Genovia Is My Happy Place

I'm just here for the fanfiction.

[thewildmeiling]

"But the lambs are dying under the dreadful snow.

"'There will be other lambs,' said her second thoughts.

"But these aren't those lambs, are they? These are the lambs that are dying here and now."

--Tiffany Aching, making the argument for saving Job's current children - er, the current Whickber Street residents and eight billion other people on the planet - wait, I mean, the current lambs in Terry Pratchett's Wintersmith.

[dduane]

Hi DD! I was wondering, are there audiobook versions of the Middle Kingdoms books? A friend wants to read them but has hand problems so both paper books and ebooks are a bit of an issue sometimes. I figured if there were audiobooks, they'd be on Ebooks Direct, but I also thought I'd make really sure and ask you. Thanks heaps and love your work!

Hi there! You're kind to want to check with me on this. :)

Unfortunately we don't have any audio for these as yet. The Door Into Fire came out way too early for "mass market" audiobooks (i.e. 1979...) and the second and third works in the main series were either also too early, or not strong enough sellers for the publisher to want to go the audiobook route (which wasn't universally a given for any new book for a while).

I definitely have plans to go the read-by-the-author route once I have enough spare cash to rent the necessary studio space and hire the necessary tech (because while I'm always glad to learn new things, becoming an audio producer at this exact moment doesn't seem the most cost-effective use of my time). :). ...As soon as we have some kind of decent timeline on these, believe me, I'll let people know. :)

And thanks for asking!

[depraveddame]

The finale Aziraphale was not our Aziraphale.

I keep thinking about how Aziraphale, when Crowley did not immediately leap to his feet to help him, just turned around and walked away.

He didn’t try to help him up. He didn’t crouch down to his level. He didn’t even look remotely pressed, and he left Crowley lying there, depressed and dirty and drunk and barely conscious, like he was a piece of trash. Like he meant nothing. (I also haaaaate what they did with Crowley here, but that’s another post entirely)

To think they made Aziraphale into the villain so many people thought he was post s2, and for what? To what end? For what reason? It feels so unnecessarily cruel. So callous. So very much not Aziraphale.

“But Crowley told him to go away! Aziraphale was just respecting his boundaries!”

Nah. No. I mean maybe if Crowley was just chilling having a drink somewhere all upright and not covered in shit and mired in despair, then fine. But he’s lying on the fucking street in the alley muttering that nothing matters anymore. I would argue that when someone you care about is THAT depressed and THAT deep in a dark, dark place, that is precisely the time to ignore their attempt to shove you away. At the very least you reach out to them, anyway.

Was that angel the same as this one? This soft but fiercely tenderhearted sweetheart?

Are we supposed to believe this was that same angel we watched walk away from the same demon he guided through that Edinburgh cemetery with firm but careful hands before he was snatched down to Hell?

Out of all the possible things that could’ve happened in the finale— of all the possible endings and scenarios I thought about for months and months— one thing I never even considered to be remotely possible about this angel who always looked at Crowley like he was everything?

I never thought that Aziraphale wouldn’t help Crowley up off the ground.

And apparently, neither did Peter Anderson Studio.

Why that scene didn’t happen this way in the actual film, I’ll never understand. I’ll never understand pretty much any of the finale because it is so fucking nonsensical in every way, but they butchered the characterization so badly it’s almost impressive. It’s sickening. I have been trying to write a version of this scene that fits with the characters but the words won’t come. I’ll keep trying though.

[josilverdragon]

"The horrors persist but so do libraries, books, iced coffee, sunsets, trees, the word 'fuck', the moon and the sea."

[depsidase]

[do-not-u-dare]

Stole this from somewhere but i think it’s appropriate

[hoshioyoo]

let me tell you a story…

[leebrontide]

I keep seeing posts claiming that x y or z action you can do to build a better world won’t matter. That capitalism doesn’t care, and your own actions dont amount to much.

It’s so painfully individualistic. Of course me doing that thing isn’t going to save anybody or anything.

