Untitled

[fuckyeahgoodomens]

New promo! We are two weeks away! :) <3

(hopefully this is not AI but I wouldn't hold my breath :()

[tofupixel]

I've always been a lurker when it comes to social media, so reaching out to ask if I could cross stitch your Az and Crowley piece made me a bit nervous. I've been able to catch a few of your Twitch streams as well ☺️ But I digress!! Crowley is done!! Now on to Aziraphale

WWWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOO 🥺🥺🥺🥺😥😭😭😭😭🥺🥺🥺😭😭😭😭💕💕💕💕💕

u never have to ask my permission to do something so beautiful thank you so much !!!!!!!!!

[lapsed-cat]

So much talent in this fandom!

[yamisnuffles]

Give me shelter.

[fuckyeahgoodomens]

My trip to London and visiting the Southbank event with Neil, David and Michael 29.5.2019

(about the Good Omens Southbank event 29.5.2019 :))

Since the show came out I didn’t have time to properly sit down and write it all down, but I should before I forget it all! :)

Last week I visited London for just one day, like a ninja, to see the Southbank events and the boys.

I arrived to Stansted ad 12:40 and took the train to London Liverpool Street where I went to the tube heading to the Tottenham Court Road. Fortunately for me had I already visited London once before, 8 years ago I think and since I always keep everything, I was able to find the Oyster card from that time, and didn’t have to get another one, yay! :)

At the tube I of course kept my eyes open for GO stuff and I was not dissapointed! I’ve seen posters for both the show and the Script Book!

Why did I was heading to Tottenham Court Road? Well, it’s near Soho, near the bookshop - the one that was going to be opened there as a promo action displaying a lot of stuff from the show. It was supposed to be opened from June 1, but it never hurts to try.

Near the bookshop I met with @sofacrawler and @scatter-of-light. Unfortunately the bookshop was not opened yet, only for the press (tho apparently that day the bookshop was visited by David Tennant and Michael Sheen who suprised some fans there (x), so perhaps some could go there in the morning, or they won it somewhere :(  :)). 

Buuut guess what, the Bentley was parked in front of it!

(yeah it started raining even tho the forecast said it wouldn’t, I had to buy an umbrella later)

The owner (at least I think it was the owner) was so kind and allowed us to sit in it!!! Yaaaaaaaay, that was amazing :). We also met there Satanic Nuns who took pictures with us :))))

From there we went to take a peek at the Ritz :))).

And then made our way to the Waterloo station for the promo action that as there - in the middle there was a mini Garden of Eden

Huh, I found out I forgot to take a picture of the whole thing :/, but at least something: 

And they were giving away Good Omens apples!

Plus, there were two very cute snakes you could take a picture with! :)

Then came the Satanic Nuns and sang a couple of songs (such as Brand New Baby Smell or some Queen ones!), 

also gave us these lovely cards:

We also met there @assssziraphale, @armageddonwithit and others which I unfortunately don’t know the tumblrs of, but hiiiii, sending you love! :)

From there we made our way Southbank Centre Royal Festival Hall (again saying hi to all who said hi to me there, such as @leftywhogirl ! :))

Sooo many people there! 

I sat here, so I had lovely view of the boys:

Before the boys came though they asked us not to take any picture or video, which I respected, so no picture of the boys from me :(. But I’ll try to reproduce what they were speaking about, I am sorry if I don’t remember everything correctly.

They started by showing us a short clip from the video (the end of ep 3 where Crowley says he’s unforgivable, poor snek :(). 

Later they also acted out right there the scene with drunk Crowley and Aziraphale and it was gloooorious! (btw. David of course couldn’t sit normally on the chair again :D).

Thorough the whole event I was either smiling or laughing, our boys were incredibly witty and funny - such as, when Michael was telling the story about how he met Neil (you can listen to it in the Podcast David Tennant did with him) and when he mentioned he had been in Twilight he added something like ‘yes, yes, please stopped with the applause, and sit down, sit down‘ :D, or when they were talking about David tight clothes and his swagger walk David joked that the clothes were so tight he couldn’t walk any other way :D. Also very funny was when the interview said something like Crowley is like an old rock star and David was like ‘Whaaaaat?’ to which Michael added that he shouldn’t worry since somebody today asked him if he was in a fat suit during the shooting (later he spoke about it also at The Graham Norton Show (x))

Neil also spoke about how he go Frances McDormand to play God (x), and that she told him it would only confirm something that her family already suspected :D. Also when he asked the directour Douglas Mackinnon how he would feel about Frances McDormand playing God, he answerd something like, ‘…oh… yes… she will need a lot of directing.’ :)))). 

