#he doesn’t realize that all crowley ever needed was just aziraphale

[starryemeralds]

guys don’t worry, aziraphale is just in his zuko arc

[jimothyhalperts]

Okay, so I’m on my second watch of s2 and I think people are really being too harsh on Aziraphale. Here’s the receipts:

1 - He said to Metatron that he didn’t want to go back to heaven, he only accepted the job after Metatron said he could take Crowley with him

2 - When Crowley says “If Gabriel and Belzebu can go off together, then we can [...].We need to get away from them, just be an us. You and me.”, Aziraphale answers “Come with me to heaven. [...] We can make a difference.[...] We can be together, angels, doing good.” He is not rejecting Crowley nor the idea of them being together, he is rejecting the idea of doing nothing to make things better. He’s saying “let’s be an us in heaven, where we can be together and look after this planet that we both love instead of abandoning it”

(Of course that he is seeing heaven through rose-tinted glasses, but this is a whole different rant)

3 - The dialogue in the book shop is very similar to S1 when Crowley say they can go off together and let the Armageddon happen: While Crowley wants to run away and save them both, Aziraphale wants to try saving Earth, the only difference is that now Aziraphale recognizes that he needs Crowley and wants to be with Crowley.

4 - Just before EVERY, Crowley says “You idiot, we could have been us”, Aziraphale turns away from him to cry. In this scene I believe they are both thinking the same thing “He might even want to be with me but only on his terms.” 

5 - The “I FORGIVE YOU” scene, he meant “I forgive you for not wanting to come with me and trying to change my mind, instead breaking my heart even more”

Aziraphale LOVES Earth and will try to do everything to save it and he knows Crowley loves Earth too, they are not Gabriel and Belzebu who never cared for Earth nor humans. He knows Crowley didn’t want to work for Hell anymore and that he is good and he can finally do good without being punished.

Crowley (and the viewers) has a much clearer and realistic vision of how things work, because heaven has already betrayed him. He doesn’t want to go back there because he already knows all of its flaws. 

Crowley is a realist (and a bit of a pessimist), he believes Earth will end because heaven and hell cannot be trusted, so the best solution is to run away while they can.

 Aziraphale is an idealistic, he is going to heaven, he is going to fix the system, Earth will be happy and safe forever, Crowley will realize that and go to heaven after him and they will live happily ever after. 

SO WHEN Metatron said about the second coming Aziraphale REALIZED Crowley was right about heaven, but he still had to try to save Earth instead of taking the easy way out.

SO STOP TALKING SHIT ABOUT THE ANGEL, HE LOVES CROWLEY AND LOVES EARTH AND IS JUST TRYING TO SAVE EVERYONE

[ineffable-suffering]

Aziraphale, I love you. But you lied. And here's why.

Okay. I’m not gonna beat around the bush for too long. It’s time now for me to also throw my try at a personal Good Omens Season 2 Magnum Opus into the mix of already existing magnum op..i? Opusses? (Smited? Smote?)

If I’m honest, it isn’t fully my own magnum opus, as I read this meta not too long ago that made me go: „Oh! My God! That’s it!“ And I’m pretty sure a lot of other people have clocked this too by now. Of course I’m not saying it’s the objective truth but after having mulled it over for many endless nights and days, wading through the onslaught of coffee theories, body swap theories, The Metatron re-writing the Book of Life theories and many, many more, this is the one I think is most plausible and, if you look closely, most obvious.

And it goes as such: Aziraphale lied.

To all of us. All of them. And most of all, to Crowley. He lied to him. Well, he sort of did and also sort of didn’t. He certainly didn’t tell the truth. At least not all of it. I hear you ask: “OP, what the fuck are you talking about”. I answer you: Let’s start from the top and under the cut.

(Small note: this meta ended up being way too large for Tumblr, which is why I will redirect you to an external doc at the end of the post, where I have written it all down nicely and accurately. It's about 35 digital A4-pages long, just in case you want to save it for later.)

(Word count: 12.831 | Approximate reading time: 50 minutes)

Let’s start with a short recap of what happens before the Metatron crashes the bookshop party and everything goes to shit. The proper visuals for this are in my Tumblr post but I am absolutely convinced that right up until when the Metatron comes to take Aziraphale away and talk to him, the angel is fully ready to get into Crowley’s Bentley-chariot and finally ride off into the sunset (or Alpha Centauri-set or whatever). You can see it in his face and body language. You can see when the penny drops for him that a) Crowley loves him b) he loves Crowley and c) they can finally start their happily ever after. Aziraphale realizes this all throughout said Brielzebub reveal in the bookshop. And he’s such a lost cause once he does. 

I mean, look at that. Look at it. This (very shitty recording, sorry, I'm not tech-savvy enough to avoid the Amazon Prime screen recording blocker) is the very second Aziraphale realizes hat Crowley loves him. When he hears him suggest Alpha bloody Centauri as a getaway for Gabriel and Beelzebub, as Crowley has done to Aziraphale for so, so many times now. He finally understands what Crowley was trying to tell him with that all those times.

Aziraphale realizes this all throughout the Brielzebub reveal in the bookshop. And he’s such a lost cause once he does.

Right when Crowley suggest Alpha Centauri as a nice getaway spot to the two, Aziraphale looks at him and he gets it. That Crowley has loved him, has been loving him for millennia. Truthfully, they've both known that for a long while now. But there's a difference between knowing, wanting, craving and actually being able to finally have something. And that's exactly what we see on Aziraphale's face here. This is it. This is where it all starts working out for Crowley and him. This is were they can start their eternity together.

So from that second on, Aziraphale only has eyes for Crowley. He keeps physically pawing at Crowley with complete heart eyes, as if to say „Look, look, that’s gonna be us too! Finally!" He’s actually so smitten that he doesn’t even hear what Crowley is saying when he asks Shax if he can have back his apartment now because he’s sick of living in his car. (Also, what way to drop that bomb right in this moment Crowley, lmao). 

Once the Metatron comes in, the first thing Aziraphale says is that they don’t need to talk because „he’s made his position quite clear“. He doesn’t even want to talk to the Metatron, because in his mind, he’s already made the choice. Actually, he made the choice way before the bookshop showdown. For starters, I’m convinced that the Jane Austen Ball actually never was for Maggie and Nina but for Crowley and him (you can read more about that here). And apart from that, for this whole season we have seen Aziraphale trying to advance his relationship with Crowley romantically and domestically and move them to the literal next base (our car!). And after everything he just witnessed with Brielzebub, the final nail in the coffin of ethereal-infernal romance being possible, his choice is absolutely crystal clear: It’s Crowley. It’s always been Crowley and it always will be Crowley. And now it can be Crowley. They can be an us.

The whole of Season 2 is such a massive learning curve for Aziraphale’s character, with him remembering all those important pivotal points of his past,  and this very moment is the peak, with him not only understanding that Crowley loves him (because he certainly knew for quite some centuries now) but accepting that love, letting himself have that love, being allowed to want that love and taking that love and starting their new and final chapter with it. Nevertheless, the plot clock ticks for them. The Metatron saunters into the bookshop, evil and stinky as Metatrons do, and urges Aziraphale to come with him with his whole Take The Coffee schtick, which I will get into later. And Aziraphale, immediately sensing there’s Something Up, does. Can’t really turn down someone as high-ranking as the the voice of God, after all. Even if you were currently already planning how you were going to elope with a certain red-haired serpent of Eden. 

he next time we see Aziraphale on screen, it’s so painfully evident on his face that he is neither happy nor excited. Not even the slightest bit. We’d know if he was, thanks to Mr. Michael master-of-microexpressions Sheen. None of the usual “Aziraphale is happy”-signs are there. No blinding eye-smile, no giddy wriggling, not giggles and gasps. No, when the Metatron tells Aziraphale to „go tell your friend the good news“, his expression looks like this:

I’m gonna go out on an entire limb here and say: That does not look like someone who’s absolutely tickety-boo hyped to tell his demon soulmate that he just got the juiciest promotion and that they can both be angels and live happily ever after in ethereal eternity now.

