fuck-good-omens

[fuck-good-omens]

Here’s a question— what exactly are all the other angels/demons doing while Aziraphale and Crowley are on Earth? I mean in the TV show they kind of address it, but to be quite honest I don’t really care about the TV show, so let’s focus on the book.

The most obvious answer I could think of is that everyone else is busy dealing with the souls in Heaven and Hell. There’s a lot of dead people, after all, and between looking after/torturing all those souls, jumping through the hoops of self-imposed bureaucracy, and pretending that they still know what God’s plan for the universe is, you could make a pretty solid argument that it makes sense for Heaven and Hell to only assign one angel and one demon to watch over humanity. But as per my previous post, I don’t think human souls in Good Omens actually go to Heaven/Hell (or at least I think the book is infinitely more compelling if they go Somewhere Else instead). Plus, there’s textual evidence for a different, and possibly more interesting answer.

At the very beginning of the book, Hastur demands that Crowley and Ligur recite the deeds of the day, and we learn that despite not actually spending that much time on Earth (the last time Ligur was there, cars had barely been invented), they still apparently spend most of their time tempting humans into sin.

This brings up an interesting concept. Crowley is known to be the Demon who Resides on Earth, but he is not the only demon in charge of corrupting humans. He also is explicitly stated to not have very much contact with his superiors in Hell.

We can assume that the same is true for Aziraphale, since angels and demons are from the same stock after all. In fact, the book goes to great lengths to assure us that not only are the two species just different sides of the same coin, Heaven and Hell are similarly identical underneath the surface.

The point is that if Hastur and Ligur are going around corrupting humans, and if other demons and angels are going around tempting and blessing unsuspecting humans respectively, then what Aziraphale and Crowley are doing isn’t all that different from the ordinary everyday work of just… being an angel. Or a demon, as the case may be.

Except they are different, not because of their jobs, but because of where they chose to live.

#I did not proofread this nor am I entirely sure where it's going #it is after 2am and my brain is no longer working #anyway #good omens #book omens #good omens meta #there are some things missing here #like how the Arrangement is possible when there's a bunch of other angels and demons running around messing with humans #but I will get to it in the morning when I'm less tired #aziraphale #crowley

[fuck-good-omens]

Sometimes, I like to imagine that after the Apocalypse is over, and the world is saved, and everything is back to normal, Adam visits Crowley and Aziraphale and asks them a question.

“What happens to humans after they die?”

And they pause, and they look at him, because the answer should be obvious, right? Because after they die, Humans go to Heaven or to Hell. Of course they do. What else is the system there for?

But when they say that to Adam, he explains that in the build-up to Armageddon, when he saw the universe in its entirety and became so saturated with power that he almost drowned in it and nearly lost himself and his humanity in the process, he saw Heaven. And he saw Hell. And while he saw Angels, and Demons, and maybe a few other kinds of sentient beings as well, there were no humans.

And both Crowley and Aziraphale are shocked at first, because what was the point of doing all those blessings and temptations and whatnot for all those years if humans were just going to disappear after their deaths. But then they think about how desperately Heaven and Hell held on to the idea of the Great Plan. They think about how it only took a few well-placed questions to make Beelzebub and the Metatron back down. They think about the how little control their superiors actually had, and how desperately they tried to maintain the illusion that they did. Upon consideration, it is entirely possible that human souls are not sent to Heaven or to Hell. And if that were the case, then certainly neither side would ever admit the truth, especially to their own soldiers.

So who knows what happens to humans after they die? Maybe they’re gone forever. Maybe they’re Somewhere Else. But they’re not in Heaven, and they’re not in Hell, and honestly? That’s probably a good thing.

#good omens #book omens #good omens meta #adam young #crowley #aziraphale

[fuck-good-omens]

One of my friends wrote a thing about book vs show Aziraphale and asked me to post it here. Please enjoy (or don’t).