There was a question about season 2 and Neil was like, ‘Yes, I would also want to see more of Aziraphale and Crowley, but this has taken five years of my life and the book was already there’.

The story I absolutely love was when somebody asked if Terry Pratchett ever played any pranks on Neil and he said that no, but what Terry did do sometimes was when a fan came to him with Good Omens for his signature and told him they will now go to Neil to have both of them he told them ‘Could you give him a message from me? Tell him ’ and now he added some cryptic nonsense like ‘tell him “The starcase is not just a starcase” he will know what I mean’. And then of course they found Neil and told him that with ‘Do you know what it means’ and Neil (tiredly) ‘Yeah, I know what it means.’ :D :D :D

Neil was speaking about two improvised scenes, one of which got into the show (x). :) The other one (spoiler, skip this paragraph if you hadn’t seen the show), was when after the final bench talk they were going through the park and as a camera was taking them from the distance, Neil was only listening and heard some weird stuff Crowley saying bad things about Aziraphale that were not funny, and only then he realized that it was not David who he was hearing, but it was Michael doing pitch perfect Crowley and having fun with it :)). Probably studied him a lot because you-know-what ;).

Neil said that in his first draft which he then sent to Terry there was one demon who went to the meeting of three demons, and he like couldn’t be bothered that much. What Terry did was that he split the demon into the a demon and an angel. He made the demon a little bit like Neil at that time - wearing dark glasses indoors or leather black jacket and the put the original demon characteristics into the angel. :) Michael Sheen then reacted to that that he feels that Crowley and Aziraphale are two parts of one soul that is trying to get back together :).

There was probably more interesting stuff, but I forgot it. If I remember, I’ll add it here :). 

It was very lovely hour and a half and after it ended me and other fans went to the artist door to wait for the boys to get an autograph or a photo. Unfortunately after about 40 minutes I think somebody came to tell us they did not used this door (fiends! :( :)).

Then I travelled by bus to Stansted to spent a night there and then catch my morning flight. I hoped to doze off a little bit there, but let me tell you Stansted is not sleep friendly! They are a few semi-comfortable chairs, but they were of course all occupied, so I bought hot chocolate and sat on cold uncomforable chair at Costa and and read or listened to music. No sleep :(.

After my plane landed, I took train home and after arriving went immediately to sleep… to wake up May 31 for the show to be out. YAY! :)

It was definitely worth it and will cherish this experience forever! :).

[rada-76]

Alekhine's Book on Chess

How Alekhine's book on chess relates to Aziraphale's heroic risk.

It turns out there's a famous "Alekhine Defense" in chess. The idea is that when White makes the first pawn move against us, we, Black, respond with an unexpected move: immediately move a knight (black «dark» horse), thereby exposing the white pawn to attack.

It's believed that Black is taking a huge risk by introducing an expensive piece into the game. However, it makes it difficult for White to defend the center. Black thus "draws fire" on himself.

Aziraphale is chess black knight, our "dark horse", as Nina called him. This means he's the one acting boldly and riskily in fin-15. This means the white pieces are clearly Heaven, led by Metatron. Aziraphale deceived Metatron in fin-15, convincing him of his loyalty, thus gaining a chance to save himself and Crowley. At the same time, Aziraphale is a threat to Heaven, undermining its defenses.

Alekhine's Defense - Wikipedia

By the way, my favorite number of squares on a chessboard is 8 by 8! 😊 Two eights, two happy infinities, symbolize the eternal love of my favorite characters.

I wrote about the symbolism of numbers in "Good omens" here.

I think you'll find this interesting. I don't want to be too pushy, so forgive me if I mentioned you inappropriately.

