#it takes aziraphale a little longer but he always gets there and he will again in s3

[aziraphales-library]

are there any WIP or long post s2 fics you guys are keeping an eye on? I want to get into something for the long haul! love you guys, thank you!!

I don't read WIPs myself, though I have a couple bookmarked for once they're complete. Here are some long ones for you, which may or may not be completed by the time this posts...

Flaws by indigo (E) (WIP) (now complete)

Aziraphale cannot just sit back and hope any longer; Crowley is too precious to him to allow any risk at all to his continued existence. The Metatron's offer was far too good to pass by, and even if Crowley refuses to see it, Aziraphale needs to take this chance to make Heaven into the place of light and good that it should be. Crowley will come around eventually, the angel knows that impetuosity was always one of his flaws. But what of Aziraphale's flaws? Naivety, perhaps? I am jumping into the post S2 whirlpool with my own thoughts on What Happened Next. Whilst I have every confidence that NG will FIX THIS, I have some fears that Amazon will leave us hanging... and anyway, I want my happiness for them NOW, not in another four years... Angst in places, but they will end up on the same page, eventually! At least one update a week for now, settling into weekly updates by September.

how do we turn on the light? by moonyinpisces (M) (WIP)

Aziraphale ascends to the highest level of the Archangels. And he remembers—well. It’s not important what he remembers.

The End of My World Is You by T_O_S_T_E, WeepingintheTARDIS (G) (WIP)

If finding the Truth means the end of the Universe… would you still proceed? Something’s Up, and that something is the Second Coming. Although many people - sorry, angels - seem to be involved, there’s only one among them who knows what’s really cooking in the hot oven called ‘the Great Plan’. Although — only one?

Don't Fall Away From Me by PhoenixRose314 (M) (WIP)

if i fall, on that day, i only pray don't fall away from me. What if there was much more to Aziraphale and Crowley's history than Crowley remembers? What if there had been an "our side" even before the Fall? What if Aziraphale's guilt was the only thing keeping them apart for the last six thousand years? And what if the only thing that could pull them back together again was the firm belief of a plucky little angel-turned-human-bookseller that love really does conquer all? Don't Fall Away From Me is a post Season-2 Good Omens fic that rotates perspectives between Muriel, Crowley and Aziraphale.

Are We Meant to Read the Footnotes? by RiaTheDreamer (T) (WIP)

After Aziraphale’s decision, Crowley chooses coffee, not death. Life goes, painfully, on, and Crowley does his best to adapt to his new lonely existence. It hurts. Until it suddenly doesn’t. Someone has opened the Book of Life and erased Aziraphale’s name. Old habits kick in, but how can Crowley save someone whose existence has been destroyed and forgotten?

- Mod D

[catabasis]

1601 | 1941 GOOD OMENS 1.03 | 2.04

[actual-changeling]

This post is going to show you the EXACT moment that tear forms with indisputable evidence that consists of several screencaps, detail shots, and slowed down video proof, which will be at the very end.

The tear and I are getting married, her name is Trina and I love her.

Let's get right into it. Be prepared for uh. Very painful facial expressions! And tears (at the end).

We're going to look through the final fifteen chronologically with pit stops at important emotional points that I think would make sense to cause a tear.

As you can see, we go into this argument with mostly dry eyes, a little glistening here and there but those are NOT tears. Probably just the contacts plus the lack of blinking making his eyes a bit more moist than your usual pair. The tear will be obvious.

Obvious disbelief when Aziraphale tells him about the Metatron's bullshit, yes, but Crowley soldiers on through.

Now a scene that I personally thought would be most likely to cause tears - "tell me you said no". However - his eyes stay dry! Both before and after Aziraphale's non-answer. No tears.

The best spot to look at is his waterline, and as you can see it's free of any sad tears.

We have reached the "go off together" stage, Crowley is yelling, they're both emotionally perturbed, a very good foundation for tears. Yet when you look at his eyes during and right after, they're still dry!

We are now right before Crowley says "you can't leave this bookshop" and when he does BOOM the tear is suddenly there!

This is what our tear looks like, and we have a very narrow time frame during which it can appear. So it is time for the grand reveal because by now you're probably yelling at me "okay but WHEN does it show up??"

I will tell you. Or rather, I will show you first and then tell you what Aziraphale said right before that triggered it. Ready?

There it is. Left - no tear. Right - tear. (no i will not make the trivago joke again i want to but i wont.)

Come with me! To heaven! I'll run it, -> no tear yet. It appears after the next part.

you can be my second in command THAT is what causes the tear to finally show up. Right as Aziraphale finishes his sentence you can watch as it appears.

As promised, here is the video evidence, slowed down by half and zoomed in on Crowley's face at the end.

Alright, have you seen enough tears? Good! Let's look at the emotional reason. Because your question is probably what is so special about that sentence that it tips Crowley over the edge?

That one sentence, that one "promise" Aziraphale makes him, destroys everything. All of it in one go.

It is not just about Aziraphale choosing heaven over him, it's not about him saying no to running away (Crowley probably saw that coming anyway). What Aziraphale does is he takes them, their us and eliminates it.

Not just is he telling Crowley that he's an evil demon tm who needs to be an angel to be worthy of staying in Aziraphale's life, but "second in command" takes that even further.

Not "ruling together" or "ruling side by side" or any variation of those. No, Aziraphale is telling him that they are not equal and never have been. That Crowley has always been inferior to him and always WILL BE even if he stops being a demon and does what Aziraphale wants.

This is why Crowley no longer things of them as an us after all of that. Aziraphale took every single meaning it had and inverted it, crushed it up, and then threw it away.

Yeah.

Crowley is telling him he is gay and in gay love with him. Aziraphale takes that and says "you can be my employee at gay conversion therapy which i will run #straight besties".

Crowley hears "second in command" and it is the last puzzle piece falling into place. It's the final straw and that is when we get the tear. Before that he was saying we can be together, be an us, just the two of us, you and me. He was referring to them as free equals who don't need heaven or hell, who are happy with everything the way it is. An Aziraphale who loves Crowley no matter what his former occupation might have been.

We could have been us. (I wanted us to be an us)

And Aziraphale's answer to that is there has never been an us and we never will be. i don't love you the way you love me.

Anyway, see y'all on my next angst post or in the tags. Have another devastating screencap to wrap this all up nicely 💚

[vidavalor]

This is the face of an angel who just realized that his oppressors are afraid of him and his friends because, together, they are a force that threatens the regime.

This is the face of an angel that just realized all of this Metatron nonsense is to separate them and keep him-- the best strategist-- from starting a revolution. If they are split up, The Second Coming goes off without a hitch... but if Aziraphale unites them, then Heaven will fall. Crowley & Aziraphale alone are enough trouble together to stop Armageddon. Crowley & Aziraphale with the eons-long leaders and commanders of Heaven and Hell in Gabriel and Beezelbub, though? That is a coup.

How little would it take to overthrow it all at this point? How long until it's Crowley & Aziraphale & Gabriel & Beez... & Muriel & Eric & Furfur? How til they get Michael and Dagon on their side? How long until it's actually most of the demons and a sizable portion of the angels teaming up against what's left of Heaven?

Give Me Coffee or Give Me Death. Aziraphale took the coffee. The Metatron thinks it means subservience. He thinks it means he's tricked Aziraphale and that he's won and he was almost right, so is the level of trauma these beings have suffered. He didn't know, though, that coffee is already coded as liberty. He handed Aziraphale a cup of symbolic freedom and didn't realize how so very true that was going to be. Just like a certain empire once did when they gave some of their people the option to form some colonies, thinking that the empire would always remain in control, and now we call those colonies not part of Great Britain but The United States of America.

"Out of his mouth go burning lamps, and sparks leap out"-- the Job quote on the matchbox. The matchbox containing the fly, containing Gabriel via Beez. Out of Gabriel's mouth goes burning lamps-- Gabriel lights the way. He's the path forward. He is first shots fired in the rebellion...

...and sparks leap out.

Some Boston Tea Party stuff afoot, you guys.

That is the face of an angel that just realized that he and Crowley were both wrong: the solution isn't running away but it's also not taking over a broken system that doesn't want to be fixed... it's fanning the spark that Gabriel lit into a flame and then into an inferno and burning this entire mother to the ground.

Aziraphale is no longer headed to Heaven to run it.

He's headed to Heaven to *overthrow* it.

He's headed to Heaven to *liberate* it.

No idea how much of a chance he will get to succeed alone but this is Aziraphale. He will give them hell if it's the last thing he ever does-- for Muriel and all the angels like them. For all the persecuted demons. For the humans Heaven wants to destroy. For Gabriel.

Most of all, for what they did to Crowley and the 6,000 years of fear and pain they've put them through.

That is the face of an angel who just realized that he had almost been drawn back into Heaven's web of darkness again, only to hear that Heaven wants him to oversee the destruction of 8 billion people and the Earth he calls home and the stars the love of his life built and he has reached his absolute last remaining straw.

They've taken his home and hurt his friends and they took *Crowley* and at this point, Aziraphale no longer gives one flying fuck what it might be that God wants because God can go fuck herself if this it is. The elevator scene is Aziraphale saying Crowley was right:

That angel is *untethered* with barely controlled rage. They nearly played him for a sucker. He might die doing this and they fooled him and he broke Crowley's heart and they've taken too. Fucking. Much. It's just utter destruction. There will be no system of Heaven and Hell done when Aziraphale is through with it.

Aziraphale is about to go from not sure if he should stop Armageddon in S1 to being the angel that destroys the system of Heaven and Hell in S3.

Yes, you can save everyone, Aziraphale, but not alone. You need Crowley's imagination and Gabriel's leadership and Beez's intelligence. That's what they're afraid of. You finally got it in that elevator, so get up there now, get your gang back together, and make some trouble.

[ineffable-suffering]

Trauma-Dumping on your plants: The Anthony J. Crowley Chronicles

This has been living in my silly head rent free for so long, I finally decided to slap it on here in hopes of thinking about it a little less (than three times a day. It's been years. I need to get over it.)

Also, I'm absolutely certain I'm not even remotely the first person to realize or post about this, since it's not the hardest of parallels to figure out. Alas, I still shall, because out of mind, out of sight and all that. So:

Let's talk about how Crowley is using his houseplants to work through his own Trauma of the Fall. Or, well, maybe not work through it per se, but more so roleplay it to give it somewhat of an an outlet because he never got over it. Lol.

