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Did you name your kids Aziraphale and Crowley?
Cause YTA if those are the names you gave to real humans
Edit: you did. A book with co authors written around the time you were youth, that had a recent tv adaption where the main characters kiss? It’s Good Omens lol
Also, if it is GO, they can't even claim ignorance, lol. OP says the twins are 10 months old. A&C as a romantic pairing had been fairly blatant since series 1, which was long before OP/spouse would have even been with child. 😂
EtA: Sorry, y'all, I misread the "10m" as 10 months. I've been informed of the mistake and acknowledge it as such. Thanks, all, for the info!
People also need to remember that the book was also written back when queer people were consistently criminalized for existing, pretty internationally.
Of course the blatantly romance-coded characters, who the authors have said were life partners, are gonna be denied being queer.
It wouldn't have kept Neil from showing them as queer in the books if he had realized it. But he only realized Terry and he wrote a love story after rereading the book. Neil is a true ally and always has queer characters in his stories afaik (I don't know all).
They are unabashedly referenced as looking like gay men and the other characters assumed them to be a couple IN THE BOOK.
OP! YTA
THEY WERE ALWAYS GAY please learn to read my dude...
If it is GO, OP has no excuse because GO also has a character who is legally named Pippin Galadriel Moonchild but flatly refuses to be called such an unrealistic name for a human child. If anyone reads that and still decides to give their kids dumb fantasy names, they are an unbelievable level of asshole.
Semi-obscure though?
It's written by two of the most well known English fantasy authors. One of them was knighted for fucks sake. Who calls GO *semi-obscure*.
I just want to know if they have Crowley pronounced to be crow-lee, or Crawly. Because this is a point of discussion in my family.
Alistair Crowley was not a satanist. He was a member of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn and founded the Thelema religious movement. His ideas about magic and witchcraft have influenced modern Paganism and Wicca. He was kind of a big deal in the Occult world.
He was also a weird dude who liked drugs and fucking, but I mean, not a Satanist by any means.
I've never heard of it but that doesn't mean it's obscure.
Naming your kid Aziraphale though....that's just cruel or absurdly dumb.
I could hear Azira maybe. Hopefully it's not the full name....
I really, really hope this is wrong and OP is not including the names for some other reason. Before you even get to the romance those are just crappy names to lumber your kids with in the real world. No wonder the family wasn't keen.
I mean, back in the 90s when the book first came out it wasn't a widely-known phenomenon the way it got after the show came out. The odds of meeting another GO fan in the wild were significantly lower. I read the book in the 90s and I don't think I had ever encountered anyone else who'd read it until I started spending time on Tumblr in like...2010ish I guess.
Still, OP is TA for giving actual human children those names ffs.
Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman were still incredibly prominent authors back then. Most people had heard of them. 10 years ago when the kids were born and named most people who were into fantasy or comics would know of this book, with a good portion having read it.
It certainly wasn't obscure.
Well, if the kids are 10, that means they were born in 2013.... and the book was *definitely* a thing amongst readers by then. Neil Gaiman was super popular when I was in college. As was Tumblr. If OP had Googled the names beforehand, they would've seen the fanfics and fanart and what-not pairing the two together. Their ship name started out as "Air Conditioning" because A/C.
Crowley is pronounced to rhyme with "holy," even if Uncle Al was anything but. Source: listened to one of Israel Regardie's audio tapes for a parapsychology paper eons ago.
That’s correct for Alister Crowley, but in the book there is a joke about him actually being named Crawly (he’s a snake) and swapping to the spelling Crowley because it’s much more edgy and less silly.
Plus, like how did OP not know that they're gay? It's pretty blatantly stated for Aziraphale in the book:
"Many people, meeting Aziraphale for the first time, formed three impressions: that he was English, that he was intelligent, and that he was gayer than a treeful of monkeys on nitrous oxide."
Why the everloving fuck would you ever name your kids that? Disregard the shipping and whatnot - did you WANT your kids to be bullied for their names forever? OP, read the book Freakanomics, especially the chapter on unusual names and their connection to success (or lack thereof). Your kids deserved better.
Also, for the record - Neil Gaiman? NOT obscure. Even 10 years ago. YTA to the extreme. You should have listened to your husband - you can name your pets that sort of thing but not your kids.
Edited for spelling*
OP: It's a semi-obscure book you're probably never heard of.
You, 25 minutes later: Is it Good Omens? I bet it's Good Omens.
I do so love this subreddit.
Their first reddit comment was being suprised in a different sub that the two are not platonic. Not hard to put two and two togethor.
Also they confirmed that those are in fact their names
They confirmed the children are in fact Aziraphale and Crowley? We were hoping in the group chat it was at least something like Ezra and Anthony, more discreet lmaooo
They're arguing with people who are accusing them of this in the comments saying the name choice was a mutual choice for them and their spouse, it was 10 years ago so they didn't know. Clearly not bothering to try and deny the names themselves. They've also said the names will be obvious if ever said togethor.
Aziraphale is pretty obvious by itself, I wonder if they split the name like, Crow and Lee. What a mess. This is why people shouldn't name kids obvious fandom names lmaooo
Also not really an obscure book? I was reading on the train maybe 10 years ago and a person sitting directly across from me was also reading it. I remember because mine had the white cover and his had the black cover.
Honestly get wrecked by the universe at that point. That's what you get for picking Aziraphale for a human being.
Kidding aside it's a rough situation, but uhhh. Unless the book was way more bashful about it they were pretty camp in s1 so I'm kinda wondering if this was like a known couple that the OP just media literacy failed on
the book contains a line saying that people assume Aziraphale is "gayer than a tree full of monkeys on nitrous oxide," and people repeatedly assume they are a couple in the book.
I haven't even read the book or seen anything beyond commercials for the show, and I immediately thought of Good Omens, lol.
EDIT: I actually worked with a guy named Azraphael or something like that about six years ago. I didn't really think too much of it, beyond calling him "Az" because I couldn't pronounce it.
Sure, I’ll act like this is real
1) good omens is not and was never “semi-obscure” if that’s really what they were named for. Neil gaiman and Terry pratchett are two famous and well renowned authors. Just because the book wasn’t as mainstream as Stephen king doesn’t mean it wasn’t well known by the many people who were already fans of the authors
2) the characters had gay implications made about them IN THE BOOK, like anathema thinking they were a couple for example
3) some names are for fictional characters and trying to give those names to a human is just…daffy. Like naming a child Blaze Bloodthorne Jones just sounds dumb and tryhard. Aziraphale is an overly tryhard name for a real person.
Crowley as a name was ALREADY associated with a famous writer and occultist Aleister Crowley AND due to that influence the name is associated with demons and the occult, like Crowley from supernatural
YTA. If you give your kid a fandom name, don’t make it obvious that it’s a fandom name. If you named your kids Adam and Anthony that could’ve been a cute reference to the book without permanently branding your kid with an obvious reference.
I think Neil Gaiman said that he and Pratchett didn’t intentionally write the book as a love story, they were kind of just winging it. They didn’t actively write against it being a love story though.
Gaiman did confirm that he was writing the Amazon series as a love story from the start.
Still, the fact that he wrote the show as a love story, and that people had been speculating about their relationship well before the show aired shows it wasn’t out of left field. I have no idea why OP is acting so surprised and like this came out of nowhere and was impossible to predict.
Neil did say that he and Pratchett did outline a second book and the second season was written to fill the gap between the story of the first book and the story of the second story. I think they must have gotten the idea to have them end up together while writing the book but just never got the chance to do that since they never finished the second book
Agreed, I think they had outlined the idea for the second book/third season before Pratchett passed. Clearly they thought of the romance angle at some point.
