JJ the Nerd

they/them

[5thhorsemnftheapocalypse]

Take me back to when the saddest part of good omens was the bandstand scene and the most contentious debate was how aziraphale managed to get into the bathtub without getting crowleys socks wet.

[jj-turtle]

GO Fandom and Free Will

The ending felt like being dunked in cold, cold water. I want to throw up and cry. I want to gush about the ending and celebrate how it changed my perspective on life, then read 400 fanfics about asanthony. I almost want to never recommend the show to anyone ever again as a mercy. And that's ok. All of those opinions are valid.

The beauty of the ending, at least in my opinion, is that loving the ending and hating it are both so extremely valid opinions to have. If you laid out all the arguments from either perspective and looked at the entire thing logically, there's really no proving who's right and who's wrong. And I think that's coincidentally an amusing microcosm of the show itself, as it spends 2 seasons telling you neither side is right.

It upsets me that people call you illiterate if you didn't like it or say that you've fundamentally misunderstood the characters if you did. The fandom has become a space where healthy discussion is impossible, and disagreements are taken as open hostility. (And oftentimes, the disagreements actually are openly hostile)

I don't know why I'm writing this, as most likely many people aren't going to see it, but I feel it's something worth saying.

Despite whether you hated the ending or loved it or are somewhere in between, one of the fundamental themes of the show is having choices. It's what the apple and the flaming sword represent. It's why Adam and Anathema could go against their destinies. It's why Gabriel and Beelzebub could go to Alpha Centauri together. It's why Aziraphale and Crowley aren't good at being the typical angel and demon and instead choose to be on their own side. It's what we love about the show. Free will being a gift is also the crux of what the finale tried to tell us. Whether it was successful in that message or not is up to one's own interpretation.

The point is, you have free will to do whatever you like. It's a beautiful thing to be the one to choose what you get to do, or how you get to interpret things, or how you get to react. In this case, you can choose to harm others or to lift people up. No one's going to stop you but yourself.

And maybe it's an unrealistic thing to expect people to be kind to each other when emotions on both sides are very high, but I dont think there shouldn't even be any sides. I think we would all enjoy the fandom space a whole lot more if we could discuss things with each other respectfully and try to understand the opinions we disagree with before attacking one another.

[jj-turtle]

I miss my chill and nontoxic fandom. I know people are all still feeling some strong emotions about the finale (me too), but it manifests in such awful ways sometimes

[akajustmerry]

In light of the no.1 trending topic on this site, I'd like to inform youse that Kitty Kendall, one of the survivors who bravely spoke out against Neil Gaiman and accused him of rape in 2025, has said here and here that if you are looking to support her and other survivors, you can make a donation to OurVOICE (the counselling service Kendall herself used) or your local rape crisis centre. If you can't make a donation, you can help to ensure people do not forget what Kendall and other survivors have gone through and continue to go through as they pursue legal action, and that Gaiman has already spent a lot of money in the attempt to sue these women for speaking out.

[ohdirtyriver]

reblogging this again in light of someone on twitter digging up this reddit post. i feel like a real fucking asshole for harboring the delusion even for a second that GO could be at all distanced from NG's disgusting actions. mea maxima culpa.

[jj-turtle]

Does this mean the GO fandom gets a new "no beta we die like men" tag now?

[jj-turtle]

Has anyone noticed that they changed the aspect ratios between the old universe and the new one???

Before

After

[thavron]

The more I think about it, the more I believe the divide in the Good Omens fandom right now is a philosophical one.

We’re asking, where does the soul live?

For those who think that who we are is shaped by a life time of experiences. That we grow and change with each each heartbreak and trauma. We see the ending as something horrible. We’re witnessing the death of our beloved characters and we are grieving for them.

For those who believe in a soul, who believe that Asa and Anthony are Aziraphale and Crowley because of the something intrinsic that lives inside them, what they’re seeing is a rebirth and a second chance. In that sense the ending is beautiful. They both get exactly what they’ve always wanted. To live as humans without the pressure of heaven and hell. In that sense, the ending is a joyous one.

Sadly these beliefs are deeply held, often the roots begin as far back as our childhoods. No amount of screaming at each other about media analysis is going to change anyone’s mind. Please just accept that there are multiple ways that one can view the ending and that those who are upset are experiencing grief. This is an extremely normal and valid reaction to end of something so meaningful and should be treated with care.

