#blueskyandpudding

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Nina sort-of confronted Crowley

Bonus:

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Michael Sheen & David Tennant looking like an old married couple in Good Omens season 2 Easter Eggs

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“Everything created has a beginning, Destiny of the Endless... as everything created has an end.”

— Neil Gaiman

(it hurts me physically to see the disappointment clouded Crowley’s face every time he realised things he loves might as well cease to exist eventually)

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Oh, the Denial.

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the nightingale symbolism in the relationship between Crowley and Aziraphale

"Do you hear that? ... No nightingales."

The nightingale is a metaphor that has been associated with Crowley and Aziraphale's love story from the beginning. In season 1, during their romantic dinner at the Ritz, the love song "A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square" played, accompanied by God's narration:

"While they were eating, for the first time ever, a nightingale actually did sing in Berkeley Square. Nobody heard it over the noise of the traffic. But it was there right enough."

“That certain night, the night we met,

There was magic abroad in the air,

There were angels dining at the Ritz

And a nightingale sang in Berkeley Square.”

The finale of Good Omens season 1 brought the song's lyrics to life with angels dining at the Ritz.

This love song, written in 1939 during World War II by Eric Maschwitz, music by Manning Sherwin and sung sweetly by Tori Amos in the film, evokes memories of a couple's first meeting, where the narrator imagines hearing the nightingale's song in Berkeley Square – a rare and magical occurrence.

The nightingale imagery has existed in art and literature for ages, symbolizing the arrival of spring, the serenade of the night, or accompanying mourning, later becoming a symbol of love. In English literature, the nightingale is often paired with the lark, one sings at night, while the other sings at dawn. For instance, in Romeo and Juliet, after spending the night together, the two lovers hear a bird's song and debate whether it's a nightingale or a lark, which ultimately symbolising their differences due to their families opposition.

In the context of the song and the show, the nightingale's song, a rare sound in modern-day London, becomes a symbol of the celestial love beyond the chaos of war or the division between Aziraphale's and Crowley's affiliations.

The moment Crowley leaves after confessing his feelings and abruptly returns to ask Aziraphale if he heard anything and kisses the angel, it's like his final attempt to evoke the most magical moment in their relationship (saving the Earth from Armageddon and then enjoying a luxurious dinner at the Ritz without interference from Heaven or Hell). It showcases the wonder of their goodness as they follow their hearts' guidance, even when no authority acknowledges it, much like the nightingale's song that was there but unnoticed.

When Crowley gets into his Bentley, the car itself starts playing "A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square", but he deliberately turns off the music before driving aimlessly. Before leaving, he glances at Maggie and Nina, continuing with their own life without being together for the ordinary, objective, and practical reasons. Life goes on, and the Earth quietly turns; there's no other choice but to keep living.

The scene where both of them stand looking at each other, the music of the love song resonates again. The song's ending marks the moment the lovers bid each other goodnight with a kiss, departing into the night, and their date lives on as a beautiful memory. The angel and the demon part ways like the couple in the musical notes.

The nightingale may be in hibernation, but the brokenness in the music may foreshadow that one day it will be played again.

Complete, tender, and intact as it was from the beginning.

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Exploring Toxic Family Dynamics through Aziraphale and Crowley's Relationship with Heaven

⚠️ Spoiler Alert: Mostly doesn't contain spoilers but I'll put a sign when there is

Good Omens portrays Heaven as a vast corporation with hierarchical levels, various projects, and tasks, all managed by "employees" - the angels, who are always ready to meet their KPI. If this corporation were to post a job ad on LinkedIn, it would probably boast a slogan like "We treat each other as family."

Referring to them as a family is fitting because, in essence, God created all beings, including angels, in a manner similar to parents giving birth to their children. Hence, using the context of a corporate environment or a family-like company, we can still see the presence of chaos in Aziraphale and Crowley's relationship with this "Heavenly family."

When someone grows up in a toxic family, the parental figures or authority figures in that family tend to view the child as a miniature version of themselves or an extension of their own identity, treating them almost like a doll. In their subconscious, the child exists solely to fulfill the parents' desires; they expect the child to conform to their likes and cater to their needs.

Children raised in such an environment with their family are not allowed to have personal needs, express their own opinions, have their own preferences, or even have different viewpoints from their parental figures.

This mirrors the operational style of Heaven.

Anything deviating from the norm is seen as a threat to the established order, all justified in the name of "God's will."

In such an environment, a child (an angel) has two paths to follow: either become the child who can comply or rebel against the system. Both paths ultimately lead to tragedy.

Aziraphale and Crowley, from the beginning, were angels assigned to important tasks for God, devoted to honoring and worshiping Her. Aziraphale takes his beliefs more seriously and never dares to disobey his superiors. In contrast, Crowley is akin to a curious child, always enthusiastic about creating and questioning.