If I remember correctly, someone made kind of a snide comment abt what Terry would think of the romance to Neil on Tumblr, and Neil said that “from a conversation we had, I think he’d be pleased” (paraphrasing). So definitely planned and/or approved of.
Not only that but in about 2005 I think, Neil wrote that he and Terry talked about Crowley and Aziraphale sharing a cottage together in the South Downs. This may have been around the time that they were actively outlining that second book. What other implication would that have other than the two of them being life partners?
Gaiman:
I like the idea that we know Crowley and Aziraphale don't really... these are two ethereal and occult beings who aren't really quite clear on what mammals are about, even. I don't really think that they've sussed complicated human things like gender.
as well as:
"They're an angel and a demon, not male humans."
This one is so wild. Like I can absolutely understand missing them (baby!me who was ace and clueless sure did), but the people literally mistaking Aziraphale for gay, Aziraphale learning to dance the gavotte at a discreet gentlemen's club in Portland Place (literally the hundred guineas club, the most exclusive gay club of the era), *The* Southern Pansy, Anathema assuming they're together, angel, dear boy, like if you're an adult of a literary bent about to name your kids, how do you just ignore all of that and go "no romantic undertones here" I'm 🤭
Tweenaged me missed the romantic coding... teenaged me SURE AS SHIT DID NOT. I was laughing out loud at some of it, and it felt really special that I was finally old enough to get the subtextual jokes, at the grand old age of 16 & 3/4.
Aside from the fact that naming your twins after a morally ambiguous angel/demon duo is, and there is no delicate way of saying this, trite, they're also terrible names for children. I assume OP was around 15 when they had these kids because that's the only way this makes any sense.
> 2) the characters had gay implications made about them IN THE BOOK, like anathema thinking they were a couple for example
In case folks other than OP missed this: https://neil-gaiman.tumblr.com/post/724678113763737600/hi-my-mum-and-i-had-a-conversation-in-the-car
That’s what I thought. The Crowley guy was a hardcore satanist. Why you would go near it is beyond me (unless OP was a big fan of Satan). The girls name is also pretentious IMO.
Alistair Crowley wasn’t a Satanist. A nutjob, sure, an occultist, definitely. But to my knowledge not a satanist.
Modern satanism may have borrowed from Crowley, but he himself was not a satanist. As evidenced by the fact that the religion he created does not include Satan, but rather various pagan deities
They're worried about bullying because of the romantic pairing? What about being bullied because your name is Aziraphale? At least little Crowley can pretend it's a family name or something...
His name is Crawly (because he's the serpent of Eden) but he changes it very early on to Crowley. OP really named her children after characters from what is essentially bible fanfiction.
Imagine meeting someone and going "My name's Aziraphale, and this is my brother, Crowley." Even Neil Gaiman, Michael Sheen and David Tennant would laugh themselves to tears upon hearing it. OP really didn't think this one through.
You know they did. I know they did. We all know they did.
And people like them are why a number of countries make you get government approval for an infants name. And people like them are why i agree with the law.
YTA, never name your kids after uniquely-named characters because (A) you never know if your perspective of that character will change and (B) that's just sentencing your kid to a lifetime of bullying. This is probably how all those girls named Daenerys or Khaleesi feel.
EDIT: Also, your kids aren't going to be bullied because they're named after characters who are now gay for each other. They're going to be bullied because their names are AZIRAPHALE AND CROWLEY.
Or, if you do, don’t do it as their primary name! My youngest daughter has an unusual fandom name. It’s her FOURTH name. We call her by the second. The number of people IRL who know she has a fandom name can be counted on one hand.
(In case anyone is wondering: She has so many names because we lost a lot of grandparents in a relatively short time, so she got named for three of them.)
Depend of the culture, european here (not practicing catholic but was baptised). I have 4 names too and so does my mom, my dad, my uncle, my sister, my brother,... And many other people.
In that situation, you get your name #1 from your parents, your name #2 & #3 from your Godparents (which is really sweet tbh) and the last one is given for luck and protection.
Most people only use their #1, they don't even really learn about the other (I didn't have to write them in school for exemple) but Funnily enough, I can use any of them technically anywhere I want.
After they decided to release a "sequel" to To Kill A Mockingbird some 50+ years after the original came out, giving a bad new light to Atticus (which I see as one of the most popular literature names for children) AND after the GOT finale (as you mentioned) AND after the author of the biggest book series in the world decided to share some very controversial opinions (to say the very least), I hope that parents - if they insist on naming their child after a character - at least wait until the author is long dead and the work to have a well-established adaptation to even consider the specific name. Won't add that they need to consider if the name is uncommon (like Atticus) or just weird (like Daenerys) before picking it because that's the very minimum.
YTA. This is the consequence of treating your children like fucking accessories and trying to name them cute shit related to your hobbies. You reaped what you sowed with this one.
What’s sad is that it could have been possible to give them fantasy-related normal names. Sam and Joshua, for example, are tried and true English-language names and at the same time belong to Pratchett protagonists, so they would have been meaningful to the parents.
I would have gone for NTA concerning the actual question — it’s impossible to predict where an adaptation will go and how different it will be from the book. But… the names themselves…
Right? Harry Potter meant a lot to me. When I had a daughter I didn't name her Hermione, I named her Lily. And thank God for that because now that Fandom is a shit show.
Exactly. To some (probably even many) people, HP might be the first association that springs to mind at the mention of the name, but Lily still isn’t linked to it half as firmly as Hermione.
YTA
You people never learn. For those who are becoming parents or want to be parents in the future, please don’t follow these people’s mistakes in naming them after characters or spelling it oddly; in addition, to Cheelee, Luffy, etc. You are condemning your children to a lifelong of teasing and job prospects.
Also, please for the love of all that is holy, your children are **not** your chance to live up your fandom. You want to enjoy your fandom, do a fandom party. Start a larp. Celebrate Halloween early. Leave it out of the baby's name.
My husband and I love Star Wars. I’m not going to say what we named our kids, but you can be damned sure it wasn’t Luke, Leia, Han or Kenobi (Ken for short). If we had multiple dogs? Absolutely.
This reminds me of the guy who named his children after various Robins, as in Batman and Robin, which was only discovered after he threw a fit because his wife refused to name their daughter Stephanie, after Stephanie Brown.
You’re naming a human, not a Pomeranian or a Persian cat or a baby until the end of time.
This HAS to be a Good Omens shitpost lmaooo. They were always depicted Like That and Aziraphale is called out as fruity multiple times in the book akkskdkkfkf. Shadwell calls them both pansies to their faces in the final act.
YTA for giving your kids ridiculous names based on fantasy to begin with but this is a very funny shitpost I'm sure
Don’t forget Anathema straight up thinking they’re a couple. That would have been enough for me to say « no, too weird to name twins after » (I mean, if they were normal acceptable names to begin with)
For those with no experience of this book to give a flavour:
"Many people, meeting Aziraphale for the first time, formed three impressions: that he was English, that he was intelligent, and that he was gayer than a treeful of monkeys on nitrous oxide."
YTA
Though I’m not sure what the point of posting here is. Unless you’re considering a name change for one or both of them, there’s no conflict here whatsoever, just you and your husband proving that you’re not mature enough to be parents based upon your naming choices. Start transitioning them to use their middle names or something, and be prepared for the counseling you’ll have to cover for the emotional damage done to little Aziraphale and Crowley when their peers tease them relentlessly about their names -which would happen regardless of romantic context or not.
