#hope i did aziraphale justice

[artilite]

@drabdoodler COLLAB RAGHH

did an aggie w/ the amazing wonderful talented @drabdoodler!!!! each of us drew one half of a duo (●ˇ∀ˇ●) mine are either on the left or on top! these are cropped versions; you can view the full board on their acc!!

[fearandhatred]

oh hi. this did not in fact take only an hour to write but hey it's done! any support is so so appreciated <3

also thread of me lowkey liveblogging myself (not) writing this lmaoo

Summary:

A fun little side perk of being a demon is that Crowley only gets to see the world in shades of grey. That is, until that world is touched by one particular angel.

They say that it's not the fall that hurts, it's the landing. That's a partial truth, at least for him. The landing did hurt—his bones had shattered almost methodically, travelling through his legs and up his spine like a shiver; the whiplash from his head hitting the ground had felt like an explosion of guts in his mouth. But the fall had hurt, too. Because the wind had cut into his useless wings like knives, his skin and grace peeling away under the friction, and he had been looking right up at the multicoloured and unreachable expanse of sky just to see it fade from his eyes into dull greys. And that was that. For the indiscriminate time afterwards, he and all the other demons wandered Hell's corridors like strays, lost and trying to adjust to a new life where hope looked just as bleak as despair. They wore all black, because the identifiability of that darkest shade meant that they wouldn't have to worry about clashing colours. An inconsequential problem, maybe, almost laughable in its insignificance, but it was the one piece of self-dignity they could still control. Back then, that was everything.

[tra5hg0blin]

obsessed w 1960s aziracrow <3!!!!!! would love to see them in future if possible qahfbrgbrgbhrbh

[kitsu-katsu]

I was talking with someone about just how canon the ineffable husbands are in good omens and I brought up how Gaiman said that what they have is canonically a love story (which is really reflected in the show, with their moments of vulnerability towards the other, their despair at the thought of losing one another, their comfort with eachother, the way they stick together through millennia even when they're never trying to, etc), but they don't have labels, as they don't have genders and the human conception of intimacy eludes them as ethereal beings that aren't human

And the complications with that

Because this person I was discussing with is not as versed in fandom discourse, and so they're only now finding the vocabulary of "queer baiting" to talk about that Sherlock show

And so they're like "I hope I see Crowley and Aziraphale absolutely eat eachother's mouths, it has to be canonized" and I'm standing here like. It is canon though. Like they won't add some "hetero romance" cop-out last minute. They are canonically in a love story. What's interesting is how the label-less queerness of it can also explore non-binary aspects and an aroace perspective on what "love" is

And they're bummed out because if they don't "absolutely eat eachother's mouths" it doesn't feel as canon to them. And I'm still standing here in aroace like. Bro. There are so many forms of relationships. A kiss on screen doesn't have to make it any more or less canon

But at the same time, from the amatonormative perspective, I get how the kiss on screen is seen as the end all be all. Because in general media, the main pairings will have the kiss at the end. And they will live happily ever after with that

Before the kiss it is only as canon as the kiss is predictable, and after the kiss, you can point to that one scene as "the moment it was canonized for realsies despite even people in the show making constant remarks about this being an obvious thing"

And I kinda hate it

I just wish the whole community wouldn't have to keep its guards up like this so much to discern whether something is coming from a genuine place of wanting to tell a story for a queer audience or about a queer subject or if it's all just a ploy to get our money, spit in our faces, smile at the traditional homophobic crowd and fund some conservative party with it

Because then we wouldn't have to play it by the boring straight rules. If everything points to it being obvious, then why is an intense kiss necessary? Why is it all you want? Why can't this represent a qpr? Or a loving relationship where intimacy in the form of a kiss just isn't something the characters want? Or a more open thing instead of being a purely monogamous arrangement? Or something completely new, a dynamic you can only describe in an essay lest you don't make their chemistry justice?

Aren't all of those just a much more under-thought about queer dynamics than what "I want these characters to kiss eachother until they can't remember their names on screen or else it isn't canon enough" can convey?

But at the same time, without something as concise and strong in media language, how do you make sure it won't all stay in just subtext and the reason it looks like clear text to you is because you're starved for queer stories and have become way too accustomed to reading between the lines?

I mean, it's also been proven to not be an absolute in instances where the text goes ham in letting you know what it's saying, when it's not implying, it is just telling. For one, Rose and Pearl in Steven Universe never did share a kiss on screen, and nevertheless we all know what was going on there

Idk, it's complicated and it's 1am, and this is all just a ramble, but I am in my aroace hating amatonormativity mood and the sentiment that characters being a canon thing without an explicit kiss bums someone out to the point they say "ok, ok, I get the whole nb ace ethereal beings that aren't human idea, but I want something more explicit because it doesn't feel canon enough" when that isn't strictly necessary for the story to get it across just got me in a weird mood and this is about so much more than good omens, I needed to try and word it out and might as well put it out there

Just. Why does queerness have to be allonormative and also amatonormative to be valid in the eyes of the queer masses necessarily? You'd think we'd figured out that queerness goes beyond just the L, G, B and binary T by now

[ellaenchanting]

Hypnovember 2023 Master Post.

This year was my 5th Hypnovember! To be honest, it felt particularly hard-fought since I had a lot of life stuff happening in the background this month. (Nothing traumatic, don't worry.) Still, I managed to write about 10,803 words, record almost 50 minutes of audio, and pay tribute to a lovely friend. I'm likely not doing daily prompts next year but I'm glad I ran this marathon one more time. 5 years is a respectable amount of time to do anything so- I'm proud of myself.

