#also maggie and nina like it felt like that talk to crowley was directed at me

[biandanxious18]

i just finished good omens season 2 and honestly i feel betrayed. i was really enjoying it but after the last episode or so i think i have never before seen such cheapening of characters and plots and themes and just. everything really.

i feel mocked and laughed at as an spectator. i feel like everything i cherished, everything that was meaningful about this story was thrown away in a way that says i was a fool for ever wanting it, ever caring about it. in a way that says “isn’t this what you wanted? have it your way! it sucks!”

[jellybuttons]

Crowley's "oh" moment wasn't him realizing that he's in love

Okay so we've all talked about the scene where Nina asks Crowley if Aziraphale is his "bit on the side" or whatever and Crowley has that visable fanfiction "oh" moment on his face afterwards. And I know a lot of people think it must have been Crowley realizing that he was in love with Aziraphale, but that's never sat right with me. Crowley is emotionally repressed and oblivious, sure, but he's been down bad for that angel since the beginning. I just can't believe he didn't know it the whole time. That can't have been what he was reacting to. Hell, just the nervous swallow he does at the beginning of that conversation implies that he knows exactly what Nina is about to ask him, meaning he at least already has that idea in his head.

I think what he was reacting to was Nina's last comment, "other people's love lives always seem so much more straightforward than our own" (I'm quoting from memory but I got the gist of it).

Crowley has been in love for a long time by this point. He's also, for that entire time, understood that nothing can be done about it. Up until Armageddon failed, there was no universe where Crowley and Aziraphale could safely be together, and Crowley cares too much about Aziraphale to truly risk his safety (although he does have his selfish moments--that need to know that Aziraphale cares for him too, that he's not completely alone in this partnership). Nothing could change, so there was no point in doing anything about it.

In the few years post Armageddon, though, it seems like QUITE a bit has changed for the two of them. Remember, these are two immortal beings...a few years is milliseconds to them. But in those milliseconds, it seems like Crowley has become a regular establishment in the bookshop, glasses off and all. Aziraphale felt comfortable enough with him to ask to borrow the Bentley, Crowley's prized possession and his literal home. They've gotten COMFY in a very short amount of time, objectively, and I'm sure it felt like big change to Crowley, who knows better than to ask for things he doesn't think he can have.

But Nina's comment. "Other people's love lives always seem so much more straightforward than our own". A direct parallel to exactly how Crowley has been thinking about her and Maggie this whole time--two people who just need a push (romantic awning, anyone?) and everything else would fall into place. Easy. Uncomplicated.

Crowley's "oh" moment isn't that he's in love with Aziraphale. It's that maybe being in love with Aziraphale doesn't have to be complicated.

Other people's love lives DO seem more straightforward than Crowley's own. But if Nina feels that way about him, as sure as he is about her and Maggie...could it be that easy? Could he have that with his angel? I don't think at this point that Crowley has any doubt about whether or not Aziraphale feels something for him (whatever that something may be in Crowley's mind), but after all...Aziraphale asked him to slow down. So he's been taking it slow. Hanging around more. Leaning into his space. Soaking up every second of Az's smiles like a dying man, content with whatever he's given.

But Nina. She thinks they're together already. No doubt in her mind. She thinks it's so straightforward, that of COURSE they're together, two people who look at each other with that much love in their eyes must be, right? And I think that "oh" is Crowley's realization that maybe it IS straightforward. After all, they're them, right? No more Heaven, no more Hell, no actual reason they couldn't just...be together. In that moment, Crowley isn't realizing that he's in love with Aziraphale. He's known he's in love for a very long time. No, that moment was him realizing that, maybe, he can stop pretending not to be, that maybe all they have to do is stop pretending they aren't everything to each other. Does he need to slow down if there's no danger to avoid?

When Nina and Maggie confront him at the end, encourage him to confess...objectively, I don't think Crowley as a character would agree to anything nearly that vulnerable without a LOT more convincing. But he does agree. And you could argue that it's because of Gabe and Beez, sure, but when has Crowley ever used other angels and demons as reasoning behind his choices? No, consistently, Crowley has followed humans every time. Gabe and Beez are nothing but conveniently timed examples. I think that even without G and B running off together, Nina and Maggie could've convinced him after nothing but this "oh" conversation with Nina.

When Crowley is choking out his confession in the final 15 of episode 6, so desperate to make Aziraphale understand...he says "we're a pair, a group, a group of the two of us, and we've spent our existence pretending that we aren't". That's the point he's trying to get across. They can stop pretending, they can stop pretending, please, god, stay here Aziraphale and don't make him keep pretending.

