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ineffablelunatics · 8 days

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The Ball

Pt. 1. Justine

This isn’t actually about the entirety of the Ball in GO2. It’s specially about the character, Justine. She is Maitre d' of the French Restaurant "Marguerite's" on Whickber Street(from the Wiki).

One thing that we know about the Ball is that Aziraphale is controlling people to some extent. They all start to talk like they are in a Jane Austen novel. Some of their clothes change. The guests even dance a choreographed dance that they most likely do not know the movements to. This is all weird in and of itself. It needs a whole detailed post, but this one specifically is about Justine.

Before the Ball, Aziraphale goes to her restaurant to invite her to the “Street Trader’s Association Meeting.” During their conversation, Aziraphale speaks French and she answers in fluent English. I don’t know how bad or not great Azirapahle’s French is, but she does not react very well to it. She is very busy during this moment and translating broken French is hard at the best of times. Now, he continues to speak in French which annoys her which makes sense. She’s super busy, but also he speaks to her as if she can’t speak English. Justine specifically states that she is fluent in English and has lived there for 15 years(note that she says this as if she has told him this many times). He just ignores the comment and continues on. Another note about her speaking is that she does not have a really intense accent at all. From her perspective, this older gentleman who was never interested in the meetings is coming to bother her about coming to this meeting that she doesn’t really want to go because it makes her life harder because of the dinner rush and this is all happening during the lunch rush. All whilst have to translate his terrible French.

Now, let’s jump to the Ball. The next time that we see Justine is when Nina walks into the bookshop. Nina walks through the doors and it gets significantly darker outside with more fog. Her clothes change to be a little more “dressed up.” Everyone is talking differently than usual. Some people are speaking like they are being controlled more then others(for example the intensity of their Austen wording). Mutt and his fiancé are the first to speak. Both have an English accent. The next person to speak is Justine. This is where it actually gets weird because Justine(during the Ball) has a strong French accent. The first thing she says is, “Ah, bonsoir. It is, how do you say, a fine night for dancing, no?” Which confuses Nina enough that she asks Justine what’s going on. She gets answered by Mr. Brown.

So this was a very long winded post about Justine’s speaking during and before the Ball. Questions....Where did the intense French accent come in? Why does she have one during it, but not before? Is that something to do with Aziraphale? Also why does she speak like she believes that she doesn’t know English all of the sudden?(“how do you say?” she says fluently because she is in fact fluent...) There’s a deleted scene where she talks about have a peanut allergy during the Ball, and she speaks with an accent and still speaks like she doesn’t know she’s fluent.

My only real theory on the accent is that it has to do with the way that Aziraphale was controlling them. Maybe, he created characters for each of the people so that his ‘play’ would work out the way he wanted it to. For example, Mutt and his fiancé were the sweet couple who had polite conversations with everyone and asked questions. Justine’s character was almost similar in that way. She was polite. In theory, well-liked and known because of Marguerite’s. Also, she seems to be more intensely controlled than others, because she had said earlier that she would need to leave before 7. She doesn’t act like she needs to leave. She’s very calm. In comparison with Ms. Sandwich who does recognize that something is wrong, and becomes slightly stressed about it. Once she explains her job though, she calms a bit and with Jim, she seems even more “calm”.

Lastly, there’s a parallel between Aziraphale not listening to Justine say that she is fluent in English and ignoring whilst at Marguerite’s and the Metatron not listening to Aziraphale whilst also at the same restaurant...

#good omens #good omens 2 #crowley #aziraphale #ineffable husbands #good omens spoilers #go2 #good omens speculation #david tennant #michael sheen #justine good omens #good omens theories #good omens thoughts #this is just thoughts

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ghosty-schnibibit · 10 months

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alright, so, now that i am not an incandescent ball of fury:

i was extremely disappointed with go2 and downright angry about the way it concluded. i've already read some excellent posts by other lovely people that articulate some of my grievances really well (which sadly i can't link here or the site will eat this post entirely) but i want to add my own to the pile. if you enjoyed the season then more power to you, but i very much did not.

after this post i won't be complaining about s2 again or really posting anything about it at all, positive or negative, and will probably just block the tag entirely. like i said in my much shorter vent post last night, i just want to get all of my negativity out in one go and then pretend it doesn't exist. with that out of the way:

the pacing was terrible. the plot went in circles around itself and the mystery was handled so poorly that it somehow managed to be too convoluted and too simple at the same time. we spent five entire episodes wondering what was going on only to have it resolved by an exposition dump of about five minutes. the mini-sodes ground multiple episodes to a halt and squandered the majority of the season's runtime on pointless fanservice that cheapened some of the previous season's most emotional moments, runtime that could have been better spent setting up the gabriel mystery or developing literally any of the new characters introduced. speaking of which,

the new characters were pointless. nina and maggie were given no characterization beyond being pale expies of az and crowley, and the fact that a substantial part of the b-plot revolved around them makes this even more apparent. i do not remember the name of the angel pretending to be a constable and i don't care enough about them to look it up, they had literally no plot significance whatsoever. same goes for the processing demon from the third episode. the flip with jax from being a somewhat neutral character to a big bad in a party city wig felt like a failed attempt to recapture some of what made hastur and ligur work in the previous series.

gabriel and beelzabub. their relationship was unbelievable and clashed so heavily with their previous characterizations. i called it from the first episode and dreaded its conclusion right up to the finale. they feel like an ill-thought parody of ineffable husbands pulled out of an enemies-to-lovers crackfic. every romantic moment in the last episode was insipid and cloying, and them getting a consequence free happy ending retroactively cheapened the stakes of the previous season. it honestly felt like the writers just wanted to mash their dolls together.

aziraphale's character was assassinated and crowley was basically just there to play the hits. both of them were flanderized to the moon and back, but poor aziraphale got the worst of it. all of his character development from the previous season was thrown out the window in order to give us the big angsty conclusion set-up for a third season. they were both utterly flattened and i feel so bad for michael and david, they were clearly doing the best with what they were given but what they were given was just plain bad.

most of the humor and warmth from the book and the previous season were just… gone. no narrator, only one or two comedic asides from the title cards, a total of maybe three minutes of queen music across the whole thing (and most of that a piano cover), and a whole lot of little stylistic touches that went by the wayside and left the world feeling a bit hollow. also the comedy in this season was much more reliant on a "hey, aren't the characters acting so silly right now? aren't they failing at looking/acting normal? isn't that funny?" style of humor than on the wit and subtle satire of the first.

it was nothing but set up for a third season. learning this after finishing the season did not make me feel better about any of it, but it does explain a bit why it felt like all set up and no pay off. i have zero confidence about the ship being righted in a potential s3 that we likely will not see for many years (if at all, i'm already hearing murmurs about the show getting axed).

so that's basically it. i'll reiterate that if you enjoyed this season then i have no beef with you; your opinions are your own and, while i have no desire to have a dialogue about them, i respect them. but the original good omens book was very personally meaningful to me, as was its adaptation in s1, and this poorly thought out continuation has disappointed and saddened me to the point that i feel like i don't want to engage with the fandom in its wake.