This, folks, looks like someone who knows exactly that the news he has to break right now, are going to be tickety-shit awful and very upsetting to said demon soulmate. And already, from that very short snippet of conversation, we can tell that Aziraphale isn’t really given a choice by the Metatron. Because while the Metatron does tell him that he doesn’t have to „answer right away“, he immediately follows it up by: „Go ahead and tell your friend the good news!“ Very distinct and definitive choice of words here. It’s “good news” because it’s already been decided. Because it’s already a done deal. There is no “yes, no, maybe”. This is the only choice he’s giving to Aziraphale. Because it’s ‘Coffee or death’. 

And he already gave him the coffee. 

***

Tumblr won't let me continue this over a certain character limit and I am not even remotely done yet – so, I feel like this is a good moment to redirect you to the continuation of this insane meta before we're in too deep. You can do so right here!

I'd love to hear your thoughts and opinions about this once you've fought your way through it. Hope you have a good time with it!

[celestialcrowley]

My mom and I were finally able to watch the final episode of Good Omens season 2.

Before we dive in, my mom is very — how do I say this — anti on certain things. My friend said it perfectly. He said she gave him the homophobic put the fear of God type vibes when he first met her.

I don’t believe anything will ever fully change her opinions or views of us. I’ve not even referred to myself as aromantic / asexual in her presence, and I doubt I ever will. I simply tell her I’m done dating. It’s clearly not in my future, and, after trying it a couple of times, it just isn’t something I’m interested in.

I hope that one day she will open her eyes and realize that it’s all fine. Whatever we are. It’s okay.

My mom enjoyed season one. When I asked her what she thought of Aziraphale and Crowley, here’s what she said. Not her exact words but close enough to what I can remember.

“Aziraphale seems like he’s afraid of getting into trouble with Heaven, but not enough to keep him from going against God’s orders.”

Just enough of a bastard to be worth knowing.

“Crowley isn’t as evil as he paints himself to be.”

Just a little bit a good person.

The only thing, as far as I’m aware, that didn’t quite sit right with my mom is that God is a She.

Wibbly wobbly timey wimey…

I was terrified for her to watch the second season because of Maggie and Nina and That Big Damn Kiss. She’s told me some less than desirable things previously. Here are a handful of them.

“I won’t watch shows that have gay couples in them.”

“I will watch them, but I’ll just turn my head away when they kiss.”

About my friend who is a lesbian —

“Your friend just says that, but she doesn’t actually know what she is.”

Okay, mom. You go ahead and keep telling yourself that.

I am certain, despite my fear, that I wanted her to watch Good Omens so badly because I thought maybe it would be the golden ticket. It’s uniquely different.

We have been gifted with Anthony J’I’m Not Actually Either Crowley and Mister AZ Smitten I Believe Fell, The Almighty God She, Nina I’m Not Your Type and Maggie You Have No Idea.

I was expecting my mom to frown upon Maggie and Nina’s story in season two, but she didn’t. She actually didn’t even have anything negative to say.

Y’all should have seen me when That Big Damn Kiss was coming up. I was fidgeting probably as bad as Aziraphale was when he was gathering up the courage to ask Crowley to dance with him.

I don’t think I’ve ever fidgeted that much in my life.

And then it happened.

That Big Damn Kiss

And she watched all of it. She didn’t look away. She didn’t make a face. She didn’t say anything negative.

I don’t necessarily think her views have changed because she laughed at something my uncle told her about a former coworker of his. This coworker used to go by Craig, but he later came out as trans and asked to be called Cindy. My uncle said, “The best we can do is Crindy.”

Most of my family are homophobic, and I don’t care for it.

I don’t know if it’s the way Neil Gaiman has written Good Omens, but I was surprised that she watched the entire show, had nothing negative to say and even added that she needs to watch all of both seasons again to better understand it.

That’s something, I suppose.

Maybe she’s coming around.

Thank you, Neil Gaiman.

You truly are a legend. 💚

[kay-jaye]

aziraphale is pretty sure attempting to sneak a demon into heaven is a bad idea.

forget the fact that he’s the supreme archangel. forget the fact that the second coming is not going at all according to plan—his plan…the ineffable plan? forget the fact that he and crowley haven’t had a moment alone that wasn’t interrupted by muriel or maggie or nina or a legion of demons or the end of the world.

forget the fact that crowley hasn’t taken those wretched sunglasses off since…

it’s definitely a bad idea.

crowley is wearing a cream-colored suit over one of those turtlenecks with a gold version of his usual scarf, saying something about heavenly bees, but whatever joke he’s trying to make falls flat because all aziraphale can think is, i could appoint you to be an angel, you could come back to heaven, and isn’t that the pinnacle of cruel irony?

he understands why the disguise is necessary; it’s the not-so-subtle rub-in-the-face from a bitter demon squeezing his heart into a fist. it’s the prick of unease in the back of his mind that something isn’t quite right, the floor is at an odd angle, that book belongs on a different shelf. at the same time, it’s the you’re gorgeous he’s longed to return since before the beginning, sitting behind clenched teeth every day for 6,000 years. and it’s the realization that this was not what he imagined at all.

“this the one?” crowley asks, flipping through a file laid out on michael’s desk. “supreme archangel, and they’re still keeping secrets from you, huh?”

aziraphale would appreciate it if crowley would refrain from certain reminders. “yes, that’s it.” he looks around the pillar he’s taken to leaning against, waiting for the inevitable repercussion of being caught in the act. his suit is newer, sharper, grayer, but at this rate, all the worrying his thumbs have been doing to the fabric of the jacket is bound to have him looking his normal self. he supposes crowley sees something similarly foreign whenever he looks at him.

“wait, these are—”

“i know.”

crowley’s frown deepens as he rummages through the papers and documents and photos that aziraphale spent so long staring at, debating if coming back to beg crowley for help was worth the knife wounding his pride, and whether crowley would simply twist it instead and tell him to fuck off.

(he did, at first.)

too many things on the tip of his tongue—another apology, a frustrated yell, the heavy memory of crowley.

“you were right,” he settles with a sigh.

the demon pauses, considers him, then closes the vanilla folder, dragging the projected holograms back into the file. aziraphale braces for an “i told you so” or the self-deprecating laughter that’s made an increased appearance in wake of his leaving. the damn sunglasses render his expression unreadable, a book aziraphale regarded himself as an expert on, but now he isn’t so sure he’d ever gotten the words right to begin with.

then crowley is smiling at him. no sneer, no malice. crowley’s smile is small, two parts sad and muted expectations, and aziraphale feels like he’s being offered something important, more than a title, more than a job, more than the opportunity to fix the unfixable, though he certainly tried, and he’ll be damned before he lets it go. it’s still angry, but it’s so much realer than anything aziraphale has felt up here for months, and aziraphale knows. he knows they need to talk, and even if they’re just as irreparable as heaven and the whole system, he knows which one he’ll be devoted to mending.

“can i get that in dance form?”

and suddenly aziraphale knows what it is to soar without wings.

he doesn’t get the chance to respond before michael’s approaching voice sends him into a panic. aziraphale hopes the click of heels on white porcelain tile will drown out the sound of their own shuffling as he lunges for crowley, who just manages to grab the file they came for, and pulls him around the pillar.

there aren’t many good hiding places in heaven. why would there be? it’s supposed to reflect truth and dispel lies. the good thing about being an archangel, however, is the ability to alter heaven’s layout, although minutely. you want a desk? there. you want to lengthen the hallway from uriel’s office to yours? done. you want a slightly darker corridor leading into the wall a few feet to the left of michael’s desk? aziraphale does.

he almost shushes crowley’s quiet yelp of surprise when he frantically presses the demon into the alcove out of sight, and aziraphale feels the punched-out exhale more than he actually hears it.

it’s deja vu. they’re back in tadfield manor except crowley’s holding a folder containing plans for judgment day trapped between them, and aziraphale’s the one with his hands clutching lapels like they might leave with another stinging don’t bother. the moment is dangerously loaded because fuck, aziraphale has no idea where crowley’s sunglasses got thrown in his haste, and crowley’s looking at him, really looking at him, without dark lenses to hide the way his eyes flicker down or the split-second fear that flashes across them.

aziraphale is crushing their chests together, and crowley is caving under him, and jesus isn’t here yet, but there wouldn’t have been room for him anyway.

