Important F15 Discovery? (Was "Nothing Lasts Forever" code language after all?)
WHAT. IS. THIS?????
When I was totally-not-neurotically deep-diving for any possible clues about Aziraphale saying "Nothing lasts forever," I didn't expect to find a 1984 cult classic movie with a poster that coincidentally has Azirphale's earth-shattering words to Crowley on it. And coincidentally resembles the S2 Opening Title Credits ending. And that BOTH coincidentally match a poster from the 1946 Stairway to Heaven movie that Good Omens 2 keeps referencing and showing us images from...!!!
Three visual designs, extraordinarily similar, with a path -- or stairway --at almost identical angles leading to a glowing ball in the heavens on the upper right. It can't be random -- because THIS poster in the Opening is from the same 1946 movie!!!
Stairway to Heaven. Nothing Lasts Forever. Two fantasy love stories about lovers under threat from authoritarian structures, both connected to Good Omens 2.
I've recently posted Aziraphale is Not a Fool, with screenshot proof that he DID recognize the Metatron. Through the Window Part I gives step-by-step screenshot proof that the Metatron could clearly see them in the bookshop during the Final 15. Through the Window Part II shows screenshot proof that Aziraphale knew this the entire time, and was repeatedly signaling Crowley. By the time Crowley growls and says, "Right. Yes. So. We've known each other a long time...," we have definitive visual proof that he has seen the Metatron too.
Of course, the implications of this are HUGE...!! Crowley would never PLEAD while a dangerous enemy was watching and listening (Remember, the Metatron heard Michael's Book of Life Threat), and he would Absolutely Never give up and walk away knowing Aziraphale is being forced.
It's logical to conclude that he and Azi were scrambling for a plan, both trying to communicate in coded language. Apparently painfully miscommunicating. Possibly starting to panic. But trying.
(If you're muttering into your teacup that "no way Crowley knew, it was a breakup dammit stop twisting things", please take a few minutes to read Parts I & II and Not a Fool before continuing on. I don't want to give anyone a stress attack. If you read both and still disagree, well, as Simone & Chidi said in The Good Place, I respect your position.)
So, Anyway... I was hoping to relieve some of the guesswork about what the coded communication might mean... Then I stumbled across this too-weird-to-be-random Nothing Lasts Forever movie & poster.
And I'd REAAALLLLYYY like to tell you about the details, and about why these movie references in GO2 are so important...
Good Omens 2 loves to load us with connections and cues and clues. Some are red herrings, or homages to Sir Terry Pratchett, or simply inside jokes and pop culture Easter Eggs, like all the fun Doctor Who references. (Fezzes are cool, after all!)
There are books that echo meaningful bits of the GO plot, like A Tale of Two Cities and Jane Austin novels, and the repeated sightings of The Crow Road by Iain Banks. There's also plenty of references to old movies -- particularly Powell and Pressburger films.
Especially this 1946 P&P film, including the promo posters:
The movie was released in the UK as A Matter of Life and Death, but was called Stairway to Heaven for it's US release. A key element in the story is an escalator linking Earth to the afterlife -- the literal "stairway to heaven" that's shown in the promo poster on the right.
The other main version of the poster, the Lovers' Kiss (with a heavenly trial in the midground) is featured twice in Good Omens 2: Once in the Title Sequence's 1941 bombing, and again in the very first episode when Aziraphale is in Maggie's shop.
Stairway to Heaven/A Matter of Life and Death is a "fantasy-romance-drama", like Good Omens. It centers on a Love Story -- two people who fall deeply and devotedly in love yet heaven says they shouldn't have. The male lead, a WW2 RAF pilot, literally "falls from the sky" into a completely new life (Crowley??). There is opposition, risk of death and separation, a trip to heaven via that giant escalator, and a trial for his life and love, won, of course, through clever argument!
(For more about the movie itself, and possible GO S3 clues it holds, @sendarya does a wonderful analysis in her YouTube video Love or Law: Which is stronger.)
