#away from heaven

[princip1914]

A little hopeful moment which I missed on the first watch, but which I think is so important. Nina and Maggie come to have their talk with Crowley. Now, we all know that Crowley is Maggie—yes, sure, Nina is sarcastic and suave and cool and calls Maggie angel—but it’s obvious that Crowley is Maggie and Nina is Aziraphale. Crowley even admits it himself in the very beginning of this conversation when he tries to justify meddling to get Maggie and Nina together:

“Nina needed rescuing.” Yeah, you know who else always “needs rescuing”? Anyway, moving on.

Nina says she just got out of a relationship and it would be a disaster to get into another one right away. And then this happens:

Nina says she hopes Maggie will still be around, but she knows she can’t ask Maggie to just wait while she figures out her own baggage. There's no guarantee. And then Maggie interjects—

The parallel between Maggie/Nina and Crowley/Aziraphale is so intentional as to feel heavy handed. So what does it mean that we get this exchange in at this particular moment in the script—buried within the conversation which is the catalyst for Crowley confessing his feelings, occurring in the lull immediately before the spectacular dissolution of everything the first two seasons were building towards?

“We could have been us,” Crowley says. Crowley walks out of the bookshop. Crowley turns off their song in his car. Whatever tentative blooming thing has been building between him and Aziraphale for six thousand years appears to be very clearly over. Aziraphale presses the kiss to his lips and knows there is no guarantee they will ever have a chance to be together. There's no guarantee that Crowley will ever want to forgive him, that he will keep on waiting for him.

But.

There is.

#good omens #good omens meta #gos2 meta #gos2 spoilers #reaching for crumbs to tide me over in lieu of a promise of s3 #in this case the crumbs are pretty textual though #Neil Gaiman never did meet an instance of parallelism he could resist #I have hope #but Aziraphale is going to have to figure out who he is first #away from Crowley #away from heaven #and he’s going to have to work on himself until he is ready #for the gift of Crowley’s love #ineffable husbands #forgive my super crappy screenshots I don’t have a download of the show #yet

[sidsinning]

IM SCREAMING HE DID NOT JUST

ADAM TAKE THE L HOLY FUCK

#hazbin hotel #SWEETIE SHORT KING LUCI KNOWS HOW TO PLEASE A LADY FELLAS TAKE NOTES #WENT FROM DAD TO DADDY HERE #IM CRYYING THE X2 CUCKERY OF HEAVEN #DEFINITELY ANOTHER REASON WHY HE WAS FALLEN HE TEMPTED NOT JUST 1 BUT 2 MARRIED WOMEN AWAY FROM THEIR HUSBANDS #THE SAME HUSBAND #IM CRYING X2 #lucifer morningstar #He is top 2 fighting against alastor as my fav rn #hazbin hotel spoilers #the show must go on #sidrabbles

[bluberryfields]

This is what happens when you're raised by TV and trained in literary analysis

Beyond the crushing heartbreak of that finale, one thing in particular has stuck with me when I look at it in the context of S2 as a whole.

He lays out their relationship, "We're a team, a group. A group of the two of us. And we've spent our existence pretending that we aren't."

He then turns his head away and says, "I mean, the last few years, not really."

He pauses here, facing the interior of the bookshop. Really looks it up and down.

Turns back, "And I would like to spend" before choking on his words and looks toward the window. He can't finish saying something like "And I would like to spend eternity with you" because that's too much, too fast, for both of them.

But it's that "last few years" bit that has firmly lodged itself in my very broken brain.

According to Gaiman, it's been "a few years" since the end of Season 1. Armageddon has been averted. Heaven and Hell have reluctantly retreated. Crowley and Aziraphale have been effectively cut loose from their "sides," leaving them to form their own side.

So at the start of Season 2, we get a glimpse of the “fragile existence” they have carved out for themselves. To me, the biggest difference that we see is how they exist together in front of others. Going to the coffee shop, the pub, and the other shops along the street that Aziraphale has lived on for over 200 years. And don’t forget how they act in front of Nina, Maggie, and sweet, dim Muriel.

