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Crowley suggests Aziraphale kill the anti-Christ. Aziraphale looks sick.

“I’ve never actually killed anything before”

Good Omens finale prologue:

Aziraphale bandaging Crowley’s leg

“I’ve spent the war smiting rogue angels…”

Good Omens S2:

Beelzebub recalls Crowley to Hell and brings up extreme sanctions and the Book of Life. Crowley looks concerned but skeptical.

“That was just a fairy tale we told to frighten the cherubs…”

Good Omens finale:

Saraqael talks about the books of life and there’s a suggestion it could have been destroyed. Crowley walks around discussing the book like he’s some complete authority about it.

“No it’s impossible to destroy, it’s too well made”

(Warning: Talk of N*il G*iman Below)

If we're to take these tweets at face value, that no one altered the bones of the story, neither Peter Atkins, Michael Marshall Smith, or the TP estate, then that confirms that the ending we received was entirely Gaiman's.

FOR THE RECORD! The purpose of this post isn't to guilt or influence the opinion of those who liked S3, but to discourage the very vocal few who like to throw Sir Terry's name around and act like being anything but happy and grateful for the finale is some kind of moral failing.

Having this fact confirmed didn't surprise me, but the way people have been talking about S3's ending being "What Terry would have wanted" you'd think the writers had been working off some secret, hand-written draft for a sequel made in secret by Terry himself.

So the point of this post is just to honestly acknowledge S3's authorship. I'm personally not of the opinion that it has to effect your enjoyment of the ending if you're one of the people who did enjoy it. I'm a lover of S2 myself, and I consider it pretty significantly in my own GO canon, but you would never see me insisting upon it in regards to it being what Terry Pratchett would have wanted for the series.

Because we don't know that.

You can love the show for expanding the story and trying new things, you can compare themes to the sorce material, make connections where others might not, and agree or disagree artistically the choices that were made for his characters. Criticize, analyze or praise it all you like. That's what I do! And what I'll continue to do now that the story is over.

But at the end of the day, when you drop into the comments of posts critiquing S3 and say with your whole chest that this ending is "what Terry Pratchett would have wanted", what you're really saying with your whole chest is that you trust Neil Gaiman to have decided honestly what Terry would have wanted.

Which, I suppose is up to your individual discretion. But even if you're somehow one of the people who still tolerates that man, he's not, and never will be, some all knowing creative executor of Terry's will.

Especially considering they seemed to have butted heads on one of the more under-acknowledged but significant aspects of the book's ending.

(From an interview with Sir Terry)

Something as simple as insisting (gun to his head) that they go out of their way to make sure everyone had a happy ending, and even writing it in such a way that the readers knew for sure that was the case, is a detail I think really separates Gaiman's and Terry's intentions to their readers.

And that is still also NOT me trying to insist either which way what direction Terry would have wanted a potential sequel to go, whether his ending would have been happy or equally as bittersweet. I just feel it's important to acknowledge small differences like that in how they made writing decisions, especially if you're going to consider Gaiman's ability to actually write with Terry in mind.

(I've also heard tell that Gaiman greatly exaggerated his relationship with Terry overall, but I'm personally not very familiar with any part of their connection to eachother outside of Good Omens, so I won't speak on that matter.)

TL;DR: Being on the side of the fandom that liked the finale does not make anyone the moral paragon and defender of Terry Pratchett's work they might think it does.

and like. do we have to keep gently phrasing things to protect naturally-thin people's feelings. in my life it has never been fashionable to be fat. "fat" is still a bad word. there has never been institutional power pushing people to gain weight; no trillion-dollar industry to "fix" skinny people. a larger body type has never been over-represented in models, influencers, celebrities. sure, people might say "i'm worried for your health," but they do it with respect and gentleness, like they're talking to a scared deer.

every single fucking time i talk about this, i have to be so careful with what i say, in case i offend even one skinny person. it is just true that skinny people have social capital across many cultures. there is a reason you almost never hear someone say "i wish i was fat," but you will constantly see people say "I wish i was thin." and yet inevitably some skinny person will tell me: i thought you wanted body positivity. it is the same fucking attitude as when a cis man says "when you say men have power, well, i've been bullied for being a man. i thought you believe in mental health awareness. don't you know men have a higher suicide rate?"

two things can be true at once: your experience being bullied for being thin was terrible. and people with larger bodies probably have it worse.

i have been big and small. i know many other people who have been big and small. trust what i'm about to tell you: being small is much easier. the world is kinder to you. people treat you better. honestly, this pattern occurs pretty much regardless of gender - my guy friends have confided that they'd rather be bullied for being thin than be bullied for being fat. if you're skinny, the pressure might be to gain weight, sure, but it's often to do so in a way that keeps you skinny - to gain muscle, specifically.

thinness is seen as innate and natural, genetic. whereas carrying any fat - that is a moral failing. it is assumed to be related to your character, your personality. i have seen people equate it to discipline, to hygiene. that bias is why we need to talk about this.

This confirms that there is a civilization older than the Sumerians that we have yet to find

Some people get existential dread from this

Source (non Aboriginal)

And a quote I picked out from a longer interview with an Aboriginal local elder about the area where he touched on the history

this and also the only difference between fanfic writers and writers who sell their own original works as careers is that fanfics aren’t monetized. that’s all.

being a “professional” writer doesn’t mean your works are inherently better than fanfics. I’ve read so many fics that are more professionally written than some published books.