It's not rocket science to figure it out and God Herself actually gives us a pretty spot-on explanation of it in her own narration.

Crowley's plants are perfect. They're, as God Herself tells us, the most luxurious and beautiful in all of London. He takes great care of them, waters them, mists them. Does any and everything to give them the perfect conditions so they won't have a worry in the world.

And yet, we're immediately shown that despite the seemingly perfect conditions they're living in, Crowley's plants still get *gasps quietly* spots. And we all know how Crowley feels about that:

It seems like such an unnecessary tiny thing to get upset about, right? Like, plants get spots all the time. They're not perfect, they're part of nature and nothing is ever perfect in nature. Crowley would know that by now. Imperfection is the whole point of nature. If everything had stayed exactly the way it always was, nothing would have ever changed or evolved.

Besides, Crowley is a demon. If it were merely about aesthetics to him, he could easily miracle away any spot with a blink of his serpent eyes. But he gets so angry about it, it's almost comical. At first we think it's just to show us, the audience, that, in contrast to Aziraphale, who cares very dearly and lovingly for his books, Crowley is a mean, mean demon who, instead of being outwardly nice to the things he loves (like Aziraphale does), yells at his plants because he's a mean meanie.

But! If you look at the whole scene and what God says, it's pretty obvious what he's actually doing is something else entirely: "What Crowley does is he puts the fear of God in them. Or, the fear of Crowley. The plants are the most luxurious and beautiful in London. Also the most scared."

Folks, this man dude serpent is literally roleplaying the concept of God/Heaven threatening angels with their Fall in order to keep them obedient ... with his houseplants.

Have I mentioned yet that I am absolutely obsessed with him and also desperately wanna get him a therapy voucher?

Because what does he do once he sees a plant disobeying his rules of perfection and acting out? The same thing God did to her questioning, equally disobedient angels (including Crowley): Parade it in front of the very scared rest, making an example of it ...

... only to then, well ...

... quite literally chuck it out.

To anyone else, this seems like a completely ridiculous thing to do over a tiny, minuscule spot. There would have been a bunch of other ways to go about fixing that spot.

Figuring out what it was the plant needed that might not have been given to it yet.

Taking care of it in a different, individual way so it would have been able to thrive again.

Listening to the plant and letting it tell you why its spot appeared in the first place.

Telling the plant, that loves and relies on you entirely, you love it too, despite it not being without fault, despite of it not fully living up to your unreachable standards of perfection.

Caring for the plant not because you want it to be perfect, but because you're okay with it being imperfect.

(We're no longer talking about plants here, as you are probably aware.)

Alas, this isn't what Crowley does. Because it wasn't what God did, either. We still know very little about Crowley's actual Fall and the Fall of Lucifer and the rest. But we do know that Crowley was never like or even with them.

All he did was ask some questions. A tiny spot. A seemingly insignificant blemish in the luxurious, beautiful flora of Heaven.

And yet, before he knew it, he did a "million lightyear freestyle dive into a boiling pool of sulfur". Cast out, chucked away, just like his little spotty plant. And for what? Well ...

... to keep the others angels plants check, for the rest of time.

***

(Addendum from the comments: If we go by what the book tells us, Crowley doesn’t actually end up violently throwing out the ‚bad‘ plants. He just finds a different place for them and makes sure they‘re looked after. So much to him being a big, bad, meanie-mean demon.)

[topaziraphale]

"Stop saying Crowley won't help Aziraphale in S3 he'd go back to him in a HEARTBEAT and nothing would stop him" I get it no one likes the idea of Crowley being bitter after what happened for a long period of time but like can we at least acknowledge that he's currently going through probably the most emotional pain in his life since falling? Can we agree that he's opened his heart entirely - something you couldn't pay him to do unless the world is literally ending and he's desperate - to Aziraphale, and got shot down? Can we understand that he did it AGAIN only to lose Aziraphale again? Not that what Aziraphale did isn't without Crowley's own shortcomings (hiding the truth of Heaven's cruelty from him) but like,,,,

The appeal here isn't Scorned Crowley Doesn't Love Aziraphale Anymore, or Never Wants To Help Him Again, the appeal here is Crowley learning enough self respect to not just walk back right to Aziraphale like nothing happened after Aziraphale has had a pattern of consistently refusing him. Going years ping-ponging between "We're not friends I don't even know him" to "That's what friends are for right?" and "We're friends, why would you even say anything?" and "Friends? We're not friends. We are an angel and a demon!"

Like I get it, Crowley is a heartbreakingly forgiving person. Of course he's gonna forgive Aziraphale, I'll be surprised if he didn't forgive him by the time he walked out the bookshop door, but gdi he could at least grant himself the luxury of being at least a little irritated for longer than however long it takes to make a globe and some books float and angrily cry out to God in his flat. But due to the change of pace and dynamic that is establishing part of the conflict for Season 3, I just really like the idea of him for ONCE prioritizing himself and being like "Okay, fine. We'll get back at it when you're ready, then," instead of just taking Aziraphale back like his words and actions meant nothing to him, when clearly they have an effect on him.

What is Aziraphale going to learn if Crowley just accepts what he did so quickly, like he always has the entire time they've been friends? Idk maybe I'm just projecting too much darkness on their dynamic but I mean, if the pattern of Aziraphale pushing Crowley away/disrespecting him one day and then being fine with his friendship the next + Crowley never stopping to be like "Hey, that's not cool, at least give me a little credit" or smth was fine all along and will continue to be fine in the future, then why, after 6,000 years of being friends and loving this demon, can Aziraphale still not accept that Crowley is just fine the way he is, and instead got excited to promote him to an angel in a heartbeat once the opportunity presented itself? You can't blame all of it on Heaven when Aziraphale has demonstrated his free will/defiance to Heaven so many times. Or, I don't know, I guess maybe we can? Maybe I'm just craving too much angst to the point where I'm letting it cloud my analysis of canon. Idk.

[avocado-writing]

notes: LMFAO HERE WE GO. went hard into the monster fuckin with this one. this request was also done by @youhavesinnedverybigly which you can read here it's very 💕💞💓💗💝💘💖 thank u for requesting @silcosmoke!

pairing: aziraphale x reader

rating: E, minors dni

word count: 1.1k

tags: eldritch being biblically accurate angel; use of glitch text

You’re lying flat on your back, pawing up at the soft hair on his chest, and feeling absolutely ravished.

“Aziraphale,” you sigh, letting your tongue caress every syllable. You say it with deference, with rapture, like a prayer dropping from your lips. Aziraphale breathes a heady sigh at the sound of your pleasure and takes the hand you explore him with, bringing it to his face so that he might kiss its palm.

“My love. My darling,” he sighs, thrusting his hips into you a little more sharply. You groan at the feeling of him filling you, the stretch he gives you is always so gorgeous. With a devilish grin you contract your muscles and clench around his thick cock. He moans like he’s being paid by the hour, lost in the tight grip you give him.

“Good lord… you’re so… I’m… I’m…”

Your usually erudite lover becomes laconic when in the throes of lust, something which you take great pride in being the cause of. You assume he means he’s going to come so concentrate on your own orgasm, shutting your eyes and touching yourself. After a couple of moments, when you don’t hear that little sound he makes when he spends, you open them again.

And shriek.

“WHAT THE FUCK?!”

“Wh̴a̶t̶'̷s̶ ̸t̴h̴e̸ ̶m̸a̸t̸t̷e̵r̵ ̶m̶y̵ ̷d̵e̴a̷r̸?̷”

The voice doesn’t come from his mouth, because he no longer has one. Aziraphale has, to put it simply, begun to change. His body is no longer the soft, pink, lovely thing you’re used to; he is instead emitting such a bright light that it hurts your eyes if you’re not squinting. There’s no making out any of his features. An angelic lens flare.

“You’re… you’re glowing?!” you manage.

"A̸̓͜m̴̪͝ ̷͈́I̸̖̕?”

Somehow he’s still fucking you, hips rolling as he presses deeper inside. Your body is filled with wave after wave of pleasure as Aziraphale shifts before your eyes, his transformation not stopping his lovemaking. It’s a difficult thing to watch, in fact, you get the sense that if you try to observe it too closely at the very least you’re going to get a terrible migraine, so you turn away.

“M̴̛ͅy̶͕͌ ̶̯̔d̷̹̈a̴̙͒r̶͈̆ļ̵̑i̴̼̍n̶̼͂g̴͕̈,̴̟̀ ̴̤̿Ī̶͎'̵̼̂m̸̘̈́ ̴̗̆ŝ̷͇o̶̞͝ ̸̦͂s̴͉͂o̸͙̍r̷̰̈́r̷̟̂ȳ̸̻,̷̧̅ ̶̨̃I̶̢͠'̴̱̕l̴̡̃l̴̨̐ ̵̬͒s̵̝͐t̸͉̍ô̶̡p̶̞̄ ̵͌͜a̷͝ͅṱ̵̀ ̸̖̒o̸̺͋n̸̰͒c̵͈̾ḙ̶̀-̷̬̏-̴͔͐”

“No! No, don’t you dare. Fuck… just… tell me when you’ve finished changing…”

Your body is bathed with a warm, delicious feeling, both outside and in. Your skin feels like you’re being dipped in balmy water, every cell ignited with the feeling of rapture as your angel shifts. Where you can feel him entering you your body shudders as he presses deeper than he ever has before, filling not just your hole but every part of you, gratification swallowing you entirely. You’re aware of the feeling of being lifted into the air, but not by strong arms or a solid back, no, you’re floating.

B̴̜͇̯̼͊̈E̶̫͊̑̿̃ ̵̩̾N̴̩̯͚͉̈̈́̾̑Õ̵̢̰͕͖̎́͝T̸̛͖̳̺͈̽͂͋ ̶̧̹͎͛̄̀͘ͅA̷̛̱̅̓̉F̸̦̔͒Ŕ̴̳̯̪̐͊Ả̷̗͓͎̗͂Ī̴͕͍̠͂͋D̴̮̹̱̣͊̌,̵̨͘ ̸̼̠̬̹̿̍͠͠L̴̨̫̜͖͛̈́̐Ơ̸̡̈̀̽V̵͈͙̹̱́E̸̞̭͐.̶͍̲̆̌̃

You open your eyes when you hear him speak. No, no, hear isn’t the right word, you feel him speak directly into your mind, his voice reverberating around your body like a fucking pinball. You throb as you feel him pull out and push back in, every sense on fire in the best way.

