#a.z. fell and co.

[most-normal-eccles-cake-ignorer]

celestial surveillance + some garden of eden parallels

For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open. - Luke 8:17 (NIV)

Over and over, we see how the bookshop feels safe/private while simultaneously being sort of a fishbowl, leaving its inhabitants quite exposed to onlookers. *garden of eden vibes*

Similarly, Aziraphale and Crowley tried to conduct a class-A surreptitious 6000+ year agreement/slowburn romance and yet their 25 Lazarii relationship is fairly obvious to others.

Reminiscent of how Crowley is painfully aware that nothing is certain and time is horribly finite, Aziraphale lives with the knowledge that anything he does or says can be used against him—or much worse, used against Crowley or others our little guardian cares about. Unlike his emotional support demon, however, Aziraphale was afraid Before the Beginning, before The Fall.

While Upstairs aren't the only ones watching, they have the potential to be the most dangerous threat (emphasis on potential bc they have to take an interest and also maybe stumble into important clues): The heavenly office overlooks the entire world. Where Hell had to send Furfur to the theatre with a camera, Heaven's got Earth Observation Files they can pull up to see what someone was doing at any point in history—not even St. James Park can keep you anonymous in the face of thirty-seven classes of scriveners/recording angels!

Aziraphale may tend to underestimate danger in general because of his misplaced hope that Heaven is truly Good, but in the same way that he can be both clever and stupid, I think he trusts Heaven and fears it at the same time. Why else would he be so worried about breaking their rules even when he knows they are wrong?

Of course, Aziraphale is also a courageous little bastard with a deity-defying protective streak! Despite Heaven's indoctrination, we see him navigating all sorts of grey area as he learns to 'blur the edges'. But he knows it isn’t safe to do that openly. He keeps this more human side hidden and tries not to think too hard about why doing good is wrong in heavens eyes. (lol other people's aziraphale metas are my main food group rn)

At the end of S2, we see him leave A.Z. Garden & Co. after tasting the forbidden fruit large oat milk latte, armed with his naïve/misguided 'knowledge of Good and Evil'. (and perhaps he knows he can't 'let the sun can’t go down' on him in Soho lest the the Metatron mete out death instead of coffees?) When Adam and Eve left Eden, Aziraphale and Crowley observed from above. When the angel and demon leave their own garden, we get the sense that they are also being watched.

(also idk if this is anything but Adam facing off against the lion while Eve looks on in the bg seemed a bit like Crowley watching Aziraphale walk into danger w the Metatron. could be a good sign since the lion gets turned into salami)

There are hints at the end of S2 that the watching is getting a little a spicier (at least I think they are hints haha): the bookshop windows are still broken during the last part of E6, further decreasing privacy; the zombies used binoculars to watch A&C from the Dirty Donkey under cover of darkness in 1941 but the Metatron just looks across the road in the light of day. And then there's the whole 'hefty jigger of almond syrup'.

#im watching you wazowski always watching #also i'm just thinking jigger -> jiggery-pokery = trickery?? that's got to be on purpose right? *admiral ackbar voice* ITS A TRAP #good omens meta #good omens analysis #the metatron #a.z.fell & co. #the garden of eden #good omens #good omens 2 #good omens s2e6 #the final fifteen #aziraphale #crowley #lol this started as a paragraph in the GO:Lockdown Aziraphale draft but it was getting too big so here we are #i'll finish it eventually but i just like looking at everything everyone else is posting sm and i get distracted #a.z. fell and co.