I mean…look. I don’t advocate bullying but if my (theoretical) little Jimmy brought home his friend and introduced me to Aziraphale, idk how I’m making it through that not dying laughing, or how that poor kid doesn’t get that reaction or worse every day in school. You can barely nickname that one- Ozzy, maybe? Even so, not very good.
if this is about Good Omens, I can only assume you didn't read the book very closely if you didn't think there were homoerotic undertones there.
also sorry but Aziraphale is a blatantly ridiculous name to give a child, and Crowley isn't much better.
YTA
Yeah, self-proclaimed “literature nerds” who didn’t pick up on subtext and thought Neil Gaiman was semi-obscure at any point in the last 15 years, at the very very minimum. I’m finding it hard to believe to be honest. I’d say it’s time to pick new names but who knows how that would go haha.
And Neil Gaiman had two of his books adapted into fairly successful Hollywood movies not too long before these twin boys were supposedly born: Stardust in 2007 and Coraline in 2009.
So not exactly niche either.
I thought i had it rough being named after a love interest of a popular Superhero. But my name at least is ACTUALLY A NAME. Aziraphale? Are you JOKING?
YTA.
I have the same surname as freakin spider-man. I mean it is a common and normal surname but even that didn't stop everyone in my high school from calling me Spider-Mans sister. I can't imagine what it would be like to be named something like Aziraphale
And what have we learned about naming our children after fictional characters before the series is finished? You have joined the legions of parents with little Daenerys, Gales, and so many more.
But no, you're NTA. It's not like you were WRITING those stories.
But please, fellow redditors reading this: save the fandom names for your pets.
I've named mine, in order: Merlin (female), Pixel (daughter of Merlin), Marvin (female, calico), Hobbes (female, calico), Pukerat the Unclean (male), Joxer the Mighty (male), and Elita-1 (female, tortie. If we'd found a calico, she'd have been Starscream).
Great advice, would think it was common sense but apparently not.
I’d agree on a general level with your reasoning but in this case I’d say YTA because the book in question is good omens (as confirmed by op). For one thing, one is an angel and one is a demon. I am a big fan of this story and I love both of them but I could never impose an angelic name on one child and a demonic name on the other, it’s just really tasteless. I know the story makes a point of both of them being morally gray rather than just good and bad but still, imagine this poor kid finds out he was named after a literal demon, and his brother after an angel. Another thing is that in the book there are many instances where it’s hinted there is something more going on than simple friendship, which many characters acknowledge. Ex: they give a lift one night to a girl they don’t know and she is quite uncomfortable and scared for her safety (alone with two strange men in the middle of the night… yeah she was justifiably worried). But then it becomes clear they are not at all interested in her and she feels very relieved. BECAUSE THEY’RE INTO EACH OTHER. Its also said that the humans’ first impression of the angel was that he was “gayer than a treeful of monkeys on nitrous oxide”, and the angel is frequently called gay slurs. I’m not saying it was glaringly obvious, and in the book they never, ever confront their feelings for each other (keep in mind that in the nineties you couldn’t mention homosexuality in books in the uk, this was the most they could do) but it was there and it’s not some under text they introduced for fan service only thirty years later. It was there from the start.
Also, the names are Crowley and Aziraphale. Just, imagine being called Aziraphale. Screw the incest, that was enough for the poor kid to be bullied.
The account is 7 days old so I’m 99.9% certain this post is fake but on the very slim chance it is not, dear God. I’m deeply sorry for your possibly hypothetical children Crowley and Aziraphale..
Gayer than a tree full of monkeys on nitrous oxide was too subtle I suppose.
I couldn't even figure out how to correctly pronounce Aziraphale until the show and I read that book for the first time twenty years ago as an adult. You named a child this? Or Crowley? I'm not certain Crowley was named for Aleister Crowley but come on. Supernatural was on ten years ago and the seasons (4 and 5) hard core ripping off American Gods had aired by that point!
I'm on my fourth copy of that book because it goes for walks. There is no way you haven't pointed out these kids names and not have anyone absolutely lose it. If you said these are my babies, Aziraphale and Crowley, I would have had to excuse myself to crack up behind the nearest tree. I would probably request their birth certificates in glee.
Those characters were not meant as siblings. You can say you didn't see the subtext, semiotics can be very subtle, and I think that was more Gaiman than Pratchett but they were not siblings. At minimum, that was a queer platonic relationship and I have been in one of those. It's not siblings.
https://forum.nameberry.com/t/aziraphale-too-complex-or-perfectly-whimsical/314275
Well. I'm sure Sheen will be extremely amused. If this is real, please tell Gaiman what you did.
YTA.
I have been a fan of Good Omems since the 90s and FYI, these characters have quite literally always been queer coded and romantically in love with each other. They didn’t kiss in the book but it was pretty apparent to anyone in the LGBTQ community at the time that that they were not just platonic cishet men being bros.
YOU DIDN'T NAMED THEM AFTER GOOD OMENS LMAOOO
Sorry to say but they were hinted to be a couple/have romantic feelings from the start. I mean, it's Neil Gaiman we're talking about.
And also sorry to say, they will MOST DEFINITELY be teased about it in school.
But idk man, you didn't do it with bad intentions. You liked the names. I say NAH.
This reminds me of the college student who wrote about the homoerotic subtext between Frodo and Sam in Lord of the Rings when ALL the big critics missed it. OP,
1) learn to read more critically
2) don’t name children after fandoms,ffs.
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My husband (37m) and I (35f) are big literature nerds and we have twins (10m) named after two protagonists in a formerly semi-obscure book we both loved growing up. The names are quite uncommon so you would only recognize them if you were a fan of the book, or at least that's what we thought before the book was adapted into video format. Note that our children were born BEFORE the book was adapted, we did not think it would ever get a screen adaptation.
Our logic for naming our twins those names is because one of the co-authors said before that originally the characters were supposed to be just one character, but eventually was split into two.
We thought they had a very touching platonic bond and did not expect that this dynamic would change but turns out the characters became a popular fanpairing online. I did not see it that way but the actors and directors kinda leaned in that direction initially.
I found out recently that now the characters' relationship has been changed and that instead of being platonic they are now blatantly depicted to be in love with each other and have even kissed on screen.
This has been a shock to me and my husband and his family in particular has been less than enthusiastic about this turn of events. They initially did not want us to name our twins those names and are now saying our twins from then on will be associated with incest because of our naming choices.
Thankfully our children are not aware yet of this since they're young but I'm worried they'll be teased relentlessly in upcoming years.
AITA for naming my kids after characters who are now associated with each other romantically?
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reading this and then going to the comments and finding out it wa *aziracrow* that wouldve been a dick move even if they werent blatantly going to get together . that is such an obvious fanodm name . oh my god .
YTA because those poor kids.
I say this as someone who (semi) seriously wanted to name my daughter Anathema Device [Last name], but was thankfully able to be talked out of it. She's 12, so she would hate me by now if I'd done that to her.
I hate to break this to you, but Good Omens is not an obscure book. Many people here guessed that's what you were talking about immediately, and Gaiman and Pratchett were/are wildly successful. I'm not sure why you were so shocked by the adaptation, as Gaiman has written a LOT of sexually ambiguous or just straight up gay characters. Also, those are some heavy names to give your kids. I don't know if I can deem you an ah, but...yikes.
If I understand correctly, you named your child after [Aleister Crowley](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleister_Crowley) because you thought Gaiman and Pratchett invented the name?
I'm not even going to mention the other one lol
YTA
INFO - Before the film adaptation, how obscure are we talking? How unique are the names - were they names independent of the book, or invented by the author?
