#music producer aziraphale

[bebop-station]

Shostakovich and Aziraphale

I was thinking (and talking to @balance-of-probability endlessly) about the choice to have Shostakovich's fifth symphony feature so heavily in S2 ep 1, and how it struck me as a little odd as there are a bunch of composers Aziraphale loves mentioned in the book and Shostakovich isn't amongst them.

Backstory: In 1934, Shostakovich’s opera Lady Macbeth of Mtensk premiered to huge popular acclaim, which was very briskly walked back in 1936 after the Stalinist newspaper Pravda published an article denouncing it.

Actually more than denouncing it, condemning it. It wasn’t credited but was authored by a guy called David Zaslavsky who was almost definitely scribing for Stalin himself. Lady Macbeth was banned in the USSR until 1961.

Anyway by 1936 Shostakovich had written his fourth symphony, which he withdrew from public performance until 1961 because it was more of the same thing that had made the Soviet leadership cancel Lady Macbeth – it was unconventional, anti-patriotic, and indicated that Shostakovich was a “bourgeois formalist”.

So he shelved it and started working on Symphony No. 5 which is, on the surface at least, Soviet as fuck. And that’s what we hear Aziraphale listening to in S2E1.

(Sidebar this story is told in Julian Barnes’ The Noise of Time which is either a literary wank soup or a masterpiece depending on how cranky you are when you first read it)

So basically what Dmitri Shostakovich did in those years between the fourth and fifth symphonies was something that might be familiar to S2E6 enjoyers/agonisers: he decided to toe the party line.

Kind of.

Listening to the finale of the fifth symphony (and if you want to listen along it’s the recording of Leonard Bernstein conducting the New York Philharmonic, it’ll be called something like Symphony No. 5 in D minor, Op. 47; iv. Allegro non troppo) without the context of the rest of the symphony or in fact Shostakovich’s life is like ah yes that’s a bit of a Soviet battle anthem let’s march into Leningrad or whatever.

But it is, as critics have increasingly understood in the years since Shostakovich demurely described it as “a Soviet artist's no-nonsense response to fair criticism”, dripping with irony. This man reviled the Stalinist line on art and life – he takes the Soviet anthem and turns it into a sort of fucked up evil clown march. The whole thing gives me this vibe:

(gif from @goodomensedit)

There’s a lot of stuff about that time in Shostakovich’s life that is extremely hard to verify. There’s a “memoir” which is for sure at least partially fabricated called Testimony in which there’s an alleged quote from our man saying that final movement is a parody, that “it's as if someone were beating you with a stick and saying, "Your business is rejoicing, your business is rejoicing", and you rise, shaky, and go marching off, muttering, "Our business is rejoicing, our business is rejoicing"."

Whether or not Shostakovich said that (some of his friends who outlived him support that reading, including Rostropovich who conducted a bunch of his work) you can definitely hear it in the piece and you can definitely see how it gives us a clue into the decision Aziraphale makes at the end of the season.

What Shostakovich had to decide back in the 1930s was whether he would a) flee to somewhere like the US, where many other artists targeted by Stalin went; b) stay and become a public nuisance, leading almost definitely to an off-the-books execution; or c) become a party-approved Soviet Artist and hope for change. Even nudge it along in a subtle way. Even get on the inside and work to bring it down. We don’t know how true that was for old mate Dmitri and we don’t yet know exactly what Aziraphale has planned. But yeah:

tl;dr: Shostakovich 🤝 Aziraphale

          Staying inside a rancid and destructive militarised culture in the hope that it can change

#aziraphale #go2 #good omens #good omens spoilers #ineffable husbands #azicrow #source: I am a radio producer who makes classical music documentaries and also a gay nerd

[noneorother]

Oh my god, season 2 is The Tales of Crowley Hoffmann

I guess this has to be a series now too. Part 1 l Part 2

When Aziraphale wants to perform a show-stopping magic trick in S2E4, he is shown the "Professor's Nightmare," a rope trick, and references "Prof Hoff himself" at the end of the minisode.

Because we love double meanings so much around here, I decided to actually watch the Powell & Pressburger epic opera film "The Tales of Hoffmann," assuming it was the another P&P easter egg and the other Hoffmann (not the magician) that was being referenced.

One, this movie is unhinged. Two, this season IS The Tales of Hoffmann. Allow me to explain...

There are shot for shot quotes literally everywhere throughout the season.

P&P The Tales of Hoffmann (Automaton Ball) & Good Omens Season 2 "The Ball"

P&P The Tales of Hoffmann (Hoffmann watches Stella perform) & Good Omens Season 2 "The one with the zombies"

P&P The Tales of Hoffmann (Clerk in Automaton Ball) & Good Omens Season 2 "The Ball"

P&P The Tales of Hoffmann (Tale of Antonia, Hoffman & Antonia) & Good Omens Season 2 "The Clue Crowley & Aziraphale"

P&P The Tales of Hoffmann (Prologue) & Good Omens Season 2 "The one with the Zombies"

P&P The Tales of Hoffmann (Tale of Giulietta Banquet scene) & Good Omens Season 2 "The Clue Banquet scene" *By the way Hoffmann wears a goatee for this tale

P&P The Tales of Hoffmann (Prologue "Dragonfly dance") & Good Omens Season 2 Prologue "Before the Beginning" *This is Stella and un unknown devil drangonfly, NOT Hoffmann

P&P The Tales of Hoffmann (Tale of Antonia) & Good Omens Season 2 "The Clue"

P&P The Tales of Hoffmann (Tale of Antonia) & Good Omens Season 2 "The one with the Zombies"

P&P The Tales of Hoffmann (Automaton Ball) & Good Omens Season 2 "The Ball"

P&P The Tales of Hoffmann (End credits through Hoffman's glasses) & Good Omens Season 2 end credit scene.

Stella & Aziraphale. This one makes me laugh.

There are SO MANY MORE, but tumblr has an image limit. Seriously, it's nuts.

2. It seems simple and straightforward, but it's not at all

" Why would ambitious filmmakers simply film an opera? Many admirers of the work of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger have assumed that their decision to make The Tales of Hoffmann (...) was in some way an admission(...) that they couldn’t go on making their edgy, over-the-top melodramas after the rejection and interference they’d suffered (but) there’s a case for considering The Tales of Hoffmann as one of the finest and boldest works that Powell and Pressburger produced, so far ahead of its time as a wholly “composed” film, combining visual and musical elements, that it has still not been fully appreciated... Late in his life, Powell himself said that he thought it was one of the best films that he and Pressburger had made. What makes the film so remarkable is a series of paradoxes: the fact that it virtually reinvented the freedom and fantasy of silent cinema while making full use of Technicolor and a stellar cast of dancers and singers..." - Criterion, The lives of marionettes

3. The structure of the story is the same as the show

Here is the story of the Movie** (Not really the Opera that inspired it) In the prologue, we see the dance of the dragonflies onstage at a ballet. Count Lindoff (very bad dude) is spying on both the principal dancer Stella, and the audience member Hoffmann (who's admiring her). Lindoff is behind the scenery. During her dance, Stella passes a love note to her assistant for Hoffmann. The bad dude intercepts it out of jealousy. During the intermission, Hoffmann goes down to the tavern next door, watched by his sort of buddy in red, Nicklaus. People ask him to tell stories to while away the time, and so he tells 3 stories (actually four but we'll get back to that).

We launch into 3 tales/minisodes in other times and places : 1. The Tale of the Ball of the Automaton where he falls in love with a robot. He is humiliated. 2. The tale of Venice (Giulietta) where he falls in love with a courtesan/double agent who crosses him. 3. The tale of Antonia, where he falls in love with a girl who feels trapped by her living dad, her dead mom and a mysterious bad dude (Lindoff). She is murdered in a ring of fire, but becomes a ghost and is resurrected and sent back to earth. At the end, we snap back to the tavern in the real world. Hoffmann reveals that these three women are all metaphors for how he feels about Stella, his true love. He's drunk and depressed now, thinking she never sent for him after the show. Stella arrives in the tavern looking for Hoffmann, ready to run away, but now accompanied by Lindoff (dressed as an angelic figure) who followed her. She looks to Hoffmann to save her, but he's too blinded by the fact that he doesn't think she loves him back to pick up on the signal. He gives up, and she goes back up the stairs guided by Lindoff. Her assistant (who was bribed by Lindoff at the beginning) is given the go ahead by Lindoff to go back to the tavern and taker over. They close the door to the tavern, while she walks up ethereal stairs with the bad dude. THE END.

The one story that doesn't fit into the minisodes and is told in the real world is Kleinzach. We understand by the end of this one that this is Hoffmann's self loathing about never being good enough for Stella, because Stella is perfect and Hoffmann is ugly and deformed. The main love interest attempts to steal Kleinzach's essence through a mirror by the end. 4. Powell & Pressburger recast four actors in new roles In The Tales of Hoffmann, P&P decided to recast four of the principal actors/dancers from the film The Red Shoes in new roles, wanting to recreate the magic that they brought to the first ballet film. Sound familiar?

