Thinking about the weird camaraderie that exists between demons but not angels in GO.
Have we ever seen two angels who are actually friends? Or even friendly to one another? We have met angels with a capacity to be friendly in general, but I think the closest we've come to two angels actually getting along would be Gabriel making a point to laugh at Sandalphon's terrible "can't have a war without War" line in S1.
Most scenes between the angels actually seem to have an undercurrent of absolute hostility. Teeth-clenched teamwork. No wonder it took them so long to notice that Aziraphale wasn't on the same page as the rest of them! The rest of them are barely on the same page as one another, either! When Gabriel goes against the majority vote, no one bats an eye at demoting him and wiping his memory. Michael and Uriel immediately begin vying for his job. The only times we've seen angels team up is when they're working together to bully someone else, like when they're trying to intimidate Aziraphale in S1 or going to the aftermath of the bookshop raid in S2.
Saraqael's overall neutrality towards Muriel is the closest we get to two angels in Heaven getting along, and it's more a lack of hostility than any kind of friendliness. At least until Gabriel loses his memories and Muriel shows up to spy on Aziraphale, and Aziraphale decides to be kind to both of them.
Demons, on the other hand, actually seem to form alliances and even friendships among one another. Hastur and Ligur are awful, but Hastur seems genuinely distraught over Ligur's death, not just fearful of suffering the same fate. Shax and Furfur conspire together and even though the 1940's investigation into Crowley's fraternizing doesn't work out for Furfur, it's not due to any double-crossing on Shax's part. Unlike the angels, who stick almost exclusively to making threats until the Metatron decides to try dangling a carrot at the end of the season, demons actually offer rewards to other demons when trying to work together. Beelzebub offers Crowley a promotion if he can bring them Gabriel, Furfur offers to back Shax up politically if she goes for the Duke position opening, and Crowley successfully stalls Hastur in S1 by pretending everything was a test and he's going to be put in charge of a legion as a reward for passing. They're still not great at socializing, but they're significantly ahead of the angels.
Of course, it's a fact that demons are awful to one another (Eric's treatment is really bad, they throw that random demon into holy water just to test it, "it'd be a funny world if demons went around trusting one another", etc) but they still seem more capable of forming friendships than the angels do.
I think that's because Hell cramps and crowds everyone together to try and increase their suffering and hostility, whereas Heaven isolates angels to decrease the odds of questioning or rebellion. Hell's methods are unpleasant, but it still ends up putting demons together, and some of those demons inevitably forge alliances and make friendships. Because as Crowley and Beelzebub demonstrate, demons are still social creatures with the capacity for love and affection, even if it's strongly discouraged and buried under nine million layers of trauma and a cultural mandate against kindness.
Angels are the same, but isolation makes is harder to form connections than overcrowding. Muriel and Jimbriel are both so eager to make friends, but Muriel's spent the past millennia shut in an empty office, and Gabriel has been distanced from his peers both through his position and also through Heaven's culture of fear and surveillance. He only breaks away from it when he finds something that's stronger than "choosing sides" (stronger than the fear of being rejected by Heaven and Falling, in fact strong enough that Falling seems worth it if he gets to be with someone he loves). Both Muriel and Gabriel are only able to start forming connections when they're away from Heaven.
I just think it's interesting that demons, despite being supposedly devoid of love, have an advantage in forming relationships compared to angels. Angels are supposed to love, but have far fewer opportunities to actually do so. Demons aren't supposed to love, but they make connections anyway.
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Mushy May Day 26: "You Smell Nice"
After a long day, Aurora comes home to find Swiss in her bed looking for cuddles.
Thank you to @forlorn-crows for putting Mushy May together and to @ghuleh-recs for making the dividers <3
Aurora steps into her room, baring all of her fangs as she yawns. It's been a long day, and she can't wait to sink into her nest and curl up into a deep sleep.
The lights are off, but Aurora doesn't need them to sense that she's not alone right now. The hair on the back of her neck stands up straight, and a growl builds behind her teeth, tail lashing violently behind her. But as soon as the threat slips past her lips, it dies on the air.
Within the piles of pillows and plushies on her bed, gifts from her packmates and soft things that caught her eye, two golden glowing eyes blink sluggishly open.
"Swiss?" Aurora says, flicking on the lamp on her nightstand. The room is awash in soft yellow light. There's a loud, indignant grumbling, and sure enough, there's her fellow multi-ghoul, half buried in her bed, curled up on his side. He covers his eyes with a thick forearm.