[beebopboom]

A Bookshop in Soho Eden

This is not a new idea and after reading these wonderful post by @the-apology-dance here and @queerfables here my brain just got hooked on it. I wanted to see though, if I could take this idea one step further and oh boy can you - so if you want to join me down this rabbit hole I went down strap in for this rollercoaster - I broke it down to three parts that I will post separately

This is technically season 3 speculation as I bring up some points connected to the Second Coming for further down the line

Also I'm just going to lay out the information then connect in all in the end so just stay with me - it will all connect

But without further ado

Aziraphale's Jobs over the years

Let's start at the beginning or just after - the Garden of Eden

Angel of the Eastern Gate and donned with a flaming sword - technically on apple tree duty according to him but we only see him after the whole eating the apple business. What we do see is him doing is opening his “gate” for them to leave, closing it, and then getting questioned by God - specifically about his flaming sword. The next time we see him he is back at his post on the wall - Adam and Eve are quite a bit away by now - and this is when Crowley comes up to him.

The thing I find interesting about this is that he is still there after the apple business is done and over with - and he is still in guarding position, looking out towards the humans

So let's take a look into the actual bible for maybe an answer as to why -

Genesis 3:24 - “He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turn every way to guard the way to the Tree of Life”

Now the Tree of Life is an interesting mention with it's connection to the Second Coming

So let’s take a quick look into what the Tree of life is

The Tree of Life is mentioned in two particular stories in the bible - Genesis and Revelations - or in other words the Beginning and the End

Adam and Eve had access to this tree and were only warned against the Tree of Knowledge because they couldn’t have both - eternal life or knowledge of good and evil

So once they had taken a bite from the apple God then revoked their access to the Tree of Life by banishing them from the garden and placing a guard - no humans were to have access anymore

Until the Second Coming comes around where all the humans who have passed judgement(all the names written down in the book of life) and get to live in Gods’s paradise again - with the Tree of Life in the center and fully accessible. People are able to consume the fruits from the tree once again

The point I'm trying to make is yes technically he was on apple tree duty then but now he is on Tree of Life duty - it’s the purpose of him remaining in Eden, and on Earth among humans. Protection for and against humans

Now Aziraphale had one more job that I wanted to bring up, courtesy of the Demon’s Guide to Angelic Beings who Walk the Earth, and that is Garden Designer. We don't know exactly when he did this so we can only guess - I’m going to out on a limb and say the 16th - 17th century French Gardens

Developed from Italian renaissance gardens, this style of gardening used symmetry, parterres, and geometrical shapes. I’m just going to touch on some key features but if you want to learn more here are some links (here and here)

These gardens tended to start at the house and were meant to be view from above on the terraces. There would be a main path way that would lead away from the house and would come to a circular center that was often just lawn or water sometimes surrounded by trees, it was from here that the garden was broken down into sections. Through the use of geometry they created perspective and optics with rows and designs of the plants placement. Closer to the house these designs were more complex with them getting less complex the further away. Symmetry and control over the plants was a big part as it was a way show a man's mastery over nature. Water was also a key feature mainly through the use of still water ponds that served as mirrors. On top of all these interesting designs the gardens were often decorated with statues. These gardens were meant to tell a story whether viewed from above or walking within - it would seem as though you were going through different rooms

Some of these these design elements might sound familiar and they should - it's only reflected in one of the most visited places in the show

The Bookshop - A.Z. Fell and Co.

Aziraphale opened up the bookshop in 1800, but had been working on it for years as we learn from Crowley in 1793, all due to his love of books. Not that the actually wants to sell his books and actively makes it unpleasant to a customer.

The bookshop also serves another purpose though - it's a safe place. I've theorized before in this post about how something happened before 1793 but after 1601 that made Crowley get in trouble with Hell due to their arrangement - a fear that Aziraphale has had from the start. So Aziraphale took this chance to combine the things he loved and the need for a safe place so he could hang out with the one he loved - all wrapped up in the explanation that he was just doing his job and was able to make it a Heaven’s embassy - unable to enter without permission and easy ways to sneak out. But I’m not here to really talk about the emotional connections -

So let’s look at the actual layout of the bookshop - the bare bones at least

As soon as you go through the door you are hit with a second circular doorway - pointed out to be the omega symbol. In this front little area there are three tables but then we lead into the center of the bookshop with a big circle rug lit up by the skylight and surrounded by four pillars. It is from here that the bookshop opens up into different pathways and sections all directed by the actual bookshelves. Towards the back of the shop is a staircase that leads up to the second floor where you can still look down and around the lower floor. There are statues placed all around the shop with extra tables and chairs throughout and quite a few rugs with some French influenced designs on them laying about.