@ineffable-detective-agency, @kimberleyjean, @embracing-the-ineffable, @komorezuki, @noneorother, @vidavalor, @lookingatacupoftea, @maufungi, @maufungi, @havemyheartaziraphale, @theastrophysicistnextdoor, @251-dmr, @commonmexicanname, @beebopboom, @ezra-didntreallyfall, @caterhoades1971, @sonnetnumber23, @dalliancekay, @yokohamama, @defnitely-not-a-cat, @brokewokebespoke, @wistfulnightingale, @sanpakueyes17, @shriiimpa, @gallup24, @anixelar, @atror173, @mydigitalcamera, @maxwelllhammer

Книга Алехина о шахматах

Оказывается, в шахматах существует знаменитая "защита Алехина". Суть в том, что когда белые делают против нас первый ход пешкой, то мы, черные, отвечаем неожиданным ходом: сразу конем, при этом ставя эту белую пешку под удар.

Как книга Алехина о шахматах связана с героическим риском Азирафеля.

Считается, что черные так очень рискуют, вводя в игру дорогую фигуру. Зато белым становится сложно защищать центр. Черные таким образом "вызывают огонь на себя".

Темная лошадка у нас Азирафель, так его назвала Нина. Значит, это он в фин-15 поступает смело и рискованно. Значит, белые фигуры - это явно Небеса во главе с Метатроном. Азирафель в фин-15 обманул Метатрона, он уверил его в своей лояльности, так он получил шанс спасти себя и Кроули. В то же время Азирафель является угрозой для Небес, он разрушает их защиту.

Защита Алехина — Википедия

Кстати, у шахматной доски мое любимое число клеток: 8 на 8! 😊Две восьмерки, две счастливые бесконечности, символизируют вечную любовь моих любимых персонажей.

Я писала о символике чисел в «Благих знамениях» здесь.

[lommerjonn]

Meta on Aziraphales music choice in season 2 of good omens

In the first episode Aziraphale buys a Shostakovich record from Maggie, something which stuck out to me. Shostakovich lived and worked under the heavy hand of Stalin. After an early successfull career he became a thorn in the eye of Stalins regime for his supposedly system critical music. After that he suffered under censur and the constant threat of incarceration and execution.

In his 5th symphony (the one that Aziraphale listens to) he thus again followed the rules of a classical symphony and its themes and especially the last movements march was interpreted as a glorification of the Sowiet nation. At the time it was seen as the Return of the Prodigal Son. It was believed that he was now loyal to the system and is marching back in the line.

All of this seems to mirror Aziraphale and his decisions in the last few minutes in season 2 well. He's having his own 5th symphony moment.

For Shostakovich, this decision was the only way for him to survive; he had to pretend to follow the Soviet regime and build his criticism clerverly into his music so that only likeminded people would notice. In his memoires (his admittedly heavily disputed memoires lol) its written

"What happens in the 5th (Symphony) should be clear to everyone, the jubilation is forced under threat [...] As if they are hitting us with clubs and demand: You shall rejoice! You shall rejoice! And the beaten man stands up, barely able to stay on his feet. Walks, Marches, mutters unders his breath: We shall rejoice! We shall rejoice! One must be a complete idiot to not hear it."

(Also, another theme of the first movement is directly borrowed from Bizet's opera Carmen (love is a rebellious bird hah) and is supposedly showcasing Shostis own unrequited love lmao i dont think this part is necessarily supposed to send a message in the context of the series but it still works well)

[fuckyeahgoodomens]

If you don’t mind. Where is the bench. I have a friend visiting London and they are willing to go take a pic there for me. ( also do you know if there are any pencils left?) thank you!

Hiya! :) Follow the map from the filming locations post :) <3. All pencils are long gone I'm afraid :).

[aziracrow4ever]

Thank you for getting back to me. I hope someday I’ll be able to go and check the, all out myself and I will DEFINITELY follow the map you shared with us!

[aziracrow4ever]

Crowley approved! (I couldn’t find Dorothy in the store but I thought I’d let you all know they are availabile.)