“angel,” crowley breathes, and aziraphale knows it’s a slip of the tongue because crowley hasn’t called him that since they last parted ways.

aziraphale’s mind is a constant loop of yellow, yellow, yellow, and it takes every ounce of remaining self-control in his body not to lean forward and do what he should’ve done months ago. he doesn’t have quite enough left to pull back though, so he’s stuck on the verge of never knowing how to ask for what he wants, always too good at backtracking for their own safety, afraid to do it now because he really thought last time was the last time, and he doesn’t know if crowley can take another rejection.

aziraphale doesn’t know if he can either.

any sound of michael has disappeared.

aziraphale reckons this is the part where he’s supposed to say something like, “i’m not nice. nice is a four-letter word.” aziraphale reckons crowley might even agree with him. he doesn’t feel nice; all these millennia of you go too fast for me, crowley, and i don’t even like you.

their noses bump as crowley shifts his head. “aziraphale,” he says. it makes the angel want to cry. “‘s alright.”

so crowley’s catching the bullet this time, and that’s all it takes for aziraphale’s grip to loosen. he steps back—all too familiar a motion—and watches the demon smooth himself out.

“crowley, i—”

“nah,” he interrupts, waving the file in his hands. “talk later, remember?”

aziraphale relaxes, wonders what miracle gave him this and who performed it, wonders which stars aligned and whether crowley knew about them. the angel nods.

neither speaks again until the elevator doors are closing and the angel disguise has fallen away.

crowley, in all of his too-tight pants and infinite patience, doesn’t even look at aziraphale when he says, “dance later, too.”

[aethelflaedladyofmercia]

(Somewhat disorganized thoughts to follow…)

So I’m sitting here thinking about Good Omens, as usual. And I’m wondering. What if Aziraphale hadn’t gone to chat with the Metatron?

Because it’s easy to say “awww yisss there would have been love confessions and kisses and everything would be better.”

But would it?

Because as the great Bildad the Shuhite said, “Nothing has to change.”

If there’s anything this 6000-year slow-burn has shown us, these two are content to remain… not exactly the same, but changing in glacially slow ways (and also not really content, but they’ll fucking do it anyway).

I think watching Gabriel and Beelzebub go off together got them both to realize that things could be different. But would that be enough to get them talking? Or would they have just gone off to their alcoholic breakfast, made a few jokes about whatever the hell’s just happened, then wind up back at the shop drunkenly talking about dolphins and bird space ships again, the needle on their relationship barely moved? And stay that way until the Second Coming finally arrived to shake things up?

Because it’s not a question, really, of them realizing something or revealing something. They both know.

Crowley knows what he wants, but he’d rather spend the next thousand years scowling from the sidelines and watching his angel be a happy idiot than actually put his feelings into words.

And Aziraphale—well, he has ideas, more than we give him credit for, he isn’t wholly oblivious, but his ideas are happy little dream worlds he can play out in his mind. He’s waiting for a better deal—not better than Crowley, obviously, but better than the precarious balance they currently exist in. A perfect shiny happy ending where everything is Good and Nice. And he’s willing to wait basically forever, just thinking about how nice it will be when it happens.

They need nudges. They need excuses. Especially Aziraphale. He sets up this whole ball for Nina and Maggie (partially) so he can ask Crowley to dance for the first time, but he’s there every day! You can just ask him to dance any time! He still denies having a “special” person to amnesia Gabriel. He doesn’t remember anything! Literally everyone in Heaven and Hell and also Earth think you’re an item now anyway! Just say the words!

The nudge for him was the Metatron’s offer. Taking charge of Heaven. Crowley at his side. They can make the Good guys truly Good. No one to question whether they belonged together. Happy ending.

Crowley’s nudge, of course, was Nina and Maggie telling him to goddamn say something. And I don’t think any of them realize it, but that had to be his conversation. If the two ladies had come over and talked to Aziraphale the same way (solo), he’d throw all his defenses back up and that would have been the end of it. If they’d talked to angel and demon together, well. These two are idiots. Aziraphale and Crowley would have refused to take the conversation seriously, talked circles around their guests, and left for their breakfast, laughing together over those humans and their ideas.

So for Crowley to get his nudge, he had to be alone when they visited, and for that to happen, Aziraphale had to go have his talk with the Metatron. Aziraphale had to get a perfect enough option to overcome his anxiety, and for that he needed his chat.

Now, am I saying that without the Metatron’s interference they never ever would have moved forward? Maybe. They’re complete idiots, your honor.

Maybe not, though. As I said, they just watched another angel and demon go off together. Would that be enough for Crowley to realize that, hey, actual communication sometimes has good results? Would that be close enough to a perfect ending to assuage Aziraphale’s fears?

I don’t know if we can say for sure. But I’ve been trying to play out that last scene in the bookshop differently to find where the path to the happy ending was, and I think this is the answer. Aziraphale needed to not go to the Metatron at all. They needed to be on their way before Nina and Maggie decided to visit. And then… somewhere in the talking and drinking that followed, one of them would have to take a risk.

And like, have you met these two? They’d be dooooooomed…

[carowleysposts]

When I tell you I NEED Aziraphale and Crowley to kiss again, I mean it.

Anyone who thinks asexual people don’t kiss (or don’t have sex, but that’s not the point of this post) is misinformed. Asexual people - or celestial beings, for that matter - absolutely can and do express feelings and desires by acting physically upon them. Many ace people enjoy the sensations, the nuances, the feelings involved in the physical expressions of love - the only difference is HOW they experience attraction, which has NOTHING to do with kissing or sex, but with what motivates wanting to do those things.

With that said, let’s go back to everyone’s favorite idiots: Aziraphale and Crowley.

During their kiss, you can literally see them pulling each other in, like they need to be as close as physically possible in that moment. You can see it as Aziraphale embraces Crowley for a split second, and you can see it as Crowley throws himself onto Aziraphale more and more during the kiss. He can’t even pull back for a single second, not even to adjust to the kiss - he just GLUES his lips to Aziraphale’s.

Aziraphale’s look after the kiss CANONICALLY means “do it again, please, right now”, as Rob Wilkins already clarified. And that is writing perfection. It creates the angst - the cue - we need to make sure a second kiss - the reward - happens. I’ve been saying this in almost every post, but here i go again: the whole point of angst is that it HAS to pay off eventually, it HAS to be followed by relief, otherwise it’s just angst for the sake of angst.

Aziraphale mouths “no” as Crowley is leaving. He doesn’t say it, but he wants to. Whatever that means, whatever the reason for the “rejection” after the kiss was, the kiss changed something. He wasn’t expecting it, but he was heartbroken to see that Crowley thought he didn’t want it. You can see him not being able to keep his eyes off the door - and later on, off the window he can see Crowley through. He almost changes his mind - and that is still true even if he had a plan all along, he didn’t think Crowley would KISS him and that blows his mind.

He touches his lips after Crowley leaves. He relives that moment by doing so, but also realizes something completely new: Crowley did what Aziraphale had spent millennia wishing for him to do, but did it in the worst possible moment. He almost loses the strength to carry on with whatever it is his plan required. But he doesn’t. He pulls it together, and goes back to heaven.

Wether Crowley knows he has a plan (the “trust me” theory) or believes he was truly rejected, they both know they crossed that line for good. They both know that, if they’re ever reunited, they will never be able to act like platonic friends again. Aziraphale, in a beautifully made parallel to the ox rib scene, realizes he had been starving for Crowley’s touch. And that is just absolutely beautiful.

If you’ve seen my post about why this couple NEEDS a happy ending, you already know why i think Good Omens is the perfect show to give queer couples back their hopes for love. I think we are all tired of the tragic gays / couple baiting fictional couples. Now we need the happily ever after. The fairytale. The cheesy, chaotic, rom-com-y, EPIC resolution. We NEED them to kiss again. We NEED them to be happy.

I REST MY CASE.

[aziraphales-library]

I know y’all are super busy but I really need season 2 fics. I’m ugly crying rn

You haven't said if you want to feel better or worse, so here are some of the currently most-kudos series two fics...

I Wanna Fade Away with You by kademeow (G)

Aziraphale realizes, after entering the lift with the Metatron, that Heaven doesn’t have what he wants, or needs, at all.

How's the View by Etheostoma (T)

“May I come in?” Crowley blinked. “No,” he declared, and slammed the door in Aziraphale’s face. He slunk away away from his apartment door and snatched the half-full glass of merlot he had left atop one of his plant stands, downing the entire thing in one gulp. “May I come in?” he mimicked, scrunching up his nose and raising his voice. “No you bloody well may not,” he yelled at the door, before dropping the glass to shatter across the unforgiving concrete floor.

