Six of Crows characters as Brooklyn-99 quotes
Matthias:
Nina:
Inej:
Kaz:
Jesper:
Wylan:
Honorable Mention:
If u ever wanna hit on me pls be obvious I am stupid.
So my wonderful @uncapedcru5ader pointed out something interesting that I had never noticed before while we were watching Good Omens together:
For the entirety of episode 5 and about half of 6, Crowley stops calling Aziraphale "angel" and starts referring to him only by his actual name.
The first time (chronologically) that Crowley calls Aziraphale "angel" (at least as far as we can know) is during the French Revolution.
So since at least 1793, Crowley has always called Aziraphale "angel". (Except for one time, a very serious time, when he calls him to talk about the beginning of the end of the world.)
And then - they have a fight. And he stops.
Episode 4: Saturday Morning Funtime.
"I'm going home, angel. I'm getting my stuff and I'm leaving. And when I'm off in the stars, I won't even THINK about you."
That was the last time (for a while) that Crowley called Aziraphale "angel."
In the bookshop fire, he calls him Aziraphale.
When he sees him again after thinking he was gone forever, he calls him Aziraphale.
Every time he refers to him, its not "angel", it's "Aziraphale."
Crowley doesn't call him "angel" again until it's (mostly) over, after Armageddon’t.
This is unusual behavior for someone who has been calling his lover friend the same pet name nickname for over 200 years. So why the change?
It's not that he doesn’t want to call him "angel" in front of other people. He's done that loads of times before, and, frankly, they have more important things to worry about then.
It’s not that he’s too mad at Aziraphale to call him a pet name nickname. As seen above and in 1862, he calls him “angel” even during their fights.
No, Crowley’s worried that they aren’t there anymore. He’s worried that Aziraphale really meant it when he said “it’s over”, that he isn’t his angel anymore and is just Aziraphale now.
I am sure that while Crowley was drowning his sorrows after the fire, the last thing he said to Aziraphale kept playing over and over in his mind. Crowley has a temper. He says things he doesn’t mean when he gets angry. He knows that that was a complete lie.
But Aziraphale doesn’t.
Even after the discorporated Aziraphale shows up, Crowley has got to be thinking: “Damn it, I really screwed it up this time. I’ve hurt my best friend and he’s probably still mad at me. Probably the only reason he’s still associating with me is because he needs my help to save the world.”
If you ask me, Aziraphale showing up was the only reason Crowley left that bar to go save it. If Aziraphale needed his help to save the world, than by god satan, Crowley was going to pull himself together and help him save it, whether Aziraphale was mad at him or not. Because, to him, a world with Aziraphale in it was a world worth fighting to save.
But I digress.
So Crowley pulls himself together. He’s not exactly sure where he stands with Aziraphale, but they work together to try to save the world. And the entire time, Crowley doesn’t call him “angel”, because, as far as he knows, Aziraphale is still mad at him.
And then - they win. They stand against horsemen, their respective bosses, and even Satan himself, and they win. That night, after they’ve saved the world together, Crowley and Aziraphale sit at a bus stop. It’s dark and quiet and it’s just the two of them. And Crowley tests the waters.
He gently, ever so gently tries to nudge Aziraphale and himself back to where they were. He doesn’t growl “We’re on our side”, like at the bandstand, he doesn’t plead with Aziraphale to go off with him. He softly remarks that they have their own side now, and offers to let him stay with him, if Aziraphale wants.
For once in his life, Crowley is moving slowly.
And Aziraphale appreciates it and accepts him.
I wrote a fic recently and the word count for the first draft came to about 40,000 words – roughly the length of a novella or ficlet. And that’s fine because I wasn’t striving for a novel or a 100K slow-burn coffee shop AU.
But coming to edit my first draft I realised something about myself. I am an underwriter. My fic could actually be at least 10k (maybe 20k) longer. Of course it’s not all about word count, it’s about the story, but in this case a smaller word count isn’t because I’m a fantastically efficient storyteller it’s because I’ve missed out a lot of stuff. Like, Important Stuff.
So as I set out to add muscle to the skin and bones I’ve already created in draft one I thought I’d share five tips for my fellow underwriters to help you flesh out your writing too.