At the coffee shop, Aziraphale stammers a bit when Nina asks who Crowley is, but he still seems to have affection in his voice when he says, "We go back a long time."

Compared to Shakespearian "He's not my friend! We've never met before. We don't know each other!" panic, this is an incredible difference.

Of course, each time, Crowley is cool and cheeky and does nothing to indicate that they aren't a pair. Though, of course, he does deny it when Nina asks about Aziraphale being his side piece. “He’s not my bit on the side! He’s far too pure of heart to be anyone’s bit on the side.” And refers to him as an “Angel [swallows]I know.”

When they go the pub, Crowley's joy at doing something together in public that they do not normally do is super cute, including his cheeky order for Aziraphale's sherry. Then, when bringing the drinks over to the socially trapped Aziraphale, he greets Mr. Brown with a truly adorable, "Hello" and a signature DT smile. Then upon hearing how “excited” Mr. Fell is to host the meeting, he looks down and says, “Oh? You astonish me.” while Aziraphale sips his sherry and squirms.

We also watch as Crowley follows Aziraphale as he goes to each shop and talks to the owners about the meeting/secret ball. In theory, Crowley has no reason to tag along, and he certainly doesn’t help sway anyone who doesn’t want to/can’t go. He goofs around at the magic shop. He splays out on the bench, chin on hand, looking for all the world a husband waiting for his wife to pick out a dress at the department store. They are so married it’s ridiculous.

Finally, their behavior in front of Muriel while inside their sanctuary. Crowley sits on the arm of Aziraphale’s chair, somehow looking supremely comfortable on the old-fashioned furniture. He folds up those gloriously long limbs and presses himself as close as possible.

He smiles and plays along with Aziraphale’s coaching of Muriel in her disguise. Calls him Angel and asks to speak in private. And at the end, during the awful wait while Aziraphale talks with The Metatron, Crowley cleans up the shop and tells Muriel that he and Aziraphale will need some “us” time after all this. No beating around the bush. 

Without oversight, they can be openly together and happy. But Heaven just can’t let that happen. 

#good omens #good omens 2 #crowley x aziraphale #crowley #aziraphale #aziracrow #ineffable husbands #david tennant #michael sheen #ineffable divorce #thank you for coming to my ted talk #putting my useless degree to “good” use #I'm not overly invested in these two at all #why can't we have nice things #heaven and hell are toxic af #come on aziraphale #crowley doesn't need to be an angel again #just love him as he is away from that nonsense #good omens meta #The last few years

[lazycranberrydoodles]

i think the barbie movie would have a profound psychological impact on hua cheng

prev comic / next comic / follow for still more hualian barbie movie content because i am not done

bonus angsty version 🎉 i hate love expressions just a couple tiny lines on the mouth and eyebrows and it goes from silly to sad

:(

#this is a haha hua cheng devoted joke but idk it’s nice to think about how much of his identity and self worth is placed on xie lian #obviously since he was 10 most of his major life choices were to serve the crown prince #but in the interval time he became one of the most dangerous men in the world and decided it was his responsibility to create a ghost haven #he works on artistic mastery and alternatively brokers deals with and evades assassination attempts by heaven #if asked i think he would say he only does good for dianxia’s sake (What Would Dianxia Do) and is actually a bad person #and similar stuff about his combat and art skills #theres a question here about how much of his success is due to being such a determined person and how much #of it is luck from ��the savior’ reversing the star of solitude #how much hua cheng is left when you take away xie lian? #he would say nothing #xie lian would say a billionaire genius playboy philantrophist etc #tgcf looooooves to talk about destiny and free will and so do i #all this to say if it was in character for hua cheng to cry at a movie hed be sobbing #this can be read as pre or post confession btw #the poll decided which version of the comic was the ‘main version’ above the cut #tgcf #art #comic #hualian #hua cheng #xie lian #tian guan ci fu #heaven official's blessing #hob #mxtx #my art #barbie #barbie movie #tgcf meme #lmao