It takes a moment for you to fathom what you’re looking at.

You’re inside him, which is a bit of a mindfuck, because he’s very much still inside you as well. But it’s easier for him because he no longer exactly has a corporeal form. Instead, Aziraphale is a series of concentric, rotating rings, each emblazoned with a thousand eyes. You know they’re your angel’s eyes, because they’re green-blue-brown, shifting in seconds the way they change whenever you’re in different kinds of sunlight. Every single one of them is focussed on you as they turn, looking at you with so much adoration you feel you very well may burst with it.

Outside the sphere in which you float, a dozen white wings beat slowly; feathers fall and turn to stardust as they go, and your body is showered with it. He engulfs you in this form. And yet you are still at his perfect centre, the apple of his eyes.

It’s fucking bizarre. And you’ve never been so turned on in your life.

“Aziraphale,” you gasp, and a hot beautiful light surrounds your body, making you glow before it begins to push at your entrance and fill you even further. You nudge your legs open and make room for the angel to pleasure you properly, your head rolling back, threatening to tip you; but he keeps you perfectly in place. “God, my god. You’re gorgeous.”

A̸̟̬͍̓̔̀͜͝S̵̪͉̄̓̌̊ ̶̳̓̄̿̀Ą̵̤͌̇̚R̵̖̬͛̆̚E̶͔̬̝̿̄̇ ̵̧̞̞̑̕Y̶̬̜̎O̸̧̦̪̙̚U̸̯̣͙͊͆̾͝ͅ,̸̡̞͈͌̇ ̸̧̗͉͒̎M̵̹̆Ȳ̸̭̠̱̑̾ͅ ̴̧̓̑D̶̝̩́̈͊A̸̫̔R̸̖̂L̷͉̆͗I̸̛̟̿̍N̴̠̞͕̖͒G̸̲̘̙̼̑.̵̡͂͆ ̵͎̾̚ͅǪ̷͉̩̓̋ͅH̴͈͚̺̱̉̑,̵̹͆̑ ̸̨̙͘H̵̲̀͛̂Ő̴̺W̸̲͈͎̖͑͋̀̑ ̸̡̭̫͒͝͝Į̶͎̠̱̆̎͂̑ ̸̧̛͉̮̊̋͜L̸̻͔̤̼͑̀Ȍ̴̝͔͙̊̀V̵̺̫̞̈́̈́͌́Ę̶̛̭̞̹̇̋͐ ̴̞̞̏̔̋͠Ỳ̵͇̔̑͜͝Ǒ̶̺̝Ŭ̷̙͕̗͎.̴̣͓̳̊̑͝ ̴̛̝I̶̼̩̊ ̴̟̿̈̎͜ͅŴ̷̛̮͝Ạ̴͚͈̇N̸̪̝̠̻͆̕T̸̺̪̮͒͝ ̷̙̣̓͊̽̽T̶̹͉͍̣̈́O̵̪̐͊͜͜͠ ̸͈̠͇͒K̶̯̉̊̓E̴̱̓͜͝E̷̖̜̥̒̏͝P̶͆̾̈́̕ͅ ̴̡̰͍͊Ý̷͍̳O̶͔͕̓̚͠Ű̵̦̫͍́͗̃ ̷͉́͆̈́̏H̴̰͖̋E̵̢͉͋́̈͊R̶̼̱̎͛E̴̪̩̦͌͐͑̚ ̷͇͓͎̥͒͗̾̓F̷̨̒̐̇Ỏ̶̘͍̞R̷͇̤̼͉̓̈́̍͋Ē̴̥V̷̢̑̍Ẻ̶̞̪̥R̸̡̮̬͓͐̈́̓̄.̴̨̞͚́͐

You feel like you’d let him. You could stay trapped inside your angel ‘til the end of time, for the rest of eternity, however long he wants to keep you there – just so long as he keeps bringing you this pleasure. Every sense drips with it, molasses-thick and saccharine. Your head swims, your hole grips.

“I’m going to come,” you gasp.

C̶̢̛̪͎͚̞̥͊̏͆̇͌O̶̠͎̍̈́̈̐̈́̄M̵̨͎͔̤̈̏̈́͝Ẹ̴̜͇̐̓ ̵̫̳̦͔̘͍̹̑̓̑͊̾͌͘F̷̛̣͉̗̮͕̦̏̀̃̅̆̕͜O̶̧͙͎̖̥̾̍̄́̾̊̚R̵̢̜̘̅̎̇̐̽ ̸̡̛̫̮͔̦͋̈́̀̕͝Ḿ̴͚̺͕̱̫̫E̷͍͗̂̇́͒͘̚.̵̡̧̡͎̝̦͑̔͛͜ ̸̛͈͊͂͒̃I̴̥̫̒ͅ ̶͖̹̻͌W̸̲̞̆̀̉̇͘Á̶̝͎̬̰̞̬̈́͛̈́̎̈̓N̵̨̖̳̞̖̪̺̐Ṫ̶̡̪͇̟͚̥̽̚ ̶̛͓̭̖̊͒Ṯ̵̡̨͖͙͇̦̊̌̏̇͗̉͠O̷̞̺̟͆̔́͆̕͝ ̵̡͍̳͍̳͖̎͜F̴̰̑̏̒̽̍̂͝Ȇ̷̝̜̈̓̽̉͐́E̶̢̨̗͖̟̯̽͒̚͘͜͝L̶͚͒̒̀͠ ̸̪̗̥̍͆͠͝Y̸̼͈̤̅̅̌O̸̹̦͑̑͆͘̚ͅÛ̸͎̃̿̇̇ ̸̲̲̼̒̓̈͘R̴͍͎̜̓̋E̷̢͂́͋̉̈̎̕L̵̼̽E̶͇̔̈̈́̓̈́̅̔À̶̪̥͇̠͆̓͘͠͝S̵̥͉̫͖̀̍Ḛ̵̢͈̗̩̇͑̂̔̔͘͝ ̵͇͖͔̗̳̙̑͌̇̕Ą̸͎̭̾͐̂̈Ś̶͕͔̦̥̈͌̽͂͒̏ ̵̢͈̹͘I̴̫̬̜̔̒̉̂̽͜ ̷͖̙̖͚̗̓F̵͇͒̎I̷̼͌̉̈̐̕͘L̶̨̥͉̝͙͊ͅL̴̛͙̂̄̓͒͛̉ ̴̛̗͓͎̭̳̋́̊̈́͗͠Ỳ̷̧̛͎̼͍̩̥̎͘O̴̢͈̮̟̜͌̈́̈̈́͠͠U̵̧͔̺̼̤͕͓̿̈̃͠.̸̛̪͎̺̱͕̼͎́̊͘

You don’t need telling twice. Your orgasm rockets through you, splitting your fucking soul in half, and you drink down every drop of gratification he gives you. He wrings your body out for every drop of satisfaction you can give him. Stars explode behind your eyes and, when he’s in this form, they may very well be real ones, your consciousness elevated into space as your angel gives you your deepest release and follows in kind.

Aziraphale glows so brightly that you have to squeeze your eyes shut so they don’t get hurt. Outside, every bulb within a hundred metres of the bedroom fucking shatters. People screech as little pops of glass scare them but you’re too lost in this moment. Aziraphale comes in stardust, littering your body with his angelic spend, and as you finally catch your breath you find you’ve been gently lowered back onto the bed.

Eventually the euphoria your body is thrumming with calms down and you’re able to open your eyes. Aziraphale is there, in his usual body, lovely and soft and perfect, smiling down at you with such adoration you feel overcome with it. He says your name like a psalm.

“There you are,” he whispers, holding you close. “Are you alright, my darling?”

“Wonderful,” is all you can manage before you kiss him, because it’s true.

if you couldn't read the glitch text:

what's the matter, my dear?

Am I?

My darling, I'm so sorry, I'll stop at once--

BE NOT AFRAID, LOVE.

AS ARE YOU, MY DARLING. OH, HOW I LOVE YOU. I WANT TO KEEP YOU HERE FOREVER.

COME FOR ME. I WANT TO FEEL YOU RELEASE AS I FILL YOU.

taglist: @angiestopit @dazed-soul @@foolishprincipalitee @smile-eywa @staygoldsquatchling02 @underratedboogeyman @cool-ontherun-world @emilynissangtr @cool-iguana @this--is--music @ilyatan @lxsm2 @clarina04 @wtfhasmy-lifecometo @mrgatotortuga @wereallbrokenangels @night-affiliate @silcosmoke @kimqueenofhell @chewbrry @bajablast23 @h3k3t

[foolishlovers]

hi bestie💖🫂

can you rec me some longer enemies to lovers AU? bonus if they are complete idiots.

thank you love!💕

of course, always 💜

here are some of my favourite longer good omens enemies to lovers AUs (ranging from 46k-201k):

[you can request more fic recs here.]

Fire, Bridges, and other Sensible Idioms by KiaraMGrey (E, 46k) To: The person who stopped the washer in the middle of my wash cycle and took my clothes out just to wash your own… You are an arsehole! Unfortunately for you, so am I. You can find your wet clothes frozen outside in the snow. If you have any problems with this, come see me in 301. or Aziraphale has a new neighbor, and they certainly don't start off on the right foot.

Intermezzo by FeralTuxedo (E, 47k) Music critic Aziraphale Fell is trying to break into the world of television, when he is signed to make a documentary about former-rockstar-turned-composer Anthony Crowley. It’s been eleven years since Aziraphale’s disastrous review of Crowley’s debut opera nipped his classical music career in the bud. He can only hope that Crowley will get over his admittedly justified grudge to make the TV show a success. A classical music sex comedy. Yes, really.

through the silent wood by summerofspock (M, 57k) When Aziraphale Eastgate first moves to Tadfield, he struggles to understand the strange culture of the village. They're not friendly or kind or anything he expected from a village in the north. So when he rescues a snake from a snow storm, he's glad for a little company even if it comes in the form of an animal. Unfortunately, in Tadfield, animals are often not what they seem.