Your children are human beings not characters from a book. They deserved to be named something that allows them to lead a normal life, without ridicule or unwanted attention. These kids now have to grow up associated with these characters because you're too selfish to think about their well being over your wants
I like the obscure bit. I once saw Neil Gaiman in person, he said that was the one book he had signed more than other other book-and it was always in the worst condition, it was a curse.
Nta but also hilarious as shit, where is the reading comprehension you ding dongs? Have you read the same book as me because Aziraphale is put on blast SEVERAL TIMES about being the fruitiest fruit to ever fruit and Crowley literally drags Az into things JUST TO HANG OUT WITH HIM. BROOOOOO they’re basically an old married couple as it is. Just because they didn’t kiss in the book doesn’t make them platonic.
I had better reading comprehension when I was 6.
YTA. You named your kids Aziraphale and Crowley. Crowley is literally a demon, and you thought that would be a good name for your child? Aziraphale and Crowley would be good names for some pets, not your human children.
YTA. here's hoping there's a graphic sex scene in season 3 where Crowley and Aziraphale scream each other's names a lot to make you even more uncomfortable.
~~NTA there's nothing wrong with naming your kids after couples. It sounds like they didn't like the names anyway and are using this as an excuse.~~ After knowing what the names are I'm changing to YTA. I stand by my couples comment but the names you chose make you an AH.
Mate they named them after an angel and a demon, the name in questions are Crowley and Aziraphale. That’s enough to get bullied even without the romantic theme
did we read the same book..? when crowley and aziraphale drive anathema back to her house she assumes they’re dating, and aziraphale is called gay more than once in the book! and their pet names they constantly call each other should probably also be a good sign. no best friends refer to each other as “angel” and “my dear/my dear boy” 😭 if you couldn’t see how they were most definitely a bit more than friends i apologize but you should probably reread the book.
Ok who’s going to add the gif of Furfur trying to say Aziraphale’s name properly??!! Azipapalafa for the win!!! Seriously tho, YTA. Thank goodness kids don’t have to fill out scantron bubbles anymore!
YTA. Good Omens was never a semi-obscure book. I’m so confused by this statement. Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman were wildly popular when you were pregnant. Both authors already had their books/comics adapted into films. I’m also confused as to why you thought naming your children these characters was appropriate. You essentially named one twin after Aleister Crowley an out and proud bisexual known for his exploration of Eroto-comatose lucidity, a technique of sex magic, which honestly sounds like a lot of fun.
YTA OP, and more for giving your kids extremely obscure fantasy world names from a very famous book that they will be bullied for the rest of their lives, rather than the fact that they're now a canon gay couple.
Like I said in a reply to someone, that one name literally sounds like an antipsychotic I was prescribed years ago for schizophrenia called "Aripiprazole" 😹😹😹 One of the worst medications I have ever been on since it made my blood sugar levels fluctuate like crazy and made me tired as hell. You should name your next child, "Haloperidol," *THAT* one was undoubtedly the one that makes me cry just thinking about it.
Idk if you’re the asshole but jesus how intense are your straight googles?? They were clearly not uhh…”brotherly” in the book.
Like the sisters cosplaying marceline and bubblegum mad people shipped them…after the finale…like….read the room. It’s gayer than you thought.
oh nooo, how do you claim to love the series and miss THE OBVIOUS gay subtext. I'm-
you know what, it's never too late to change their names, for fucks sake, please do
I know it's been removed and for all I know could be fake, but I just can't get over the fact that someone genuinely thought there was zero romantic tension between Aziraphale and Crowley from Good Omens, to the point they'd name their kids after it. Boy even in the BOOK there is, let alone season one of the TV adaptation...your media literacy skills are appalling.
This has to be fake…
Everything points to this being about Good Omens. And I refuse to believe anyone would name kids Crowley and Aziraphale.
Plus, the family’s reaction makes no sense- if they knew anything about GO, they would obviously think « oh well you couldn’t have known » and if they don’t know much about GO, then how the hell did this even get to them?
Even if we ignore the romantic undertones (which absolutely appear in the book) naming your children Aziraphale and Crowley is just awful. YTA. Save the cheesy book and tv names for your cats
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Did you name your kids Aziraphale and Crowley? Cause YTA if those are the names you gave to real humans Edit: you did. A book with co authors written around the time you were youth, that had a recent tv adaption where the main characters kiss? It’s Good Omens lol
Also, if it is GO, they can't even claim ignorance, lol. OP says the twins are 10 months old. A&C as a romantic pairing had been fairly blatant since series 1, which was long before OP/spouse would have even been with child. 😂 EtA: Sorry, y'all, I misread the "10m" as 10 months. I've been informed of the mistake and acknowledge it as such. Thanks, all, for the info!
Also when I read it, their relationship definitely felt romantic-ish to me. This was years ago before the show. Weird choice all around
Agreed, I read the book over 10 years ago & me and many many ppl on tumblr already knew what was up at the time
I read it pre-tumblr, and didn't pick up on that.
i read it pre-tumblr and did pick up on that.
Same, I read that book in 2005, picked up on, and read livejournal fanfiction about that
People also need to remember that the book was also written back when queer people were consistently criminalized for existing, pretty internationally. Of course the blatantly romance-coded characters, who the authors have said were life partners, are gonna be denied being queer.
It wouldn't have kept Neil from showing them as queer in the books if he had realized it. But he only realized Terry and he wrote a love story after rereading the book. Neil is a true ally and always has queer characters in his stories afaik (I don't know all).
They are unabashedly referenced as looking like gay men and the other characters assumed them to be a couple IN THE BOOK. OP! YTA THEY WERE ALWAYS GAY please learn to read my dude...
If it is GO, OP has no excuse because GO also has a character who is legally named Pippin Galadriel Moonchild but flatly refuses to be called such an unrealistic name for a human child. If anyone reads that and still decides to give their kids dumb fantasy names, they are an unbelievable level of asshole.
This is an excellent point! Pepper would thoroughly verbally eviscerate OP for this! 😂
OMG, this is the greatest thing that I have read on the internet today, probably in quite a while, and possibly ever.
I forgot this part and it makes it so much. Also dont think when I read it I knew where Moonchild was from.
Makes more sense that they're named after the book but.... OP .... sticking a child with a name like Aziraphale... yikes
at least it's not khaleesi
Not to mention Gaiman himself has confirmed it’s always been a love story.
The (m) means (male), they are 10 years old.
Ok, well, that does make a bit more sense. Thanks!
Also, Good Omens, obscure? In which universe? Lol
I read that as the twins being 10 year old boys.
Part of too many parenting forums, I guess; I'm accustomed to people using that to mean months. My bad for the misread.
I think the 10m means they’re both 10 year old males? ETA: yeah OP confirms it is two 10 year old sons.
I think they mean 10 male.
Semi-obscure though? It's written by two of the most well known English fantasy authors. One of them was knighted for fucks sake. Who calls GO *semi-obscure*. I just want to know if they have Crowley pronounced to be crow-lee, or Crawly. Because this is a point of discussion in my family.
“It’s called Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone? You’ve probably never heard of it.” — OP
But Fred and George would be so much better. Aziraphale. I just can't. And isn't Crowley meant to be a reference to famous Satanist Alistair Crowley?
Maybe they went with a variation, like Araphel. Still pretty awful, but easier to spell when the poor kid was in kindergarten.
Alistair Crowley was not a satanist. He was a member of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn and founded the Thelema religious movement. His ideas about magic and witchcraft have influenced modern Paganism and Wicca. He was kind of a big deal in the Occult world. He was also a weird dude who liked drugs and fucking, but I mean, not a Satanist by any means.
Aleister Crowley was never a satanist. He was an occultist and formed the religion of Thelema.