[tea-cat-arts]

Not sure whether I should call this my Mu Qing appreciation post or my Mu Qing bullying post (regardless: here are some Mu Qing centric Xianle Trio doodles)

#heaven official's blessing #heaven official's blessing fanart #tgcf #tgcf fanart #mu qing #feng xin #fengqing #xie lian #hua cheng #lang qianqiu #Hua Cheng is two seconds away from saying “does it hurt? knowing i fucked your god” #but wants to respect Xie Lian's privacy #xianle trio

[watchingwisteria]

aziraphale, the one who gave the first human exiles his flaming sword as both a source of protection and warmth, who did not look on them as sinners deserving of destruction but people entitled to the best chances possible, has never once looked at crowley, a heavenly exile, with anything other than compassion and a desire to protect. from their first meeting, he never wanted anything bad to happen to him. when crowley slithers up to him in eden, he treats him like an equal rather than an adversary. when crowley appears, his eyes fill with love and excitement, his gaze turns soft and hesitant, his whole body seizes with joy of seeing him. crowley might typically the one to seek him out, but aziraphale has always welcomed him home.

#aziracrow #ineffable husbands #aziraphale #crowley #good omens #I AM WRITING THE FIRST DRAFT OF MY FIC 😈 #they make me so…… #the ex christian in me turns to a rabid dog when i think abt them #they both love each other with that christian ideal agape love #the kind that would sacrifice itself for the other #to love is to will the good of the other and all that #i just love and adore them both ok u will never catch slander against EITHER of them from me #tags added later : #is now a bad time to mention i think go3 will be #aziraphale realizing that crowley is his home and he was crowley’s #like heaven is not going to be as he imagined it #and he’ll realize being head archangel can change nothing #and ooooh that homecoming.. for both of them…. #well i expect to be in tears that’s all i’ll say #IT HAS TO END WELL THO or may actually unfortunately have to pass away on the spot

[emotionaldisaster909]

HEY WHAT IS THIS

WHAT IS THIS ADD????

WHY IS IT SO BEAUTIFUL?????

SUDDENLY MORE OFFICIAL DONGHUA CONTENT??????

THANK YOU??????

LOOK AT FAFA

HE LOOKS SAD, YOU KNOW WHY???

BECAUSE HE IS

JEALOUS

BC APPARENTLY????

EATING LIME IN CHINESE MEANS

BEING JEALOUS

ALO I CAN’T TAKE THIS AMOUNT OF HUA CHENG’S MOUTH SHOTS

I AM UNWELL

AND XIE LIAN????????

LOOKING SO RADIANT????

LRKDKKDKDKJD I WOULD EAT ANYTHING FROM THOSE HANDS

WHAT IS THIS SHOT SUPPOSED TO MEAN????

ANS XIE LIAN BLUSHES AGAIN

WHAT ARE THOSE ADDS

WHY ARE THEY SO BEAUTIFUL

WHY ARE THEY GAYER THAN THE SHOW ITSELF???? HELLO??????!?!?!

THANK YOU DONGHUA?????!?!

#IF OUR WAY INTO S3 WILL BE LEAD BY THE COUNTLESS GAY ADDS #THAN YES P L E A S E #PRERTY P L E A S E??????? #I STARTED LOSING MY MIND RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF WORK #I HAD TO RUN AWAY FROM PEOPLE TO GUFFAW AND SCREAM AND NOT SCARE THEM #JDJDJSJDJDJHDHXHDH #THE VOICEEEESSSSSS #THE VISUALSSS #THE GAAAAAAAAYYYYYY #AAAAAAAAAAAAA #tgcf #hualian #xie lian #hua cheng #tian guan ci fu #tgcf thoughts #tgcf donghua #tgcf season 2 #heaven officials blessing #天官赐福 #tgcf s2 #tgcf official #tgcf news #tgcf adds