(credit to whoever made this - you are a godsend)

Rings some bells doesn’t it?

Now you may be asking why these specific gardens instead something more like Eden to commemorate their first meeting on Earth. I mean this is Aziraphale we are talking about - the angel who got himself arrested because he wanted to go on a french date and who decided to learn french, or in other words one of the more romantic languages, the human way. For designing a bookshop that would be their safe space picking a french design is not too far out there.

But what if I told you there was more to his bookshop and the of Whickber Street as a whole.

If you remember the whole Tree of Life rant I went on earlier let me add one more piece of information - the geometry symbol

so is that bookshop is not only meant to represent their Eden but particularly the paradise that is the reward of the Second Coming? Is he actually really doing his job in protecting the Tree of Life from humans? Even if it was a subconscious choice on Aziraphale’s part - could it explain the concept art of the cut dream?

Technically on Tree of Life duty guarding his books/fruit of eternal life from humans in their modern day Eden.

Now I’ll admit it doesn’t line up perfectly but I wanted to include it because my next point can still stand either way - and I’m going to go more into this idea in the other parts.

Rivers of Time

In Eden there is one big river that when it reaches out of Eden it splits into four rivers that water the garden and reach to the ends of the Earth - Pishon(full flowing), Gihon(bursting forth), Hiddekel(swift or darting), and Euphrates(fruitful). The Tree of Life it is said to have a river on both sides.

Now I’m sure we have all noticed the some weird instances of time being messed with in the show - particularly in the streets of Soho. They are sped up, slowed down, and normal speed. Often these roads are also depicted as wet.

So let me throw in the idea of Timestreams

It’d probably be easier to go read that but basically it’s -

The concept that time is always flowing forward or backwards, and meeting in the middle - always on the move always connected - never quite knowing where you step in. Just like the flow of water.

And wouldn’t it be ironic that Crowley, our time stopping demon, and his car are now constantly in this stream of time darting around only to finally stop and slow down in the bookshop

So we can take the four streets of our little spot in Soho connect it to the four rivers and apply some time fuckery - you get a place that is full and bursting with life, people darting all around looking and buying things that make their life more fruitful. But time is a bit wibbly wobbly for the residents, always flowing and connected - past, present, and future - so we get characters that are parallel’s to the past, that may have existed in a different time or universe, and that repeat often.

So if the Bookshop is their version of Eden it would make these streets representative of the rest of the world - what with a street that lead to chinatown and have various French and Italian restaurants along another - this idea is not too far out there

But also if you take the Bookshop as a little more representative of the Tree of Life in particular with the two streets surrounding it - Give Me Coffee or Give Me Death can very easily be equated with the Tree of Knowledge. The whole of Whickber Street is their Eden.

This is what happens when you have an Angel and Demon with too much affect on the world around them living in one spot for hundreds of years

So to wrap this all up please remember this is just a theory and for fun - take it as you will

But if you have followed along this long and I’ve somehow managed to get you entertain this idea of the Bookshop being their slice of Eden - whether Eden itself or just a single part of Eden (Tree of Life) with the whole street being Eden - wait and see for the next part

After all the apple (coffee) did come from within the Garden and then they lost access to the Tree of Life (bookshop)

This was Part 1

In Part 1.5 it just a couple theories concerning the Book of Life and more, like an intermission

And finally Part 2 we discuss the second place the Tree of Life is mentioned, the Book of Revelations, and how we have already seen a version of the Second Coming

#good omens #good omens 2 #good omens s3 #aziraphale #crowley #aziracrow #ineffable husbands #ineffable spouses #good omens meta #good omens analysis #good omens theory #A.Z. Fell and Co. #aziraphale’s bookshop #good ineffable omens

[brenna]

the vibe for march 30th is a walk in the park (a real walk this time, not my watch making a fool of itself). but before that, it was a lazy morning, and after that, it was an even lazier afternoon. sometimes I have a song I play so much that I make @ominoushominid adopt that song, too. right now, "dollar bill bar" is that song. if it comes on, I crank it loud so she can enjoy it with me.