Fifty-Two Blue by bendycello (M, 84k) It would be a gross understatement to say that Crowley simply didn't like Aziraphale. He was posh and stuffy and arrogant, and Crowley couldn't figure out why everyone else in the program liked him so much. It hardly mattered; they were competitors, and Crowley didn't need to make friends to become a surgeon. It takes several unleasant encounters, the excessive use of house plants as a coping mechanism, and getting stuck in an elevator for Crowley to start reconsidering his priorities. Or… Crowley and Aziraphale are surgical interns with competitive streaks a mile wide each, and they really do not like each other at all. Until they do.

Married at First Sight by Aracloptia (T, 146k) “Well, that was a thing,” Crowley said once they were out of earshot. Without talking about it, they were both heading down the field, towards the lake where the photographer (and likely a few more people from the TV crew) was waiting. “That was a wedding,” Aziraphale replied, surprised at his own annoyance that somebody called a wedding a ‘thing’. “Yeah, obviously, didn’t miss that part,” Crowley said with a shrug, and waved abruptly in Aziraphale’s general direction. “Neither did you, from the looks of it, since you’re dressed like a wedding bride and everything.” “Excuse me, I am a—“ Aziraphale stopped himself, and started over. In which Aziraphale ends up marrying a rude stranger who wears sunglasses.

Or Be Nice by charlottemadison (E, 151k) Crowley and Aziraphale are neighbours. And…it does not go at all well, until it does. A human AU in which Aziraphale is a bookseller, Crowley is a drummer, and they are both petty disasters in the worst/best way. +++ “So what’s your deal?” “My-my-my deal?” Aziraphale stammered. “I’m a bookseller, is my deal.” “Oh,” Crowley replied, sounding as uninterested as it was possible to sound. “It’s just, I couldn’t help overhearing, and --” Aziraphale swallowed hard. “You really are an accomplished musician. But I thought -- for after 11PM -- perhaps we could reach some arrangement?” “Arrangement?” Aziraphale felt his his smile turning forced. “Such as, perhaps, playing the drums before eleven? Instead of after?” Crowley stared blankly at him. In fact he stared for so long that Aziraphale briefly wondered if he'd lapsed into ancient Greek again, which he was known to do in bad dreams or during panic attacks.

The Curve of Old Bones by Jenanigans1207 (E, 201k) Aziraphale watches as Crowley’s smile grows, sharpens and turns distinctively dastardly. And even though Aziraphale knows what he’s in store for, he’s entirely unprepared for the words that slip out of Crowley’s mouth next. “Name’s Anthony Crowley, Aziraphale’s husband.” Aziraphale is eternally grateful that he wasn’t taking a sip of his tea at that exact moment for he would’ve surely choked on it. When Crowley claims to be Aziraphale's husband to ruin what he assumes is a date, he doesn't think anything of it. But a day later it comes back to bite him in the ass when Crowley finds out that the date in question is, in fact, his new boss, who is looking to hire Aziraphale and hoping that Crowley, his husband, will put in a good word for them. Now Crowley is caught in a tight spot: either admit to his new boss that he was lying, or convince Aziraphale, his sort-of enemy, to pretend to be his husband to save face.

stil on my tbr:

Miracles on Ice by HenriettaRHippo (E, 52k, WIP) Two rival figure skaters - Aziraphale and Crowley - must team up as the world's first male-male figure skating pair. There's just one problem…they can't stand each other. Can these two put aside their hatred to bring back the gold? Or was that hatred just a cover for deeper feelings bubbling under the surface? It's enemies to lovers, on ice! Crowley And The Chocolate Factory by entanglednow (E, 54k) Crowley has to step up for his nephew Adam when he wins a ticket to tour the famous chocolate factories, run by the reclusive and deeply strange Zira Zonka. It doesn't take Crowley long to decide that he wants nothing to do with the man, who's clearly hiding dark and mysterious secrets.

To Conquer A Grand Estate by MrsCaulfield, angelsnuffbox (M, 84k) 'He fought against another thing as well. He fought against hope, the warmth and pleasing sensation of it, wanting to bloom in his chest. He took it and kept it within confinement, aware that it would no longer do him any service. A foolish thing it was, to realise how greatly and ardently he could have loved Crowley now, when all love was vain.' Good Omens x Pride and Prejudice fusion that no one asked for

[you can find more fic rec masterposts here]

[mimisempai]

You've always been someone

Summary

As Muriel is sincerely praised by Crowley on their first trip out on their own, they realize for the first time just how badly they've been treated in heaven. It takes no less than an angel and a demon to comfort them.

Notes

Time for the demon to comfort his two angels

On Ao3

Rating G -  1849 words

"Hello, hello, hello!"

Crowley, who had been reading the paper in the quiet of the bookshop, was startled when Muriel came through the door.

He heard the angel's quick footsteps and lowered his newspaper just as she reached him.

He smiled slightly, for sometimes he felt he was looking at a clone of Aziraphale. Muriel still wore very light clothes and always had one or the other tartan accessory. The difference was that they used several tartans, and their outfits were far less outdated than Aziraphale's.

"I took the bus today!"

Muriel's eyes were shining and they were all excited as they continued, "I asked Aziraphale where I could find a bookshop that really sells books these days and he showed me several. He wanted me to ask you to take me, but I told him I wanted to go alone. He recommended the buses if I wanted to see a bit of the city at the same time. Which I did. By myself. And I even bought some books, look!"

Crowley had stood up as Muriel recounted their excursion and looked at the books, then said gently, "That's good, my little bee. You've done well. Come on, I'll make you some hot chocolate to celebrate!"

Muriel didn't answer right away and looked at him strangely.

"Muriel?"

They asked in troubled voice, "Why do you praise me every time I do something?"

Crowley leaned a little closer to them and said gently, "Because you deserve it. Because it's not easy adjusting to a new world like this."

Muriel shook their head, "You and Aziraphale did just fine."

Crowley replied, "Because we've had much longer to adapt, we've had millennia. You came here, unprepared, and found yourself with this flood of information that could destabilize anyone, and you're embracing it with both hands. That deserves all the praise in the world. Besides, I'm guessing you didn't get much praise up there."

Muriel replied softly, in the most natural way, "But that's normal, I'm no one".

Crowley grabbed them by the shoulders and, gently shaking them, said in a firm tone, "Never again do I want to hear those words come out of your mouth! You're not no-one. You're someone important to us here."

Muriel insisted, "But no one ever disagreed with me when I said that. Never."

"Your beatitudes?"

Muriel stood back, intimidated, while Saraqael moved toward the two archangels, who answered in unison, "Yes. 

"I think you should hear this. Muriel!" 

Muriel exclaimed, "Oh." She bowed and greeted them, keeping well away from where the angels were standing, "Hello."

Michael asked, "And you are?" 

Muriel shook their head and stammered, "Oh, no one. I mean, technically, Muriel, 37th order scrivener, but, you know, no one."

No one had disagreed with them.

Not a word.

They really were no one.

Muriel realized how differently the people here behaved toward them than the archangels and other higher angels had.

"Muriel!"

Crowley's voice snapped them out of their thoughts.

It wasn't Michael's voice, exasperated, making them feel like fools. Or Uriel's dismissive one, making them feel very small. 

Crowley's voice was warm as he told them, "It's because they're blind and have nothing but contempt for anything that isn't a source of power. But that doesn't make you no-one. Muriel, look at me. You are someone."

Muriel tried to say something, but there was a lump in their throat that prevented them from speaking.

They swallowed several times and managed to say, "I... I'm som... someone."

Their vision seemed to blur and they blinked several times, but nothing helped.

Crowley, who had moved closer to them, put his hand on their shoulder and said softly, in a voice as kind as ever, "Oh, Muriel..."

Muriel breathed, "What...what do I do?"

Crowley replied gently, "Let them flow..."

Muriel sniffed, "I... I don't know how to..."

Crowley answered softly, "Just let go. Let go my little bee, I'll catch you." 

Muriel sniffed bravely several times, trying to stop the tidal wave they felt rising inside of them and threatening to come out as Crowley, his hand reassuringly on their shoulder, repeated softly, "Let go."

Muriel repeated again, "I am someone..."

Crowley nodded and replied, "Yes, you are. You are someone."

Then he wrapped his arm around their shoulders and pressed them to his chest as the floodgates finally gave way and they allowed themselves to be overwhelmed by the pain they felt, the full extent of which they were finally realizing.

All these years of being ignored.

Isolated at their desk.

Seeing almost no one.

Performing unrewarding tasks.

Being belittled, sometimes even disdained.

Treated like a fool.

They cried about all of it, and Crowley held them in his arms the whole time, and as their tears soaked his black jacket, he thought of another angel who'd endured similar treatment and never complained either. 

"I... I think it's okay."

Muriel moved a little and Crowley opened his arms to let them go. But when he saw their unsettled face, he put his hands on their shoulders and said softly, "How about we just sit down for a while?"

Muriel wiped their face with their sleeve and nodded, allowing themself to be guided to the sofa where they sat down.

As soon as they were seated, the doorbell rang and Aziraphale's voice was heard, "Hello! Someone's here?"

Crowley answered, "We're here, on the sofa."

He saw Muriel trying to hide their condition, but he gently took their hand and shook his head.

Aziraphale had arrived in front of them and exclaimed, "Oh my God! What's the matter? Muriel, has someone hurt you?"

Crowley couldn't suppress an amused smile as the angel fussed over Muriel before kneeling before them and handing them his handkerchief.

They took it and wiped their face.

Aziraphale turned to Crowley and asked worriedly, "What happened?"

Crowley asked Muriel, "Will you allow me to explain it to him? I think he'll understand better than anyone."

Muriel nodded.

Crowley briefly explained the reasons for Muriel's condition, and when he was finished, he stood up, Aziraphale immediately taking his place next to Muriel. Crowley stepped back a little to leave them alone, knowing that Aziraphale would be able to give them an even better understanding than he had.

The angel placed his hands on Muriel's as they fumbled with the handkerchief and said softly, "Muriel, let me repeat Crowley's words to you first. You are someone. You are an angel who has bravely, day after day, dutifully done your job and received nothing in return but contempt and disregard. But because you only knew this kind of treatment, you thought it was normal. Believe me, I know, I know very well."