Why I Hate TV Aziraphale

disclaimer: I am aware many people love and relate to him, this is just why I Personally fucking hate his guts. 

I like book Aziraphale. The whole point of book Aziraphale is that he and Crowley are just two people doing their jobs even though there is essentially no difference between their two jobs. Lampshaded their New Years resolutions being the same outcome with different reasons. Like the themes throughout the whole book. Book Aziraphale is a great example of nice is not kind is not good. Book Aziraphale is actually kind of a dick "just enough of a bastard to be worth knowing" but he's still Good. He still wants to help people. Just like Crowley.

I think book Aziraphale could eat tv Aziraphale for breakfast. book Aziraphale is a bitchy murderer who likes fancy things and dicking around with Crowley. Book Aziraphale is an Angel in the sense that he Is inhuman in viewpoint and behavior. TV Aziraphale is so so scared of not abiding the will of heaven. He's so unwilling to take risks or be his own person. despite being The Guardian of the Eastern Gate. I will also complain about how heaven and god are represented in the show. (I know he has a different arc in the show. I'm just saying I hate his show arc.)

I like Crowley. I actually sort of like TV Crowley as well. I think he's one of the more likable parts of the show. However. I Hate his relationship with Aziraphale in the show. They are supposed to have been friends for 6,000 years. not. Aziraphale constantly using him as an excuse and being awful to him because he's a demon. oh I know TV Aziraphale cares about him. but caring does not stop him from being awful. God. the way that Aziraphale's relationships to both god and heaven were altered for the show   is the main factor that makes me hate him. Mr. Gaiman. why did you decide to not only make god definitely a real person but also the narrator. it completely undermined the original books message about fate and free will.

Also. making Aziraphale legitimately believe in heavens propaganda ruined his character. the Point is that at the end of it all he and Crowley are just people. who are more alike than different. and that maybe we make our own fates. or maybe not but all that matters is the world and the people around us. but no. instead u decided to make a story where it's ok to be different Because God Said So.

God Again. listen i just. because god narrates it implies that she Is in fact "playing a game" with the characters and that everything that happens Is from Her Plan. Which means that not only is free will not even real but Also that she Purposefully decided that Crowley HAD to fall and suffer and be cast out. And for what??? to prove that heaven and hell are both evil? to make Aziraphale a better person? Just because she wanted to?? I know this point wasn't really about Aziraphale but She does heavily impact his character arc.

He does not feel like an angel. Book Aziraphale was much more of a timeless being, show Aziraphale is almost just a super-powered human. Again TV Crowley fares better with this partially because of his "snake characteristics" and in the way they represent his "gender" tho that is also #Problematic in a number of ways.

People keep comparing him to/ claiming he's better than Castiel from spn. and uh. angels can be different. just because they are both bitchy and gay does not make them the similar or replacements for each other. and  Castiel could crush TV Aziraphale like a bug. Also. Aziraphale is not "better rep" than Castiel. they are both questionable rep at best, and Castiel at least actually confessed to being in gay love onscreen. and it doesn't matter. (yes i am a spn fan)

This post was not written by the owner of this blog, I'm just a bitter angry book fan. -J

#good omens #book omens #good omens meta

[fuck-good-omens]

Okay so here’s the thing. I might expand on this later I might not but one of the things I love about Good Omens is that humanity is more powerful than God.

Like I can’t really put into words how much it means to me that in a universe where God and Heaven and Hell are real and predicting the future is possible and all of that, it’s explicitly stated that it doesn’t matter what’s written. Not when it’s about people. It can always be crossed out.

Free will is a real thing that exists but it exists because the characters create it for themselves.

Humanity rebels against God, and they win.

#good omens #book omens #good omens meta

[fuck-good-omens]

Let Warlock be blond you COWARDS

I was going to put this in the tags but I changed my mind because this is important. Does it, in the grand scheme of things, actually matter what color Warlock’s hair is? No, not really. Sure, the three kids are identical at birth, but a lot of babies are born with light hair that gets darker as they grow up. Plus Warlock’s very emo so maybe he dyed it. But this isn’t actually about him. This is about how we need more representation of emo kids who don’t have pale skin/dark hair. This has been a PSA.

