Ramblings of a Swedeish Fish

i will never get over how pained he looks because you just know that this isn't how aziraphale wanted it to go. this isn't how he had been planning it to go.

you just know he wanted it to be tender or even passionate but loving, and instead it was a goodbye. crowley’s final farewell.

thank you for your time

The apology dance is another reminder that Good Omens is a comedy. It is a silly little ritual between our beloved blorbos. It is supposed to be funny. Or sweet.

When Crowley "had to" do the apology dance in episode one, he hadn't really been "wrong". Yes, he hurt Azi by refusing to help and leaving him alone with the problem Gabriel. But he had his reasons, just like he had his reasons to change his mind and come back to help after all. This is another point in which the Gabriel-plot and the Final Fifteen mirror each other. Neither of them were really wrong here, either.

But when Crowley came back after trying to get as far away from Gabriel as possible, Azi decided to be petty about it. That's it. He was petty. He saw an opportunity to go "bitch, dance for me" and he took it.

Crowley could have been petty about it to. He could have insisted that he did nothing wrong. He could have accused Aziraphale of dismissing his fears. He could have refused to do the dance. If he had, it would have stopped being a funny situation very quickly.

But he didn't. Because he actually likes the angel's petty, bitchy side. And he likes to indulge him. So he did the dance. And all was well.

But after the Final Fifteen it wouldn't be funny for either of them to react to the other one returning with "bitch, dance for me". The emotional fallout was too high. The emotions accompanying their reunion will run just as high. The apology dance, their silly little ritual, is utterly useless in a situation with stakes as high as this. Even if you could somehow assign the blame. (And anyway, if the parallels to the Gabriel-plot continue, Crowley would have to be the one to do the apology dance again, when he comes back to help again, especially if, as it is quite likely, it turns out to be really important to the plot that Aziraphale has inside connections now, just as Crowley had during the first armageddon, and they would have failed to save the world without that.)

I still want to see the apology dance from 1941 and the reason Azi had to do it. It will probably be hilarious. And if Azi ever scratches the Bentley, I want Crowley to be reeeaaally petty about it and demanding the dance with the same kind of dom attitude. And I want Azi to cheekily oblige. I would absolutely love that.

When I first watched S2 months ago, this line from episode 1 JUMPED the fuck out at me.

I immediately went, "Oh no, it's going to be Aziraphale."

In my mind, this made it sound like if something happened to the current Supreme Archangel, a successor would automatically be selected and promoted without anyone doing anything. In my mind, I expected it to be a Surprise later that it was Aziraphale all along, and I was KIND OF right.

But now, I wonder.

DOES this mean Aziraphale had gotten 'promoted' automatically at the start of S2, when Gabriel had his trial in Heaven, and that's why the Mega Miracle was so strong? Or...

Does this mean Gabriel was STILL the Supreme Archangel, lost memories or not, and Heaven doesn't actually have the authority to fire someone like that? It's kind of unprecedented, after all.

If the latter is true, is Gabriel STILL Supreme Archangel now, off in Alpha Centauri with Beez, and the Metatron really is just stringing Aziraphale along with the role?

We do, however, have some Clues™ that Muriel has had their memory wiped at some point. They mention being Scrivener 37th class, and when Gabriel is threatened with wipe/demotion, he was intended to be 38th. To me, this implies that every demotion creates a new Scrivener class AS PUNISHMENT, so it could very well be that Gabriel would have lost his job for realsies, and necessitate replacement as Supreme Archangel.

But then, Michael's line above comes back to the forefront - if there IS ALWAYS a Supreme Archangel, that implies there is NEVER a gap period without one. So Whomst Was It?

If Aziraphale was actually promoted immediately, who made that decision? The Metatron? Or God?

Did Aziraphale have to actually choose to accept it, or was it assigned to him? If it was assigned to him at the start of S2, is that why both his conscious miracles (like hiding Gabriel -- with purple light, no less!) and subconscious miracles (mind-controlling everyone at the Ball, and potentially affecting the weather and changing the extras' costumes) were so powerful all season?

Does Gabriel's eye color have anything to do with it, or is that just related to him having his memory of being an angel?

Does being Supreme Archangel come with having more power? (Including the corollary question of: Even if it did before, does it still now? Or has God stepped out of the picture and now the position is just symbolic instead of being one that's imbued with additional power and true responsibility?)

When I first watched S2 months ago, this line from episode 1 JUMPED the fuck out at me.

I immediately went, "Oh no, it's going to be Aziraphale."

In my mind, this made it sound like if something happened to the current Supreme Archangel, a successor would automatically be selected and promoted without anyone doing anything. In my mind, I expected it to be a Surprise later that it was Aziraphale all along, and I was KIND OF right.

But now, I wonder.

DOES this mean Aziraphale had gotten 'promoted' automatically at the start of S2, when Gabriel had his trial in Heaven, and that's why the Mega Miracle was so strong? Or...

Does this mean Gabriel was STILL the Supreme Archangel, lost memories or not, and Heaven doesn't actually have the authority to fire someone like that? It's kind of unprecedented, after all.

If the latter is true, is Gabriel STILL Supreme Archangel now, off in Alpha Centauri with Beez, and the Metatron really is just stringing Aziraphale along with the role?