5. Crowley is Hoffmann

"The Tales of Hoffmann" original 1881 costume concept for Hoffmann & Crowley costume sketch for S2E3 1827 Edinburgh. Glasses are a really important aspect for Hoffmann in both the opera and the movie versions of The Tales of Hoffmann. Hoffmann is gifted metaphorical magic glasses that he wears to be able to perceive his love in a way they aren't really in real life. In the opera, he wears dark glasses to shut out the real world, not just as a metaphor. Check out a modern day version of the opera's Hoffmann costume :

He's french and slamming a beer but you get it. Crowley also canonically loves watching movies. It would make so much sense that his minisode recountings with him and Aziraphale would resemble different styles of movie that he loves. Seeing as we see him drive away at the end as the last character, an argument could be made for him being the ultimate narrator of the story in season 2.

6. The original American release of The Tales of Hoffman had 14ish minutes cut out of it by the studio. So we all know by now that whole debacle about having the clocks jump 14-15ish minutes during the kiss?

"The Tales of Hoffmann found an audience far wider than expected, despite Korda’s misgivings about the movie’s running time and his decision to cut 14 minutes out of the film for its American release." - Criterion, The Tales of Hoffman

I have been unable to unearth what the difference between the American & British versions of the P&P Tales of Hoffmann is, if you know let ME know. I want to know! _____________________________________

And I HAVE SO MUCH MORE. This is long enough already so I'll save the more detailed stuff for a new post.

**The opera is a whole other beast. You can read about it here, but basically there's a lot more going on in the opera because the composer died before finishing it, and multiple versions exist after the original uncompleted score got lost IN A FIRE. Anyway. Here's part 2

#good omens meta #good omens season two #art director talks good omens #go season 2 #good omens 2 #go meta #good omens season 2 #go2 #crowley x aziraphale #anthony j crowley #aziraphale and crowley #aziraphale x crowley #crowley and aziraphale

[mamasuellen-blog]

Aziraphale and Crowley - Nightingale Analogy

After the second season, I started thinking of them both as if they were birds, specifically the Nightingale. Here's an analogy with scenes from Good Omens.

Symbolic Meaning of the Nightingale

The Nightingale is a charming bird, revered especially by artists, such as poets and writers who have been inspired by them and used them as symbols in their works throughout history and time. They are considered as a symbol of love and fidelity. This bird has inspired plays, songs, sonnets, folklore, poetry, stories, legend... It has cultural and mythological importance in various parts of the world. He is mentioned in several books that tell romantic, melancholic and tragic stories. Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman chose this particular bird to be part of the iconic story of Good Omens.

Some examples of stories about our two Nightingales over time.

When they met, they sang a millimetrically perfect melody on the same frequency, a song that only they could understand. A tune full of feelings, sensations and connections between two creatures. It brought harmony and meaning for them to stay together.

Color Detail

The Nightingale's plumage predominates in discreet brown and brown tones, with slight RED shades. Your chest is more GRAY in tone, with RED or WHITE tones.

The Power of The Voice

This bird plays an important role in the ecology of the region in which it lives. The sound produced by the Nightingale can help regulate the population of insects and other animals that are part of the food chain. Crowley and Aziraphale are guardians of the land and together they played an important role in keeping it safe. Maintaining balance is essential.

They are Territorial

They are very territorial and become even more so during mating season. They respond more aggressively to others who enter their territory, as they want to protect their love nest.

The Musical Richness of Nightingale’s Song

This bird's musical repertoire includes 260 sequences. His song has a double function: Seduction and defense of the territory. The Nightingale's serenade begins at dusk, continues through the night, and lasts through the early hours of the morning until dawn. It is possible that he sings during the day, even though this behavior is not that common. The most physically vigorous birds are also those with the greatest musical repertoire. Some sequences are sung just for your reciprocated love :

​While other sequences only serve to impose yourself against other rivals :

When a Nightingale hears its partner singing, it becomes very active, attracted by the unique and special sensitivity of this melody :

Crowley moves, fascinated by Aziraphale's singing.

The most impressive thing about this bird is its musical repertoire. The Nightingale is capable of singing for hours without repeating the same sequence once.

Crowley and Aziraphale know several languages. Aziraphale *sings* Nightingale in French.

The Nightingale's song reveals a remarkable delicacy and great power. In its vocal production, cheerful and lively sounds predominate, combined with a strong whistle, a strong whistle to attract.

Crowley makes a loud whistle to attract Aziraphale's attention.

Serenade of Love

After a lot of harmonious song between a Nightingale couple, it's time for the mating ritual and one of them always has the task of building the love nest. In the case of our Nightingales, romantic gestures to develop the relationship always happen.

The construction of the love nest is done with great care and care.

This ritual takes place at night and consists of beautiful love melodies, like the music that plays at the ball. While one Nightingale makes a special vocalization for the occasion, the other feels attraction and moves a lot (dances) and vice versa. Aziraphale chose Crowley and Crowley chose Aziraphale. The two have always been each other's ideal match.

The ball dance is the ritual of these Nightingales.

Predators

Although Nightingales are discreet, their song always reveals where they live, which is dangerous, as it attracts predators who want to capture them.

When frightened, the Nightingale uses its song to communicate sensations and threats, warning other Nightingales of danger. Our two Nightingales are threatened. Nightingale Aziraphale needs to alert his companion of this ambush.

Nightingales are capable of emitting very complex melodies, so complex that they are still of interest to ornithologists in studies. The mixture of different songs caused communication between Nightingale Aziraphale and Nightingale Crowley to become disconnected. The warning song gives way to the melodious and sad song.

The Nightingale Aziraphale tried to warn of danger.

Nightingale Crowley also tried to warn of danger.

After singing intensely to Nightingale Aziraphale, Nightingale Crowley's voice becomes weak and the song that follows is filled with suffering. In his last hope, he gives one last trill. He tried to protect their territory, but was unsuccessful.

The Last Trill of the Nightingale Crowley.

In the end, without strength, Nightingale Aziraphale's voice tried one last song. He wished the fairest of all for Nightingale Crowley, but he didn't get it. Pain hit him in the chest, closing his throat.

In the series, the band of Nightingales was already in the process of migrating, moving forward in search of warmer areas. In the posters for the second season, you can see them leaving.

The Nightingale flock heads off to migrate. The Nightingale Aziraphale also goes to heaven, but a place that is not his home.

I'm aware of what Neil Gaiman mentioned about Rouxninol's singing on Tumblr, but I chose to ignore what he said. Seriously, that's clearly a bird's chirp. And thank you to the person who managed to hear a bird singing in the scene and informed the fandom of this information. Whatever it was, it was a bird call. Yes, I may be crazy for believing this, but I'm not the only one, other people also believe it's a bird's song.

The Nightingale, who had sung in the book and at the end of the first season, for me, who is writing this analogy, also reappears in the second season, even if in a more discreet way, with an almost imperceptible and low voice. What's really impressive is that we can hear him, when the camera focuses on Aziraphale's face, who is holding back crying with his mouth slightly open, trying to emit something, or was it the Nightingale Aziraphale who made this song?

The predator achieved its goal. He separated and silenced the birdsong.

Nightingale Aziraphale was captured and transported to heaven in a box. A sky without any freedom, a totally inhospitable place, outside of its natural habitat

Meanwhile, Nightingale Crowley, at the slightest sign of distress, quickly flew in search of shelter to protect himself from the pain.

One of the peculiarities of Nightingales is that they are loyal birds and do not adapt well when isolated from their companions.

They were the last nightingales to leave and unfortunately painfully separated, which makes part of this romantic story in Anguish. And this fits the meaning and symbolism of the Nightingale bird for writers.

In season 3:

“They’re not talking to each other.” = They are not singing.

Although they are separated, the singing is still present. A single song and many memories. “A Ninghtgale Sang in Berkeley Square” has a heart-like vibration within them. This music resonates in them, like a charged wave of energy that surrounds them and tunes them to each other, a vibration so powerful that it connects them to "us".

I am faithful to the theory that Aziraphale sent the song to Bentley for Crowley to listen to, as he also remembers and will never forget the memorable moments between them.

"A nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square" is the song they can understand, the melody made sublime.

There is nothing that lasts forever, not even the pain of separation. The Nightingale bird's migration is temporary and on this journey they always return. The gang is always faithful to its place of origin.

In this way, in a flock, the nightingales Crowley and Aziraphale will meet and begin the freedom they so desire. The power of their song will be ineffable, allowing them together to destroy cages, traps and predators. Bringing harmony to their world.

In the end, Nightingale Crowley and Nightingale Aziraohale will flap their wings and fly together in synchronization, dancing in new airs, until they land on an apple tree branch, which is in a beautiful garden and there they will build a new nest. They will sing in a divine way, while exchanging vows of love, in a beautiful sunset.

Meanwhile, the Nightingale flock will be noisy for them on the South Downs.

