save Marc. Not that I think Marc will stand for it. I mean, it's Moon Knight, and Moon Knight is not Moon Knight without the three alters, current run of the comics AND lack of Jake in the TV series nonwithstanding.

Which is the ONLY thing I am really angry/worried about. We have ONE episode left (And Oh, they BETTER give us a second season. We all deserve more amazing Oscar Isaac in our screens), and we have YET to see Jake. I am FAR more worried about that than about Ammit because I KNOW Steven/Marc/Khonshu will defeat Ammit in time for Multiverse of Madness/Loki season 2, but if JAKE doesn't appear for episode 6 AND we don't get a season 2? then Jake doesn't officially exist in the MCU and I don't like that. Sure, I am loving how much we're getting of Steven/Marc and their dynamic... but Jake is also part of the Moon System and he shouldn't be left out.

Plus, they hinted at him WAY back in episode 2 and THIS would've been a perfect time to introduce him just showing a room with a memory neither Steven nor Marc recognized!

OTOH... well, yeah, I admit, this episode was REALLY heavy, and adding JAke to the mix would've made it either less impactful or more complicated and why the hell do we don't have 12 episodes instead of six?!

(Oh, also, WHERE the hell is Frenchie? The second unbalanced soul kinda sorta looked like him in the comics, but I doubt it was him. Marvel doesn't do Jimmy Olsen in Snydercut idiocy with well known side characters. I mean, we got CROWLEY as a character here!)

[vidavalor]

<<I would also not accept Crowley hate. I just never see it.>>

Same. Yeah, it doesn't exist. A lot of people's internalized issues at work, if you ask me, as to why there's only hate for Aziraphale when there shouldn't be hate for either of them.

<<I think for that to work, you have to take Crowley as the protagonist of the story and Aziraphale as an -- um, adjunct? romantic interest? Rather than seeing them as 2 equal players in the story.>>

If you want to get really technical about it? From a writing standpoint, Aziraphale is the main character because it's his story arc we're following the most throughout the story. He is the character who will under go the most change from chronological start-to-finish in the story. He and Crowley are two halves of a whole, though, so it's a little tricky and they're closer to being co-main-characters than you might get in other stories. Inside the story, though, the characters are definitely equal partners, and I agree that it's irritating to not always see that reflected in attitudes towards the characters.

The funny thing is, though, that people who think Crowley is the sole main character are showing that they don't really know what one is and are just focused on Crowley. For reasons. I wouldn't presume to know why, exactly, but I suspect that they are likely of 'want to fuck him even though he's fictional and subconsciously hate the main character who gets to' variety. Also shows how little they know the character as Crowley would not. care. for it. if he were to learn that they were disparaging his angel.

<<the Edinburgh minisode, that make it look like Aziraphale is still toeing the Heaven line and he is the only one who still (in 1827!) has learned nothing>>

Yeah, that attitude in people is showing that they're not really putting together the minisode, imho. Aziraphale struggling with conflicts of what he's supposed to be according to Heaven versus who he really is are not the same thing as Aziraphale being on the side of Heaven. He's never been on the side of Heaven. He gave away his sword in Eden. He lied and miracled to save Job's kids. He's been badass since the start.

I think it's also a feature of some people not seeing that Aziraphale is kind of dryly bitching about his job to Crowley in 1827 more than he is actually disagreeing with Crowley and Elspeth. He lives on Earth. He knows how lunacy Heaven's ideas about things are. He's complaining to Crowley about what he's up against and getting some reassurance in Crowley's wtf that's crazy! response that he's not alone in thinking so. The moment that he learns that Dalrymple isn't just a ghoul but someone who wants the bodies for greater good reasons, Aziraphale is happy to throw over whatever Heaven nonsense he's supposed to at least pretend to believe to help. He'll always do what he can to help. It's just all very tiresome that people think Crowley is perfect. He's not always right. There also isn't always a "right" at all.