#go2 spoilers #good omens 2 critical #good omens 2 negative #i know the ship dealio is where i disagree with people the most #bc i'm seeing a lot of people who have a lot of the same critiques of the pacing and tone but like beez and gabriel together #to which i will simply say i'm sorry your otp is my notp and move along my merry way like the fandom veteran i am #and with that i shall disappear into the void again

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edsearring · 10 months

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just finished rewatching go2, and while of course there is a lot to be said for heavenly brainwashing and a general lack of proper communication, and while that is of course a huge part of it, i've barely seen anyone talking about just how little aziraphale actually wanted to go to heaven. almost all the way through the whole last bit.

when aziraphale is first approached by the metatron, he says that he's made his position perfectly clear. he knows where he stands, and so does everyone else. he stands with crowley, they're on their own side. but he decides to hear the metatron out, because what could he possibly say that would change his mind?

(i also think it's worth mentioning that the metatron opened with coffee. i don't personally believe in the coffee theory, but he may have started with that to show aziraphale that he's on 'his side.' he's not like the other angels, he's consumed things. he's gone against what angels expect.)

and at first, when the metatron gives his offer, aziraphale turns it down completely. he said it clearly, he doesn't want to go back to heaven. even as the metatron continues to detail all of these reasons why aziraphale should lead, aziraphale still looks pretty uncomfortable.

but the metatron can clearly see this isn't working, so he uses what he knows will always get aziraphale. crowley. he offers to restore him.

so aziraphale starts thinking. what if he accepts the offer? as so many other people have pointed out, there is no way aziraphale could have even come close to completely breaking out of the way he'd been taught to think for millions of years. so he thinks, well, heaven are the good ones. it would certainly be better if they were on the right side of things, wouldn't it? and crowley is a good person, he's seen it.

not to mention that crowley seemed so much happier when he was an angel. and to aziraphale, of course, it's because heaven are the good ones. crowley was so angry because he got lumped in with the bad ones. he just doesn't understand that maybe crowley was so angry because of the whole idea of a 'great plan', of the 'good ones' and 'bad ones' in the first place.

and finally, his decision was about safety. of course aziraphale wants to be with crowley. but they've been hiding from heaven and hell this whole time. if the metatron was being completely honest (which he obviously wasn't, that was a suspicious offer, but in aziraphale's situation he couldn't tell), they wouldn't have to hide, they could be together.

and so of course he rushes home to tell crowley, and of course crowley refuses, and has his big confession.

which, to be perfectly honest, i don't think was a horrible coincidence, or incredibly tragic timing. setting aside the fact that it just happened after the whole 'gabriel and beelzebub' incident, the metatron planned that.

he knew that crowley would refuse, because he never would accept an offer like that. and maybe he gathered that crowley would confess from the gabriel/beelzebub scene, maybe he overheard nina and maggie talking, it could have been anything.

the point is, it was the metatron's plan all along to have crowley refuse, confess, and storm out, leaving aziraphale heartbroken. that way he could come into the bookshop, hear it from aziraphale that crowley left.

because when crowley confessed, he did something that neither of them were used to. he said (at least a lot of) what he was actually feeling. and aziraphale has had millions of years of practice of denying exactly that, the instinct kicks in. he says "i forgive you". they both leave, heartbroken.

and at this point, when crowley is gone, and the metatron comes back in, what else is aziraphale going to do? he denies it. he does the very thing he refused in the first place, he goes to heaven, leaving everything behind, without crowley.

and only a few seconds afterwards, we can see that aziraphale regrets it. he starts trying to come up with excuses. he can't leave the bookshop—no, don't worry, muriel has that taken care of. do you need to take anything with you?—there isn't anything he can think of to get him out of this. he's run out of excuses.

and so it's too late. aziraphale is about to get into the elevator to heaven. but before he does that, he asks what the great plan that he'll be helping with is.

and the metatron says the second coming.

aziraphale knows he's been tricked, after this. if the second coming truly is the great plan, straight from the metatron, he can't 'fix heaven.' he can't improve anything if god's will is the second coming.

but what can he do? he gets in the elevator.

through the credits, we can see his shock, anger, and heartbreak so incredibly clearly. of course, until the smirk at the end.

that was the very moment when aziraphale made a plan to tear it all apart.

#this is a complete mess of like five different theories mixed together #this post brought to you by my computer autocorrecting 'aziraphale' to 'paleographers'#good omens spoilers #good omens #good omens 2 #ineffable husbands #crowley #aziraphale #aziracrow #good omens analysis #good omens thoughts #good omens meta

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tio-trile · 10 months

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I noticed that you went to the GO2 early screening. As someone else who went to an early screening (the NYC one a week and a half earlier) and then later disliked GO2 when I watched the whole thing... did you have a positive or negative feeling about the new season after only seeing the first two episodes?

(Personally, I was cautious and a bit skeptical but pretty optimistic. In retrospect I genuinely think those two episodes were better than most of the rest of what we got, and watching further ended up really disappointing me.)

To be honest I actually immediately disliked the setting that Aziraphale and Crowley met and knew each other as angels, overthrowing the start of the book. I tried having a little hope that maybe they had different forms at the time and genuinely don't remember this interaction they had but no, immediately in episode 2 Aziraphale calls out that he remembers Crowley as an angel. Also, I got really worried at the fact that Heaven noticed that the miracle that Aziraphale and Crowley performed together was super strong -- I thought it would lead up to a reveal that Crowley is actually someone super important in heaven (not the Crowley is Raphael theory...) so I spent the first half of episode 2 worrying with a sinking feeling in my stomach. But I still thought I would give the rest of the season a chance and see if it's overall solid and I was worrying over nothing, and the small things I didn't like are small enough to be overlooked, just like I did with season 1. Oh well.

#ask #anonymous #good omens critical #Not me yelling to my friend 'If Neil Gaiman made Crowley Raphael I would punch him in the face' after the screening......#Little did I know #That that's not what I needed to worry about #←I'm JK in case people come @ me again. I do not wish to punch Neil Gaiman in the face he is an old man #good omens season 2 #gos2 spoilers

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thepringlesofblood · 10 months

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comfort-relistening to the stolen century for the 10000th time and realized that a significant portion of my favorite media includes two immortals from opposing backgrounds growing closer through conversations about the universe and their role in it, and often about the little joys of life and ups and downs of humanity.

merle and john in the adventure zone

aziraphale and crowley in good omens, which [GO2 SPOILERS] this season added another relationship that fits this definition (though i am not a fan of it), [END SPOILERS]

pearl and rose from steven universe, fuck's sake ALL of the crystal gems and rose

hob & morpheus(? dream? i read it a really long time ago and forgot which one he prefers. you ken well know what i mean)

i really don't want to think about what that means for my psyche

others that don't really count but kind of do have the same basic vibes of opposing/different backgrounds and immortality and what relationships look like over eternity.

wwdits

hadestown

cbs ghosts

look........i no longer enjoy supernatural but i did at one point and there's a bit of it there if you squint

bbc merlin (look they don't know they're immortal but the opposing sides/philosophy discussions bit holds up)

jed and octavius from night at the museum (shut up i'm right they're a little bit mortal sure but like not in the same way that humans are)

its about the conversations, whether its parlay w merle and john or getting drunk in the bookshop w a/c or the private moments when pearl and rose are alone or drinks every century w hob and morpheus, or nigel and isaac having a set date to "discuss property boundaries" or whatever tf they call it every year, and even kind of hades and persephone going away and coming back to each other, over and over again. it's about becoming fond of someone you were never supposed to be fond of but through just being around each other for so long and through so many ordinary conversations becoming close, in a way you never thought you could be close with someone.