That said, your grief is not an excuse to lash out and those who don’t deserve it.

Be kind to each other.

[jj-turtle]

It's ironic how people hate a universe created by love. Yet it's so human. And I don't mean that in a bad way or a good way, people are entitled to their own opinions and grief. I just find it incredibly interesting

[dalliancekay]

“‘Tis Better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all”

In Memoriam A. H. H. by Alfred, Lord Tennyson

I've said this before and...

Aziraphale and Crowley's canon universe is a terrifying place. They lost it, yes. But their sacrifice was not in vain. And - I don't think they've lived only one love story in ours. I think they lived so many. And will for a long time.

Look at your loved ones... and you will see them.

There is no Book of Life in our Universe. There are just stories we create. Because we are free. Free to choose. And create. And love. And fight for the good things.

We can give them all the good endings.

[jj-turtle]

Well fucking said

[jj-turtle]

When my silly little show of joy and whimsy shatters that fantasy on purpose to force the audience to reconcile with the beautiful discomfort of reality

[htmllost]

you know what I've realised?

if terry were here the ending wouldn't have felt so disappointing. because he would've built up the world and the importance of humanity up in a way that would've deserved aziracrow's sacrifice. he would've NEVER let aziraphale or crowley become the main characters so fundamental to the story that humanity took a backseat, because remember, in the book they were never the main characters. it would've been satisfying to see it end, more worth it. instead we got derailed to a fanservice romance between an angel and a demon and spent so much time on their relationship while letting the human core of it become a setting for their romance.

which is fine but you can't do that and try to steer back to the original idea behind the ending as if you haven't neglected the worldbuilding and the development of humanity in general. why should I care about jesus and him reconnecting with humans? why should I care about the human philosophy? why spend 90% of your story on the romance which terry would have never let become so integral to the plot only to disregard it for the humanity you never explored to begin with?

its painfully obvious that neil gaiman ran away with his own ideas. season 1 is a perfect reflection of terry's influence with how big the characters of adam and his friends, anathema, tracy, everyone was ALONG with the world in general. yes we had aziracrow and their relationship was up to interpretation and ultimately did not matter to the story at all. fuck you neil gaiman for ruining terrys story. fuck you in general but fuck you fuck you fuck you.

[jj-turtle]

If it's any consolation, the fact that there is a multiverse where they're always together means that any human au fanfic could be canon

[tumbld-out-of-my-bed]

Go3 spoilers

Yeah sure, Anthony and Asa got their happy ending... But my Aziraphale and Crowley did not...

What was all of it for...

[jj-turtle]

Aziracrow did not get their happy ending.

But the Ineffable Husbands did.

Their love transcends it all. So, while they may be different people, their souls will still find each other. In every reality, in every lifetime.

And as angry as it makes me that the versions of them we've grown attached to died without the comfort of knowing what waits for them beyond, it's so intrinsically human. We don't know what waits for us when we die either.

When I finished the finale, for 20 minutes I cried and complained to my friend. Through my misery, I said "Its just not fair!" And that's when it hit me. That's the point.

It's not fair. Not the least bit. But when is life ever fair? If true free will is to exist, you can't have someone pulling the strings, making sure it is. Not God, not the writers. It's just you and your choices.

Usually, when I describe the show to people, I say it's about angels and demons. But it's not. It's a love letter about humanity. And in that moment where Aziraphale and Crowley make that decision, they are at their most human. Not an angel and a demon, just them. Because when you strip away the hierarchies of heaven and hell, when you clear the board and take away the rules, when you remove the black and the white, what they are is human incarnate.

And as devastating as that ending is, how beautiful is it that in the only universe with true free will, they still choose to love one another?

[jj-turtle]

"Nothing lasts forever."

Damn they really gave away the ending years ago, didn't they.

[jj-turtle]

Why is hugo so damn difficult to draw?

[jj-turtle]

A vat7k Hogwarts au would be really interesting considering how the four of them are all different houses. Yong is hufflepuff, Nuru is Gryffindor, Hugo is Slitherin, and Varian is Ravenclaw.

Maybe if I get the motivation I'll write it.

[jj-turtle]

Joining a small fandom after it has already been dead for a few years is a special kind of hell.

(Sidenote: If anyone who's still alive in the vat7k fandom has any fic recs I will GLADLY take them)