Im not trying to be a superhero who personally saves the say.

I am one leaf making oxygen in a massive forest of other trees making oxygen. I am doing my best and having faith that millions of others will do their best as well.

Because that can and has made big changes over time. Like. That is just how change happens. Thats cultural shifts. Thats political shifts. Thats how lasting changes happen.

I don’t plant milkweed because I’m personally gonna save monarch butterflies. I plant milkweed because I know thousands of us are gonna plant milkweed and send money to the people fighting horrible pesticides in court.

The standard for change isn’t “is my doing this going to change the world?” The standard is “is my doing this part of the shift I want to see my community make?” And if the answer is yes, I do my best.

[susiephone]

"My life amounts to no more than one drop in a limitless ocean. Yet what is any ocean, but a multitude of drops?" — Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell

[thewildmeiling]

The finale was written by someone who said, "Oh, you want a show, but you want the creator removed from it? Let me show you what that universe looks like."

Then he killed off our beloved angel and demon (but not before the angel told the demon he had been the best of them), and put lookalikes in a new universe, in which meddling was still occurring (because otherwise, how were they all there, and at the same time?). After all, much like God in S3, he reportedly stepped back, but he didn't necessarily leave.

Because here's the real kicker: free will already existed. What S3 Crowley and Aziraphale sacrificed themselves for was a universe in which humans could do what they wanted free of divine consequences.

[fuckyeahisawthat]

The thing about Good Omens is that it wasn't just at its core about humanity in a vague general sense, but about human agency. Adam was able to defy his destiny because he was human. War, Pollution and Famine were created by humans and a bunch of human children were powerful enough to tell them to fuck off. A prophecy written by a human gave an angel and a demon the clue they needed to survive the wrath of their own kind. They were willing to risk their lives for Earth and humans, and in the end it was humanity that saved and protected them. Their happy ending was tied to the fate of the world, not a trade-off for it.

So it's wild that in the finale not only were human characters pretty much removed entirely from the story, but the choice of erasing and rewriting the entire universe was handed over to a couple of immortal beings to make on behalf of humans. (And also every other angel and demon who might have had an opinion about getting snapped out of existence.) These guys who started out as supporting characters among a human ensemble, whose relative narrative insignificance was a running joke, got elevated in the end to having godlike powers over all creation, and humanity became not the subject of the story but an object used to say something about their character. Sacrificing themselves for humanity became not about humanity but about their sacrifice; the final narrative beat in their story. That's what feels so ass backwards about the finale to me.

[armageddidnt]

The 5 real themes of good omens that the finale completely botched

I know we only had 1 episode and whole plotlines were scrapped but I was just left feeling so empty after the finale given how powerful and moving and profound the themes of season 1/the book were. So buckle up for a long ride let's talk about it

Theme 1: Human Incarnate

The book and the show established that humanity is unique because it is neither purely good or purely bad. From the book: "Most of the great triumphs and tragedies of history are caused not by people being fundamentally good or fundamentally evil, but by people being fundamentally people." This Aziraphale describes as "much better" than either Heaven or Hell

This is one of my favorite sequences in the whole show. And the music is soaring and gorgeous. Adam recalls the things in his life he has come to know and love; his parents, his friends, his dog, his home. He makes it have nice weather all year. Aziraphale could feel that love at the Tadfield Manor. Heaven and Hell tried to create an instrument of destruction. But by putting that inside a human boy, they didn't realize the strength of one boy's love would be strong enough to literally burn the hell out of him. He told Satan himself to shove it and rewrote reality to have the dad he truly loved. The power of humanity's love is stronger than any immortal power could ever be.