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denaphoenix · 9 months

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GO2 closed caption hell

Welcome to the comprehensive compilation of my absolute favorite mistranscribed captions in Good Omens, season 2, ranging from slightly wrong to deeply troubling - documented for everyone to enjoy before maybe, hopefully, one day, they fix them.

Let us begin, because... while the subtitles really should have read civilian non-combatants, I do quite think that:

Sooo... Here's the structure: I will start with some simple, relatively harmless misheard captions, then we move to names, on to my gripe with non-captioning, before getting into those captions where someone seriously dropped the ball, changing some important meanings, and, because, really, we all need a laugh, all that will be intersected with my absolute favorite, genuinely funny bits. So stick with me, on this beautiful ride.

Starting out with...

Which, of course, I would assume should have been a stripper deliver-O-gram, like a kiss-o-gram, and not a shoutout to a well-known British food-delivery service. However, I definitely would consider ordering at Deliveroo, if my food came with a side of amnesiac John Ham, so I doubt they mind the accidental promotion too much.

Speaking of food. When Jim later DOES deliver food, what is clearly said as "they are little pieces changes to "good old"

And I'm also pretty certain that Shax's taunt a bit later was supposed to be sous-chef as well.

And there are not just misheard captions, but also outright typos, such as God only being interested in exactly one of blameless Job's blameless goats.

Maybe that one goat they mentioned in the contract is special? Maybe it's the loophole Crawley found in order to spare all the others? Maybe it's just an ordinary cock-up. I know what my money's on.

And speaking of Crawley... At the time of Job, the demon was still millennia out from changing the first vowel in his name, and Mr. Neil Gaiman has officially assured us that Aziraphale did remember not having heard of a name change yet, and got it correctly.

The captions however were ahead of their time.

And in that same episode, yet another person was mislabeled, if only in mentioning.

While it is anyone's guess who Lady Brackney is (I'm certain she's a perfectly respectable Lady), Crowley was indeed ordering for Lady Bracknell, the fictitious brainchild of Sir Oscar Wilde in the importance of being Earnest, who, according to Britannica.com "is the embodiment of conventional upper-class Victorian respectability" (the lady, not the sir).

Aziraphale himself, of course, was called Mr. Phale enough times I have given up on screenshotting them all.

And the misnaming doesn't stop there. Just an episode after the Lady Brackney incident, Let's see" suddenly transforms into Aziraphale giving Crowley's car a nickname...

and Shax's name becomes completely silent...

...meaning that our deaf friends can come to the faulty conclusion that Shax was rude enough to not introduce herself wanted to keep that upper hand Aziraphale had mentioned her having. (and don't think I don't appreciate the single dot that was put there in its stead. The dot made it exponentially more funny, really)

The whole scene is quite bad when it comes to subtitles (I swear, that whole episode must have been subtitled by a person with an auditory processing disorder), but the other ones, I'll get to later. There is a structure after all -

- and still one great misnaming to point out with the great Furfur becoming... Fofo.

But back to the bit about Shax's name not being captioned at all. We are quite lucky that that is the only time something is not captioned at all. However, there are other parts that skip heavy bits of dialogue, and while there is a reason for it, I do still have a gripe with it. I am, of course, talking about not captioning the foreign dialogue.

Because while even those who do not understand German, do hear that Fräulein Greta Kleinschmidt calls his colleague "Dummkopf", and those who are able to hear, AND speak German will know she called him a dunce, the non-hearing community only gets the information that the "female zombie" is:

In fact, non of the German dialogue is transcribed.

Neither is the French dialogue by the way. We only learn that Aziraphale is:

as he struggles his way through a full invitation for the "réunion de l'association de tous les commerçantes de la rue", and that, after her informing him that she speaks perfect English, he simply

But we never get a transcript for what he says.

(Until now, because I won't stand for it. The conversation is: Bonjour Justine! Pardonnez moi, mais, [...] Excellente! Well, uhm, viens, maintenant, j'ai un réunion de l'association de tous les commerçantes de la rue dans mon magasin de livres - des - des livres (sic). Je serais honoré si vous pouviaiez (sic) venir. Il y aura des vol-au-vents.")

Then he informs her of the time, and buggers off to tell Crowley, who points out that his french should be better, how he's looking for the (non-existent) feather of the (non-existent) gardener of his (non-existent) aunt: "Ou est la plume du jardinier de ma tante?" which Crowley then repeats by pointing out he's "spent the last 250 years wittering about...

And by the way, I have decided that that "taunt" instead of "tante" is not a mistake in my books, but a funny pun that you can rip out of my cold, dead hands (as well as definitely a mistake.)

But despite neither transcribing the French, nor the German, the Chinese already comes pre-translated - it's just a pity that that translation comes without any disclaimer that they're currently speaking Chinese.

But, admittedly, transcribing the dialogue in 汉字 or even in pinyin would have been less understandable.

All in all, I see no excuse for there not being at least transcriptions for the foreign languages. After all, a bilingual non-hearing person should be able to profit from their bilingualism just as much as a hearing one. While this still happens all to often, I think it is an accessibility issue that needs to be pointed out.

But moving on. Those of you still with me after my whole language rant might remember how I mentioned that I would postpone the rest of the problems in episode 4 for later, and later it is, so let's get into some transcriptions that are seriously baffling, and do change meanings significantly.

Shax's name not being transcribed might have been already bad, but the rest of her dialogue is just as bad. First the captions inform us that:

Even though I have the fleeting suspicion she wanted to seem "in distress" rather than what the captions suggest.

Then she completely messes with the timline,

And, yes, once again, Mr. Gaiman had to specifically inform people that it was indeed eighty, ninety years, which adds up with when the whole Blitz-thing happened. And the downright baffling errors don't stop there.

Greta's "Well, I suppose that's dinner" becomes

And the beautiful finish of the fart song becomes completely jumbled. Instead of legs being "far apart" they are "full apart", and the following lyric should have been "her bottom did sing".

And by the way, I am heartbroken that Crowley's "little demonic miracle of my own" became a

Because we have established that Crowley is a demon, not a man. But what can you expect from mere paltry humans.

Sorry, chicken it again, it seems to be poultry humans.

Aziraphale, later gets completely dehumanized, going from a book seller to "the book selling"

and Crowley grows some unprecedented self-esteem, deciding that instead of Aziraphale:

And, yes, he is, damn it, but that's not what he said, unfortunately.

But he still doesn't deserve to be...

And while smut is very funny, I still believe he said "smote".

Which reminds me...

The weirdest wrong sentence is one that would have later be repeated almost verbatim, which makes the error just seriously confusing.

It should of course be "it would make it seem", even though that one, at least isn't too bad.

The most grievous error, however, is reserved for the fact that people reliant on closed captions will never learn that Shax BROUGHT CROWLEY'S MAIL to their battle, changing that line into the non-descript "brought him out" instead of "brought your mail".

That line was crucial! Come on! And the next few sentences after it make pretty little sense without that information.

They also l miss out on her beautiful neologism "dangerosity", with it the -osity bit being transcribed as

Somebody, please, explain!

The point stands, and while I could go on for several more pictures, I think I've made it well already.