<<such as the way the f15 was shown (many people do not sense any real threat from the Metatron, don't get the "able to see/hear what's happening in the shop", don't see anything weird about Crowley letting Aziraphale go off with the Metatron, etc.>>

Yeah, this... 😂 My favorite wtf interaction that I've had here on the Tumblr Dot Com is the person who told me that Aziraphale and Crowley weren't worried about being spied on in The Final 15 and when I pointed out things like... Aziraphale, looking out the window at Our Villain, doing the downward hands of "not right now" at Crowley, and trying to get him to stop talking? I was told-- kid you not-- that he just turned his head.

The closet is a theme of the season and there's an entire foreshadowing plot with the Nazi Zombie Flesheaters about Crowley and Aziraphale being spied on through the window and people who cannot make simple connections enough to understand what's happening, so... how's that for irony? There's a whole plot about people being unable to make connections... about which this person couldn't make a connection.

I agree to some extent that it's designed to appear a certain way, with particular emphasis on Crowley acting out of character, but it's not so cloak-and-dagger that we can't see that something is amiss. The number of people who don't seem to see Crowley as acting out of character by letting Aziraphale go alone with The Being Claiming To Be The Metatron amazes me. It should be the primary question to come out of that scene. This is what we were saying above, though-- they are too focused on precious demon got his feelings hurt to notice that there is something really, really wrong with precious demon. He just sat there and let Aziraphale go alone with someone who had tried to kill him and he'd never do that of his own free will and that's somehow not the biggest point of discussion?

But this is also the same problem as most people just believing without question that it's The Metatron at the door. Sure, it might be, but they definitely gave us a laundry list of clues that suggest we should at least be questioning it. Five angels cannot recognize him and he has to get a demon to identify him but that's not Satan? Really? After a whole season of "who are you" in every other scene? And all the minisodes being about Hell? Even if it's not, the point is that it's all very weird and many people are just taking what's happening as if nothing is weird, which I find to be... well, weird.

So many people think that The Metatron was legitimately offering Aziraphale a job and everything was on the up-and-up and... why would he ever do that? He'd never offer Crowley to be restored as an angel, either. That'd collapse Heaven and Hell in a day as every demon then would demand their own status as demons reviewed. They think this is The Metatron and they still believe him, even though he just tried to murder Gabriel? I was so surprised to see the number of people who don't think Aziraphale is in any danger here and think he just got promoted when the whole season seems like it's building towards something quite different but we'll see what happens in The Finale.

The gods of the Disc have never bothered much about judging the souls of the dead, and so people only go to hell if that's where they believe, in their deepest heart, that they deserve to go. Which they won't do if they don't know about it. This explains why it is so important to shoot missionaries on sight.

Eric, Terry Prachett

[magnetothemagnificent]

One of the best things about Good Omens is how human the characters are, even when they aren't technically human. That's one thing I love about the Old Testament, or Tanach. There are no Saints. Everyone has flaws, everyone is human. A perfect example is King David. So, naturally I wrote a fanfiction, because I can. Is it awkward writing about my technical great-great-great.... grandfather? Yes. Do I regret it? Not one bit. Enjoy.

Crowley glanced around at the lavish banquet. Shaul, the king, looked visibly uncomfortable. There were two men by the king's side, and they seemed fascinated with each other. One was Yonatan, the king's son, the crown prince. The other was David, the royal harpist. Crowley hated having to disrupt this harmony, but they didn't have much of a choice.

They blended in with the crowd, dark robes swishing at the ankles, jeweled adornments glittering in the Mediterranean sun.

Shaul beckoned for Crowley with a motion of his spindly finger.

"Yes, my Lord?" Crowley bowed.

Shaul leaned forward as if to divulge a secret.

"I know you're my advisor, but I want to give you a special task."

"Anything."

"I want to appoint you as my son's personal guard," Shaul commanded.

Well, if that's what it took to get close to him.

Crowley nodded.

"Of course, your majesty."

Being Yonatan's personal guard consisted mainly of following him around wherever he went. It wasn't a tedious job, but Yonatan seemed to despise them.