I do love nothing in the world so well as you by elf_on_the_shelf (E)

My take on the S2 fix it. I honestly think that Neil will fix it in S3 but that will be a while and I am sad rn. So basically, here goes: Someone criticises Crowley in Heaven and Aziraphale has had just enough of that to be honest so he decides that maybe - maaaaaaaaybe - it would be better for everyone for him just to return to Earth and to his demon. Obviously - Season 2 spoilers - like...all of them.

tales from a bookshop by Rizandace (T)

Post-season-two. Crowley's moping, Aziraphale wants to fix things, and turns out, there's enough blame to go around. ----- “You’re being ridiculous.” Crowley very nearly falls over. Like, actually. He very nearly loses balance for no reason at all and tumbles to the sidewalk next to his car. He’s been playing Aziraphale’s voice in his head for weeks, he’s been trying very hard to drown out the sound of it, in fact, and now suddenly, abruptly— “What are you doing here,” is all he can think to say. He whirls around, and there he is. on Crowley’s right, standing there like he’d never left. Where he belongs, Crowley’s mind helpfully supplies. He wishes he could punch himself in the brain, knock the thoughts right on out of there.

May You Be Forgiven by Haydenn11 (E)

I forgive you. Satan, he was an idiot. How could he think his wasted heart would ever compare to Heaven asking Aziraphale back with open arms, as Supreme Archangel, no less? Crowley never stood a chance. It took every ounce of self-control he possessed not to dash across the street and into the celestial elevator with Azriaphale, principals be damned, or blessed? But, Crowley couldn’t go back. He wouldn’t. He had at least that much self-respect left. He’d never belong in Heaven; he could never be happy there. And neither could Aziraphale, but his stupid, stubborn angel never could reconcile that fact. ___ After the events of episode six of GO2, Crowley must learn to live without Aziraphale and Aziraphale must navigate his new life as Supreme Archangel of Heaven.

But You, My Dear, Are An Ocean by megzseattle (T)

After Aziraphale's defection, Crowley tries to figure out how to live life for himself.

- Mod D

[eugenoid]

After some hesitation, I decided to post a piece of a fic draft I've been working on (the very start of it, really). Aziracrow, post season 2, and if I manage to see it to completion, it'll be a hurt/comfort, fix-it fanfic (because of course it is).

People frequenting Whickber Street have noticed a peculiar weather phenomena: for a good couple of weeks now, dark storm clouds wouldn't leave the small area surrounding the "A. Z. Fell & Co" bookshop, and every day a heavy rain would fall, lasting precisely 66 minutes and 6 seconds at a time. What they haven't noticed, however — an amusing coincidence, really — is that it all started on the day the owner of said bookshop disappeared, and would end the day he came back.

"Why are you not inside?"

Crowley's demon heart starts racing from hearing a familiar voice, but he makes an effort to not move an inch from his spot, and not even acknowledge the angel's presence. Crowley is sitting on the cold roof of the bookshop, drenched in water; damp, gross clothes and hair sticking to the skin. He hears a poof and there's a big, blindingly white wing over his head now. He stays silent. Instead of getting an answer, Aziraphale is met with the rain getting worse, almost turning into a hailstorm. It starts hurting his wing, but the angel is determined to stay right where he is until he gets a response.

"Haven't showered in a while. Figured, why not," Crowley finally says flatly after several minutes of silence with a shrug. He refuses to look at Aziraphale, instead observing people rushing down the street.

"You are being silly," Aziraphale responds without fondness.

"Can't you see I'm rain… uh, bathing? Move- move your stupid wing out of the way," Crowley stutters in a rush, feeling nervous all of a sudden. And stupid. And small.

"I am just trying to protect you."

"From my rain," the demon says, getting irritated now.

"No, from everything. Well, including your rain, I suppose.” Aziraphale wishes he was better with words.

Crowley shuts his eyes and squeezes a damp roof tile with the force of a python choking its prey to death. It crumbles into scorching hot, dry dust on some poor bastard's head. The demon still doesn't turn to face Aziraphale.

"You are not protecting me from shit," he hisses through gritted teeth.

"Alright, this is getting ridiculous," Aziraphale sighs and with a wave of hand makes the rain stop. Clouds finally part, sun rays hitting the ground below for the first time in a while. He begins to put his wing away.

Crowley's response is to wildly flail his hands in the air which brings both the clouds and the rain back. Aziraphale groans in annoyance and raises his wing over the demon again.

"This is a bit melodramatic, even for me," the angel says under his breath and waves the rain away, again. Crowley brings it back with a snap of his fingers.

"I can do this all day," Crowley responds without even a smirk Aziraphale would expect from him at a moment like this. Angel realizes he longs to see it again. He wants to say something about it, but decides against it.

"You are attracting quite the crowd," he notices instead.

At this point most of the people on the street pulled out their phones to record the rapidly changing sky. Crowley wiggles his fingers, and suddenly everyone remembers they have urgent business to attend to, leaving no time to be standing outside videotaping the weather or (especially) the two figures on the roof.

"Crowley, please,” Aziraphale says with the hint of desperation in his voice that doesn’t go unnoticed by Crowley. “We need to talk."

Crowley lets his head fall. Puffs his cheeks and lets out a sigh. Taps fingers on his knee. Frowns. Clenches and unclenches his jaw. Frowns again. Finally, he looks at Aziraphale over the shoulder as the sky gradually clears and the last rain drop falls on his face, and begrudgingly manages:

"Fine. Let's talk."

OKAY this was my first attempt at writing in about... 8 years, and my first ever time writing in English, a kind feedback would be appreciated!

[thatlonelycactus]

Okay so I’m actually really I interested in what people think about the post-bodyswap convo because whilst we know that they were both extremely effected by experiencing how each others sides treated the other, we don’t know how much the other knows about how the event effected them (if that makes sense- the words aren’t wording).

Like, we know that Crowley knows at least some of Aziraphale’s experience in hell but we dont know how much. Does Crowley know that Aziraphale fears for what might have happened every time Crowley disappeared for decades on end? Does he know about how his fellow demon cheered for his demise? The thirst for blood on their tongues? Does he know that only a few minutes down in his main office broke the heart of his (more than) best friend- that realizing the group that Crowley, the Fallen, who never really did anything wrong, Crowley, who only ever asked questions, who gave humanity their ability to question, the starmaker whose kindness knows no bounds broke some part of Aziraphale and made him realize that maybe the system had gone to shit? Does he? No, I doubt he does.

But what does Aziraphale know about Crowley’s time in heaven? I don’t think we ever see Crowley talk about it to Aziraphale. Because Crowley didn’t learn anything new about his old employers- he’d always known their injustice and cruelty. However maybe he was simply reminded. Maybe he let himself believe that there was something wrong about his actions- some way to justify his fall. But, as wrong as his actions may or may not have been, he knew that Aziraphale had never did any wrong. So when the Supreme Archangel, a being who was meant to represent light and truth and everything Aziraphale believed heaven stood for, told the only being who had ever truly shown Crowley love and kindness, who had convinced Crowley that there still might be good in the system to “shut his mouth and die”, any respect Crowley had of the above must have dissipated. And when they got back to each other, alive, happy, how could Crowley tell Aziraphale how easily the side he had spent 6000 years defending, working for, believing in would throw him away just like that? Like a worthless piece of rubbish? As if he was well- as if he were like Crowley? How could Crowley tell the being that he loved that the thing he’d spent his entire existence loving something that would discard him without batting an eye?? He couldn’t. And some small part of me wonders “what if?” What if he had? Would Aziraphale have still left? Or would his resolve to fix the system remain? I think that his experience in hell definitely showed him that the system needs fixing but what if he realised that heaven was just the same? Maybe even worse???

Who knows. Maybe this is all bullshit and Aziraphale knows about what happened in heaven (but Crowley’s convo with Jim in s2 suggests that he prob doesn’t know most of the story).

[fuckyeahgoodomens]

I’m not an emotional person, but I have to say that I just listened to “Everyday” by Buddy Holly for the first time and now I see blurry.

I first thought of it as purely Crowley, but now I think of it as each one saying a line. It feels almost like a dialogue. Let me explain.