And to be honest, sometimes it is simply hard to tell if the captions are wrong. They are simply unreliable at this point in time. At other times of course, the damned humorously turn into

So this is just as much of an appreciation post for how ridiculously off the captions are at times, as it is trying to serve as a reminder that this is what you get when you don't pay your writers. It's their job to write the scripts, and it would have been Neil Gaiman's job to check for all those errors the fans now had to suffer through/laugh at, if he wasn't on strike. This is what happens if "just anyone" does it. So let this remind you that the people who do it WELL deserve the fair pay they are currently fighting for.

#good omens #go2 spoilers #caption hell #writer's strike #misspelling #ineffable #misheard lyrics #kinda #this took like 8 hours #why am i like this #can i get a wahoo

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variousqueerthings · 9 months

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@autistic-puffin i feel like i have nothing more to say about go2, like I excised my thoughts in one go 😭 especially considering it feels like so much meta/art has already been posted

(EDIT: AND THEN I WROTE THOUGHTS)

my main thoughts are also maybe a teensy bit hot take, because I'd assumed it was going to be a bit like certain narratives that are quite popular on here, but don't really do it so such for me, because they don't ground their queerness in anything substantial or they try to, but aren't informed enough to do it well (I admire the attempt and I have nothing against these pieces, I just don't personally enjoy them) and so it's more about the shipping or the memeable moments and that's not really what I get into things for

and it being disingenuous to fold it under narratives that are willing and fun enough, but ultimately made by people who haven't done toooo much work around queer themes before and fall (in my opinion) a bit for the simple narratives of "everything ultimately has to have stakes that aren't too high and play nice and don't distress their audience too much lest fragile LGBT+ people can't handle it" <- sweet narratives, easy to follow, a tad too candyfloss and ungrounded for my taste, often unbalanced in its comedy-to-drama scales and undermining sincerity by solving things too quickly and/or with too little delving into what these things mean

neil gaiman and john finnemore have been writing queer characters and themes for some time, and david tennant/michael sheen have played queer characters before (and heck, david tennant has at least one queer kid), it's not so surprising that this narrative actually isn't as mass-appeal as was assumed it was going to be before coming out (heh, coming out)

and by mass-appeal I don't mean that it doesn't have mainstream attention, but that there's seemingly confusion about what it's doing, when if you're into stories about non-conformity vs oppression (in this case mainly through a queer lens) it's pretty obvious, and I'm assuming very rewarding on subsequent watches

it's not fluff -- fluff works better for me in fanfiction than in original works, it's not aimless -- either in direction or in theme, it's not mainstream queerness -- although nina and maggie kind of have that "LGBT-unburdened-by-reality" kind of thing that I often don't vibe with, they're a part of three narratives about connection that ultimately ground queer non-conformity in action and feeling as explicitly dangerous to oppressive systems (in this case systems grounded in Christianity, which works very well)

there's a confusion in some reviews I've seen in the mainstream about why it matters that we follow these characters through thousands of years (well, millions technically, but the main thrust happens in the thousands), and coming to the conclusion that it's just because everyone's having a bit of fun, and then they're totally blindsided by the final 15mins and unable to place it in what they've watched previously

but it makes perfect narrative sense and I can pinpoint after one watch clues and foreshadowing leading to those final minutes, and why it matters that we follow the characters the way that we do, and (while I won't go too much into this because I think I'm late to the party and plenty of others have already spoken about it) threads that have been laid out that will clearly be picked up on in s3

I quite enjoy that this is a narrative about queerness that isn't so palatable to reviewers, and isn't for that matter so palatable to viewers who are used to measuring successful queer narrative via easy-to-follow tropes, I think that's one suggestion that it's done its job right in how it was constructed

I want especially straight mainstream reviewers to have to do the translation and if they can't, then it's not for them. that's a rarity in queer narrative that's released with so much attention and that also feels like part of the magic trick of the season -- am reminded of when black sails season 2 "revealed" that flint was queer and that this was a narrative centred around queer rage as an insight into other forms of oppression (which some things were done better than others of course, but that was the purpose, and madi really is that voice at the end!)

and how some straight dudebro fans felt cheated, while many queer viewers went... well yeah, obviously flint was queer, they signposted it (here I also note that some queer viewers didn't see it until that moment because we're also used to being signposted at and then not having follow-through because queercoding language is so ubiquitous to tv and film writing nowadays that many straight people don't know what it is or that they're doing it, or they went "hey we might do something queer winkwink" and then called fans disgusting for reading characters as queer ✌)

and that feeling is somewhat similar here in a way. "we thought we were in this for a bit of silly fluff, what's all this about themes? it's confusing, we don't like it, we're going to flatten it rather than acknowledge what is actually happening in the narrative, and then we're going to interact with that flattened version that we've created instead and call it self-indulgent and harmlessly silly."

so my hot take is that... it's not silly. well it is silly and fun and even at times indulgent, but it's also quite good at being a story that is Queer in ethos, and I prefer stories to be queer in ethos and not just have some ostensibly queer characters around saying the right words without knowing why or where those words originate

it's better than it's being given credit for, in ways it's not being given credit for, because it's not made palatable for a mainstream straight crowd or softened for fear of upsetting anyone

#good omens #good omens 2 #go2 #good omens season 2 #i also hesitate to post because then s3 comes out and it's really not that deep 😂#but s2 feels so deliberate -- but then you're used to seeing set-ups that don't pay off -- but then gaiman and finnemore are seasoned #so I think there's an instinct to keep something at arms length #or focus on the fluff and the shipping and not on the thematic depth #because what if actually all of that was done by accident and the writers/directors have no idea where to take it next #but this isn't aimless it's a set up to what comes next which has already been planned #and it plays really well with the first season which isn't quite as deep/could work as a fun standalone story #because it takes the deep questions of that season that weren't really delved into and takes the plunge #this is not to say i wouldnt critique things -- hell black sails is one of the best shows of all time and i have plenty to critique there #but i feel like the wrong things are being focused on

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invisibleicewands · 10 months

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Hello! You are so good at writing review, I really like it! What is your opinion about Good Omens S2? To be honest, I hadn't have any expectations, so I wasn't upset by the plot. But, to my mind, unfortunately, there was a lot of bad writing, unnecessary characters and primitive dialogues compare to the first season.

Hi, Anon!

Thank you for your trust, even if mine are more random thoughts. I have to tell you, I’m not a binge watcher (I prefer to taste the episodes one by one, slowly) but this time I chose to make an exception watching it all in three days, with the last ten final minutes seen immediatly the first day, just to avoid the spoilers online (like “away the tooth away the pain“). So, my view could be affected by this.

Over the last few months I've been making a certain idea about the 2nd series and now I can say it wasn’t completely wrong, even though the result is maybe a bit better than my first expectations.

I find GO2 being like a colorful circus, with a parade of artists doing their best numbers and where MS and DT were the best attraction, the trapeze artists.

The plot is a pretext, 100% fans service: to monetize again the success of the first season, following the dreams’ fans, using their fanfictions as inspiration for the script, then putting all together in a glossy package with a bow on top: some fireworks, a bit of special effects and the effort of two titans, MS and DT, who took the 80% of the weight of this mission on their shoulders.

As very 'serious' and professional actors, with a background of theatre, tv and cinema, they did a wonderful job, transforming with their talent every line in something precious, every scene unforgettable, with skilful expressions or little gestures, even during the boring moments. They put on the table all the tricks of their playbooks to play their characters. Sometimes I saw some of Bill Masters’ glances, sometimes there were Kenneth Williams or Aro or Castor’s vibes. And the episodes were rich of references to their previous works too (Bright Young Things, Dr.Who, etc.), like a showcase of their careers.