Muriel lifted their head sharply and retorted, "You? But you're so good, and talented, and smart, and-"

"And? And so are you, Muriel, as much as I am. And that didn't stop Gabriel, Michael, Uriel and Sandalphon from putting me down all the time. From making me realize that I'd never be anything but a drudge. An idiot who didn't understand anything. I have hundreds of examples to tell you about the way they treated me that I never thought to rebel against because I said to myself, they're the good guys, they're archangels, they're better than me, so it's normal what they do. But it's not normal, Muriel. It's mean and hurtful and unnecessary. But here, Muriel, Crowley and I would never treat you this way, and better yet, if anyone ever did, you have every right to rebel. To fight back or to turn away. But under no circumstances should you accept this. You are someone, and I'm glad to see that someone thriving in this world. I can't wait to see you experimenting with many new things, getting more and more confident, getting more and more brazen with Crowley..."

"Angel!" the demon exclaimed, turning to them as Muriel let out a small laugh.

Then Muriel looked at them in turn and said softly, their voice a little hoarse, "Thank you both. I couldn't have fallen into a better place for my first and last mission on Earth."

Aziraphale replied, "I'm glad you knocked on my door, Inspector Constable, and that I offered you your first cupperty."

Muriel chuckled again, and Crowley asked, "So do you want that mug of hot chocolate?"

But the angel shook their head and stood up, "No, I promised to tell Nina and Maggie about my first trip to the city, and Nina's hot chocolate is better than yours."

Crowley exclaimed, "Hey, you're getting pretty cheeky."

Muriel smiled and started for the front door when they turned and walked toward Crowley, hugging him for a few seconds before almost running away.

Crowley turned to Aziraphale to comment on what had just happened when he saw that the angel had gotten up and was following Muriel with his eyes until they entered the cafe.

He walked over to him and wrapped his arms around him from behind, resting his chin on his shoulder, then asked softly, "Are you okay, Angel?"

Aziraphale leaned against him and replied, "A while back I would have said yes, I'm okay and hidden it behind a smile, but we don't lie to each other anymore, so, no, I'm not completely okay. In fact, I'm appalled at the extent of my ex-employer's damage, if I may say so. Muriel thought it was okay to think of themself as a nobody."

Crowley hummed against his ear and said quietly, "I know, Angel."

"Crowley?"

"Yes?"

"Will you hold me?"

Crowley replied softly, "Of course, Angel. You're looking at Crowley, the demon comforter of angels mistreated by heaven."

Aziraphale turned and laughed lightly, before saying, "Idiot."

Then Crowley wrapped his arms around the angel, holding him close as the angel's arms wrapped around his waist.

Aziraphale murmured against his chest, "Thank you."

"For what?" the demon asked against his hair.

"For encouraging me through the years. Thanks to you, I never felt like no one. Even when I thought we were each on our own side, you never offered me anything but respect."

Crowley pressed a kiss to the angel's hair and replied gently, "Because you deserved no less. And then this pure angel giving a couple such a powerful weapon to defend themselves in the desert forced my respect from the start. You have never been no one to me, Angel."

He pushed Aziraphale away from him a little, then cupped his face in his hands and kissed him tenderly before pulling him back into his arms. 

Over the angel's head, through the glass window, he saw Muriel sitting in front of a mug that was probably filled with hot chocolate topped with an indecent amount of whipped cream. Nina and Maggie were sitting with them, and the three of them seemed to be happily chatting.

He smiled, glad that this angel and the one he held in his arms would never again feel that they didn't matter. 

For they were loved and cherished for who they were.

As they always should have been.

_________

Still not beta'd

Still not my native language

Still hoping you'll enjoy this story  🥰

Still thanking you for bearing with me 😝

Ineffable Growing Love series : here (After season 2)

Ineffable Husbands masterlist : here (Before season 2)

[bird-slayer-brainrot]

Soldier On, Come Down - Chpt. 1. - - Ineffable Husbands WW2 au human!Crowley angel!Aziraphale angst multi-chapter

(TW this chapter contains light gore (st*bbing so that bit will be marked with the first and final world in red text)

London, 1939

Aziraphale, Principality and Angel of the Eastern Gate of the Garden of Eden, loved humans.

He had lived amongst humans since his assignment on Eden had ended, and he quite enjoyed his role as Heaven’s official ambassador to humanity. It had been a shock to receive such a coveted position (as much as Angels could covet, anyway).

The job had its downsides, like any, but for the most part, Aziraphale could overlook these. The books, food, wine and art made it worth it.

Humans were amazingly clever creatures, with a knack for imagining purposeful, advanced creations to Angel in Heaven could have ever dreamed of, if they did dream. They were masterful artists, poets, writers, inventors. Aziraphale, nearly six thousand years into this extended assignment, stood in awe at the inventions of the human race.

The motorcar, however, was an exception.

On a Saturday evening in Soho, Aziraphale was particularly bothered. He had plans to attend an Opera at the West End. These plans were interrupted when the driver had stopped him miles from the theatre. It was drizzling, as it often did in London lately, and Aziraphale crowded himself underneath a canopy to avoid getting soaked.

Aziraphale could have miracled the driver to take him to the right language, but with the state of England and the war going on, he felt it was best to cut down on miracle usage just in case he needed them for something important, which he probably would. And he didn’t want to risk Heaven the memo from heaven about too many frivolous miracles.

“Are you going in?” a voice spoke beside him. Aziraphale turned, ready to offer his apologises

He hadn’t realised he had been standing in the entrance way to a storefront.

But he was stuck on the words as he came face to face with the man.

He was perhaps the most beautiful person Aziraphale had ever laid eyes on.

Aziraphale was still staring when the stranger cleared his throat.

“Oh, my apologies.” Aziraphale said too loudly. The gentlemen was dressed in black and grey, which would have struck Aziraphale as unusual if, immediately after, Aziraphale noticed his striking copper hair. He wore it longer than was the fashion. He was also very tall, and slender. He held a black umbrella that he seemed to be in the process of wringing out his umbrella before he’d noticed Aziraphale.

“Are you alright?” the gentlemen said with concern. Aziraphale was still staring, so he tore his gaze from the gentlemen’s face.

“No. Yes. I mean.” Aziraphale stuttered. “I just got caught in the rain.”

The man nodded, the small smile still on his face, then he held out his umbrella.

“Would you like to borrow mine?” he said without hesitation.  Aziraphale looked up him again ready to insist he was fine, but stopped when he noticed his eyes.

They were the colour of liquid gold, except for the ring of green surrounding his pupils. It was deep, Earthy green Aziraphale last recalled seeing in the Garden back when he’d first received this assignment.

“No. No thank you.” Aziraphale said softly. “I think I should like to stay here.”

*

My Dear Anthony,

I hope by the time this letter reaches you in England that you and Anathema will be quite settled in, with Annie at university and you doing your things (I must confess, I don’t quite recall the word you used to describe your profession. It may come to me one day.)

I must admit, dear brother, that although you grumble when I express sentiments to you, that I will miss you terrible when you return to England. There shall be a Crowley-shaped hole in my heart, I should think, for a long time till come. Please do come back and visit us in California.

Thank you for taking care of Anathema. It has always been her dream to attend Oxford. Do you remember when she was a little girl, with her book on magic and fairytales? She’d take it with her everywhere.

She can be quite stubborn at times, but she is a remarkable young woman, and I know that, under your guidance, my dear Annie will be something great. Please give her my love.

Take care of yourself.

Your Loving Sister,

Lucy

-

Crowley smiled down at the letter from his sister. He would never admit it, of course, but he missed his sister terribly. California, too, with its bright, sunny weather. The rain and fog of London coloured the world bleak in comparison.

Crowley had been back in London for a month. Anathema, his niece, was due to start at Oxford, once she got her acceptance, in three months.

She was a standout in stuffy old England, with her American wardrobe, accent, and mannerisms. She stood out in LA, too. She’d spent the days

Crowley had an apartment in Soho that he’d rented out in the year he’d been in America. The death of Lucy’s husband and Anathema’s father had hit their family hard. With their pieces stitched haphazardously back together, Anathema had decided that Oxford was her calling. England was a fresh start, and Crowley had to return at some point. Her mother had, after some convincing, agreed.

He was meant to meet Anathema for dinner that evening at the pub they frequented later on. With nothing else to do, Crowley decided a walk and some fresh air would do him some good, and stepped out into the English rain.

*

The Drooping Donkey had all the grace of a typical Soho bar on a Saturday evening. There was a group of soldiers crowded around a pretty young woman playing the piano, a lively war-tune Aziraphale recalled hearing over the radio on the BBC earlier that morning when he was rearranging his Atlas collection. They nursed warming bears. Chatty patrons took up the tables. There was luckily one spare (Aziraphale may have the ability to have any table he wished to, however he believed in ethical use of miracles) and, after ordering a glass of the house red, Aziraphale made his way over to it and took a seat, content to wait out the storm before going home.

When Aziraphale looked up, he made eye contact with the red-haired gentlemen from earlier. He was alone at the bar, and when Aziraphale looked at him, he did something completely surprising. He smiled.

An hour later, Aziraphale was still recounting the event in self-pity. He could leave now, as the handsome stranger had left. In truth, he’d been too shocked by the gentlemen (who had, upon meeting him, offered him his own umbrella?) and had been unable to use his brain. He had no choice but to enter the bar after the gentlemen, who had held the door out for Aziraphale. Even now, Aziraphale replayed the memory of that brief, awkward interaction over and over in his head. It was pointless. It wasn’t like Aziraphale would ever see him again. He was a human. A handsome, kind human. Still, he had appreciated that small show of kindness. It left a warm feeling in Aziraphale’s chest. The war was getting to him.  

It was dark outside by the time Aziraphale exited The Drooping Donkey. The rain had cleared and, while the street maintained most of the business of a typical Soho Saturday, the sidewalk was mostly deserted. That’s why, when Aziraphale heard a noise like a group of hushed voices and a loud banging sound, he immediately rushed to the source.

The redhead man from the bar laid crumbled against the wall of a deserted alley. He was bundled behind bags of rubbish. Aziraphale hurried over to him, kneeling down to see better and miracleing a source of light. Aziraphale’s checked that the man was still breathing first, which he was, but was barely conscious. In the light, Aziraphale could see immediately that he had multiple injuries. His face was bruised, and his knuckles and hands were red. Then, Aziraphale spotted the spreading red across his stomach. Just below it, there was a knife.

It lay discarded in the wet, tossed carelessly, as though it had not just killed a man.