First verse

Crowley: Everyday, it's a-gettin' closer

Aziraphale: Goin' faster than a roller coaster

Crowley: Love like yours will surely come my way

The story of how they got together, of how an angel and a demon became closer and closer till they considered each other friends. For Crowley it’s easy, it feels nice to have a companion, someone who understands him. For Aziraphale it’s sometimes too fast, too much. He denies their friendship when it’s mentioned in public (1601, Globe Theatre, London). But Crowley is sure that time will do its thing and Aziraphale will realize the deepness of their connection: your love will surely come my way.

Second verse

Aziraphale: Everyday, it's a-gettin' faster

Crowley: Everyone said, "Go up and ask her"

Crowley: Love like yours will surely come my way

I think of this almost exclusively as the afterwards of the church scene in 1941. Aziraphale accepted the lift home and invited Crowley in for some drinks. And then something happened. It starts with Crowley being confident, deciding he wants to do something about the way he feels. But for Aziraphale it’s too fast, it’s too much. Even after six thousand years he can’t take it. I do not think things ended up very well that night.

Third verse

Crowley: Everyday seems a little longer

Crowley/Aziraphale: Every way, love's a little stronger

Crowley: Come what may, do you ever long for true love from me?

The years right after… all of that. Days start to go by slowly for Crowley now that everything with Aziraphale seems over. Days are longer, unbearable. So he decides to get that holy water he needs for his purpose in any way he can. But the love is still there for both of them. Aziraphale hears about the plan and he reaches Crowley even after everything that happened. I believe Crowley’s line “after everything you said” in the car scene in 1967 doesn’t just refer to Aziraphale’s refusal to bring him holy water a century ago, but to something else: presumably, something he said in the night of 1941. And the end is almost a cry of desperation: come what may. Nothing really matters anymore, do you really not want my love?

🥺.

[tinybearfeet]

Aziraphale didn’t want to go to heaven, not even to “make it a better place if I’m in charge”, not until he was told he could restore Crowley.

Because restoring Crowley to angelic status seems to him, is to him a perfect solution for the problems they seem to have, together: their opposing sides, status of natural enemies, their shared loneliness of being outsiders in their worlds. They can be friends, anything, if Crowley is an angel. He won’t have to push down his goodness in fear of hell (although honestly I think Crowley’s aversion to being “good” is much more than that), and angels won’t have to be cruel, since Aziraphale would be there, making decisions, with Crowley by his side to help him figure out what is truly better and kinder (like he does throughout the season).

To Crowley however being restored to an angel is missing the point entirely. It’s like being given forgiveness when you are owed an apology. If they give you “forgiveness” you are just brought back in until they decide you should be cast away again, when you become too inconvenient, when you demand to be heard, to be treated right. Of course he doesn’t want to go back to heaven — the whole system is his personal hell, more than actual hell ever was.

Just as when Crowley feels betrayed when Aziraphale offers him to go back, so does Azi when Crowley asks him to run off, to continue as things are. To Aziraphale (as of right now) there can be no peaceful happiness for them while they remain as they are. They will always be an angel and a demon, pretending, hiding, struggling to survive one disaster after the other. They can change all that, he feels, he offers Crowley peace, safety, and Crowley refuses it to (seemingly) keep things as they are.

That’s what his “nothing lasts forever is about”. He offers a reprieve and Crowley refuses it. While to Crowley he is throwing away “them” to drag him back to the broken system he knows from experience will only chew them up and destroy everything, in the end.

“I don’t think you understand what I’m offering you,” is the line that hits me the hardest, somehow. Because Crowley indeed doesn’t. He is right about understanding better than Aziraphale could about what it would truly be like. But he doesn’t understand the intent, the offer: be with me, without hiding, without fear, working for the betterment of everything as you used to, as we’ve been doing in secret last 6000 years.

“No nightingales”, oh how Aziraphale face changes at that. Because for them, finally, here, Crowley made subtext text. Yes, they are, were in love. Yes, they had their perfect pocket of a starry night, falling in love. But now the sun is up, and the nightingale isn’t there, maybe even wasn’t here ever. It was just a perfect dream, given up now. For Aziraphale — given up as he offered Crowley to make it a daylight reality, a partnership not on the spy benches, or in an old timeless bookshop, or in the private conversations. A reality where Crowley doesn’t have to hide his eyes all the time.

For Crowley — the dream is given up, because once again Aziraphale is choosing heaven over him. He doesn’t know he’s doing it for him.

So of course the kiss doesn’t save them. They both feel rejected, feel like the one is trying to drag another into a tortured existence. I still struggle to decipher the “I forgive you”. An obvious nod to s1, and to general Christian forgiveness. Does he forgive the fall, the rejection, no nightingales? The fight? As many people said, it’s generally Aziraphale’s “holier than thou” attitude, and there is a bit of it here, some spite as he collects himself. “I know what’s better for us and I forgive you for not realizing it. I forgive you for leaving me alone (in our shared loneliness) to make a better world for us.” Maybe it’s that.

I honestly don’t think one honest conversation could fix things right now for them. They need to change. Crowley needs to grow over his cynicism, to figure out a way to exist in the world so unfair he refuses to acknowledge he is constantly changing it for the better. He needs to stand his ground in a sustainable way.

While Aziraphale needs to realize the current system won’t cut it. It’s cruel and uncaring, it’s following the supposed word and whim of a god who’s left the building. He honestly believes it just needs right people on top, but well, it had Gabriel who cared just for a little bit, and threw him away instantly. Heaven won’t cut it, and this is gonna burn him badly next season. But he’s still not there.

Anyway, I love good conflict, god bless this tragic clown mess, thanks for the gorgeous drama. Nice gays, sorry about depression.

[confusedraven1]

Hi!

I read your post about the Good Omens 2 kiss. The kiss, which wasn’t a romantic gesture per se, but Crowley’s desperate attempt to make Aziraphale stay, make him understand what Crowley himself only allowed himself to realize after Maggie and Nina talked to him.

That in mind, do you think there will be a second kiss in s3? Given that it wasn’t a romantic gesture, is there the need again for such desperate actions like kissing?

Tbh I’m always quite confused when it comes to Aziraphale & Crowley and the need/ the desire of displaying physical affection. I know there is love, friendship and thousand of years between them, but when it comes to human things like kissing, hugging etc. I’m not sure if they ever want/ need that as a way to show affection.

I don’t believe that the season 2 kiss was just a means to an end, and therefore needs no repetition, but a part of me fears that this one heart breaking kiss is all we will get.

Sorry for this mazy message. I think I just want to know if you believe that there will be second kiss, and this time a happy one please.😭

hello! thank you and congrats, you’re the first person to ever ask me a question on here! 🥳

obviously i’m not 100% certain, and i fully trust neil and everyone else working on the show to do what makes sense for the characters and their growth, but i personally hope we get another kiss!

true, they don’t need to have anything physical between them to express their love for one another—we’ve seen it over and over and over again throughout history, even before history! they do not need to kiss or hug or even hold hands for us to know they’re in love. it’s very frustrating when people say that, especially after the s2 finale and after neil has expressed it time and time again that this is a love story.

[tl;dr: although aziraphale and crowley don’t need to show affection physically to know their own feelings and each other’s, i think the way the story and character arcs are going makes a second kiss seem very likely]

physical affection is a very human thing, something that the angels and demons don’t crave or need.