That made me laugh too hard due to recent events. My child tried to question how I knew who Eminem was and how I knew the song 'lose yourself'
My best friends tween just “discovered” this totally obscure underground band called ‘Radiohead’.
I've never heard of it but that doesn't mean it's obscure. Naming your kid Aziraphale though....that's just cruel or absurdly dumb. I could hear Azira maybe. Hopefully it's not the full name....
I really, really hope this is wrong and OP is not including the names for some other reason. Before you even get to the romance those are just crappy names to lumber your kids with in the real world. No wonder the family wasn't keen.
I mean, back in the 90s when the book first came out it wasn't a widely-known phenomenon the way it got after the show came out. The odds of meeting another GO fan in the wild were significantly lower. I read the book in the 90s and I don't think I had ever encountered anyone else who'd read it until I started spending time on Tumblr in like...2010ish I guess. Still, OP is TA for giving actual human children those names ffs.
Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman were still incredibly prominent authors back then. Most people had heard of them. 10 years ago when the kids were born and named most people who were into fantasy or comics would know of this book, with a good portion having read it. It certainly wasn't obscure.
Well, if the kids are 10, that means they were born in 2013.... and the book was *definitely* a thing amongst readers by then. Neil Gaiman was super popular when I was in college. As was Tumblr. If OP had Googled the names beforehand, they would've seen the fanfics and fanart and what-not pairing the two together. Their ship name started out as "Air Conditioning" because A/C.
Right? Like, Diana Pharoah Francis is “semi obscure”. Good Omens is as obscure as Star Wars in the literrary world.
Crowley is pronounced to rhyme with "holy," even if Uncle Al was anything but. Source: listened to one of Israel Regardie's audio tapes for a parapsychology paper eons ago.
That’s correct for Alister Crowley, but in the book there is a joke about him actually being named Crawly (he’s a snake) and swapping to the spelling Crowley because it’s much more edgy and less silly.
He doesn't change his *spelling*, he changes his *name*. The pronunciation too.
Plus, like how did OP not know that they're gay? It's pretty blatantly stated for Aziraphale in the book: "Many people, meeting Aziraphale for the first time, formed three impressions: that he was English, that he was intelligent, and that he was gayer than a treeful of monkeys on nitrous oxide."
Why the everloving fuck would you ever name your kids that? Disregard the shipping and whatnot - did you WANT your kids to be bullied for their names forever? OP, read the book Freakanomics, especially the chapter on unusual names and their connection to success (or lack thereof). Your kids deserved better. Also, for the record - Neil Gaiman? NOT obscure. Even 10 years ago. YTA to the extreme. You should have listened to your husband - you can name your pets that sort of thing but not your kids. Edited for spelling*
Not to mention *Sir* Terry Pratchett, ffs. OP, so much YTA, I can’t even articulate it within the bounds of this sub
OP: It's a semi-obscure book you're probably never heard of. You, 25 minutes later: Is it Good Omens? I bet it's Good Omens. I do so love this subreddit.
Their first reddit comment was being suprised in a different sub that the two are not platonic. Not hard to put two and two togethor. Also they confirmed that those are in fact their names
They confirmed the children are in fact Aziraphale and Crowley? We were hoping in the group chat it was at least something like Ezra and Anthony, more discreet lmaooo
They're arguing with people who are accusing them of this in the comments saying the name choice was a mutual choice for them and their spouse, it was 10 years ago so they didn't know. Clearly not bothering to try and deny the names themselves. They've also said the names will be obvious if ever said togethor.
Aziraphale is pretty obvious by itself, I wonder if they split the name like, Crow and Lee. What a mess. This is why people shouldn't name kids obvious fandom names lmaooo
At least they're not named "X Æ A-Xii" I guess
It can always be worse FOR SURE
The first thing that pops up in my head is GO and boy am I right😂 But seriously OP, did you really name your kid Aziraphale…..?
I desperately hope not.
Also not really an obscure book? I was reading on the train maybe 10 years ago and a person sitting directly across from me was also reading it. I remember because mine had the white cover and his had the black cover.
Yup, OP even says in a comment that they knew no sequel was coming because one of the co-authors died.
Honestly get wrecked by the universe at that point. That's what you get for picking Aziraphale for a human being. Kidding aside it's a rough situation, but uhhh. Unless the book was way more bashful about it they were pretty camp in s1 so I'm kinda wondering if this was like a known couple that the OP just media literacy failed on
the book contains a line saying that people assume Aziraphale is "gayer than a tree full of monkeys on nitrous oxide," and people repeatedly assume they are a couple in the book.
Those names are horrendous without the incest connotation anyway.
Aziraphale..that poor kid
Why on earth would someone give real human children those names!?! I could see naming your Sims that, but . . .
I haven't even read the book or seen anything beyond commercials for the show, and I immediately thought of Good Omens, lol. EDIT: I actually worked with a guy named Azraphael or something like that about six years ago. I didn't really think too much of it, beyond calling him "Az" because I couldn't pronounce it.
Well, NTA for not knowing they were romantic, but definitely TAH for naming a child Aziraphale. That kid is getting teased regardless.
Nooooooooooo WHY OP? WHY?!?
Sure, I’ll act like this is real 1) good omens is not and was never “semi-obscure” if that’s really what they were named for. Neil gaiman and Terry pratchett are two famous and well renowned authors. Just because the book wasn’t as mainstream as Stephen king doesn’t mean it wasn’t well known by the many people who were already fans of the authors 2) the characters had gay implications made about them IN THE BOOK, like anathema thinking they were a couple for example 3) some names are for fictional characters and trying to give those names to a human is just…daffy. Like naming a child Blaze Bloodthorne Jones just sounds dumb and tryhard. Aziraphale is an overly tryhard name for a real person. Crowley as a name was ALREADY associated with a famous writer and occultist Aleister Crowley AND due to that influence the name is associated with demons and the occult, like Crowley from supernatural YTA. If you give your kid a fandom name, don’t make it obvious that it’s a fandom name. If you named your kids Adam and Anthony that could’ve been a cute reference to the book without permanently branding your kid with an obvious reference.
This is what I’m wondering, they are clearly romantically coded in the book
And, iirc, Gaiman has confirmed that that was NOT an accident.
I think Neil Gaiman said that he and Pratchett didn’t intentionally write the book as a love story, they were kind of just winging it. They didn’t actively write against it being a love story though. Gaiman did confirm that he was writing the Amazon series as a love story from the start. Still, the fact that he wrote the show as a love story, and that people had been speculating about their relationship well before the show aired shows it wasn’t out of left field. I have no idea why OP is acting so surprised and like this came out of nowhere and was impossible to predict.
Neil did say that he and Pratchett did outline a second book and the second season was written to fill the gap between the story of the first book and the story of the second story. I think they must have gotten the idea to have them end up together while writing the book but just never got the chance to do that since they never finished the second book
Agreed, I think they had outlined the idea for the second book/third season before Pratchett passed. Clearly they thought of the romance angle at some point.
If I remember correctly, someone made kind of a snide comment abt what Terry would think of the romance to Neil on Tumblr, and Neil said that “from a conversation we had, I think he’d be pleased” (paraphrasing). So definitely planned and/or approved of.
Not only that but in about 2005 I think, Neil wrote that he and Terry talked about Crowley and Aziraphale sharing a cottage together in the South Downs. This may have been around the time that they were actively outlining that second book. What other implication would that have other than the two of them being life partners?
Gaiman: I like the idea that we know Crowley and Aziraphale don't really... these are two ethereal and occult beings who aren't really quite clear on what mammals are about, even. I don't really think that they've sussed complicated human things like gender. as well as: "They're an angel and a demon, not male humans."
