#also Crowley would come running and rescue him SO FAST

[bartimaeus]

I know it's been a while since S1, but in these days and times of such Aziraphale hate, let's not forget that Aziraphale was willing to spend an eternity in the deepest pit, if that meant that he was saving Crowley from it.

[jillianallen14]

Incredibly proud of Crowley and how strong/brave he is in the finale

This is gonna be really long, so if you’re in a rush, here’s a TLDR: Crowley is hella brave for confessing to Aziraphale even after Aziraphale spoke first, especially given Aziraphale’s track record of rejecting him, and I’m so proud of him. I’m also proud of him for standing his ground and not giving in because he usually always does whatever Aziraphale asks eventually. Crowley needs to learn to truly stand on his own two feet in order to have a successful relationship with Aziraphale, and Aziraphale needs to learn how to choose/put Crowley first just as much as Crowley chooses him and puts him first. Basically, in human terms, Crowley currently has an anxious attachment style and Aziraphale has an avoidant one, and they both need to get to healthy attachment styles in order for them to work.   

See how long that tldr was? That’s what you’re in for if you read this whole thing lol. 

Alright, here we go. 

Disclaimer: I love Aziraphale so much, but I think he has a lot of work to do before he’s ready to “deserve” the kind of love Crowley is offering him. I also think he is 100% going to put in that work, though. 

So Crowley’s tried to advance things forward with Aziraphale many times over their thousands of years together, and usually these advances are rejected, though sometimes Aziraphale does come around. He’s the one who suggests the Arrangement (and sort of gets rejected at first). He’s the one who is constantly pushing the idea that the two of them are on their own team. He makes grand gestures, rescues Aziraphale, and he makes a lot of sacrifices. In the 1960′s, he tells Aziraphale that he’ll take him anywhere he wants to go, just to be told, “You go too fast for me, Crowley.” I sort of count this as “run away together” offer #1 because I think that’s what Crowley is subtextually offering here. His second offer of running away together is also rejected during the almost-apocalypse. He suggests Aziraphale stay at his place when Aziraphale’s bookshop burned down and is once again rejected, though not as directly as some of the others. Aziraphale calls their friendship/partnership “fraternizing” in the 1800s. In the bandstand fight scene, Aziraphale tells Crowley, “We’re not friends” and “I don’t even like you.” 

Of course, we as viewers know that Aziraphale says and does most of these things because he’s constantly trying to protect Crowley from Hell’s punishments. We know that Crowley is what Aziraphale loves most in the world, and honestly, Crowley probably knows it, too. But I’m sure that doesn’t stop the constant onslaught of rejection from hurting and from discouraging him from ever really wanting to have The Big Conversation (the “what are we and what do you want us to be” conversation, as it were lol). 

Crowley has been relentlessly chasing Aziraphale for literal thousands of years, and Aziraphale never really gives all of himself to Crowley in return. That’s got to sting, and that’s got to be so disheartening, even though Crowley is definitely aware Aziraphale does love him/care about him. We all give Crowley shit about not communicating properly, but imagine how hard that would be when he gets that kind of a reaction whenever he does try to communicate? It would certainly not make it any easier. 

In addition to the chasing that Crowley does, he is also the one to almost always give in and apologize. We’ve established that Aziraphale says no to many of the requests Crowley makes of him. And yes, often Crowley says no the first time Aziraphale makes requests of him as well, but Crowley usually comes around. And Crowley always apologizes, even when he really shouldn’t have to because Aziraphale was also at fault or, at the very least, they should both be apologizing. We rarely ever see Aziraphale actually apologize for the hurtful shit he says and does to Crowley. Yes, we know from season 2 that Aziraphale has done the apology dance, so we can infer apologies do happen from time to time, but how often do we actually see this? Not often. 

I love Aziraphale to death, but he has a “my way or the highway” mentality, and Crowley gives in like every single time lol. (Because we know Crowley is so in love it’s not even funny and would do pretty much anything to keep Aziraphale around. #Aziraphale fell first but Crowley fell harder (or at least accepted it earlier) #I will die on this hill). 

So now we get to their fight in the finale of season 2. 

Crowley was so ready to confess. Our boy was prepared. He probably sat in that bookshop rehearsing what he was going to say over and over [just thinking about this hurts my heart lol, ouch]. Then Aziraphale comes in and Crowley literally asks Aziraphale if he [Crowley] can talk first, and Aziraphale still interrupts him (lol, Aziraphale, come on). [I really do wonder how that scene would have gone if Aziraphale had let Crowley speak first; fanfic writers, I’m looking at you]

Then Aziraphale proceeds to say Crowley’s worst nightmare lol. We can literally see on Crowley’s face that his heart is already breaking, and I’m sure he knows there’s a good chance he’s about to receive “let’s run off/be together” rejection #3. To be fair, Aziraphale is literally also telling Crowley he wants to be together, but all Crowley seems to be hearing is the “in heaven, as angels” part. So at this point, Crowley can be pretty sure the love of his eternal life is “choosing Heaven” over him once again [we, as viewers, know this isn’t really the case, but Crowley doesn’t]. 

Yet, he interrupts Aziraphale. He makes Aziraphale let him talk, he doesn’t just let himself be talked over or unheard this time, and Crowley proceeds to confess anyway and practically does the Good Omens equivalent of asking Aziraphale to marry him. Like holy shit, y’all. That takes some massive balls. 

Crowley is “rejected” (kinda-sorta; Aziraphale isn’t rejecting Crowley this time, just the “running off” bit, but Crowley sees it as a rejection of him). Fighting ensues. Aziraphale says accidentally hurtful things because he’s just as bad at communicating as Crowley is lol (ie “Nothing lasts forever” instead of saying, “You matter more to me than this bookshop,” which is what he meant). Crowley is literally beyond heartbroken, you can see it all over his face, especially when he puts the sunglasses back on. And yet he still has the courage to kiss Aziraphale? BRO. BROOOOO. I want what Crowley has lol because he’s certifiably insane for having the balls to do that. 

I’ve seen people say that the kiss was the wrong thing for Crowley to do in that moment, but I don’t agree. They were still talking past each other, and Crowley needed to do something to make sure Aziraphale knew exactly what he was offering (marriage). Crowley needed to do that because if he didn’t, there was still going to be ambiguity, which would make their eventual resolution harder in the end. I also think Crowley just wanted to kiss him out of desperation because he thought it would be his last chance and because he wanted to show Aziraphale exactly what he was saying no to, but that’s beside the point. And yes, the kiss broke Aziraphale’s heart, but I truly and genuinely think Aziraphale needed to have his heart broken this time in order for him to grow. 

Then Aziraphale once again says something incredibly hurtful and rejects him again. And what does Crowley do? He doesn’t run away this time, like he usually does. He goes out by the Bentley and stands there and watches Aziraphale. I think he did this partly out of the desire to give Aziraphale one last chance and partly out of a desire to make Aziraphale sit there and look at him as he chooses Heaven again. Balls, man, I tell you. 

And Crowley doesn’t go back to him, and he doesn’t beg him to stay. And he doesn’t give himself up completely to be with this person who can’t accept him as he is. He lets himself be known, and then he holds his ground. He doesn’t let someone fundamentally change him just for love. He doesn’t lose himself to love. 

And this leads me to my next point, which is that this fight needed to happen because both Crowley and Aziraphale have lessons to learn. 

Crowley’s lesson is that he needs to learn how to stand on his own two feet. He needs to learn how to put himself first sometimes so that he doesn’t completely lose himself to Aziraphale. He needs to learn how to say no, to really say no. He needs to learn how to hold his boundaries. He needs to develop an identity outside of Aziraphale and what Aziraphale wants/needs him to be, discover what he wants even when Aziraphale isn’t around. He also needs to learn how to clearly state and ask for what he wants and needs. I think him learning this lesson will also help with his anger issues because the kind of people-pleasing self-effacement that Crowley does for Aziraphale only breeds resentment, which comes out every time they get in an argument. 

And Aziraphale’s lesson is that he needs to learn how to really choose Crowley, not try to change him, not try to pretend he’s something he’s not. He needs to learn how to take Crowley exactly as he is. He needs to learn how to give Crowley as much as Crowley gives him so that their partnership is on more of an equal footing. Essentially, his lesson is the opposite of Crowley’s: where Crowley needs to learn how to not lose himself completely to Aziraphale, Aziraphale needs to learn how to lose himself a little bit to Crowley. I’m not saying Aziraphale is selfish because he’s absolutely not, but I am saying that his sense of individuality is a little too strong and that doesn’t exactly work when you’re trying to have a long-term, committed relationship/partnership with someone because yes, you’re still an individual, but you’re also now part of a unit. And that requires making decisions together and genuinely hearing the other person out. It requires compromising, which Aziraphale is not particularly good at. 

Crowley needs to let go a little bit and Aziraphale needs to hold on a little tighter so that they can meet in the middle. You can see this in almost all of their fights. When things don’t go Aziraphale’s way, he immediately resorts to telling Crowley he can leave. Think of this as the two of them holding on to opposite ends of a taut rope: Crowley pulls a little too hard, and Aziraphale lets the rope loosen, leaving Crowley to fall backwards on his own. Aziraphale needs to learn how to hold onto that rope just a little tighter so that him and Crowley are putting in equal amounts of effort.

And folks, they’re gonna do it. They’re gonna put in the work. They’re gonna learn their lessons. And then they’re going to kiss and make up (preferably with Aziraphale initiating the kissing this time lol, let’s give poor Crowley a rest and let him be chased for once). And then we’re going to get the most beautiful, loving, healthy relationship. But they just have to go through this first. It’ll make their resolution so much more satisfying. 

So Aziraphale, it’s time to do some chasing.  

[aziraphales-library]

hi! thanks for all of your (all the mods) work for the fandom - its so incredible! i was wondering if you had any fics where crowley gets captured/enslaved by someone and aziraphale finds out and tries to rescue him? thanks so much!

Hello! We have a #kidnapping tag you can check out, and you will also want to have a look at the #summoning tag, as that is a form of kidnapping. Here are more in which Crowley is kidnapped...

blessed be by rainbowumbrella (M)

Trembling fingers run over the barbs of the feather, and Aziraphale can feel it, he can feel the confirmation of what he already instinctively knows. This feather doesn’t belong to a bird, this feather isn’t even of Earth. It’s celestial, angelic in origin, belonging to a very familiar, very dear fallen angel. This feather, lightly scorched around the edges, mailed to him from an unknown address out of the blue, is Crowley’s feather. *** A temptation gone wrong leads Crowley to fall into the hands of some humans determined to find forgiveness for a demon.

Reluctant Hospitality by brionypoisoned (G)

Anathema Device comes to stay at Aziraphale's book shop after breaking up with Newt. She doesn't know that Aziraphale and Crowley are romantically involved, and Aziraphale attempts to keep it that way. Everything goes very badly.

Envy the Subtle Serpent by walkwithursus (T)

A mysterious bookshop patron strikes up an unlikely friendship with Aziraphale. Crowley sees right through the stranger's charming exterior to the serpent that lies beneath. Like recognizes like.

Crossing a Line by Bookwormgal (T)

The world should have ended four years ago. That was how it was written. The Great Plan was very clear on that much. Six thousand years after the creation of the world, the Anti-Christ would arrive on Earth. And after his eleventh birthday, when he came into power, he would lead the demons into the Final War. All of humanity would perish while angels and demons clashed in one final glorious confrontation. But no one had accounted for a few little snags. Like a couple of traitors. Or a disobedient Anti-Christ. And then, as if the Apocalypse not happening wasn’t already bad enough, Heaven and Hell couldn’t even punish those to blame for that entire mess. That was unacceptable. If Michael couldn't have the promised War and if she could not kill at least the demon involved, then she would at a minimum make him suffer. She could at least make him suffer until he wished that holy water could end his miserable existence.

Drops of Sorrow by EdosianOrchids901 (M)

Ten years after the failed Apocalypse, Crowley is captured by Heaven. Gabriel plans to use him as bait to lure Aziraphale into a fight. Can Crowley survive captivity, and will Aziraphale be able to rescue him without walking into the trap?

Good Expectations by tweedfeather (E)

After the Nope-ocalypse, Aziraphale and Crowley move slowly — up until the night they move too fast. The consequences will send them reeling. As they figure out what they mean to each other, they must contend with both the expected and unexpected.

- Mod D

[lavendermoonlitskies]

2024 Fic Roundup

Thanks @bellisima-writes for the tag!

What fandoms do you write for?

Only Good Omens. I can’t explain why but that show has been the only one that has ever inspired me this much.

How many words have you published in 2024?

Oh wow I just checked and I guess that would be 41,513 in total 🙈

What is your greatest achievement this year?

I was pretty proud of Dream A Little Dream of Me when I finished that, but now I guess I’d say that my greatest achievement is not giving up on a story I believe in (current WIP) despite everything that has happened in the fandom as well as in my personal life. I don’t expect it to reach “fandom classic” status, it’s probably going to end up flying somewhat under the radar, but that’s okay. I don’t need a lot of attention as some sort of “reward” for my hard work, I just want to write.

What are your top 3 favorite fics you wrote this year?

The Road Less Traveled (WIP)

Rating: unrated

Word count (current): 12,143

The road is Crowley’s only friend in the wake of Aziraphale’s departure. Endless landscapes, filled with the memories of a simpler time, becoming nothing more than a blur as the demon drove impossibly fast to avoid even a glance in its direction.

Maybe he’s running from his past, but is it truly possible to run forever?

It’s A Big, Lonely Universe Out There

Rating: Mature

Word count: 5,618

Crowley softened, watching Aziraphale’s terrified eyes imagine the lonely existence he was dangerously close to. He began to feel the drafty air in Heaven that was just a little bit too cold, a headache forming from the blinding white that covered every inch of that space. The looming threat of being tossed into the fiery pits of Hell over the tiniest hint of disobedience, with nobody there to come to his rescue. The cold stares of his colleagues, each and every one of them glaring at him with disdain and disapproval over the blasphemous ways in which he’d chosen to spend his time on earth. It was cold, so cold.

