Catherine

1811. Returned to London after the death of his father, infamous rake Anthony ‘Crowley’, Duke of Morningstar, has three months to restore his tattered reputation and secure himself a proper match, on pain of having his title stripped from him. Enter the irreproachable Lord Aziraphale, newly minted Viscount Eastgate, who would very much like to discourage his many suitors from lining outside his door in Mayfair so he can go back to enjoying his peaceful existence on the shelf. After a chance meeting at a gentlemen’s club, it appears the two may lend each other a helping hand after all. While a fake engagement will not solve their problems once and for all, it should buy them enough time to put their respective affairs in order. If only the ultimate goal of their Arrangement would remain as clear and unchanging as it should…

yes, India made legal gender change impossible but my friends have always gendered me correctly and stick to it even when it confuses other people and my friend's little sibling calls me older brother in Kannada yes, India made legal gender change impossible but my dog learned my new name quicker than the humans and she runs to give me a kiss when she's told to without being confused about who's being referred to

yes, India made legal gender change impossible but I can feel the Adam's apple growing in my throat and my muscles getting stronger, and my smile more real and I'm growing a beard, and I talk more freely

Early set up for bundle offer

Someone in your friend group is REALLY excited that a popular artist just release a new song or album? Now's not the time to crush them by telling them how much you think that artist is overrated and that anyone who listens to them just doesn't know any real music. They're not hurting anyone, why make them feel bad or dumb just for being happy and excited?

Your co-worker tries to share something positive they read in the news, such whatever country you live in now has lower rates of alcoholism, or more trees than ever were planted last year in re-forestation efforts? Ask if yourself if it's necessary to "yeah, but" their positive news with a spin on making it negative. Is that helping at all or serving any purpose? In a lot of cases it's not helpful or necessary.

What do you really have to gain from crushing someone's excitement or attempts at being positive? Ask yourself what your real intentions are. Ask yourself if you actually have anything worthwhile to gain outside of crushing someone who was excited or trying to be positive.

Is it true?

Is it necessary?

Is it loving?

I love Boromir so much so I became Boromir

Boromir’s costume deserves appreciation for being practical both for protection and for travel (John Howe, one of the LotR movies’ conceptual artists, is also a living-history re-enactor). Mail with a gold-worked brigandine on top and heraldic vambraces for the forearms are a good defence, yet costly enough for a nod towards high Gondorian (sp?) rank without shouting about it.

(It’s also a genderless unisex design that’s “male” or “female” depending on who’s wearing it,  but that’s another post.)

I don’t know how the parts of this cosplay or the original movie costume fit together, but I have a feeling that for comfort and convenience, what we see of the armour - its sleeves - is all that’s there.

Just for fun, here’s my notion of how it as functional armour, and the result is much less form-fitting. Various additional layers of metal and padding would give Boromir the burly appearance of a rugby player who could go through an opponent for a short cut even before he brought his sword and shield into play.

A full mail hauberk would probably be about the same size and cut as his  leather surcoat (check Éowyn-as-Dernhelm) but since the favourite son of the Steward of Gondor would have the finest - in both senses of the word - mail that money could buy, it would definitely need a padded gambeson beneath, since such mail would keep a sword-blow at bay but not the blunt-force trauma that went with it.

(Uruk-hai arrows the size of ballista bolts were another matter, unfortunately…)

Here’s a “Bishop’s Mantle” - protection for neck, shoulders and upper body - which shows how fine mail can be. It hangs like cloth, even when there’s a double layer at the top.

If I’m guessing right and Boromir’s red under-tunic is indeed a brigandine, then its “coat-tails” would be unarmoured but the upper sleeves and torso area would be a sandwich of sturdy base cloth, a layer of small steel plates and that wine-red velvet to finish, with the gold dots showing where the plates were riveted in place.

Because this sort of armour was inflexible (there was clever tailoring at the elbows to allow movement) the sleeves were separate items; lots of civilian doublets, tunics etc. also had separate sleeves, so it wouldn’t look unusual. This diagram of an Elizabethan-era jack(et)-of-plates, where the plates were stitched rather than riveted, shows how it worked…

…and here’s the original from the Royal Armouries…

Here’s an interesting photo of a riveted brigandine with its finishing cover worn thin by centuries. Darken that faded fabric to a rich wine-red, add elbow-length sleeves and a high collar, re-gild all the rivets and IMO it would look pretty close to Boromir’s.

Boromir also carried a Saxon- / Viking-style round shield, probably wood with a leather facing shrunk into place while wet (this greatly increases the shield’s resistance to impact) augmented by a metal rim, metal reinforcements at the cardinal points and a domed metal boss over the hand-grip. This shield would have been as effective for offence as defence.

I’m also guessing that if the costume design ever had a helmet it would have been a lower-crowned, less-enclosed and altogether less ostentatious version of the one worn by the soldiers of the White Tower.

I think having designations for different perceptions of canon would be helpful. It would be kind if we could agree upon terms that don’t insult people with different opinions from our own.

To that end, I propose the following:

S1-compliant or divergent

S2-compliant or divergent

S3-compliant or divergent

In honor of the upcoming Good Omens finale and in celebration of the @gomens-s3-block-party, here are 13 fanfic recommendations written by the wonderful community of The Nice and Accurate Network discord server. Enjoy! (s3 spoilers and content warnings posted in description of the fics!)

