wotwotleigh-prime
Ducks as a Sign of Adaptational Drift: a Case Study
. . . I'm all in favour of moving away from Harmless uwu Softboi Fandom Crowley (Gods, please), but in fairness, the duck didn't die in the book. Crowley definitely could have drowned it, but he stopped when Aziraphale chided him for it, and the duck was, ultimately, merely angered.
"Sorry," said Crowley. "I was forgetting myself." The duck bobbed angrily to the surface.
- Good Omens 2019 Corgi edition, p. 44 (bolding mine)
I've always taken that as basically Crowley playing a Demonic Dad Joke -style prank on Aziraphale, if I'm honest. Aziraphale was the one who tossed the bread that Crowley miracled to sink the duck. Crowley knew Aziraphale would see the duck go down. He knew Aziraphale would figure out pretty quickly what had transpired. He knew Aziraphale wouldn't stand for any real harm coming to the duck. He stopped as soon as Aziraphale reacted, because he got the reaction he was looking for.
. . . And he also probably got a little demonic work done in the process by adding one angrier duck to the world.
It's actually kind of a foreshadow to the paintball gun/real gun prank he plays later (in both the book and the show), although that one was less of him making a joke and more of him making a point. Both are targeted more at Aziraphale than the victims. Real creatures do get harmed in the process, but he stops short of killing anybody. "Wouldn't be any fun, otherwise."
I maintain that book!Crowley and TV!Crowley really aren't all that different, personality-wise. They're both pranksters, they both tend to step a little over the line on the "confuse, don't abuse" rule of pranking, at least where it comes to everyone who isn't Aziraphale. But both still do love humanity and all of Earth's creatures, in their own way, and while his victims walk away a little more miserable than when he found them, he still ensures that they can walk away from what happens to them, and choose to find happiness later on, in spite of what happened to them.
. . . He wants the world to understand his own experiences.
I was never sure whether the duck actually died and then Crowley immediately revived it (as he did later with Aziraphale’s dove), or if he just gave it a good scare. Either way, I’m glad my incredibly silly comic has inspired some excellent, thoughtful meta. :D
Ooh, fair point — there might have been a parallel to the dead dove!
💗 Incredibly silly comic was fun and much enjoyed! I do tend to feel that a lot of the fandom reads extreme differences between the book and the show that I really don’t think are there, but my aim really is more to just talk about why I feel that way, so I hope the meta didn’t come across too snotty or anything. I really did like the comic. 🥰
Haha, not at all! :D Your meta is awesome. I enjoy seeing all the different iterations and interpretations of these characters, and I’m fascinated by the way the lens of an adaptation can change how a character comes across. There are layers upon layers of interpretation going on, and it can almost become like a game of telephone. I have no strong convictions about which form of Crowley is best (beyond my own personal preferences), but I love talking about this stuff and I love that this has gotten other people talking about it. ❤️
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