#jfda

[o-uncle-newt]

Listened to A Flock of Tigers while making challah dough and, while it was rising, wrote out the first fic I've finished in ages

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

[o-uncle-newt]

What did Sondergaard DO before going off to live on a cold quiet island alone?

I mean, for a living?

I mean, dude got a royal appointment, of a bizarre kind yet still very official, from King Christian X (with a mint!) to go be governor of the island. (Which I will not attempt to spell because the script is apparently no longer online for me to check.) How did that happen, first of all, and does that appointment or his own means pay for his food, the ships checking on him, etc?

We assume that he wasn't a diplomat just because, thematically, in the story it's relevant that Bunning IS one and Sondergaard isn't- technically he might be but it would kind of deflate the narrative if so. Sondergaard was living in Java- maybe just as a normal businessman expat? Was he just significant enough as a business figure to be known in the kinds of elite circles that would get him that sort of "appointment"? Does he have some kind of family wealth or other independent means? What brought him to Java in the first place?

I get that it's more fun not to know but like, I want to know! Anyone have any interesting headcanons? (My only one right now- besides him not being a diplomat- is that he does NOT have a background in research or prior interest in animals, and the penguin thing really is just something he fell into.)

[o-uncle-newt]

Mood in the NYC subway system is grim this morning, but if you see someone cackling like a maniac with laughter know that it’s me listening to Cabin Pressure

Today’s very hard for me for a whole bunch of reasons (some, ah, political in nature but plenty not) but the power that Mr Finnemore has to just flip a switch and make me feel not just okay but joyful for half an hour is an actual blessing. Today’s one of the many days when I’ve felt like I’m not sure I could survive, pretty literally, without him. (I pulled out the big guns too- St Petersburg. Was perfect.)

Next I think I’ll move to Double Acts and go for Penguin Diplomacy, another sure fire mood booster.

Highly recommend this approach in general to all in need of a serotonin pick me up!

[o-uncle-newt]

A guide to John Finnemore (in particular his Double Acts) for the Good Omens S2 lovers, haters, and everyone in between (I promise, there's something for all of you!)

Found this in my drafts recently and honestly, I feel this is evergreen, so here y'all go:

As I mentioned semi-facetiously in my previous post, I don't care whether you loved or hated Good Omens S2- you're probably sleeping on John Finnemore. He's a super talented writer and while he's collaborated with other writers like Mitchell and Webb and Armando Iannucci before, I still think his best stuff is his solo stuff.

But where to start? Behold! I shall now recommend a different Double Act (that is, a different episode of his radio series of excellent half-hour two-hander comedies) for every kind of person who has reacted in literally any kind of way to Good Omens.

If you love stories about two people working on opposite sides in a conflict who over time break down each other's defenses to become valued friends despite the continued conflict between their sides, with some queer undertones: Unquestionably you want S2 E4, Penguin Diplomacy

If you loved Good Omens S2 because it's quiet, gentle, and romantic: S1 E6, Hot Desk

If you like quiet, gentle and romantic in principle but wish there was a bit more plot structure: Still Hot Desk

If you like quiet, gentle and romantic but watched Good Omens S2 and were like "this is quiet, gentle and romantic?!?!": DEFINITELY still Hot Desk

If you hate quiet, gentle and romantic and want something darker and more cynical: S1 E3, Red Handed

If you were meh on S2 but did find yourself enjoying the Job minisode: FREE ROLL! You can choose any Double Act at random and will probably enjoy it.

If you loved Good Omens S2 because you love characters who give off vibes of being dim yet helpful: Well, really you want to meet Arthur in Cabin Pressure, but from Double Acts you'll do great with S2 E5, Here's What We Do, and in a very different way S2 E2, Mercy Dash

If you loved Good Omens S2 because lesbians: S2 E3, The Rebel Alliance

If you like lesbians in theory but wish that Good Omens S2 had maybe sketched out theirs a bit more: Still try Rebel Alliance

If you were annoyed by the minisodes because there wasn't enough old-timey dialogue in the olden-day bits: S1 E4, The Goliath Window

If you like the Victorian minisode because you like the era: check out S2 E1, The Queen's Speech, which literally has Queen Victoria in it