[fuckyeahgoodomens]

Good Omens filming locations masterpost! ❤ 🐍😊 Part 1

I made a Google map containing all the locations, see here! :)

Part one contains Season One, continue here for part 2 and here for part 3 containing the rest of S1 and Season Two, also a bonus book mausoleum!!! (it is split into more parts because tumblr has a limit of images in one post :))

SEASON 1

London:

AC in Berkeley Square (S01E06) - Tavistock Square, London

Scene: AC swap back and decision to go to The Ritz

Availability (as of 2024): 7:30–21

Link on the map

Crowley in the pub (S01E05) – The Enterprise pub, London

Scene: Crowley drinking and meeting not quite corporal Aziraphale

Availability (as of 2024): Mon-Wed 12-23, Wed-Sat 12-24, Sun closed

Link on the map

Crowley on the way to the burning bookshop (S01E05) – Wardour Street, London

Scene: Crowley's Bentley rushing throught the streets of London

Availability (as of 2024): street all day

Link on the map

AC on the bus (S01E01) - Piccadilly Circus, London

Scene: Aziraphale and Crowley meet on the bus to discuss the antichrist, in the background the Piccadily Circus can be seen

Availability (as of 2024): street all day

Link on the map

AC at The Ritz (S01E01, S01E06) - Criterion, London

Scene: Aziraphale and Crowley at The Ritz in the first and sixth episode of the first season. It was actually filmed at the Criterion restaurant which since then has unfortunately been closed and now (2024) there is Masala Zone with unfortunately changed interier :(.

Availability (as of 2024): Mon to Thur 12:00-22:30, Fri 12:00-23:00, Sat 12:30-23:00, Sun 12:30-22:30

Link on the map

AC on the way to the manor (S01E02) – Whitehall street, London

Scene: Crowley with Aziraphale driving the Bentley to the Tadfield manor

Availability (as of 2024): street all day

Link on the map

AC leaving the St James's Park (S01E01) - Carlton House Terrace, London

Scene: The stars on which Aziraphale and Crowley leave St James's Park in Episode 1, Crowley tempts Aziraphale to lunch and they speed away

Availability (as of 2024): street all day

Link on the map

AC meeting in St James's Park (S01E01, S01E03, S01E06) - St James's Park, London

Scene: Aziraphale and Crowley's meeting in St James's Park by the ducks in the first season in episode one (about the antichrist), episode three (victorian scene) and episode six (the kidnapping)

Availability (as of 2024): 5-24

Link on the map

Newt meeting Shadwell (S01E02) – Between Westminster Abbey and Palace of Westminster, London

Scene: Newt meets Shadwell for the first time

Availability (as of 2024): street all day

Link on the map

The Bandstand scene in St James's Park (S01E03) – Battersea Park, London

Scene: The bandstand scene in season one.

Availability (as of 2024): 8am until dusk

Link on the map

Aziraphale stops Gabriel during his jogging (S01E04) - Battersea Park, London

Scene: Aziraphale stops Gabriel during the jogging.

Availability (as of 2024): 8am until dusk

Link on the map

'Crowley' outside his flat (S01E06) - Eastfields Avenue, London

Scene: The morning after the Apocaflop 'Crowley' coming out from his flat.

Availability (as of 2024): street all day

Link on the map

Dirty Donkey in 1967 (S01E03) - The Cat's Back pub, London

Scene: The interior of Dirty Donkey from 1967 where Crowley meets Shadwell for the first time has been filmed in The Cat's Back pub (the interior has been transformed into the 60s)

Availability (as of 2024): Mon - Closed, Tues: 5pm - 11pm, Wed - Thu: 4pm - 12am, Fri: 4pm - 1am, Sat: 2pm - 1am, Sun: 1pm - 11pm

Link on the map

Shadwell reports to Crowley (S01E03) – Best Cafe, London

Scene: Shadwell meeting Crowley in the present time.