Please, Aziraphale, he's saying. Don't go back. I only just realized that it doesn't have to be complicated. He realized that, maybe, finally, he was allowed.

Oh, he thought, out there on the sidewalk with Nina, there's nothing left but me stopping me from being happy.

Oh, he thought, while Nina and Maggie urged him to communicate, the couple that so perfectly mirrored his own wants, I could tell him how I feel.

Oh, he thought, as Aziraphale looked at him with excited eyes and explained that he wanted them both to go back to Heaven, that Crowley could become an angel again, that they could go right back to working for the very thing that had been keeping them apart for thousands of years. Oh, oh god. I thought it was over. I thought we were free. I thought that, finally, maybe, it could be easy. Maybe we can stop pretending.

And he kissed him. Because fuck, just like with Nina and Maggie, he thought it could finally be easy, but then communicating didn't work and nothing was easy and all he had left was one fabulous kiss and vavoom and he was desperate and off script and so, so scared and then he was alone in the Bentley, driving away from the bookshop, completely alone.

Maybe Crowley should've kept pretending. It would've hurt less.

[mimisempai]

I know who I love

Summary

Aziraphale learns from Nina that Crowley describes him as pure of heart and wonders if Crowley has put him on a pedestal to the point where he only loves the image of an ideal angel, which is far from what he really is.

Notes

Add a lot of overthinking to a little jealousy and you get a rather troubled angel...

On Ao3

Rating G -  1776 words

"Hello Maggie!"

Maggie had her back to Aziraphale and was humming along to the music playing on the shop's radio.

She turned and exclaimed, "Oh, good afternoon, Aziraphale! How are you?"

The angel smiled gently and replied, "Just fine. Good to see your usual cheerful self. Is everything going well with..." Aziraphale didn't finish his sentence and looked in the direction of the coffee shop.

Maggie didn't lose her smile as she replied softly, "It's going... at our pace."

Aziraphale nodded, fully understanding what the woman meant.

Maggie continued, "Anyway, I've got some good news, the store's finances are looking better."

"Oh really? I'm delighted!"

Maggie nodded and replied, "Yes, and I have to say it's largely thanks to Crowley. He's put me in touch with several collectors who have become regulars."

Azirphale was thrilled to hear Crowley spoken of in such glowing terms, and also pleased to know that he was so involved in the life of the neighborhood.

Maggie continued, "You know, he's very popular with the people here. Not everyone remembers much about the attack, but they remember that Crowley was the one who helped them. And we know that underneath that grumpy exterior, he's a very nice person. But we also know he doesn't like to be told." Maggie chuckled slightly before continuing, "Like someone I know."

Aziraphale chuckled with her, knowing who she was talking about.

They chatted for a while, both blushing as they talked about their respective beloved, and Aziraphale bought the records he'd come for before heading back to the bookshop.

The afternoon was well underway, so he decided he deserved a little snack and would make a little detour to Nina's to see what treats the coffee shop was offering today.

Arriving at the counter, he looked at the specials and ordered a slice of cheesecake.

"Oh! It's that guy from the Magic Shop, chatting with that weird red-haired guy I noticed before. You know, the guy with the old car."

Aziraphale turned and followed the gaze of the person who had just spoken. He saw Crowley chatting with Mutt in the middle of the street. That was astonishing enough, but his astonishment grew when he saw Crowley start to laugh. 

What surprised him even more, and not in the best way, was how he felt when he saw it.

He should have been happy to see Crowley thriving here, but instead he felt something ugly. So ugly that he refused to give it a name.

In that very moment, he hated himself for it.

"He's gotten popular, you know?"

Aziraphale turned to Nina and nodded.

Nina, as perceptive as ever, continued, "It doesn't seem to make you very happy."

Aziraphale tried to deny it, but something about Nina stopped him, so he said nothing.

Nina continued as usual, "Hoho... so there's a crack under that angel face? That's reassuring."

Aziraphale, confused, asked, "What do you mean?"

Taking advantage of the fact that no one needed her services, Nina leaned against the counter and replied, "Well, the day you asked me to come to the shopkeepers' meeting, he and I had a little chat."

Nina asked the red-haired man, "You've been together long?"

The man looked at her in silence, swallowed before asking, "Who?"

Nina replied, "You and your partner." 

He denied it so quickly that it automatically made Nina suspicious and she continued, "It certainly looks like that from here.  Oh, so you've just recently hooked up." 

The redhead shook his head, "No, we..."

Ignoring his interruption, she continued, " You got a husband? Or a boyfriend? Is the bookseller your bit on the side?" 