In one of the earliest scenes in GO2 E1, we see The Kiss promo poster framed and featured at the sunny window in Maggie's record shop, as if it's important. It's the only poster there that's NOT for a record album.
Meanwhile, we had already been shown this same Lover's Kiss poster in the opening title sequence. But this one is shattered. No Kiss.
Now it seems even more significant, because we've been told that the entire title sequence is loaded with clues and symbolism.
Peter Anderson, of Peter Anderson Studios, has talked about how clues are hidden "in plain sight" in the Good Omens title sequences, as well as "hints and teasing". (@fuckyeahgoodomens has a beautifully formatted post where Anderson discusses Creating the S2 Title Sequence..)
That's really important to know. Because this image is also part of the Good Omens 2 title sequence, and it bears a strong resemblance to the two posters, both with the path angle and the heavenly goal:
We see a similar image earlier when the bridge in space splits and spins, but this final scene is an actual stairway (or gravity-defying ramp, if we're being literal!) leading to the doors of heaven's elevator that becomes a brilliant round light. (More on that in my look at elevators in Going Up!)
Is Stairway to Heaven THAT important, though? Well, the movie also features the Chess book Jimbriel is using to try out gravity in S2 E3. That exact book is shown repeatedly, woven into the plot of Stairway to Heaven because, like GO, it's also a series of strategic "chess moves" to save his life and protect their love.
(This screenshot is from GO2 E3! I talk more about the Chess Metaphor here, and @rada-76 brilliantly explains a GO2-relevant Chess strategy here.)
Yeah, this P&P movie was apparently a Very Big Deal for GO2...
*****
**Okay, here's where we link all of this back to "Nothing Lasts Forever" and Azi and Crowley using coded language in the Final 15.
I've been convinced for ages that Azi's "Nothing lasts forever" was coded language. After all, Aziraphale went to night-school with the great cryptographer, Monsieur Rossignol! (Explained by @azfell-ajcrowley here.) And Our Ineffables both tried (unsuccessfully) to use cryptic codes in S1. So, I found an online script of A Matter of Life and Death, and scoured it looking for that line. Somewhere. Anywhere.... No luck.
Undaunted, I searched the phrase "nothing lasts forever movie", and it led to this weird gem and its promo posters:
Apparently, this was a bizarre 1984 sci-fi-fantasy-romance-drama with a very bizarre plot and starring some of the most brilliant and unique comic geniuses of its day. (Yes, that's a young Bill Murray!) Very obscure, but known to people who are passionate about old and weird movies.
It was never formally released, anywhere, except one viewing at Harkins Cinema in Thomas Mall in Phoenix, Arizona in September 1984. (Totally bizarre, right??) MGM completely canned the project, even though Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd kept trying to get it released. It never even made it to video/VHS/DVD. (See Wikipedia entry and Reddit)
BUT... Nothing Lasts Forever did get just a few cherished television airings in the early 1990's, including BBC2 in the UK in 1994. The writers and production team of GO are the ideal age to have seen this oddity! Apparently, this special showing was a REALLY BIG DEAL to fans.
It aired again in a Turner Classic Movies special series on January 4, 2015 as part of "TCM Underground" -- a series for movie junkies and people who love odd productions and metaphor-loaded visuals. My hubby and I actually saw part of it, but I had jumped in mid-stream, drifted out again, and never knew the title. It was a Very. Weird. Movie. (There are some random movie clips on YouTube if you want to check it out!)
Of course, I can't prove they saw it. But I can certainly imagine its appeal to the GO production team. Maybe it was nothing more than coincidence -- until I saw the movie promo art, especially the stairs!
You're seeing what I'm seeing, right? (click to enlarge it for a closer look)
Another similarity is that, in the GO Title Sequence, the figures climbing upwards make a black and white pattern. Sort of like a keyboard...