Availability (as of 2024): street all day, the establishment itself seems closed now :(

Link on the map

AC talking about the Warlock's birthday party (S01E01) - Crystal Palace Park, London

Scene: Aziraphale and Crowley watching Warlock in the park with dinosaurs and talking about the birthday party

Availability (as of 2024): 7:30am - sunset

Link on the map

AC stopping in a cafe after the manor (S01E02) – Penge Cafe (then) / Antonella's Cafe and Bistro (now), London

Scene: Aziraphale and Crowley stopping to discuss how to find the antichrist after visiting the Tadfield manor, at the time of the shooting it was named Penge Cafe, now renamed to Antonella's Cafe and Bistro 

Availability (as of 2024): Wed-Sat 8:30-5, Sun: 9-5

Link on the map

AC watching Hamlet in 1601 (S01E03) – Shakespeare's Globe, London

Scene: Aziraphale and Crowley secret meeting in 1601 during a Hamlet performance

Availability (as of 2024): They open at specific times for tours and performances. See performances and tours on www.shakespearesglobe.com/whats-on/, for example 3 APRIL - 23 OCTOBER there's a 'Pride Guided Tour bringing to life the queer stories and characters from Shakespeare’s life and times.' :). https://www.shakespearesglobe.com/whats-on/guided-tour-pride/

Link on the map

Crowley after bringing down the phone network (deleted scene, DVD) – Trinity Church Square, London

Scene: Crowley leaving after he brings down the mobile phone network in the BT Tower

Availability (as of 2024): street all day

Link on the map

Heaven top floor (S01E04, S01E06) – Sky Garden, London

Scene: The Heaven top floor background windows were filmed in Sky Garden, we are seeing this at the scene where Michael shows Gabriel the Earth Observation Files and during Aziraphale's execution (though the scene itself seems to be filmed with green screen)

Availability (as of 2024): the access is free but needs to be booked beforehand at https://skygarden.london/

Link on the map

Stairs To Heaven and Hell (S01E01) – The Broadgate Tower, London

Scene: Aziraphale and Crowley go to Heaven and Hell through the staircase

Availability (as of 2024): The tower is open Mon-Fri 9-18 but there is a reception downstairs where these stairs are – I've visited twice and once they were okay with me taking picks of the stairs and once not. The stairs are thought well visible from the outside and pics can be taken that way.

Link on the map

Aziraphale, Tracy and Shadwell on a scooter (S01E05) - Cardwell Road, London

Scene: Aziraphale miracles Tracy's scooter to fly with them and Shadwell to Tadfield

Availability (as of 2024): street all day

Link on the map

Where Shadwell and Madame Tracy live (S01E02, S01E04, S01E05) - Hornsey Road, London

Scene: The residence of Shadwell and Madame Tracy. We see it in episode two (Newt arrives), episode four (Newt leaves for Tadfield) and episode five (shaken Shadwell arrives, customers for the seance arrive)

Availability (as of 2024): street all day

Link on the map

Aziraphale eating sushi (S01E01) - Red 'N' Hot (closed), London

Scene: Aziraphale eating sushi with a surprise visit from Gabriel

Availability (as of 2024): It was filmed in the Red 'N' Hot – a sichuan restaurant, but it has been closed (now there is another restaurant with different interior)

Link on the map

Some scenes has also been filmed in the West London Film Studios.

Hambleden:

Hambleden is the place where most of the Tadfield village was shot :).

Tadfield Square (S01E01, S01E03, S01E05, S01E06) – Square in front of the church, Hambleden

Scene: Crowley phoning Aziraphale to tell him about the Armageddon in episode one, Adam reading and Anathema with R.P. Tyler in episode 3, seen R.P. Tyler meeting those going to the airfield in episode 5 and Aziraphale and Crowley are drinking on a bench after the Apocaflop and waiting for the bus

Availability (as of 2024): street all day

Link on the map

Adam's house (S01E02 , S01E03, S01E06) - Hambleden

Scene: Adam Young's house (can be seen in several episodes)

Availability (as of 2024): street all day

Link on the map

The Them buying ice-cream (S01E02) – Hambleden convenience store, Hambleden

Scene: The store that The Them bough ice-cream from

Availability (as of 2024): Street all day, the store Mon-Sat 8-17, Sun 8-16:30

Link on the map

The Them planning to stop Armageddon (S01E05) - Hambleden

Scene: The Them returning planning to go to airfield and stop Armaggedon

Availability (as of 2024): street all day

Link on the map

Anathema's cottage (S01E02, S01E03, S01E04) – cca 2km from the Hambledon square

Scene: The scenes with Anathema's cottage (Jasmine Cottage) were filmed here, it can be seen several times throughout the series (like Anathema moving in, AC dropping her off or Adam visiting her)

Availability (as of 2024): street all day

Link on the map

Others in England:

Warlock's house (S01E01) – High Canons, Borehamwood

Scene: The Warlock's home was filmed at the High Canons Estate which is listed on National Heritage List for England

Availability (as of 2024): The High Canons Estate is currently privately owned and not open to public, the house is not visible from road.