The red-haired man protested passionately, " He's not my bit on the side. He's far too pure of heart to be anybody's bit on the side. He's just an angel, I know."

"Did he really say that?" asked Aziraphale when Nina had finished telling him about the conversation.

Nina nodded.

Aziraphale said in a dejected tone, "Well, you may have noticed that I'm not so pure of heart."

Nina smiled indulgently before replying, "Don't be downhearted. It's for the best. Just make sure he knows it. It's no good putting each other on a pedestal."

Aziraphale replied, "I know, you already told me not to do that to him."

Nina smiled and pushed the plate of cheesecake toward him. Aziraphale grabbed it and walked back to the bookshop.

Crowley had seen him and they went in together.

With his conversation with Nina and his ugly thoughts in his head, Aziraphale didn't know how to talk to Crowley. 

But wasn't that their main problem?

"Angel, I don't think staring at that piece of cake like that is going to make it float right into your mouth."

Aziraphale realized that, lost in thought, he was in the middle of the bookshop, still holding the plate of cheesecake.

Crowley's expression turned a little concerned as he asked, "Are you sure everything's all right? You've been acting weird since we met on the street."

The angel set the plate down on his desk, took a deep breath, turned to Crowley, and asked matter-of-factly, "Are you idealizing me?"

Crowley's eyes widened and he exclaimed, "What?"

But Aziraphale continued, pacing in the middle of the bookshop, "Because Nina told me you said I was pure. And when I saw you on the street, laughing with Mutt, I can tell you there was nothing pure about me, I had really ugly thoughts. I know I shouldn't, but I couldn't help the way I was feeling. So if you think I'm a pure little angel, you're wrong and-"

"Wow, wow, wow. Stop, Angel! Time out!"

Crowley had grabbed his wrists to stop him, and when he saw he had the angel's attention, he continued, "Come here."

He led him to his armchair, made him sit down, then pulled out a chair, placed it across from Azirphale, and sat on it.

He took the angel's hands in his and said softly, "One thing at a time, okay?"

Aziraphale nodded.

Crowley continued, "You say that when you saw me laughing with Mutt in the street, you had ugly thoughts. Can you explain that?"

Aziraphale lowered his head and muttered, "I saw you laughing and I was not jealous of Mutt, I have no reason to be. That's not the point. But I was jealous because you were laughing and I wasn't there."

"Oh, Angel..." Crowley chuckled as he dropped his head onto their intertwined hands.

Aziraphale tried to free himself and as he struggled, he said angrily, "If this is just to make fun of me, then it's not worth it."

Crowley lifted his head and held the angel's hands tightly in his own, saying earnestly, "Angel, calm down. You'll understand why I reacted the way I did. You were the reason I laughed. Mutt said you seemed to have no talent for magic, but that your passion redeemed everything. And I'm sorry, Angel, but his description was so accurate that it made me laugh."

"Oh..." Aziraphale said simply, then pouting, he added, "You were actually making fun of me!"

Crowley raised his hand and, bringing his index finger and thumb together, said in a coaxing tone, "Just a little," then added, "But you see, there's no need to be jealous of that laugh."

Aziraphale replied earnestly, "Still, I should have been pleased to see you happy and not..."

Crowley shook his head, "I disagree. You feel what you feel. You have every right to. As long as we talk about it like this, to avoid misunderstandings."

Aziraphale sighed and replied quietly, "I guess you're right."

Crowley exclaimed, "What? I am right? Please say it again!"

The angel retorted, "I hate it when you do that."

"You adore me!"

"Unfortunately, that's the truth."

Crowley planted a quick kiss on the angel's pout before returning to a serious expression and saying, "Angel, I never told Nina you were pure. First of all, not everything I said was meant to be taken literally; she'd just made me realize how I felt about you, so it was all about getting away as fast as I could. But what I did say was that you were too pure to be anyone's bit on the side. Angel, I know you. I love you, but I'm not blind. Remember what I told you that night at the Ritz, that you were just enough of a bastard. Believe me, I know you can be one. A real one." 

He grabbed the angel's chin and, with his eyes in his, said softly, "I see you, angel. I've seen you since that day on the garden wall, since the moment you confessed to me that you had given your flaming sword to Adam and Eve. For despite your fear that you had done wrong, you didn't hesitate to give it because your heart told you to. Just as you protected me from the rain. There was nothing angelic about it, it was just you. You're also the one who told me more than once that it's in my nature to do evil because I'm a demon. Sometimes you're as stubborn as a mule when you have an idea in your head, even if it's absurd. And you're jealous because I'm laughing with someone who's not you. I see you, Angel. And that's what I love, not the image of a pure, perfect little angel. I wouldn't want that, what a bore."