“Please don’t leave me alone.”

***

It's 1941 in London, England, and Aziraphale & Crowley have had a very eventful evening. The night is almost over when they're sat in the middle of a dimly-lit bookshop, wine glasses in hand. Things may start to go awry when they get a little too drunk, and start admitting things they probably shouldn't.

Find Me In Your Dreams, My Dear/Le Chant du Rossignol (Song of the Nightingale)

Parts 1 and 4 of Dream A Little Dream of Me. Part 1 was the first time I stepped out of my shell a little bit and had someone beta read, and I was really happy with the final product after that (thanks @serenity-black !). You definitely have to read parts 2 and 3 in order to understand what’s going on in Le Chant, but I felt better about how part 4 was written. I guess the more action-packed parts of the stories I write are not totally my strong suit, maybe I’m better at the emotional aspect; what’s going on in these characters’ heads before and after the big event.

What have you learned?

From a technical standpoint I learned a lot about formatting/basic grammar rules for writing a story with dialogue and all that 😅

But I’ve also learned a lot more about myself and what I apparently love to do. Big thanks to the GO fandom for reintroducing me to the joys of reading and writing 🥰

Also I researched a fuckton of random topics for these works, and anyways now I’m a lot more familiar with the map of Europe and I know a lot about Centaurus/Alpha Centauri

What fic did you want to do but never made it off the ground?

I tried joining one of those fic bangs this spring because I thought it would bring me more out of my shell, and it kind of did in a way but overall it just didn’t work out. I was excited about collaborating with people and making connections, but it wasn’t exactly like that and the fic itself just wasn’t sparking anything in me. It felt more like a job than something I was doing for fun 🤷‍♀️

Did you beta any fics?

I honestly don’t remember lmao

I don’t think so?

What three fics have you read this year that you love?

Phersu by JunKolt

I absolutely LOVE any fics that place Aziraphale and Crowley in different moments in history, especially when you can tell that the writer really did their research and the historical accuracy is THERE. Beautifully written, romantic, very bittersweet.

Don’t Fall Away From Me by @phoen1xr0se

Technically I read this at the very end of 2023 but I’m counting it anyway

If this fic has no fans I am dead. Fr. Absolutely brilliant. Bravo fellow moot👏👏👏

run across the river (just to hold you tonight) by hope_in_the_dark

Yk I had to throw in a short one just for good measure

Short, sweet, beautiful writing. Perfect for a lil bed time story from time to time, as a treat

Who do you want to thank?

The first one who comes to mind is @thavron who asked me to join their writing group for November (now continuing on into December ofc)! Without the little extra push that your server has given me, I honestly don’t know that I would’ve kept going with my current WIP despite how much I do believe in it. Big thanks ✌️💜

Thanks to @serenity-black (and also Aves whose Tumblr I don’t believe I have if they’re even on here) for beta-reading! It felt weirdly vulnerable to ask someone to take a look at my writing and tell me what they thought but I’m glad I did it and thank you for being so encouraging when you did☺️

Thank you to @thinkinginscripts @butterflywithsass and @manicpixiecatlady for working with me on the “fanfic book club” for the Good Omens fandom! I think it’s been wonderful so far 🥰

And a big thank you to every person who has left a nice comment on my works, you have no idea what that means to me

Happy holidays! ✌️🎄

[fuckyeahgoodomens]

Ineffable Con 2020 Fun Facts

Fun facts from the Ineffable Con 2 (2020) guest panels :): 

Neil Gaiman, Douglas Mackinnon and Rob Wilkins

David G. Arnold (the music composer)

Claire Anderson (the costume designer)

Peter Anderson (Peter Anderson Studio created the opening title animation and in-show graphics)

Paul Adeyefa (Disposable Demon)

Jeremy Marshall-Roberts (the owner of Mary the Bentley)

1. Neil Gaiman, Douglas Mackinnon and Rob Wilkins

What do they have from Good Omens:

Rob has the statue from St. Beryls, all four motorbikes from the four horsemen, Crowley’s Devon watch, box signed by David Tennant with Crowley’s sunglasses and Aziraphale’s cocoa mug with Michael Sheen’s DNA :).

Douglas has the playing cards from Episode 1 and heavily annotated Good Omens book they used for filming with inscription by Neil: ‘For Douglas, make us love, make us cry, 3rd August 2017’.

Neil has Aziraphale’s chair from the bookshop that he bought from the BBC and he uses it for Zoom meetings.

What is their favourite thing that was not in the book and was added to the TV show:

Neil: all of the first half of Episode 3 - an absolute joy.

Rob: also the beginning of Episode 3.

Douglas: David Arnold’s music and Peter Anderson’s front titles.

Could Aziraphale get out of the Bastille easily if he wanted to?

Neil: if he could: absolutely. Did he have any conception of the mess he was in: probably not. It’s one of Neil’s favourite pieces of acting - the absolute delight on Aziraphale’s face when he realizes that Crowley’s there and then he turns around and rather petulantly, grumpily goes oh it’s you - that moment of joy on Aziraphale’s face when he realizes that he’s been rescued is one of Neil’s favourite things. 

Neil and yoghurt starter: I had this slightly mad thing where I would explain to everybody that fans were yoghurt starter. And I said, ‘Basically you start out with yoghurt starter and you put it into your warm milk and you leave it, and the yoghurt starter goes off and turns the entire thing into yoghurt. 

Neil realized that there was a cat in his house (Neil doesn’t have a cat :)). After the panel Neil said that he was going to look for the cat with a can of sardines and Douglas joked that he would find Michael Sheen in a cat costume.

What was the best and worst about making the series:

Douglas: the best - the camaraderie, getting to know the people, the cast and crew. 

Rob: the best - realizing that the book could be translated to the screen and watching it happen. The worst - coming to the end of the shoot and saying goodbye to everybody.

Neil: the best - the amount of love from everybody, the worst - fighting budget battles (producers wanted gone all of the cold opening and the death of Agnes Nutter).

Did they expect that Good Omens would attract so many LBGTQ+ people and how they feel about that:

Neil: Yes, absolutely. There are definitely people out there who seem to think that I accidentally wrote a love story with all of the beats of a love story including a break-up halfway through, without somehow noticing that I’d written a love story. And I may not be the brightest candle on the candelabra, but as an author who’s been doing it for a long time, I’m very well aware of when I’m writing a love story, thank you very much. And so from my perspective I knew that the love story would be one of the driving things that would get us from the beginning to the end. And I also made a bunch of decisions about our angels and our demons in terms of casting, in terms of gender that everybody backed me up on, which I loved. You know, the idea that the archangel Michael is played by Doon [Mackichan] is something that is... or Beelzebub is Anna Maxwell Martin, whatever, there’s... it’s not like we are going: these are women, there are men, we are going: these are demons, these are angels. They... this is not a thing. And also doing something like Pollution, where you go in and go: okay  well if we were doing this in... if 1989 was now, if there were they pronouns, we probably would have done that. We didn’t think of it at the time but that’s no reason why we can’t do it now. And we did and I remember having a... not exactly a battle, but a... my very tiny skirmish with one of our execs who was very nice and very bright and was like: ‘Why are you saying they?’, and I’m like... and I... explaining, and he’s like: ‘Well I’ve never heard of that before.’, and I’m like: ‘Oh, okay, but trust me, just trust me, it’s all fine, just trust me.’

Douglas: And you know I have to say, just following on what Neil’s saying, I’ve been directing for quite a while, and I tend to notice if characters are falling in love, I tend to notice a love story happening in front of me, and I think it’s there, and everything is meant, guys, everything is meant.

Neil added: I would just say, there are some things that you do while you’re writing a script intentionally. The fact that... I wanted to do this, well, it was a thing I did that I really enjoyed doing... where whenever people accuse them of being a couple: they don’t deny it, they don’t argue, there’s no flustering on their part. They absolutely… you know, everybody… what I’m trying to say is:  yes, other people in the story are perceiving them as a couple too. And here is Uriel perceiving them as a couple, here is wonderful Dan [Starkey, playing the passerby] …and you know, you do scenes like that because that’s... you are trying to make a point here and you’re trying to make a point on how people are perceived.

Season 2, yes or no [fiends, all three of them!]:

Douglas: What’s that?

Neil: Of what?

Rob: Is it muted for me as is for everyone else?

Neil confirmed that they are going to be Funko Pops. [yay!]

2. David G. Arnold (the music composer)

He didn’t read the book before he was approached to do the music. He was asked to do it by Douglas Mackinnon he knew from the Victorian episode of Sherlock and he said yes before even knowing what it was about because he wanted to work with Douglas again.  

The first piece of music he wrote for the show was the brass band doing the Lazing on a Sunday Afternoon [Episode 6, in the park before the kidnapping].

The second piece of music he wrote was the lullaby that Crowley sings to Warlock. He always liked the lullabies like in Mary Poppins so he said to Neil: Why don’t we do it like Walt Disney, but if Walt Disney was possessed by Satan? That was about 7 months before he needed to write anything again while they were shooting and it kept going round his head the whole time - the melody stuck with him and when it came to the Opening Title of the show, this became the middle bit.

The original opening title was Everyday by Buddy Holly and each episode was supposed to be closed with a different version of it: a death metal version, an angelic choir version, a carmina burana version... and he actually made all those. But he likes to find the musical identity of the show and put it in the opening titles because it’s important and it tells you: ‘This is the word you’re going to experience’, so he wrote his own opening title with the lullaby in the middle and played it to them [probably Neil and Douglas] with Buddy Holly as the backup and: Neil just turned around in his chair and said, ‘That’s Good Omens.’. From that point the instructions were with no rules, just to create whatever he wanted: the further you can go the better, the weirder and the stranger you can think the better. It’s a rare thing to be shown a world like Good Omens and be let free to run around in it. 

His favourite ending title is the Queen one in Episode 1.

One of the reasons he didn’t do a theme for Crowley and a theme for Aziraphale is that the theme of the show is theirs - it’s theirs and they share it and it’s both of theirs and there is no separating in that regard. 

About Aziraphale and Crowley’s relationship reflected in the music score: It’s interesting isn’t it, because the relationship changed in a way slightly frequently and majorly infrequently. It seemed right from the start that their relationship was somehow seeded and planted and had begun by the time we saw them even though they may not have realised it themselves, you know, with the pair of them on the wall, considering one is a demon in the Garden of Eden and one is an angel. They act very charitably towards each other and they act with a lot of things you might not expect. And underneath that there is a sort of sense of togetherness and support even though they both know that their paths are going to diverge and they have different responsibilities. So I always felt like, right from that moment, when the wing came up on the wall, that there was something special about their relationship. Three moments that stuck with him: in Episode 3 saving the books in the church when they completely rely on the other for survival in the way that they were very open about, one in the car outside the nightclub in 60s Soho - the Holy Water, you go too fast for me, that genuinely tearing, that there was reluctance in those words that he spoke and that sort of things as a composer is gold, it’s about making those moments more, and in the last episode in a scene they’re not event in when we see Adam and Dog in the fields and Anathema that music there which celebrates Crowley and Aziraphale’s music which is the theme of the show - their shadow has passed over everyone’s emotional journey, and everyone’s emotional journey is theirs as well. The argument in the bandstand was important as well.

His favourite leitmotif from the series is the lullaby.

About the scene in the car in episode 2 when Thomas Tallis changes into Queen: Terry’s favourite piece of classical music was the Thomas Tallis piece [Spem in Alium] so Neil asked if they can go from Thomas Tallis - a choral piece from 16th century - to We Will Rock You, and: ‘You never say no. You don’t say that you can’t do it. What you have to do is to be the first person who solves the problem.’ In the end it was a two-days work just for this little bit and he mentioned that he never had these sorts of challenges anywhere else before.

His favourite non-musical detail in the show - the crucifixion, how the scene was shot, how it was upsetting, and how it was made more effective by Aziraphale and Crowley’s inability to stop it, that they had to observe and watch it, that it had to happen. I remember seeing that at the time and thinking, I wasn’t expecting that level of brutal honesty, in terms of the pictures that I was looking at and what they chose to show. And I think all the more effective for it. 

3. Claire Anderson (the costume designer)

When creating the costumes for the characters she started with mood boards. 

Aziraphale - she knew that he needed to have something winglike in his collar so that’s why there are sweeping lapels very often. Using velvet [for the waistcoat] because that was nice and soft and had all the appropriate qualities. His watch and fob that has little gold wings hanging from it and other tiny bits of symbolism. Tartan bow tie. Beautiful cashmere checkered trousers - not quite tartan but a nod to it. A mid to late Victorian coat, Michael only made his decision on the coat a couple of days before the filming. Aziraphale in the present settled on a ring with angelic symbol and harp cufflinks, earlier his ring in ancient times has got a much more roughly hewn set of wings on it, so before jewellery making became sophisticated he modernised slightly - he magicked it up to be a bit more modern, more gentleman signet type of ring, but he never modernises entirely. His heart is much more in the past.

After they began to define Aziraphale they started to look at how the Heaven army of angels might look - the element of tartan came sort of from Aziraphale and the angels have a not-tartan kilt with a semi military type jacket and a military band across that might hold arms or not, because they are not really violent. She used spats to make them look quite neutral and genderless so hiding fastenings and concealing little details like that seemed a way to do that.

Gabriel doesn’t wear spats because he’s on Earth such a lot. His shoe has a cover with two buckles on the side giving the same neutral element. He wears a cashmere light-as-air suit.

The other angels are all in bastardized versions of what era they may have died in, so they could have died in the 1930s or the 1800s and the costume would have an element of that era about it - though of course as an angel you can change things.