Link on the map

Hastur and Ligur hand over the Antichrist (S01E01) – Holy Trinity Church, Penn Street

Scene: Hastur and Ligur give Crowley the Antichrist at the graveyard

Availability (as of 2024): the outside should be available all day

Link on the map

(continue to Part 2 :))

[alisteravictoria]

Pencil and charcoal drawings. I worked on Crowley's portrait for 6 weeks. And I spent 19 weeks working on Aziraphale's portrait. These two drawings are among my favorites 🥹

[itsnotso]

The Falling Star an Rising Sun 🌌

Click the image for better quality

Seperated illustrations under the cut

Here's a full set of my stained glass inspired Ineffable Husbands. The illustrations can be mached both ways, but the earth is broken if they're facing away from eachother ( because only if they work together, can they stop the apocalypse. See what i did there, hehe). Unfortunately the colour mach is not perfect, but oh well...

I also made a little Alpha Centuri reference with the stars in the top corners (top right corner with Crowley, top left with Aziraphale)

The seperate illustrations with WIP photos of both are already on my blog

Crowley

Aziraphale

[ineffably-queer-book-lover]

HAPPY INEFFABLE PRIDE, EVERYONE!

My Good Omens LEGO babies (and me) wish you all a very Happy Pride Month!

@di-42 @snognes @ineffablepretzel @phoen1xr0se @thatineffablewitch @ineffablyruined @lickthecowhappy @caminholonge @gallup24 @tickety-boooo @waitingtobebroken @ineffablecrow @neversam23 @juliette-tango @crowleysgirl56 @hellsgardener01 @lookingatacupoftea @the-oak-branch-nebula @just-sauntered-vaguely-downwards @lutraslutra @fumblingbuffoon @naturallyteal @noxnightingales @bl0ndwave @faeriedays @vidavalor @inezrable @simonezitrone79 @confusedtoadsworld @darlsbardlife @imfruity5432 @ineffable-xenanigans @handyowlet @ineffablequeermoony @fellshish and everyone else whom I might have forgotten in this list (sorry, it's late)!

[phoen1xr0se]

AHHHHHH this is perfect!!!! 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️🤍🖤

[vidavalor]

Broke: Nina is totally right-- Snarky Sunglasses is the jaded one with trust issues and The Marvelous Mr. Fell is the sunshine optimist that still believes in people being good.

Woke: Nina is partially right-- she just also has them a bit backwards. She doesn't know that Aziraphale is more hard-bitten and has had even more trust issues than Crowley. She doesn't know that Crowley is really a marshmallow optimist who believes in magic.

Bespoke: Nina doesn't know them like we do because we know that both of them are all of these things at once. We know that they overcome the cynicism and distrust of others because of how they're both still soft and optimistic and believe in magic and people being basically good.

And why and how are they that way, despite all they've both seen and been through?

Because they are living proof of their own, shared philosophy.

They learned to trust again by trusting one another. They proved to one another that people are basically good in how good they are to one another. They showed each other life is magical by loving each other.

[literatemisfit]

David Tennant spreading a little hope in a country currently trapped under a dictator

[phoen1xr0se]

THEY WON’T WIN!!

[griseldajane]

I decided I needed to do a 1940s Crowley to go with magician Aziraphale.

[vidavalor]

This has probably been observed before but... based on what we've seen of the language capability of most of the angels and the demons? And the love of words that our main two have?

Crowley and Aziraphale have to be both editors of and writers for The Infernal Times and The Celestial Observer.

Most of the angels and demons are not really that great with words but Crowley and Aziraphale are shown in different scenes reading these well-written newspapers of both Heaven and Hell.