Write A Way by @angie-words

Rating: E | Length: 73,180 words | Human AU "Azira Fell and AJ Crowley are both successful authors in their own right, invited to speak at the same national book festival. Despite a falling out a couple of years ago, they've never actually met in person - so this event is going to be excruciatingly awkward for both of them. Right? As it happens, and unbeknownst to them, it seems they share a love of a certain TV show... and being very active parts of its fandom (yep, it's Fanfic Writer Crowley and Fanfic Reader Aziraphale time!)"

Wildflower and Wine by @captainblou

Rating: T | Length: 5,619 words | Human AU "Every Thursday is open stage night at the Eden, where Aziraphale works as a bartender. Every Thursday, the amateur rock band Temptation comes to play music. And every Thursday, the bartender falls a little more under the spell cast by their guitarist, a flashy red-head named Crowley."

Love Me Good by @itsscottiesstark

Rating: E | Length: 25,057 words | Human AU "Aziraphale, after his sister and her husband get killed in a car accident, gets custody of his 10 year old nephew, Adam. Almost a year into their new lives, Aziraphale gets called to the school to talk about Adam's behaviour. Clueless as to the reason for the meeting, he can't help but worry. When Adam's teacher steps out of the classroom, though, he thanks the boy for whatever it is he has done."

Περιστερά [Fallen] by @cassiecasyl

Rating: M | Length: 2,207 words CW: Heavy Angst; Graphic Depictions of Violence "Aziraphale falls. On the ground, he is found by a certain caring yet broken demon."

Where is my husband? by @eybefioro

Rating: G | Length: 1,209 words "Crowley and Aziraphale are looking for the perfect cottage, but get interrupted."

The Dragon's Scheme by @the-bentley

Rating: E | Length: 42,379 words | Fantasy/Fairy-tale AU "Crowley isn't your average dragon. He prefers a more civilised life of drinking wine, collecting art and gardening. Also, he decided he would rather have a friend than spend a lonely existence terrorising faerie villages like dragons are supposed to do. Desperate for a companion, he hatches a surprisingly successful plan to get one. But the relationship blossoming between him and his new friend, the faerie Aziraphale, has attracted unwanted attention. Gabriel, a travelling merchant who seeks the elevated status of a hero, is determined to "rescue" Aziraphale from Crowley's "clutches". And Crowley's clan, tired of his antics, would prefer to evict him from his home in favour of a more compliant dragon. Crowley's clever little plan to get himself a friend might not be the only scheming going on. Gabriel's interests just might converge with the dragon clan's. That could spell trouble for the dragon and his faerie partner."

tired of your heart beating its way into my head by @ineffableword, fanart by @mamamissy

Rating: E | Length: 2,549 words "GOOD OMENS 3 TRAILER SPOILERS "He looked so pale. Sickly light skin, hair less like vintage wine and more like the way autumn leaves look when brushed by a sunbeam. Clothes dirtied and ragged, like he wore his heart with his entire being, not just on his sleeve." or An archangel finds his demon in a dark alley and gives him a hand. Oh, and also helps him. Or is it a demon that helps the archangel?"

The Point by @firelikestars, fanart by @elenthyaolyenths

Rating: G | Length: 5,803 words "A year ago, the world didn't end for the second time. It's been a year full of love, freedom, and the slowly fracturing disbelief that either of those things could be within their reach. Something that's also within their reach—rather unfortunately, in Crowley's opinion—is a camping trip."

Your Warmth by @maevemakt

Rating: E | Length: 3,170 words "Crowley spends more and more time in Aziraphale's bookshop, but every evening comes the time to return to the Bentley. The walk to where the car is parked is long and the demon begins to feel cold, which is perhaps why he notices a coat rack near the entrance with all sorts of scarves, gloves, coats and hats on it, which he begins to 'steal' before leaving."

Armageddate with Unexpected Outcome (or: The Wall Thing) by @edit-by-riley

Rating: E | Length: 9,193 words "When leaving the Ritz after their dinner date, Crowley and Aziraphale nearly run into Muriel - the exact person they're meant to be hiding from (long story). Thankfully, Crowley is a quick thinker and knows how to silence his giggling angel. But Aziraphale seems to enjoy the whole "Being Shoved Against A Wall" thing a whole lot more than the demon expected..."

My Funny Valentine by @shades-o-grey

Rating: G | Length: 7,708 words Work-in-Progress "It's the fourteenth of February, Valentine's Day and for the first time in nearly two-hundred years Aziraphale had remembered. But not only did the Angel remember. He had planned, a week in advance no less! This year, finally, after decades of obliviousness and unknowingly allowing Crowley to sweep him off his feet, it was finally his turn to pull the rug out from under the Demon's scaly-ones. But the only way this turnabout can succeed is to ensure Crowley has no-clue about his true intentions and that Aziraphale doesn't give him the chance for any nefarious plans of his own. But can Aziraphale keep everything under wraps without drawing the Demons' suspicion? Will the Angel's plans succeed without fail... or does the universe have other plans? Will Crowley let the Angel drag him anywhere without explanation? Can Crowley and Aziraphale make it through their first Valentines Day after surviving Armageddidn't? It all starts with a phone call..."

Where Flowers Bloom by @commanderdara

Rating: E | Length: 2,828 words | Human AU "On their wedding night, Aziraphale gives Crowley a gift representing some of Crowley’s most important memories using meaningful flowers. Spoiler: all of his memories hold Aziraphale at the center."

Give Yourself to Me by @itchiefeet

My April Patreon oneshot is now on AO3! IF I WAS A WORM is a 5+1 fic in which, even in retired South Downs bliss, Crowley still needs a little reassurance.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/85136776

Cover image lovingly stolen from Know Your Meme.

@goodomensafterdark