We're gonna run out of cake at this rate

pocky_slash

The Broccoli Test is a shorthand term for some characters' almost psychic understanding of each other. The term came out of a humorous real-life situation. Sandy Herrold and her friend Charlotte were in a grocery store together, at opposite ends of the produce section. Both were heavily into The Professionals at the time. Sandy tried to communicate to that she should pick up some broccoli without shouting across the store at her. No amount of pantomiming and mouthing of the words could get the point across to Charlotte, so Sandy told her later, "Doyle would have known Bodie wanted him to pick up some broccoli with just a raise of his eyebrow!"

quoththewriter

Seriously though can we talk about what a good idea that is oh my FUCKING GOD, except of course Charles still has the bookstore and Erik still has the Bentley, because Charles is all too aware of how easily knowledge can tempt and Erik, well, let’s be honest, Erik gave Adam and Eve that flaming sword because he had to but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t miss it, all that power harnessed between his hands

And they’ve got The Arrangement, right, of course they do, how could they not, because that’s the whole thing about Charles and Erik that fits so well with the Crowley and Aziraphale dynamic, that pull between opposites, that balance they’re always seeking, and even in the X-Men canon they’ve really got An Arrangement of their own, throwing around “old friend” the way Crowley and Aziraphale toss out “Angel” and “my dear”

But in this, right, in this you’ve got Charles who didn’t fall so much as saunter vaguely downwards and Erik, Erik who probably kind of wanted to fall but just couldn’t, couldn’t because he felt this sharp vicious loyalty to being this higher power—because that’s just Erik all over, isn’t it, Erik “We Already Are The Better Men” Lehnsherr, who is who he is and no apologies, and Charles who certainly isn’t evil but sees so much more grey than Erik does (because regardless of how you feel about either one of their methods in canon you can’t deny that “Kill the humans, kill them all” is certainly a more black and white view than “Don’t kill the humans, live in harmony with them and only read their innermost thoughts/make them think it was their idea when it’s really necessary”)

And oh, oh, the thing about Good Omens that makes it so compelling is that Crowley isn’t a demon and Aziraphale isn’t an angel, not really, not anymore, they’re both so human now and so not human too that they’re this unquantifiable third thing and I always, always, when I’m thinking about this book I always come back to Crowley saying, “Funny if we both got it wrong, eh? Funny if you did the good one I did the bad one, eh?” and Aziraphale saying “Not really,” and THAT IS SO CHARLES AND ERIK and and and

Really I just want Erik the angel driving around in his Bentley and miracle-ing his way out of speeding tickets because traffic cops are obviously Charles’ and Charles the demon cheerfully slipping a copy of Written on the Body into the priest’s bag in the back room of his bookshop because he knows all it takes is one little spark, that hint of knowledge and then no one can help but be consumed

postcardmystery