Essay: On Crowley and Being a Flash Bastard
Okay, so -- I will eventually get to sosdanchou's essay, but first, recent events (a certain thread with a certain Father Nightroad) has got me thinking about the "balance" I try to strike with Crowley. And it occurs to me that it's something that's probably worth an essay. Maybe. Or, more accurately, a rambling diatribe.
Let me preface this by saying that, speaking from a writer's perspective, there's a huge temptation (ha) to redeem Crowley. There just is. And that temptation isn't helped by the fact that he seems to be the sort of character who'd be fun TO redeem. But where do you go after redemption? There's nothing more to do with the character, and then where are you? However, as Aziraphale does say more than once in Good Omens, there is a "spark of goodness" in Crowley, that kind of sets him up, canonically, for... character development, so to speak.
There are very few people in camp who will see this "spark of goodness." Crowley is clinging to his "flash bastard" exterior, and he's Very Good at being convincing. There are very, very few individuals who'll be able to see through the facade -- Death, Delirium, and Aziraphale, for starters. And probably Yachiru, because she tops all. So, yes, chances are good that Crowley will behave like a charming bastard -- or just a bastard at some points. Yes, Crowley will have moments of something-resembling-goodness. Yes, he will be inconsistent. It really all depends on who he's interacting with and what's going on. For the most part, in many cases, Crowley does have a badly-hidden good-streak. He doesn't like to talk about it. Talking about it will make him cranky and defensive, and chances are he'll go out of his way to prove just how Not Good he can be. Push him and he'll push back. Sometimes he'll push too hard, and then he's stuck with the repercussions.
Here's the thing: Crowley? Does not get off on hurting people directly. He doesn't like being a one-on-one tempter. He's good at it, sure, but just because you're good at something doesn't mean you have to like it -- I've said this before. He felt bad about Shigure. He feels bad about Abel (since that really didn't go how he'd expected it would despite the fact it went all according to the muns' plans), and right now he's realizing how difficult it is to live in such close proximity to humans. As Death told him on the rooftop -- "Living among them is one thing, living with them is another." It's very true, and I think part of the problem is that, in camp, Crowley can't really avoid his problems (Abel is currently a "problem," yes).
I think a lot of the canonical support for this... complication is the fact that Crowley had never meant to Fall, "he'd just hung around with the wrong people." I mean, a dove dies while up Aziraphale's sleeve (magic trick gone wrong), and it's Crowley who breathes life into it and sets it on its way. He's just... after six thousand years on earth, being among humans, he's just not very good at being Really Bad (tempting people is one thing -- causing direct pain is something else entirely). I think the reason he tends to prefer messing with humans more distantly (or turning them against each other) is because he can stand off to the side and say, "My, yes, isn't that just awful?" and then go on his merry way.
Alas, camp-wide computer failure and various other technological hijinx are just too complicated to organize and pull off for one mortal (that'd be me). So. Crowley's going through a Thing now, and will likely be going through it for a while, doing good deeds, and either hiding them behind bad deeds or denying them outright. He will keep on with the ethics appointments (I fail sohard, yes).
Crowley's going to be a lot of things in the near future (and possibly beyond), and consistent isn't even going to be on the list.
Let me preface this by saying that, speaking from a writer's perspective, there's a huge temptation (ha) to redeem Crowley. There just is. And that temptation isn't helped by the fact that he seems to be the sort of character who'd be fun TO redeem. But where do you go after redemption? There's nothing more to do with the character, and then where are you? However, as Aziraphale does say more than once in Good Omens, there is a "spark of goodness" in Crowley, that kind of sets him up, canonically, for... character development, so to speak.
There are very few people in camp who will see this "spark of goodness." Crowley is clinging to his "flash bastard" exterior, and he's Very Good at being convincing. There are very, very few individuals who'll be able to see through the facade -- Death, Delirium, and Aziraphale, for starters. And probably Yachiru, because she tops all. So, yes, chances are good that Crowley will behave like a charming bastard -- or just a bastard at some points. Yes, Crowley will have moments of something-resembling-goodness. Yes, he will be inconsistent. It really all depends on who he's interacting with and what's going on. For the most part, in many cases, Crowley does have a badly-hidden good-streak. He doesn't like to talk about it. Talking about it will make him cranky and defensive, and chances are he'll go out of his way to prove just how Not Good he can be. Push him and he'll push back. Sometimes he'll push too hard, and then he's stuck with the repercussions.
Here's the thing: Crowley? Does not get off on hurting people directly. He doesn't like being a one-on-one tempter. He's good at it, sure, but just because you're good at something doesn't mean you have to like it -- I've said this before. He felt bad about Shigure. He feels bad about Abel (since that really didn't go how he'd expected it would despite the fact it went all according to the muns' plans), and right now he's realizing how difficult it is to live in such close proximity to humans. As Death told him on the rooftop -- "Living among them is one thing, living with them is another." It's very true, and I think part of the problem is that, in camp, Crowley can't really avoid his problems (Abel is currently a "problem," yes).
I think a lot of the canonical support for this... complication is the fact that Crowley had never meant to Fall, "he'd just hung around with the wrong people." I mean, a dove dies while up Aziraphale's sleeve (magic trick gone wrong), and it's Crowley who breathes life into it and sets it on its way. He's just... after six thousand years on earth, being among humans, he's just not very good at being Really Bad (tempting people is one thing -- causing direct pain is something else entirely). I think the reason he tends to prefer messing with humans more distantly (or turning them against each other) is because he can stand off to the side and say, "My, yes, isn't that just awful?" and then go on his merry way.
Alas, camp-wide computer failure and various other technological hijinx are just too complicated to organize and pull off for one mortal (that'd be me). So. Crowley's going through a Thing now, and will likely be going through it for a while, doing good deeds, and either hiding them behind bad deeds or denying them outright. He will keep on with the ethics appointments (I fail sohard, yes).
Crowley's going to be a lot of things in the near future (and possibly beyond), and consistent isn't even going to be on the list.