[ginsays]

message in a bottle is all i can do, ooh 🎶

belatedly for fengqing month on twitter, day 5 - long distance

#fengqing #mu qing #feng xin #mu qing thinks he's safe because how could feng xin possibly know it's from him #(but also he kind of wants him to know) #feng xin knows who it's from INSTANTLY and is immediately recharged knowing mu qing was thinking of him while he was away #he WILL tease him about it when he gets back to heaven :') #i tried to take a little more time with this one and had a lot of fun coloring it

[fyodcrs]

The Deadly Scimitar. Such demonic weapons require cruel determination and bloody sacrifices to forge, and are cursed from birth. Don’t touch it, and don’t let it hurt you, otherwise the consequences are unpredictable. This is not some bloodthirsty demon scimitar or ominous weapon at all...

#tgcfedit #tgcf #tian guan ci fu #heaven official's blessing #*edits #usergojoana #userdabiluna #userartless #usermoonz #userinahochi #'Stay away from the scary evil sword or bad things might happen' #Xie Lian two episodes later: BUT IT'S SO CUTE 🥺🥺

[benevolenterrancy]

I'm reading bk6 and have just met ghostfire!Hua Cheng. i am enamoured...

feng xin and mu qing are trying to be supportive of xie lian's bizarre new castle but they're drawing the line at the evil little fire demon that seems to hate absolutely everyone except xie lian

#tgcf #heaven official's blessing #hualian #hua cheng #xie lian #feng xin #mu qing #howl's moving castle #fx and mq have a real dilemma on their hands #they either have to let xie lian cook (absolutely not an option) or else try to cook on the evil little ghost fire #that definitely wants them both dead even on a good day but is oozing murderous intent whenever someone usurps cooking duties from xie lian #hua cheng is like the opposite of calcifer #he wants to do absolutely EVERYTHING for xie lian and if any of his jobs are taken away from him he WILL pout about it #he will not however do a single thing for fx or mq unless he can see no way out of it #they have not had a hot bath since they found xie lian in this weird moving castle #my art

[jamskateable]

Gabriel flaunts his pretty body without realizing it. he doesn’t scold any wandering eyes, though. after all, is it such a shame to admire God’s greatest creation?

or he’s just THAT oblivious. no one knows, really.

either way, his charisma, his diligence, and his half-naked lounging have earned him the appreciative eyes and ears of every angel in Heaven.

#ultrakill #gabriel ultrakill #art #cw suggestive #I just wanted to practice posing #couldn’t hurt to draw some pretty legs right? #that and I love drawing wings in weird poses lol #that loincloth is the only thing granting him some semblance of modesty #he’s one gentle breeze away from flashing some poor defenseless virtue #he’s basically the dumb jock of heaven #heavenly himbo LMFAO #not really he’s smarter than that #but he IS oblivious to how pretty he is #he attracts a lot of wandering eyes #especially when he lounges about half naked in Heaven’s gardens #reclining on a chaise #plucking a harp #being the golden center of heaven’s lavish parties with his charm #you get the idea #anyway #he’s just pretty #I should lay him down more often ;)

[fictionadventurer]

There's something about reading really great writing that's so relaxing. You can just sit back and let the words wash over you, knowing that you can trust the writer.

#random thought of the day #books #part of the reason i'm not getting writing done today was because i spent most of my free time reading from books i've let sit for too long #i haven't been able to sink into good fiction for a while #so elizabeth goudge felt like a spiritual experience #cleansing and uplifting #it always takes me a while to get into her books #there's a learning curve of a couple of chapters to adjust to the style #but once i break through it's bliss #it becomes easy as breathing #there's nothing quite like what she does #i love books that understand that goodness isn't boring or trite #you don't need to have 'darkness' and 'grit' to be complex #like one bit that took my breath away was the talk about sallie and david's marriage struggles #they're both good people who love each other #but they also have their differences because they're human and that causes struggles #not marriage-breaking struggles just nuanced life struggles #and i'm not sure i've seen something like that in a book before #it's a good marriage they married the right people but that doesn't mean life is perfect #goudge uderstands that marriage isn't happily ever after--heaven is #and a good marriage is two people partnering up to help each other reach that goal #it's so much more adult than any 'complex adult' work i've seen