Everything I wrote/created is below! Use these icons to find what looks interesting to you:

Icons- 📰- story 🔊- audio ✅-recommendation list ⭐-Ella's favorites 😍- romantic 🌈- queer 😴- regular ole’ hypnosis 🛀- brainwashing and/or hypnotist in a tub 👻- spooky ❓- bad or reeeally questionable consent  👨‍🔬 -science! 🤪 -crackfic #-#sceneideas 😭-feeeels  🦄 -mythological creatures   🔥 -explicitly sexy  🔁 switchy switches 😵‍ -intelligence play  🫥-amnesia 🏴‍☠️- Our Flag Means Death fanfic ☕- comfort 🤏-tiny fic 💌-poem 🚫- denial or teasing 🪞-autobiographical or contains autobiographical elements 🧲 old timey mesmerism

Day 1: Dazed 🔊⭐😴

File description: One Take Wonder induction designed to remind you that going into trance isn't difficult at all.

It's OK.

Just drift.

Day 2: Brain Drain M/m(/m) 📰 😴 🌈😍 🔁🏴‍☠️☕

Choice quote: "Izzy grinned too, feeling oddly proud to be trusted with this quiet moment. He and Ed had never been conventional. Maybe it was OK that Ed and Stede weren't either."

Day 3: Coils (Author/you) 📰 😴 🤏☕

Choice quote: "When I say 'my words coil around you', it IMPLIES control but what it really gives is permission. "

Day 4: Denial 🔊😴🔥🚫

File description: "Denial. That's it. That's all the description you get."

Fun fact: Unless you want spoilers- then head over here

Day 5: Maid (The author/you) 📰 🤏🛀

Choice Quote: "What if you could clean your home and clean your mind at the same time? "

Day 6: Soul Contract (Being/supplicant) 📰 🤏🦄🤪

Choice quote: "So- you say you'll give me your free will?"

Fun fact: This is secretly Good Omens fanfic about Aziraphale (with the serial numbers filed off).

Day 7: Repetition is Hypnotic 🔊👨‍🔬

File description: "Repetition is Hypnotic- what it says on the tin"

Day 8: Addicted (M/f) 📰 ⭐❓😭🛀🪞

Choice quote: "It felt like being owned. It felt like love. Then just as surely as the flood started- it stopped."

Fun fact: This was NOT a fun story to write, partially because it dug up some of my and my friends' worst experiences. I'm glad it's been helpful for some people who have been in some really bad situations, though- I'm hope I did you all justice. You (and we all) deserve so much more than this.

Day 9: Erased (?/f) 💌🛀

Choice quote: "That had all been/Erased"

Day 10: Confidence (F/f) 📰😴🌈🫥❓😍🤪🧲

Choice quote: "'No,' interrupted the young mesmerist. 'I mean- I know this is quite unusual but- I find myself quite fond of you, Harriet.'

Day 11: Attitude Adjustment/IQ Reduced (M/f) 📰⭐😴😍😵‍#🔥

Choice quote: "'That's good, honey,' he encouraged. 'You don't need to think right now. I've got all your bigger thoughts for safekeeping.'"

Day 12: Hyperfocus (The author/you) 📰😴🤏👨‍🔬

Choice quote: "I know you can focus, but can you HYPERfocus?"

Day 13: Smile (Being/f) 📰🤏👻🦄

Choice quote: "It made her smile."

Day 14: Impossibly Deep (Person/person) 📰🤏❓🛀🫥#

Choice quote: "'Not possible to be this deep, isn't that right?'

'Mmmm not possible. Too deep.'"

Day 15: Shatter 🔊👨‍🔬🛀

File description: Just a quick loopable file with a nice "shatter" mantra

Day 16: Sex Obsessed ✅🌈

Fun fact: Recommendation list of my favorite content from my friend @sex-obsessed-lesbian

Day 17: Corrupted (M/f) 📰⭐🤏❓🔥#

Choice quote: "'I can give you what you want," he said, silkily. "All the submission. All the pleasure. Everything you've been dreaming of...All you need to give me in return,' he continued, 'is your 'no'".

Day 18: Pet 🔊☕😴

File description: I'm a bit sick so- did some nice self hypnosis around the idea of being pet.

Day 19: Elevator (F/f) 📰😴🔁#

Choice quote: "Have you ever ridden the Tower of Terror at Disney World?" Ivy asked.

Day 20: Transformation 🪞⭐

Choice quote: "She didn't know that something could be both campy playacting and extremely real at the same time-the feelings, the bonding, the lingering effects-all of it."

Day 21: Forget 🔊🤪🫥👨‍🔬

File description: "Similar to the style of Samsung's website that helps you forget TV series you've watched, this file is designed to help you forget all of my Hypnovember content for this year- so you can experience it again for the first time!"

Day 22: Hypnotic Hands (F/f) 📰😴#🌈

Choice quote: "But mistress could make anything hypnotic. And today she had made HER hands hypnotic too."

Day 23: ...And Back Down 💌😴😭

Choice quote: "...And back down"

Day 24: Ready to Play (F/m) 📰😴#🪞🛀🚫

Choice quote: "The slight curve of her lip indicated she had something in mind but- had it started?"

Day 25: At Peace (Being/f) 📰🤏👻🦄

Choice quote: "It was useless to fight against it- although in the beginning she had tried."

Day 26: Shadows (F/f) 📰🌈🚫🛀

Choice quote: "Those shadows of her former self were still there- they helped make her who she was now. Who she was now, though, was happy."

Day 27: Shiny (F/m)📰🤏#😴🛀

Choice quote: "The leather boots weren't 'shiny, shiny' like in the song, but it didn't matter. "

Day 28: Workout (F/f) 📰⭐🛀🚫🔥🌈#

Choice quote: "'I'm going to challenge you a bit today, ok?' she says. 'Are you ready for that?'"