The stranger groaned as Aziraphale lifted the fabric away from the knife wound to locate the stab wound. It didn’t take long to find it. Blood gushed down the man’s abdomen from the puncture, and bile threatened to rise in Aziraphale’s throat as he realised that the kind stranger likely wouldn’t survive it. He had lost too much blood. Aziraphale had no idea how long he had been here, left like this. There was no time to take him to a hospital. He hadn’t been with a wife or friends at the bar. He would likely die here, cold, and alone.

Aziraphale reached down, pressing a hand against the wound, and healing it. It was overkill, to heal it completely, but the man looked in enough pain that Aziraphale couldn’t help but want to help him as best as he could. He spluttered at the motion, coughing harshly. Aziraphale stood up quickly, miracleing his trousers clean from where they had been stained by water and blood. He also miracled the stranger unconscious.

Aziraphale would have liked to have stayed with the stranger to make sure he got better, but he couldn’t answer the questions the man would obviously have. With any luck, the gentleman would wake up with a nasty hangover, with little recollection of what had occurred the night before. He’d likely interpret the black eye as being the result of a minor drunken scuffle. He would not remember Aziraphale, and Aziraphale would never see him again.

A kindness for a kindness was all it was. Miracling him out of sight, Aziraphale turned, and walked away.

[bildads-shoes]

Ever since I saw this incredible post I've been thinking a lot more about the book vs show differences, and one of the things my brain keeps returning to is the very different presentation of Heaven and Hell.

In the book, I feel like the majority of the time Heaven and Hell are mentioned, it's simply in reference to them being adversaries. They're often just referred to in the context of being Aziraphale and Crowley's bosses, both equally uninterested in humanity or the details of their employees' actions. Hence, we really do see them as not being so different from each other, and dislike them both equally. Personally, I feel this is a bit different in the show.

In the show we actually get to see Heaven and Hell. We get to see Beelzebub for more than a couple of lines, we get to meet Gabriel, and we get to feel the atmosphere of Heaven and Hell as settings.

In terms of their general vibe, the difference feels pretty stark. Heaven is empty, cold, unfeeling; every interaction between the angels we see is laced with mistrust and two-faced scheming. Hell, on the other hand, does have emotion; it's a deeply unpleasant space, of course, but the way the demons complain to each other feels more honest. Take Uriel and Michael: we've seen them throughout both seasons, yet I can't recall either of them expressing a single honest feeling. Shax and Furfur, on the other hand, have had a lot of honest moments both with each other and with other characters. In a bizarre way, Hell becomes more relatable, more likeable, in the show.

Of course, there are massive issues with Hell, but they don't necessarily come across at first glance. The really dark aspects are almost always played off with jokes, to the extent that we don't talk about them that much. Beelzebub is pretty well liked from what I can tell, despite evidently having extensively tortured their employees - but it's part of a funny scene so we instinctively overlook it. Gabriel, on the other hand, seems widely loathed; he's just blatantly a dick in Season 1, and we don't see enough of him actually as himself in Season 2 to balance that out. I'm sure that's also in part due to fake-Aziraphale's trial being resurfaced in Season 2 as a serious, traumatic event for Crowley. We aren't shown the impact that Hell's treatment of Crowley had on Aziraphale, so once again Heaven ends up seeming like the more 'evil' side.

So I suppose it's no surprise that we end up having more discussions surrounding dismantling Heaven in Season 3, with Hell's toxicity being a slightly lesser topic of conversation. It does instinctively feel a little like Heaven is the 'bad one' in comparison, whereas we have to actively analyse those throwaway/comedic moments to acknowledge the massive issues with Hell. Therefore, to me, that neutral/equal presentation of the two 'bosses' in the book is no longer the case in the show.

Perhaps this is all because the show is shifting more towards commentary surrounding religious institutions as opposed to the Cold War energy of the book. Or perhaps we'll be explicitly shown more of Hell's dark side in Season 2 and will return to truly seeing them as equally bad. Or maybe you have a totally different interpretation (please let me know 👉👈). I don't know man, I just needed to get this thought out honestly lol.

[ocean-cloud]

Crowley: A realist, an avoidant and a lover

A somehow even longer analysis of Crowley's core traits, his trauma, issues, growth and choices in season 2 (and a little bit of season 1, my treat)

Here's Aziraphale's version (Aziraphale: an idealist, a problem solver, a denier and a protector)

As we know, they are polar opposites to each other, in almost every sense of the way, yes in the obvious sense but also in their philosophy over time. While Aziraphale believes in the good in everyone (an idealist) and is a problem solver, Crowley is a hardcore realist, self aware and often pessimistic and avoidant. While in the future this could provide a much needed balance in each other's life, as of now this only causes clashes and inevitable miscommunication.

It is to be noted that while Aziraphale is a problem solver he is often in denial over issues relating to heaven, hell, god and sometimes Crowley (due to his idealism, indoctrination fear etc etc) So often times, Crowley is the first to notice the problem due to his realism and constant vigilance. But he fails to solve the issue because he wants to avoid it, never in denial but always running away from the issue at hand, he hates the thought of losing what he loves, time after time, because he cares to much. This is most clearly seen in the entire 'mystery' of s.2 and also the Armageddon of s.1. Crowley knows there is a problem and he knows the issues and worst case scenarios, with that information at hand all he tries to do is run. When he finds Gabriel he is scared, scared of losing the life they've built, scared of losing Aziraphale. But all he can think of is chucking Gabriel away, while Aziraphale is trying to solve the problem. And this is his fatal flaw, he cannot come to terms with the fact that he cannot run away forever, he needs to step up and confront his issues. He's far more self aware and realistic than Aziraphale, but he cannot for the life of him use that information. This causes them to fight, argue, miscommunicate, and its actively hurting their chances of freedom. Unless he confronts these sides and solves the issue (Armageddon, Gabriel etc) they would have come back to hurt them twice as hard.

At his core he ironically just like Aziraphale, he wants to live in a delusion, a fantasy, a dream. He runs away from the feelings of pain, of hurt, of suffering that comes from heaven, god and now Aziraphale, he refuses to confront it and move past it. He refuses to confront and move past his fall, his trauma. And this is where all his problems stem from.

The First meet:

They meet as he creates the nebula, and he's happy, he is so happy. This is what we get to know of him: he's powerful, he loves what he creates, he is happy. He has a purpose. But then he learns of god's plan, gods plan of taking all that he creates, all that he loves, gods plan of ripping it all to shreds. This is the first time he loses something. And obviously he questions, its ridiculous right? why create this nebula just to destroy it in 6000 years. And Aziraphale warns him, warns him not to question, but why? what is wrong with questioning, what's so wrong in asking a few questions? So he moves on. it's fine, he can convince god, the idea is insane anyway, god isn't that cruel, right? She can't be.

This is the first and last time he trusts god.

The Fall:

the beginnings of trauma, pain and self loathing.

While we don't know why he fell, it's clear how deeply this point in his life affects him, it is his major source of trauma. (I 100% believe that a major point in season 3, will be us learning why Crowley falls)

This is the source of where all his trauma and pain comes from, first he learns he will lose his creations in a mere 6000 years, then he loses his angel-ness. This is the point that changes him entirely, unequivocally, and permanently. He will never trust heaven, god or even hell again, because at this point he's already realized that its all the same. Their just on opposite sides of the same coin, he has already learnt the hard way that god is cruel, god is unfair and god is ruthless. and this, this leads him to become what he is today.

But this causes irreversible trauma, he avoids being vulnerable, he avoids dealing with problems because he knows just how big the issue is so he doesn't even try. Because of it, he grows to loath himself, he treats himself as if he isn't worthy, he simply isn't good enough, his entire being is not enough, not enough for Aziraphale, not enough for anyone. Yes he knows that his fall couldn't be his fault but he still treats himself that way, that somehow because of it he deserves nothing, a common response to a traumatic situation.

This becomes a foundational character trait of him: self loathing. It shows up in many ways, the way he refuses to associate himself with kindness, niceness and being good, his disposition to heaven and his own feelings of being 'unforgivable' makes him this way. Even when he clearly is doing a good thing, he refuses to acknowledge it.

Even if he believes heaven isn't good, it doesn't dispel the feelings of inadequacy, the fear that he will never be good enough for Aziraphale, that because he fell, he is not deserving of love

The Garden of Eden:

This is the second time he meets Aziraphale, a new being, one with experiences that he will spend the rest of his lifetime trying to protect Aziraphale from learning. It is a truth universally acknowledged, that this is the moment Crowley falls for the angel he will meet for another millennia.

He takes an immediate intrigue onto an angel who chooses to disobey god indirectly for the benefit of humanity, he watches an angel who thinks for himself, seemingly unpredictable, and treats him with kindness. He offer shelter of rain he does not understand without a thought, he offers safety, comfort and kindness to a demon. A demon who does not value himself, and yet he treats him like he deserves it. This is how Crowley knows, that there is an angel who isn't like the others, isn't like heaven, an angel that will do what's best for humanity. This one act of kindness is what Crowley will spend the rest of eternity paying back for.

The Flood:

If he had any semblance of trust in heaven in doing 'good' this is the point where its unequivocally gone. While he does see the fall as something not of his fault, a small part of him thinks the opposite even if logically he doesn't believe, but watching god ruthlessly kill off a multitude of people, of children that's his last straw. He cannot fathom the idea of hurting people, people who've done nothing wrong. It ironic really, the 'unforgivable' one has a far greater understanding than god and heaven and even Aziraphale for that matter.

2500 BC: The Story of Job

The beginning of a new dream, of a new side

After watching the flood, his animosity towards heaven only increases day by day but this, this instance exacerbates it. Now not only does heaven kill those who've done nothing wrong, now they want him to punish a man who has done nothing but be faithful to god by killing all that he loves and cares for. time and time again, he is forced to do the dirty work of heaven, just to prove a point.

But this time, Aziraphale is on his side, he questions the morality of this, he in the end goes against god, not indirectly but outright disobeys god. Here, for the first time Crowley sees an opportunity, that maybe, maybe with time and effort they could be on their own side, no more hell, heaven just them (not just the potential agreement, this is the first time he feels like he doesn't have to be alone)

"I'm a demon who goes as far along with hell as I can" -- "But what am I?" "Your just an angel who goes as far along with heaven as you can" "that's sounds um." "Lonely?" -- "But you said it wasn't" "I'm a demon, I lied."