The Quartermaster Angel - the costume is a combination of slightly Indian type military, maharaja pants, longer spats from another era, all combined pieces of military tailored to be magical and slightly nonsensical, as Heaven might be.

Crowley - she felt that he wrapped around like a snake sheds its skin so she wanted something double breasted because that seemed to envelope his snakey charm. David wanted to be more casual than wearing a suit. Under his collar he always has a flash of red like the snake that he comes from - the red belly. They put a red seam into the sole of his boots so always there is a hint of where he came from. The red tie in the blitz. He was more rock and roll than Aziraphale and modernised more to a snakehipped rock and roll star really. His present jacket - the fabric there is quilted, they found an 80s jacket that had elements of things they enjoyed - part of that was that it had a slightly quilted quality to the fabric which was like a textured snakeskin. It took quite a long time to create the fabric and then to make the jacket from that - they quilted some fabric and washed and whooshed it repeatedly to create a bit of puckering in it. He has a snakey scarf around his neck like a chain mail linked scales of skin scarf that he wore that complemented his neck chain. The trousers he wore in Victorian times are the same he wore in the 60s when he meets young Shadwell. His present trousers - slightly waxy denim - we just were looking for a slithery finish. Crowley’s neck chain - there is only one in the world - her tailor has a Gothic church full of interesting stuff like busts and drapes with old things, this chain mail scarf was there and David was looking for something to complete his costume and liked it. 

Hastur and Ligur are her favourite characters - they were so enjoyable to create. She had an amazing book of 1920s and 30s criminals and they used that as a starting point, because they were all quite worn out and bedraggled and poverty stricken and like hell might be ideally. They burnt and decayed the bottom of them as if they were rotting from the Earth and rotting back into the ground - all demons have sort of gators as if they were rotting from the ground up.

One of the most difficult things was the demons - when they realized they had a few days to create hundreds of demons in South Africa (4-5 days for almost 200 demons). It was as if I had been dissolved in holy water when they asked me for another 150 costumes.

The sleeves of Anathema’s coat have been inspired by a Victorian cycling coat. 

The historical costume that Newt’s ancestor wore influenced his and Shadwell’s costumes - they used elements of the historical costume to put a little cape on Newt and Shadwell and their wax coats to give them the quality of that look. Newt's costume has a lot of mustard to make him feel a bit awkward and uncomfortable - it's not the most flattering colour on a northern European complexion.

The nuns’ headdress needed to look a little bit demonic - she bought a whole book on nuns’ headdresses for research. They also used the V in the nurse's apron because that was nicely demonic. The nurses' watch has got this Satanic symbol at the top - a little take on the medical since old nurses’ uniforms used to have watches.

For Madame Tracy she went back into the 70s, slightly Biba-esque makeup and a cape. They had only one pair of her goggles so it was always a nightmare to find them.

Which part of the cold opening is her favourite: I love ancient Rome because there is at least 6 to 12 metre of fabric in a toga and that was quite fun wrapping that around the boys and creating those., and her favourite was the Globe.

The lapels represent wings in every way and every shape and every form. Wings are very important.

4. Peter Anderson (Peter Anderson Studio created the opening title animation and in-show graphics)

The first thing that the director Douglas Mackinnon (with whom he worked on Doctor Who and Sherlock) said to him was: for all the graphics, for all the title sequence, for everything, I want you to promise me one thing, and that is very, very simple, promise that you send me emails that say: ‘this might be absolutely nuts, but my idea is...’.

The opening title it’s full of easter eggs - it’s a type of sequence that’s been designed to watch a thousand times, for example: on the escalator down to Hell there is one character running up deciding that he doesn’t want to go to Hell or the sea is full of plastic bags because we don’t look after the planet.

Every single face in the title sequence is either Crowley’s or Azriphale’s, they are repeated all the way through - inspired by Neil saying that there’s good and evil in all of us, so there is a grand procession of people of all the characters from the story - marching towards Armageddon - but all the characters have been taken over by good or evil. And along the way our two heroes are kind of playing tricks on each other, doing good, doing evil

The opening title combines multiple elements - two dimensional animation elements, three dimensional animation elements, CGI and live action (the people in the procession were created by live action on a travelator). So the result is a kind of strangeness - such as 3D figures with 2D animated tracked heads - which makes it unique.

Their first idea and version of the opening title was based on tapestries of old, subverting them, but then they wanted something more new and fresh.

Both Douglas and Neil were an important part of the opening title creation process.

The opening title sequence took about a year to make from the creative start with four intensive months towards the end.

One of things that inspired him was a Bauhaus theatre image from 1930s.

Question if the hand-drawn font for the graphics will be a purchasable font: no, because it was original and it’s unique and it was created just for this - it was for the love of the show and the story and it will be kept there.

In the scene where there are three photos of witchfinders - Neil and Douglas revealed in the DVD commentaries that two of them are their grandfathers - the third one is Peter’s great uncle.

Originally the signs telling us things like ‘Thursday’ or ‘Mesopotamia’ - were done as if somebody (who was living inside the television screen) ran up close to the screen and showed us the sign. In the end they simplified it, only showing the signs. The one time that it was sort of left in the show was when in Episode 5 a little demon in the video game shows a sign ‘GAME OVER’.

Outside of his work on it, what was his favourite thing on Good Omens: spending time with Douglas and Neil, and also working with Milk VFX - I think I can honestly say it's the best job I've ever worked on with the nicest people. 

5. Paul Adeyefa (Disposable Demon)

He first read the book when preparing for the audition - the character wasn’t in the book but he got into it, loved it and couldn’t put it down.

He didn’t know about the name Eric until the script was published and people started calling the demon that, he really likes the name and thinks it fits.

There was a version of the script where the demon was going to be dressed in different costumes each time he was discorporated (for example one in long hair wearing a dress) - they would be all the same but different incarnations, in one version they had different accents. 

The first scene he shot was the one where the demon goes to Heaven to deliver the Hellfire (and also wants to hit ‘Aziraphale’ which was cut). That first day was also his favourite moment of shooting because there was an immediate welcoming atmosphere and everyone was lovely and in love with the production.

Disposable Demon is like a permanent intern, running errands for the higher ups in Hell.

His favourite part of the costume were the eyelashes (though he loved the whole costume).

If he could change anything about the costume he would also want cool contact lenses - some brightly coloured ones.

Question what animal (like other demons have on their heads) comes to mind when we see the Disposable Demon: he didn’t think about it at the time, but later he saw people talking about his horns as bunny ears and found it interesting, and also the facts that there are so many of him and that he is quite happy and friendly for a demon so the bunny makes sense, so he might be a sort of a rabbit. Or perhaps something goat type because of the horns.

Question if there is another role in Good Omens he would have liked to have played: he always thought that the four horsemen were very cool and Pollution was his favourite so probably Pollution (also was the most jealous of Pollution’s contact lenses). 

If there were a season 2, he would be there in a heartbeat.

Question about Eric’s feelings on Crowley, if he’s a bit of a Crowley fan: I think he might be. There is something about Crowley and how he is somehow a little bit different from the rest of the demons. - and the Disposable Demon has, much like Crowley, interest in the human world. He could well be 6,000 how many years old, the same as everyone else, but he seems to have this younger vibe and I think he thinks that Crowley is quite cool.

Good Omens fandom is his first experience with a fandom of this scale. It speaks a lot, the fact that this kind of very, this minor character, a character who is only on screen for a very short amount of time gets any kind of attention at all, it's quite amazing really, it goes to show how big and enthusiastic the fans are. I never experienced anything like that.

6. Jeremy Marshall-Roberts (the owner of Mary the Bentley)

When Crowley used a miracle to switch off the Bentley lights in Episode 1 at nuns manor it was done by: there was actually a very small guy called Louis turning on and off the switches quickly.

David Tennant was allowed to wear the snake eye contacts for only 3 hours a day otherwise they could damage his eyesight.

For Mary, the Bentley, it was the second time she was ‘blown up’ on film - first being in the Endeavour with Inspector Morse about three years earlier.

He was a bit nervous during filming the bookshop fire scene because the Bentley was so close to a real fire - not wanting the paint to blister. The car was moved off after a few minutes of filming but still.

About the damage to Mary: Unfortunately, we overran, and Rob my stunt driver had already booked a holiday and off he went and so when he returned in January, on the 10th of January, I had this new driver who really had no clue how to drive old cars, so I showed him around, I showed him to go around corners. He came around the corner, the door was not closed properly for some reason and the door flew open as he went around. And instead of slamming on the brakes which is extremely efficient and would stop him straight away he kept on going, hit another car and really smashed the door quite badly. It did take the car off the roads for 10 months. The door was completely remade because of this accident and it cost the total of  £24 000 to rebuild the car to get it back to running as it is today.

The Bentley’s part most difficult to maintain and service is the engine. 

Would Mary be available for a potential season 2: definitely!

[banrionceallach]

Reverse AU Crowley/Harry Omens Short

This will only make sense if you’ve read both my main fic and my scraps on AO3. Posting it anyway.

Raphael is still here.

He is still here and he keeps smiling at Aziraphale all the time.

Aziraphale keeps smiling back.

Crowley hates it.

He is not jealous, he tells himself, as he watches Raphael sit on a couch in the back of the bookshop. Raphael is currently pouring over an arcane text that Aziraphale thinks might solve the ‘angel from an alternate universe’ problem.

Crowley has known Aziraphale for six thousand years. He has argued and dined with and gotten drunk with the angel innumerable times. They’re best friends. Aziraphale walked into hell for him and sassed Michael into the bargain. He knows Aziraphale loves him. They are raising (another) child together, for Someone’s sake.  Some alternate universe angel is not going to change that.

Even if he is basically a better version of Crowley.

Stupid angelic tosser. With his stupid round pupils and his stupid white wings and his stupid long braided hair that Aziraphale spent a whole minute complimenting after lunch.

( It is just possible that Crowley is trying to grow his hair out as quickly and discreetly as possible.)

Currently Crowley is alone with the Archangel Bloody Raphael, because the aforementioned child that Crowley and his angel are raising together had a sleepover with the former antichrist and Aziraphale has gone to Tadfield to pick him up and also consult the local witch on their Alternate Universe Angel problem. Normally picking up Harry from a friend’s house is something Crowley does in the Bentley, but today the knowledge that that would have left Aziraphale alone with Raphael for over an hour had made him strongly suggest that Aziraphale should go, and use the opportunity to consult the witch.

Crowley really hopes Book Girl has something. He doesn’t know how much more of the archangel’s presence he can take without jumping across the room and trying to claw his stupid perfect eyes out.

He notices the other red-head has put down his book and is looking at him with narrowed eyes.

“What are you looking at?” he demands.

Raphael shrugs innocently. “I was just surprised you didn’t go to Tadfield instead of Aziraphale.” He waves a hand at the piles of esoteric text cluttered around the room. “It would have been more efficient for you to bring Anathema here while we continued to research, wouldn’t it?”

“Leaving Aziraphale alone with you?” Crowley snaps, with rather more honesty than he prefers. “Not likely!”

Raphael arches a fine auburn eyebrow. “Are you always this possessive?” he asks and damn him, there is actual genuine concern in his tone. Who is he to be concerned about Aziraphale? He has his own version, yes? That he should be wanting to get back to? A tiny part of Crowley still doubts that. He can’t imagine a demon Aziraphale, can’t imagine Aziraphale Falling.

It hurts to think about.

“Possessive?” Crowley sputters, wrenching his mind away from the possibility of a horrified spiral into guilt. “I am not!”

And the thing is, he isn’t. Not usually. But of course, it occurs to him, it’s been rather easy to not be possessive when he can be safe in the knowledge that no one else on the planet has a hope of competing for Aziraphale’s affection. Not humans, not other demons, definitely not other angels.

Except now, there is another angel. An angel who never fell, still bathing in Her favour. With Crowley’s face. And, key point, without the more demonic attributes caused by the Fall.

He is polite and gentle and exudes a puppy-like bouncy enthusiasm and he keeps smiling at Aziraphale and Crowley hates everything about him.

“Really?”

“Really,” Crowley snaps back, baring his fangs. “I am concerned for his safety. For all I know, this could still be some trick by Above and Below to attack us. You could be in on it.”

“You really are very suspicious, aren’t you?” Raphael says, grinning like Crowley has just said something amusing.

“Demon,” Crowley snaps. “Goes with the job description. Suspicious, sly, evil demon.” He notes with satisfaction that his blunt reference to his status makes Raphael go pale and twitch slightly. Good.

“You’re not that demonic,” Raphael says softly after a moment, giving him a considering look. “I think Azirafell is worse. Better, I mean. At demoning.”

This is too much.

Crowley snarls and surges to his feet. “I,” he hisses, “am the Serpent in the Garden. The Fall of Man? Humanity exiled from Eden never to return? That was me. For six-thousand years I was Hell’s favourite demon. Don’t go thinking I am soft!”

Of course, it’s at this moment that Harry runs into the room, having just got back from Tadfield. “Dad! Dad! Is it true?”

Crowley draws his fangs back in so fast there’s an almost audible click. “Is what true?”

Harry is about to reply when he spots Raphael. Raphael stares at him, wide-eyed. Harry stares back, fascinated.

“Wow,” the nearly-thirteen-year-old breathes. “You really do look just like Dad! Weird!” Then Harry frowns. “Why don’t you have the cool eyes, though?”

Crowley flips from cursing Harry’s sense of timing to grinning widely. He and his angel have the Best Son. Objectively. It is fact.

Raphael makes a strangled noise. “Dad?” he manages to wheeze, still staring at Harry.

They had not mentioned Harry up until now as a precaution. Just in case Raphael was part of a plot against them. Watching Raphael almost choke in shock, Crowley is extra glad they’d not mentioned the young wizard.

He still has to squash the urge to snap ‘yes, this is our son’ in his most smug tone of voice. Crowley loves Harry and is not under any circumstances going to use him to score against the annoying stupid archangel who will be punted back to his own universe as soon as possible.