I had a lot of fun writing this analogy and I hope you like it too. English is not my mother tongue, sorry for any spelling mistakes. Thank you if you made it this far. :)

#good omens #goodomensseason2 #aziraphale #crowley x aziraphale #ineffable husbands #goodomensseason3 #south downs #nightingale

[1941-crowley-slut]

Crowley...confessed to Aziraphale? As in, confessed his love - his ROMANTIC love to Aziraphale, on screen, before our very eyes? And Aziraphale responded with "I need you"? And Crowley suddenly and unexpectedly pulled him in for a kiss as the music suddenly became intense? Crowley held the angel by the collar of his coat and just...kissed him?

Pffftt, yeah right. Those things don't happen on tv! You've been reading too many fanfics, kid.

*in the distance* You heard that, guys? Yeah, they think Crowley and Aziraphale are canonically in love. Yes, like on screen! No, not through subtext. They think the producers made two male-appearing characters kiss on television without a hint of disgust or homophobia in the show or without making it a "groundbreaking" coming-of-age teen gay love story. I know, that's what I said! Craaaazy stuff. These kids are out of their minds, man.

#good omens #crowley #aziraphale #aziracrow #gomens2 #ineffable husbands #crowley x aziraphale #good omens 2 #this is my attempt at gaslighting you #it is also a big jab at all the producers and writers who are cowards and wont do this #also me trying to process #this is a joke this is a joke this post is a joke pls dont kill me

[zeldahime]

Highway to Pail Day 11

[Day 1] [Prev] [Next] @do-it-with-style-events

February 11: I heard they're looking for someone to perform in The Sound of Music. It's a Trapp.

It had been four hours since Crowley had sauntered into the bookshop, kidnapped an angel, and taken him out to dinner and a show. He'd wined and Aziraphale had dined at the Savoy, talking about nothing and everything. After Aziraphale finished dessert, Crowley had produced two box tickets to the new Rodgers & Hammerstein on the West End, a show about a nun outwitting some Nazis, and preened under Aziraphale's twinkling smile. In the dark box, they sat with just a scant inch between them. An important inch, an unbridgeable inch, but so much closer than they ever could be in the light of day in public or trust themselves to be in the gentle privacy of the bookshop.

About five minutes after curtain, Crowley realized he had made a terrible mistake.

How do you solve a problem like Maria? sang the nuns on stage behind Maria's back, and Aziraphale pulled away from the relaxed warmth of watching a silly musical together to sit impossibly straighter, arms retracting to set his palms neatly flat against his lap, legs moving from slightly spread as though at parade rest to heels together at attention. Crowley turned to look at his face, and his expression had gone totally blank, a terrible neutrality he hadn't seen in years.

In fact, the last time he'd seen Aziraphale with such a careful lack of any expressions at all, he'd just returned from his centenary performance review in Heaven, and he'd then avoided Crowley entirely for five years.

If Aziraphale spooked like that again just because Crowley hadn't vetted the dumb musical....

That unbreachable inch became a yawning chasm.

Then the nuns stared at Maria as she tripped, not offering a hand up, judgement written on their faces.

Crowley took a deep breath, unnecessary but steadying, and looked straight forward as he reached over and placed his hand on top of Aziraphale's, heart in his throat. "Alright there, angel?" he whispered, squeezing lightly.

Aziraphale didn't answer, but he didn't push Crowley away either. When the Mother Abbess and Maria sang about their favorite things, he flipped his hand over and squeezed Crowley back.

They stayed like that through the first act, hand-in-hand, as Maria and the von Trapp children pranced and sang across the stage, as Maria and the Captain began to fall in love, as the Nazis threatened Anchluss. At the end of the act, as Maria packed her bags to return to the monastery.

Aziraphale's grip was like iron when the Countess or whatever told Maria that Captain von Trapp was in love with her.

Even when the house lights came up for intermission, he didn't let go for nearly two minutes. When he did, Crowley only moved his hand to the armrest, allowing human propriety but not wanting to retract altogether.

"Well, this is dull," he drawled. "Thought there'd be more fighting Nazis and less mooning over them. The war wasn't like this anywhere I was. What do you say we get out of here, angel?"

Aziraphale visibly shook himself. "I'm sure Leisl... well. Yes. Let's. I must be getting back to the bookshop." Aziraphale didn't look at him. "Early day tomorrow."

The short ride back to the bookshop in the Bentley seemed to take an eternity. With the space between them restored, Aziraphale seemed a million miles away in the passenger's seat, silent as a mouse. When they arrived, Crowley walked him to the door, wanting to fuss but knowing he wasn't allowed, that it would just make Aziraphale feel even more closely watched and anxious about Heavenly surveillance.

"Thank you for dinner," Aziraphale finally said, turning to look at him after unlocking the door. "I'm sorry the show wasn't up to your expectations." His gaze dropped, and Crowley again felt the urge to reach across, to comfort his friend in such clear distress. To hold his hand, to kiss his worries away, to pet his fluffy hair until he forgot all about Heaven and Hell and all the reasons they shouldn't. He did nothing except hold his breath. Aziraphale met his eyes again, the moment passing them by. "Good night, Crowley," Aziraphale said in a low voice, nearly a whisper, and vanished into the shop.

The Bentley hit 150 as he tore out of London, running like a bat out of Hell from the way the night had turned so sour.

Related works:

#my writing #do it with style events #highway to pail #good omens #the sound of music #aziraphale #crowley good omens #aziracrow #azicrow #ineffable husbands #they like holding hands #Youtube

[grntaire]

aziraphale and crowley headcanons bc why not

aziraphale:

unlike other angels he never got super into the harp or trumpets. he’s more of a bassoon guy, really (he is awful at it)

the only modern books he reads are queer YA novels. he wept when he read aristotle and dante discover the secrets of the universe

has a very high spice tolerance (crowley does not, but aziraphale likes to give him spicy food sometimes, just to fuck with him)

HATES handel’s messiah. it’s too ostentatious, even for him. likes the hallelujah chorus well enough but by the 20th century he thought it was tired

crowley:

invented musically. humans turned it into tiktok

bought aziraphale deep conditioner once, sometime in the 90s

loves movie musicals (would never tell aziraphale) thinks the producers is hilarious and genius. bawled to moulin rouge, and if he thinks about come what may for too long he still gets misty eyed. has STRONG opinions about les mis 2012

thinks handel’s messiah is an over the top, flamboyant, ridiculously self-indulgent piece of art. he loves it.

#aziraphale is right abt messiah and crowley is right about les mis 2012 #i also have very strong feelings abt les mis 2012 #thoughts

[bunnyramen]

Good Omens Hc (Ineffable Husbands + Ineffable Interns and a mix of family) to help the fandom recover just a tiny bit

-If Aziraphale gives Crowley freckles when he gives him kisses, Angel gains a beauty mark from Crowley’s kisses (like falling/dying stars)

- I feel like since Eric can multiply, it’s the opportunity to give Muriel tons of kisses

- Aziraphale and Crowley share a garden, these two are always bickering about how to treat the plants

- Muriel asks question after question about demons, a lot are ones Eric doesn’t know the answer to and giving that he likes mischief, he makes a bunch of stuff up (all in good fun)

- Muriel sings incredibly and Eric loves to listen even if his ears can’t stand it (because it’s literally heavenly)

-Aziraphale has taken on whistling centuries ago and had become quite the professional, Crowley will sometimes catch him whistling “be-bop” (only because it reminds him of the demon)

- Aziraphale accidentally left his ring before he left for heaven and Crowley kept it (giving it back when Azi came back to reconcile)

- Aziraphale wrote, preformed and produced an entire play as an apology (Crowley couldn’t even get through the first chunk before he was sobbing from laughter)

- When Aziraphale blushes, it has a glow to it that only ethereal beings can see, so when he’s red in the face, to Crowley, he looks like a Christmas light

- Aziraphale picked up a few hobbies while Crowley asleep for the century, Dancing being one of them and another being Piano. The Piano is something Crowley doesn’t know about because he’s a little embarrassed and doesn’t play when he’s around (like dancing, Angels aren’t meant to really play instruments despite owning harps)

- Muriel has intimate knowledge of what Heaven can and can’t detect, they use this to their advantage when Eric wants to “stir up mischief” (He’s too embarrassed to call it a date)

- Muriel has taken to drawing Eric and Eric gets a little weird about it (it’s the sweetest thing anyones ever done for him and it makes him feel.. awkward. He loves it btb, he just can’t show it right)

- Muriel blushes a lot around Eric but has no idea what it is, so they think they got hell fire on their face (They glow too)

- Eric and Muriel are the opposite of Azirphale and Crowley when it comes to sleeping. Once Muriel learned what it was and how to do it, you couldn’t stop them from taking a nap anywhere, Eric on the other hand has taken to watching over them (Aziraphale gets jumpscared walking into a room and seeing multiple Erics watching over Muriel) (Like (Demon) father like (Angel) child)

- Angel plays the piano for Muriel and teaches them how to, and they pick up the skill immediately (He also teaches them how to read sheet music)

- Aziraphale is not allowed to call Crowley “Anthony” outside of a private area or things may happen

- Chat gave me the idea that the Z. In Azi’s middle name is Zebidiah and I will hold onto that, Crowley calls him that on occasion to be funny because he couldn’t have chosen a worse middle name (Not that “Janthony” can talk)

- Crowley has taken on eating a little more but it’s rare that he’ll finish what he has

- Crowley takes great passion in watching Muriel tell people to piss off when they walk in the bookshop, even when Muriel learned it was considered rude

- Omg!! Crowley and Azi introducing Muriel to Warlock, siblings!!