Day 29: Wholesome (The author/you) 📰⭐😂😴☕🪞

Choice quote: "It means something to us, and thus it has meaning"

Day 30: You Win (F/nb)📰😂😍😴☕

Choice quote: "'Hmph,' they responded, grumpily. 'I know what you're doing.'"

I'm entirely a hobbyist content creator and work primarily for feedback and belly rubs. :) (I do take tips on Ko-fi though if you're feeling generous!) If you liked anything I made this month, I'd be really really delighted to hear about it. Hell, I'm delighted to hear constructive criticism as well- anything to know this isn't all going to into a void somewhere. Reblogs are also very much appreciated.

That being said- here are a few people in particular I want to thank for your encouragement, your inspiration, your cheerleading, or just generally for helping get me through the month- @thekinkycocktailclub @mentat101posts @jam-and-stuff @linnybeenaughty @sex-obsessed-lesbian @theleeallure @tennfan2 @spiralturquoise @daja-the-hypnokitten @misscammiedawn @royb8772 @hypno-potion @hypno-sandwich @wellgnawed @redriotwest @egur19 @mozart32 @mys-oleander @sleepwithgiggli @telephonetrance @dommestic @subbypuppy (I know I'm leaving a bunch of people off so- I apologize if I am and know I still appreciate you a lot.)

Extra special shoutout to @emptyofbrains2 who has not only given me lots of great feedback but has also written a lot of her own great stuff this past month. Check out her Tumblr if you haven't already!

Stay tuned to this space for- whatever it is the future holds. :) I'm excited- I hope you are too.

Thanks y'all :)

[1827crowleys]

“Aziraphale doesn’t want him to be unsure, so he presses kisses to both of Crowley’s palms before dropping his hands and reaching out to cup his face.

They don’t really need to say anything, here. Crowley’s hands come up to press against his, slender fingers then wrapping around Aziraphale’s wrists. They don’t need to say anything at all.” - Old Vines, chapter 10 by @sevdrag

sooo uh hi. i never use this website fdjghkdfjg but i'm a big fan of this fic (currently rereading it) (definitely in my top 3 fav good omens fics) and i just, i just had to draw this scene. so. yeah!

this drawing kinda drove me insane. had a meltdown last night because i thought aziraphale was just. so pretty. and i couldn't stop thinking about it all day until i got home from school so i could finish. but anyways, here we are . i really hope the author likes it and that maybe i did the scene some justice !!

[zeldahime]

Highway to Pail Day 3

[Day 1] [Prev] [Next] @do-it-with-style-events

February 3: Tri-Angel

Aziraphale almost didn't hear the chime of the activating portal. He had been experimenting with his brand-new gramophone, watching the clever mechanism read the grooves on the disc and produce recorded songs. Crowley would love the things, whenever he deigned to wake up, and Aziraphale wanted to be able to show him how they worked himself. He had just removed the needle to switch to a new disc when the portal activated. Gently, he set the needle down, taking a deep breath. Then he adjusted his waistcoat, squared his shoulders, and pasted a polite smile on his face.

He turned around just as Gabriel stepped out of the portal, and walked forward to greet him. "What a pleasant surprise," he was lying, as portal charmed again. Michael and Ariel emerged, fanning out around the bookshop.

No, not around the bookshop: around Aziraphale. As he attempted to greet them all, he found himself turning in a circle. They stood apart, equidistant from himself and from each other.

Aziraphale just hated when his managers did this. It was simply impossible to hold a normal conversation this way.

("They made a triangle around you, angel?" Crowley would guffaw. "Oh, a tri-angel!" Aziraphale would smack his arm. "No need to get so out of shape!" he'd crow, while Aziraphale pretended not to smile.

He'd wake up eventually. Maybe even soon enough for Aziraphale to complain about this, soon enough to hear his terrible, terrible jokes.)

"Hello, sunshine, good to see you're home," Gabriel said with all the warmth of an Arctic winter.

"To what do I owe the pleasure?" he asked Gabriel, his human head tilted just enough to be able to keep Ariel in his peripheral vision.

"Aziraphale," Michael said, and he turned to face them. "Do you remember Ariel?"

"The fires of Gehenna," Ariel supplied as Aziraphale continued to spin. "Since the locals were doing pagan things with fire. Divine retribution!"

He forced himself to smile when he met her eyes. "Ah, yes, nasty business," he said to her grin. "Smoke and destruction and all that."

"Justice in the name of God," Michael said sharply.

"Yes, quite right," Aziraphale agreed, spinning around yet again to face them. "Evil always sows the seeds of its own destruction."

"Like building their houses out of dead plants! I mean, those went up like nothing else. Hey, isn't this embassy made out of dead plants?" Ariel asked. "Be careful with your sword, Aziraphale, you wouldn't want it to catch."

Aziraphale smiled nervously. "Oh, no need to worry about that; I have it quite separated from the books."

"Ah," Gabriel said knowingly. "The material objects in which humans store their limited and inaccurate information."

"Why do you have so many of them?" Michael asked. When Aziraphale turned to answer, they gave him a flat look. "Don't answer; I don't actually want to know."

"Of course." Aziraphale attempted another polite smile and turned to Gabriel. "I don't wish to waste your valuable time; is there something I can help you with?" If he were a human, he suspected he would be quite dizzy already. As it was, he was already disconcertingly off-balance, and all this small talk about raining fire down on humans was not helping. The sooner he could usher the three archangels out of his bookshop, the happier he would be.

"Oh! Michael has an assignment for you," Ariel said, bouncing on her heels. "And I was hoping to go a couple rounds with you, if you're not too busy! I bet you don't get a lot of practice with your sword down here, not with all this kindling around."

