I <3 my humanist show

[promethia_tenk]

Watch on YouTube

(The Eden Disorder, by Naumaxia on YouTube.)

I love everything about Good Omens, but if I had to choose one thing, one single thing, it would be that Crowley is the Serpent of Eden. The show means nothing without it.

Do you ever think about how Aziraphale is a huge fan of Crowley's work? The collective output of knowledge and creativity of the human race is the direct result of the Fall from Eden.


The bookshop is a sort of post-fall Eden. Of course it's a haven. It also has a world tree in its center, though the summoning circle on the floor up through the cupola:




And all the fruits of knowledge strewn everywhere, abundant. The newly innocent Gabriel, like a reverse Adam, comes instinctively to the bookshop. "Who told you I was naked?" he asks Aziraphale. (cf: God saying "Who told you you were naked?" in Genesis.) He loves the books, but does not understand them. Crowley nearly makes him fall too (out the window) before deciding he can't. The Serpent of Eden, everybody:



But, and here's the crucial bit: the bookshop doesn't exist if Crowley isn't a demon. "If you don't change [the Bentley] back right now, I'm going to start selling people books! In fact, I might even give some away!" he threatens Aziraphale. Crowley lost his demon shell after subverting the apocalypse: both the job itself and the foreboding flat that went with it. What he has left of that identity is the black, low-slung, speeding Bentley and his garden of emotional trauma in the back seat. (Notice how he keeps the plants away from Aziraphale, only taking them into the bookshop when Aziraphale is out. Of course they belong in the bookshop: what's an Eden without the garden? Or its snake.)

A number of people have noted the change in color grading this season, and its primary effect, besides being just generally gorgeous, seems to be to highlight the similarities between Crowley's coloring and that of the bookshop. Most take it as a commentary on Aziraphale's preferences which, of course, it is: here's an excellent meta on the season as nesting fic (!) with an extended analysis of the bookshop coloring. A week or two ago I was watching especially the scenes of Crowley minding the shop while Aziraphale is in Edinburg, appreciating how harmonious he looks there. But if I'm honest with myself, what I was thinking wasn't 'Crowley looks like he belongs in the bookshop.' It was that Crowley is the bookshop:








Or its animating spirit, perhaps?:



Aziraphale may match the antique style of the place, but in shot after shot, he stands out against it (not as harshly as Muriel in her stark white, but it's still a contrast), while Crowley melts into the background like warmed chocolate:



Here's the thing, though: Aziraphale was ready to give up the bookshop. He was ready to give up the bookshop to make Crowley an angel again. That is indeed the trade-off, though he misunderstood cause and effect: the bookshop doesn't exist if Crowley isn't a demon. Aziraphale thought, rather sensibly, that the books are, at the end of the day, just things. And nothing last forever. What he didn't realize is the bookshop is everything.

Comments

[owlboy]

''you can't leave this bookshop'' ;~;

[promethia_tenk]

You know, that is factually true: he can't. He knows too much.

He just needs to realize that.

[owlboy]

i love the idea of crowley being the animating spirit of the bookshop. thinking abt aziraphale saying ''but my bookshop...'' and staring out the window after crowley.


i dunno if aziraphale's decision at the end is as naive as it seems. thinking abt this bit from the book:

-

occasionally, serious men in dark suits would come calling and suggest, very politely, that perhaps he'd like to sell the shop itself so that it could be turned into the kind of retail outlet more suited to the area. Sometimes they'd offer cash, in large rolls of grubby fifty-pound notes. Or, sometimes, while they were talking, other men in dark glasses would wander around the shop shaking their heads and saying how inflammable paper was, and what a fire trap he had here.

And Aziraphale would nod and smile and say that he'd think about it. And then they'd go away. And they'd never come back.

Just because you're an angel doesn't mean you have to be a fool.

-

think of the metatron as the mobster ''politely'' suggesting aziraphale give up his shop. and aziraphale's psycho smile at the end is bc he knows what he's going to do to ensure he never comes back.