- Crowley listens to audio books (I.E. makes Aziraphale read to him)

- Eric shared a piece of candy with Muriel, not knowing they’ve never had food before and now they have a huge sweet tooth

- When Eric threatened to Eat Muriel, they laughed in his face and that’s how his crush started

- Muriel’s started after Eric kissed their hand to rial them up when they first met (Angel and demon beef)

- Omg Muriel learning how to dance from the first ever Angel to do so (So now the number is a straight forward two)

- Muriel miracled facial hair on their face because they've seen Crowley with it before and wanted to try it (they have long sideburns now, much to Crowley’s dismay because it reminds him of Brother Francis)

- Eric and Muriel once held hands for “safety reasons” and now do it often

-Crowley still gets called to watch over Warlock and he always bregrudingly obliges

- Since I assume Muriel has a more Cockney accent, maybe they learn some of the slang words that come with that (Aziraphale gives them a book on it and deals with the repercussions)

- Crowley and Aziraphale has separate bedrooms (not that they don’t love each more than heaven and earth put together) but having their own space to decorate and do their thing helps tremendously (even if they end up in the other’s room most of the time)

- Crowley took Aziraphale’s last name and it’s very funny when they go out together and when someone says “Mr. Fell” they both turn

#I really made this about Muriel and azi didn’t I my bad 😭 #I just love them both not that I don’t love Crowley and Eric a lot too #good omens #ineffable husbands #ineffable interns #eric the disposable demon #muriel #muriel good omens #good omens season 2 #aziraphale #Crowley #good omens seasons 2 spoilers

[cosmic-rainstorm]

THEORY TIME

Ok, I dont know about anyone else, but i DID NOT like the way The Metatron glanced at Crowley before he left. Is he planning on doing something to Crowley? Is he gonna do something to Aziraphale as payback for stopping the first Armageddon????

In all honestly, I really don't think The Metatron is what we think he is. If no one has seen or heard from God since she disappeared, why is he the ONLY one to be the voice of God? Something about that just doesn't seem right to me.

What if, in the beginning, Metatron was the voice of God and could actively talk to her. But when God cut all communication and disappeared, what if Metatron is lying about talking to got. What if he got greedy like the other angel's. Without Gods input, Metatron is in charge.

I dont think he liked the idea of Aziraphale and Crowley messing up Armageddon. He knows they are strong together, so what does he do? He butters up Aziraphale, makes him think he's special, and Heaven would be good to him. Metatron knows Crowley would never follow Aziraphale up to heaven. Crowley knows how heaven will always be manipulative and abusive. Aziraphale, on the other hand, can't see it cause he is still the victim of the dysfuncial system heaven is. Metatron tells Aziraphale how kind and good he is, and he is just what heaven needs. He's manipulating Aziraphale. He's the abuser and Aziraphale is the victim.

Whitch brings me back to the picture above. (I even put subtitles on to prove my point) When Metatron tells Aziraphale he wants to talk with him in private, hes spitting them up, which is his whole plan. As soon as Aziraphale turns from Crowley and leaves, Metatron glances back at Crowley and his he glares sinisterly at him before fallowing Aziraphale out. Even the music becomes more tense.

But my point is there is definitely something more sinister going on. I don't think Metatron is how he claims to be. I think his main objective is to split Crowley and Aziraphale up. They are too strong together. And I think its because together they produced one of the most powerful Miracles together when it was supposed to be so small no one would notice. And this Miracle was so strong that it worked. On. Everyone.

I dont think that they are just strong together. They are dangerous together and a powerful threat to Heaven and Hell.

Please feel free to add to this or correct anything!!!

#ineffable husbands #aziraphale #crowley #aziracrow #good omens #the metatron #anthony j crowley #maybe this is what god intended shrug shrug #im literally typing this omw home from work #these gays got me by the throat

[impishtubist]

breed someone of your choice from good omens

“Oh, dear,” Aziraphale says when he comes back from his morning bakery run to find a large serpent curled up in the back room and radiating misery. “That time of century, is it?”

“Ssssshut up,” Crowley hisses. 

“No need to be like that, dear boy,” Aziraphale admonishes. “Or did you not want the nest?”

There’s a frustrated pause, and then: “No. I want the nesssst.”

“That’s what I thought.” 

Aziraphale digs out the blankets, the pillows, and the heat lamp from a box in the back of the room. He could simply miracle it all into place, of course, but he’s trying not to attract too much attention from Heaven these days. He lays the blankets on the floor and then lines the nest with pillows. Crowley uncoils and slithers over to the nest, burrowing inside the blankets while Aziraphale switches on the heat lamp. 

“How long do you think it will take, this time?” Aziraphale asks.

“Why? Got anywhere better to be, angel?”

Aziraphale huffs. “Knowing how long the process might take will help me choose what to read to you.”

“...only a few hours,” Crowley says, chastened. “Been like thisssss for a while.” 

“You should have come over sooner,” Aziraphale says. “Let’s see, how about some Ian Fleming?”

Aziraphale reads to him for an hour. Crowley is restless, coiling and uncoiling, slithering in and out of the blankets, seemingly unable to get comfortable. It’s no wonder, given the size of the clutch he’s carrying.

When the laying starts, Aziraphale stops reading and puts on music instead. He even makes sure that it’s be-bop, a record that Maggie had given him when he asked her for something modern. He kneels next to the nest and strokes a hand along Crowley’s back as the serpent shudders and strains. 

There are seven eggs in all. As soon as the last one slides free of his serpent body, Crowley morphs back into his human form. He’s immaculately-dressed as always, but pale and shaking. Aziraphale takes a clean blanket off the back of the sofa and drapes it over his shoulders, then turns his attention back to the nest.

Crowley’s serpent form produces a clutch of eggs every century that the demon is forced to lay. Aziraphale has helped Crowley through this process for the past ten centuries, making sure that the serpent stays warm and comfortable while he lays the clutch, and then vanishing the mess and the eggs when it’s over. 

But…there’s something different about this clutch this time. Aziraphale can sense something from the eggs.

He’s never sensed anything from Crowley’s eggs before.

“Crowley,” Aziraphale says after several moments, as the reality of the situation starts to sink in, “did you, perhaps, sneak into the zoo in serpent form again?”

“Oh, it was only for a few days, angel, no one noticed!” Crowley says heatedly. “Wanted to be with my own kind for a bit, that a problem?”

“Ah, no, not really,” Aziraphale says, wringing his hands. “Only…did you mate with any of them, by chance?”

“That’sss none of your business!” Crowley hisses. 

“I think it might be,” Aziraphale says weakly. “Crowley…these eggs have been fertilized.”

----

[And then Aziraphale helps Crowley raise his bastard demon snake babies and they live happily ever after the end.]

#good omens #ineffable husbands #imp is writing #IT'S CRACK I'M SO SORRY #i don't know what came over me

[not-groped-by-an-angel]

I still haven't fucking finished s2 of good omens but I have some Big Thoughts about something that happened in the first episode regarding Aziraphale and the Shostakovich symphony he picks up.

To start, I love Shostakovich. I think he is one of the most powerful, moving, artistic composers we have ever had the pleasure of experiencing. He is well known for political tensions and commentary, especially since he was operating under a repressive regime that took it upon themselves to determine what he could and could not produce.

Prior to writing Symphony No. 5 in D (our good friend Aziraphale's pick), Shostakovich had all stage performances of his work banned by Stalin for an opera that was sympathetic to someone who had committed crimes under the pressures of the bourgeois society.

Under the threat of arrest and exile to labor camps, Shostakovich was determined to write music that would fall within Stalin's expectations without his true thoughts being silenced. He laid the groundwork of the piece, saying, "The theme of my Fifth Symphony is the making of a man. I saw him, with all his experience, at the center of the work, which is lyrical from beginning to end. In the finale the tragically tense impulses of the earlier movements are resolved in optimism and joy of living." This was technically, what Stalin wanted. Technically, it fell in line. Technically, it could be used as propaganda.

But here's the thing. Shostakovich is a god damned genius. There are many interpretations and arguments over the exact meaning of his work but the general consensus seems to be that this work was making a mockery of Stalin, a hollow show of someone who was supposed to have found this freedom in his own happiness but is in reality only being forced to go along. There are entire theses dedicated to examining the artistry this symphony is brimming with that allows this to come across, but suffice it to say that Shostakovich had not given up his voice.

Here comes Aziraphale, spending most of his life under the thumb of a strict, heartless governing body that expected conformity and nothing less. Aziraphale, who has rebelled quietly for centuries, who faced his higher ups with forced smiles and polite nods that allowed him to slide under the radar and do what he knew was right.