"He'll definitely be busy," Michael said in that condescending way of theirs. "That's what an assignment is, making someone busy."

"And you'll definitely get right on top of it, won't you Aziraphale? Always working hard down here with the humans, showing them the light of God, huh?" Gabriel added.

"Certainly, certainly," Aziraphale hastened to reassure him, then turned again to Michael. "What is the assignment? I'd love to get started as soon as possible, spread the Good Word, all that."

"There's a potential saint in the village humans call "Tlachco," in the "Empire Mexicain," Michael said, enunciating in such a way that Aziraphale could hear the quotation marks, as though they didn't quite believe this was a real place.

"Just need to be at the birth! Bless it, baptize it, inspire it to sainthood," Ariel said.

"If the mother can birth an adult, that'd be best," Gabriel told him. "Hey! Maybe if you're lucky, you can pull out the rib."

"Ah. That would be, er, quite the experience." Aziraphale had no intention of pulling out anyone's ribs, or even of midwifing if he could avoid it. "And what are the parents' names?"

Three archangels looked at him silently, as though he'd asked a particularly stupid question.

"Something to do with carriages, wasn't it? The new kind they're making, without any of the animals involved?" Ariel asked, looking a bit confused.

"Oh yes, it was 'jalopy,' wasn't it? 'Jalopy Flowers,'" Gabriel said with a confidence that Aziraphale was quite certain was completely unearned.

"No, that's a kind of weird plant from the Pacific Islands," Michael said scornfully. "One of them was named Mercy. That should be enough for you to find them; can't be that many Mercies in the Americas."

They smartly quarter-turned a heel and brushed past Aziraphale to the portal, Gabriel following immediately. Ariel hung back for a moment.

"Next time you come Upstairs, you should go for a round or two with me. Gotta keep up practice for the Final War!" She smiled at him. Aziraphale smiled back nervously.

"I appreciate the offer, Ariel," he said politely.

Ariel's smile turned into a grin before she walked backward into the portal, giving him a little wave as she ascended to Heaven.

Well.

First, Aziraphale needed a good, stiff drink; then he needed to figure out how in God's name he was going to find this child.

He wished Crowley were awake. Crowley just loved Mexico; he would actually like doing this blessing.

Author's notes:

As I was writing this, I was thinking it would be set in very late 1898 or early 1899.

The gramophone Aziraphale is playing with is brand-new, and it's incredibly new tech for him! Gramophones started being sold in the UK by The Gramophone Company in April 1898, and the disc style gramophone had only been invented the previous year. I like the idea that Aziraphale was pretty on-top of fashion and culture in the Victorian age in general, and he'd have liked the gramophone bringing music directly into his home. The fact they all had "recording angel" trademarks on them probably also tickled him.

Ariel isn't a biblical archangel but Wikipedia said this angel was associated with the fires of Gehenna in Coptic tradition. Everything else about her, I made up.

The saint Aziraphale is supposed to bless is Margarito Flores García.

Wikipedia's almost certainly wrong about Flores's mother's name, since García Merced just like, isn't a name. Without doing any additional research because this was only supposed to take me an hour, her name is probably Mercedes García. Mercedes does mean "Mercy." Michael's also right about the town he was born in, although they used outdated names: Taxco de Alarcón derives from Tlachco, the Nahuatl word meaning "ball court," and Juan Ruiz de Alarcón, a famous writer who was from Taxco. "Empire Mexicain" was the official name of the Empire of Mexico, because naming things in French was just what Royalty Did Back Then, I guess.

The "Jalopy Flowers" joke is that Gabriel is utterly misremembering and mispronouncing the father's name, Germano Flores, and referencing the German Mercedes-Benz automobile brand (although since Mercedes-Benz was founded in 1926, Gabriel doesn't know that). When Michael corrects him and says it's the name of a plant, they're thinking about jalapeños.

And I think my author's notes might be longer than the ficlet. Whoops!

[mirjam-writes]

20 questions for fic writers

Tagged by @suavissimapenna <3 Sorry it took so long!

How many works do you have on ao3?

7 for Sherlock and 23 Good Omens that are completely mine. 6 collaborative fics I have either partly written, or just made art for. So, 36.

What's your total ao3 word count?

380,863

What fandoms do you write for?

Good Omens! I used to write for Sherlock too, but that's now in the past.

Top five fics by kudos:

Truth Or Dare (E, 6.5K words), my first proper smut ever! Post s1 gettig together story.

Angel Of Justice (T, 9.5K), my first ever Good Omens fanfic. Post S1 from Michael POV, A/C as a background couple.

!False (It's funny because it's true) (E, 5.4k), an office romance human AU set in software company.

A Stable Relationship (E, 9.9k), horse rider AU with trans Aziraphale. Friends with benefits becoming a romantic relationship.

Girls Just Wanna Have Sun (G, 1.7k), outsider pov scene about Robin's day at the beach, where she meets two weird gentlemen who have never been to a beach before.

Do you respond to comments?

YES I DO! Slowly, possibly, but yes I do, and I read and reread them!

What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Uhhh... angsty ending? What is that? Technically Be Still My Soul: The Rift, but does that count if it's a middle part of a trilogy? That's definitely my angstiest fic of all time BUT I tried to write the happiest ending possible to it. But also, yeah, people died in the war (just not A or C), so maybe I'll count that story.

Edit: WAIT NO! To Love Somebody, a story from Shadwell pov about how he fell in love both Aziraphale and Crowley, and how that changed him. That's sort of angsty and the ending is bittersweet!

What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Hmmmmmm. I have so many. I can't compare. Maybe Watching You (Watching Me), it's the porniest porn i have ever written, and it has...uh... several happy endings :D

Do you get hate on fics?

Not so far!