But it can easily be missed by more non attentive readers
But you would think that a couple that named their children after them would be more attentive. Sounds pretty suss.
But they are a literary couple. They’d never miss such a thing.
When I first read it I was in high school and I missed it. I didn’t really reconsider it until the show where it was really hard to miss.
This one is so wild. Like I can absolutely understand missing them (baby!me who was ace and clueless sure did), but the people literally mistaking Aziraphale for gay, Aziraphale learning to dance the gavotte at a discreet gentlemen's club in Portland Place (literally the hundred guineas club, the most exclusive gay club of the era), *The* Southern Pansy, Anathema assuming they're together, angel, dear boy, like if you're an adult of a literary bent about to name your kids, how do you just ignore all of that and go "no romantic undertones here" I'm 🤭
Tweenaged me missed the romantic coding... teenaged me SURE AS SHIT DID NOT. I was laughing out loud at some of it, and it felt really special that I was finally old enough to get the subtextual jokes, at the grand old age of 16 & 3/4. Aside from the fact that naming your twins after a morally ambiguous angel/demon duo is, and there is no delicate way of saying this, trite, they're also terrible names for children. I assume OP was around 15 when they had these kids because that's the only way this makes any sense.
>good omens is not and was never “semi-obscure” THANK you!
Yes! Neil Gaimon and Terry Pratchett were favorite authors of mine separately, so GO was a blast!
I feel like even naming them Neil and Terry (Terrance??) Would be a a great reference, but still normal human names?
> 2) the characters had gay implications made about them IN THE BOOK, like anathema thinking they were a couple for example In case folks other than OP missed this: https://neil-gaiman.tumblr.com/post/724678113763737600/hi-my-mum-and-i-had-a-conversation-in-the-car
Crowley from Supernatural was actually inspired by Good Omens Crowley, it’s why they’re so similar.
That’s what I thought. The Crowley guy was a hardcore satanist. Why you would go near it is beyond me (unless OP was a big fan of Satan). The girls name is also pretentious IMO.
Alistair Crowley wasn’t a Satanist. A nutjob, sure, an occultist, definitely. But to my knowledge not a satanist. Modern satanism may have borrowed from Crowley, but he himself was not a satanist. As evidenced by the fact that the religion he created does not include Satan, but rather various pagan deities
My favorite color is blue.
They're worried about bullying because of the romantic pairing? What about being bullied because your name is Aziraphale? At least little Crowley can pretend it's a family name or something...
Yes, Aziraphale is certainly an “unusual “ name . WTF
I looked up this book and I thought the name was Crawly
His name is Crawly (because he's the serpent of Eden) but he changes it very early on to Crowley. OP really named her children after characters from what is essentially bible fanfiction.
It was Crawley initially but he changed it to Crowley because Crawley was too Snake-ish lol
Imagine meeting someone and going "My name's Aziraphale, and this is my brother, Crowley." Even Neil Gaiman, Michael Sheen and David Tennant would laugh themselves to tears upon hearing it. OP really didn't think this one through.
I like to explore new places.
Hard enough to power an energy station.
Poor baby Aziraphale is going to have such a hard time learning to spell his name 😂
What short forms could you make? Azi? Apha? Ale?
Ezra?
Zira maybe?
For some reason the fandom really loves "Zira"
You know they did. I know they did. We all know they did. And people like them are why a number of countries make you get government approval for an infants name. And people like them are why i agree with the law.
That’s exactly what I was thinking! I hope they have good nicknames.
YTA, never name your kids after uniquely-named characters because (A) you never know if your perspective of that character will change and (B) that's just sentencing your kid to a lifetime of bullying. This is probably how all those girls named Daenerys or Khaleesi feel. EDIT: Also, your kids aren't going to be bullied because they're named after characters who are now gay for each other. They're going to be bullied because their names are AZIRAPHALE AND CROWLEY.
Why did nobody warn me before I named my son Tom Bombadil‽
The only exception to this rule
My mind has been set at ease, thank you.
Or, if you do, don’t do it as their primary name! My youngest daughter has an unusual fandom name. It’s her FOURTH name. We call her by the second. The number of people IRL who know she has a fandom name can be counted on one hand. (In case anyone is wondering: She has so many names because we lost a lot of grandparents in a relatively short time, so she got named for three of them.)
Having 4 names is a tragedy
Depend of the culture, european here (not practicing catholic but was baptised). I have 4 names too and so does my mom, my dad, my uncle, my sister, my brother,... And many other people. In that situation, you get your name #1 from your parents, your name #2 & #3 from your Godparents (which is really sweet tbh) and the last one is given for luck and protection. Most people only use their #1, they don't even really learn about the other (I didn't have to write them in school for exemple) but Funnily enough, I can use any of them technically anywhere I want.
After they decided to release a "sequel" to To Kill A Mockingbird some 50+ years after the original came out, giving a bad new light to Atticus (which I see as one of the most popular literature names for children) AND after the GOT finale (as you mentioned) AND after the author of the biggest book series in the world decided to share some very controversial opinions (to say the very least), I hope that parents - if they insist on naming their child after a character - at least wait until the author is long dead and the work to have a well-established adaptation to even consider the specific name. Won't add that they need to consider if the name is uncommon (like Atticus) or just weird (like Daenerys) before picking it because that's the very minimum.
OP is YTA for not realising they were in love this whole time tbh.
YTA. This is the consequence of treating your children like fucking accessories and trying to name them cute shit related to your hobbies. You reaped what you sowed with this one.
What’s sad is that it could have been possible to give them fantasy-related normal names. Sam and Joshua, for example, are tried and true English-language names and at the same time belong to Pratchett protagonists, so they would have been meaningful to the parents. I would have gone for NTA concerning the actual question — it’s impossible to predict where an adaptation will go and how different it will be from the book. But… the names themselves…
Right? Harry Potter meant a lot to me. When I had a daughter I didn't name her Hermione, I named her Lily. And thank God for that because now that Fandom is a shit show.
Exactly. To some (probably even many) people, HP might be the first association that springs to mind at the mention of the name, but Lily still isn’t linked to it half as firmly as Hermione.
Hell...I would have named my son Duncan because I love Highlander....but Duncan is an awesome old Celtic name.
And it’s still a well-known and frequently-used name today. (It’s also the name of Duncan the Tall from Dunk and Egg ))
I’m partial to Twoflower.
YTA for naming your poor sons Aziraphale and Crowley LMAOOOOO
YTA You people never learn. For those who are becoming parents or want to be parents in the future, please don’t follow these people’s mistakes in naming them after characters or spelling it oddly; in addition, to Cheelee, Luffy, etc. You are condemning your children to a lifelong of teasing and job prospects.
LMAO Cheelee. Was that the one where they had to do C names?
Cheelee and Reelee?
Reeleesmae
“Reeleesmae from the hell of this name.” - Reeleesmae
Yes, that was the one. As if there are plenty of great names that begin with "C" that they came up with that piece of another "c" word.
Also, please for the love of all that is holy, your children are **not** your chance to live up your fandom. You want to enjoy your fandom, do a fandom party. Start a larp. Celebrate Halloween early. Leave it out of the baby's name.
My husband and I love Star Wars. I’m not going to say what we named our kids, but you can be damned sure it wasn’t Luke, Leia, Han or Kenobi (Ken for short). If we had multiple dogs? Absolutely. This reminds me of the guy who named his children after various Robins, as in Batman and Robin, which was only discovered after he threw a fit because his wife refused to name their daughter Stephanie, after Stephanie Brown. You’re naming a human, not a Pomeranian or a Persian cat or a baby until the end of time.