I particularly liked Crowley’s clever lines, his dry humour, his pragmatism, also his soft side. A bit less, I must say, Aziraphale character, who was sometimes too much unnecessarily stubborn or dull if compared with the first season, too much 'Wesley Snipes'. But the actors, as I said, were both excellent and a wonder for the eyes. A mention for Jon Hamm too: I thought the nice reviews for his performance were exaggerated, but his scenes were really funny (his hug to Aziraphale xD), maybe because of the contrast between the absurdity of the moments combined with his mono-expression-marble-face. Pity for his story, which had to be the core of the mistery but was revealed and explained in a superficial and hurried way just in the last few minutes.

And here we are, the story. I've found the first two episodes well written, with comic scenes and smart lines, good timing, but then something suddendly changed: the plot became plain, childish, predictable. IMHO a lot of time has been wasted to tell useless or not so interesting stories. The barely hinted relationship between Nina and Meggie, the mere rethoric of their speech to Crowley, all the chaos of the demons battle for nothing, the travel to the cemetary in Scotland and all the resurrectionist thing. Plus, a lot of stereotypical characters: the ridiculous zombies, the boring angels of the Paradise, all like clowns, dolls to fill the void. And Jane Austen. There was nothing really important about her, just her name to justify a ball in regency dresses. Not enough for me. Also, the la-la land love story between Gabriel and Beelzebub to give a meaning to the mistery (really?), was cold and too quick to be interesting.

The turning point at the end of the 6th episode and it was like suddendly watching Barbra Streisand and Robert Redford in The Way We Were. MS and DT were simply amazing in giving to that scene such a depth and drama (nervous breakdown Aziraphale?), but the effect I felt was a bit alienating compared to what I'd seen just before. Like a leap too big, like watching two completely different and separate shows.

The final. Moving, exciting, wonderfully acted but... of course was not a final (like MoS ending in season 3). They should have called this Good Omens vol.2, like Kill Bill, since it’s obvious that was not a real end. Everything has been written for a third part since the beginning and you can see it, even if they tried to hide it somehow. Honestly I don't know if I wish to see another chapter, 'cause I'm worried about Michael's hair at this point... (I'm evil, I know)

Jokes apart, I think it was surely an entertaining, light, funny, moving, show with some brilliant moments and others less, and two great actors who covered the flaws with their skills. But I struggle to see it like a masterpiece or something worthing of an award (the special effects and the make up too, were a bit cheap). It needed of something more in the writing, for example, to reach The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel league, just saying.

But for sure it was a gold mine for fans and gif makers. ;)

A music video, to heal the heart of a demon:

youtube

#Good Omens #Good Omens 2 #Michael Sheen #David Tennant #Aziraphale #Anonymous #Crowley #I hope it will help audience to discover all the other amazing Michael's works

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nyxlewotsit · 9 months

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I am so feral about From Eden by Hozier being the most Crowley song in existence that i analysed every single line and now i need people to share my pain:

GO2 SPOILERS !! >

Babe

There's something tragic about you (angel/ demon shenanigans / also cus crowley is feeling love like a human would and that's insane to him )

Something so magic about you (literally an angel)

Don't you agree? (you believe you are holier than thou dont deny it)

Babe

There's something lonesome about you (THAT FUCKING SCENE IN GO2 THE "sounds lonely?" WHERE AZIRAPHALE JUST NODS IN RESPONSE I-)

Something so wholesome about you (he is little ��🤭 angel)

Get closer to me (it doesn't matter if your own side is lonely because it can be our side)

No tired sigh, no rolling eyes, No irony (he's not a demon, if he were crowley would expect that, but he's not, he's sweet and kind and perfect)

No "Who cares?", no vacant stare (angel - same as above)

No time for me (basically the same but in the fact, he's not an angel, he can't fall for crowley (teehee "fall" 👀))

Honey, you're familiar, like my mirror years ago (not only have they know eachother for 6000 years on earth, i truely believe there is a little bit of crowley that remembers azi from before the fall, just like how gabriel remembered beelzebub)

Idealism sits in prison, chivalry fell on his sword (it's not a perfect silly little relationship and it never will nor can it be, not ideal, not chivalrous, i know you too well)

Innocence died screaming; honey, ask me, I should know (i fell because i asked questions, i was no less innocent than you, you are not holier than thou, my innocence is gone because of that, but yours isnt)

I slithered here from Eden just to sit outside your door (i mean he was a literal fucking snake now pining over his silly little angel do i really need to explain this line)

Babe

There's something wretched about this (i can't believe im letting myself feel this way about an angel but i am)

Something so precious about this (genuinely loves him)

Where to begin? (how do you express that you've loved someone for 6000 years who you fundamentally should not love)

Babe

There's something broken about this (they find it impossible to express their feelings to eachother, crowley keeps his feelings locked away so tightly cus he doesn't want to appear vulnerable, so their relationship is so broken)

But I might be hoping about this (he still loves azi and wants their relationship to be something, he wants to go off together, just them)

Oh, what a sin (literally)

To the strand, a picnic planned

For you and me (an alternative to the ritz, just being silly lil guys going out for lunch together yk)

A rope in hand for your other man

To hang from a tree (wants his love for heaven and being holy to die, can't deal with the thought that that is what he is competing against for aziraphale)

Honey, you're familiar, like my mirror years ago

Idealism sits in prison, chivalry fell on his sword

Innocence died screaming; honey, ask me, I should know

I slithered here from Eden just to sit outside your door

Honey, you're familiar, like my mirror years ago

Idealism sits in prison, chivalry fell on his sword

Innocence died screaming; honey, ask me, I should know

I slithered here from Eden just to hide outside your door (i will always be there but i will not always be present, i can't talk to you about my feelings because of this little ball in my chest that tells me you will never love me back, so I'll hide and avoid my feelings whilst doing everything i can for you and outwardly loving you)

i am sobbing /hj

#good omens #go2 #go2 spoilers #crowley #aziraphale #ineffable husbands #Spotify

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torturedpoetemotions · 10 months

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Hello! I've been following your blog ever since the finale of The Winchesters and really love all of the metas you've done, they're all very well made.

I have a question about your thoughts on The Leak. I saw that you had made 2 vague posts about it and how the SPN side of tumblr has been treating it, namely poorly (to speak in delicate terms). I'm currently writing a piece about why potentially this attitude is going on, and why it is so pervasive. I'm asking you since you have obviously been in this fandom far longer than I have, and would like to get a second opinion from someone who may potentially have a more comprehensive view on this issue.

However, I completely understand if you don't respond to this as this is an issue that deals heavily with spoilers. I just thought you're 2 posts about it were interesting and would've liked to hear more from you about it as someone who is a diehard heller yet doesn't agree with what's been going on.

Hi hello. I am finally answering this since Good Omens 2 is now out. I didn't want to draw yet more attention to the leak ahead of time, but the time is come so here I go.

There are a lot of overlapping things factoring into some Hellers' overall reaction to the Good Omens leak and Good Omens 2 in general, but I do not have the bandwidth nor the desire to give anyone a crash course in Heller History & Psychology. It mainly comes down to the fact that Hellers, especially those who've been with the show and ship for years, are wounded more than most of us would like to admit by years of queerbaiting, and a bit defensive as a result.