So instead he just waves, wiggling his fingers insouciantly at the Archangel. “That’s me.”

(It’s also Aziraphale, as well as James Potter, sadly deceased. People who start talking to Harry when he mentions his father soon learn to be alert for context clues.)

Raphael coughs, clearing his throat. “You’ve . . . adopted a child?” he says weakly.

“That’s right,” beams Aziraphale, who has just walked into the room behind Harry.

“Stole,” Crowley corrects. “We stole him. Evil, remember.”

“More like rescued,” says Harry, the little traitor. Raphael gives him a watery smile.

It turns out that (to Crowley’s great relief) Aziraphale has brought back a way to get Raphael home. Unfortunately, the ritual to do it takes hours to set up.

Raphael spends most of that time trying not to stare at Harry. He doesn’t really succeed.

Eventually, since they are now guaranteed to be archangel-free very soon, Crowley grudgingly explains how Harry came to be living with them.

Raphael is appalled.

“What do you mean, this headmaster knew and just left him with those people for ten years?” he hisses, his golden eyes narrow with outrage.

“He’d convinced himself that the blood ward was the only resort,” Aziraphale explains.

“Bullshit,” snaps Raphael and for a second Crowley almost likes him.

“Quite,” Aziraphale says. “We were less than happy with the state of affairs ourselves.”

“No kidding,” the archangel mutters.  Right,” he says decisively. “Is that circle ready to get me home? I need to take a quick trip to Surrey. Just to check on something.”

It is possible, Crowley thinks, as Raphael steps into the circle and disappears in a flash, that the archangel will find that there is no alternate Harry. Or perhaps there’s no alternate Voldemort. Or Dumbledore. Who knows?

***

Harry Potter, aged almost thirteen, ran from Number 4 Privet Drive, his suitcase and his owl’s travelling cage thumping beside him. His could feel his heart jumping in his chest. He had never been so angry in his life. Why had he listened to Aunt Marge? Why hadn’t he done the smart thing and excused himself to the loo when she’d started to talk?

What was he going to do now?

A noise and sudden light, caught his attention. It was a car, approaching fast. When it reached Harry, it skidded to a stop. He backed away, fumbling for his wand.

Then the passenger’s window rolled down, and a man’s head emerged. “Hello,” the man said in a cheerful voice. “Harry, isn’t it?”

Harry gasped and backed away further.

“Look,” said the man, “I don’t normally get involved in these things, but my friend here” – he waved vaguely towards the driver, a man with long waves of red hair- “seems to think you need help.” The man squinted at Harry. “And from the looks of it, he’s right.”

An enraged roar, familiar to Harry, echoed out of the night.

Uncle Vernon, furious and getting closer.

“Alright,” said the driver, speaking for the first time, “that’s enough of that.”

Harry heard the sound of clicking fingers and suddenly found himself in the car’s back seat with Hedwig’s cage next to him. His seatbelt had already fastened itself. The big black dog, which he’d almost tripped over earlier, was sitting on the car floor and looking extremely puzzled.

“Really dear,” said the man in the passenger seat to the driver as the car sped off, Vernon Dursley’s furious shouts receding into the distance “Did you have to bring the dog too?”

“Yep. He’s a good dog.”

Harry swallowed and finally managed to speak. “People will come looking for me,” he said, trying to sound more confident than he felt.

The man in the passenger seat smiled at him. “Well I do hope so, my boy.” He nodded towards his friend. “Raf here is quite keen to give Albus Dumbledore a piece of his mind.”

[tintentrinkerin]

adelphopoiesis

Author: tintentrinkerin

Title: adelphopoiesis

Requested by: @schaefchenherde

Header by: @wincestismyheart​

Divider by: @firefly-graphics​

Rating: Explicit

Pairing: Demon!Dean x Sam

Warnings: Blood and Gore, Sam Drinks Dean’s Demon Blood, Anal Sex, Not Canon Compliant

Content: Chasing your baby brother around the bunker with a hammer is fun, right? But what if you tickle his thing for blood?

Read here or on AO3

Dean’s most effective weapon is not the hammer he destroyed the door with. The hammer that’s stuck in the wall now beside Sam’s head. It’s not his physical strength, radiating like utter heat from his body, showing in the tension of his neck, the firm grimace of his mouth, his pretty mouth. It’s not the First Blade. A blade powerful enough to kill anything and anyone, but Dean himself. 

Sam’s only weapon is a lousy knife. A demon knife, that will barely leave a scratch on a Knight of Hell. 

“It’s all you”, Dean says, leaning in the knife, leaning into Sam’s half hearted attack. 

The way Dean looks at his brother, it’s tearing Sam apart in so many ways. Ways he thought he’d buried under guilt and hunts and lore and his shame. Sam gives in and takes the knife away, he will regret it so bitterly, he knows. Of course he knows. He can’t even lay a single finger on Dean. The demon in front of him wears the face of his brother but there is nothing left of his soft side for Sam. His voice, how he calls Sam, how he says Sammy, the hair, the determined look, the tongue against his teeth. Like he’s a predator and Sam’s the prey. 

Dean’s eyes turn black.

It’s a whooshing sound and it darts Sam’s ears the moment he thought he’d surrender and then, the First Blade, fast as an arrow lands in Dean’s hand. There is not a blink for Sam to react before Dean looks at him with a triumphant smirk. The knife glides through Dean’s smooth skin of his throat like it’s warm butter. Blood spills. 

Blood

Spills

Blood is Dean's most effective weapon.

Its smell is so familiar, so luring. So intimate and so…powerful. Sam turns and runs. He needs to go. He needs to get away. 

“Oh Sammy, baby brother, don’t run away!”, Dean mocks. 

Shit, he’s right behind Sam and Sam’s judgement clouds already. He isn’t even fast. It feels like running through molasses. The air feels thick and strong, pressing Sam down, and the smell of iron and lust and Dean, oh my God, it’s Dean’s blood! - He needs to get away! Sam manages to worm through the destroyed door to the electrical room, but he catches several splinters. Some even bite his face and he gets stuck with the cast of his elbow. Spraining the right elbow, why, Sam, why did that happen? Everything’s against him. 

Memories of Ruby appear in his head. Of the smell, the taste, her body, the sex. The grunting and the mind blowing orgasm, the banging against walls everywhere they went. The power, the trip. His increasing power, a stimulant better than any human known drug. It resonates all within him with the odor of Dean’s musk and his blood. He can smell its potential, its strong taste. Sam even imagines how it would make him feel. Running away never felt so hard like right now. He remembers the withdrawal and the pain behind his eyes blinds him as he trips in the hallway and tumbles against a wall. Stinging pain in his arm, in his head and his legs feel heavy. It’s like he has Dean’s breath in his neck all this time. Even though he can’t hear him come close at all. It sounds like Dean is far away, in another world. 

“Come on, Sammy, I know you want a sip of it. Makes you all giddy, doesn't it? I can smell you. All of you.”

Sam yells something, but he can’t even make out what he says. 

“Keep runnin’ if you must, but you know I gotta find you sooner or later. It’s my home, too!”

The alarm is blaring again and Sam has no idea how far he can run. There won’t be any walls that might hold Dean back. He’s regaining strength, the human blood wears off. Even that Sam can smell. How much stronger Dean gets with every minute. 

“I taste delicious, Sammy. Just fuckin’ delicious.”

Oh, yes, Sam bets he does, that’s exactly why he needs to keep running. The smell gets even more intense now and Sam wonders how much Dean can cut himself up with the First Blade. He should’ve given the damn thing to Crowley when he had the chance to do so. 

“Stay away”, he croaks. 

There’s another hallway, one leading deep into the intestines of the Forbidden Bunker, how Dean and him called it jokingly, when they discovered it. An area full of locked doors made of the weirdest materials. Only one chance is left for Sam, when he finds that one door he unlocked in these months without Dean. He had learned a lot about witchcraft since Dean left this note on his bed, when he left Sam for Crowley and a life as a demon. When the only way to save himself from Dean was to hide himself in a panic room again, hallucinate again, he would have to do it. He rather sees Lucifer again, Mary, Bobby, all the victims they couldn’t save than to fall for Dean’s lure. Drink his own brother’s blood. This was perverted, disgusting, twisted. Even for them. The monster hunters, the monster fuckers, the monsters themselves. 

“The longer you run, the harder I bleed, brother!”

Sam tries every door on the way, but none opens. Sam’s eyes sting from the smell. What the hell is Dean doing? Covering the walls in blood? That would be insane. Even Dean would faint at one point. It must be impossible to drain a body so much before it dies. Dean isn’t possessing a body, he still has his own, whatever that means for him and his physis then. Sam trips again, he falls, on his right arm of course. He tears up from the pain that fills his chest, his arm, his shoulder. He can’t survive that long if doesn’t find a hide-out. 

It seems to be near, because Sam still can read the signs on the doors and when he finds room 616, he pushes the door open with a long and agonizing cry and slams it shut. It’s the door he unlocked already, a room, bleak as an empty tomb. Cold and pitchblack, there’s no electrical light, just candles, but Sam won’t be able to find them. He can just hide in here, pressed against a wall, praying to Castiel, to Hannah. He even cries for Crowley inside, someone needs to help him. 

Footsteps.

The smell of blood. The First Blade scraping on the tiles, Sam knows it’s that. 

“Gotcha! I really thought you’d be a bit cleverer than that. Where’s the fun when you cage yourself like a mouse?”

The door bursts open, way too easily. None of the sigils and runes seem to be an obstacle for Dean. And when light shines in the room and Sam can see not only Dean’s silhouette but also his face, he knows. Dean is covered in his own blood. His face, his slit throat, still pumping blood in long and rhythmic spurts from the wound. His arms are drenched in blood and now, with a biting smile, Dean looks at Sam and the Blade carves an S in Dean’s arm. 

“Come here, Sammy. Come to your big bro and lemme get you something real good

The stench is so intense now that Sam first vomits in violent jerks and then faints. The last thing he sees before the world turns completely black is Dean’s triumphant, sweet smile and his eyes. His normal green eyes. 

When Sam awakes again, he is tied up. Bound to a chair. They’re in the dungeon again, how did Sam come here? His head aches like it’s been run over by a stampede of bulls and his mouth tastes like vomit and blood. He tenses immediately as he’s present enough to realize his situation. Dean has tied him up here, and now he’s sitting on the desk in one corner, right beside the blood donor box that Sam got from the hospital. His legs swing and he hums a strange melody. 

“Oh, look who’s up.”

Dean jumps on his feet. Sam can see the First Blade, the damn Blade, resting on the table. Then Dean takes the syringes of human blood and starts spilling them. 

“You won’t need them anymore, Sammy. I think I won our little chase.”

“Dean, don’t do that… please. I can still…”

Dean hisses. His eyes turn black.

“You can still what, brother dearest? I already told you. I am what I am now, I am free. I’m finally free. Of humanity. I’m strong now. Efficient. Deadly.”

Sam winces when he moves in the ties. The ropes cut in his flesh and Dean removed the sling on his arm. His elbow hurts so much, it’s taking his words away. 

“You were deadly before already. The Mark made you powerful.” 

“But guess what, I’m even better now. Dean Winchester 2.0 - I’m all in for my upgrade. You see it as a bad thing, but what I see is … potential. Chances. Oh Sammy, I can conquer the world. Hell. Heaven. You really want the boring Dean back, huh?”

Sam shakes his head but that makes him feel dizzy, he stops.

“I want my brother back. The brother I loved.”

Dean’s black eyes target Sam like he’s prey again and he hates being looked at like this. It makes him feel less human, less Dean’s brother.

“I am your brother. Nothing ever changed that. But I told you to stay away from me, I told you not to look for me. But you did. You plotted against me, with Crowley, with Cas. You tied me up in this chair, you tortured me with human blood. Against my will. For someone who’s all over the place with autonomy and respecting boundaries you violated mine just perfectly.”

Sam squirms. The problem is that Dean is right. But Sam did it for the greater cause, didn’t he? Dean becoming human again was the best for everyone!

“You make me sound like the bad guy here, that’s not fair”, Sam mutters.

Dean laughs and it’s a deep, rough laugh that makes Sam’s skin crawl. This is so much Dean, even darker than usual. And it shakes Sam to the core. 

“Good, bad… Who cares. Human categories, bullshit. Nothing’s fair, Sam.”

“I need something to drink”, Sam says faintly now. 

He won’t make Dean untie him, that’s for sure, but maybe Cas will come to the rescue soon, he can maybe delay things. Also he needs to get rid of the taste of old blood in his mouth. Dean doesn’t reek of his blood that bad anymore, Sam is very much aware of the pink line across Dean’s throat. A scar. The blade will cause scars. Or at least the weapon delays even Dean’s healing. 

Dean smiles. 

“Sure. But why waste water on you when I kill you anyway?”

Sam’s heart sinks.

“Will you?”

Dean shrugs as if he doesn’t give a shit at all.

“Thinking about it. But you’re my brother, as you keep on reminding me. Maybe I should give you a chance to redeem yourself in my eyes and let you live?”

“And how would you do that?”, Sam asks, winding in his ties. 

Dean goes away. Doesn’t say another word. Sam is stunned and damn, holy shit, he’s afraid. Dean will kill him. But what is it with the possibility of letting him live?

The smell of iron. Like a perfume, soft and silky. No. No no no.

“Dean? Dean!”, Sam cries and fights the restraints harder.

He did it again. He slit his fucking throat, Sam knows it. And this time, he won’t be able to run, he won’t be able to fight back. He’s tied up, he’s in pain, he’s weak. It’s not like with the other hunters who wanted to force him to drink demon blood. He could fight them off, but now?

Emaciated. Sick. Depressed. A broken arm. Hungry. Tied up. The addiction is pulsating through his veins, giving him the chills. It’s hot and cold at the same time. Like crackling in the air, the heavy scent of blood and Dean, he can only say no.