Do you write smut?

Yessss. I'm in my porn writer era at the moment :D

Craziest crossover:

I did some super weird anime crossovers as a teen (I hope those are long lost) but haven't dabbled on that since apart from very vague blink-and-you-miss-it references.

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of!

Have you ever had a fic translated?

One of my Sherlock fics was translated into french in 2018!

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Only for one round robin event, which produced four stories! Not sure if that really counts as collaborating since we weren't allowed to talk about it when we did it, we just got the fic, read it, and added 600 words and gave it to the next one! It was super fun though.

All time favorite ship?

Aziraphale and Crowley. No competition there.

What's a wip you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

I don't usually start posting unless I'm 100% confident I'll finish the story, so I don't have public wips.

I had one pretty cool Sherlock post-apocalypse story idea, which I'd love to talk about if someone is interested, but writing it? Hmm probably not. But it's not really a wip, if I have only like two bullets in a doc?

What are your writing strengths?

I think I write pretty good bickerflirting and humour even in dark situations. And, uh... historical research.

What are your writing weaknesses?

LONG ASS SENTENCES. I need to cut them down. Chop chop chop. Also, I over-use commas and em-dashes.

Also, not being a native english speaker, but I think I've got a lot more fluent during the past years, so maybe that's not my biggest weakness anymore.

Thoughts on dialogue in another language?

I have done it myself, in a situation when my pov character wasn't supposed to understand what was being discussed, but I did only a couple of lines.

My languages (apart from english) are finnish, very rough swedish, and teeny tiny bit of german, but many fics I've read that have used another language in dialogue, use French or Spanish (which are popular languages for English speakers to learn in school!), and with those I'm woefully lost!

But honestly, i don't need to understand every fic under the sun! You do you, I bet there are people who can understand whichever languages you'd like to mix in your story, and that will be amazing for them!

First fandom you wrote in?

The Book Series That Must Not Be Named. I projected so much of my teenage angst into wizard school drama.

Favorite fic you've written?

You monster! Making me choose. Uh.

Okay, fair. It's easy. Be Still My Soul, hands down. @be-still-my-soul-fanfic

No pressure tagging: @hkblack, @ambrasue, @tawnyontumblr , @ack-emma and @zehwulf and anyone else who wants to answer!

[adoroborosgoth]

One of the reasons I think Persuasion fits Crowley and Aziraphale.

So read Captain Wentworth's letter first.

"I can listen no longer in silence. I must speak to you by such means as are within my reach. You pierce my soul. I am half agony, half hope. Tell me not that I am too late, that such precious feelings are gone for ever. I offer myself to you again with a heart even more your own than when you almost broke it, eight years and a half ago. Dare not say that man forgets sooner than woman, that his love has an earlier death. I have loved none but you. Unjust I may have been, weak and resentful I have been, but never inconstant. You alone have brought me to Bath. For you alone, I think and plan. Have you not seen this? Can you fail to have understood my wishes? I had not waited even these ten days, could I have read your feelings, as I think you must have penetrated mine. I can hardly write. I am every instant hearing something which overpowers me. You sink your voice, but I can distinguish the tones of that voice when they would be lost on others. Too good, too excellent creature! You do us justice, indeed. You do believe that there is true attachment and constancy among men. Believe it to be most fervent, most undeviating, in F. W.

I must go, uncertain of my fate; but I shall return hither, or follow your party, as soon as possible. A word, a look, will be enough to decide whether I enter your father's house this evening or never."

Now for my ramblings below the cut.

Now that I'm not incoherently screaming internally. The quote I highlighted above in red. Which is. "You sink your voice, but I can distinguish the tones of that voice when they would be lost on others."

Now I could be wrong and I often am but isnt that almost in not so many words exactly what Crowley said to Aziraphale in s2e1 when they are sitting in the coffee shop.

Crowley: Right, what’s the problem?

Aziraphale: Problem? Who said there was a problem?

Crowley: Tone of voice. You have three reasons for calling me. You’re bored. You need to tell someone about something clever you did before you pop. Or something’s wrong. This was your ‘something’s wrong’ voice.

I know there are other parallels here to be made, but I can't help being obsessed with this line. I mean just the fact alone that Wenworth and Crowley have hope even after all that has happened. That's optimism baby!

There really is so much to unpack here and I am probably reading way to much into this, but hey isnt this what fandom is for.

Lol on a side note I love the "Too good, too excellent creature!" line in the letter just after the highlighted part. I just keep picturing Crowley saying something similar to or about Aziraphale but make it modern. Probably in a snarky, bitchy way, but it wouldn't be Crowley otherwise.

There are so many other parallels to Persuasion and Good Omens that others have touched on much better. Other highlights of note in orange.

I just bought a copy of Persuasion two days ago so I can pour over every little detail. (No more borrowing my sister's books.) So I expect I'll be making other posts later.

[feraltuxedo]

Hi! I hope you are doing well! I decided to spend my evening like Crowley, asking an important question from fellow GO writers! What's your current favourite story you yourself have written? Tell me why you like it!

Oh my gosh that's such a lovely ask... as a writer I'm sure you know just how shy we can get when it comes to talking about our writing in a positive way. But since you've given me permission to brag...

I'm very fond of all of my long fics, they're the works that take the most amount of time and have a tendency to nest in your mind even long after completion - but there is one short fic I wrote that has the same effect despite the writing (and posting) of it being quite a fast process:

First Thing In The Morning is a 5 chapter AU in which I combined some favourite and very comfortable story tropes (authors, getting back together, British politics) with some new to me writing techniques, namely dual POV and dual timeline.