1) Make sure to describe the place and space in which the action happens.
There are quite a few places in my first draft where there’s no indication as to where things are taking place– or there is, but it’s the bare minimum and not really enough to build up a clear picture. This probably because as the writer I know exactly what the place looks like so I make the assumption that a bare minimum description will mean the reader knows too.
Now I’m not saying go into masses of detail about what your settings look like. In some cases it’s not useful to describe setting in a lot of detail (e.g. during really fast paced action sequences) but doing a verbal sketch of the space is essential for putting your characters in context and reader understanding.
I really is a fine balance (which is why beta readers are your friend!) But definitely go back to your setting descriptions if you’re an underwriter, they might need some work.
2) Make sure to describe your character’s appearance.
Similar to the above point – you know what your characters look like, but unless you describe them, the reader won’t.
It’s fair to say that descriptions are open to reader interpretations, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t describe them in a healthy amount of detail. So you might try to nail down some of the interesting quirks about your characters to help the reader build a picture – not only will it help the readers understanding, it’ll boost your word count too!
Note: This one functions a little differently in a fic because the readers are probably familiar with how the character looks, but there is nothing wrong with adding your interpretation (or even reminding them, especially if the characters are from a book.)
3) Include character reactions outside of what they say out loud.
Real life conversations aren’t just about the stuff that comes out of our mouths. So much of human interaction is about body language – so include it in your writing! Saying that the character covers their mouth with their hand when they talk suggests shyness. While another character crossing their arms shows they’re defensive -perhaps because they’re feeling threatened. In real life we don’t always say what we mean – but a lot of the time our actions give away what we’re really thinking. By including these actions around dialogue writers can influence how we as readers view characters and how we interpret interactions between characters. And it can boost your word count too.
The big stuff:
4) Check your pacing.
When you write it feels like your scene is taking place over hours, days, weeks because when you’re writing it takes time. Reading, on the other hand, is much quicker. A seasoned reader can fly through a 100 page novel in a few hours – a seasoned writer can spend hours writing a 100 words.
When you read back your writing, make sure to check your pacing. You might just find that the Impossible Task you set for your characters at the start of the story is suddenly resolved within the next fifty pages. To boost your word count you might want to start by adding more obstacles between the character and their goal.
For example; your character has to find an object such as a precious jewel. Sounds relatively easy, right? But what if the jewel is lost in the mines of an ancient people, amongst thousands of other treasures that look very similar? What if no one has found this jewel because it’s guarded by a fire breathing dragon? What if the ancient mines and dragon are located in a mountain which is miles and miles away across dangerous lands? What if your characters need to enlist the help of someone with a very specific skill set?
You take one simple objective (finding the jewel) and you put into play a series of obstacles that must be overcome in order to complete the objective. Your underwriting tendencies, like mine, might just mean that there aren’t enough metaphorical (or real) dragons in your story!
5) Sub-plots.
A sub-plot is a smaller scale plot - often involving the supporting characters - which runs secondary to the main plot. It can be directly linked to the main plot, i.e. the info provided in the subplot directly influences events in the main plot. Or it can simply be linked through place, time or themes of the overall story (e.g. Hermione’s elf rights campaign ‘S.P.E.W’ in Harry Potter and the OoTP is linked to the overall theme of oppression.)
Sub-plots are great because they can serve as some respite from a traumatic main plot; your character is fighting a war (main plot) but also fighting and failing (in hilarious ways) to win the affection of their love interest (sub-plot).
Plus, sub-plots can also help with characterisation, can cause your main character to have the moment of realisation which allows them to overcome the obstacles they face in the main plot and is generally a better reflection of real life! Sub-plots often centre on side-kicks and other characters – people who might not be as devoted to the end goal as the protagonist is. In fact, well written side characters seemingly live their own lives with their own goals. You might choose to showcase this in your sub-plot by letting the conflict of interest cause more problems for the protagonist to overcome.
Either way you could find your word count sky rockets as soon as you add in a few clever sub-plots.
I hope this helped!
Got any questions? Send me an ask
requested by punkinspiced
William Tell Overture- Rossini (Most famous part at 8:45, but why not listen to the whole thing?) I’m adding hints, at least to the ones I recognized culturally. This one is “go, horsey, go!”