We do, however, have some Clues™ that Muriel has had their memory wiped at some point. They mention being Scrivener 37th class, and when Gabriel is threatened with wipe/demotion, he was intended to be 38th. To me, this implies that every demotion creates a new Scrivener class AS PUNISHMENT, so it could very well be that Gabriel would have lost his job for realsies, and necessitate replacement as Supreme Archangel.

But then, Michael's line above comes back to the forefront - if there IS ALWAYS a Supreme Archangel, that implies there is NEVER a gap period without one. So Whomst Was It?

With the windows framed as their wings, the hand fluttering to the back, the most emotionally devastating kiss ever to be filmed...

Usually I find that I develop a couple of micro-fixations - for example, at the moment I've become fixated on gardening - that give my brain a break so I'm not just feeling continuously frustrated by the lack of content. I was pretty worried that I was losing my interest, but just a few days ago it's started to come back in force.

THIS! 👏 IS!👏 LITERALLY!👏 NOT! 👏 HOW! 👏 AB*SIVE! 👏 RELATIONSHIPS! 👏 WORK!!!!!!!!!

The problem is the ab*sers, not the victims' beliefs about them!!!

They can't leave because it is literally not physically safe for them to do so!!! Not because they "just need to make the decision".

He IS. Tell me how well most people could endure 6000 years of consistent, persistent demoralization, harassment and shitty treatment without snapping?

Do you know how HARD it is to be kind when you've been put through a system that actively discourages kindness and softness, a system that tries to beat it out of you - not physically, but still. The fact that Aziraphale got through all of that and is not just still kind, but still has the capacity to be kind to the very people who hurt him, is fucking remarkable.

Aziraphale is badass. Period. Full Stop.

It's well past time that we stopped equating physical and fighting prowess as a measure of badassery. Just about anyone can exercise and get strong enough to fight someone. Just about anyone could possibly get weapons training. Neither of these things is half as brave as putting yourself in front of a crowd of people and holding off 70 demons with just conviction and a candleholder because it's the RIGHT THING TO DO.

EDIT: I had to add this while I was thinking of it.

I feel like people are buying into Heaven's version of badassery. Angels were made to FIGHT. To fight the last big battle against demons and Hell.

Aziraphale is a deviation because he DOES NOT WANT THAT. He doesn't want to fight a war that will hurt billions and destroy the world. His defining moment in Season 1 is when he stands in the face of the quartermaster and refuses to fight the way they want him to. Instead of a weapon, he chooses to find another way.

If anything, I would think it's leading to the idea that Aziraphale feels he must fight, that he has no choice, and then, when it comes right down to it, finding another way. A kinder way. A BETTER way.

He IS. Tell me how well most people could endure 6000 years of consistent, persistent demoralization, harassment and shitty treatment without snapping?

Do you know how HARD it is to be kind when you've been put through a system that actively discourages kindness and softness, a system that tries to beat it out of you - not physically, but still. The fact that Aziraphale got through all of that and is not just still kind, but still has the capacity to be kind to the very people who hurt him, is fucking remarkable.

Aziraphale is badass. Period. Full Stop.

It's well past time that we stopped equating physical and fighting prowess as a measure of badassery. Just about anyone can exercise and get strong enough to fight someone. Just about anyone could possibly get weapons training. Neither of these things is half as brave as putting yourself in front of a crowd of people and holding off 70 demons with just conviction and a candleholder because it's the RIGHT THING TO DO.

EDIT: I had to add this while I was thinking of it.

I feel like people are buying into Heaven's version of badassery. Angels were made to FIGHT. To fight the last big battle against demons and Hell.

Aziraphale is a deviation because he DOES NOT WANT THAT. He doesn't want to fight a war that will hurt billions and destroy the world. His defining moment in Season 1 is when he stands in the face of the quartermaster and refuses to fight the way they want him to. Instead of a weapon, he chooses to find another way.

If anything, I would think it's leading to the idea that Aziraphale feels he must fight, that he has no choice, and then, when it comes right down to it, finding another way. A kinder way. A BETTER way.

It really sucks, because fandoms are supposed to be a place to express yourself and how you love these wonderful characters; but in this fandom, it's never-ending struggles of people arguing over their sexualities (particularly ace/allo), people choosing 'sides' in the divorce, people tearing apart Aziraphale (harmful to people with religious trauma) for his choices, people complaining about different AUs in fanfic or styles of drawing, people who are just horrible in general.... how about we all just utilize something amazing. Here it is:

If you don't like someone - whether that be their opinions, their art, their fics, whatever - then BLOCK THEM.

It is so very very VERY simple. Don't leave a hate comment. Don't send anon mail. Don't screenshot the post and make fun of it with others, or mock the writing on Twitter, or make ENTIRE BLOGS dedicated to tearing opinions to shreds (I'm looking at you, blogs that say they're 'defending aziraphale' and go on to be so cruel to people with opinions that are not ableist as they so claim).

THE BLOCK BUTTON IS THERE FOR A REASON. IT IS FOR YOU. FOR YOUR BENEFIT. AND IT IS SO FUCKING EASY TO DO.

Why make someone feel like shit just because you didn't like what probably made them proud at first before you had to be an asshole about it?