Dean won’t take a no, why should he? He’s a Knight of Hell. Sam is human. His brother is back, his throat cut deep enough to see the structures of muscles, veins, nerves, his trachea, the pulsing blood. Sam vomits all over his shirt, but there’s not much left except bitter, yellow gall. 

“You’re sick, huh?”, Dean coos in a voice like he did when Sam was younger. It’s meant for comfort but now it just feels like mockery and Sam wonders how he deserves to see his brother slit his throat, twice, just to seduce Sam to drink it. It's so fucked up. It’s low, even for lean, mean Dean. Human Dean would’ve never provoked Sam’s demon blood addiction. 

Sam nuzzles against the hand that’s stroking his face, his eyes squeezed shut. His lips tremble. 

“Let me make you feel better, don’t pull away, Sammy…”

Sam cries out and some ugly big tears fall down his face. Is it so easy to break? He’s gone through so much pain already, through torture, rape, withdrawal. He was betrayed by everyone he loved, especially Dean. Dean’s hand is warm, but his skin feels like marble when Sam leans in, rubs his face in the palm of Dean’s hand. Is this still his brother? Is there any humanity left? 

But what would that change? They’re here now. In a bunker soaked with demon blood, Sam is tied up, Dean reigns. 

“Hush, hush”, Dean purrs, both of his hands holding Sam’s bobbing head. “It’s gonna be alright… Sammy, just give in. There will be no more pain, just us. You and me, against the world. Like it used to be.”

Sam opens his eyes but all he sees is blurry and red, it stinks of iron and vomit and Dean’s black eyes…

“I wanna see your normal eyes”, is all Sam can say right now.

A smirk.

“Anything for you, Sammy.”

And Dean’s eyes flash back to green and Sam can have the illusion of his brother just for a moment longer. Thick dark blood is pulsing out of Dean’s cut on his throat. 

“It looks disgusting, Dee.”

Dean only laughs.

“It’s not supposed to be beautiful.”

Dean cups his hand before the dripping wound, collects a tiny lake of blood in his hand and then, gently presses his blood covered hand against Sam’s lips. 

The world turns upside down. Sam feels the spinning, the spinning, the spinning!

The taste makes him want to barf, violently, but the old creature, the blood sucking monster was waiting patiently beneath the surface. Patient but greedy. Now it’s unleashed it bursts out and the first drops, he swallows. His lips limp and curled in utter disgust, but now, oh now, there’s a jolt running through his body, he sits straight up, first ties grinding, the ropes won’t last. The shackles won’t last. 

“Come on, sweet baby boy, you want more…” Dean sings, eyes black as the night. 

And slowly, very slowly and enjoying, Sam’s lips brush Dean’s hand, collect the blood, a tongue, pink, hot sneaks out, licks the offered hand. 

The ropes break. The pain in Sam’s arm fades. It’s a movement even Dean didn’t see coming when Sam bursts out of all restraints he put on him and grips Dean’s hand tight, as tight as possible and sucks three of Dean’s fingers dry. 

The Knight of Hell rejoices, pulls Sam close, closer than they’ve been for a very long time.

“That’s it, Sammy, yes, that’s it, let me take care of you… such a greedy boy…” 

Dean’s voice is distant to Sam, distorted and hollow, he remembers their youth, the motel rooms, the flickering lights, the old tv, how Dean smelled of whiskey and beer. John’s passed out in an armchair, stained in blood, piss and vomit. 

He remembers Dean’s care. The kisses at night, the stealthy handjobs in the shower, how Dean ‘taught’ him how people do it. 

Make love. 

Sam was twelve. Dean was sixteen. And he was a grower. 

A slut. 

All of this drenched in velvety red tint.

The ritual.

“Let me take care of you, Sammy…”

“I love you, Dee.”

“Never tell anyone.”

And Sam never had told anyone (but Lucifer knew - he knew everything) and deep down, buried in his mind, these feelings were in peaceful slumber, violently dragged across the floor now, kicking and crying, 

A W A K E

Sam is awake. 

He remembers the awkward, painful, dry fuck in the back of the Impala after they killed the Wendigo, so long ago, and how they never ever said a word. 

Spit is shitty lube.

So is blood.

It roars. The monster roars in Sam’s chest. It’s in agony, it’s in joy, it’s free! 

And Sam is just a puppet, always been nothing more than a puppet. He watches himself suck Dean’s fingers, then sticking his own fingers in the wound, stir it, stir Dean’s insides. The gurgling, the retching. Dean’s satisfied moans, his hands all over Sam’s now healed body. 

“Yes, Sammy, let it all out, come on… Let it all out.”

Sam only hisses. This blood, Dean’s blood, the blood of a demon, of a Knight. It’s so much more potent than Ruby’s or any other demon’s he’s ever drank and tasted. Dean is delicious. Demon tend to taste like rotting meat, titan arum aroma.

But Dean tastes of all the good things. Dahlia, petrichor, amber. His musk makes Sam’s blood boil and his pants bulge. 

“Sammy.”

“Dean”, is the first thing New Sam says. 

What Monster Sam says. His voice sounds low, rough, barely in control. His body is shaking, too much force is withhold now. 

“Brother.”

The wound on Dean’s throat is closing up again already, the healing ability is really incredible. Sam will bite it open very, very soon, but first… 

Dean doesn’t protest, he doesn’t fight back at all when Sam slams him down to the ground like he weighs nothing. There’s the crunchy sound of maybe, bones breaking, or just getting sprained, but even that, Dean will heal in no time. Dean lies on his stomach, attempts to get up. 

“Sammy-”

“Sammy is not here right now.”

There’s no surprise, no scare in Dean’s voice. Sam stomps his bare foot in Dean’s back and Dean stays, doesn’t even breathe. The adrenaline rush in Sam’s ears makes him deaf for most other things and seeing demon Dean down on his stomach, defeated so easily, it’s almost an insult. Sam crouches down, one foot still on Dean’s back, pressing him down. 

“You surrender?”, Sam asks, eyebrows raise.

“I didn’t mean to fight you at all.”

Dean chuckles, his voice raspy

Sam drags Dean on all fours, rips apart his shirt (the pretty red shirt, ruined with blood anyway) and Jeans and when he holds Dean’s hips, bends over and bites Dean’s neck, Dean hisses “Come on, Sammy, that’s it.”

That’s it.

Sam tears apart skin, Dean’s blood gushes in Sam’s mouth, warm and silky, smooth and delicious. 

“Is that what you wanted?”, Sam says in a breathless moment, before he starts sucking the wound dry, the bleeding will stop soon, way too soon for Sam to be satisfied. 

Dean growls deeply, pushes against Sam. Pleading. Sam pushes two fingers inside Dean, but feels very quickly, Dean doesn’t need it. He doesn’t want it. He needs Sam. He rips off his jeans, down to his knees and when that’s not giving him enough space, he just tears it to shreds completely. Dean’s ass is perfect. Round, juicy, firm. When he gives it a slap - a hard one - he enjoys the noise Dean makes. And then he thrusts completely inside, without hesitation. No foreplay. No gentle feeling ahead and preparing Dean’s wonderfully tight and delicious ass. He feels amazing, hot, tight, smooth. Dean hands grip Sam’s wrists tight while he fucks into him, raw, without anything to soothe the pain, make it easier, make Dean nice, slick and wet. But he doesn’t complain at all. 

“That’s it”, Dean chants, in his low, low “Let’s finish this game” voice. That’s it, over and over. 

This is no sex Sam would ever have if he was in his right mind. Covered in his own vomit, Dean’s blood, on the cold floor. Not that he has fucked any guy after he fled off to Stanford anyway. Dean is all he knows. He only knows what Dean taught him about fucking ass. 

Dean starts getting slippery with his own blood, Sam’s blood infused spit and finally, cum. Sam loses the feeling of time and space, all he can do is fuck Dean until one of them passes out, and if Dean passed out, Sam would continue anyway. 

The adrenaline rush plummets too early for Sam’s taste, the haze clears up and he’s getting aware of his ripped off clothes, the shreds of Dean’s. The fluids, the smell, the feeling. Crust everywhere. Dean is still on his knees, head sunken on the floor, his arms stretched out, breathing heavily. There’s no sign that he’s in pain. But Dean’s a demon, right? He will be fine. 

Sam drags him up, and the cocky smile, the perfect hair, it’s all gone. Dean looks like he’s had the same otherworldly experience. It’s a sight that makes Sam chuckle. 

“What are you laughing at?”, Dean asks, coming on his feet, gently swaying, but finally his wounds are closing up. 

“You threatened to rip my throat out. With your teeth.”

“Not there yet, Sammy. Not yet.”

The situation is unreal, Sam feels unreal. He knows he will never be the same. Something’s broken inside him, crumbled - yet ready to expand again, into unknown territory. 

He doesn’t remember the coercion, Dean’s betrayal - or was it Dean’s way of deliberating Sam?

Sam, leaning on the table, watches Dean come close and he leans in, a hand in Sam’s hair, gently pulling. Their kiss isn’t gentle, nothing will be gentle for a while. Teeth clash, the table scrapes along the floor and the throbbing of Dean’s pulse makes Sam rise up again. Dean bites Sam’s neck, sharp pain - and Dean drinks. The feeling is satisfying and roughening Sam up at the same time. He pulls his Knight close, closer, grabs him and bends him over the table, both still bleeding, Dean high from Sam’s blood. 

“For a Knight of Hell, you’re very pliant”, Sam growls in Dean’s ear.

Dean chuckles.

“I just bend the knee to my King.”

Sam frowns. 

“What do you mean?”

Dean hikes up and drags Sam to the mirror in the Dungeon.

“Take a look”, Dean hums, rich and satisfied in tone, “acknowledge who you are.”

Breathe in. Breathe out. First, Sam’s mossy eyes just look glassy, clear, beaming with desire for Dean. 

Then he draws in his breath with a sharp hiss. 

“You got your daddy’s eyes, Sammy.”

Sam’s eyes turned yellow.

[destieltropecollection]

Destiel Trope Collection 2020 Day 17: Hurt/Comfort & Whump

the time has come | @elizaeverafter

Rating: Teen & Up Word Count: 1068 Main Tags/Warnings: no archive warnings apply, non-graphic pet death, angst with a happy ending, hopeful ending, established relationship, married castiel/dean winchester, emotional hurt/comfort Summary: The second Dean walked into their home, he should’ve picked up on the fact that something was wrong. Looking back on it, it was so silent that it was suffocating. There was an unnatural stillness, like their house knew something bad had happened and was trying not to involve itself.

Beautiful | @ialwayscomewhenyoucall

Rating: Teen & Up Word Count: 1367 Main Tags/Warnings: human!cas, hurt/comfort, injured cas, first kiss Summary: “How long has he been sitting there?” Dean starts; he’d been watching Cas and hadn’t heard Sam behind him. “Five hours.” Dean practically spits out the words. “He won’t eat. He won’t move to a more comfortable chair. He won’t even take his damn pain pills. And he can’t tell me that doesn’t hurt, I know what a broken collar bone feels like. He’s just so--” ***** In which Cas, now fully human for several months, has been injured, and Dean has to Use His Words to comfort his friend.

Teardrops For You | @envydean

Rating: Teen & Up Word Count: 1500 Main Tags/Warnings: Grief, Character Death, Established Relationship, Funerals, Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Dean and Cas holding each other, Sadness, slight fluff, Angst, Car Accidents, Nightmares, Cuddling, Holding, Crying, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting Summary: The accident killed her and left Dean alive and emotionally broken. He's a disgrace. His best friend is dead and he can't even cry for her.

Soup & Syrup | @suckerfordeansfreckles

Rating: General Word Count: 1548 Main Tags/Warnings: best friends to lovers, getting together, sick Cas Summary: Cas started feeling sick two days ago, throat raw and hurting, every part of his body in pain as if he’ll burn up with fever any second. Then he had to cancel his and Dean's weekly study date in the library this afternoon, to stay home and take a quick nap that accidentally ended up four hours long and left him groggy and sweaty and weird. Dean has been sending him texts, five since he cancelled earlier, and as soon as Cas felt awake and present enough to respond, he called. This is where they are now, around 1 a.m. on a Saturday. He didn’t really stop to look at the clock before he called Dean, but — well. He was just hoping Dean would be awake, maybe out with friends. He was just hoping that maybe, maybe, Dean would come by and dote a little on him. Just because having his best friend around always makes him feel better. Not because he craves Dean’s presence, his palm on Cas’ forehead and his hands tucking him in beneath his blanket. Absolutely not.

The Admission | @deservetobesaved

Rating: Teen & Up Word Count: 1720 Main Tags/Warnings: season 13, all the feelings Summary: Castiel finds out Dean threatened to kill Jack. He also finds out how broken Dean was when he died. So, naturally, he confronts him about it. A sort of fix-it coda, in or after 13x06.

Knowing | @unexpecteddreamz

Rating: General Word Count: 2013 Main Tags/Warnings: Castiel & Dean Winchester & Sam Winchester, Demon Dean Summary: Of all the things Castiel might have expected to see, this was the last... It might well be the last thing he ever sees! Castiel is ""Always willing to bleed for the Winchesters"". Sam doesn't know how to fix what is broken. Dean is having nightmares. How did everything go so wrong so fast?

The Snow's Captives | SargentMom573 (AO3)

Rating: Mature Word Count: 2126 Main Tags/Warnings: Blizzards & Snowstorms, Sick Castiel, Caretaker Dean, Cabin Fic Summary: Dean was not going to make it alive down the mountain in a week’s time. Why? Because Cas was going to kill him, that’s why.