I like how I wrote Crowley and Aziraphale in this fic, and how their characters change in the three decades between the two timelines - Crowley turning from a cocky teen king of chaos to a sensible but somewhat insecure adult, and Aziraphale who is standoffish and anxious as a boy, quite different to his confidence in the later timeline.

Adapting the prose to the two POVs and timelines was a challenge I loved. Thinking about what to reveal where, and playing with perspective like that. So much fun.

I also like how this fic is plotted. I always enjoy a good reveal or plot twist, and sprinkling in details and foreshadowing and hints in earlier chapters, and I think I managed to do that quite well here. There's lots for the discerning reader to pick up on.

The dual settings of modern day London and a 1990s secondary school were fun to write and I like to think I did them both justice in such a short story. As always, there is a distinctive political theme that snuck into this fic as soon as I realised part of if would be set at a school thirty years ago.

Still, I like to think that despite the heavier notes, this is overall a warm, heartfelt, and positive story. It strikes a good balance.

And lastly, this fic has an entirely gratuitous and extended smut scene just for a bit of spice. Quite pleased with that one.

Thank you so much, Mirjam, for this ask and the opportunity to go on about my writing ❤️

[analysisn3rd]

'Too Sweet' by Hozier and how I relate it to Good Omens

I think that this song can be seen as both Aziraphale talking about Crowley and Crowley talking about Aziraphale (which is what most people think), and I’m going to expand on that.

Aziraphale about Crowley:

“You’re too sweet for me”

Aziraphale thinks that Crowley is “too sweet” to him because he thinks that he doesn’t deserve the way that Crowley treats him; he doesn’t deserve Crowley’s kindness, Crowley’s care and love. This is because he’s been taught to think that he’s only worthy, that he’s only loved, if he were “good” or helpful because of Heaven, and its unrealistic standards for Aziraphale, and because of the unimaginable amount of guilt that he carries around. He feels so bad for so many things that have happened, so many things that he hasn’t been able to stop, and although he knows that, logically, he couldn’t have done anything, it doesn’t stop him from feeling bad. The narrator/singer thinks that their partner is “too sweet” and “too good” for them, meaning that they don’t deserve the narrator/singer, and they don’t want to be with them, which is opposite to Aziraphale’s case. He wants to be with Crowley, and he truly loves him, though he shows it in odd ways, but he doesn’t think that he’s deserving, that he’s worthy, of such love, of such care, of such kindness because of the aforementioned reasons.

“I take my whiskey neat, my coffee black and my bed at three”

This means that the singer/narrator indulges in life’s little delights without changing them, having them as bitter as they are (like the coffee). This doesn’t necessarily apply to Aziraphale in the literal manner, but he does definitely indulge in Earthly things that Heaven views as a waste of time or dirty like books, food and theatre.

Crowley about Aziraphale:

“I take my whiskey neat, my coffee black and my bed at three” Unlike Aziraphale, this sentence’s meaning is very literal in Crowley’s case. He does like indulging, but the only indulgences that we’ve seen him take part in are alcoholics, especially wine, bitter coffee (six shots of espresso) and sleep.

“You’re too sweet for me” He thinks that Aziraphale is “too sweet” because he’s genuinely kind to Crowley, something that he’s not quite used to, and because he’s an Angel; he represents all that’s good, while Crowley’s a Demon, and, as much as he hates it, they’re on opposite sides. Crowley’s considered a “lowly creature”, though I don’t think that he thinks this of himself, but he definitely thinks that Aziraphale thinks in this manner because of him wanting Crowley to come back to Heaven and wanting him to be an Angel again (that was for a different reason, in my opinion, but that’s another day). He thinks that he’d be more lovable if he were an Angel, so Aziraphale, the Angel that he is, is “too good” for him. That’s quite similar to how the narrator/singer sees their partner as “too sweet” and “too good” for them. The partner wants a more healthy lifestyle (“You keep telling me to live right”, which can also be seen as Aziraphale telling Crowley about returning to Heaven and becoming an Angel again, because, in his eyes, it’s the “right” thing to do) for both of them, which is the singer appreciates, but disagrees with.

An additional point:

“You know you're bright as the morning As soft as the rain Pretty as a vine As sweet as a grape” 

I think that that’s one of the ways in which Aziraphale would describe Crowley, and it’s also how Aziraphale would be described by Crowley. 

Overall, I think that this song fits Aziraphale and Crowley rather well, much like most Hozier’s songs do. I hope that I did them, and the song, justice because they’re very lovely.

[mimisempai]

Masterpiece

Summary

Aziraphale uses the fact that his demon is asleep to paint his portrait... but it's hard not to touch beauty when it's right in front of you.

Notes

After seeing Gabriel's portrait, which seems to have been drawn by Aziraphale, I thought what if the angel had tons of sketchbooks full of Crowley sketches.

On AO3

Rating G -  598 words

It was a quiet afternoon.

The rays of the summer sun shone through the windowpanes, illuminating the back room with a warm glow.

Aziraphale put down his pencil for a moment, took a sip from his cup of tea, and looked down at his sketchpad, studying the angle to be approached before continuing.

He picked up his pencil again and let his eyes wander over the sleeping figure on the sofa, allowing himself to be distracted for a moment.

How could he not be distracted by the view he was presented with?

Aziraphale couldn't suppress an amused smile when he saw the red hair completely disheveled by sleep. He began to trace the outline, only regretting that black and white didn't do justice to the unique color of his lover's hair.

Aziraphale nibbled on his pencil before continuing to draw the sleeping demon's face, the eyelashes shadowing his cheeks, the outline of his thin nose, his mouth slightly open.

Just as he was about to begin drawing the tattoo on his left cheek, Aziraphale moved closer to get a better look.

He stopped abruptly as Crowley had just made a small noise and moved his head slightly. Aziraphale waited, pencil raised, and when he saw that the demon was still asleep, he resumed his drawing.