#good omens #book omens #good omens meta #warlock dowling

[fuck-good-omens]

So here’s the thing about Good Omens. It’s a story about a plan. The Great Plan, actually. The plan that Heaven and Hell have been following all this time, The Way That Things Should Be, As They Have Been Written. And throughout the book, The Great Plan is presented as being infallible. Inevitable. Ineffable, if you will. Aziraphale and Crowley certainly believe that it is, which is why despite trying to delay, circumvent, and generally fuck it up, they both accept that Armageddon is inevitable and will have to happen eventually. After all, if it is God’s Plan, how can one hope to avoid it?

But at the climax of the book, when all their efforts have been for nothing and Armageddon is definitely going to happen and things seem hopeless, they realize something. The Great Plan isn’t actually God’s plan at all, and no one knows what God’s real plan actually is because God isn’t there.

Maybe God’s plan was for Aziraphale and Crowley to thwart the Apocalypse. Maybe there’s a different, larger plan that’s still being played out. But maybe God isn’t as powerful as we thought, and God’s plans don’t actually matter. Or maybe God just created the Universe and then fucked off to do something else.

The point is that no one actually knows who God is or what God wants, and the people who say they do (even if those people are the direct representatives of Heaven and Hell), don’t know any better than the rest of us.

And that’s a beautiful message.

But the TV show is narrated by God. And so the entire narrative, including Aziraphale and Crowley stopping the Apocalypse, is presented as being all part of God’s real, actual plan, a plan that Heaven and Hell just weren’t privy to.

And that ruins the message, because the entire point is that no one knows.

The fact that the Good Omens TV show is narrated by God is not only contradictory to the core message of the book, but it actively ruins it and in this essay I will

#up next #how the whole god narration thing actually implies that free will is false #look i have a lot of thoughts on this #and on the nature of god and free will and ineffable/divine plans in general #anyway #good omens #book omens #aziraphale #crowley #book aziraphale #book crowley #good omens meta

[fuck-good-omens]

The fact that the Good Omens TV show is narrated by God is not only contradictory to the core message of the book, but it actively ruins it and in this essay I will

#the entire essay will be made available as soon as i have the energy to type it up #rest assured it has been percolating in my brain for the past 2-3 years #good omens #book omens

[fuck-good-omens]

Once Upon A Time, I Read A Book

Alternate Title: The Monkey’s Paw Curls Ever Inwards

Alternate Alternate Title: Why I Am Bitter

Not too many years ago, I read a book called Good Omens. It was about a demon, and an angel, and a witchfinder, and a witch, and another witchfinder, and a psychic, and a gang of violent children, and the world’s most chaotic biker gang/trivia team. But more than that, it was about the nature of free will. It was about how nothing is set in stone, and even if it is, how important is that really? Because there could be another plan written somewhere else. In bigger letters. Underlined. It was about how maybe God isn’t watching over us and maybe that means that God isn’t controlling us either. It was about how in this grand and wonderful and chaotic and scary universe, we are alone, and maybe that’s a good thing.

I read this book, and I loved it, and I read it again, and then I wanted more, so of course I went in search of fanfiction. And while there was some really good stuff out there, there also just... wasn’t that much content. So I wished that there was more. And then the TV show came out, and the number of fics, tumblr posts, even the number of people talking about it in real life skyrocketed. Except the version of Good Omens that they had seen was wrong. In fact, the entire core of the story had been gutted, butchered, stuffed into a meat grinder, and sold as pastries. Am I being a tad overdramatic? Yes. But am I right? Absolutely. So yes, my wish for more Good Omens content came true. My wish came true a thousand times over. And oh, oh how I wish it hadn’t.

#good omens #book omens #good omens meta