Skin Wars | @cr-noble-writes

Rating: General Word Count: 2319 Main Tags/Warnings: Angst, Artist!Dean, Model!Cas, body painting, Angst with a Happy Ending, Cas protecting Dean from himself, shy!Dean, introvert!dean, Baby, graffiti artist!charlie, artist!Balthazar, art critic!Crowley, TV host!Anna, Skin Wars AU Summary: Dean, a traditionally trained artist, is competing for $100,000 in the reality body painting TV show, Skin Wars. He’s lucky enough to get paired with a friend as his model, Cas, for a particularly personal challenge. Dean feels his painting isn’t up to snuff, but what will the judges think?

Take Me Home | @misha-moose-dean-burger-lover

Rating: Teen & Up Word Count: 2683 Main Tags/Warnings: Mentions of Rape, Mentions of Sexual Abuse, Non-con/Rape outside of Castiel/Dean Winchester, Hurt Dean Winchester, Protective Castiel, Castiel/Dean Winchester First Kiss, TW: Mentions of Non-con/Rape Summary: “I want to go home.” Dean let out, in a strangled voice. “Of course -” Cas reached for Dean’s hand, prepared to fly them away. Dean pulled away his hand, and rested his head backwards, against the seat. It seemed impossibly long before he finally asked. Unsure, as if somehow he still felt like Castiel could deny him anything. “Could you drive?”

Cold Comfort | @noiproksa

Rating: General Word Count: 3232 Main Tags/Warnings: Sharing Body Heat, Hypothermia, Huddling for Warmth, Cuddling & Snuggling, Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Banter Summary: Dean and Cas are trapped in a room with temperatures well below zero. When even sharing vessel heat doesn’t seem to help anymore, they need to do whatever it takes to keep each other alive. (Intended as gen, but can be read as Destiel pre-slash.)

Exodus | @spnsmile

Rating: Explicit Word Count: 3365 Main Tags/Warnings: Explicit, noncon, hurt/ comfort Summary: Endverse!Dean comes back alive. He comes back to the camp to find he was gone for almost a month and that Castiel now serves a different captain. Like hell Dean Winchester will let that happen.

save that light | @specsofwings

Rating: Mature Word Count: 4779 Main Tags/Warnings: Graphic Depictions of Violence, Assassin Dean Winchester, Human Castiel, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Whump, Kidnapping, Implied/Referenced Brainwashing, Blasphemy/Religious Imagery and Symbolism, Crucifixion, Major Character Injury, Heavy Angst, Angst With a Happy Ending, Trauma, Healthy Relationship, Hurt/Comfort Summary: He’s alive, he’s alive, he’s alive— Dean isn’t sure if it’s his brain, if he’s speaking aloud, if it’s Jody, next to him in the car, but he’s alive, Castiel is alive, and then there is darkness.

The Empty's Curse | @cloverhighfive

Rating: Teen & Up Word Count: 5380 Main Tags/Warnings: major character death, angst, fluff Summary: Dean is dying and there is no getting out of it this time. After a round of goodbyes from friends, Castiel takes Dean on one last ride.

Shiver | @nickelkeep

Rating: Explicit Word Count: 5714 Main Tags/Warnings: Modern with Magic, Witchcraft, Getting Back Together, Blizzards and Snowstorms, Car Accident, Snowed In, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, NSFW Summary: In desperate need of his journal to complete a spell, Dean braves a snowstorm to return to the cabin - and the man - left behind. Can a freak accident repair what's been damaged? Or will their lack of communication push Dean and Cas apart forever?

Six Feet Under Water | zaphodsgirl (AO3)

Rating: Mature Word Count: 7638 Main Tags/Warnings: Canon-Typical Violence, Canon Divergence, Angst with a Happy Ending Summary: This story is inspired by the amazing art of dragonpressgraphics, accompanied by this prompt: "Can be canon or AU (though Canon preferred - see below why) where Cas almost drowns and either Dean witnessed it or rescues him - would love a fic where Cas then has to deal with fear of drowning afterwards - maybe Dean too has nightmares about Cas drowning because of the same experience (bonus if references are made to season 6/7 where Cas walked into the water because of the Leviathans). Loads of angst more than okay as long as story has happy ending"

This Path Is Paved With Kitty Litter | @navajolovesdestiel

Rating: Explicit Word Count: 8392 Main Tags/Warnings: Alternate Universe, Grieving Castiel (Supernatural), Caring Dean Winchester, Veterinary Assistant Dean, Deanna The Kitten, Explicit Sexual Content Summary: The man moved from cage to cage, petting each cat in turn. Dean could hear his sigh from where he was standing. Dean walked over to him. The guy looked up at Dean and again, his eyes made Dean’s knees weak. “Hey, guy, you spend a lot of time with these cats. You thinking about adopting one?” The look on the guy’s face went from sad to stricken. “Uh… n-no, I’m… I’m just looking at them.” The look made Dean’s chest hurt.

After the Fallout | @cr-noble-writes

Rating: Explicit Word Count: 8832 Main Tags/Warnings: Post-Apocalypse, Post-Nuclear War, some body horror, Major Character Injuries, Nightmares, Mutants, Minor Character Death, Canon-Typical Violence, Smut, Angst, Conspiracy, top!dean, Bottom!Cas Summary: Its been years since the nuclear catastrophe that decimated the world. From the moment Dean Winchester stepped foot on the surface again, he’s been running from mutant creatures that want to kill him. When will it end?

I'm Thankful I get to Leave | @sheinthatfandom

Rating: Mature Word Count: 11079 Main Tags/Warnings: thanksgiving dinner, alternate universe- human, dysfunctional family, uncomfortable topics, red flags, emotional manipulation, emotional incest, homophobia, ableism, racism, bad parent mary, bad parent john, bobby used to be married to mary Summary: Screw you Columbus now we have to eat at Mary’s pretending to not be the Jerry Springer version of the Brady Bunch instead of getting ready for Christmas.

The Last Thing I Wanted | @nickelkeep

Rating: Explicit Word Count: 11492 Main Tags/Warnings: AU - Fantasy, Strangers to Friends to Lovers, Whump, Prince!Dean, Concubine!Cas Summary: When Castiel is grievously wounded during an unsanctioned battle, it's all Prince Dean can do to make sure he lives the rest of his life comfortably. However, due to the archaic laws of Terra, Castiel is too lowborn to hold lands, deeds, or titles. What better way to solve an archaic problem than with a just-as-antiquated solution?

Healing an Angel | @noiproksa

Rating: Teen & Up Word Count: 12017 Main Tags/Warnings: Hurt/Comfort, Hurt Castiel, Canon Compliant, Friendship, Team Free Will, Wing Grooming, Aftermath of Torture Summary: Cas has been captured by shapeshifters who have been torturing him for weeks. The aftermath is not pretty, but Dean will do anything to get his angel through this and get him to trust them again. To make matters worse, the mastermind behind Cas’ capture is still alive. Will they be able to keep him from coming after Cas again?

Cloned to Perfection | @fangirlingtodeath513

Rating: Explicit Word Count: 16298 Main Tags/Warnings: Castiel/Dean Winchester,Castiel (Supernatural),Dean Winchester,Sam Winchester,Bobby Singer,Charlie Bradbury,Cain (Supernatural),Alastair (Supernatural),John Winchester,Alternate Universe - Future,Marine Castiel (Supernatural),John Winchester Being an Asshole,Canon-Typical Violence,Human Experimentation,Government Experimentation,Genetic Engineering,Clones,Gun Violence,Shooting Guns,Fugitives,Hacking,Government Conspiracy,Blow Jobs,Come Swallowing,Interrogation,Truth Serum,Needles,Brief Mentions of Torture (Not TFW),Alternate Universe - No Monsters,Castiel/Dean Winchester First Kiss,Castiel/Dean Winchester First Time,Hand Jobs,Angst with a Happy Ending,Happy Ending,Minor Ellen Harvelle/Bobby Singer,Minor Charlie Bradbury/Jo Harvelle,Minor Eileen Leahy/Sam Winchester Summary: For thirty years, Dean’s been in the dark about a bombshell of a family secret. When an AWOL soldier shows up on his doorstep in the middle of the night, he’s shoved into a world he had no idea existed. He never asked to be cloned. He never asked to have his genome edited to make him a super-soldier. He didn’t even know. Now his fate rests in the hands of a ragtag group—Castiel, the AWOL soldier sent as a warning by Sam and Dean’s father; Charlie, an ingenious hacker and Dean’s best friend; and his brother Sam, who’s also being chased by the government for the same reason. Can they pull the rug out from under the military general who’s after their father’s research, or will Sam and Dean be doomed to live the remainder of their lives being experimented on by the military?

He Can't Sleep | @pray4jensen

Rating: Mature Word Count: 18970 Main Tags/Warnings: Hurt/Comfort, Marriage, Domestic, Case Fic, Angst with a Happy Ending, Summary: He’s done soaping up Cas’ hair. He grabs the sponge at his side and starts to scrub at Cas’ skin, up along his arms, his neck, down his chest. When he runs it up his legs, to his thighs, Cas shudders and then there’s a hand cupping Dean’s cheek, cold and dripping water and soap, and Dean falters, looks at him for the first time. “Will you sleep with me?” Cas says. “Tonight?” Dean swallows. He says yes.

One Last Time | @confusedcasishere

Rating: Mature Word Count: 27370 Main Tags/Warnings: Sex Worker Dean Winchester, Dom/Sub, Dom Castiel/ Sub Dean Winchester, Lawyer Castiel, Top Castiel/ Bottom Dean Winchester, Porn With Plot Summary: After some convincing, Castiel agrees to try out a sex club. He’s nervous and looking for any excuse to back out, until he stumbles across a photo of a beautiful sub with captivating green eyes. Cas has to have him.

Highway to Hell (WIP) | @tucuxia

Rating: Mature Word Count: 31551 Main Tags/Warnings: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alpha Castiel/Omega Dean Winchester, Gabriel Has a Crush on Sam Winchester, Alpha Sam Winchester/Omega Gabriel, Alpha Balthazar/Omega Crowley, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Past Abuse, Dean's life hasn't been great, Biker Castiel, Biker Sam Winchester Summary: Castiel, who shares leadership of the Hells Angels biker gang with his two older alpha brothers, finds out that a rival gang has been encroaching on their territory. During a tense meeting with the Devil's Blood gang in Lawrence, KS, he becomes the owner of a scared, broken young omega named Dean. Having forgotten how to speak after a decade under Azazel's cruel ownership, can the young omega learn to trust his new family, and maybe reconnect with the one he lost?

I Choose You (WIP) | @baby-in-a-trenchcoat7

Rating: Explicit Word Count: 43284 Main Tags/Warnings: Fluff, Destiel, Slight Smut, High School Castiel/Dean Winchester, Castiel/Dean Winchester Summary: High School AU. Castiel Novak has a dirty dream about the captain of the baseball team, Dean Winchester. Dean has a dirty dream about the nerdy Novak boy who hangs around the art room a lot. Castiel becomes Dean’s tutor, and the two soon learn that keeping their relationship platonic is harder than they thought. As their relationship develops, the two have to fight to overcome their problems while doing everything they can to stay together. Rated Explicit for sexual scenes.

Emergence | @ellis-park

Rating: Explicit Word Count: 58862 Main Tags/Warnings: Canon fic, angst with a happy ending, hurt/comfort, amnesia, graphic depictions of violence Summary: Something’s been missing from Dean’s life for the past three years, a void left after a hunt gone terribly wrong. He often feels a sense of longing with no discernible cause, a need to talk to someone who isn’t there. A call from an acquaintance leads Dean to James Novak, a man who disappeared more than a decade ago, and suddenly Dean gets the feeling he’s found what he’s been missing. But James isn’t really James — he’s the angel Castiel, who’s wanted by angels, demons and hunters alike. And he may be at the center of the storm that wrecked Dean’s life all those years ago.

Forbidden Fruit (WIP) | @amyoatmeal

Rating: Explicit Word Count: 95427 Main Tags/Warnings: professor student au, stripper au, age difference, top!castiel/bottom!dean, unrequited castiel/balthazar, unrequited dean winchester/aaron bass, dean winchester & charlie bradbury, threats of noncon/sexual abuse, threats of violence, mentions of past trauma/abuse, angst Summary: Castiel Novak is a respectable, if not a little boring professor at his university. He lives a comfortable, financially stable life with his cat in his modestly-sized apartment. It would appear he has everything he needs, including an over-eager friend and colleague, but when fate tempts him with a seemingly familiar new student by the name of Dean Winchester, Castiel's comfortable life threatens to get turned on its head and things start to get a little juicy.

Stay With Me, Sweetheart | @a-mandala-rose

Rating: Explicit Word Count: 108710 Main Tags/Warnings: Dean/Cas, Dean/Lisa, Past Dean/Others, Past Cas/Others, Kid Fic, Serious Major Character Injury, Car Accident, PTSD/Panic Attacks, House Fires, Past Minor Canonical Character Death, Minor OC Death, Past Emotional Abuse, Slow Burn, Friends to Lovers, Referenced Top Dean/Bottom Cas, Explicit Top Cas/Bottom Dean Summary: “Alright Cas, here comes the hard part. We’re gonna get you out of here, but we’ve gotta take the roof off and while we do that, we’re gonna have to cover you with a sheet to protect you from the glass. I’ll be right here though. I’m not going anywhere.” As he starts to drift away, he suddenly feels the press of Dean’s forehead against his own through the rough fabric and hears that warm, sunlit voice murmer quietly in his ear, too low to be overheard by the firefighters currently working to remove the SUV’s roof, “Stay with me, Sweetheart.” A single moment's distraction ends with a serious car accident that leaves Castiel trapped in his vehicle. Fortunately for him, fire fighter Dean Winchester is there, never leaving Castiel's side as the rest of his company work to free him from the mangled remains of his SUV. When the two meet again in the ICU, Castiel finds himself just as drawn to and comforted by the handsome fireman as he was during his accident. Dean is certainly attractive, but single father Castiel doesn't have time or space in his life for a romantic relationship. Then again, there's no harm in making a new friend, is there?