"You know, I don't need a guard," Yonatan insisted.

"I don't make the rules, your highness. Only following orders," Crowley shrugged.

They had become rather fond of Yonatan, despite Yonatan's apparent distain.

It was fascinating watching young love bloom. While most sons would hate to have their father go into a state of melancholy, Yonatan secretary relished it. Every time Shaul became melancholy, he would call for David, and Yonatan was infatuated with him.

Juggling babysitting Yonatan and completing their mission required a certain amount of skill. Crowley wasn't quite sure what their mission entailed. The Devil was in the details, but not so much this time.

"Feed his anger, his instability. Feed his fear. Bring down his legacy," they had been instructed.

Shaul was angry at a lot of things, and he feared a great deal. He was the first king of Israel, and he was always fearful of bring usurped. It is was imperative to him that he secure his legacy.

Yonatan had been married to a foreign princess. The night before the wedding, Yonatan confided in Crowley.

"I don't love her. I don't think I can. I can't ever be satisfied with her, with a woman," he revealed.

Crowley smirked. Big surprise there.

"The truth is," Yonatan continued, "I love David. But he's married to my sister, and our love can never be recognized."

Crowley sighed. Humans could be so emotional.

"I can see why you have a thing for that David. He certainly is a catch," they joked.

Yonatan blushed.

"You know, I don't really want to be king," he finally admitted.

Crowley's ears perked up. Interesting.

"My father is forcing his legacy on me, but I don't want to continue his legacy."

A single tear rolled down Yonatan's cheek.

"My prince, why are you telling me this?" Crowley asked.

"I don't know. I guess because it's your job to be there for me."

As the prince prepared for his wedding, a new idea was forming in Crowley's mind.

Maybe, they could topple Shaul's legacy by convincing Yonatan to abdicate, maybe even rebel. That was Shaul's greatest fear, was it not? And his own son, now that would be a blow to the chest. It was almost too good, no, terrible, to be true.

When Shaul attacked David in a fit of paranoia, Crowley and Yonatan had been first to arrive. Yonatan whisked David away to safety. It was becoming less and less safe for David, and Crowley sensed hatred in Shaul's heart.

One day, Yonatan took Crowley out to the field to do archery. Crowley was suspicious, but didn't show it.

"Have you ever tried archery?" Yonatan asked, readying his bow.

"Can't say I have. It's cowardly."

Yonatan scoffed and shot three arrows into a clearing.

"Go get the arrows," Yonatan commanded loudly.

Crowley looked around. Oh yes, he was planning something.

"As you wish," Crowley answered, and retrieved them.

From behind a tree Crowley saw a flash of red hair. They pretended not to notice.

David had started a rebellion, Crowley heard. Shaul was infuriated. Crowley was pleased. Shaul's downfall was impending.

Crowley was sleeping soundly when they were woken by Yonatan shaking them.

"Get up, we have to leave," Yonatan whispered.

"What?" Crowley asked groggily.

"We're going to Choresh. To David's encampment," he hastily explaining, tossing a heavy shield at Crowley's lap.

"What's this for?"

"Just in case."

When they arrived at the encampment, David was there to greet them, only he wasn't alone.

"Aziraphale?!"

"Crawly?!"

"What are you doing here?" They asked simultaneously.

David looked amused.

"You two know each other?" he asked.

Before they could answer, Aziraphale replied, "old associates."

Associates? We're associates.

David smiled as he watched the two interact. As a poet, he could see when two people shared a connection.

"What are you doing here?" Aziraphale repeated, once they were out of earshot.

"Stoking rebellion. You?"

"Protecting the annointed one." Aziraphale answered, amused.

"Well, what a coincidence that we share the same end goal," Crowley mused.

They weren't going to tell Aziraphale about their new name. Not yet.

That night, Aziraphale and Crowley stood guard outside of David's cave.

"Young love," Aziraphale murmured.

"Indeed," Crowley agreed.