The newspapers we see have tons of visible puns and are often ones based around topics they enjoy-- like that "soul music" cover story in that edition of The Infernal Times that Crowley was reading in the Shadwell scene. They're the ones writing these things-- probably sometimes for each other's papers, too.

It's obvious from the word choice that they both wrote each other's entries in Hell's Demon's Guide to Angelic Beings Who Walk the Earth so it would be unlikely that they stopped there. What other columns are in the papers, do we think? Are Crowley and Aziraphale not just Discworld Agony Aunts but also actually advice columnists, too? 😂

[vidavalor]

Crowley's cane/walking stick in 1862

This probably has come up but for anyone who doesn't know:

In the Victorian era, carrying canes/walking sticks was not just for people who used them as mobility aids-- they were also the height of fashion. For those presenting as men, it signaled wealth and conveyed status as a gentleman. The more expensive or elegant the materials used in making the walking stick, the more social power it conveyed.

This had been going on for over a century prior and was an evolution from men openly carrying swords-in-scabbards in public. Walking sticks were so the thing in the Victorian era that you actually had to get a license to carry one in London and there were etiquette protocols to follow when you went about town with one. How Crowley is holding his walking stick during the 1862 scene is in keeping with the appropriate behavior for a very well-off gentleman of the era.

Most canes/walking sticks-- which could also obviously be used as a self-defense weapon-- were actually designed with full or semi-hollow interiors that allowed for someone to carry other objects within it. Some men would use it a bit like a purse (a place to stash medications and coins; sometimes, carrying a picture in it, like someone might in a locket or a wallet). Drugs and other contraband items were also a thing commonly concealed in walking sticks.

The history of the spice from a plant mentioned in Agnes Nutter's writings-- the crocus plant-- has a connection to all of this. Different spices were difficult to procure due to the laws of different countries and various trade conflicts between them. Apparently, a whole black market for the world's most elusive and expensive spice-- saffron-- was kept up in London for awhile by a handful of extremely well-off (and, therefore, a bit untouchable) gentlemen who smuggled it across the border into London in their walking sticks.

This seems like the kind of Jane Austen Mafia shenanigans Crowley would get up to. Demonic work assignments that also made it easier to make sure he had all the necessary ingredients to keep his angel in paella seems like Crowley's idea of smuggling, should you need a fun fic idea. 😊

By far the most common thing concealed in a walking stick, though, was something else pretty Aziraphale... a sword.

Many walking sticks were designed so that the top of them was actually a sword handle and screwed off the rest of the cane, which was functionally doubling as a scabbard. This basically allowed a gentleman to carry a deadly weapon around while looking like the height of genteel-- all very much a thing in the Victorian era.

When the camera first swerves close enough to Crowley in the 1862 scene, we can see that his walking stick is built like this. The handle looks like it twists right off. We can also see that the walking stick is made of materials that would have been considered quite expensive and that the snake head of the cane is, surprisingly, not silver but gold.

It is the Victorian era social standards and the fact that Crowley had the cane designed with a snake's head that likely allow him to get away with carrying around a cane that is in an Aziraphale color, as he can justify it, if need be, by it needing to be of the most expensive metal. Just like how we see them wearing each other's colors in other scenes, Crowley's cane seems to contain some nods to Aziraphale. It's also very long, which would be the case for a walking stick for someone of Crowley's height anyway, but which also were the best kind to conceal swords.

Given Crowley's propensity for piling on defense layers and his heightened anxiety in the 1862 scene? And given how the scene is about him seeking a weapon that he can use against Hell? It seems likely that his walking stick is also a concealed sword.

It's also worth noting that he carried this cane that might conceal a sword to his meeting with Aziraphale in the park, in which they have a long tradition of concealing the words they are using from those who might be listening. This makes carrying this also a word-nerdy joke to Aziraphale.

One might say that they are experts in swordplay.

Knowing he was going to meet Aziraphale and that, being an angel and a demon, there were limitations to how they could greet one another or interact in public, Crowley brought a concealed sword with a gold handle, which he held in his arms for the scene. That's pretty romantic stuff. 💘