If you think that Crowley making gentle fun of Aziraphale's magic tricks is entertaining: try S2 E6, The Wroxton Box

If you like relationship dynamics where one half is trying/pretending to be cool and the other one has absolutely no interest in it and likes the first half just how they are: try Here's What We Do

If you enjoy the whole corporate-nonsense aspect of Good Omens: give S1 E2, WYSINNWYG a whirl

If you think that one of the main flaws of S2 was that it didn't have Mr Young in it anymore: S1 E1, A Flock of Tigers

If you like Good Omens because you like fandom and fanfic: S1 E5, English for Pony Lovers

And, if you love the idea of a cliffhanger but also want the satisfaction of knowing there's an amazing ending coming: Wait on Double Acts and just listen to Cabin Pressure. And when you get to the end of Yverdon-les-Bains, before you move on to Zurich just take a moment to remember all of us who nearly died for two years waiting for the finale.

Anyway, happy listening!

[o-uncle-newt]

Was just listening to Penguin Diplomacy for the umpteenth time and...

...well I mean, it is DISTINCTLY its own thing, but now that my brain is very much in "oh my god Good Omens S2 is actually going to be happening nowish" mode, the similarities between Good Omens and Penguin Diplomacy really do kind of come into focus. Two representatives of larger "enemy" (well, not really, but it does work out that way in context) powers in a faraway location, both left by themselves in the middle of nowhere and, though initially at odds, starting to enjoy the solitude (and each other's company) when they're not bothered by their higher ups, becoming close with each other and, eventually, when the two higher-ups try to start conflict between their two sides, they manage to engineer a way to create a neutral zone for the two of them to enjoy.

And this is not to say that listening to PD feels derivative- it is very much its own thing, and the characters of Bunning and Sondergaard are very much their own people and don't map out onto the Aziraphale/Crowley relationship particularly well. And of course, besides for the rough contours, the actual details of the plot are quite different in terms of how things play out. But I do love how both of them have two people on opposite sides of a dispute who are brought together in that way to a place of closeness- and, while I've described PD as "three quarters of a rom com" before, I don't think it has to be one at all. I'm perfectly happy with them just being important to each other and caring about each other the way they end off in the episode, and, personally, feel the same about Aziraphale and Crowley both in the book and the show (though of course that manifests itself in VERY different ways in each lol). Anything can happen for them after the episode ends and I'm perfectly happy regardless because they're great how they are.

[o-uncle-newt]

For everyone excited about Good Omens S2 and particularly Muriel:

If you haven't yet LISTEN TO CABIN PRESSURE! As of right now Muriel is striking me as somewhat of a female version of the Cabin Pressure character Arthur Shappey, who is a) one of the great fictional characters of all time and b) not only played by but also of course written by the phenomenal John Finnemore, who ALSO co-wrote Muriel! And indeed, that scene from NYCC is incredibly Shappean, or should I say Finnemorean. Cabin Pressure incidentally also has some incredible plotting (including mystery plots like the Birling Day episodes), hilarious jokes, brilliant character development and possibly the number one ending of all time. Also perfect found family vibes!

Basically, once again I am SO glad that JF was brought onboard for the comedy side of Good Omens 2 and the “kind of quiet and gentle and romantic” vibe that Gaiman mentions in this is so up his street it's not funny. (Also the specific JF anecdote Gaiman brought up in the NYCC panel was quite frankly very reassuring to me.) I am incredibly excited for this!

(Also listen to the rest of JF's stuff- his Double Acts has 1.75 half-hour rom coms, Hot Desk and Penguin Diplomacy, which may stop just short of the CLEARLY inevitable ending but otherwise has impeccable vibes, some of which are actually very Good Omens-esque. And Souvenir Programme is genius, with S9 a totally different kind of genius that I personally found incredibly impactful, as fellow listeners can tell from the fact that I subsequently named my Tumblr and AO3 accounts after quotes from it.)

[lothiriel84]

.

[timespanner]

"Your right arm, as we have discussed, you may safely leave at the bottom of the Straits of Malaya."

— John Finnemore's Double Acts, The Goliath Window