Many of us are in our late 20s, early 30s, or older and grew up without ANY positive representation at all. What little visibility queer people in media were allowed to have was steeped in themes of deviance and tragedy. And the few truly joyful depictions of us that did exist were not accessible to many of us in our communities, especially before the advent of widespread internet access. As a personal example, I only saw the film Big Eden (2000) in the last five years. I didn't know it existed before then!

Queer representation only became more normalized on television once I was well into my 20s. And even then, it was only normalized within very specific limitations. A character could be introduced as queer or have a Queer Life Script type of story. But the majority of these characters were still steeped in negative stereotypes, and it was basically unheard of for a show that didn't set out to be inclusive to suddenly make one of its main characters queer in canon.

(Tangent: I still remember the first time I saw an unexpected queerness reveal on television. Two men were staring intensely at each other in the midst of an argument and I jokingly said "now kiss" at my television screen. And then they did. And after about 5 seconds of wondering if I had magical powers, my entire brain was rewired forever (it was an episode of Cold Case).)

The point is, it was really easy for a long time for general audience members and fans who didn't like Destiel as a ship to tell us we were stupid and crazy for shipping it, because they had the entire history of film and television in North America backing them up. Not to mention the cherry-picked comments of certain actors over the years, and the behavior of moderators at conventions. And many anti-hellers took full advantage of all that, and still do, and don't acknowledge at all the role that real homophobia plays in supporting their stupid little one-sided ship wars.

All of this to say, Destiel fans have every reason to be defensive and prickly.

That being said, I think malicious spreading of the GO2 leak untagged and unwarned-for was extremely shitty. Ruining something important for someone else because we couldn't have the thing we wanted is childish and self-absorbed beyond belief. Shitting on actual, canonical queer representation because it isn't the ship and show you wanted it from is just shitty, full stop.

And for what? It's not like Warner Brothers is going to wake up one morning and say "wow those Hellers really shit on every other queer rep on offer, guess that means it would be lucrative and smart from a business standpoint to resurrect a cancelled show just to give them canon Destiel after all these years!" But then let's be honest, there's no logic behind this kind of behavior. It's just meanness, bitterness, and spite. And while I sympathize with the bitterness, the meanness and spite are inexcusable.

Finally, the veiled-to-explicit accusations that Good Omens was trying to somehow supplant or copy Destiel are unspeakably stupid.

For one thing, I can think of few things further from "trying to be like Destiel" than taking a queer interpretation of a work that was not really intended by its authors and running with it full speed ahead. Supernatural is an example of how homophobia makes a story worse by flattening its characters and wasting its potential. Good Omens the show is an example of how a willingness to embrace queer interpretations of a story can give it new life and dimension.

So if anything, that's an inversion of what happened with Destiel! Supernatural is a straight man's straightwashed fanfic of a censored version of a queer story. It was forced into the closet at every turn by a homophobic network despite the efforts of queer and queer-friendly writers to course-correct throughout its 15-year run. The sheer number of bisexuals SPN took inspiration from only to straight-wash and queerbait for as long as it did is almost as ridiculous as claiming that a show that did the opposite of that was trying to emulate it.

I also find it stupid because Good Omens the book was published fifteen years before the fifteen-year hate crime that is Supernatural ever aired a single episode. The elements of queerness that the show teased out and expanded upon existed back when Eric Kripke was still what I can only imagine was an insufferable teen proto-filmbro making some poor underpaid high school English professor take up drinking to cope with his hypermasc Americana edgelord bullshit in every essay.

Much like when SPN fans started yelling that Matt Ryan's Constantine was a ripoff of Supernatural and Castiel, this is just embarrassing. If anything, the inspiration for Destiel came from Good Omens, not the other way around.

As for any worries fans express (in their adamant denials) about the Ineffable Lovers "replacing" Destiel, I have to ask...for who? Pretty sure no diehard Heller is going to burn their Castiel handprint patch from Stands as a sacrifice to the gomens gods to prove their loyalty. And anyway, nothing is ever going to approach being the "new Destiel" without at least a dozen years of will-they/won't-they slow burn angst and enemies to allies to enemies to friends to coparents to lovers shenanigans. It's just implausible! We can't even get a show to have five whole seasons anymore nowadays.

I know Destiel is important to Hellers. I'm a Heller. It's important to ME. But we aren't doing ourselves or anyone else any favors by acting like every star-crossed queer love story that comes along is somehow copying or devaluing Destiel. That is just laughably untrue. The Ineffable Lovers will never be Destiel, sure. But who ever said they were trying to be? I thought the whole explicit canonicity bit made it pretty clear that wasn't the case.

TL;DR: Hellers including me all have terminal brainworms from being gaslit since we were impressionable teenagers by Eric Kripke and all his successors, but that's no excuse to intentionally spoil big moments or be shitty about other shows giving their audience canonical queer rep. From the bottom of my Heller heart, grow the fuck up besties.

#supernatural #good omens #ineffable lovers #destiel #ship nonsense #spn fandom #hellers #if you're a heller and didn't participate in this shit this obviously isn't about you #but truly some of us do need to open ass remove head about this beloveds #ask box #anomyous

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homeless-snail · 10 months

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GO2 SPOILERS AHEAD

So when Aziraphale and Crawley Crowley meet in Eden, do either of them recognize each other??Some of Crowley’s interactions with Gabriel seem to suggest similar experiences in terms of difficulty and pain when remembering. But Crowley can remember things like heavens passwords.

That first meeting at the beginning of Earth season 1 is a bit awkward. Aziraphale is visibly anxious, and sure he's just given away the sword, but is that all? After Crowley gives his name, Az does this little nervous laugh under his breath. What's so weird about learning a name huh? Could it be that's not the name you were expecting to hear?

And then there's "well you're a demon, its what you do.” where Az’s eyes flick up and down, and his voice gets more forceful, and he looks away deliberately. Almost like he's telling himself "this isn't the angel you knew.” and then Crowley starts questioning the plan, just like he did when he found out his beautiful new nebula was only going to be around for 6000 years, and Az glances back from the corner of his eye. And his next sentence is a very determined "best not to speculate." He knows exactly what happens to those who speculate, the evidence is standing next to him.

Crowley doesn't seem to recognize him here, at least not that I can tell. He's interested, curious. He gravitated towards Az. Similar to how in S2E6 when everyone meets up in the book shop, Gabriel moves easily and trustingly to Beelzebub when they start to call the fly.

When Gabriel comes to Earth, while his memory is gone, some things slip through. The song, the connection to another being.

When Crowley fell, I think most of his memory was missing. But some things slipped through. Alpha Centuri sticks with him, something about this far off place fascinates him. He's "always dreamed" of visiting. The place he and Aziraphale met and shared that special moment, so much so that it slips through the cracks of memory loss.

Alpha Centuri is their Everyday.