In terms of war and politics, the rebellion was a success. David didn't even have to attack Shaul directly, as the Philistines did it for him. To David's despair, they had killed Yonatan. David had begged Yonatan to stay, but Yonatan refused, saying he had to stay as an inside man with Shaul.

"I love you, Yonatan, I can't bear to lose you," David plead.

"I love you too, David. Nothing will ever take that away. But as far as everyone must know, we are hereditary enemies," Yonatan said bitterly.

Now Yonatan was dead.

David cursed the Philistines, Shaul, and fate. Crowley and Aziraphale could do little except watch the king mourn.

David buried Yonatan, and sang a heart wrenching song in his memory. He cursed the Philistines, Shaul, and God.

After his coronation, David was left little room to lament.

"Is there anyone left of Yonatan's family?" he asked Aziraphale when they were alone.

"Only one. A cripple named Tziva."

David softened.

"Bring him to the palace. I will raise him as my own. It's the least I can do."

Crowley studied David's face. His youthful glow was gone. He looked older, quieter- broken.

"You knew Yonatan best," David said to Crowley.

"Can you tell me about him? I don't want to forget him," he entreated.

Crowley felt pity for the new king. He was heartbroken. The rest of his life would be spent trying to fill the void left by Yonatan's death.

"I'll tell you anything you want to hear," they promised.

David, the Almighty's beloved, the true king of Israel, looked at the Angel and Demon.

"I hope I don't fall," he confided in them.

[voxcomentumultis]

@sortoffriend liked for a Crowley starter

“Angel, you wear more white than a snowdrift. What is it with your lot and the proclivity towards all wearing the same color? You should have a little more variety. Spice things up a bit. Make it a little less obvious you’re from upstairs.” He of course, being hypocritical, was currently dressed in all black, but in his defense he’d seen a lot of humans nowadays that did that.

[voxcomentumultis]

@muddledmenagerie​ liked for a Crowley starter

“How do you accidentally adopt a child, angel? How?” Crowley took off his sunglasses and pinched the bridge of his nose. “This is the same kid I told you about three years ago, isn’t it? The illegal cambion?” Anything other than the antichrist was an abomination in the eyes of both sides. “Hell’s sake, you were supposed to destroy him or make sure he was never found, not adopt him.”

[enterideahere]

i felt the same way,

theres nothing wrong with a slower season actually i think we kind of needed it before whatever they have in store for us in season 3, but it all felt very one dimentional

the bones of the story are amazing, i get what they wanted to do i just think the tone, rythme and some of the acting direction was lackluster. it felt like a hollywood movie with a pretty one dimentional bad guy (shax) turned leather clad lady at the end when she could of kept up that vibe of strict office lady that is just a bit too efficient for the system shes in; evil doesnt announce itself with leather and meaness but it would be interesting and terrifying if it made itself know by the sharp tap tap of very pointy heels and an unstoppable efficiency

the beazelbub/gabriel romance is a perfect idea, just left field enough that it can catch us by surprise but they rushed the twist and kind of explained it with a few flashbacks of awkward interaction, which is honestly not very believable, aziraphael and crowley have been interacting for millenia, and thats the time it took for them to come to terms with sympathizing with the enemy, i dont see how it would be coherent that in 3-4 years and a few awkward dates gabriel would be willing to throw everything out just for bealzebub, i would see it as an interesting character developpement if his memory trick was more a ploy to save his ass and a desire to leave out of boredom for heaven than a sudden interest in just one demon he met a few times, i would see them pairing up out of common disinterest for their sides more than out of love for each other, and then let the love develop at a later date on screen or not (i would prefer not), teammates in escape of a toxic system more than a sudden change of heart for "love" (?) or a very hollywodian disney princess version of love at least

talking of love the nina/maggie plot felt pointless, not because they didnt get together, that was the best thing, but because it took too much time for what it was, they could of limited it to the jane austen ball episode instead of dragging it on through the series with ninas honestly uniteresting and flatly evil ex which we're absolutely not invested in, i would of done it that they came up with the excuse they used the miracle for love, planned th ball, got attacked, nina and maggie realise what they're doing and sit them down and have the much needed intervention about how Thats Not How People Work, made them realise they're shit at communication and basta it could of been done in two episodes instead of 6

another thing about that attack scene, shax and the annoying guy who organised the market association should of fallen in love on sight or at least shax should of been fascinated by him, hes such a specific brand of evil i would see their respective evils interacting in such a fun way, and it would have been more human.