#quinn has a little tiny blep in this pic #she sat by me when i fell asleep on the couch #trying to read #i was cramping pretty bad so i needed a nap #cats #some people had their #remote control boats in the lake #so that's a tiny boat #you can't tell but that's a red-winged black bird #birds #also a goose in there #keroppi #a.z. fell and co. #ootd #we also got DQ #quinn #sierra ferrell #the vibe for #brenna

[pridescrolling]

If aziraphales bookshop doesn't have a secret room/passage behind a shelf then really... whats the point?! Where's the whimsy?? Aziraphale definitely has a secret bookshelf passage you can't convince me otherwise.

And it is full of crowley paraphernalia

#good omens #aziraphale #crowley #aziraphale x crowley #goodomens #aziraphales bookshop #a.z. fell & co

[livhowlett]

Crowley: I've been meaning to ask you this since 1800. 'A.Z Fell and Co'... whoes the Co?

Aziraphale: Oh, well to me it always stood for... Co-rowley ....

Crowley: Oh... I see... so, I suppose we've been business PARTNERS for the past 200 so years then.

Aziraphale: I suppose we have.

Later

Crowley: Dose that mean I get to change things in the bookshop? Since I'm your PARTNER?

Aziraphale: Oh good lord, you are NOT going to start selling my books!

Crowley: No! No... I just thought maybe I'd move some of my plants in. You know, I'm entitled to have some of MY stuff at OUR place... of business...

Aziraphale: Oh! Yes. That-that sounds lovely. You'll have to stop by every day to check on them tho. You know how terrible I am with plants.

Crowley: Of course! Yeah...

#good omens #crowley #aziraphale #ineffable husbands #crowley x aziraphale #good omens 2 #good omens season 2 #a.z. fell #az fell and co #the bookshop #crowley loves aziraphale #aziraphale loves crowley #ineffable partners #ineffable lovers #david tennant #micheal sheen #micheal sheen and david tennant #aziraphale and crowley #idiots in love #ineffable idiots

[grishaversegirlblogger]

inktober day 7: drip // a.z. fell & co.

i think this is my favourite entry for the whole month. this is it. reading aziraphale x sleepy crowley is my peak.

i used jim's bedroom as reference for all the furniture placements so it's still the same building as the bookshop!! i didnt go off the rails again!! (can i hear a wahoo?) after inktober i may want to expand on this for a south downs piece RAAA!!

also, drawing crowley in that angle was SUCH a piece of work. but its ok. i persisted in the name of ineffable brainrot ! i also didn't realise how fun it was to draw pillowcases heehee

#my art #inktober #inktober day 7 #good omentober #good omentober day 7 #day 7 #drip #a.z. fell & co. #the bookshop #good omens art #good omens #clip studio paint #ineffable husbands #crowley #aziraphale #digital art #anthony j crowley #anthony crowley #good omens aziraphale #good omens crowley #good omens 2 #gomens #gomens 2 #ineffable fanart #ineffable spouses #ineffable #ineffable idiots #ineffable partners #ineffable wives #illustration

[apologydanceenthusiast]

My brain just got stuck on the southdowns cottage and how they'd end up there

And honestly, there's this recurring theme of the bookshop getting destroyed or at the very least pretty messed up (S1 by burning down and S2 by getting raided by the demon army).