[promethia_tenk]

i love the idea of crowley being the animating spirit of the bookshop. thinking abt aziraphale saying ''but my bookshop...'' and staring out the window after crowley.
*wibble*

think of the metatron as the mobster ''politely'' suggesting aziraphale give up his shop. and aziraphale's psycho smile at the end is bc he knows what he's going to do to ensure he never comes back.
!!!! I LOOOOOOOVE it.

[owlboy]

>>*wibble*

it's a bit The Doctor's Wife-y, innit

>>!!!! I LOOOOOOOVE it.

yeah i just don't buy the ''relapse'' etc theories that are floating around fandom. the implied 2nd option to the metatron's job offer is ''or we can kill you'', and veiled threats are aziraphale's ''fuck you'' button

[promethia_tenk]

it's a bit The Doctor's Wife-y, innit
Honestly, I am never truly content in a fandom until I've been able to anthropomorphize a building. Identity boxes are the premiere tier of symbolic devices to me. They just . . . *makes gesturing motions into and out of my core* It's especially juicy when you feel like the character and the box are very physically connected--as I rather feel they are here. Like things done to the box are done to the character. It's all very ~somatically affecting. The best symbolism really reaches into your guts and rearranges them, like space warping around you.

yeah i just don't buy the ''relapse'' etc theories that are floating around fandom. the implied 2nd option to the metatron's job offer is ''or we can kill you'', and veiled threats are aziraphale's ''fuck you'' button
I kind of came to accept the relapse-y theories after reading enough meta about it, but I never liked them. I latched onto the 'Aziraphale is hurting Crowley deliberately to protect him' theory immediately.

[masakochan]

until I've been able to anthropomorphize a building

Yesss- anthropomorphized buildings is a trope I've thoroughly enjoyed when stumbling across it in fic for just about any piece of media I've ever been into.

[elisi]

think of the metatron as the mobster ''politely'' suggesting aziraphale give up his shop. and aziraphale's psycho smile at the end is bc he knows what he's going to do to ensure he never comes back.
Oooh, I like it. Also did you see this post?

Ugh, I have TWo Tumblr posts to post, but tags are my enemy. :(

[promethia_tenk]

Oooh, I like it. Also did you see this post?
Your link is literally to Owl's reblog of it . . .

Ugh, I have TWo Tumblr posts to post, but tags are my enemy. :(
How so? You just kind of do them?

[elisi]

How so? You just kind of do them?
Clever chatty Tumblr tags are my enemy.

[promethia_tenk]

Then just do function ones; they're not gonna kick you off the site.

[elisi]

I just envy ppl those skillz. :(

[promethia_tenk]

As do I, but I suspect it comes with practice.

[promethia_tenk]

I have learned you can edit the tags after you post. Maybe that helps?

[elisi]

Eh, it's just me being annoyed at a lack of skillz. I should just post it and not try to be clever.

[promethia_tenk]

You already were clever; the rest is just blandishments.

[elisi]

Awww, shucks.

ETA: Well it's posted. And HILARIOUSLY Tumblr has sent me a message that I have posts 100 posts??? 99% will be re-blogs.

[promethia_tenk]

YAY IT'S BEAUTIFUL.

Excuse me while I go wash my dishes and die inside. In the best way, of course.

[elisi]

Yeah, I had to go eat as soon as I had posted! Saw that you re-blogged with added thoughts, so now I shan't bother. :)

[promethia_tenk]

Clearly we are creatures of the old school, thinking things have to be in one coherent presentation. When Tumblr provides the perfect format for this very back and forth.

[elisi]

Aye. I need a Fandom Dinosaur icon. I think rahirah has one...

[owlboy]

i cant believe how old that icon is now

[promethia_tenk]

And yet still perfect.

[owlboy]

i made that post :]

[promethia_tenk]

Even funnier.

[owlboy]

i dont think a day has gone by since s1 where i havent thought abt that scene

[elisi]

Well that tells you what sort of week I had. ::facepalm::

[owlboy]

lmao (pets)

[promethia_tenk]

Also the book hoarding is a bit like the food, if you think about it: a way to possess and keep Crowley when he couldn't really have him.

[owlboy]

it would be kinder to stab me directly in the heart

[promethia_tenk]

I know. But we live in different hemispheres, so we'll have to settle for destroying you emotionally.