Aziraphale stays in Heaven not because he resembles the other angels, but because he excels at concealing his "differences." Aziraphale is the child who can comply.

In order to gain approval and agreement from his superiors, to be seen as worthy, this "child" must sacrifice its true self. Aziraphale has experienced many instances of disagreement with Heaven's methods, yet he covertly rebels and consistently resists the divine plan. Deep within him, there is an urging, something that sets him apart and makes him unique. However, for the past 6000 years, he has suppressed that feeling, acting as if it doesn't exist. He cannot live and act according to his rightful will, as it would require him to challenge his relationship with Heaven and, most importantly, his core belief - that Heaven is utterly perfect.

The pain of the one who chose the path of hiding their true self is a subconscious notion filled with shame and humiliation as their beliefs contradict those of the admired figures in their life - their "Heavenly family." They knows who they are and understands that being true to themselves would disappoint their "family" and possibly lead to punishment. Consequently, they feels ashamed of themselves.

This one will grow up to be the kind of person who pushes others away. Though they yearn for intimacy with others, they have learned from their family that love and closeness come at the cost of losing their own identity.

Aziraphale genuinely loves Crowley. And Crowley loves Aziraphale wholeheartedly. But somewhere deep down, Crowley's beliefs represent the aspects that Aziraphale cannot accept within himself. Hence, being with Crowley also means betraying everything Aziraphale learned while growing up. He still feels shame for his true essence and is not ready to confront it.

The path chosen by Crowley represents the direction of the child who refuses to abandon their true self.

This child is rejected by their parent because their emotions, thoughts, and desires are too overwhelming and uncontrollable. In turn, the parent feels ashamed and deflects this shame by blaming the child, making them the source of all problems.

"For one prince of Heaven to be cast into the outer darkness makes a good story. For it to happens twice, makes it looks like there is some kind of institutional problem."

Exiled from Heaven and unable to find a place in Hell, Crowley embarks on a journey to explore the world, wandering through streets and alleyways, traveling across continents in search of a place where he feels a sense of belonging, warmth, understanding, and love. Because he couldn't find that with his own “families".

Crowley only considers Aziraphale the most important person in his life because their love for humanity is genuine and their ideas are aligned at the core. However, this relationship also reflects the tragedy of a child rejected by their family, growing up and finding love, as the person they love is often emotionally unavailable. They are afraid of opening their heart, as when they do so, they face rejection, which ultimately is a repeating pattern of their own family dynamic.

⚠️ Spoiler Alert for Good Omens season 2 below

Crowley confesses his love to Aziraphale, even after Aziraphale made it clear he wanted to return to Heaven and could help Crowley become an angel again. The way Neil Gaiman portrays the characters' psychology is incredibly well done.

If you've been hurt and haven't healed, it's likely to lead to various relationship issues. Like when Nina said she couldn't be with Maggie after leaving a toxic relationship because she would simply be using someone new as a rebound.

Anyway, after both of them became Heaven and Hell’s outcasts in season 1, Aziraphale no longer clings to his place. When Metatron invited him back, he immediately replied, "I don't want to go back to Heaven." However, Aziraphale, with his inherently good nature and core belief that Heaven is absolutely good, only troubled by the authority figures. If the coffee theory isn't true (I hope it isn't because haha), Aziraphale probably thought, "Now I can do things as I want, meaning I can make Heaven a place worthy of Crowley."

Meanwhile, all Crowley hears is, "You're not worthy enough as you are right now; you can only be worthy by returning to Heaven as an angel."

It must have hurt Crowley so much because rejection for being himself is the core of his pain.

Crowley and Aziraphale understand each other to the extent that one knows each of the other's tones, and the other always asking for the other's opinions, even remaining at ease in any situation while waiting for the other to save them because it makes the other happy. But they have never touched the pain in each other's hearts and don't understand each other's perspectives. Thus, they haven't found a common language or a middle ground.

With that being said, all relationships can hurt us if we fail to understand or confront our own pain.

Watching the show felt deeply satisfying to me, as it addresses family dynamics and communication issues, even within a story involving angels, demons, and magic. I felt so seen for this haha.

Anyway, thank you for reading this far, and I wish you all healthy and happy relationships. See you in another post.  . . . . (This meta is original written in Vietnamese. READ HERE.)

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cherik || erik x charles (+ their romance tropes)

𝕚 𝕔𝕒𝕟'𝕥 𝕝𝕠𝕧𝕖 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕚𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕕𝕒𝕣𝕜 Erik/Charles + Romance Tropes! They really fits a lot of tropes actually, but I include the one that I like...

I’M BACKKKKKKK with a video about Cherik and my favorite tropes which I think fit them pretty well!!! They fit so many cool and romantic trope I can’t believe it 

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charles x erik | driver license

and I know we weren't perfect but I've never felt this way for no one

I made this as an attempt to mess around adobe premiere pro effect but it came out (hopefully) decent enough. I just miss Cherik so much tf :(