So, end of season 1, he's caught. Called out by the oppressors, threatened, reminded to conform, conform, conform even as they abandon him. Aziraphale is digging this little niche for himself to find the joy that could come with perhaps, maybe, not being held under such stringent guidelines as long as he keeps his head down, and here comes bare-ass Gabriel, dragging with him right back into the mud.

It's important to note here there are two warring opinions about the performance of the very end of the symphony. One pushes and pushes, ending in something that could be, while frantic, truly joyous. However, some artists' interpretation pulls back, the same notes but menacing and monotonous. Did our hero truly find the light? Or did he fall, once again, under the boots of those who seek to control him?

It sets a tone for the rest of the season. These paths are just as readily available to Aziraphale as well, but both of them have consequences. Both have loss. What is the appropriate balance of loss and life?

TL;DR, yes, I have taken the 14 seconds Aziraphale goes "oh goodie shostakovich" and extrapolated a whole ass narrative about war and duality and subterfuge.

Go listen to Symphony No. 5 in D minor, Op. 47 by none other than Dmitri Dmitryevich Shostakovich for a good and/or bad time.

#good omens #good omens season 2 #aziraphale #shostakovich #i am being absolutely insane #and there's nothing like a good parallel for war stories #i have a lot of feelings about my good friend shosty and i will not pass up the opportunity to be unhinged #neil gaiman #good omens 2 #gomens 2 #shostakovich symphony no 5

[anotherfallenchild]

Aziraphale as my friend who is a musical theatre producer who Keeps Buying increasingly insane candles for his house and Crowley as my other friend/ his partner who takes me aside to furiously whisper in the other room WHAT AM I GOING TO DO WITH ALL THESE CANDLES HE WONT STOP BUYING THEM they are ALL $200!!!!

For context these are what the candles look like

#this is literally a real scenario that happened 😭 #these are the anxieties of irl gay relationships #he was having a legit crisis cause Joe wouldn’t stop buying these fucking candles 😔🫡 #aziracrow #good omens

[kyrii]

List 5 things that make you happy, then put this in the askbox for the last 10 people who reblogged something from you! get to know your mutuals and followers ♡

Ooo this is fun! Thank you for the ask, I love my rare tumblr interactions 🩷

1: Gotta list the most recent source of happiness: Good Omens, specifically Aziraphale and Crowley's relationship. It's so rare for a special interest of mine to form and feel like it's always been a part of my life, but that's definitely been the case with Good Omens the past few months. The two of them feel like old friends I've known for years. Absolute comfort show (despite the HEARTBREAK at the end of the 2nd season 😭)

2: Spider-Man. Another special interest of mine, I love anything and everything Spider-Man. Literally just the other day, my coworker gave me a dinky lil Spider-Man keychain and I couldn't stop smiling about it all day LOL

3: Music. I know it's cliche, but when a piece of music touches me, I can feel it in my soul. Lately, Radiohead and Hozier have really been speaking to me. Also, The Living Tombstone slaps

4: Being by the water. There's something so healing about being next to a body of water. I'm lucky enough to live near several rivers and the ocean, so I get to spend some time by the water regularly.

5: My pets, both living and past. My dog Miska, whose 2 year death anniversary is quickly approaching, still brings me joy to this day. I keep a small shrine for her and her picture on my bedside table. I think of her often and thank her for being a constant source of happiness and comfort during some of the hardest years of my life. And my current pet rabbit, Daffodil, brings me happiness (despite taking years off my life by worrying me) by helping to heal the hole Miska left behind and by teaching me patience and care. I never imagined I'd be a rabbit mom, but I'm so glad that I am.

I can't pass this along to anyone, since nobody really reblogs any of my stuff (I don't produce anything original anyways ;;) but thank you again @weasleywrinkles for the ask! ✨

[nadsdraws]

In the Shallow

New art to kick off my new fic! A Star is Born AU (with a happy ending!)

*sexy genderqueer appears on stage*

#gobookfest #good omens #ineffable husbans #good omens fanart #good omens au #a star is born #singer crowley #music producer aziraphale #genderfluid crowley #my art #demisexual crowley #allo-sexual aziraphale

[alexa-lightwood-blog]

Misunderstandings

What could be a better way to begin a weird sequence of events than an utterly normal day?

Rushing home from work was never fun on a typical day, let alone on a day where rain obscured your vision to the point you could scarcely see your hand before your face. Alas, money was money you thought as you hurry onwards, ducking into shop awnings here and there.

Carefully glancing down the nearest alleyway to check for speeding cars you notice an odd piece of what seems to be at first glance a hose, or to be more exact, a shivering hose?

A snake, you realise after a moment, of course not a hose. Well, it can't be good for it out in this weather, surely you should take it to a shelter or something, right? At least you would have, had it not insistantly curled into the hood of your coat when you scooped him up. Looks like you've gained a clingy new friend.

Once you've hurried home you resolve to visit a pet store the next day, for now you lay the snake on a towel and try to look up what to feed him as it stares up at you, yellow eyes flickering with indignation. The audacity of you, a mortal, picking him up with your own two hands and absconding with him, well, it could be worse, right?

By weeks end you had aquired all things which your snake, William you decided, could possibly need. Talking to him about your day became a highlight after work as he'd always nod along or poke his tongue out in distaste at your co-workers. He wasn't particularly fond of being left alone you found so whilst you had your bubble bath you let him perch in the corner basket atop a spare sponge where he insistantly faced the wall.

You'd had a month of your new companion and didn't particularly fancy getting him sent to a shelter, which is why one evening as you sit reading on your sofa with him curled about you like an improv feather boa, you wanted to ignore the knock at your door. Opening it slowly, you were greeted by a friendly looking man in a white suit who you could swear owned a bookstore nearby which you had passed once or twice, never venturing in for tales of him refusing to let any of the books actually go.

"Ah, Crowley, there you are. I've spent weeks looking for you" the man proclaimed excitedly. You raise a brow in confusion as William wiggles down your arm sheepishly.

"Is this your snake mister ...?" You ask trailing off for a name.

"Mister Fell, Aziraphale. And he is my friend." The man politely replies, fixing his bowtie. "Honestly, change back Crowley, we have a reservation for the Ritz and its your turn to pay again."

"Okay, eccentric man" you slowly try to shut the door and you would have if William hadn't hissed at you. Surprised, you set him down and he slithers to Aziraphale. He looks almost regretful as he turns and begins to change. Change and grow into a tall man, with red hair, yellow eyes and legs which he apparently forgot he could use as he trips to the floor beside his friend.

Panic, the first thing you decide to do is panic. This guy had seen you in the bath, shared some of your innermost thoughts, had let you put a little sweater on him. Oh you were mortified, almost as mortified as William, well Crowley you supposed now. A silent tension set in as you both blushed and Aziraphale looked as though he had realised something particularly interesting. He leaned into Crowley and whispered something about being "able to sense his aura of love now."

"I'll give you a few moments and wait in the car, perhaps some music other than-"

"Queen, it's always Queen" Crowley frowned, reaching for his back pocket and producing a pair of sunglasses. He placed them on and turned to you. "Right..." He trailed off, not quite sure how to proceed.

"Wil-William..." You don't really know where to go with this either to be honest, so you do the next best thing. "Tea?" you ask. It's an easy out to buy you time to process all of this.

"Yes, please" It's an awkward acceptance but a start. "I'm sorry, that day we met I couldn't turn back" he tries to explain.

"So, when could you?" you counter, "before or after the sweater?"

"After the first week" He has the good grace to be embarrassed at least. "I should go,check on aziraphale and all that" Standing abruptly he slinks to the door before turning as his hand touches the doorhandle. "I would like to come back though"

The shyness in the comment takes you off guard. "Why?" you ask, sitting a little straighter in your chair.

"Well, you took care of me, even when you didn't really have to, and I'm quite ... fond of you, by now." he defends. You make your way to him and smile.

"I'd quite like that" you admit. Crowley leans in to give your cheek a quick peck, testing the waters, before leaving through the door, leaving you smiling with a hand pressed to your cheek. Your phone buzzes on the table and you lift it to see a text from an unknown number.

It seems Crowley forgot to give you his number, here it is.

-Aziraphale

It read, accompanied by a slightly blurry picture of crowley cheering on the steps outside. This would be the start of something interesting.

#good omens #crowley x reader #good omens fluff #good omens x reader #crowley

[fuckyeahgoodomens]

Ineffable Con 2020 Fun Facts

Fun facts from the Ineffable Con 2 (2020) guest panels :): 

Neil Gaiman, Douglas Mackinnon and Rob Wilkins

David G. Arnold (the music composer)

Claire Anderson (the costume designer)

Peter Anderson (Peter Anderson Studio created the opening title animation and in-show graphics)

Paul Adeyefa (Disposable Demon)

Jeremy Marshall-Roberts (the owner of Mary the Bentley)

1. Neil Gaiman, Douglas Mackinnon and Rob Wilkins

What do they have from Good Omens:

Rob has the statue from St. Beryls, all four motorbikes from the four horsemen, Crowley’s Devon watch, box signed by David Tennant with Crowley’s sunglasses and Aziraphale’s cocoa mug with Michael Sheen’s DNA :).