[elisi]

I love this season SO MUCH? Like... the ending is SO PAINFUL, but it's so perfectly done? I wallow in the pain.

Also I meant to say something about how Aziraphale created the bookshop as a place where Crowley could be safe? Other demons can't enter, unless invited.

Oh god, now I'm remembering Buffy and laughing my head off. (Lovers Walk, when Spike's having Hot Chocolate with Joyce and Angel shows up... "You're not invited!")

[owlboy]

>>Also I meant to say something about how Aziraphale created the bookshop as a place where Crowley could be safe?

i've been thinking abt that for a bit. has it always counted as an embassy? did he make sure crowley came back to the bookshop in 1941 in case his trick w the photo didn't work?

[elisi]

i've been thinking abt that for a bit. has it always counted as an embassy?
Hmmm. I wonder what made it gain that status. And it's notable that the shop is HIS. He spent his own money, Heaven doesn't 'own' it.

he make sure crowley came back to the bookshop in 1941 in case his trick w the photo didn't work?
Good point. I hadn't thought of that, but it makes sense. Esp after seeing him being sucked into hell in Scotland.

[owlboy]

>>Esp after seeing him being sucked into hell in Scotland.

yeah that was a huge turning point for their relationship i havent seen fandom discuss all that much

[promethia_tenk]

It's weird because it's so un-highlighted? I actually missed it on first watch. It's only when you think through the timeline that it hits you like an anvil.

[owlboy]

(vibrating) it changes everything going forward

[promethia_tenk]

i've been thinking abt that for a bit. has it always counted as an embassy? did he make sure crowley came back to the bookshop in 1941 in case his trick w the photo didn't work?
~ooooohh. I need this to be true. And also I need fic.

[promethia_tenk]

Also I meant to say something about how Aziraphale created the bookshop as a place where Crowley could be safe? Other demons can't enter, unless invited.
Every time I think about this show I end up feeling like Elinor Shellstrop crying over the toothbrushes in Bed, Bath, and Beyond.

Oh god, now I'm remembering Buffy and laughing my head off. (Lovers Walk, when Spike's having Hot Chocolate with Joyce and Angel shows up... "You're not invited!")
Spike and Joyce is everything. Except for Spike and Dawn.

[owlboy]

go ahead and cry all you want, but you're still gonna have to pay for that toilet plunger

[promethia_tenk]

they keep each other safe

[owlboy]

confound you!

[promethia_tenk]

There's also something, I think, in the fact that Aziraphale keeps bringing people into the bookshop in what is, ultimately, an attempt to tie Crowley more firmly to it. He knows that Crowley's compassion will take over--

Fear not: you're perfectly safe.

(Books are like people, only portable.)

It's much the same as how he knows they cannot run away to the stars, but on a more intimate scale.

[owlboy]

aziraphale just wants a baby

[promethia_tenk]

They've got 7 billion: and then they accidentally humanity's parents.

[elisi]

True. But they're a little careless with them... (poor wee Morag. and others)

[promethia_tenk]

I mean, it's gotta be like those fish that lay 50,000 eggs in a go. Some are gonna die, some are gonna get eaten, and some you're gonna accidentally crush as part of your psychosocial posturing. You just need a critical mass of them to be viable.

[elisi]

"We'll start with a breeding pair"

ETA: Actually what I want is for you to write up your thoughts about 'The humans become bartering pieces in their morality arguments'. It's so good.

[promethia_tenk]

Actually what I want is for you to write up your thoughts about 'The humans become bartering pieces in their morality arguments'. It's so good.
Is it? It kind of felt like 'oh, well, that's all fairly obvious, moving on.' But I guess now that you mention it, it's not really anything I've seen discussed enough.

[elisi]

I think it's the way they condemn God in the Job episode- and then (much much later) do the same thing themselves.

Also, thinking about it, then I think Job and Scotland are linked, but 1941 is more of its own thing across seasons.

ETA: OK back where I can type properly.

Trying to think about it then.. Job and Scotland are specific turning points? The first time they work together to subvert Heaven & Hell (against a specific order) and then the time when they push it too far. And by the time they're in Edinburgh the moral game of 'How do humans behave in the maze we have constructed' is something they have become used to? Elspeth is their little lab rat, until everything goes wrong and wee Morag dies & Elspeth is going to follow her. And then the repercussions follow (for Crowley).

