I was going to wait to post this tomorrow and work on commissions today instead, but my whole house is sick with a mystery fever, and I need a pick-me-up.
I’ve never done a prom scene, but this was a lot of fun for all the lighting and depth of field effects. Someone mentioned in a reblog that they like seeing the process, so at some point, I’ll put up the various layers of this so folks can see how it came together.
“It was brave. It was brave and selfless and clever. That’s who you are, Simon. And I’m not going to get bored with you.“
For those who are curious about the process, here’s a little animated gif of all the layers that comprise the finished image.
NOTE: It takes a major leap between steps 4 and 5 (ie. it goes from no detail to ALL the detail) because there are a actually bunch of detail layers where I revise some poses, change facial expressions, shift some positions, and generally make additional tweaks to balance the image, and I eventually merged them just to keep things tidy. But after that leap, you’ll notice some multiply, screen, and color burn layers to burnish and brighten and establish greater contrast to bring Simon and Baz into the foreground while pushing everyone else further behind them. Ultimately, the last thing I do is adjust the color, clean up, smooth out, and sign that sucker. :)
Hypothetically, if I were to organise a Book Omens week this year (within the next few months), would anyone contribute to that? It would likely be an Ao3 collection and a designated tag for Tumblr/Bsky/Twitter/Instagram, nothing much more complicated than that.
Please feel free to reblog for numbers! (Also, if anyone would want to help coordinate things if there’s enough interest, feel free to DM me!)
There was a garden where there shouldn’t be. Crowley frowned up at the apple tree as it reached towards the skylight of the bookshop that was, for the moment, the world.
On the other side of the tree, Aziraphale shifted, shoulders forward, hands at his sides. A battle footing. Crowley recognised it. He looked at the floor, at the impossible leaves and vines in this impossible place, and he waited for Aziraphale to make a plan.
But Aziraphale said, “So. What do you want?”
Read more on Ao3
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This is my attempt at a bit of a fix-it (more like a modifier, a missing scene, etc.) for GO3. I haven't taken a deep breath in 48 hours, and this was how I started breathing again!
If you haven't seen GO3 yet, this will *not* make sense and DOES contain spoilers.
Thanks as always to @infinitevariety for making sure my nonsense is intelligible, and to my love @shesthewindandsea for letting me read this out loud as I was thinking it through, and for the title suggestion!
(P.S. if you'd be interested in additional one-shots in this series before they rejoin the timeline, tell me!)
is it just me or did it feel astonishingly homophobic that they didnt kiss. like i guess it is textually gay and i wasnt expecting sloppy makeouts or anything but i am kind of shocked not even a chaste awkward kiss
anon imma hold your hand when I say this
they get married and live together to old age
cant be gayer than that
this finale has a bunch of problems (this from my point of view, which i will talk about later today) but it being homophobic isnt one of them
i actually really liked the good omens finale and while there are definitely valid critiques to be made i feel like a lot of the more common complaints i’m seeing (at least off the bat) are the result of the fandom as a whole shifting towards appreciating good omens less for what it’s actually trying to say and more for aziraphale and crowley. i love aziracrow but gomens is a story about less about them and more about PEOPLE, and i really loved how it took every opportunity to uplift humanity and love and free will. i wish we had more but given the everything, i’m more than happy :)
that post that's like. fans have got too used to acting as stakeholders. media analysis is about the narrative intentions not a checklist of what fans want. i think criticism of the finale because it didn't include specific elements we wanted to see is separate (if sometimes intertwined) from whether the narrative worked overall. because as an overall arc it makes sense. from the start they wanted an earth where humans could live their lives free to make their own choices, without interference or pre-determined rules and plans and divisions into heaven and hell. crowley believed the system couldn't be fixed, aziraphale believed god could be reasoned with, and in the end they were both right and they both got what they wanted: a chance for humans and them to make choices that were true to who they were. for crowley and aziraphale that was choosing each other. it always would be
For the record, Merlin is not eavesdropping. He just happens to be standing around the corner from where Arthur and Agravaine are arguing. It’s not his fault that Agravaine decided to accost Arthur in the middle of the corridor, after all.
“Sire,” Agravaine is saying imploringly, “you cannot be seen taking counsel from a servant. People will talk.”