This is the idea that would have been so cool for the finale but unfortunately never paid off. As the second coming prepares to destroy Earth again, Aziraphale and Crowley could have teamed up with the power of humanity to reshape heaven and hell for good. Adam and Jesus as the antichrist and christ born to end the world and instead used their humanity to save it. Instead we got the book-of-life arc and humans were literally left to dust

Theme 2: Free Will

Next good omens establishes that angels and demons are just puppets but humans are the ones with real free will because they have the ability to be good or bad. Even with heaven and hell, the humans on Earth always have a choice. In season 2, they agree on this, but Crowley's main grievance is the inequity of it all. Humans have free will but it still isn't fair.

God made angels and demons and humans but the humans never had to follow her 'plan.' Free will and the ability to recognize what is truly right outside the propaganda of good vs evil is what saves the world.

Humans always had free will, even if God was around to kill a bunch of them with floods or take their stuff to win bets or something. Creating a new universe without God wouldn't change that. They would still have free will, just less threats from above/below, I guess. What Crowley's established character really should have wanted here was to fix the inequity inherent in human society. That's what is truly holding them back, not a lack of will. Removing God from the universe doesn't actually solve the root problem here

Theme 3: Our Own Side

This is something Crowley learned very early and spends the whole show trying to teach Aziraphale. That good must be separated from heaven and bad must be separated from hell.

Heaven can do some truly appalling horrors and demons, at least Crowley (and somewhat Beelzebub I guess) have the potential to be kind. 'Their own side' is one where they have the freedom of humanity, to do what is truly right. Aziraphale and Crowley sort of found their way there in the finale, but it was all rushed and Aziraphale never really turned his back on heaven, it sort of just became irrelevant when everything started disappearing. What a beautifully flawed and nice world they could have created together

Theme 4: Love Conquers all

What was it all for? Love. God made Aziraphale and Crowley for each other because she liked to smile at the silliness of their love. The literal only constant in the entire universe. Their love for the world and each other saved it. I think the decision to turn Aziraphale and Crowley's queer love story into a tragedy was the biggest mistake of seasons 2/3. Forcing the soft and romantic comedy of good omens into a queer tragedy was the instant it all crashed and burned. Now everything is tainted leading up to the pain and destruction of it all and the whimsy and lightness is gone. There were moments of it, but it was all leading toward the end. And queer love deserves to not be a tragedy. We have far too much tragic queer love in our society. Yes we got the south downs, but Aziraphale and Crowley never got to experience that freedom. They finally came together just to instantly be destroyed. We deserve happy and fulfilling queer love that is sweet without the bitter parts. Good omens was intended to be a comedy, not a tragedy

And then this was SUCH A COOL IDEA they introduced. Perhaps the first time ever an angel and a demon performed a miracle together. The power of their love could create magic stronger than anything heaven or hell had ever seen. I was so excited to see the wonders they were going to create, they ways in which they could have rebuilt the world better using that love. If they had this kind of power doing a tiny miracle, what could they have accomplished if they really put their minds to it? God herself couldn't have stopped them. And instead, the finale literally revoked Crowley's magic for the entire episode. They sacrifice themselves for a new earth and people that didn’t even exist yet instead of using any of their power to change it. The god awful execution of this theme is probably the biggest letdown of the entire finale imo

Theme 5: Fix It, Don't Replace It

This is so obviously established in seasons 1/2 I cannot believe how badly they missed the mark with this one

Literally shows us the horror of replacing the Earth with all new people. Even children can recognize that just because something is broken, it doesn't mean you throw it away and start all over. They loved the world enough to want to save it. The world is inherently worth saving, flaws and all. If you love something, you don't abandon it. The ENTIRE PLOT of season 1 explores the horrors of humanity and yet humans, Aziraphale and Crowley do everything in their power to save it.

It absolutely blows my mind how directly this scene contradicts the entire message of the finale. Job didn't want new children, he quite liked the old ones. Aziraphale and Crowley didn't want the antichrist's new Earth, they quite liked the old one. We didn't want new human versions of Aziraphale and Crowley, we QUITE LIKED THE OLD ONES. Where the hell did that mentality go when they told God to create an entirely new universe????????????? Season 1 said the world is flawed but it deserves saving exactly as it is. Season 1 said an angel and a demon go off to the ritz together, exactly as they are. The finale said the world is too broken, we have to make it disappear and start over. The finale said Aziraphale and Crowley have too many issues/traumas to be happy, we have to destroy them and start over. That's why as cute as Asa and Anthony's love is, we quite liked them exactly as they were, angel/demon trauma + history and all. They deserved saving too.