I guess they... they play games above their station, in one sense?

ANYWAY. Job to Scotland, that's almost like a closed loop.

But then 1941 seems to be a different thing again. This one is three parts, and we only have parts 1 and 2 so far. Obviously Everything Is Connected, but trying to look at the narrative strands, this makes sense to me.

[promethia_tenk]

I think it's the way they condemn God in the Job episode- and then (much much later) do the same thing themselves.
I'm tired and it took me a moment, but you mean they're testing the humans in their own way.

I guess they... they play games above their station, in one sense?
I guess that's true. Though that implies it's chill for God and Satan to do, which I don't think is the lesson here.

But then 1941 seems to be a different thing again. This one is three parts, and we only have parts 1 and 2 so far. Obviously Everything Is Connected, but trying to look at the narrative strands, this makes sense to me
*nods* I think that makes sense.

And Job and Edinburg both have this morality component to them, where 1941 is more about their bond and trusting each other. Though, that said, that's something else that doesn't make sense to me about 1941? At the end when Azirpahale is like 'if you really were as bad as you say, you would have walked away.' And then they have their toast to shades of gray. And I'm like?!?!? I don't see how this follows? Morality didn't really play into this--it was all your weird co-dependent human LARPing. You both should have walked away. The 'you said to trust you' / 'and you did' part of the conversation flows naturally out of what actually happened that night. The shades of gray stuff does not. Maybe that's the point!??! They make things about their angel/demon-ness that aren't really about that at all?

[elisi]

This was quick!!

while Crowley melts into the background like warmed chocolate:
Ugh, love this phrasing. <3

[promethia_tenk]

90% of that time was dealing with the caps, frankly. Guess I'll go put it on Tumblr too.

Ugh, love this phrasing. <3
*g* I could probably sit here all day and come up with poetic ways to describe how Crowley looks in the bookshop this season, but then I'd never get to the vid, so.

[elisi]

90% of that time was dealing with the caps, frankly. Guess I'll go put it on Tumblr too.
Yeah, it's beautifully illustrated. (And thanks for the Crowley caps)

*g* I could probably sit here all day and come up with poetic ways to describe how Crowley looks in the bookshop this season, but then I'd never get to the vid, so.
A worthy sacrifice.

[promethia_tenk]

Yeah, it's beautifully illustrated. (And thanks for the Crowley caps)
Those scenes ~do something to me, for real. I don't even think I've worked it out of my system yet.

ETA: Aziraphale bustled past Crowley into the flat, still talking even as he looked around at the severe surroundings. He’d forgotten just how dark and austere everything was. Yes, he needed to get his beautiful demon away from this and out into the light.

^^^^ads;kfjs;fdkj *sobs*

And you're welcome. Let me know what else you need.

[elisi]

Those scenes ~do something to me, for real. I don't even think I've worked it out of my system yet.
Yeah. (/said in the way of Georgia Tennant, if you remember that post? From like... idk, sometime in lockdown)

^^^^ads;kfjs;fdkj *sobs*
Oh noes, we made ourselves sad. :'(

And you're welcome. Let me know what else you need.
Tomorrow. Right now I need sleep... Night night <3

[promethia_tenk]

Yeah. (/said in the way of Georgia Tennant, if you remember that post? From like... idk, sometime in lockdown)
AKA, the funniest post in the history of Twitter (RIP)? Yeah.

Oh noes, we made ourselves sad. :'(
Good sobbing! they just love each other so much Aziraphale made the bookshop and it's for Crowley--to keep him safe, to try to give him his answers, to give him a place where he belongs--and it is Crowley, so he can keep Crowley with him always, wrap himself up in Crowley, really. And Crowley looks so beautiful there, like the most alluring ember in the darkness because that's how Aziraphale would choose to look upon him and I just . . . I get all verklempt.

ETA: The knowledge that Aziraphale isn’t in those scenes and yet we are getting them through the Gay Angel Gaze (tm) because Aziraphale designed that bookshop. We are seeing Crowley as Aziraphale wishes to see him, and he choose to see him like this. How am I supposed to just continue with my day with this information in my head?!?!?