It’s all Merlin can do to keep his magic from lashing out and making Agravaine fall flat on his smarmy face. Arthur and Merlin have been Arthur-and-Merlin to the people of the citadel for years; any talk that there ever was about them has long since died out. The fact the Agravaine knows this and is still using his silver tongue to try and drive the two of them apart makes something furious burn in Merlin’s chest– not just because it will make it even harder to make Arthur see sense about his uncle’s treachery, but because losing the intimate, human part of Arthur he’s been trusted with for all these years is unthinkable.
Merlin has given everything to stay by Arthur’s side. He won’t let anyone, much less Agravaine, strip that from him.
Before he can concoct some reason to interrupt, Arthur is responding.
“It surprised me as well, Uncle, but Merlin does give wise counsel,” he says. “He has yet to steer me wrong.”
The praise warms Merlin from the inside out. Agravaine, however, is adamant.
“Nonetheless, it’s hardly proper. What would the people say if they realized how dependent you are upon a farm boy from Cenred’s kingdom? What would Camelot’s enemies and allies think? It pains me to be so blunt, but it makes you look weak, My Lord.”
“Then who might I seek counsel from?” Arthur says, clearly impatient and annoyed.
Agravaine’s tone is horribly logical. “From your advisors, Sire, from your Queen, whenever you find her, and until then— and after, of course— myself.”
“I understand,” Arthur says, clearly considering, and a pit in Merlin’s stomach opens.
He cannot lose Arthur. He won’t. Not after everything he has done to keep him, not after everything they have done together—
“Clearly, there’s only one solution,” Arthur says, not sounding put out in the slightest. “Merlin is Queen now.”
Merlin’s brain comes screeching to a stop. He’s what now?
“Arthur,” Agravaine says, a bit of panic slipping past his incredulity, “this is madness. You can’t simply make Merlin your Queen.”
“I’m the king, I can do what I want.” Arthur waves him off. He’s never that dismissive of Agravaine, which only makes the whole thing more surreal.
It’s not as though Merlin has never thought about being at Arthur’s side as an equal, a partner, a spouse, but he’d always known that while one day, they might be able to be properly friends instead of servant and master, there was no chance of anything more between them. The fact that Arthur is declaring with so much certainty that he wants Merlin as Camelot’s Queen– as his Queen– is dizzying.
“Now, if you’ll excuse me,” Arthur says, like it’s the most natural thing in the world, “I should check on my betrothed.”
You didn’t even propose, you ass! Merlin thinks a bit hysterically.
The corridor goes very very quiet, and abruptly, Merlin realizes that he said that out loud.
“Merlin,” Arthur says, sounding equal parts fond and exasperated, “have you been eavesdropping this whole time?”
There are several things that Merlin should probably say. For instance, you can’t just assume that I’m going to handfast you! or perhaps, are you sure you haven’t been enchanted? or, I love you.
Instead, what comes out is, “I’m not eavesdropping!”
Arthur turns the corner, the expression on his face wordlessly declaring, you’re an idiot, Merlin, inflection and all.
Merlin is sure that he’s flushed bright red. Part of him wants to run away and go live in a hovel somewhere in the woods where he’ll never have to show his face again, but he’s also stubborn, so he continues vehemently, “If you didn’t want to be overheard, you should have chosen to speak with your uncle in private. It’s not my fault that sound carries—“
“Merlin?”
Merlin presses his lips together. “Shut up?”
“You guessed it.”
The corridor is silent. Agravaine must have left, or perhaps is eavesdropping around the corner as Merlin was wasn’t. Quite frankly, Merlin couldn’t care less about the man. He’s more preoccupied by Arthur, whose sardonic smile has become something more genuine, doing nothing to temper the flustered beating of Merlin’s heart. If anything, it’s made the organ’s rhythm worse.
“You don’t have to listen to your uncle, you know,” Merlin says when the silence becomes too much to bear. “You don’t have to make me Queen just to try and please him.” Not that Agravaine would be particularly pleased, what with it being Merlin and all, but still.
“And if I wanted–” Arthur watches him intently, “– to please myself? To please you?”
For a long moment, Merlin can’t do anything but stare. Finally, he manages, only sounding a little strangled, “You’d still have to propose.”
Arthur throws his head back and laughs, because it’s as good as a yes and they both know it.
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