my last and most important peeve is that this is a terry pratchett hommage, and it was not done as well as it should of been. It missed the perspective and slight unseriousness he had, his tone, his wit, his deep love of humanity and our funny little ways, thats been the deeper appeal to all of his work and its frustrating to see one dimentional bad guys in one of his co-stories. no one is truly evil, no one is truly good, the way they played shax went against that fundamental message of the story of good omens and thats just sad.

on the positive side tho i think aziraphaels arc was so fitting, he needs to deconstruct his love for heaven as a character and needs to grow, im looking forwards to what they'll do with that in season 3, im also looking forwards to him and crowley doing co-miracles, if the tiniest half miracle they can manage together is that powerful imagine what they can do when its full beans, and of course i would LOVE to see them learn to communicate

overall i'm dissapointed in the realisation of this season but incredibly happy at the content and the bones of the story, its fun to be invested enough to want to rewrite it and have opinions and discuss it, but in no case am i actually mad or genuinely upset, if anything im looking forwards to the amazing fanfics that are going to come out of this, our love for these characters and this story go beyond a bit of choppy editing and a few out of character moments, i think as time goes on and the dissapointement fades i will truly enjoy this season and its funny and sweet moments, and i cant wait to expand on the ideas they offered us

Good Omens 2 Criticism

Real talk: I’m glad this sequel exists, but let’s not pretend it’s as good as the first series/season.

Hoping to spark some critical discussion - opinions welcome!

The plot itself lacked momentum. Sometimes the Gabriel plot line, which ostensibly is the MAIN plot, felt like a distraction to the getting Nina/Maggie together plot, which really is a side quest.

The Nina and Maggie characters are shallow, and their whole thing was unconvincing. Before the first ep, there’s no evidence to suggest that the two had ever even talked! How in the world am I supposed to believe that within the course of days these two are supposed to wind up together?

Gabriel…. So the idea of an amnesiac Gabriel is intriguing, but the resolution felt rushed and out of left field. That Beelzebub and he are…. in love(??), after just a few one-on-one meetings, strains belief. I don’t see it. I’m not a shipper, I watched the first season and they barely interacted. So we need an infodump/retcon in order to make it even remotely plausible.

Overall the season felt smaller, the stakes were lower, the themes less grand and less cohesive. If the first season was about trusting humanity with their own future (BIG IDEA), season 2 is about… getting two randos to fall in love, which is supposed to show the power of love?? Ierno that’s kinda thin to me.

Aziraphale and Crowley. These are the two I’m actually invested in. I ship them, like everyone else. I am sad about the ending, like everyone else. And I do think the scenes between them (both in the minisodes in the past, and in the present day) are the best parts of the series.

But I don’t want to reduce their love affair to a soap opera. There are some big concepts in the original Good Omens. Stuff like free will vs design, good vs evil, whether good is possible no matter the circumstance, whether one can find/create meaning in a world without meaning.

I want to see those themes played out in Aziraphale and Crowley. I want those discussions about dolphins and eternity and God. The Job episode delivered some of that, and it’s my favorite because of it. But overall I don’t think this season cared too much about big ideas.

And that’s sad to me. That may be fanservice and enjoyable for what it is but it’s not good.

[voxcomentumultis]

@theresastargirl liked for a Crowley starter

“I don’t know who the hell you’re talking about. I’m not a doctor.” He honestly had no idea where she’d gotten that from. Did he give off the vibe that he helped people and saved lives? He sure hoped not.