In these two conversations he see's how both of them are so much more similar than they realize, how neither of them fit into either sides of the argument, they are just trying to do their best for humanity, and yes its lonely for him, but he see's how Aziraphale is just like him, he see's that maybe, just maybe there's a chance that they could be together, on their own side. He won't have to lie anymore about being lonely, because Aziraphale will be there.

1827: Edinburgh

At this point there's multiple instances of Aziraphale showing 1 dimensional viewpoints and moving backwards from his thinking and so Crowley tries to change his opinions, in a thinly veiled spectacle, he tries to show Aziraphale that not all 'bad' actions are truly that bad and that if we force humans to be at unequal footing the system just doesn't work. And it does change him a bit, but it can't rid the foundational problems that Aziraphale has, and his denial of heavens issues, that is something he needs to learn for himself, something that Aziraphale will become painfully aware in season 3.

Armageddon and Today:

In the face of Armageddon, he does what he knows best, he tries to run away, away from it all, a place where he and Aziraphale are safe and can be happy. But they wouldn't, they wouldn't be happy, he doesn't realize that he cant run forever and Aziraphale would be miserable if he knew that he could have changed things, and he wouldn't either, he would have to watch as he loses his creations. When he loves something (humanity, the stars, Aziraphale, his Bentley) he loves deep. He prioritizes it over anything else, it makes himself fiercely loyal, protective and immensely caring but also vicious to those that choose to hurt what he loves. And this is a recurring theme, Crowley loses what he loves, time and time again, he was about to lost humanity, he lost Aziraphale (temporarily) and In the end of season 2, he loses Aziraphale again. And this might finally change him, for him to realize he can't just avoid and run away, he needs to deal with his problems head on, he needs to move on from the fall. his own avoidance becomes selfishness and prevents him from helping humanity and solving issues that he understands and empathizes frankly better than Aziraphale. (re: grave digging incident 1827)

And just like running away from Armageddon, he needs to realize that without them spending time away from each other to grow and deal with their personal trauma head on instead of avoiding it, they won't be happy together. This is what will push him to grow, to change.

Growth, the way forward:

In the context of season 2 there is undeniable growth, he becomes far more emotionally vulnerable (which is in stark contrast to Aziraphale who becomes more physically vulnerable, initiating physical intimacy far more in season 2, makes it all the more heart wrenching when Crowley initiates it in the ending, it gives all the wrong reactions, the moment Aziraphale desired the entire season broken because he wanted it to be a happy moment).

In terms of his emotional vulnerability, he obviously finally communicates his feelings and desires for the first time, not with any hidden meaning, or indirectness, just pure honesty, his glasses casted away (a continuous metaphor to how open he is to a character), and also communicating when problems arise (when hell attempts to break in). And while his conversation with Gabriel alone, was all over the place and deeply emotional and frankly manipulative, it has to be said that he is finally showing how he feels, its unlikely he's told anyone this story, to protect Aziraphale.

But he lets it out, he finally lets himself feel the anger and recognizes his own pain, which is a big improvement from "Mr. I didn't fall i just vaguely sauntered down and never gonna talk about it because even I don't really know the reason but it definitely hurts"

He also shows subtle growth in terms of his own self esteem, he moves away from nearly exploding every time someone calls him nice to a more 'eh not really', he allows himself to think that maybe he is capable of being nice, the 4 years away from either side has allowed him to finally start viewing himself as worthy of Aziraphale, that he is enough as he is. So to see the ending from his perspective to see how he interprets Aziraphale asking him to be on his side is heartbreaking, all he can think:

"he wants to change me, I'm not enough, I need to be an angel to be worthy of him, I'm not enough."

In this heightened emotional state he doesn't think of stating actual facts like informing Aziraphale of their actual plan which historically at least stops him in his path to think. But he can't, it hurts to much so he throws anything, every feeling just to hope that Aziraphale will understand. But nothing works, and this might just be the last time he sees his angel, so he kisses him. Frantic and painful trying to show him just how much he feels. Its a desperate act, part of it to convince it but part of it is just selfish, because this might be the last chance he has to do it.

But all he gets is:

"I forgive you.." "Don't bother."

Even in his weakest state, thrown back into his feelings of inadequacy, he does not back down. The "I forgive you" line played through the centuries doesn't seem to mean forgiveness in a literal sense. Its Aziraphale's coded speech he loves using, to forgive is a disagreeing with him but not talking about it, pretending it didn't happen, a distancing tactic, yes I feel it too but lets pretend. His fear only lets him use code, when he flirts, its subtle. This is one of the many dances they do with each other. But this time, Crowley walks away, he finally ends this century long waltz around around each other.

He refuses to apologize for his feelings, for his opinions. And that is such an evident moment of self growth, that he will no longer apologize for being a demon and not wanting to be an angel, for refusing to change who he is and his feelings.

Season 3 will be undeniably hard on him, after losing everything (from the beginning of time to now) it will be the push he needs to stop avoiding his problems (which leads him to become selfish and unable to help humanity) and make a real change, he will confront his own trauma and finally be able to move past it. It will be hard but the reward for it will be worth it, finally they can be together.

note: Pt.2 on the fall, the trauma, coping mechanisms and thinly veiled metaphors coming tomorrow (hopefully)

Note 2: might make a post on 'forgiveness' from Aziraphale, because it is a tactic to distance, sometime remind that he still loves him and not leave any animosity but also he must be aware that it hurts him (and it could be on purpose)

[fellthemarvelous]

Let's talk about Maggie and Aziraphale

Once again, I am just screenshotting my tweets and posting them here because I have more to say and Twitter's platform doesn't let me talk long enough uninterrupted.

Make way for more unhinged meta!

I cannot get this idea out of my head, and before you tell me that I'm crazy, just listen. Okay?

I think Aziraphale looks at Edinburgh as his Greatest Failure™️ because humanity and Crowley both paid the price for Aziraphale's mistake. It was a night that shook Aziraphale's confidence in himself, and it was a clear turning point for his understanding of shades of grey. He learned a valuable lesson at a horrific cost.

There is no possible way he has forgiven himself for Edinburgh.

When you are supposed to be the epitome of good, every single failure that carries any sort of weight sticks with you for the rest of your life because of the overwhelming guilt that comes with it. As someone who struggles with Catholic guilt...

Trust me. I know what I'm talking about.

Why does Maggie have a connection to a pub called the Resurrectionist, located in Edinburgh not far from the Gabriel statue in the cemetery where Wee Morag died and Crowley was sucked down into Hell? The Resurrectionist representing both Jesus Christ and Mr. Dalrymple.

Why does Aziraphale insist on taking the Bentley to Edinburgh with him?

He's scared to go back, and he's not risking Crowley's life again by bringing him along, but he takes the Bentley because it's an extension of Crowley, it makes him feel safe, and neither Heaven or Hell care for material objects and won't end up separating them again. It's a lifeline to Crowley while he's doing something without him and ensuring that Crowley won't be able to jump in and save him at the last minute if things go wrong.

He's scared to go back but he was getting extra copies of Every Day from one particular location nowhere near his bookshop before he even heard Jim singing it in the bookshop. And all of this ended up bringing him back to the statue of Gabriel where it all went wrong the first time Aziraphale and Crowley went to that cemetery together.

But I think the connection to Maggie is Elspeth. I keep going back and forth between her and Wee Morag, but Elspeth currently makes the most sense to me. I briefly wrote about the idea of lost souls and second chances here, but I'm still on the fence about it.

We don't know what Elspeth did with Aziraphale's money, but we know it was enough to turn her life around. We don't know who Maggie's great-great-grandmother is, but she has been keeping a little corner of the bookshop to "sell records" for Mr. Fell since the 1920s.

But if you look at the record art for Maggie's bookshop, some of them include all their tracks on the cover and they are telling actual stories. I've talked about Maggie's record shop before on this post. I'm still not sure what I believe, but the idea of it being Aziraphale's personal records keeps sticking with me. He's been around for a long time and there is a lot to keep up with.

Why is it so important to him that Maggie gets to dance with Nina? He told Nina he threw the ball so she would see that Maggie is in love with her, the same way he was going to use it to tell Crowley he loved him, but he was so delighted to see Maggie and Nina dance together.

And Aziraphale's love for Maggie isn't one-sided because she stays behind to help him even though she's up against something more powerful than herself. She refuses to leave him alone. She might be annoyed that he was interfering in her love life, but he's always been good to her and is probably the closest thing to family she has (we only ever see Crowley, Aziraphale and Nina talk to her).

She said she "had" brothers. Past tense. She stands up to Shax because she's no longer scared of...something. Nina tells Shax that Maggie is the bravest person she knows. Maggie comes up with the idea to spray the demons with the fire extinguishers. It might have been silly but it proves that humans are ready to fight back using whatever tools we have at our disposal.

Why didn't we know of her existence in season 1? We saw Maggie's chattering nun die onscreen. Was she one of Adam's additions to Aziraphale's bookshop? Where did she come from? Does Adam remember her face from when he was an infant? Sister Mary Loquacious (formerly) told Aziraphale and Crowley that the nuns had been very good at keeping records, but they all burned in the fire.

But Adam got a very good look at the faces of Sister Mary Loquacious and Sister Theresa Garrulous. He was an infant but he was still the son of Satan.

So is Maggie an Adam creation? Is she somehow related to Elspeth's existence? Why is she so important to Aziraphale?

[vidavalor]

Do you think Aziraphale has a raging praise kink in addition to his 'food' and 'Crowley watching him do stuff' kinks? *hands you a box of spiced apple muffins, along with the recipe: https://www.hairybikers.com/recipes/view/spiced-apple-muffins*

Hi @jotun-philosopher! A recipe!!! I'm so excited. The website you shared is quite interesting. I'll have to make these on the other side of my holiday food as they look delicious. Do I think Aziraphale has a raging praise kink? Oh, yeah. Raging might be an understatement lol.

Praise kink and trauma thoughts under the cut.

In S2, we go from Lord Beezlebub paralleling Aziraphale, missing their Crowley (Gabriel) while in Hell, and musing that it'd be nice if someone ever told them they were doing a good job over to Aziraphale doing some difficult trauma work in Edinburgh and calling Crowley to talk to him about it. What goes a little undersung here, imo, is the way this is filmed and how Aziraphale can't stop talking about 1827 to a point that Crowley actually has to prompt him into telling him what he learned at the pub about Gabriel. This is because while Aziraphale-- who really didn't need to go to this cemetery at all for any reason related to figuring out what happened to Gabriel-- has been back to Edinburgh since 1827 (Crowley mentions him going to Edinburgh "for the festival" in 1.01), he's never been back to this spot since the night Crowley was yanked to Hell in front of him.