[writergamermom]

Promo and Live Blogging #6

Ship Your Own Adventure

by

Emblue_Sparks

 Mature

Chapter 1 Billie/Crowley; Chapter 2 Sam/Eileen; Chapter 3 Dean/Crowley; Chapter 4 Kevin/Aaron; Chapter 5 Claire/Kaia; Chapter 6 Sam/Gadreel; Chapter 7 Crowley/Mick Davis; Chapter 8 Dean/Benny; Chapter 9 Bobby+ Rufus; Chapter 10 Dean/Castiel

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Man Emblue Sparks did their own art! How can I top this?

His beloved Imperium Innocentia never ceased to fill him with wonder, and yet as of late, he'd begun to feel a worrisome unease when visiting. The loyal ferrymen were paid handsomely to usher his precious souls from there to the shores of Elysium and Asphodel Meadows. Neither Castiel nor Gabriel had reported any bumps in the proverbial road, so that couldn't be the source. 

               To be honest I am rather confused.

The realm was fiercely protected by thousands of wardings and enchantments. His rambunctious rescues were all squeals and delight as their tender souls regained the sweet innocence lost, as was the realms purpose. However, when visiting recently, his grace sensed...not a presence really, but a watchfulness. As if some all seeing eye was casting itself upon it.

So a place in the Scottish highlands is the first circle of hell where all the unborn or unbaptized babies are? Wait Crowley has GRACE? So confused.

Perhaps she'd care for some tea..or Craig? No, no scotch wouldn't do, how would that appear? Lovely to make to your acquaintance. May I invite you into my home for strong spirits on a whim?

I mean I wouldn’t say no, but I am drunk so what are you going to do.

He'd longed to ask her why she felt so familiar. Why in her presence he felt they might have been from another time altogether. A far away memory tiptoed on the edges of recollection just out of his mind's reach. Crowley would spend untold hours in contemplation, opening his mind in hopes the memory in which he sought might emerge from its shy shell and present itself. Alas, to his disappointment, none had stepped forward to claim that missing piece of neurological real estate thus far.

Wow, this is some kind of poetry.  Okay there are some major spoilers so I won’t post any more for this chapter. But I want to read more. There are like layers here man.

Chapter Two Notes: Because I cannot abide the logic surrounding Eileen's absence in the finale. Every actor is entitled to their opinion, as are we, the fans. Though I disagree with Jared, I'll defend his right to express his thoughts. But seeing as how this is my interpretation of this pairing, I'm giving Sam and Eileen this ending I feel they deserved because this handling of the finale among other things had me livid.

               Ooops, I have not watched the last season. Oh well.

And yet for Sam, the fates had been so unkind. For as his son grew and garnered a beautiful life of his own, one he happily shared with none other than Castiel Fitzgerald, his memory of Eileen began to fade. Once Dean Jr had realized it was happening, he'd prayed.

               Dean Jr. and Castiel Fitzgerald are together and Sam is losing his memories.  Bittersweet!

"Dean is well, although he misses you. We're happy, he and I. Eileen as well. I've heard your son's prayers. He fears you'll forget her due to your memories' condition. You sustained many concussions throughout your life. She grows..blurry for you, does she not?"

               Yeah Sam got hit in the head a lot!

Without warning, Jody walks into his home.

"Saam?"

He turns his head, stunned. She shouldn't be even be driving anymore let alone-

"Yo!"

Anybody home?" Claire and Kaia both called out as they too enter.

               Aww I love these girls. Imagine Old Jody still kicking ass and filled with sass.

"Let's get this party started," Jody suggested, busting a bottle of Johnny Walker Black label from her oversized old lady purse.

               YES!

Chapter 3  It wasn't the first time he'd watched Dean Winchester sleep, nor would it be the last. But he'd paid close attention when overhearing the very true sentiment expressed, "It's just creepy." Since then he'd taken extra precautions not to make the seraph's mistake.

               So it’s Dean and someone not Cas.

Dean was as tenacious as any demon,

               It’s Crowley!

They'd had a deliciously rambunctious role in the proverbial hay with triplets earlier that evening.

               Yeah I knew they had an orgy!

He began slowly pulling his hand back, so slowly in fact, he hoped it would go unnoticed. However, before it left the warmth of Dean's skin, he felt Dean pointedly grab his hand. 

               Wow. Yeah. That’s the good stuff.

Chapter 4: You got the job?! Awesome! Well, I knew you would. You're an outstanding accountant," Kevin glowed at his best friend Aaron, whom he'd helped land a position at the same company he worked at.

               WOOT KEVIN! I love Kevin. And Aaron.  I can see it.

Kevin had found an outstanding job at "Write Your Own Story," a place kind of like Total Rekall, only no memory sorcery involved. His friend Claire and her wife Kaia had inherited a typewriter from a long lost uncle...Megatron or something like that. They discovered its magic and sought to use it for good but also a career. It was gaining steam, paid the bills, but barely out of the beta phase.

               Nice! I dig all of this.

Over the next few weeks business boomed with the coming holidays. People wanted to write those they loved beautiful dreams as gifts. And as Kevin discovered, it was all the ink.        

               I would love to give someone good dreams.

Get out. I can’t believe you would do something like this. And you used a sacred holiday too..ya know what? Nevermind, I'm late for service, make sure you're not here when I get back."

               Oh NO!

Chapter 5: "We all missed you and mourned you. Just because we'd just met didn't mean we hadn't looked forward to welcoming you into our little family," Jody declared to Kaia as they pulled out from the bunker and started their five hour journey plus change back to Souix Falls.

I have not watched season 15, did Kaia and Claire get a reunion? I think I remember hearing something about Jody and Kaia. How sweet if she got to bring her home.

"I'm not gonna intervene with you two beyond this, but hearing from Sam all these years about how Dean and Cas keep dancing around each other,

               Poor Sam

"It's really you…" the golden lightning in a bottle whispered before slamming into her, squeezing so hard her eyeballs almost popped out.

               Nice

Chapter 6 Sam's crushed on the martial arts instructor at the Men of Letters Academy for a year and finally finds an opportunity to do something about it.

               I don’t know what this is.

Sam Winchester had been working at the Letters Academy for all of one year as a Professor of Supernatural History and Lore. Dean had graduated ten years prior and was a field agent with a partner of the celestial variety, Castiel. Sam preferred employment on the educational side of operations and prepared his students well, heavily arming them with the knowledge of what was out there and how to effectively neutralize it, if necessary.

               Cool. I am down for this

The instructor had joined the academy's faculty the same time as Sam and to say he had a crush on the guy was putting it mildly. His name was Gadreel, and like Dean's partner,

               Man they would make a mightily tall couple.

"Heard Max Banes is working through the ranks of Tai Kwon Do pretty fast. Aces all the tests and assignments in my class. Seems pretty motivated.." Sam tossed out for conversation.

               Before Covid I was doing pretty well with Taekwondo. I have not kept up.

"Those are effective, until knocked out of your hand or your mag runs out. Come by sometime, I'll show you some stuff..if you want."

               Yeah Ill show you some stuff too. In my pants!

"Private lessons I see, Gadreel. I'd no idea they were on the table. Perhaps we can come to some..arrangement." Sam looked up to see Arthur Ketch standing in the doorway aiming a lascivious grin at Gadreel.

               EWWW. Can we say creepy

It had Sam considering the length of his wingspan.

               Wingspan… Sure

[whitewitchdani]

Laters, Baby: Chapter 8

Read Chapter 7 Here

Word Count: 1874

Pairing: Winchester!Sister x Lucifer

Warnings: angst, language, description of injury

A/N: Chapter 8! Let me know what you think and if you’d like to be tagged.

Laters, Baby Masterlist

Crowley took a deep breath before running through his rescue plan again. It consisted of teleporting into where he thought Y/N might be and kind of just winging it from there. Why was he doing this again? Oh right, to weaken Lucifer and save a Winchester. 

Bollocks, this was a terrible plan.

With a snap of his fingers, Crowley teleported into the part of Hell he assumed Y/N was being kept. Turns out he was right; the chambers had been redecorated, however, and as he walked into the bedroom the youngest Winchester was fast asleep in the bed. He observed the red accents the room was covered in and smirked. How cliché of the devil, he thought to himself. 

As he approached the huntress, he saw she had a black eye and a split lip, finger shaped bruises were also forming around her throat. “Bloody hope the Winchesters don’t blame me for this.” he whispered out loud. He felt a twinge of sympathy for the girl, spending quality time in Hell with Lucifer was probably no vacation. 

He pulled the covers off the bed back and scooped the huntress into his arms when the room suddenly dropped ten degrees. “Bollocks.”

“You know Crowley, you must be a special kind of stupid to pop into Hell these days. May I ask why you have the baby Winchester in your arms?” Lucifer sneered as he waltzed into the bedroom.

“I was sent to retrieve her. Plus, if it pisses you off it tends to top my list of things to do these days.”

Lucifer’s eyes flashed red, “I suggest you put her down, demon. If you hurt her or even wake her up, you’ll have me to deal with. She belongs here with me.”

Crowley’s eyebrows shot up at his concern for her, but he remained focused. “Touching, really. But I’ve got two hunters and an angel who beg to differ, so I really must be going. Ta-ta now.” And with a snap of his fingers, Crowley and Y/N were gone. The roar Lucifer unleashed as a result shook the walls throughout all of Hell.

“Sam, I swear to God if you don’t stop pacing, I’m gonna break both your damn legs.”

Sam rolled his eyes and sighed at his brother but sat down next to him at the table. “Crowley should be back by now. Maybe you were right, this was a bad idea. We shouldn’t have trusted him.”

“Marvelous Moose, I should just return this to where I found it then?” The men turned to glare at the demon as he gestured to the unconscious woman in his arms. Sam and Dean scrambled from the table to approach their sister, Dean taking Y/N from Crowley’s arms. They moved to one of the beds in the motel room and laid her down. 

Sam squinted at the wounds littering his sister’s face and neck, “What the hell happened, Crowley? She looks terrible.”

“That Moose, I do not know. She was like that when I arrived in Hell. I’m assuming spending quality time with Lucifer in his domain is no spa trip. However, I’m not sure Lucifer did that to her.”

Dean looked at the crossroads demon incredulously, “What are you talking about?”

“Lucifer seemed extremely protective when I showed up. He said she belonged with him”

“It’s beginning,” Castiel marveled.

Dean stood from his sister’s bedside and approached the angel, “What do you mean? What’s beginning Cas?”

Cas sighed, “The soulmate connection. Lucifer has spent time with Y/N and as a result does not want to be separated from her. It’s possible that she will feel similarly when she wakes. It’s not conscious thought, but a physical need to be near one another. I agree with Crowley, it is unlikely Lucifer caused those injuries.”

Dean moved to question Castiel further when a groan came from the bed. He turned and made it to his sister in two large steps, “Y/N/N? Hey are you okay?”

You groaned and slowly opened your eyes. You were shocked when, instead of Lucifer’s face, you were met with Sam on your right and Dean on your left. “Sam? Dean? What happened? How did I get here?”

“Hey are you alright?” Sam checked the bruises forming on your neck and grazed your split lip with his thumb.

You rolled your shoulders and sat up on the bed, “Yeah I think so. My throat hurts a little and I have a headache but I’ve had worse. How did I get here?”

“We’ll get to that in a second. What the hell happened, Y/N? You look like crap.”

You rolled your eyes, “Thanks for that Dean. And nothing really, I pissed off a demon and this was the aftermath. You know, typical Winchester things.”

Crowley laughed from across the room and Dean shot him a dirty look. “Yeah, okay, that I get but you should look much worse. You were in Hell and had no weapons; you should be a bloody pulp or dead. Why are you basically fine?”

You looked down and picked at your thumbnail, “Well I pissed off a demon and he decided to choke me to death, making up for losing one Winchester in Hell by killing another.” Dean cringed at the implication that his Hell-break was the reason for his sister’s suffering. “Well, right before I lost consciousness someone pulled him off of me. When I finally regained my senses and looked up, turns out it was Lucifer. And he was pissed. Dusted the demon right there.”  

Dean tilted his head at you as a small smile appeared on your face when you talked about Lucifer. He looked at Sam and had one of their silent conversations about it. Cas was right; it was starting. 

“So, is someone gonna tell me who busted me out of Hell? Because I know it wasn’t you two dopes and Cas can’t just waltz into Hell on his own,” you paused as you glanced to the crossroads demon in the corner of the room. “I’m guessing that’s where you come in?”

Crowley nodded and waltzed toward them, “Right you are Moosette. You were snoozing away in my former quarters when I popped in. Love what you’ve done with the place by the way.”

You rolled your eyes, “I didn’t exactly get a choice in décor Crowley. Red isn’t my color anyways.”

Sam’s eyebrows shot up, “You were sleeping in quarters? That were decorated in red? Y/N, what the hell happened while you were down there?”

You paused and contemplated how to answer your twin’s question. There was no way in hell you were going to tell them how you were feeling about the devil currently, that would get you immediate and permanent residency in Bobby’s panic room. So, you decided to tell the truth, mostly. 

“Well, honestly? He treated me really well. He healed me when I first got there from Meg’s assault and then put me in that apartment-type thing. Which had no food in it, which is why I interacted with the demon and pissed him off, which resulted in the lovely array of bruises you see before you. Lucifer saved my life.”

You looked up to see four pairs of eyes staring back at you in disbelief. Sam looked confused while Dean looked flat out pissed, “Alright, we’re going to Bobby’s. We can do more research about this crap and the warding in the panic room should keep Lucifer and his lackeys from finding Y/N.” Dean stood and began packing everything back into the various duffel bags.

Your eyes widened, “What?? Dean I’m not going to let you lock me up in the panic room.” You stood and walked over to your older brother, “What happened in the park was a fluke and I know you guys were worried but I’m fine. I am not going to hide in Bobby’s basement while you all act like my white knights. I’ll be alright.” Crowley took the impending argument as his cue and blinked from the room.