He was now so close to Crowley's face that he had to resist the urge to touch the beautiful face. If only to smooth the small frown that had just appeared between his eyebrows. But he didn't want to wake his demon, who seemed to be sleeping so peacefully.

He moved from the tattoo to the cheekbone, then from the chin to the neck, to the half-open shirt that revealed the beginnings of his chest. He spent a long time drawing the demon's upper body, amazed that he could still sleep so peacefully.

Finally, he came to one of his favorite parts, the hands. Crowley's hands, which moved constantly when he spoke, even more when he was angry, but which could be so gentle when they touched Aziraphale.

The angel could no longer resist.

He put down his sketchpad and pencil before gently grasping one of Crowley's hands. His fingers were thinner and longer than Aziraphale's, and as the angel pressed his palm against the demon's, he felt the connection between them once again. That indefinable bond forged over millennia. Aziraphale gently brought the demon's hand to his lips and gave the palm a soft and lingering kiss.

A small gasp amid Crowley's steady breathing told the Angel that the demon was awakening.

Still with his lips against Crowley's palm, Aziraphale watched him awaken, eyelids fluttering over his peculiar pupils, and as their eyes met, Crowley's hand slid from Aziraphale's lips to his cheek, lingering there in a gentle caress.

Crowley murmured in a hoarse voice, "Angel, you can claim to know how to wake a demon."

Aziraphale chuckled slightly, leaning his cheek into the demon's hand, and Crowley, glancing at the pencil and sketchpad left on the edge of the sofa, continued with a raised eyebrow, "Did you find anything interesting to draw?"

Aziraphale smiled at first without answering, then, taking the demon's hand back in his own, he said softly, "Yes, a rare and precious specimen of a demon."

He continued to smile when he saw from the slight flush on Crowley's cheeks that he realized he was the subject of his drawing. 

So the angel leaned forward and pressed his mouth to Crowley's, telling himself that no pencil line could ever do justice to the softness of his demon's lips.

_________

Still not beta'd

Still not my native language

Still hoping you'll enjoy this story  🥰

Still thanking you for bearing with me 😝

Ineffable Husbands masterlist : here

[averywiseanimatedcat]

Rewatching Good Omens season 2 liveblog

Season 2, episode 2 ‘The clue’ Post 1

Link to episode 1 post 1

What in the actual duck did Crowley summon here? It’s like a mini sun that shoots sun lazers?? Again-showing how powerful Crowley is he can summon a dam sun looking thing just to smite a few goats. Also unnecessarily dramatic, which I appreciate. Very on brand.

Be gay, so crimes, smite some goats with a giant sun you summoned out of nowhere.

This was so funny it was like they were in a play, and it was cute how Azirphale recognised him and was like ‘oh it’s yooouu’ and immediately dropped the Angel act

Fuck off Gabirel. If I could curse this Angel to a thousand years of stubbing his little toe repeatedly over and over again on a table leg in hell I WOULD. That’s all I have to say about Gabriel. Moving on.

This whole Job flashback is so important to setting up the the conflict of the season which ultimately builds up to Azirphale and Crowleys fight.

The main conflict of this season is Aziraphales fight with his own mortality and beliefs. It’s so sad to watch him get his hopes up just to have them dashed again and again when he’s trying to find reason or meaning in the events that are unfolding in front of him. He has a very strong sense of justice, and the events of the Job flashback are obviously disturbing to him. So much so that he actually goes AGAINST gods will to try and stop Crowley when he thinks he’s going to hurt the children. He spends the whole thing bouncing around between rebellion and conformity. And it’s really telling that he is still in the same struggle in the present day. He hasn’t resolved anything, he’s just gotten more comfortable with breaking the rules (probably bc of his scary dog privileges, aka, Crowley)

Moving on….

This is the face of a man in the process of experiencing the ick. His ick is anyone but Crowley or him touching his books but I think his ick is also Gabriel in general.

This is an ick we share. Fuck Gabriel. Even when he’s Jim.

I have multiple questions- first of all, does Crowley ever clean his windscreen?

Second of all-why does he park in this random ass street all the time? Does he want Azirphale to think he’s out doing something cool and important when really he has nothing to do and no house to go to? Then he can pull up all suave like whenever Azirphale calls? I bet this street is like 2 minutes from the bookshop so he can pretend he was far away then drive up at the perfect time.

You need a hobby Crowley, like a real one, and saving your Angel over and over again is not a hobby. You also need a therapist but that’s another discussion…

Also-I love how DISGUSTINGLY sarcastic he is this season. He’s really turned it up like five notches. Probably compensating for the fact everyone knows he’s attached to the hip with Azi so he gotta turn up the cool/unbothered sarcastic demon of the underworld act while he sleeps in his car with his houseplants. What a gay disaster I love him.

Aziraphale is a mood here not knowing what to do when someone’s crying infront of them

Me whenever I see Gabriel even when he’s Jim. That’s my middle finger if it wasn’t clear enough.

Fuck Gabriel and therefore also fuck Jim. I hope he drops his toast in the morning, spread side down.

BUT I have to admit-Jim is hyperactive ADHD personified and I appreciate the comedy.

But still fuck you Gabriel.

Azirphales face in the background when he thinks their about to discover Gabriel: a toddler who thinks if they can’t see you, you can’t see them.

Link to next post

[finethingswellworn]

I've been so anxious about season 3, about the reunion, about everything, really.

But I'm choosing to cope by thinking about what it means, in the GO universe, that Crowley and Aziraphale know one another so well.

Yes, yes. Alright. Har har! Feel free to insert the inevitable "You mean knowing in a Biblical sense?" jokes here. Get it off your chest.