When we come in on Aziraphale at the cemetery, it's right off of that scene in the 1827 flashback and then we watch Aziraphale turn around again, now in the present, right? It's that he does have to turn around that's pretty significant. It says that he's not here because he thought maybe seeing Gabriel's statue again might give him some random insight as to what's happening to Gabriel in the present. He wasn't looking at the statue at first-- we come in on him looking at the spot where Crowley was taken.

Crowley and Aziraphale are in a place between S1 and S2 where Armageddon: Round Two could theoretically happen at any time. They have no idea if it's happening in five years or next Thursday or in an hour, really, and that's made the fact that Aziraphale has really never gotten over 1827 worse for him, to a point that it now bothers him to be away from Crowley for any significant length of time, especially if they've been arguing, because he's always worried that something will happen while they're apart and he'll never see him again. He spent almost a month (estimated by the dates in his diary) in 1827 thinking that had happened. He does some work on that in Edinburgh by deciding to go to the spot again and, when he does, he has to magically get the nearest cell phone so he can talk to Crowley from the spot because he knows that hearing his voice will help.

By telling Crowley that he's looking at the statue of Gabriel, we get in his knowledge that Crowley will understand the significance of this (and in Crowley's response indicating that he does) that they've talked about this at some point. There are other suggestions of that in the season (like the "I'm coming back. I won't leave you on your own" moment) but this phone conversation says that Aziraphale has verbalized to Crowley at some point how much 1827 still bothers him and Crowley understands that Aziraphale is telling him that he's taking a step towards trying to deal with it more.

(This is also an example of Aziraphale having done something clever and needing to call Crowley to tell him about it before he pops lol, which he's apparently been doing a lot lately since he no longer can get a pat on the back from Heaven, not that he ever did much, which is part of the whole damn problem. One could then perhaps presume that Crowley's been doling out a lot of praise over the phone of late, in addition to in person.)

So Crowley responds to Aziraphale telling him that he's in the cemetery in Edinburgh and looking at the Gabriel statue/trying to deal with 1827 by doing what they do sometimes-- cheer each other up from some depressing stuff about the past with a little of some of each other's favorite sexy chat.

This is basically a mirror in reverse of the scene in S1 in the car on the way to Tadfield where Crowley tells Aziraphale more about the antichrist baby swap and how it went wrong. Crowley was feeling depressed about the whole mess and how Armageddon was imminent now as a result of it and Aziraphale's response was to pivot to what was, effectively, dirty talking him in blasphemous Bible speak euphemisms in a dry-as-all-fuck, combination Pompous Angel/mildly soft dom tone because Crowley's sooooo weak for that lol. (I'm talking about the "seeds of destruction" scene, the dirtiness of which is probably a whole other meta, since we're mostly talking about Aziraphale here.)

Aziraphale's version of that is a massive praise kink. He looooves being told he's good at something or he did a good job or really just anything related to him and goodness, since Heaven's done a number on him and he struggles sometimes to fundamentally believe that he is good, which is lunacy but so are negative thought cycles in the first place. The praise thing with Crowley isn't unhealthy-- I'm not suggesting that. Aziraphale's negative thought cycle is unhealthy, obviously, but the praise kink thing with Crowley is actually not a terrible counter to it. It's obviously not the entire solution to dealing with Heaven's abuse of him but it is also doesn't hurt that Aziraphale believes Crowley and values what he thinks, which can help break up negative thoughts.

It exists both in and out of bed and Crowley was intentionally blending that over the phone in the Edinburgh scene by responding to Aziraphale being like I did the really hard trauma work thing we were talking about today and I'm still here go me with the kind of praise you'd give someone for doing something that was tough ("good job") but delivered low and with the little "mmrmm" before it, which was to associate it with, uh, other kinds of praise Aziraphale has elicited from Crowley before, by way of also invoking Aziraphale's Assorted Rumbly Crowley Sounds Kink as well.

Aziraphale undoubtedly heard it and replied around it, like he was doing with most of Crowley's flirting with him in S2, because driving Crowley slowly insane is also Aziraphale's favorite past time. It was made funnier by the fact that he left Crowley in London to get The Shop Lesbians together, explain The Vavoom to a memory-wiped Jimbriel, answer any questions about love for the Inspector Constable angel Heaven sent to spy on them, and fix Shax's "hot water boiler" so The Love Doctor was in and getting no love himself lol. Crowley's comment wasn't meant to go anywhere anyway, really-- Gabriel was literally five feet away at the time, which was probably also amusing Crowley-- but yeah, I think the conscious, intentional way Crowley phrased that is meant to suggest that Aziraphale not only likes positive reinforcement in life in general but has a bit of a raging praise kink in bed, with which Crowley is very familiar.

[fellshish]

Hello!

I already sent this question to another blog, but I think something went wrong and I’m to embarrassed to sent it again in case it went through after all. And because you always reply in such an extensive and well-considered way, I thought I try my luck here. Hope it is okay to pester you with my questions?

Sadly I’m quite an inattentive viewer when it comes to movies and shows. There are many instances when I read other people’s posts, and I’m totally baffled how I missed certain details or even fairly obvious aspects. So the answers to my questions might be very obvious.

It’s about their physical contact and how it is more present in s2 than it was in s1. At least that’s the way I perceived it.

As far as I’m aware physical contact between Crowley & Aziraphale was always a rare occurrence, which changed with s2. Of course there is the kiss!!! But additionally there are many little moments where Aziraphale touches Crowley (e.g. in the pub).

Is it always just Aziraphale who does this/ initiates the contact, apart from the kiss of course?

Were these little touches present in s1 and I just missed it somehow? I know they briefly hold hands when they exchange bodies/ their appearances and there is the moment in the former nunnery. However I can’t recall if there was more. Maybe in one of the flashbacks?

Anyway the s2 touches seem way more intimate, affectionate and caring than any interaction in s1, which makes sense after what they went through in s1. (I really would have liked a flashback that shows a little bit of their probably rather normal (well as normal as a pandemic can be) everyday life between s1 and s2. How these touches became more and more a part of their relationship.)

Hmm okay my thoughts on this are multiple.

So yes, in s1 as far as i can remember we only get a few instances of them touching: the former nunnery, the body swap and a brief blink and you miss it moment on the bus where they hold hands. The moment where crowley pushes aziraphale against the wall is a major one that crowley initiates, and the s2 kiss is supposed to mirror it, but it’s interesting that in both scenes it is a huge burst of emotion, of passion. It shows how repressed crowley is, how much he tries to keep himself in check at all times.

I think we can conclude crowley is much more careful about touching the angel. He keeps it hands off, perhaps he’s more afraid of what hell would do to him if they caught wind of him sharing intimate gestures with an angel. Add in that he does not consider himself worthy of love, and well. Well.

In season 2 things have changed. They are both no longer reporting to heaven or hell; and it’s especially aziraphale that treats crowley as his personal no-kissing-but-yeah-kinda-boyfriend. He keeps pushing the boundaries of what he can have with crowley, we see it when he borrows the car, but also in the touches he initiates. Rubbing his chest in the pub. Taking his hand in the ball episode, dancing with him. To aziraphale this is a very slow, delicate dance they do; perhaps he’s unsure how much crowley will let him get away with. Perhaps he is afraid of the consequences of taking it too far, of Naming it — he, after all, still longs for the approval of heaven, misses the purpose that gave him.

In one of the flashbacks they touch as well: aziraphale supports crowley when he is drunk on laudanum in the cemetary. This is, aziraphale must be hoping, an exception to their rule of not touching. Then crowley gets dragged down to hell.

In the book they share more casual touches. As a narrative choice i find this interesting: for television, it holds much more tension if their touches increase only step by step. Those moments of touch hold much more meaning if they are rare, and what a shock to the system and their unspoken rules when crowley then finally kisses aziraphale! It’s the jane austen of it all, the mountains of longing are stored in the small gestures. The twitching hand. The stolen glance. Oh, it’s all too much!!! 6,000 years of being touch starved IMAGINE

[clusterbuck]

i slithered here from eden

aziraphale/crowley | T | 2k | aziraphale gets the hell out of heaven

It takes very little time to realise that Aziraphale has made a Mistake, the kind where you can hear the echo of the capital letter long after the word has faded into the ether.

It takes considerably longer for Aziraphale to admit this Mistake, even to himself, because angels don’t make mistakes. It simply isn’t done. An angel admitting a mistake is akin to setting the Almighty’s Great Plan on fire and dancing in circles around it as it burns.

Aziraphale does, however, eventually remember that he is in the habit of doing all manner of things that angels do not do, such as enjoying crepes, or the small matter of stopping Armageddon. Or, indeed, collaborating with a demon to bring about the stopping of Armageddon, or going and falling in—

Well.

There are many things Aziraphale does that angels do not do, and so it is that he has come to make a Mistake.

There are many layers to the Mistake, and they are not all created equal.

First, Aziraphale admits that he misses London. This comes as a surprise to most angels, who cannot fathom missing Earth at all, and especially to Dariel; she once spent time in Scotland doing the Almighty’s work, and came back with a very Scottish disdain for anything remotely English.

Aziraphale has always rather thought she’d get on well with Crowley.

No one around him quite understands why, but he does miss it: he misses the rhythms of the city, so familiar after centuries they might well be seared into his bones, and the sounds of Whickber Street opening for business of a morning. He misses dropping into Give Me Coffee Or Give Me Death for the perfect oat milk latte.

“There’s coffee in Heaven,” the angel assigned to assist him says when he makes the mistake of voicing this thought, and miracles up something that is probably meant to be an oat milk latte. It’s in a beige takeaway cup, the exact shade of his waistcoat, and when he takes a sip he has to fight the urge to spit it out again.

It’s coffee, in the strictest sense of the word. It’s just not exactly… good. Or drinkable. He miracles it away when his assistant turns their back, pasting on a smile and a big thumbs up when they look back.

He never brings up coffee again.

The second layer of the Mistake is perhaps more accurately described as a B-side rather than its own layer, and it is the knowledge that even if he miracled a perfect replica of London right here in his office, it wouldn’t be enough.

This is a layer he tries not to think about.

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