BUT. they also don’t need, and generally don’t crave, food and drink, yeah? throughout both seasons, aziraphale and crowley are the only ones from both heaven or hell (that i remember) that are seen eating and drinking.

aziraphale eats because it brings him pleasure. he indulges his cravings and relishes in the joy he gets from them, a very human thing. the only time we see him go overboard with it is the first time he eats: when crowley offers him the ox ribs. aziraphale doesn’t get full because his body doesn’t need the sustenance, so he just keeps eating, not knowing how to stop and making a mess. over time, he learns temperance in earthly desires and refrains from overindulging. he allows himself to enjoy more and more of humanity and what they create simply because he enjoys it. he finds pleasure in food and drink and theatre and magic and books and music and so many things that would never have existed if humans didn’t also indulge in their pleasures.

conversely, we only ever see crowley drinking, never eating. it’s possible that he’s tried human food before, but he usually sticks to alcohol and coffee (and that one time with laudanum), beverages that alter your state of mind at least a little bit. he doesn’t seem to get pleasure from them, though. it’s like he either drinks to be social with aziraphale, to drown his sorrows/give himself a boost of energy, or out of habit/appear more “human” to blend in. crowley doesn’t let himself indulge, finding joy in his few earthly possessions (his plants and his car, things he takes care of but also has some control over), being near aziraphale, and just generally being a mild nuisance to humanity.

in season 1, although aziraphale clearly likes crowley and being around him, we don’t see him “indulge” physically with him. in season 2, that completely changes. they’re both free from heaven and hell, and so punishment from fraternizing, so aziraphale begins to explore what indulging in pleasure is like with the one being he can’t imagine ever parting from—through small touches, dancing, even just looking at him. aziraphale is so fucking ready to allow himself this one pleasure he’s denied himself since the creation of the universe: to openly love crowley in any form he can.

in season 2, crowley is still a little…stuck (he’s living in his car. not ideal for him or bentley. or the plants). he’s so used to not allowing himself to indulge and is probably a little frightened over this sudden freedom he has, so he almost lives vicariously through others: following aziraphale around with his own projects/duties and trying to get maggie and nina to fall in love. it isn’t until nina tells him that he and aziraphale look to be “together” that he realizes, “wait, does he like me, too? we look like a couple??” he keeps it in the back of his mind, sees gabriel and beelzebub go off together, gets that pep talk from nina and maggie, and thinks, “fuck it, we can do that, too, cause we want to and not just out of self preservation.” he’s about to communicate what he wants and allow himself the pleasure he’s been keeping at arms length or more for thousands of years.

SO, i think, keeping in mind everything we’ve already been shown about aziraphale and crowley, and their personal relationships with themselves and pleasure, it’s highly likely that another, hopefully more passionate and romantic kiss will happen in season 3. obviously a lot will have to happen before then, but aziraphale knows what he wants and has so much practice in discovering new pleasure and enjoying it that i think he wants to have some degree of physical relationship with crowley. he didn’t forgive him for the kiss, or act like he didn’t like it, because he didn’t want it (he would’ve probably pushed him away if that were the case); he was upset and hurt and angry that was how it was done. crowley has much less practice and the kiss is the first time crowley let himself indulge, but it’s devastatingly overshadowed by his desperation and frustration with aziraphale.

just like aziraphale couldn’t stop himself from eating the entire ox, crowley couldn’t stop himself from kissing aziraphale, no matter how messy it got.

anyway, i love the idea of crowley learning to indulge in the things he wants to and finding pleasure on his own and then aziraphale helping him even further 😊

(aka they should kiss and fuck about it)

(and if they decide it’s not for them, then that’s good too 💜)

[cloud-based-and-rainpilled]

Halfway through Staged 3 and pretty sure the reason it doesn’t “work” is the reason why Good Omens 2 does work: the natural progression of David and Michael’s and Crowley and Aziraphale’s relationships respectively is codependence. One show understands this, but the other doesn’t

tl;dr At bottom

Aziraphale and Crowley simply cannot exist without each other. They are “on their on side.” They have trauma bonded for centuries. When the external obstacles tearing apart Aziraphale and Crowley are removed, they’re left with their unaddressed trauma and can’t communicate their feelings

This internal conflict, which is long established, tears them apart. They are codependent yet can’t see eye to eye. This is a real conflict that feels natural

The big “a-ha” emotional moment at the end of Staged 2 is David and Michael realizing that (after every other character basically screams at them) they love and need each other. They are the only ones who understand each other; they are “on their own side”

When their external obstacles are removed, instead of exploring the intensity of their relationship and implied codependence, it forces conflict. Georgia messes with the room; Michael seems irrationally angry from the jump; the script relies on the meta nature of it for the humor. Everything feels “off,” and, well, “staged” for lack of a better word

The moment when Michael decides to go back into production because he’s jealous David did a role without him, there’s a bit of a throwaway line where he says “I can’t believe you’d do something without me.” It’s framed as jealousy of David working, but at face value, it’s, “How could you ever do anything without me?”

Exploring their codependence would have been more narratively sound and have a better baseline for comedy to come from it. However, this was never going to be possible, because while Staged isn’t “real,” inherently, because it’s meta, it kind of is

(Tinfoil hat time!)

This sounds sacreligious, but Michael Sheen is not convincing at all in this. He holds this resentment that seems to come from nowhere and feels hollow. The script isn’t helping much, but this is far lower quality wise than other performances he’s given. He does not want to be doing this shit again

Michael’s a (self-admitted) sensitive actor. He drowns himself in every role, especially Aziraphale, who he says “lol he’s literally me.” He cried on the last day of shooting; there’s absolutely no way the Breakup ™️ in Good Omens 2 didn’t affect him deeply, especially considering a 3rd season still isn’t confirmed

Imo he drags his feet because this entire season is the Breakup ™️ again, and he’s emotionally exhausted and doesn’t want to do it. If the script were better/had more levity/allowed for improv then maybe, but as it stands, it’s just a bummer, and everyone who watched it agrees

But I don’t think a plotline exploring David and Michael’s codependence would have ever happened anyway because, well, it would be really fucking awkward

Staged 1 is about them becoming friends, and, lo and behold, they actually did become close friends while shooting

Staged 2 is about them realizing how much they need and care about each other, and by their own accounts, they became much closer during this time as well

So, if Staged 3 were about them examining the closeness of their fake selves and the possible unhealthy aspects of it, that would force them to be incredibly vulnerable, not just as actors, but to their real relationship, because the events of Staged have mirrored how their friendship has developed

They are obviously not their characters on Staged, but there is a distinct pattern of a blur of real life and fiction. They run the risk of people falsely thinking they have a codependent dynamic and judging them accordingly, or, even worse, having to confront actually having a codependent dynamic, and in a very public way

I haven’t finished, so maybe their codependence is addressed, but right now it seems like it’s entirely avoided, which was a huge aspect of the ending of series 2. It makes the conflict feel forced and any interesting character exploration is blunted by antics

tl;dr In Good Omens 2, Crowley and Aziraphale are codependent, which is established, and creates conflict. Codependence is addressed in Staged 2, but barely acknowledged in Staged 3. A real point of conflict that could be interesting is ignored while forced situations are pushed instead, which aren’t as funny nor compelling

I believe personally that the ideas dried up for Simon, Michael was emotionally exhausted from the ending of Good Omens 2, and a plotline centered around David and Michael’s codependence in Staged was avoided because it would hit too close to home

Still haven’t finished it so it could turn around, but right now it feels like a big missed opportunity which came out of uninspired writing and avoiding self reflection

[estrellami-1]

I saw your post and I decided, why not? I've never done this before! (I'm no good at thinking of prompts). Currently I have one thing on my mind: Good Omens. And maybe this is weird to ask, but could you maybe take a scene from it and steddie-fy it? I don't care who's who.

There's a scene, which is my personal favorite, where Crowley asks Aziraphale to hang out after having dinner, and Aziraphale, with a soft voice and a longing look, says "You go too fast for me, Crowley."

And of course the "just a little demonic miracle of my own" scene. That ones a bit longer to explain, so I'd search it up for a better experience. This is the one all of us, including the author, speculate is when Aziraphale realized he was in love with Crowley.

Uhhhhhh yeah peace out ✌

Okay yes I know exactly what you’re talking about, I’ve seen the show and I’ve read the book (more than once actually lol) BUT it’s been forever and right now I’m not remembering anything besides the vaguest outline of the scene in the forest, when he starts going by Crowley. And then a few random scenes that I had to look up 😩 strangely enough I couldn’t find the “you go too fast for me, Crowley” scene anywhere which SUCKS because now I need to see it just to see it 😂

Also side note I would LOVE to Steddify the entire thing, I feel like Nancy would make a great Anathema, and Robin would be a fantastic Madame Tracy, esp considering the fact that Aziraphale/Steve (that’s what I’m imagining, at least) literally inhabits her body. And there’s even a Party what with Adam and them! I’m thinking Dustin as Adam, Max as Pepper, Will as Wensleydale, and Mike as Brian.

Anyways. Yes I love this a lot, thank you 😂

“Didn’t you have a flaming sword?” Eddifer asks, tilting his head

“Uh- oh, uh-” Steve stutters. It’s embarrassing, angels don’t stutter, but he’s caught wrong-footed, not sure he did the right thing anymore, and with Eddifer looking at him like that-

“You did! It was flaming like anything,” Eddifer says triumphantly. “Lost it already, have we?”