#look I only just came back to tumblr #but I have FEELINGS and no one to talk about this too #good omens #good omens season 2 #go2 spoilers #ineffable husbands #feel free to add on or disagree if this gives you Feelings too

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ingravinoveritas · 1 year

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Hiya, I hope you're doing great, I always love seeing everything you post and have to say. I just really needed someone else in the DT fandom to celebrate all the awesome David content lately. Georgia's last few Instagram posts make me especially happy because David seems so happy and healthy lately. He seems so much more energized and fuller faced and just like he's finally gotten time to relax, and celebrate birthday 2.0, and I'm so glad, because he just seems to work nonstop so often and for a while there, even David's limitless energy seemed a bit lower than usual. Though, that being said, I'm still very much looking forward to him and Michael soon promoting GO2!

(Putting these together, since they're all related to the fake birthday post from Georgia from last week.)

Anon #1: Aw, thank you so much! That is very sweet of you and I truly appreciate it. And I'm so glad you felt comfortable enough to come celebrate all this David content and share your thoughts with me.

Let's get a few visuals up here so we can discuss. These (as I recall) were posted just a day or two apart, so they go well together:

I agree that David has been working so incredibly hard lately (not that he ever doesn't work hard, of course), but something in particular about Good and the role of John Halder really seemed to take a toll on him. You could see it in countless stage door pictures--the way his face looked thin, and (as you said) his seemingly limitless energy starting to flag. It was such a beautiful thing for him to be out there at all, signing programs and meeting fans after giving 110% out on stage, night after night.

But there seems to be this part of David (hello, Scottish Presbyterian upbringing) that feels like he always has to be working, and grateful to others for showing up to see him work. I think part of it is David just knowing what it's like to be a fan and so not wanting to let fans down, but it does seem to result in him not always taking care of himself as much as he should.

So yes, the change and contrast from a month or so ago to now is incredibly heartwarming to see. David does indeed seem very happy and healthy and full of renewed energy. (I also wonder if this could perhaps be due to Michael being in London for that BAFTA Cymru event last week, and the two of them hopefully seeing each other while he was there... 👀)

Also Anon #3: I definitely do see a little bit of Phileas hair going on (David's hair is just fucking gorgeous when it's a little longer, so whether it's related to Phileas or not, I am here for it). We know that ATWI80D has been renewed for a second season, though I am not sure when filming is set to begin--and I imagine we'd see the return of the moustache (ye gods) as well when that happens, so I don't think we're there just yet.

We really do have so many things involving David to look forward to this year (the filming of ATWI80D season 2, GO season 2, and of course the press tour with Michael). My hope is that David continues to make time to rest and enjoy himself, because as we can see, it does his body good (and so does Michael). David's (real) birthday is coming up next month, too, so fingers crossed we get some lovely content from Georgia then as well. Thanks for writing in, Anons! xx

#anonymous #reply post #david tennant #soft scottish hipster gigolo #georgia tennant #phileas fogg #around the world in 80 days #god he is gorgeous here #is it even legal to look this handsome?#far too much attractiveness in one person #the androgynous beauty of david tennant #i hope david knows that he is lovely #and deserves good things #and he shouldn't work himself too hard #thoughts #discourse

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pnf-lover98 · 10 months

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Some thoughts on Good Omens season 2

Last night I finally finished watching the new Good Omens season, and now that I’m officially done screaming about it, I would like to take my time to share some thoughts on this much awaited season 2. Brace yourselves guys, this is going to be a long boi.

Thank you so much for this new adventure, @neil-gaiman, and for making come true my impossible dreams of having Beelzebub and Gabriel canonly together! 🙏

When I first read that there was going to be a season 2, my immediate first reaction was ‘oh no’. I’m generally not a fan of the word “sequel”, because you can never know if a ‘part 2’ is going to be the best thing ever, or if it’s going to be the death of what you used to consider a masterpiece. I love the first season to bits, and when I bought and read the book right after finishing watching, I found the original Good Omens to be just as amazing as its series version. There were scenes that I liked more the way they were written in the book, and some that felt better in the show, but book and series were both amazing in their own ways. And I surely didn’t want a sequel to potentially ruin all of those good memories. But when the first news started to come out about this GO2, I started to feel some hype.

After around 1 year spent in the fandom, and a total of 4 years spent loving the book/series, when I actually got to watch the new season I couldn’t help but feel disappointed by the vast majority of the episodes. Because it looks exactly like the first season, with the costumes, and the sets and everything, but it feels nothing like it.

The first Good Omens did so much for me, also in terms of helping me fight my personal demons. You guys probably don’t know much about what I am like as a person, as I pretty much only share my art here on this blog. But in real life, I have a fairly awful high sensitivity to blood - and specifically if the blood is associated with scenes of violence or where a character is in pain. I have little to no barriers to defend myself from what I get thrown at in movies and media, as I have nearly no ability to put up walls between me and the characters I am looking at. If someone is in pain, then to some extent I’m in pain as well, and if I come across a particularly violent scene, it usually doesn’t take much for it to show up somewhere in my nightmares. Back when the trailer came out for the first season, it took me two months to finally decide to give in to the temptation and watch the show on Amazon Prime. Because this was a series with real actors (I usually trust cartoons more because it’s a safer space) that revolved around angels and demons, no less! And every time Crowley looked deep into the camera, my mind was taken back to Bipper’s snake eyes from Gravity Falls, and on how many nightmares and bad memories the GF fandom gave me when fans aggravated what Bill Cipher did in canon. Bill was such an evil demon, why would I have ever wanted to risk watching other demons in action? But when I did watch the episodes, I saw just how safe GO was. The worst thing that those demons, who called themselves to be so evil and so cruel, did was to set fire to a convent, show their sharp teeth or turn into slugs. There was no blood, no form of violence, no guts shown, no monsters that could make me feel uneasy. And after getting acquainted with Crowley as a character, his snake eyes eased the discomfort I felt towards Bipper’s. By the end of the series, I had no issue looking at him ‘eye to eye’, the bad memories replaced by new positive ones.

What I came to feel towards Good Omens was complete, whole-hearted trust. GO wasn’t going to hurt me, nor in the book nor in the show. So, the first and most important thing that hurt me (in a completely personal way) in this season was just how everything became drastically more bloodied. How gruesome Furfur’s video looked and sounded, how odd it was to have brain-eating zombies with clothes covered in blood of their victims, how terrifying the Resurrectionist guy was. I straight up skipped all of the part where the guy tells Aziraphale and Crowley about his job, because the single sentence “criminals’ bodies were no longer enough” sent a massive alarm ringing in my head, making my heart sink. I knew where things were heading to, because several months ago I came across the same kind of horrible topic in some sort of documentary - and the concept of what was said that day so many months ago hit me like a train, leaving me sat up in my bed at 5 am, concretely dreading the possibility to fall asleep again and have another bad dream. Judging how sharp of a moral U turn Aziraphale did on the whole ‘digging up bodies’ topic, stating that it 'relieves human suffering', I’m guessing that my decision to skip was the right choice. And all of that gruesome stuff, that to me couldn’t help but feel completely uncalled for (Did Crowley really need to tear away the mask of a demon who had a wounded/decomposing chin to find out that they were all demons, when he had a minotaur-looking guy right next to him?) completely destroyed that trust that the first season created in me.