Tomorrow. Right now I need sleep... Night night <3
Me too, honestly. I will have to vid tomorrow. It's been a week.

[elisi]

At in-laws for family lunch, just wanted to say happy vidding. Am v excited.

[promethia_tenk]

Lol. Why do I feel like I'm being checked up on? Are you vidding yet? *poke, poke*

[elisi]

I literally just can't wait.

[promethia_tenk]

I am finishing breakfast and then I have to go move my laundry to the dryer and then I will be beat marking.

Unfortunately there's some early lines I don't quite know what I'm doing with yet, but if I can get past that hump, I think I should at least be able to lay down rough clips pretty quickly. The music's in 3/4 but played as 1, and I'm pretty sure I'm just going to follow that beat. Which is a heck of a lot less clip density than I'm used to doing.

[elisi]

Me, trying to encourage you to vid:

[promethia_tenk]

You don’t vid :-\

Also I hate this intro already, omg. I’m chopping up the last minute of the show and re-editing it to fit and it’s the worst. Why did I think vidding a slow song was a good idea? I am an idiot.

[elisi]

You don’t vid :-\
I'm married to a film maker. There is no complaint about editing that I haven't heard a thousand times over. (Also, this might be why I don't vid.)

You don’t vid :-\
It will be worth it in the end.

[promethia_tenk]

Your husband is right--never video edit.

It will be worth it in the end.
I hate everything.

[elisi]

Your husband is right--never video edit.
It's probably the thing he hates the most.

I hate everything.
This gives me life. Keep being angry! :D

[elisi]

AKA, the funniest post in the history of Twitter (RIP)? Yeah.
Cool. Just... that.

Good sobbing! they just love each other so much Aziraphale made the bookshop and it's for Crowley--to keep him safe, to try to give him his answers, to give him a place where he belongs--and it is Crowley, so he can keep Crowley with him always, wrap himself up in Crowley, really. And Crowley looks so beautiful there, like the most alluring ember in the darkness because that's how Aziraphale would choose to look upon him and I just . . . I get all verklempt.
Ugh, it's so wonderful. And like... I understand the urge to write-fix-it fic and yet - I love the angst? We know that we will get a happy ending, so why not take the opportunity to just wallow? It's so exquisite. It's ALL the issues crashing (and not like, a stupid misunderstanding or a curse or whatever), why not just enjoy it?

The knowledge that Aziraphale isn’t in those scenes and yet we are getting them through the Gay Angel Gaze (tm) because Aziraphale designed that bookshop. We are seeing Crowley as Aziraphale wishes to see him, and he choose to see him like this. How am I supposed to just continue with my day with this information in my head?!?!?
HOLD THE PAIN CLOSE. (I will need to do a lot of thinking about icons, because a Crowley-in-the-bookshop seems like something I need.)

[promethia_tenk]

Cool. Just... that.
It's funny because I don't generally find DT attractive. I don't find DT as Crowley attractive. It's just not a going concern. Sugar Daddy was only ever going to work with me as a a vidder because it's funny. So I'm watching these scenes like . . . what's doing this? And then I realized our eye is being directed. And then I realized there's an actual, in-universe explanation for that direction. And then I lost it.

Ugh, it's so wonderful. And like... I understand the urge to write-fix-it fic and yet - I love the angst? We know that we will get a happy ending, so why not take the opportunity to just wallow? It's so exquisite. It's ALL the issues crashing (and not like, a stupid misunderstanding or a curse or whatever), why not just enjoy it?
I mean, I want fix-it fic in the sense that I want to move through and explore the issues? Not like, 'and then Aziraphale turned around and apologized and it was all ok' fic. It's not the angst so much as the stagnation of being left with it and no guarantee of whether we'll ever even get a season three. What I really want it just for people to start writing plausible continutations.

HOLD THE PAIN CLOSE. (I will need to do a lot of thinking about icons, because a Crowley-in-the-bookshop seems like something I need.)
Fair. Though, fair warning: I suspect most of the shots will not hold up well as icons. The color gradations are so subtle.