“I… gave it away,” Steve mumbles.

“You what?” Eddifer asks incredulously.

“I gave it away!” He shouts.

Eddifer looks at him for a second. Blinks. Looks away.

Steve’s left with a feeling he did something right. It’s more comforting than it should be, coming from a demon.

~~~~~~~~

Steve tilts his head. “Is that you under there, Eddifer?”

“‘S Eddie,” he grumps, lifting his helmet and sighing. “‘S Alright, lads, I know him.” He shakes his head. “What the heaven are you doing here?”

“I could ask the same of you!”

~~~~~~~~

“Animals,” Steve hisses, locked in a dungeon. This is a pickle if ever there was one.

“Animals don’t kill each other with clever machines, Angel, only humans do that.”

“Eddie,” he says, can’t help the excitement in his voice. Then he sees what Eddie’s wearing. “Oh, good Lord.”

Eddie’s lounging against the wall, arms crossed, looking Steve up and down. “What the deuce are you doing, locked up in the Bastille? I thought you were opening up a bookshop!”

“I was! I got… peckish.”

“Peckish,” Eddie parrots flatly.

Steve huffs. “Well if you must know, it was the crepes. Can’t get decent ones anywhere but Paris.”

“Angel,” Eddie says, “you’re really something else.”

Steve can’t quite figure out if that’s a compliment or not.

~~~~~~~~

“Y’know,” Steve says, almost certain Eddie’s going to push him up against a wall again for it. It’s half the reason he says it. “I think, deep down, you really are quite a nice person.”

Eddie doesn’t push him up against a wall, only smirks into his drink. “Only because you’re just enough of a bastard to be worth knowing.”

[spiri-a]

Ello ello ello this is a rant about a Good Omens fic I like

(Pssst.... TL;DR: It’s One Miraculous December by @journeytogallifrey)

Just a while ago I was agonizing over what kind of post I should post (even though no one’s gonna read this and this accounts only purpose is to spitball all my thoughts at a rapid pace) and I suddenly realized: hey! I like fanfics! And good omens! And sometimes I finish fanfics and I have so much thought vomit stirring around inside me I need to write it down somewhere! Then BOOM this is that this is my ramble baby. This is just my poor excuse to talk and talk and talk for several paragraphs straight. Please do not enter if you don’t want to be bombarded by what is probably several thousand words sorted into 5 or 6 sections.

This will probably be part of a series where I talk uh *cough* extensively about different fanfics, different series for different fandoms probably because I don’t think the Good Omens fandom and Carry On fandom interact with each other very much at all (maybe I’ll do books in general later on down the line, but that’d be a separate series too)

Just to be safe I won’t talk about anything too spoilery, giving some minor spoilers that get talked about in the first chapters anyways. This is a pretty lighthearted fic anyways so nothing much to worry about this time!

Ok now actually let’s get started. Anyways this is a fic I read a while ago that I really really liked:

One Miraculous December (T)

By @journeytogallifrey

Ok so this was the first fic I read by journeytogallifrey, and I read it during a time over the summer where day in and day out I had nothing to do but walk and walk and walk and occasionally read on my phone (Doesn’t make sense to read a Christmas fic over the summer but whatever)

I thought this was just gonna be a casually good long fic to fill up the time but boy was I wrong I LOVED this

Let me tell you this fic was the love of my life for the week and a half or so I was reading it. I was SO INSANELY shocked and confused when I realized this fic was 187,00 WORDS after finishing

But anyways I’m getting off track again (this post is my ramble baby after all) so let’s start with what this fic is abt and then I’ll talk about my favorite things

Spiri Stfu Whats The Fic About Already

Summary (pulled from fic):

Candles. Mistletoe. An entire frozen lake. Festive memories from their past together keep appearing out of nowhere.

Crowley's sure he's manifesting them accidentally out of sheer romantic desperation. It's bad enough trying to hide his unrequited love as they grow closer post-Apocaloops - what if Aziraphale sees the objects for what they are, a window into his yearning soul? Unfortunately, the only way to banish the objects seems to be talking about each memory...

Meanwhile, Aziraphale is just trying to woo his demon boyfriend with big gestures, ready to prove his devotion. And if Crowley acts awkward about the miracles? Surely that's just his difficulty accepting affection. The solution: shower him with as much of it as possible...

Eventually these two will communicate, even if it takes 'til the end of the year. For now there will be cuddling, excuses for closeness, sappy words, flashbacks, nostalgia, bickering, and an obscene variety of holiday foods. Oh, and footnotes. That's right. We're doing those too.

Fills for the Ineffable Holiday 2020 prompt list by Caedmon. Updates every day through the end of December.

Basically TLDR: Sappy reminders of soft moments between Crowley and Aziraphale throughout history keep popping up. Crowley thinks he’s doing it subconsciously and is worried about his super duper secret feelings being revealed, meanwhile Aziraphale is executing the least subtle (but somehow still too subtle) seduction plan ever concocted (it will take these two sillies a WHILE to get sorted out)

Ok now let’s move on to all the lovely things I love about this lovely fic in special lovely little sections (Once again, I’m sorry for the sheer size of this behemoth)

Pt 1: Charming Little Footnotes, My True Love ❤︎❤︎❤︎

From the very first chapter, I was completely and utterly enchanted by one silly little thing: the footnotes!! Those who have read the Good Omens book will understand: footnotes are amazing!! They often offer absolutely ZERO important information, and you could go practically the entire book never reading the footnotes and get the same general ideas as someone who did. BUT, they’re just so charming, why would you NOT read them?? They’re often unnecessary, but in a perfect and wonderfully niche way. I don’t need to understand the backstory or fun fact behind this randomly selected instant, moment, or person, but it’s so stupidly heartwarming to that I love to do it anyway. It’s like I’m being let in on a secret between me and the author, like they leaned over while someone else is talking and made a somewhat silly comment into my ear that makes you try to suppress your little smile in response.

Journeytogallifrey does this AMAZINGLY. They offer heartwarming insight on the most mundane things, and I enjoy every second of it. One of my personal favorite instances is funnily enough in the very first chapter, the footnote that first captured my heart and that I remembered throughout the entire fic. In chapter one, Aziraphale miracles for the floor of the bookshop to become a frozen lake, and he convinces Crowley to ice skate with him, reminiscing on a time they skated together centuries before. And THIS was the footnote that followed midway through the chapter:

*In fairness to the skates, they’ve had an intense couple of hours.

Mere moments before they found themselves in a 2019 bookshop, they’d only just been set down by Crowley and Aziraphale in 1860 and were debating the finer points of their recent skating adventure. Two of them, having hosted a lovely angel with excellent manners, were of a firmly positive opinion. The other two, terrorized by a demon who had berated them for trembling with fear, were engaged in a thorough character assassination of not only their tormentor but also anyone who would willingly befriend him.

“But they’re desperately in love with each other,” posited the skates worn by the angel.

“That’s beside the point,” answered the others, and that was when a miracle scooped them up and catapulted them a century and a half into the future**.

**Aziraphale, somehow, picked out the same two skates to wear in 2019 as in 1860, despite shoe sizes being less a concrete number for him and more ‘something that automatically sets itself to rights upon entrance of the foot’, so further experience has offered little to settle the argument.

THIS FOOTNOTE, THIS MOMENT, was perfection in my eyes. The completely absurd idea of two pairs of ice skates having a conversation, this conversation being about their wearers, a judgement of their character, a silly argument and observation of their silly hemming and hawing romance, was all so charming. It’s so unnecessary but also just. Completely STEALS your heart. Then there’s the footnote-ception of a footnote within a footnote, a casual disregarding of order and professionalism for the sake of being novel and silly. Not to mention the double footnote commenting on Aziraphale’s incredibly charming naïveté on the more specific parts of human inventions, such as the concept of shoe sizes. As you may have noticed from my using the same exact word like 20 times, the only word that fits the entire charmingly unnecessary but delightful footnotes thing is silly. It’s perfect because it’s perfectly silly, and that just made my heart melt.

Journeytogallifrey keeps up these footnotes throughout the fic to a certain degree, and as a reader of the Good Omens book, it’s always such a joy to find fics that bother to use footnotes. And journeytogallifrey does this wonderfully, stuffing so much life and humor into them very similar to what I found great about the footnotes in the GO book. So that is reason one (in no particular order) that I love this fic

Moving on to reason 2!

Pt 2: YOU get a flashback, and YOU get a flashback