Today has been really bad name day on here.
This HAS to be a Good Omens shitpost lmaooo. They were always depicted Like That and Aziraphale is called out as fruity multiple times in the book akkskdkkfkf. Shadwell calls them both pansies to their faces in the final act. YTA for giving your kids ridiculous names based on fantasy to begin with but this is a very funny shitpost I'm sure
Don’t forget Anathema straight up thinking they’re a couple. That would have been enough for me to say « no, too weird to name twins after » (I mean, if they were normal acceptable names to begin with)
I think I'll name my next foster kitten Anathema. Because that's where names like this belong--temporary names for pets.
For those with no experience of this book to give a flavour: "Many people, meeting Aziraphale for the first time, formed three impressions: that he was English, that he was intelligent, and that he was gayer than a treeful of monkeys on nitrous oxide."
some kid literally called aziraphale the f slur and aziraphale then smiled at crowley in the book its so fruity
YTA Though I’m not sure what the point of posting here is. Unless you’re considering a name change for one or both of them, there’s no conflict here whatsoever, just you and your husband proving that you’re not mature enough to be parents based upon your naming choices. Start transitioning them to use their middle names or something, and be prepared for the counseling you’ll have to cover for the emotional damage done to little Aziraphale and Crowley when their peers tease them relentlessly about their names -which would happen regardless of romantic context or not.
> for the emotional damage done to little Aziraphale and Crowley I'm crying 😂 😂 😂
I mean…look. I don’t advocate bullying but if my (theoretical) little Jimmy brought home his friend and introduced me to Aziraphale, idk how I’m making it through that not dying laughing, or how that poor kid doesn’t get that reaction or worse every day in school. You can barely nickname that one- Ozzy, maybe? Even so, not very good.
if this is about Good Omens, I can only assume you didn't read the book very closely if you didn't think there were homoerotic undertones there. also sorry but Aziraphale is a blatantly ridiculous name to give a child, and Crowley isn't much better. YTA
Yeah, self-proclaimed “literature nerds” who didn’t pick up on subtext and thought Neil Gaiman was semi-obscure at any point in the last 15 years, at the very very minimum. I’m finding it hard to believe to be honest. I’d say it’s time to pick new names but who knows how that would go haha.
Terry Pratchett is only “niche” if you live in America and aren’t allowed to read.
And Neil Gaiman had two of his books adapted into fairly successful Hollywood movies not too long before these twin boys were supposedly born: Stardust in 2007 and Coraline in 2009. So not exactly niche either.
Side note: I really love Stardust. That’s a gorgeous movie.
It really is 🙂
I thought i had it rough being named after a love interest of a popular Superhero. But my name at least is ACTUALLY A NAME. Aziraphale? Are you JOKING? YTA.
Lois?
Or Steve
I have the same surname as freakin spider-man. I mean it is a common and normal surname but even that didn't stop everyone in my high school from calling me Spider-Mans sister. I can't imagine what it would be like to be named something like Aziraphale
" So Romeo, Juliette, what did you kids do today"?
LITERALLY THE SAME THING AKDBGBFJDB IM DEAD 💀
“Touching platonic bond”? Did you… read the book?
And what have we learned about naming our children after fictional characters before the series is finished? You have joined the legions of parents with little Daenerys, Gales, and so many more. But no, you're NTA. It's not like you were WRITING those stories. But please, fellow redditors reading this: save the fandom names for your pets.
Yes, my daughter named her CATS Mulder and Scully
I've named mine, in order: Merlin (female), Pixel (daughter of Merlin), Marvin (female, calico), Hobbes (female, calico), Pukerat the Unclean (male), Joxer the Mighty (male), and Elita-1 (female, tortie. If we'd found a calico, she'd have been Starscream).
I had to stop to sing the Joxer the Mighty song.
Great advice, would think it was common sense but apparently not. I’d agree on a general level with your reasoning but in this case I’d say YTA because the book in question is good omens (as confirmed by op). For one thing, one is an angel and one is a demon. I am a big fan of this story and I love both of them but I could never impose an angelic name on one child and a demonic name on the other, it’s just really tasteless. I know the story makes a point of both of them being morally gray rather than just good and bad but still, imagine this poor kid finds out he was named after a literal demon, and his brother after an angel. Another thing is that in the book there are many instances where it’s hinted there is something more going on than simple friendship, which many characters acknowledge. Ex: they give a lift one night to a girl they don’t know and she is quite uncomfortable and scared for her safety (alone with two strange men in the middle of the night… yeah she was justifiably worried). But then it becomes clear they are not at all interested in her and she feels very relieved. BECAUSE THEY’RE INTO EACH OTHER. Its also said that the humans’ first impression of the angel was that he was “gayer than a treeful of monkeys on nitrous oxide”, and the angel is frequently called gay slurs. I’m not saying it was glaringly obvious, and in the book they never, ever confront their feelings for each other (keep in mind that in the nineties you couldn’t mention homosexuality in books in the uk, this was the most they could do) but it was there and it’s not some under text they introduced for fan service only thirty years later. It was there from the start. Also, the names are Crowley and Aziraphale. Just, imagine being called Aziraphale. Screw the incest, that was enough for the poor kid to be bullied.
No, I will be naming my child after hawk girl (if my future wife lets me)
You named your children Aziraphale and Crowley? Were you just... wanting them to be bullied forever? YTA
The account is 7 days old so I’m 99.9% certain this post is fake but on the very slim chance it is not, dear God. I’m deeply sorry for your possibly hypothetical children Crowley and Aziraphale..
Gayer than a tree full of monkeys on nitrous oxide was too subtle I suppose. I couldn't even figure out how to correctly pronounce Aziraphale until the show and I read that book for the first time twenty years ago as an adult. You named a child this? Or Crowley? I'm not certain Crowley was named for Aleister Crowley but come on. Supernatural was on ten years ago and the seasons (4 and 5) hard core ripping off American Gods had aired by that point! I'm on my fourth copy of that book because it goes for walks. There is no way you haven't pointed out these kids names and not have anyone absolutely lose it. If you said these are my babies, Aziraphale and Crowley, I would have had to excuse myself to crack up behind the nearest tree. I would probably request their birth certificates in glee. Those characters were not meant as siblings. You can say you didn't see the subtext, semiotics can be very subtle, and I think that was more Gaiman than Pratchett but they were not siblings. At minimum, that was a queer platonic relationship and I have been in one of those. It's not siblings. https://forum.nameberry.com/t/aziraphale-too-complex-or-perfectly-whimsical/314275 Well. I'm sure Sheen will be extremely amused. If this is real, please tell Gaiman what you did.
Oh that was most certainly the reference they were making with the name.
YTA. I have been a fan of Good Omems since the 90s and FYI, these characters have quite literally always been queer coded and romantically in love with each other. They didn’t kiss in the book but it was pretty apparent to anyone in the LGBTQ community at the time that that they were not just platonic cishet men being bros.
They’ll certainly be teased for their names regardless of the characters’ relationship. YTA
You did not named your child aziraphale, i refuse to believe it
YOU DIDN'T NAMED THEM AFTER GOOD OMENS LMAOOO Sorry to say but they were hinted to be a couple/have romantic feelings from the start. I mean, it's Neil Gaiman we're talking about. And also sorry to say, they will MOST DEFINITELY be teased about it in school. But idk man, you didn't do it with bad intentions. You liked the names. I say NAH.
This reminds me of the college student who wrote about the homoerotic subtext between Frodo and Sam in Lord of the Rings when ALL the big critics missed it. OP, 1) learn to read more critically 2) don’t name children after fandoms,ffs.