Aziraphale couldn't help but laugh at the dramatic air with which Crowley had finished his sentence.

Still laughing, he said, "I understand."

"Good," Crowley replied, nodding his head in satisfaction, then added, "Now will my less-than-perfect angel kiss me?"

"Idiot!" replied Aziraphale as he brought his face close to the demon's.

But just as he was about to press his lips to the demon's, the demon whispered, "When I tell you you've got something of a bast-..."

He didn't have time to finish his sentence because Aziraphale pressed his lips to the demon's. Sometimes that was the only way to shut him up.

As he pulled back, he asked, "What if that bastard of an angel poured you a glass of wine to drink while you watch me eat my cheesecake?"

Crowley stood, held out his hand, and said, "Temptation accomplished."

The irony of the words was not lost on the angel, who laughed softly as he reached for his demon's hand.

It had been a long time since either of them had fit into boxes made by others, and it was perfect as it was.

Both a little blurred at the edges, they were a perfect fit for each other.

_________

Still not beta'd

Still not my native language

Still hoping you'll enjoy this story  🥰

Still thanking you for bearing with me 😝

Ineffable Growing Love series : here (After season 2)

Ineffable Husbands masterlist : here (Before season 2)

[zalrb]

Thoughts on Good Omens season 2 over all? I had a great time with it. I see some people saying the plot was kinda thin and the side characters boring, and I sort of agree, but I showed up to watch Aziraphale and Crowley so I didn’t really mind that the rest of it was nothing special. I thought they did a great job showing the strange limbo they’ve been in, where they’re closer than ever in some ways but still haven’t come to a true understanding. And they have such great old married couple energy the whole way through!

I had issues with the Lindsey aspect of the whole Nina/Maggie plot line because I understood Nina and Maggie being mirrors for Crowley and Aziraphale and Lindsey being a stand in for Heaven/Hell dictating how they should act but I was also like, I mean Nina is in an emotionally abusive relationship and to just kind of throw that in and not really do much with it and only use it as a parallel to Aziraphale and Crowley's situation is unfulfilling for me, otherwise I didn't really mind Maggie and Nina, I just kind of felt like there should be more filled in with them if they were going to be a fixture in the season.

In terms of Aziraphale and Crowley, I did think they did a good job in showing how close they've gotten with the details like Crowley knowing Aziraphale's tones of voice

or him being like I understood what you said in French because you've spoken about it for 250 years

or how Aziraphale will just tell him to order him a sherry and what I seem to naturally do with relationship dynamics like this one is focus on the person in the relationship whose feelings are evident and there and clear but not as plainly conveyed as the other. So, for instance, Crowley is the one who Nina and Maggie speak to

Crowley is the one who kisses Aziraphale

Shax speaks of Crowley's devotion to Aziraphale

I think the audience is a bit more aligned with Crowley coming to terms with how he feels than with Aziraphale because of direct lines like this

so I naturally focus on Aziraphale and his feelings for Crowley and how they're portrayed because I don't find it to be as plain as the aforementioned and therefore a little more interesting to observe, like the fact that Aziraphale has diary entries of his various adventures with Crowley (peak crush behaviour)

and that's why this is my favourite part of the season

because this, to me, says more about Aziraphale than Crowley, a) because like I said before, Aziraphale is positively tickled to be saved by Crowley b) making Crowley happy makes him happy even when they're in immediate danger.

So, what I found interesting about their dynamic this season is that while Crowley may "move too fast" for Aziraphale with suggesting running off together, in a lot of ways, Aziraphale is already comfortable with things we see Crowley coming to terms with in real time i.e. Aziraphale already knew in the 40s that they would always get each other off the hook (Crowley knew because he'd been coming through for Aziraphale for a very long time by that point as well but he's not comfortable with admitting it)

he was already comfortable with the knowledge he'd put his life in Crowley's hands, that he trusted him absolutely

or things like publicly showing some form of intimacy

and Crowley being like wait what?

and in that sense, Aziraphale is the one who pushes Crowley and is the one who's actually moving faster

even in the first episode while Crowley natural talks about them as a pair, he doesn't call attention to it

and when he reverts from talking about them as a unit to talking about himself

Aziraphale immediately calls attention to the fact that there is in fact a "them", he verbalizes it

and he has no problem admitting that he both needs and wants Crowley by his side

so it was interesting seeing these things and this intimacy and this personal development of acknowledging how much they mean to each other while they also have fundamental ideological differences that in the past had compelled the other to look at things from a different point of view but in the end (of the season) ends up ripping them apart.

