#chewb

In honour of the 40th anniversary of Return of the Jedi I created this AT-ST based on my personal favourite LEGO design from 2001.

The Good Omens Events Discord is sending love to you, our fearless leader, @bisasterdi ! Your friends on the server have contributed their thoughts and thanks for you and the online haven you’ve created for us.

Our friend here is chewb.

 How did you come to join the GO-Events Server?

As part of the rom-com event.

 What do you enjoy about the GO-Events Server? Favorite channels or anecdotes?

I'm mostly a lurker, but my favorite channels are definitely #made-me-happy-today and #social-media-links-n-selfies, because i LOVE watching the folks in this server lift each other up.

 What's been your favorite of the GO Events so far, and why?

Soft spot for romcom, because it got me to write fic for the first time in my adult life!

 Would you like to link any of your fics that have been written for GO Events?

sure! Torpoint Blank https://archiveofourown.org/works/22943383/

 Do you have a favorite of bisasterdi's fics? Which one is it, and why?

Hard to pick just one, but it's got to be Fur Get Me Not! (https://archiveofourown.org/works/24555466) I am weak for fluffy AUs, and I love the way this one incorporates canon but also feels so true and sweet and its own thing. Lovely, funny, and fun.

 Any other comments of appreciation?

GO Rom Com Spotlight: chewb

The lovely chewb (@probablypicturesofquilts on insta) has claimed Grosse Pointe Blank to adapt for Good Omens in the Good Omens Rom Com Event.

For reference, here’s a little background about the source material!

About Grosse Pointe Blank: After assassin Martin Blank (John Cusack) has trouble focusing on his work, resulting in a failed assignment, he returns to his hometown, Grosse Point, Mich., for his 10-year high school reunion. There he meets Debi Newberry (Minnie Driver), an old girlfriend that he stood up for the prom. Martin's secretary (Joan Cusack) sets up a hit for him while he is in town, but Martin starts to reconsider his life. Meanwhile, he is hounded by an unstable rival hit man, Grocer (Dan Aykroyd).

We spent some time chatting about how the adaptation is coming so far, as well as future plans for it! Now, get to know chewb a little better!

* * *

goromcom: You chose to adapt Grosse Pointe Blank as your rom com. Has this movie been a favorite of yours, or is there some other reason you chose it?

chewb: I've loved this movie for AGES, it's so silly and fun, and I love the anti-hero hero. Most of why I chose it, though, is because it maps to GO absurdly well. Like, maybe too well? That has me a little bit worried.

goromcom: I think a lot of people are feeling that about their rom com choices, so I’m sure it’s fine! Do you have a favorite moment of Grosse Pointe Blank, and are you looking forward to presenting it in your adaptation? Any loose plans for that scene that you can share?

chewb: I love this whole movie almost top to bottom, but I think my favorite thing is all the fast-paced dialog. So, John Cusack's character's retorts whenever anyone asks him what he does for a living, the scene with the Feds where the one explains to the other why they can't just kill the mark so they can kill John Cusack's character (Martin) already.

I just think it's all so smart and funny and rat-a-tat-tat. (Which, incidentally, is one of the things I'm most worried about with my adaptation!) The Feds are going to be Hastur and Ligur, so that should be fun.

goromcom: Other than turning the Dukes of Hell into Feds (ha!), do you plan to stick very closely to the story beats of the original story, or make bigger changes?

chewb: Yes, I'm going to stick pretty close to the beats of the original story. The biggest changes I'm trying to make are to give Aziraphale more of a journey; in the movie, Minnie Driver's character, Debi, doesn't have much of a journey. She's not a sexy lamp because she has hilarious dialogue, but she might be a sexy lamp with a witty post-it on. She doesn't really grow at all, she's kind of just along for the ride. I want to change that for Aziraphale.

I'm also changing the target of Martin's last-ever contract killing. In the movie (maybe tag for spoilers?) it's Debi's dad; in the fic, it will be Aziraphale's young nephew, Adam.

goromcom: Look out, Adam!

Other than what you’ve already shared, what's another interesting decision you've made in your planning so far--a notable casting decision, a changing of venue, or some other plan you have to paint Good Omens all over your rom com?

chewb: I'm a little sad I can't put it in Tadfield, but I chose to make the setting Torpoint, in Cornwall, pretty much exclusively because that makes a better title (Torpoint Blank).  My dear friend @diamondot is beta-ing for me, and she had the genius idea that the school Crowley and Aziraphale went to was a Catholic school run by the Chattering Order of St. Beryl, which isn't going to be a huge part of the story, but will definitely (hopefully!) color a lot of it. Stuff like why the teachers are all so chatty, maybe some slightly creepy Satanist undertones, etc.

goromcom: Well, I think that’s all we can expect you to divulge before you actually post the story! One more question about you to wrap things up.

I am blatantly stealing this last question from The Good Place: The Podcast, but here goes: Tell me something "good". It can be something big or small. It can be a charity you think is doing good work, or you can talk about how great your pet is.

chewb: Something good! Um all I *want* to tell you is how anxious I am about this project! But instead, I wanna tell you about RAICES, which provides free and low-cost legal services to underserved immigrant communities, and could use all the support any of us can offer! They're an amazing organization and I'm really really glad they exist.

goromcom: That is a great cause, and unfortunately, so needed right now. Let’s hope that someday soon they have a lot less work on their hands.