[1111-sunset-circle]

imagine your f/o coming home and slipping into bed with you. mumbling about how warm you are and resting their hands on your sides under your shirt.. bonus if their fingers are freezing. or maybe it’s the other way around: sneaking your hands up their shirt to warm them and snuggling in even closer

#and you jump and are like. YOURE SO COLD!!! #but they just keep holding u while u complain. #‘’youre warm…’’ ok yes i am. But you are NOT! #thats barb i thinnk. shr has cold hanfs #in heaven there wouldnt be dust on everything #chil is the opposite #hes oike a little hot water bottle. im like come hereeee #and he Jnows #he’ll be like Oh thank god my shirt is tucjed in. And i pull it out #‘’GET AWAY FROM ME!!’’ vs me laughing while he tries to get away #chilchuck tag pending #f/o general #romantic f/o #f/o imagines #imagine your f/o #platonic f/o #imagine your platonic f/o #imagine your romantic f/o #barrywriting

[luciuscodedswedeboy]

Taika et al really committing to the “Ed is Jesus, Izzy is Judas” bit huh

#like. #Ed’s closest disciple betrays him #Ed dies #Ed goes to ‘his father’ in Heaven (you know he sees Hornigold as a father figure) #Ed’s disciples hide his earthly body away in a ‘cave’ #while Ed’s spiritual body is more literally hidden in a cave while he’s nursed back to health #Ed rises from the dead with his sort of lover as a witness #I’m pretty sure Jesus didn’t make Judas eat his own toes tho #that one’s on Ed #edizzy #izzy hands #edward teach #our flag means death #ofmd #ofmd spoilers #ofmd s2 spoilers #ofmd s2

[dandelion-roots]

hua cheng, huh? <3

bonus:

[id in alt]

#tgcf #tgcf fanart #tgcf comics #hualian #hualian fanart #hualian comics #tian guan ci fu #heaven official's blessing #xie lian #hua cheng #dan draws #this got away from me and i surfaced at 11 pm having missed dinner skdjkdjds but i ate now so no worries #i sat down today not knowing what to draw and then i was like. ok but what if. another comic #bcs this format is SO fun #the flowers and buildings are for 'hua cheng' (flower city) #colour? in my art? more likely than u think when it comes to cherry tree flowers #im super proud of this work too its just been a good couple art dayss and also all the practice i did #when i was in the mood paid off mwah mwah #i have another lil snippet ill post in a sec that couldnt fit here bcs i didnt feel like drawing this entire convo skdjkdsjs

[wanna-b-poet31]

So like...who made this image of Aziraphale?

He looks like so cool here. Intimidating, fearless, powerful, and wielding his flaming sword with a hard look on his face.

Was it Crowley and he's been holding out on us about his drawing ability? Did he have this commissioned and then submit it to the book. It was clearly published after he changed his name, so maybe?

OR does he just talk Aziraphale so lovingly and fiercely everyone's just like "okay, we got a badass over here"? How much authority or input does Crowley have on this interpretation of him? Is this how Crowley sees him?

It doesn't seem like Aziraphale interacts with other Demons. So like who else saw Aziraphale to 1) know he's got a flaming sword and 2) sees him as an intimidating beauty?

Or is this just incidental? Did some demon of Hell just go "I guess we have to fill space with an image. Might as well insert random Angel fanart here."

I love all these options!

#good omens #good omens season 2 #good omens season 2 spoilers #Crowley #Aziraphale #ineffable husbands #but actually #who the fuck made this? #I need to know #Did HEAVEN have input? #PRobably not given how much they disdain him #Hell out here 1 tightly fitted robe away from drawing him with abs #I think crowley's in love #crowley loves aziraphale