And while I love to theorise and imagine Muriel might take over the bookshop, I think that, if we're lucky enough to get to the soutdowns cottage, it might be at cost of the bookshop

Another point in favour of that theory might be the whole "You can't leave this bookshop" "Oh Crowley, nothing lasts forever" interaction, which would be incredible foreshadowing

#good omens #crowley #gos2 #neil gaiman #go2 #aziraphale #southdowns cottage #i am more or less back from the dead #good omens season 2 #the bookshop #a.z. fell & co #aziraphales bookshop #dunno if this was said before or if this makes any sense #my brain just came up with this while recording a 7 minute long voicemessage in which i was infodumping abt GO to my best friend

[irradiatedwarlock]

I see them everywhere.

Albatrosses tend to pair for life, and it can take a while to find the right partner. Reunited pairs go through an elaborate, synchronized ritual of braying, wing spreading, and bill tapping to reaffirm their bonds before getting down to the business of breeding. 

#good omens #crowley #aziraphale #ineffable husbands #david tennant #aziracrow #anthony j crowley #good omens the ball #a.z. fell & co #whickber street #albatrosses #ineffable albatrosses #ineffable birds #birds of tumblr #birbs of tumblr #good omens 2 #neil gaiman #michael sheen #ornithology #birdwatching

[i-only-ever-asked-questions]

Bilton and Scaggs

Back when I was working in the map of Soho, I got to Bilton and Scaggs Hats and Caps. There is so much to say about this shop and its history, and it is so interesting that it warrants its own post, so here we are

Bilton and Scaggs Publishers was a London publishing firm in the 1600's, we don't really know when it was established though. They were not one of the eight great publishers of London, but they were doing well enough, after all, it was able to survive its three major publishing disasters (which occurred in rapid succession). Alas, it looks like Bilton and Scaggs, publishers went out of business somewhere in the 1890's and the milliner who set up shop there, kept the name. Nowadays, only Aziraphale knows the full story. What follows are details of their disasters. They are quite funny, unless you are Master Bilton or Master Scaggs of course :P

The first one was in 1651; when they accidentally printed the so called Buggre Alle This Bible. This very rare misprinted Bible had a few verses added to Genesis and a variation in Ezekiel. Of course our angel owns one copy. Genesis chapter 3 normally has 24 verses where the last one goes like this: "24. So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life." The three additional ones go like this:

25. And the Lord spake unto the Angel that guarded the eastern gate, saying Where is the flaming sword which was given unto thee? 26. And the Angel said, I had it here only a moment ago, I must have put it down some where, forget my own head next. 27. And the Lord did not ask him again.

"It appears that these verses were inserted during the proof stage. In those days it was common practice for printers to hang proof sheets to the wooden beams outside their shops, for the edification of the populace and some free proofreading, and since the whole print run was subsequently burned anyway, no one bothered to take up this matter with the nice Mr. A. Ziraphale, who ran the bookshop two doors along and was always so helpful with the translations, and whose handwriting was instantly recognizable." The other issue with this Bible was a little change in Ezekiel 48:5 and it is the change that gives the Bible its name:

2. And bye the border of Dan, fromme the east side to the west side, a portion for Afher. 3. And bye the border of Afher, fromme the east side even untoe the west side, a portion for Naphtali. 4. And bye the border of Naphtali, from the east side untoe the west side, a portion for Manaffeh. 5. Buggre Alle this for a Larke. I amme sick to mye Hart of typefettinge. Master Biltonn if no Gentelmann, and Master Scagges noe more than a tighte fisted Southwarke Knobbefticke. I telle you, onne a daye laike thif Ennywone with half an oz. of Sense shoulde bee oute in the Sunneshain, ane nott Stucke here alle the liuelong daie inn thif mowldey olde By-Our-Lady Workefhoppe. @ “Æ@;! 6. And bye the border of Ephraim, from the east fide even untoe the west fide, a portion for Reuben.

What we can conclude from here is that Aziraphale owned a bookshop in the 1650's that was in the same block as Bilton and Scaggs Publishers. From the deleted scenes in the script book we know he opened A. Z. Fell & Co. in 1800. But there is nothing saying he couldn't have owned a bookshop with a different name decades or centuries before. The bookshop tour special feature from the S1 DVD says he's had it for 350 years. Counting from 2020, that would put it at around 1670. But if we generalize to around 2000, that means the shop could have been there in the 1650's. This more or less matches this ask where it is explained that Aziraphale bought the land in 1630 and over the next 60 years (1690ish) he expanded and built the current bookshop.