I've been a bit divided on whether Crowley will come back to the shop after this or run and hide. But I think he has to come back. Surely? He belongs to the bookshop. He'll need to take care of it. And have a slapstick buddy comedy with Muriel.

[elisi]

So I'm watching these scenes like . . . what's doing this? And then I realized our eye is being directed. And then I realized there's an actual, in-universe explanation for that direction. And then I lost it.
Look, having just consumed one GO human AU fic that's like... 90% Aziraphale thirsting for Crowley, it is HILARIOUS to me that the show is doing the same damn thing. Kudos Mr Gaiman.

It's not the angst so much as the stagnation of being left with it and no guarantee of whether we'll ever even get a season three. What I really want it just for people to start writing plausible continutations.
I suppose. I guess I was - partly - thinking of those with conspiracy theories, which just makes no sense to me, because it's not possible to move forward without dealing with this exact issue. I don't even want fics yet, I just want to delve into the pain. It's so beautiful. (Also I am an optimist, I can't even imagine not getting a S3.)

Fair. Though, fair warning: I suspect most of the shots will not hold up well as icons. The color gradations are so subtle.
Yeah, I have a feeling they'll be v dark, so I'll wait and see.

I've been a bit divided on whether Crowley will come back to the shop after this or run and hide. But I think he has to come back. Surely? He belongs to the bookshop. He'll need to take care of it. And have a slapstick buddy comedy with Muriel.
That, or become a hermit. But I'd prefer the buddy comedy. <3

[promethia_tenk]

Look, having just consumed one GO human AU fic that's like... 90% Aziraphale thirsting for Crowley, it is HILARIOUS to me that the show is doing the same damn thing. Kudos Mr Gaiman.
!! The show Nina'd me! 'I know I'm, really upset right now not attracted to Crowley. Why don't I feel upset do I feel like I'm attracted to Crowley?'

I suppose. I guess I was - partly - thinking of those with conspiracy theories, which just makes no sense to me, because it's not possible to move forward without dealing with this exact issue.
*nods* This was kind of my instinctive reaction to, like, the Metatron one: if that's true, we have nothing to do for three years.

I don't even want fics yet, I just want to delve into the pain. It's so beautiful.
Honestly, I'm not feeling the pain anymore. Once I'd sorted through the causes and had plausible explanations, it all went a bit blank. Even watching the ending it just . . . slips past me. I suspect I'd actually feel it more if someone wrote out a meaty resolution to it--then I could feel it in retrospect. Bittersweet stuff tends to hit me harder and stay with me a lot longer than straight tragedy. I could still wreck myself right now by thinking about World Enough and Time hard enough, but this?

I could use some fic to do the feeling for me. I've gotta find some season-two specific recs, though. I've hardly seen any. Just delving into the AO3 stream has been a lot of chaff.

(Also I am an optimist, I can't even imagine not getting a S3.)
I feel pretty confident we'll get a season three now, but you know it's gonna be a serious wait.

Yeah, I have a feeling they'll be v dark, so I'll wait and see.
At least when I'm making an icon, I find the first thing I need to do is up the exposure and the contrast as far as I can without destroying the image. Those bookshop scenes are not a promising place to start.

That, or become a hermit. But I'd prefer the buddy comedy. <3
My demands for season three are modest, but strict: I need about three times as much screen time for Muriel, and I need Aziraphale to call Crowley 'dearest.' And I need them to do kinky food stuff in front of Michael. Three simple requests.

[elisi]

Realised I'd put a flag in this way back when & never replied...

!! The show Nina'd me! 'I know I'm, really upset right now not attracted to Crowley. Why don't I feel upset do I feel like I'm attracted to Crowley?'
LOL. I have a whole Sexy Crowley icon now...

Honestly, I'm not feeling the pain anymore.
And how is that going, mmm?

My demands for season three are modest, but strict: I need about three times as much screen time for Muriel, and I need Aziraphale to call Crowley 'dearest.' And I need them to do kinky food stuff in front of Michael. Three simple requests.
That reminds me - the fic, what are you thinking? Do you want me to write more of it?

[sea_thoughts]

Fascinating!

[promethia_tenk]

Thank you! And hello--good to see you : )