[parlerenfleurs]

Well, I watched Good Omens season 2, and not gonna lie, I think it kinda sucks.

Perhaps season 3 will be more interesting, but this season is... meh. It's cheesy, ill-directed, people's (side-characters) reactions don't make much sense or at least aren't presented well, and thus they're not believable. I felt like watching children play together, deciding as they go "And you're this and you'll do this and then..." without much care for consistency or well-rounded characters or narrative.

And furthermore (SPOILER AHEAD I'M SPOILING A LOT BEWARE YOU CAN STOP READING NOW OKAY? COOL TAKE CARE BYE), furthermore, then, that kiss made no sense to me. I'm happy to follow their feelings/character arc unfold, but come on. How heavily must they hammer it on?

Yeah we get it, Beelzebub and Gabriel are a parallel, they fall in love then fade to their happily ever-after in the most contrived way ever (why aren't they threatened with being removed from the Book of life? Does the dominion of Heaven and Hell, having created the whole damn universe at the behest of their so-called omnipotent god, not extend to one solar system over? Come on now. I thought the whole plan was to go somewhere Heaven and Hell wouldn't look for eloped deserters, but here they announce it! If anyone just needed to leave Earth to desert their respective armies with no consequences, everyone would do it).

Yeah, we get it, Aziraphale is still not ready to accept that Heaven is not what he thinks it is, and to be with Crowley's side, their side, unconditionally while Crowley is fully ready and wants nothing more, and has for a long time now. (And actually this is to me the only worthwhile theme that makes sense, because of course Crowley, having been cast away, doesn't have anything to lose anymore. Aziraphale, who can still be taken back as a good prodigal son, can't see how that's something Crowley doesn't want anymore, because the scales have fallen from his eyes already, because he has lost everything for real and can now see that both sides are just as bad.)

But?? Why kiss??? I liked that they are indeed not human and love in a different, non-physical way. And I suppose it's a luxury to feel that way, because now if I do want human love and queer kissing, well, I've got it portrayed beautifully elsewhere. But for Neil Gaiman to insist they're not humans, don't love like humans, and then do this? Doesn't feel very consistent to me. I ship them, of course I do, but words and gestures would have sufficed. Would have been not just enough but more in-character to me.

But well. I don't have the full author vision, perhaps the next page of the story makes this make more sense. I'm not convinced but I can be patient and give it a chance.

But this season's flaws are here to stay. Nina and Maggie's "romance" was... weird. First, Nina was kinda mean to Maggie. She didn't owe it to her to be all smiles and all that, but as a spectator I can't understand why Maggie is so hung up on someone who treats her that way, who is so utterly uninterested and dismissive. Second... Maggie was being creepy. I presume that was not the intention, but that's what the acting/directing, and the way the scenes/dialogues were set up that made me feel that way. She was transparently interested, and continued to bring it up even when it was clear Nina didn't care for it. She had to tell her in no uncertain terms and then Maggie still wanted to talk about it and know if it was her fault Lindsay was being an abusive jerk... WHY was everyone so invested in everyone else's love life? And why did everyone talk about it so readily? Doesn't anyone value their privacy? Why would Nina tell Crowley that Lindsay just broke up with her and why would she give her opinion on his love life so freely? When I have a broken heart and want to go home and cry I don't really feel the urge to refuse social engagements with acquaintances by telling them the naked truth about it, but maybe that's just me. I also don't feel like telling said acquaintances that they should really get their shit together because they look so much like a couple from a few meters away and a handful of moments witnessed. But maybe that's just me.

The only sane moment in this whole mess was when Nina and Maggie come to tell Crowley that they shouldn't have stuck their noses in their business and that it's nuts to expect someone who just broke up to get into another relationship, but then right on the heel of that they once again confidently declare this and that about Crowley's feelings and what he should do about it. Like, excuse me??? You have barely seen them both together or hell, apart, and suddenly you're a stage 5 close friend and are an expert on how things stand between them??

Also just generally the comedy was often heavy-handed, the in-jokes unsubtle, the romances formulaic, the pace torpid... I was frankly bored from the introduction of the first episode (I did hope it would get better, and it was at times, but not much), displeased with the retcon of their first meeting, and wondering where Gaiman's excellent writing had gone.

Also I do wonder what Crowley was even doing lugging piles of books around only to throw them carelessly in corners. Aziraphale should have been very upset about that. He took good care of the Bentley, there was no reason to trash his beloved bookshop.

I feel like I've mostly lost my time, and that's too bad. I imagine a lot of people are ecstatic about the "representation", but I would have loved more substance and less... I don't know... I don't even know what they were trying to do here.