The movie itself is very metaphorical and bizarre. It ranks as a "cult classic", and fans seem to gain an elite status if they actually got to see it somewhere. (Hello UK BBC2 1994!)
The gist is that it's partly a love story, loaded with secret symbolism, in which the male lead is swept up into an authoritarian regime. He has to go on a mission up to the moon, which is promoted as a utopia but is actually full of danger for him. He meets his true love, a resident of the moon, is cruelly parted from her, and later reunites on earth in a happy ending.
Replace the moon with Heaven, and the basic plot sounds a lot like Good Omens, with the happy ended still awaited. It's like how Stairway to Heaven has a different-but-very-similar story.
AND CROWLEY LOVES OLD MOVIES.
*****
Look, I'm aware that I just spent a lot of time pointing out a lot of connections that could be nothing but coincidence. It's not actual Proof. But there are an Awful Lot of Coincidences here...
On it's own, I might not place it as more than another fun Easter Egg. An inside joke for the production high-ups.
But once we realize that Azi pretended he didn't recognize the Metatron when he walked in, that the Metatron was watching and listening, that Aziraphale knew he was there the entire time, that Azi was signaling this to Crowley, and that at some point before he started really talking, Crowley also knew.....
... the links and connections and movie poster visuals start to take on a lot more weight. As if they're not coincidence after all.
Our Ineffables couldn't speak openly. They couldn't use French*, or obscure Latin, or any other language that the Metatron would also know. But, despite knowing some quaint British slang and his recent "expertise" in ordering coffee, the Metatron isn't likely to know Earth Movies. (After all, they only listen to The Sound of Music up there...! 😅/jk)
Using an obscure movie like Nothing Lasts Forever doesn't even need to be a plot point. It can just be a fun clue, one of their scores of hidden Easter Eggs for the fans they know love to search for them. The audience doesn't need to know exactly where the code language came from -- we only need to know that it was, indeed, a secret message between Our Ineffables.
"Oh, Crowley, nothing lasts forever" is the moment where everything changes in the Final 15 conversation. It's the moment Crowley seems to give up. "Nothing Lasts Forever" broke the fandom's collective heart.
But Crowley would Never give up if he knew the Metatron was watching and listening to their every word, that Aziraphale is being forced. And He Did Know.
Through the Window Part I & Part II prove it, using only on-screen evidence. Both of Our Ineffables knew he was out there eavesdropping.
Aziraphale is not a fool likewise proved, with on-screen evidence, that Our Ineffables had already begun attempting misdirection and strategy from the moment the Metatron walked in, because Aziraphale DID
recognize the Metatron. And Crowley Challenged the Metatron to draw his focus away from Azi. Teamwork, keeping their cards close to the vest.
It means Our Ineffables didn't give up.
It means that, in Good Omens 3, Our Ineffables are very probably going to give Heaven quite a bit of hell...
*****
This was a really long read. Thank you so very much for sticking around to hear me out! 💖✨
If this gave you Hope too, I'd be grateful if you could give it a like, or even pass it along. As @di-42 always says, #justice for Aziraphale!
*****
Thanks as always to the folks who've encouraged me to tag them, or have such lovely responses when I do: @olemka and @crowleysgirl56 and @lookingatacupoftea and @taiga013 and @rada-76, and @makewayforbigcrossducks and @dalliancekay, I hope the following won't mind if I add you as well? @zenkitty714 and @masnadies (I almost put in a French joke* as a nod to you!) and @aziraphalesnightingale, @idcllc, @lanzadeperla, @obligateweirdo, @sarahthecoat and @minnjes2. Please check out their blogs as well!
Vous avez un OC qui traîne dans les tiroirs, un univers sombre dans le cœur, ou juste cette envie de raconter une histoire lente et immersive ?
Alors bienvenue à Luheim.
Luheim est un monde que je construis depuis des années : une dark fantasy brisée, vivante, sculptée par les dieux, les tragédies et la magie.