Also Sprach Zarathustra- Strauss Slow, dramatic entry scene, IN SPAAACE.
Eine Kleine Nachtmusik- Mozart People running out of a fancy wedding or something. Also known as DUN, dun DUN, dun DUN dun DUN dun DUUUUN.
Symphony 94, Mvt. 2 “Surprise Symphony”- Haydn ?
Toccata and Fugue in d Minor-Bach Halloween organ!
Nocturne Op. 9 No. 2- Chopin Picture a tiny old woman playing piano in a sunlit room with lots of flower vases, about the spill the tragic secrets of her past to some timid young visitor.
Rondo alla Turca- Mozart the babysitter from The Incredibles: “Time for some COGNITIVE ENRICHMENT!”
Sinfonie de Fanfares: Rondeau- Jean-Joseph Mouret Royalty is coming. Or someone is getting married. Or royalty is getting married. Also the PBS Masterpieces theme.
The Four Seasons: Spring- Vivaldi (I just linked to the whole thing because it’s great) Again, someone is getting married, but this one is strings instead and a lot less frumpy.
Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring- Bach That one that amateur guitarists love where the notes are all up and down but all the same length. Also used in movie weddings.
O Fortuna (from Carmina Burana)- Carl Orff SONG OF DOOM. Also song of “baby on fire!” in The Incredibles.
Funeral March- Chopin ?
Orpheus in the Underworld: Infernal Galop (A.K.A. Can Can)- Offenbach Well, “aka can-can” says it all.
Pomp and Circumstance (You probably graduated to this)- Elgar Oh yes, Baaaa dun dun dun duun duuuuun… Also if you were a bandie you had to play it for 3 years before graduating to it.
Gayane: Sabre Dance- Aram Khachaturian Comically hectic productivity, a circus clown juggling while standing on a ball, or perhaps a rapidly-approaching termite infestation. Could go any way, really.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream: Wedding March- Mendelssohn The song movies play right AFTER they both say “I do.”
Carmen: Les Toreadors- Bizet I can’t be the only one who remembers when ‘Hey Arnold’ did this. “Bullfights and swordfights, rolling in manuuure!”
The Ride of the Valkyries- Wagner Good song for a naval battle I guess? I can only think of the mini golf course I went to as a kid with the creepy castle on Hole 18 that played this.
Für Elise- Beethoven That one every amateur piano player loves to play because the beginning is just E and E-flat over and over. Also ballet and piano recital scenes in movies.
Dance of the Hours- Ponchielli Hello mudda, hello fadda, here I am at, Camp Granada…
Rigotello: La Donna e Mobile- Verdi More than a few sophisticated movie villains (or snobby good guys) have this playing on a Victrola. Also, tell me you don’t picture Pavaroti no matter who’s actually singing.
Night on Bald Mountain- Mussorgsky ?
Romeo and Juliet: Love Theme- Tchaikovsky More movie-love, usually building up to admitting they live each other.
Entry of the Gladiators- Julius Fucik I have one word for you: CIRCUS.
Lakmé: Flower Duet- Delibes OMG ALIAS. Nadia’s spy backstory in Film Noir!
Peer Gynt: In the Hall of the Mountain King- Greig Mischievous Tiptoeing in Movies song. Also something growing out of control, slowly at first and then quickly, and (comically) exploding.
Rodeo: Hoedown- Copland The title says it all tbh.
Peer Gynt: Morning Mood- Greig Sunrise/waking up Movie Song du jour.
New World Symphony Mov. [2][4]- Dvorak Well now I’m thinking of “An American Tail” and I’m crying…
Ave Maria (You knew this, but did you know that it was by Schubert?) Nothing to add. I’m not a music snob, really, but if you didn’t know this, YOU SHOULD.
Canon in D- Pachelbel This is the one that the pretty Trans-Siberian Orchestra Christmas song comes from. :-)
Add others if you want! Have fun!
“Regret was the darkest nightmare of all.”
— House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craigy
I WOULD BE INCREDIBLY HAPPY IF PEOPLE WOULD STOP SAYING THAT THE DURSLEYS WERE MEAN JUST BECAUSE HARRY WAS A FU#%
omg #22