Douglas has the playing cards from Episode 1 and heavily annotated Good Omens book they used for filming with inscription by Neil: ‘For Douglas, make us love, make us cry, 3rd August 2017’.

Neil has Aziraphale’s chair from the bookshop that he bought from the BBC and he uses it for Zoom meetings.

What is their favourite thing that was not in the book and was added to the TV show:

Neil: all of the first half of Episode 3 - an absolute joy.

Rob: also the beginning of Episode 3.

Douglas: David Arnold’s music and Peter Anderson’s front titles.

Could Aziraphale get out of the Bastille easily if he wanted to?

Neil: if he could: absolutely. Did he have any conception of the mess he was in: probably not. It’s one of Neil’s favourite pieces of acting - the absolute delight on Aziraphale’s face when he realizes that Crowley’s there and then he turns around and rather petulantly, grumpily goes oh it’s you - that moment of joy on Aziraphale’s face when he realizes that he’s been rescued is one of Neil’s favourite things. 

Neil and yoghurt starter: I had this slightly mad thing where I would explain to everybody that fans were yoghurt starter. And I said, ‘Basically you start out with yoghurt starter and you put it into your warm milk and you leave it, and the yoghurt starter goes off and turns the entire thing into yoghurt. 

Neil realized that there was a cat in his house (Neil doesn’t have a cat :)). After the panel Neil said that he was going to look for the cat with a can of sardines and Douglas joked that he would find Michael Sheen in a cat costume.

What was the best and worst about making the series:

Douglas: the best - the camaraderie, getting to know the people, the cast and crew. 

Rob: the best - realizing that the book could be translated to the screen and watching it happen. The worst - coming to the end of the shoot and saying goodbye to everybody.

Neil: the best - the amount of love from everybody, the worst - fighting budget battles (producers wanted gone all of the cold opening and the death of Agnes Nutter).

Did they expect that Good Omens would attract so many LBGTQ+ people and how they feel about that:

Neil: Yes, absolutely. There are definitely people out there who seem to think that I accidentally wrote a love story with all of the beats of a love story including a break-up halfway through, without somehow noticing that I’d written a love story. And I may not be the brightest candle on the candelabra, but as an author who’s been doing it for a long time, I’m very well aware of when I’m writing a love story, thank you very much. And so from my perspective I knew that the love story would be one of the driving things that would get us from the beginning to the end. And I also made a bunch of decisions about our angels and our demons in terms of casting, in terms of gender that everybody backed me up on, which I loved. You know, the idea that the archangel Michael is played by Doon [Mackichan] is something that is... or Beelzebub is Anna Maxwell Martin, whatever, there’s... it’s not like we are going: these are women, there are men, we are going: these are demons, these are angels. They... this is not a thing. And also doing something like Pollution, where you go in and go: okay  well if we were doing this in... if 1989 was now, if there were they pronouns, we probably would have done that. We didn’t think of it at the time but that’s no reason why we can’t do it now. And we did and I remember having a... not exactly a battle, but a... my very tiny skirmish with one of our execs who was very nice and very bright and was like: ‘Why are you saying they?’, and I’m like... and I... explaining, and he’s like: ‘Well I’ve never heard of that before.’, and I’m like: ‘Oh, okay, but trust me, just trust me, it’s all fine, just trust me.’

Douglas: And you know I have to say, just following on what Neil’s saying, I’ve been directing for quite a while, and I tend to notice if characters are falling in love, I tend to notice a love story happening in front of me, and I think it’s there, and everything is meant, guys, everything is meant.

Neil added: I would just say, there are some things that you do while you’re writing a script intentionally. The fact that... I wanted to do this, well, it was a thing I did that I really enjoyed doing... where whenever people accuse them of being a couple: they don’t deny it, they don’t argue, there’s no flustering on their part. They absolutely… you know, everybody… what I’m trying to say is:  yes, other people in the story are perceiving them as a couple too. And here is Uriel perceiving them as a couple, here is wonderful Dan [Starkey, playing the passerby] …and you know, you do scenes like that because that’s... you are trying to make a point here and you’re trying to make a point on how people are perceived.

Season 2, yes or no [fiends, all three of them!]:

Douglas: What’s that?

Neil: Of what?

Rob: Is it muted for me as is for everyone else?

Neil confirmed that they are going to be Funko Pops. [yay!]

2. David G. Arnold (the music composer)

He didn’t read the book before he was approached to do the music. He was asked to do it by Douglas Mackinnon he knew from the Victorian episode of Sherlock and he said yes before even knowing what it was about because he wanted to work with Douglas again.  

The first piece of music he wrote for the show was the brass band doing the Lazing on a Sunday Afternoon [Episode 6, in the park before the kidnapping].

The second piece of music he wrote was the lullaby that Crowley sings to Warlock. He always liked the lullabies like in Mary Poppins so he said to Neil: Why don’t we do it like Walt Disney, but if Walt Disney was possessed by Satan? That was about 7 months before he needed to write anything again while they were shooting and it kept going round his head the whole time - the melody stuck with him and when it came to the Opening Title of the show, this became the middle bit.

The original opening title was Everyday by Buddy Holly and each episode was supposed to be closed with a different version of it: a death metal version, an angelic choir version, a carmina burana version... and he actually made all those. But he likes to find the musical identity of the show and put it in the opening titles because it’s important and it tells you: ‘This is the word you’re going to experience’, so he wrote his own opening title with the lullaby in the middle and played it to them [probably Neil and Douglas] with Buddy Holly as the backup and: Neil just turned around in his chair and said, ‘That’s Good Omens.’. From that point the instructions were with no rules, just to create whatever he wanted: the further you can go the better, the weirder and the stranger you can think the better. It’s a rare thing to be shown a world like Good Omens and be let free to run around in it. 

His favourite ending title is the Queen one in Episode 1.

One of the reasons he didn’t do a theme for Crowley and a theme for Aziraphale is that the theme of the show is theirs - it’s theirs and they share it and it’s both of theirs and there is no separating in that regard. 

About Aziraphale and Crowley’s relationship reflected in the music score: It’s interesting isn’t it, because the relationship changed in a way slightly frequently and majorly infrequently. It seemed right from the start that their relationship was somehow seeded and planted and had begun by the time we saw them even though they may not have realised it themselves, you know, with the pair of them on the wall, considering one is a demon in the Garden of Eden and one is an angel. They act very charitably towards each other and they act with a lot of things you might not expect. And underneath that there is a sort of sense of togetherness and support even though they both know that their paths are going to diverge and they have different responsibilities. So I always felt like, right from that moment, when the wing came up on the wall, that there was something special about their relationship. Three moments that stuck with him: in Episode 3 saving the books in the church when they completely rely on the other for survival in the way that they were very open about, one in the car outside the nightclub in 60s Soho - the Holy Water, you go too fast for me, that genuinely tearing, that there was reluctance in those words that he spoke and that sort of things as a composer is gold, it’s about making those moments more, and in the last episode in a scene they’re not event in when we see Adam and Dog in the fields and Anathema that music there which celebrates Crowley and Aziraphale’s music which is the theme of the show - their shadow has passed over everyone’s emotional journey, and everyone’s emotional journey is theirs as well. The argument in the bandstand was important as well.

His favourite leitmotif from the series is the lullaby.

About the scene in the car in episode 2 when Thomas Tallis changes into Queen: Terry’s favourite piece of classical music was the Thomas Tallis piece [Spem in Alium] so Neil asked if they can go from Thomas Tallis - a choral piece from 16th century - to We Will Rock You, and: ‘You never say no. You don’t say that you can’t do it. What you have to do is to be the first person who solves the problem.’ In the end it was a two-days work just for this little bit and he mentioned that he never had these sorts of challenges anywhere else before.

His favourite non-musical detail in the show - the crucifixion, how the scene was shot, how it was upsetting, and how it was made more effective by Aziraphale and Crowley’s inability to stop it, that they had to observe and watch it, that it had to happen. I remember seeing that at the time and thinking, I wasn’t expecting that level of brutal honesty, in terms of the pictures that I was looking at and what they chose to show. And I think all the more effective for it. 

3. Claire Anderson (the costume designer)

When creating the costumes for the characters she started with mood boards. 

Aziraphale - she knew that he needed to have something winglike in his collar so that’s why there are sweeping lapels very often. Using velvet [for the waistcoat] because that was nice and soft and had all the appropriate qualities. His watch and fob that has little gold wings hanging from it and other tiny bits of symbolism. Tartan bow tie. Beautiful cashmere checkered trousers - not quite tartan but a nod to it. A mid to late Victorian coat, Michael only made his decision on the coat a couple of days before the filming. Aziraphale in the present settled on a ring with angelic symbol and harp cufflinks, earlier his ring in ancient times has got a much more roughly hewn set of wings on it, so before jewellery making became sophisticated he modernised slightly - he magicked it up to be a bit more modern, more gentleman signet type of ring, but he never modernises entirely. His heart is much more in the past.