Sorry for the tangent, back to Bilton and Scaggs.

The second publishing disaster occurred in 1653 when somehow they obtained one of the famed Shakespeare's "Lost Quartos" and subsequently lost it (the three Shakespeare plays never reissued in folio edition and now are totally lost to scholars and playgoers. Their names are "The Comedie of Robin Hoode, or, The Forest of Sherwoode", "The Trapping of the Mouse", and finally "Golde Diggers of 1589." In S2 Episode 6 we see all three folios inside the box Gabriel brought with him. I am sure if asked directly, Aziraphale will assure you that he has no idea how those pamphlets got into that box. It was completely empty only four days ago!

The third and final disaster happened in 1655 and involved a prophecy book that didn't sell a single copy and ended up being the first book remaindered in England: "The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, witch." Not even the sign "Locale Author" attached to the book helped sell it in the author's home town in Lancashire. At the end the publisher destroyed all the unsold copies. Aziraphale, however, seems to have found the 1655 catalog from Bilton and Scaggs that contained only the 1972 prophecy "Do not buy Betamax."

I do find interesting that although evidently Aziraphale had a close relationship with Master Bilton and Master Scaggs, he still failed to secure a copy of the prophecies. It was printed right there! Next to you! How did that happen? Where were you, Aziraphale??!!

#good omens #good omens 2 #good omens book #aziraphale #Mr. A. Ziraphale #a.z. fell & co #bilton and scaggs #buggre alle this bible #shakespeare's lost quartos #the nice and accurate prophecies of agnes nutter

[tsyvia48]

Hey GOmens nerds! Where is the flashback to the opening of the bookshop in the script book? I get kind of stymied reading the script straight through, but I really want to read that scene.

#good omens #neil gaiman #crowley x aziraphale #aziracrow #ineffable husbands #script book #a.z. fell & co

[myinspirationjournalquotes]

Did anyone else get a lot of A.Z. FELL & Co. vibes from The Lost Bookshop? The way the bookshop was clearly alive and conspired about the people in its vicinity, the way it was capable of way more power than expected, the way it had whimsical little trinkets and odd books in so many places. (And especially in how it forced people to read specific books.)

It would be a fantastic au for an Ineffable Husbands fanfic.

#book club #the lost bookshop #evie woods #(the author of the lost bookshop lol) #a.z. fell & co #aziraphale #crowley #ineffable husbands #spoilers #for the book anyways #good omens

[sunsbrightside]

A.Z FELL AND Co.

#good omens #good omens season 2 #crowley #aziraphale fanart #crowley fanart #good omens fanart #bookshop #i taged as Crowley and Aziraphale fanart because this is their home #or at least was #A.Z FELL AND CO #aziraphales bookshop #give me season 3 now

[thavron]

Can you tell what it is yet?

Just a lil summin summin I’m working on to go with my crackfic extravaganza entry.

#my art #wip wednesday #good omens #a.z fell & Co #aziraphale #good omens fanart #digital art #procreate

[spirit0flondonatnight]

Do you guys think Aziraphale owns an original copy of The Strange Case of Doctor Jekyll & Mr Hyde in his bookshop?

#the strange case of dr jekyll and mr hyde #good omens #aziraphale #a.z. fell & co

[corundumyuri]

does anyone have some good reference photos of the outside of aziraphale's bookshop/whickber street from the show? i'm struggling to find good photos online, thank you

#good omens #aziraphale #aziraphale's bookshop #a.z. fell and co #help. please

[ineffable-problem]

I am on a mission to make A.Z Fell And co In survival Minecraft. I will give an update once a day on the progress.

#good omens #ineffable husbands #gomens #A.Z fell and co #a. z. fell #minecraft #minecraft build