Good omens has always been so special to me for how much it pokes fun at but also celebrates the messiness and wonder of humanity and love. The 6-to-1 episodes was a major setback but somehow the finale still managed to drop basically every one of its most endearing and powerful messages. What is the "real world" the finale is trying to make us value? One without a god to screw things up sometimes?? The best parts of humanity always shined through not even despite, but BECAUSE of the heavenly challenges they overcame. It's very clear good omens as a whole was always meant to be a one-season/one-book story. There was so much potential and missed opportunities and I wish we could have had the finale we were all dreaming of. I will always love the world of good omens season 1/the book, so that is the world I'll keep in my heart. And all the nightingales therein

[lookingatacupoftea]

I think the (hopefully few) people who are strenuously trying to convince others are missing the point: GO1 and GO3 are very different stories, tonally, so it's not surprising that some people loved it and some people hated it.

Some people love the idea of souls, soulmates, and love enduring in every universe. Others prefer friends-to-lovers set against a complicated 6,000-year backstory.

Some people enjoy stories that show the destruction of broken systems and the creation of new worlds. Others love stories about people banding together to help make this world a better place.

Some people enjoy stories where characters who have suffered get to lay down their burdens in a heroic act of sacrifice. Others yearn to see traumatized people find joy in the here and now.

I appreciate that almost everyone I'm seeing is being respectful. People who were happy with it are playing in their sandbox. Those of us who were unhappy with it are having cathartic vent sessions over in our sandbox.

[thewildmeiling]

The story I needed in my life right now was the one about endurance and healing and people banding together to make things better.

[politijohn]

Source

Source

[tzikeh]

...*sigh*

*taps mic*

[batboyblog]

Tonight House Republicans voted 217 to 215 for a budget that'll take $1 TRILLION dollars from Medicaid, attack food benefits for kids, hurt seniors and vets.

but I don't want to talk about that, I want to talk about these two Democratic members of Congress you've never ever heard of.

Democrats, Congressman Kevin Mullin of California and Congresswoman Brittany Pettersen of Colorado.

Congressman Mullin had knee surgery that didn't go well, two surgeries, a life threatening blood clot and a week long stay in the hospital, and the moment he was discharged from the hospital he got on a five hour flight to DC to vote against the Republicans evil budget, using a walker to get to the floor of the House

Congresswoman Pettersen gave birth to her son Sam, in the picture, exactly one month ago on January 25th. They flew from Colorado to DC after Republicans refused to allow her to vote by proxy after having a baby. Congresswoman Pettersen took Sam onto the floor of the House to vote to protect the Health care of 400,000 Colorado kids.

why talk about this? because so much of the conversion is about telling people there's no one good, no one worthy, no one fighting. I promise you there are people undergoing personal hardship to do the right thing.

[liberalsarecool]

The cruelty of racist white men.

[wolf840]

Does anyone else remember when Elon was like "if anyone knows how to end world hunger for 6 billion USD, I'll fund it" and UNICEF was like "we're going to spend a month to make a plan to end world hunger for 6 billion USD and Elon is going to fund it" and Elon was like "actually, nah" and then bought Twitter instead?

I think that was one of the worst things I'll ever see in my life.

[tiredspacedragon]

I still think that should be the thing for which he's the most famous. It should be brought up every time he's mentioned. In any news article, any interview, any history book. "Elon Musk, who was offered a chance to end world hunger and turned it down." Put it on his fucking gravestone.

[wilwheaton]

fuck these fascists

[fuck-u-maga]

[thegaylibertarian]

[liminalweirdo]

I am once again begging you to get your hands on physical media and/or save your fave stuff OFFLINE.