After they began to define Aziraphale they started to look at how the Heaven army of angels might look - the element of tartan came sort of from Aziraphale and the angels have a not-tartan kilt with a semi military type jacket and a military band across that might hold arms or not, because they are not really violent. She used spats to make them look quite neutral and genderless so hiding fastenings and concealing little details like that seemed a way to do that.

Gabriel doesn’t wear spats because he’s on Earth such a lot. His shoe has a cover with two buckles on the side giving the same neutral element. He wears a cashmere light-as-air suit.

The other angels are all in bastardized versions of what era they may have died in, so they could have died in the 1930s or the 1800s and the costume would have an element of that era about it - though of course as an angel you can change things.

The Quartermaster Angel - the costume is a combination of slightly Indian type military, maharaja pants, longer spats from another era, all combined pieces of military tailored to be magical and slightly nonsensical, as Heaven might be.

Crowley - she felt that he wrapped around like a snake sheds its skin so she wanted something double breasted because that seemed to envelope his snakey charm. David wanted to be more casual than wearing a suit. Under his collar he always has a flash of red like the snake that he comes from - the red belly. They put a red seam into the sole of his boots so always there is a hint of where he came from. The red tie in the blitz. He was more rock and roll than Aziraphale and modernised more to a snakehipped rock and roll star really. His present jacket - the fabric there is quilted, they found an 80s jacket that had elements of things they enjoyed - part of that was that it had a slightly quilted quality to the fabric which was like a textured snakeskin. It took quite a long time to create the fabric and then to make the jacket from that - they quilted some fabric and washed and whooshed it repeatedly to create a bit of puckering in it. He has a snakey scarf around his neck like a chain mail linked scales of skin scarf that he wore that complemented his neck chain. The trousers he wore in Victorian times are the same he wore in the 60s when he meets young Shadwell. His present trousers - slightly waxy denim - we just were looking for a slithery finish. Crowley’s neck chain - there is only one in the world - her tailor has a Gothic church full of interesting stuff like busts and drapes with old things, this chain mail scarf was there and David was looking for something to complete his costume and liked it. 

Hastur and Ligur are her favourite characters - they were so enjoyable to create. She had an amazing book of 1920s and 30s criminals and they used that as a starting point, because they were all quite worn out and bedraggled and poverty stricken and like hell might be ideally. They burnt and decayed the bottom of them as if they were rotting from the Earth and rotting back into the ground - all demons have sort of gators as if they were rotting from the ground up.

One of the most difficult things was the demons - when they realized they had a few days to create hundreds of demons in South Africa (4-5 days for almost 200 demons). It was as if I had been dissolved in holy water when they asked me for another 150 costumes.

The sleeves of Anathema’s coat have been inspired by a Victorian cycling coat. 

The historical costume that Newt’s ancestor wore influenced his and Shadwell’s costumes - they used elements of the historical costume to put a little cape on Newt and Shadwell and their wax coats to give them the quality of that look. Newt's costume has a lot of mustard to make him feel a bit awkward and uncomfortable - it's not the most flattering colour on a northern European complexion.

The nuns’ headdress needed to look a little bit demonic - she bought a whole book on nuns’ headdresses for research. They also used the V in the nurse's apron because that was nicely demonic. The nurses' watch has got this Satanic symbol at the top - a little take on the medical since old nurses’ uniforms used to have watches.

For Madame Tracy she went back into the 70s, slightly Biba-esque makeup and a cape. They had only one pair of her goggles so it was always a nightmare to find them.

Which part of the cold opening is her favourite: I love ancient Rome because there is at least 6 to 12 metre of fabric in a toga and that was quite fun wrapping that around the boys and creating those., and her favourite was the Globe.

The lapels represent wings in every way and every shape and every form. Wings are very important.

4. Peter Anderson (Peter Anderson Studio created the opening title animation and in-show graphics)

The first thing that the director Douglas Mackinnon (with whom he worked on Doctor Who and Sherlock) said to him was: for all the graphics, for all the title sequence, for everything, I want you to promise me one thing, and that is very, very simple, promise that you send me emails that say: ‘this might be absolutely nuts, but my idea is...’.

The opening title it’s full of easter eggs - it’s a type of sequence that’s been designed to watch a thousand times, for example: on the escalator down to Hell there is one character running up deciding that he doesn’t want to go to Hell or the sea is full of plastic bags because we don’t look after the planet.

Every single face in the title sequence is either Crowley’s or Azriphale’s, they are repeated all the way through - inspired by Neil saying that there’s good and evil in all of us, so there is a grand procession of people of all the characters from the story - marching towards Armageddon - but all the characters have been taken over by good or evil. And along the way our two heroes are kind of playing tricks on each other, doing good, doing evil

The opening title combines multiple elements - two dimensional animation elements, three dimensional animation elements, CGI and live action (the people in the procession were created by live action on a travelator). So the result is a kind of strangeness - such as 3D figures with 2D animated tracked heads - which makes it unique.

Their first idea and version of the opening title was based on tapestries of old, subverting them, but then they wanted something more new and fresh.

Both Douglas and Neil were an important part of the opening title creation process.

The opening title sequence took about a year to make from the creative start with four intensive months towards the end.

One of things that inspired him was a Bauhaus theatre image from 1930s.

Question if the hand-drawn font for the graphics will be a purchasable font: no, because it was original and it’s unique and it was created just for this - it was for the love of the show and the story and it will be kept there.

In the scene where there are three photos of witchfinders - Neil and Douglas revealed in the DVD commentaries that two of them are their grandfathers - the third one is Peter’s great uncle.

Originally the signs telling us things like ‘Thursday’ or ‘Mesopotamia’ - were done as if somebody (who was living inside the television screen) ran up close to the screen and showed us the sign. In the end they simplified it, only showing the signs. The one time that it was sort of left in the show was when in Episode 5 a little demon in the video game shows a sign ‘GAME OVER’.

Outside of his work on it, what was his favourite thing on Good Omens: spending time with Douglas and Neil, and also working with Milk VFX - I think I can honestly say it's the best job I've ever worked on with the nicest people. 

5. Paul Adeyefa (Disposable Demon)

He first read the book when preparing for the audition - the character wasn’t in the book but he got into it, loved it and couldn’t put it down.

He didn’t know about the name Eric until the script was published and people started calling the demon that, he really likes the name and thinks it fits.

There was a version of the script where the demon was going to be dressed in different costumes each time he was discorporated (for example one in long hair wearing a dress) - they would be all the same but different incarnations, in one version they had different accents. 

The first scene he shot was the one where the demon goes to Heaven to deliver the Hellfire (and also wants to hit ‘Aziraphale’ which was cut). That first day was also his favourite moment of shooting because there was an immediate welcoming atmosphere and everyone was lovely and in love with the production.

Disposable Demon is like a permanent intern, running errands for the higher ups in Hell.

His favourite part of the costume were the eyelashes (though he loved the whole costume).

If he could change anything about the costume he would also want cool contact lenses - some brightly coloured ones.

Question what animal (like other demons have on their heads) comes to mind when we see the Disposable Demon: he didn’t think about it at the time, but later he saw people talking about his horns as bunny ears and found it interesting, and also the facts that there are so many of him and that he is quite happy and friendly for a demon so the bunny makes sense, so he might be a sort of a rabbit. Or perhaps something goat type because of the horns.

Question if there is another role in Good Omens he would have liked to have played: he always thought that the four horsemen were very cool and Pollution was his favourite so probably Pollution (also was the most jealous of Pollution’s contact lenses). 

If there were a season 2, he would be there in a heartbeat.

Question about Eric’s feelings on Crowley, if he’s a bit of a Crowley fan: I think he might be. There is something about Crowley and how he is somehow a little bit different from the rest of the demons. - and the Disposable Demon has, much like Crowley, interest in the human world. He could well be 6,000 how many years old, the same as everyone else, but he seems to have this younger vibe and I think he thinks that Crowley is quite cool.

Good Omens fandom is his first experience with a fandom of this scale. It speaks a lot, the fact that this kind of very, this minor character, a character who is only on screen for a very short amount of time gets any kind of attention at all, it's quite amazing really, it goes to show how big and enthusiastic the fans are. I never experienced anything like that.

6. Jeremy Marshall-Roberts (the owner of Mary the Bentley)

When Crowley used a miracle to switch off the Bentley lights in Episode 1 at nuns manor it was done by: there was actually a very small guy called Louis turning on and off the switches quickly.

David Tennant was allowed to wear the snake eye contacts for only 3 hours a day otherwise they could damage his eyesight.

For Mary, the Bentley, it was the second time she was ‘blown up’ on film - first being in the Endeavour with Inspector Morse about three years earlier.

He was a bit nervous during filming the bookshop fire scene because the Bentley was so close to a real fire - not wanting the paint to blister. The car was moved off after a few minutes of filming but still.

About the damage to Mary: Unfortunately, we overran, and Rob my stunt driver had already booked a holiday and off he went and so when he returned in January, on the 10th of January, I had this new driver who really had no clue how to drive old cars, so I showed him around, I showed him to go around corners. He came around the corner, the door was not closed properly for some reason and the door flew open as he went around. And instead of slamming on the brakes which is extremely efficient and would stop him straight away he kept on going, hit another car and really smashed the door quite badly. It did take the car off the roads for 10 months. The door was completely remade because of this accident and it cost the total of  £24 000 to rebuild the car to get it back to running as it is today.