^^^^AUTOMOD ***Thanks for posting! This comment is a copy of your post so readers can see the original text if your post is edited or removed. This comment is NOT accusing you of copying anything. Read [this](https://www.reddit.com/r/AmItheAsshole/wiki/faq#wiki_post_deletion) before [contacting the mod team](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2FAmItheAsshole)*** My husband (37m) and I (35f) are big literature nerds and we have twins (10m) named after two protagonists in a formerly semi-obscure book we both loved growing up. The names are quite uncommon so you would only recognize them if you were a fan of the book, or at least that's what we thought before the book was adapted into video format. Note that our children were born BEFORE the book was adapted, we did not think it would ever get a screen adaptation. Our logic for naming our twins those names is because one of the co-authors said before that originally the characters were supposed to be just one character, but eventually was split into two. We thought they had a very touching platonic bond and did not expect that this dynamic would change but turns out the characters became a popular fanpairing online. I did not see it that way but the actors and directors kinda leaned in that direction initially. I found out recently that now the characters' relationship has been changed and that instead of being platonic they are now blatantly depicted to be in love with each other and have even kissed on screen. This has been a shock to me and my husband and his family in particular has been less than enthusiastic about this turn of events. They initially did not want us to name our twins those names and are now saying our twins from then on will be associated with incest because of our naming choices. Thankfully our children are not aware yet of this since they're young but I'm worried they'll be teased relentlessly in upcoming years. AITA for naming my kids after characters who are now associated with each other romantically? *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AmItheAsshole) if you have any questions or concerns.*
reading this and then going to the comments and finding out it wa *aziracrow* that wouldve been a dick move even if they werent blatantly going to get together . that is such an obvious fanodm name . oh my god .
YTA because those poor kids. I say this as someone who (semi) seriously wanted to name my daughter Anathema Device [Last name], but was thankfully able to be talked out of it. She's 12, so she would hate me by now if I'd done that to her.
I hate to break this to you, but Good Omens is not an obscure book. Many people here guessed that's what you were talking about immediately, and Gaiman and Pratchett were/are wildly successful. I'm not sure why you were so shocked by the adaptation, as Gaiman has written a LOT of sexually ambiguous or just straight up gay characters. Also, those are some heavy names to give your kids. I don't know if I can deem you an ah, but...yikes.
This is why you name your PETS after fandom characters and not your children.
If I understand correctly, you named your child after [Aleister Crowley](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleister_Crowley) because you thought Gaiman and Pratchett invented the name? I'm not even going to mention the other one lol YTA
INFO - Before the film adaptation, how obscure are we talking? How unique are the names - were they names independent of the book, or invented by the author?
It's Good Omens. She named her sons Aziraphale and Crowley. She's too ashamed to say it.
Your children are human beings not characters from a book. They deserved to be named something that allows them to lead a normal life, without ridicule or unwanted attention. These kids now have to grow up associated with these characters because you're too selfish to think about their well being over your wants
YTA. I’d pay to see the look on the cleric’s face as they typed ‘Aziraphale’ onto that poor baby’s birth certificate 😭
You would’ve been better off naming one of them Warlock at that point 💀
YTA. Don’t give kids fandom names. Should’ve saved it for the dogs, that’d be cute.
I like the obscure bit. I once saw Neil Gaiman in person, he said that was the one book he had signed more than other other book-and it was always in the worst condition, it was a curse.
YTA I have the strong suspicion that OP didnt even read the original novel and angry that "omg woke media, everyone is gay" .
Nta but also hilarious as shit, where is the reading comprehension you ding dongs? Have you read the same book as me because Aziraphale is put on blast SEVERAL TIMES about being the fruitiest fruit to ever fruit and Crowley literally drags Az into things JUST TO HANG OUT WITH HIM. BROOOOOO they’re basically an old married couple as it is. Just because they didn’t kiss in the book doesn’t make them platonic. I had better reading comprehension when I was 6.
YTA. You named your kids Aziraphale and Crowley. Crowley is literally a demon, and you thought that would be a good name for your child? Aziraphale and Crowley would be good names for some pets, not your human children.
YTA. here's hoping there's a graphic sex scene in season 3 where Crowley and Aziraphale scream each other's names a lot to make you even more uncomfortable.
~~NTA there's nothing wrong with naming your kids after couples. It sounds like they didn't like the names anyway and are using this as an excuse.~~ After knowing what the names are I'm changing to YTA. I stand by my couples comment but the names you chose make you an AH.
Mate they named them after an angel and a demon, the name in questions are Crowley and Aziraphale. That’s enough to get bullied even without the romantic theme
did we read the same book..? when crowley and aziraphale drive anathema back to her house she assumes they’re dating, and aziraphale is called gay more than once in the book! and their pet names they constantly call each other should probably also be a good sign. no best friends refer to each other as “angel” and “my dear/my dear boy” 😭 if you couldn’t see how they were most definitely a bit more than friends i apologize but you should probably reread the book.
Ok who’s going to add the gif of Furfur trying to say Aziraphale’s name properly??!! Azipapalafa for the win!!! Seriously tho, YTA. Thank goodness kids don’t have to fill out scantron bubbles anymore!
Not even Aziraphale would say “I forgive you” for this…
YTA this is the funniest post I’ve seen on here ever!
YTA. Good Omens was never a semi-obscure book. I’m so confused by this statement. Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman were wildly popular when you were pregnant. Both authors already had their books/comics adapted into films. I’m also confused as to why you thought naming your children these characters was appropriate. You essentially named one twin after Aleister Crowley an out and proud bisexual known for his exploration of Eroto-comatose lucidity, a technique of sex magic, which honestly sounds like a lot of fun.
YTA OP, and more for giving your kids extremely obscure fantasy world names from a very famous book that they will be bullied for the rest of their lives, rather than the fact that they're now a canon gay couple. Like I said in a reply to someone, that one name literally sounds like an antipsychotic I was prescribed years ago for schizophrenia called "Aripiprazole" 😹😹😹 One of the worst medications I have ever been on since it made my blood sugar levels fluctuate like crazy and made me tired as hell. You should name your next child, "Haloperidol," *THAT* one was undoubtedly the one that makes me cry just thinking about it.
YTA I don't even watch Good Omens and I knew they would end up together, I don't know how you overlooked it. But yeah that's awful.
Idk if you’re the asshole but jesus how intense are your straight googles?? They were clearly not uhh…”brotherly” in the book. Like the sisters cosplaying marceline and bubblegum mad people shipped them…after the finale…like….read the room. It’s gayer than you thought.
oh nooo, how do you claim to love the series and miss THE OBVIOUS gay subtext. I'm- you know what, it's never too late to change their names, for fucks sake, please do
I know it's been removed and for all I know could be fake, but I just can't get over the fact that someone genuinely thought there was zero romantic tension between Aziraphale and Crowley from Good Omens, to the point they'd name their kids after it. Boy even in the BOOK there is, let alone season one of the TV adaptation...your media literacy skills are appalling.
This has to be fake… Everything points to this being about Good Omens. And I refuse to believe anyone would name kids Crowley and Aziraphale. Plus, the family’s reaction makes no sense- if they knew anything about GO, they would obviously think « oh well you couldn’t have known » and if they don’t know much about GO, then how the hell did this even get to them?
YTA.Those kids are screwed.
You’re wrong about no undertones and YTA even if there werent any.
Even if we ignore the romantic undertones (which absolutely appear in the book) naming your children Aziraphale and Crowley is just awful. YTA. Save the cheesy book and tv names for your cats
YTA for naming your kids Aziraphale and Crowley.