But aside from this, the rest of the episodes didn’t really convince me also because I felt the pacing to be very uneven (episode four was 40 minutes of Aziraphale and Crowley’s shenanigans, with no mention of Gabriel and his yet to be solved mystery, and no screen time for Nina and Maggie either), and this unevenness often made the scenes boring to watch. Because as much as I like Azi and Crowley’s shenanigans, I would have much preferred to have them more evenly intertwined with their present situation, instead of having long chunks of the episode that make you forget about the rest of the characters and then a sixth episode so intensely filled with stuff. None of the new characters that were introduced really lit up a spark of interest in me. If you ask me who I would like to make fanarts or write stuff of, I would tell you none of them. Nor Shax, nor Muriel, nor Furfur nor the smallest appearances like the eyepatch demon. But I guess it’s going to take some time for me to see if I will really make no fanarts of anybody, because it took me a rough month after the first season before I took interest in Beelzebub’s character and started making fanarts of them.

Talking about my beloved Beelz, the one single character that I liked the most in S1 (and in the Tadfield Airbase scene in book Omens)... I didn’t like Shelley Conn in Lord Beelzebub’s role. I have nothing against her as a person, or as an actress, it’s just that this Beelz looked and moved and behaved nothing like the Beelz I spent 4 whole years liking and being familiar with. Even if she did grow on me a little bit in the last episode.

There were still amazing parts in every episode, it’s undeniable. David Tennant’s acting remains top tier - from his facial expressions, to his funky walk up in heaven. It was nice to have some of the original crew back (I was particularly delighted to have Dagon and Eric back, for example!), and it was a very fuzzy and nice feeling to have so much of what I used to see every day across the fandom represented in canon screentime. We saw Crowley making stars and being a high-ranking angel in his past (much like the ‘Crowley was Raphael’ theory that I’ve always liked), we saw Beelz turning into swarms of flies, we got the hall of Hell where the damned get assigned to the various brackets and it looked exactly like I envisioned it to be…

… And above all, I got an impossible dream come true. All through these past 4 years, I’ve been a major Ineffable Bureaucracy fan. What started out as a ‘Why not?’ turned into me writing over a dozen fanfiction, drawing several fanarts of them, coming up with several possible backstories that could lead them to be together eventually. A small ‘why not?’ turned into me having the time of my life for over a year, projecting onto those two impossible lovers all of my dreams of the perfect romance I never had in real life. But we were such a small fraction of the fandom - the most popular of the minor ships, according to someone in the fandom that made a pie chart based on the number of Ao3 fics and of fanarts for each ship, but still a rough 3 percent at best - and deep down I knew that there were no chances of us getting canon. I was disappointed by this thought, of course, but I eventually got to be fine with it; maybe the best part of our ship was that, not being canon, each fan could build an entirely different story for Gabriel and Beelz. Maybe the best part of our ship was this huge choir of harmonizing and dissonating voices.

I went into this season 2 with a completely relaxed mindset about this. “It’s lost or it’s found”, I told myself; if we’re getting something it’ll be a miracle, but if we won’t get anything it won’t be the end of the world. But having such an impossible ship to become canon so out of the blue, and with such a sweet series of clips…! I could see so much of the old fanarts in what we were shown; how many of us (me included) have had them hanging out in bars on Earth? And I still remember clearly how there was this one artist who drew one comic where Beelz had a fly coming out of their mouth like canon Beelz did! Seeing those flashbacks unfold brought me an unmeasurable sense of joy. The kind of squealing with skipping up and down, kind of joy no less. “If this is a dream, don’t wake me up!” I told my computer screen, as I kept my hand covering my huge grin in disbelief. And out of every possible backstory that could have led them to get together, what we were given was very close to what I would have personally chosen for them, and to what some of my favorite fanfictions chose for them.

In conclusion of this long rant… This Good Omens 2 was a big rollercoaster of emotions, for me - but I would dare say that it was like this for everyone who watched it. And you can be sure that, as soon as I’ll set a foot down from the rollercoaster’s cart and my head will stop spinning from the fear and the thrill and the overwhelming joy of the unexpected, I’ll start making new Good Omens content. Thank you to everyone who took their time to read everything.

#good omens #good omens 2 #ineffable bureaucracy #Speaking some thoughts

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nerdwithaknife · 7 months

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twenty questions for fic writers

tagged by no one. I saw @icescrabblerjerky do it and i want to talk about myself

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

31 but one of them is pictures

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

47,602 I am real small fish

3. What fandoms do you write for?

on Ao3 I have Good Omens, RQG and The Old Guard. back on ff.net I had some Sherlock BBC and The Arrow CW, I also have bits and scraps of ATLA and many thoughts about 9 1 1 and Assassin's Creed (Ezio Era) but none of that has seen the light of day (yet)

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

Let it Snow Good Omens Kudos: 652

Outcasts always Mourn RQG Kudos: 184

Too Important a Thing RQG Kudos: 154

Blow out a Candle, light a Flame RQG Kudos: 153

Aftertaste RQG Kudos: 133

Let it Snow is in some kind of collection i get kudos for it basicalyl every day still especially since GO2 came out.

5. Do you respond to comments?

Only if there's a question or I want to clarify something. I think it bloats the comment count and i want to see how many comments i actually have.

I eat every single one though. Comments are EVERYTHING to me

6. What’s the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Most of Wilde Week 2020 was pretty angsty. I'd say Colours fade, Clothes rip (RQG) probably. maybe Bad Ideas (Good Omens) too but a different angst

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Let it Snow is pure fluff with a little angst in the middle.

All is Well IS pure fluff ok yea that one I think.

most of my fics, as angsty as they get, end well.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

closest thing I got was someone correcting me on a GO that Crowley does eat sometimes I knew that if read the book. Which I did and decided for that fic it was cuter if he didnt.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

there's an attempt deep deep in my markdown files of me trying to write some wholesome smut. It did not work out. I'll stick to fading to black and leave the porn to people more skilled than me.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

I don't really do crossovers. I don't read them except very specific circumstances either.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

not that I know of. I hope not

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

not yet. I have translated one though. Privately for a friend.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

nope. I am a dictator on my ship I'm a lone wolf I don't play well with others etc etc edgy shit (I've talked to people about their fics being a Rubber Duck and I yelled AU ideas back and forth on discord servers but no "actual writing" yet)

14. What’s your all-time favorite ship?

Give me Pining, give me seemingly unrequited but it isn't, give me fake arrogance and pretending to be someone you're not as a shield and someone else looking right through it and I'm happy. Zoscar my beloved, Aziraphale and Crowley my beloved.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

Aftertaste. one day I swear. but it's been so long it's like gnawing at a brick wall. it's only the finale that will make it all ok too.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Angst. I love wringing characters out and dig my salty fingers into their wounds and make them sad and hurt them where it hruts most.

I also think I'm ok at getting their voices right

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

the actual writing. i just... dont write. finishing writing. aftertaste one day I'll come for you etc.

for real though Pacing is hard. when do I show and when do I tell also, how much movement do i need around a dialogue?

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

be careful you know what you're doing. I'd feel confident having someone speak german (since i am german) and I know who to ask for a couple of other languages, but treat it like britpicking treat it like culture picking. make sure it's actually what you want to say and what someone who speaks that language would say.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

BBC Sherlock. I was a Sherlolly bitch. don't @ me. I have paid for my sins.

20. Favorite fic you’ve ever written?

Outcasts always Mourn is definitely one of my favourites. I love diving deep into a character and peeling them like an onion and making things worse.

Blow out a Candle, light a Flame is another one. jsut because I loved the stupid never have I ever bit. and I still want that candle tattoo.

I'm tagging anyone who has ever written anything no matter if it's published. talk about yourself!

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