The Bentley’s part most difficult to maintain and service is the engine. 

Would Mary be available for a potential season 2: definitely!

#good omens #ineffable con #neil gaiman #douglas mackinnon #rob wilkins #david g arnold #claire anderson #peter anderson #peter anderson studio #paul adeyefa #disposable demon #jeremy marshall-roberts #bentley #ineffable con 2 #ineffable con 2020 #bts #fun fact #costumes #music #opening title #long post #finally finished this post #can I hear a wahoo? :)

[thegoodomensdumpster]

ALL THE OMENS

I keep seeing people confused / discovering one or several iterations of Good Omens, so here is a masterpost of everything Good Omens that officially exists (and that I could gather, so there might be mistakes):

WILLIAM THE ANTICHRIST (1987)

The original draft of what would later become Good Omens, written by Neil Gaiman before he teamed up with Terry Pratchett. It notably features a demon called Crawleigh who would then be split into Crowley and Aziraphale.  The draft exists in a book form included in the Ineffable Edition of the illustrated Good Omens.

LINK TO A WTA RECAP (by @fuckyeahgoodomens)

BOOK (1990)

The core material of Good Omens, written by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. Exists also as an audiobook read by Stephen Briggs (for the English speaking crowd of course). There is also some audio of David Tennant reading part of the book during the recording of Playing in the Dark: Neil Gaiman and the BBC Symphony Orchestra in November 2019. LINK TO DAVID TENNANT’S READING (by @merinathropp) @good-omens-covers is a blog where you can have a look at book covers from accross the world

MOVIE SCRIPT (1992)

The script for an aborted movie project. Attempts to write a movie script were made by both Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett, but this is the one Gaiman ended up tackling on his own after Pratchett wisely decided to step away. The conflicted requests from the producers lead the way to a story that was related to Good Omens only in name. The movie script is only available in few numbers on specialized websites for a very high price.

THEATRE PLAY (2013)

An adaptation by Amy Hoff made with the permission of Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett, that was played by the Cult Classic Theatre for the Glasgow International Comedy Festival. As far as I know, no footage or script is available anywhere. I know nothing about this play besides the fact that Crowley looks wild. Amy Hoff’s website mentions that GO is currently unavailable for stage production or adaptation. LINK TO THE (BROKEN) PAGE OF THE THEATRE PLAY LINK TO A PHOTO GALLERY OF THE PLAY

RADIO DRAMA (2014)

An audio adaptation originally broadcasted on BBC4 in 6 episodes, adapted by Dirk Maggs and directed by Dirk Maggs and Heather Larmour. It is however available in an 8 episodes longer format (including bloopers) on CDs and such. The cast includes, notably, Peter Serafinowicz as Crowley, Mark Heap as Aziraphale, Josie Lawrence as Agnes Nutter, and a cameo from Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett.

LINK TO THE BBC4 PAGE FOR THE GOOD OMENS RADIO DRAMA LINK TO AN IMAGES GALLERY

TV SERIES (2019)

A six episodes long TV series, produced by the BBC and Amazon, that premiered on Amazon Prime in June 2019. Directed by Douglas Mackinnon. The script was written entirely by Neil Gaiman as the whole project was the achievement of years of struggle trying to get a video adaptation of GO, and as promised by Neil Gaimand to the late Terry Pratchett that this would get done. 

The cast still includes Josie Lawrence as Agnes Nutter, David Tennant as Crowley, Michael Sheen as Aziraphale, and many other talented actors and actresses that would be too long to list here but are worth watching. 

As derivative products coming out of the making of the TV series, the script book of the entire show (including cut scenes that were never shot) is available, as well as some storyboards that depict, without a doubt, the least expected looks for Crowley and Aziraphale. The TV series is available for streaming on Amazon Prime, in DVD and in BluRay. The soundtrack composed by David Arnold can be found in CDs, vinyls and mp3 sets.  Additionally, there is a TV Companion book for behind the scenes and interviews that can be purchased, and very few official goodies such as enamel pins, and, of course, the very necessary Good Omens Nail Polish. A Q and A with Neil Gaiman and David Tennant is also available on Amazon Prime, broadcasted live and recorded in May 2020. In 2017, Neil Gaiman made a reading of cutscenes in Austin, Texas, for the Long Center event.

LINK TO THE DVDs / BLURAYs MASTERPOST (by @fuckyeahgoodomens) LINK TO THE SCRIPT BOOK MASTERPOST (by @fuckyeahgoodomens ) LINK TO SOME STORYBOARDS VISUALS: PART 1 and PART 2 LINK TO NEIL GAIMAN’S READING OF CUTSCENES

THE LOCKDOWN VIDEO (2020)

As a direct result of the TV series (and a direct result of a worldwide pandemic and a several months long lockdown...), Neil Gaiman wrote a little script for a short video that is, actually, mainly audio, in which David Tennant and Michael Sheen reprised their roles as Crowley and Aziraphale.

LINK TO THE LOCKDOWN VIDEO ON YOUTUBE LINK TO THE LOCKDOWN VIDEO TRANSCRIPT

MUSICAL (still in developpement as far as I know on this date in June 2020)

An Australia based project that has been years in the making, developped by Vicki Larnach and Jim Hare. So far, what has been officially released on the internet are a few videos of a reading by the actors, a sizzle reel with footage and audio of several moments from the show, as well as promotional pictures. The musical has been played on stage in front of an audience a few times these past two years in a version that is probably rather close to what the end product will be, and hopefully, once the final version exists, it will be made available for the widest audience possible.

LINK TO THE MUSICAL WEBSITE LINK TO THE MUSICAL SIZZLE REEL LINK TO THE MUSICAL INSTAGRAM LINK TO A REVIEW OF THE MUSICAL (by @seraphofshadows) LINK TO A GALLERY OF PICS FROM THE SIZZLE (by @crunchy-goblin)

OTHERS THINGS THAT ARE (AND THINGS THAT AREN’T)

668—The Neighbour of the Beast AKA the sequel that doesn’t exist. Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett talked about writing a sequel to Good Omens, came up with a few things (the most infamous being Aziraphale watching a porno in a hotel room, but only catching glimpses of it and trying to figure out the plot by writting it down in a notebook), but it was never written. LINK TO AN INTERVIEW GIVEN TO THE LOCUS IN 1991 MENTIONING THIS SEQUEL LINK TO A POST ON GAIMAN’S BLOG MENTIONING THE PORNOGRAPHY BIT LINK TO A RECAP OF THE SEQUEL + COTTAGE THING The movie directed by Terry Gilliam Before GO became a TV series, it got stuck for years as a movie project meant to be directed by Terry Gilliam. For various reasons it never happened, and the rumors about Robin Williams being cast as Aziraphale and Johnny Depp as Crowley seem to have started from there. The cottage “canon” The widespread concept of Crowley and Aziraphale sharing a cottage originated from a blog post made by Neil Gaiman, reporting a conversation between him and Terry Pratchett regarding the whereabouts of their characters. Gaiman has since offered the precision that this cottage sharing thing would happen way after the events of the sequel that was never written, so years after Armageddon, and that the location would be Devil’s Dyke in the South Downs. LINK TO THE ORIGINAL POST ON GAIMAN’S BLOG LINK TO A COMPREHENSIVE EXPLANATION (by @irisbleufic) LINK TO A TUMBLR ASK FOR GAIMAN ABOUT THE SOUTH DOWNS LINK TO A SCREENSHOT OF A TWEET BY GAIMAN The New Year Resolutions List (made for Harper Collins, now taken down from their website) A list of resolutions written by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett on request of the publisher in 2005, one list for Crowley, one list for Aziraphale. LINK TO THE LIST ( by @ladylier )

LINK TO AN INTERVIEW WHERE NEIL GAIMAN TALKS ABOUT A FEW OF THE THINGS MENTIONNED IN THIS POST And as an ultimate bonus, as I was gathering all the informations for this masterpost, I found back Michael Sheen’s Spotify Good Omens Playlist. EDIT (02/08/2020): Someone mentionned (in a post I can’t find anymore ?) that on the list of existing merch that was absolutely unexpected, there was a whole collection of Good Omens perfume oils. It was made around 2007 with the approval of Pratchett and Gaiman and was apparently updated when the series came out in 2019. The profits of the oils go to different charities.

I was also reminded of the Chattering Order of Saint Beryl, a group of singers promoting the TV series before its release in 2019.  Their Youtube Channel has a playlist that was last updated in June 2020. There is one video clip of the song Brand New Baby Smell that features a cameo by Neil Gaiman. And I found back @fuckyeahgoodomens‘s masterpost about the merch, even though I mentionned most of these in this masterpost, I’ll include the link for convenience sake.

#good omens #masterpost #all the omens #book omens #scrip omens #shitscript #william the antichrist #tv omens #radio omens #musical omens #merch #fandom #neil gaiman #terry pratchett #long post