A large amount of this fic relies on the art of flashbacks, being directly tied to Aziraphale’s Plan of Seduction™︎, which just so you know goes as follows:

Every day of December, miracle up some kind of thingy (object, place, activity, etc)

Said thingy will function as the perfect reminder to reminisce about a not-a-date date you’ve had at some point throughout history

Really drive home how close you two are and absolutely drown him in affection

Keep seducing all through December

Confess at some point (exact date TBD)

Profit

As you might have noticed, the whole reminiscing thing works as an opening for truckloads of flashbacks. But let me tell you, these flashbacks are WORKS OF ART. Unfortunately, unlike the footnotes, I can’t single out a single FAVORITE flashback, because they’re practically ALL amazing.

Journeytogallifrey very obviously did a butt ton of research for this fic, something I find so incredibly amazing about the Good Omens fandom! Many GO authors will do extensive research for the sake of their Aziraphale and Crowley throughout history scenes, which is something I’ve always heavily admired within this fandom compared to others. And journeytogallifrey does this amazingly and extensively throughout this fic!

Each flashback had so much love, charm, and most interestingly historical depth in them. Each flashback acts as a charming little mini story of the various adventures the two had throughout history. The highs and lows of their relationships, the hidden affections, moments that were fun, stressful, intimate, scary, or just simply peacefully domestic, ALL of it was present in these flashbacks, and just utterly captured my heart. I managed to learn quite a decent amount through the little historical details mentioned throughout, especially if a specific detail caught my eye and I wanted to research further. (Because of this fic, my dream is to move to Iceland and celebrate Jólabókaflóðið every year)

I love the way these two act around each other throughout history, and the writing when describing everything from the setting around them to their clothes to their care for each other is phenomenal. Normally I don’t really use words like aesthetic, but the way the different places dotted around the world are described and how the two are described to fit into them, I feel like I’m transported TO that place in history. I can see the churches, deserts, orchards, streets, markets, or wherever they are right in front of me, and it’s frankly gorgeous.

I LOVE historical flashbacks like this in general in the Good Omens fandom, but this fic does this AMAZINGLY, and it does it A LOT, so that’s a serious win in my books.

Something I also found extremely lovely about the flashbacks, as well as the present day parts of the story, brings me to my next part:

Pt 3: Gender who? Gender what? Gender none, gender all!

The gender fluidity/fluidity of gender expression of both Aziraphale and Crowley makes my heart flutter like nothing else. Like seriously. This is one of the main reasons I love this fandom.

It has long been stated that angels and demons have no inherent gender, and within the show Crowley presents as male and female in varying instances. Neil Gaiman has heavily implied Crowley being gender fluid before. In response, the fandom has completely flourished into a beautiful thing of gender acceptance and flexibility.

The fanart of the Good Omens fandom makes me so happy, because people will draw Aziraphale and Crowley in any manner they choose without feeling the need to explain it or label it as an “alternate universe.” The simple casualness around the topic of gender in this fandom sets a precedent of tolerance for the rest of the world, and also just warms my heart in ways I can’t explain.

Journeytogallifrey embraces this part of the fandom with open arms, with both Aziraphale and Crowley taking on a variety of appearances and roles throughout the flashback. The detail of changing Crowley’s pronouns depending on the flashback whilst Aziraphale maintains he/him no matter his form is a wonderful touch, and made me stupidly happy. The same goes for Crowley changing appearances to fit the alias of Nanny Ashtoreth later on in the fic, as well as his discussion with Warlock that it is all still himself, no matter what form he takes.

In my opinion, the fluidity and ease in which gender, masculinity, and femininity is expressed by Aziraphale and Crowley, both through the flashbacks and in present day, is done wonderfully, and serves to demonstrate the reason why I love this fandom so incredibly much.

Pt 4: Stabbing me gently in the feels (that’s gotta be a song lyric somewhere)

Another thing is I thought the push and pull and tender misunderstandings of these two throughout the fic is AMAZING. The delicate handling of this relationship is super wonderful and feels so stupidly softly heart wrenching. Like you’re not ripping my heart to pieces, but just kind of tugging on it. Seriously, I just wanted to hold these two and hug them and explain all their misunderstandings and send them away holding hands. The angst is so soft and tender I really can’t complain too badly.

The setup conflict between the two is, like, absolutely genius. I love it. Aziraphale trying to woo Crowley with as many gifts and miracles as possible while also playing cutely dumb about it, meanwhile Crowley is freaking out because all these miracles his lovesick heart is creating subconsciously might expose his super special secret feelings to Aziraphale, and that’d be baaaad news huh?

It’s some wonderfully sweet irony that Aziraphale innocently playing dumb is convincing Crowley he’s conjuring little mini proclamations of his super confidential feelings, and that Crowley is desperately trying to hide signs of said super duper confidential feelings while Aziraphale is actively trying to woo said demon.

This creates a lovely pushing and pulling dynamic full of tenderness and love, and it KILLED ME SLOWLY. 10/10 high quality soft angst.

Side note: I really liked the way Aziraphale and Crowleys relationship with Warlock was covered in this fic, especially Crowley’s attachment to Warlock as his nanny who raised him ever since he was little. I thought the desire to reach out to Warlock post Apocalypse was really heartfelt and sweet, and it made me feel stupidly warm seeing Aziraphale help Crowley reach out and later on solidify that relationship with Warlock.

Pt 5: How are you still here?? If you are, here have this

So um…….. this ended up being really long. My bad. I mean no one’s gonna read this anyways but I still feel a little awkward standing at the end of this VERY long ramble baby.

I just wanted to end this off by saying that One Miraculous December was SUCH a great fic, full of coziness and charm and silliness and tenderness and a lovingly crafted holiday vibe unlike no other fic I’ve read. I will definitely be rereading this fic around Christmas time, the digital equivalent of snuggling up beside a warm fireplace with hot cocoa and a good book. I seriously loved this fic so much! Like, it was just good vibes the entire way through, and I have obviously been keeping up with journeytogallifrey’s works ever since I read this one. Please please please, read this fic and give it some serious love, because it deserves it so much. I don’t know how you did it mysterious person who probably doesn’t even exist, but you got to the end. Thank you for reading my dear little ramble baby about One Miraculous December by journeytogallifrey.

Now that was technically the end, but as an extra little thingy, here are some other recommendations of fics from journeytogallifrey, because they are a seriously talented author and have some amazing gems in there!

Here’s a list of my favorites:

Everything That’s Meant (T)

One of journeytogallifrey’s more recent and more popular works, this is an only slightly meta fic in which Aziraphale and Crowley are human actors playing the angel Raphael and the demon Asmodeus in the tv adaptation of Agnes Nutter’s novel Prophecies. The two actors have electrifying chemistry, but much stands in the way of the two of them, from Aziraphale’s complicated family to a haunted tv set to the things spread by the press about the two.

105,000 words (a big guy!), with 39 chapters, but such a joy to read! It’s a bit heavier in plot and emotions, and the romance is a little bit of higher stakes, but the soft moments between the two as they grow closer 100% makes up for it.

Scenes from an Italian Restaurant (T)

The shortest one of my favorites at 7,000 words in a single chapter and lightly inspired by the Billy Joel song of the same name, it tells the story of childhood friends Aziraphale and Crowley both from in their youth and reunited as adults as they dine together at (surprise surprise) their favorite Italian restaurant. There’s some hidden feelings, light angst, high school gossip, and a whole lot of stuff that happens at the tables of this Italian restaurant. In general though, it’s a wonderful, lighthearted, bite-sized time.

Infernal Escapes (T)

Roughly 37,000 words, this fic is a cute and lighthearted romance set in an escape room place. Crowley is the long suffering employee of an escape room, and is enamored by the intelligence and enthusiasm of escape room newbie, Aziraphale. The two strike up a friendship built on their love of escape rooms, and a cute and easy romance ensues. This was such a joy to read, and their easy chemistry based on their shared passion for escape rooms is infectiously sweet. There is very little to no conflict or angst in this story, so it’s a slightly lengthy but incredibly easy ride, entirely smooth sailing. If you just wanna watch two strangers meet and fall in love without all the extra things (because like, same honestly), please read this.