Because Crowley obviously likes Aziraphale. In all senses of the word.

But more importantly, Crowley knows Aziraphale. He's known of him and known him and has been known by Aziraphale in return for so long now it boggles the mind.

And what I mean is

Crowley sees who Aziraphale is in the garden, sees that he is an angel unlike the others, an angel with a conscience, an angel who doesn't always do the "good" thing but will do the right thing most of the time.

Even then, Crowley sees more of Aziraphale than heaven ever could. Crowley's intrigued, fascinated, willing to truly engage with Aziraphale, test him from the very beginning. But he doesn't know, yet. Not completely.

After all this time, however, months and months out from season 2, I still believe the Job incident solidifies there relationship for Crowley. For Aziraphale. For us, the devastated audience. And I think it works in tandem with 1941 part II to give us an idea of what to expect in season 3. Or, at least, it gives us a glimpse of how Crowley and Aziraphale's relationship could potentially go.

Because as much as Crowley is sure Aziraphale will break out of heaven's black and white mindset, Aziraphale is equally confident in Crowley's sense of justice, his inherent, if not goodness by heaven's definition, then his... humanity. Both his love for it and how he's been influenced by it.

Crowley stands in a fiery house with the lives of Job's innocent children hanging in the balance, asks Aziraphale if he really knows him, and not once does Aziraphale waver.

In 1941, we get an explicit, out loud declaration of trust along with a quiet realization of love in the ruins of a church. It's beautiful.

"You said "trust me,"."

"And you did."

But also, haven't they been doing this for millennia already? The sheer level of faith they've had to put in each other, starting from Job, carrying through to 1941, and finally to the present storyline is honestly astounding.

Circling back around, I think the heartbreak on both sides is the perceived misalignment between what each of them knows about the other and their present day choices.

So yes, they have issues. They fundamentally disagree about how to be together, how to make it finally safe to be together. They've hurt each other. They're not talking.

But!

Does that matter?

When shit hits the fan, haven't they always lied for each other, broken the rules for each other, protected each other without a thought?

They know it, too. They've known it for a long, long time.

I've seen some people say that one or both of them were naive to what their relationship was until The Kiss™, and I just can't agree with that.

So, this whole ramble is to say, just because you don't say something out loud doesn't mean it's not there. Just because you break someone's heart doesn't necessarily mean you won't come running to them in an instant if need be. And one conversation, no matter how hurtful and fraught, cannot undo thousands of years worth of actions.

They have, quite literally, been loving each other too long to stop now.

Deep down, both of them know that, too, I think. I'm choosing to hope.

[forfuckssakejim]

🦀 🪸

It took me a long time to answer these because it just made me really hypercritical of my works in wanting to choose the very best ones so I hope I did these two justice.

🦀 a great opening line from a published work

I chose my Aziracrow fic, “Trust More Freely” since I feel it really sets up just how much Aziraphale trusts Crowley in the 1941 minisode

“Someone you can really trust.” the shopkeeper says, and Aziraphale doesn’t need to think twice before his gaze turns to Crowley, already preparing to do any kind of begging necessary.

🪸 a great closing line from a published work

Oh! Def the last one of “Isn’t It Delicate?” It’s a Goncharov/Andrey fic that I wrote after rewatching the movie when my double dose of trazadone refused to take my body to sleep.

“I never do.” He says, voice steady as Andrey’s hand covers his, blood smeared on his face but neither seem to care at this moment. “Not when it is you.” 

[two-hands-toward-the-sun]

my longest fic vs shortest fic

this isn't a tag game as far as i know, but i thought it would be something fun to do!

longest fic: it's an old song (and we're gonna sing it again) (3,845 words)

god, what can i say about this fic? it is one of my favorites, and one of the fics that i worked the hardest on. during the writing process, i read several articles about healing by and for survivors of sexual assault, because it is a vitally important topic and it was damned crucial to me that i do my best to write about it considerately. i also loved exploring what calliope would do in this new phase of her life. i hope my concept of it did justice to the character.

These days, Calliope gravitates towards those who seek to heal through art, those who have survived experiences like the ones she has. Their words flow a little easier. Their hands move more freely across a canvas. Their fingers dart more nimbly across guitar strings. She breathes art-focused support groups into being, and gives existing groups fresh rejuvenation. Some days she cannot bear it. Bearing intimate witness to the deluge of those who ache like she did and does. That is when she shuts herself in her room and rests, the way she does not think goddesses are supposed to need to, but that she does her best to embrace nevertheless. On the days when she can bear it, she works.

it was also such a great challenge to really dig my teeth into the meat of calliope and dream's dynamic, shown to us in such tantalisingly brief moments in the show. their chemistry stands out to me because i don't read it as the standard romantic chemistry; it's about the past, and the present, and the knowledge that they will not ever be a couple again but they were once and that's never going to change. and where do they go from here? it's beautiful.

shortest fic: like the holding of hands, like the breaking of glass (207 words)

oh this fic is a little over a year old!! that's cool. i just gave this a quick reread and...i honestly love how my writing style shows up here? i revel in gratuitous use of punctuation, and in this fic i did not hold back lol. *kisses this tiny story on the forehead and tucks it into bed*

One would think that, after all this time, Crowley would know what to do with this feeling—the tightness inside his chest, the stab of affection slipping between his ribs, where his defences are weakest; and to say that his defences have ever been particularly strong in the face of Aziraphale would be a truly outrageous untruth, even for a demon. Crowley is old, and growing older still, and the hands which hold the restless, flapping creature that is his love for Aziraphale remain excruciatingly steadfast.

i'm not going to tag anyone, but if anyone sees this and wants an excuse to get nerdy and excited about their fics, have at it! <3