"Hey, princess," he mumbles, voice sticky with sleep. "I ever tell you you've got nice digs?"
Aurora chuckles, leaning in closer to trail a purple-painted claw up his forearm, watching goosebumps rise in its wake. "You come in for cuddles?"
Swiss pulls his arm from his face, smiling coyly up at her. "I mean, if you're offering, I won't say no, Rory."
She rolls her eyes playfully, arms crossed over her chest. The hand that had teased over his arm moves up until she cups his cheek, feeling the sharpness of the stubble there. "I was planning on taking a shower, but then I'll come give you some cuddles, you needy, needy ghoul."
Swiss must be exhausted, because he only blinks up at her, enraptured by the little ghoulette towering over him.
"I mean," Aurora continues, "You're more than welcome to join me, but I don't think you're gettin' up any time soon, huh?"
He groans, shifting slowly, the spade of his tail padding against the mattress. "Yeah, you're right," he smiles. "Too comfy."
Aurora leans back on her heels. "Alright, you big lug, I'll be back in like ten minutes for some multi cuddles."
He flashes her a honey-slow grin. "I'll hold you to it."
The last thing Aurora hears as she slips into her bathroom is Swiss laughing at his own joke. The door shuts and latches behind her, and Aurora sighs in relief as she turns on the shower.
Her gills flutter as she steps under the spray, warm water erasing the tension from her shoulders. As much as her affinity to water makes her want to drag the shower out, she really doesn't want to drag it out, knowing that there's cuddles waiting for her.
Aurora reaches for the black bottle of her shampoo, lathering up quickly. Her blunt claws scratch at her scalp, and she groans in satisfaction. A quick, thorough rinse, and she grabs the matching conditioner. She had bought the set on an off day on tour, from a little store in some mall where the air had been intensely fragrant with a thousand different scents that even humans would find it overwhelming.
She finishes washing up, rinsing the conditioner she's let sit while she washed her body. She steps out of the shower, shutting the water off and wrapping herself in an incredibly soft, fluffy towel. It's all for show though, a little material comfort.
Aurora calls on her air, a magickal breeze circling her small form, evaporating the moisture from her body. She shivers, the air cold on her damp skin, before reaching up, running her fingers through the wet strands of pink hair plastered to her scalp. It dries quickly, and she sighs in relief knowing that her bedhead in the morning will at least be managable.
She dresses in one of Cirrus's shirts, hanging down almost to her knees, before she shuts off the bathroom lights and steps back into her bedroom.
Swiss hasn't moved, still curled up and comfortable. His breathing is slow, and Aurora could almost believe that he's fallen back asleep if it weren't for those gold-coin eyes slowly blinking open. His fingers twitch where they're laid out on the mattress as his eyes focus on her, as if he was sleepily reaching for her.
"Just a second, pretty boy," she hums, reaching over to shut the nightstand lamp off, casting the room into darkness before she climbs into her bed. Aurora grabs a soft blanket from the foot of the bed, crawling up to lay against Swiss, picking up his arm to tuck herself into his big spoon. She throws the blanket over the both of them.
Swiss rumbles, instinctively pulling the little ghoulette against his chest, burying his face into the nape of her neck.
"Mmmmmm, you smell nice," he murmurs, and Aurora shivers as she feels the press of his fangs against her skin. He drags the points slowly, not biting or marking, just mouthing at the back of her neck. "Like fuckin' candy, could just eat you up, princess."
She reaches up, grabbing the hand holding her to him, holding his wrist with both hands as she relaxes into her pillows and his touch. "Think it's the shampoo," she giggles, even as goosebumps spring up on her nape.
Swiss chuffs, burying his nose in her pink hair; she can feel his inhale. "What's it, strawberry vanilla?"
"Mmhmm," she purrs, her tail wrapping around his calf as she feels her eyes growing heavy. "And lavender, too."
"Smells good. You always smell good," he babbles. His purr rattles through his body, strong enough for her to feel it. Swiss kisses the back of her neck, purring before rubbing his cheek against it. "Bed time, princess?" He asks, thumb smoothing back and forth in an arc right over her heart.
"I think so," she yawns, pulling his arm closer as she presses as close as she can get to his chest. "I like this, I like you having me."
Swiss laughs, no more than a huff of an exhale. "I like having you. I've got you, princess, go to sleep."
And as much as Aurora loves bossing him around on stage, she listens to Swiss, letting sleep take her.
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