Des fées mécaniques aux royaumes pourrissants, des entités anciennes aux humains cabossés… c’est un univers qui respire la lumière et l’horreur en même temps.
Si vous aimez :
• les ambiances grimdark
• le drama émotionnel
• les personnages imparfaits
• le slow RP post-by-post
• les histoires qui prennent le temps d’exister
• l’immersion totale
… vous vous sentirez à la maison.
Format : RP post-by-post sur Discord, rythme libre, longueur libre.
Vous pouvez utiliser vos OC déjà existants, tant qu’ils ont un souffle fantasy.
Je ne juge pas l’orthographe (la mienne est parfois en congés).
Consentement narratif obligatoire.
Channels privés possibles.
Vous pouvez me DM ici ou liker ce post, je viendrai vers vous !
Les portes de Luheim sont ouvertes.
(Illustration dans le post pour l'ambiance 🖤)
Bien sûr, on peux adoucir l'inivers qui peux partir dans du fantasy. Si vous souhaiter juste découvrir sans pour autant faire du RP vous êtes aussi bienvenu.
Andromeda Lore
DND 5e Homebrew Roleplay
Our world is dying.
Growing more grey by the day, the soil drying, everything simply… breaking. Or something.
Long ago Andromeda was split into multiple different continents under different rulers.
Among them, was a small island known as Asteria. Asteria had access to a little red stone, known as the Sorcerer’s Stone.
It was with this little red stone, that they found power- a little, and then more. Over time they become not just one island, but a few. Then a large continent, and then the one next to it as well. Over many wars they fought, and many lands they won, and so it came that they were all overtaken by the Asterians.
But because of their brute force, their use of this little red stone, they had done irreparable damage to Andromeda. In the realization of this, our people went to war yet again- a civil war, fighting for what would be done about it. How to use the stone to undo the damage.
In the midst, the stone was lost.
To where, nobody knows.
The moment it was learned that nobody knew where, all battle ceased. Without the stone, nobody was willing to do large scale damage.. but the tension and worry remained. With the stone, you could solve any problem, if you connected things the right way.
Without it, everyone would continue down the path it was set on. Towards the end of the world.
And that was the moment that somehow, subconsciously, everyone on Andromeda was given the hope to either find the sorcerer’s stone- for whatever reasons they found fit- or to make the most of the world dying underfoot.
Internal Conflict
In Andromeda, there is the will of the people. The desire for change, for the betterment of the world, for chaos.
Not everyone agrees, but everyone’s’ opinions seem to matter.
What you believe changes how those in your environment treat you- affects which town you choose to live in. Where you decide to thrive. If you can thrive.
Factions in this period of a split world seem to increase rapidly, for varying purposes and intent.
What happens may very well depend on you- will you save Andromeda, or will you sing as it burns?
Join now.
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Hundreds of years in the future, humans have colonized the solar system. Humanity has expanded and reached for the stars. Earth has become more than simply the birthplace of our species, but as the United Nations, just one of the few active governments within the Solar System.
We have split ourselves far and wide across the nearby expanses of space. Mars, once an independent colony, long ago broke off from the government of Earth in the first Interplanetary war, becoming an independent state as the Martian Congressional Republic and operating its own military.
Both governments utilize those humans who live on a vast array of space stations and moon bases across the solar system, these ‘belters’, live supposedly independent lives, though are economically and militarily inferior to both Mars and Earth.
Fear, tension, and hate rise throughout the solar system as Belter’s have their limited resources tightened and Earth carefully watches Mars in a powerful game of interstellar dominance.
The Expanse RP Board is an unofficial, alternate universe, original character roleplay and fan-fiction board inspired by the books and tv series "The Expanse". A futuristic, sci-fi forum where you can be a Belter, Martian, or Earther.
Join the Factions of the Solar system as they vie for the power of the protomolecule whilst existing on the precipice of disaster. Freeform, sandbox roleplaying forum.