Dean took a step back in an attempt to calm himself some, “Y/N we can’t risk him finding you. I mean look at you; I can’t take the chance of you getting hurt again. In the panic room you will be safe and Lucifer won’t be able to hurt you anymore.”

“Lucifer didn’t hurt me in the first place! The opposite actually! He healed me AND saved my life-”

“Why are you defending him? He’s the devil! You aren’t thinking clearly and while it’s not your fault I’m not taking any chances. We are going to Bobby’s where you can hang out in the panic room until we can figure out what to do about this soulmate bullshit.”

You were fuming. You weren’t thinking clearly? You knew what was happening to you, but that didn’t mean you were helpless. You took a deep breath, “Do you think I don’t know that something is happening to me? Do you think that it doesn’t scare the absolute hell out of me? Because it does. Did you ever stop and think that this is why I was brought into your family? That fate brought me to you, the vessels of Michael and Lucifer, in order to maybe have a chance at stopping the apocalypse? Maybe if Lucifer and I-”

“There is no Lucifer and you! He’s not getting near you again Y/N, and that’s a promise. We will stop the apocalypse, but not like that.” Dean looked at Cas and sent him a silent prayer. 

The angel looked at him like he was insane, “No. I will not render your sister unconscious to make your life easier.” Cas walked over and placed two fingers to your forehead and, instead of doing what Dean asked, healed your wounds. “I agree with what Y/N was saying; Father made her Lucifer’s soulmate for a reason and I do not believe we should interfere.”  

“Yeah? What if it backfires Cas? What if Lucifer makes her go darkside?” Dean pointed to you, “That’s my baby sister and I’m not taking that chance. I will do whatever it takes to keep her safe.”

While your brother argued with the angel, you changed out of the clothes you’d been wearing for two days and into fresh jeans and a flannel, sitting to pull on your boots. When you stood, you went and returned your weapons to their rightful places on your person: knife in boot, gun at your back. You sighed as you finally felt like yourself after days of absolute craziness.

With no warning, Dean stomped over and picked you up, throwing you over his shoulder. He made his way out to the Impala as you punched and kicked against him.“Dammit Dean, put me down!” you continued your assault on your brother, “I’m serious! PUT ME THE FUCK DOWN NOW!”

He ignored your protests and made his way to the back passenger-side door, pulling you from his shoulder to toss you into the back seat. 

Before you could argue, Dean grabbed your right wrist and handcuffed you to the car, “This is for your own good Y/N/N.”

As he slammed the door, he made his way to the front of the car where Sam was standing. Sam’s eyes were wide as he read your lips, watching you let out a stream of expletives that’d make Dean blush.

“Was that really necessary?”

“Being with Lucifer changed her, Sam. I can’t risk him finding her again. Dad gave me one job our whole lives, and it was to watch out for you and Y/N. This is me doing that. Now let’s go.”

Read Chapter 9 Here

Tag List: @lovesamwinchester​ @tomhiddleston-is-mischief​ @loco-latte​ @stuckinsaudi1​ @sugar-nico​ @potato-extra-pot​ @humbledarkness​

[consultingmadhatter]

Compilation of Doom Days Lyrics that Relate to Good Omens

I started writing this shortly after the series and the album came out, so please forgive that this is really late to the party, any inconsistencies due to working on this over a long period of time, the fact that I haven’t watched the series in over a year so some of this is written when the show isn’t fresh in my mind, and if anything in the fandom or my personal stances have changed since I started writing this.

*Most of this will be about Crowley and Aziraphale. My personal view on the two of them is that they definitely love each other, but whether they are romantically attracted to each other is entirely dependent on whether an angel and a demon (who have been around humans for 6000 years) are capable of feeling them human sensations of romance and if so whether it would be something they would have to consciously choose to feel or whether it would be automatic and involuntary like it is with humans. I can see it either way, so this analysis will probably be a mixture.

*The lyrics for each will be out of order and will instead be in the sequence that I deem easiest for presenting my analyst

*I worked on the songs out of order so there might be places where I only briefly touch upon something and act as if it is just of another example of something I don’t actually end up talking about until a later track. Apologies for any confusion that may cause.

This ended up being way longer than I thought it would so I’m going to start with the Bad Decisions analysis as a sample and put the rest under the cut. The rest are in album order; I didn’t have much for Quarter Past Midnight, so I thought Bad Decisions would be a better example. (Another Place is the most shippy one if that is what you are looking for).

Bad Decisions:

“You said that maybe this is where it ends Take a bow for the bad decisions that we made Bad decisions that we made And if we're going down in flames Take a bow for the bad decisions that we made Bad decisions that we made”

Armageddon has arrived; the world is ending. Aziraphale and Crowley have always made bad decisions both in their acts of stupidity (looking at you Azi, wandering over to France during a revolution just for some crepes dressed as conspicuously as possible) and their decisions to “fraternize” with the enemy and to question and mildly disobey heaven and hell. Arguably, they weren’t the wrong decisions, but as doomsday approaches they will have to reckon with opposing the cosmic forces at work (”take a bow”).

“So we'll make the same mistakes 'Til the morning breaks So we'll make the same mistakes 'Til the morning breaks”

But they are not going to back down. They are going to continue to make the same “mistake” of working together and trying to stop Armageddon until the very end.

“London's burning”-The M25 catches fire; London is literally burning. “If the world is ending, let's stay up all night”- They are spending every moment they can trying to stop Armageddon and when it looks like they will fail they are still being kept “up all night” by their separate crises. (Yes, I know this line is meant to be more along the lines of “let’s make the most of the time we have left by having a good time” but I’m changing it for the Good Omens context)

“Now we find ourselves lying right here Always find ourselves lying right here Can we make the same mistakes (Ooh) 'Til the morning breaks”

“Do you remember what you said to me? 'Cause we lost track of time Yeah, we lost track of time”

These lyrics remind me of how they always find themselves drawn together. Their decision to stop the ending of the world is built on 6000 years of trust and friendship and history together. (I don’t really have a more specific interpretation but I hope it’s clear what I’m saying and I’m sure a more fleshed out explanation could be made). Also, though they went through some rough patches, when it comes right down to it, they would never want to stop making the “same mistakes” of working together and being friends, and they always come back to each other.

“Love me, leave me”- Throughout their relationship there have been a lot of instances of them meeting up and then going their separate ways for years. Over time their love for each other has grown. When Crowley asks for holy water, Aziraphale cares for him to much to give him a suicide pill; they have an argument and end up not speaking to each other for decades. Then Crowley shows up at the church during WWII to get his angel out of a sticky situation, demonstrates his love by saving the books, and then he’s away again. Later, in the Bentley, Aziraphale can’t stand seeing Crowley risking his life, so he delivers the holy water himself. But Aziraphale is not yet in a place where he can give in to his feelings for Crowley and ends up leaving him again. When it looks like they won’t be able to stop Armageddon, Crowley offers for them to run away to runaway together, but still Aziraphale can’t bring himself to say yes and he leaves him again.

“You always let me down so tenderly”- Each time Aziraphale rejects Crowley, it may hurt both of them, but he’s never saying “I don’t love you;” he’s saying “I can’t let myself love you.” Even when he says he doesn’t even like Crowley, they both know it’s a lie. He’s just in a difficult position being torn between his identity as an angel and his feelings for Crowley. Decades earlier he had left it open ended with the “You go to fast for me” and the suggestion of a picnic or dining at the Ritz.

“So live fast and die young and stay forever numb”- For me this one is less about what is in the actual show but rather some of the head cannons going around. These include the ones about Crowley’s presence in the nightlife culture of the 60′s and 70′s and how that coincides with Aziraphale’s “You go to fast for me, Crowley” line. Also theories that Crowley is depressed and self destructive which is why Aziraphale is worried about Crowley using the holy water on himself. In the show you can see he is suffering when he talks about how he hadn’t meant to fall and when he pleads with God about testing humanity to destruction. It could then be argued that in his 6000 years on earth Crowley spent some time trying to distract himself from this pain by acting in the demon/angel equivalent to “living fast, dying young.”

Quarter Past Midnight:

*This is the one that I have the least for. I almost put it at the end because I didn’t think i could connect it enough to Good Omens to leave it among the other songs. Some of the other songs might also have few direct connections, but I feel the essence of the songs in those cases still match better to the series than Quarter Past Midnight does. So please bear with me here.

“Help me piece it all together, darling Before it falls apart oh”

The world itself is about to fall apart. Crowley and Aziraphale are trying to piece together what they know to find the antichrist and in general they work together to try to stop the end of the world.

“And you said we'd leave this place in dust”-Crowley asks Aziraphale to run away with him.

“And fall from heaven straight through hell”

Crowley has already fallen (or sauntered). Aziraphale, throughout, is worried about falling from heaven’s grace.

“We never know what we have We never knew what we had”

I believe Aziraphale struggled to understand what he truly had with his relationship with Crowley. Crowley was the one who recognized their bond in the beginning, and he was the one who actively pursued establishing a friendship. Even later on, in the church during WWII, Aziraphale truly believed their friendship was over; he hadn’t seen Crowley in nearly a hundred years, yet he still showed up to rescue him.

“Why are we always chasing after something Like we trying to throw our lives away”

Some general angsting about the risk of them getting punished for “fraternizing” and Aziraphale being concerned that hell would actually destroy Crowley. “Chasing after something,” perhaps chasing after their relationship.

“We keep on running Running through a red light Like we're trying to burn the night away”

Crowley’s driving. The Bentley being on fire.

The Waves:

“Staring down the barrel of a hundred tons”- They are up against very formidable opponents: all of heaven and hell, the four horsemen, and finally Satan himself.

“It might be getting older, but the night's still young”- As Armageddon approaches they are rapidly running out of time, but dooms day is still young and the whole crew pull off a lot in a very little time.

“We never, never give up on the lost boy life”- Crowley and Aziraphale never grow out of the theoretical naivety of working and being friends with someone from the other side

“So here we are, escaping from the world outside”- Crowley suggests literally escaping and running away together. They have also tended to avoid and escape the political dynamics of heaven and hell and their opposition to each other. In the end they even escape their punishments.

“Oh, what would your mother say if she could see what we're doing now? Oh, what would your mother say if she could hear what we talk about?”

In a way God is their mother wondering what she would say about Crowley and Aziraphale’s plans and actions aligns with the question of whether they were going against God’s will or whether their actions were actually part of her bigger plans.

“The waves are crashing down on you and me again, again, again The waves are crashing down on you and me I'll see you on the other side Get carried, get carried away, oh-oh-oh-oh Caught up in, caught up in the wave”

Both heaven and hell and all the events of Armageddon are crashing down on them. The get caught up in this struggle between the sides and it threatens to sweep them away. There are moments like when Crowley and Aziraphale promise to meet up in Tadfield after Crowley finds out that Aziraphale is still alive and when they are captured for their punishments that they just have to hope that they will see each other on the other side.

“So tie a ribbon 'round my arm and throw me in”

During the entire mess they are each other’s life line. Even when they get separated, they are able to find each other again and make it through the chaos.

“We sink or swim”

They are in it together and either they will succeed, stopping the apocalypse and surviving the wrath of heaven and hell, or they will fail and it is all over for them.

“Is it an apocalypse or nihilism on your lips?”

I’ve been trying to come up with something really profound and clever to say about this but I haven’t been able to come up with something. Obviously the apocalypse is in there. Crowley and eventually Aziraphale do certainly reject the institutions of heaven and hell and point out that many of the morals heaven imposes are arbitrary, but they definitely don’t go as far as saying that all morals are arbitrary/baseless or that life is meaningless or that knowledge is impossible. If I had to place this line to a specific moment in the series, I would probably associate with the scene in the first episode where Crowley is convincing Aziraphale that they should try to stop Armageddon since there is some element of accepting the apocalypse or deciding that the supposed agenda of the higher power is meaningless.

“Suddenly we're fallin' through the twilight zone”- A lot of weird stuff happens when Adam comes into his powers

“Watch the party playing out in slow motion” - they stop time during that final confrontation with Satan to give Adam a pep-talk

Divide:

“Roll the window down, let the air blow 'round you A sadness in the breeze as the night divides us”

They had several scenes in the Bentley together, but that second line brings it back to that night in 1967, saturated in sad tones, as Aziraphale leaves him again.

“In these darker days, I push the limit to the love you offer There's a riot in my head, demanding we do this forever”

Darker days can be both the the final days as Armageddon approaches and that period when their relationship was strained and Aziraphale was pushing Crowley out of his life. In both cases Aziraphale was pushing the limits of Crowley’s love. During Armageddon he rejected Crowley’s multiple offers to run away together and during that stretch 1862-1967 his responses ranged from what was essentially a “wait for me” to that heated declaration of not needing him. With the next line, Aziraphale is torn between Crowley and heaven, and he wishes that he didn’t have to chose, that they could continue toeing the line with their friendship without getting in trouble. However, he knows that Crowley wants more, and eventually Aziraphale will have to give something up.

“So roll the window down, won't let you go like this Go like this, go like this Roll the window down, won't let you go like this Go like this, go like this”

Crowley won’t give up on Aziraphale. Even after declaring he will run off with out him, he still comes back to find Aziraphale, even running into a burning bookshop for him.

“Why would we divide when we could come together? Just bodies that collide, lost and found each other So don't, don't leave me alone Don't leave me alone, don't leave me alone Why would we divide when we could come together?”

In the beginning, their arrangement was defined as “Why fight each other when we could work together and still reach the same effect.” Over time their relationship evolved. Aziraphale still believes there is an inherent divide between them, saying they are on opposite sides. However, Crowley argues they are really on their own side and that they should not just work together, but runoff together. “Just bodies that collide,” again, they are like celestial bodies that have crossed paths and now they are pulled together. “Lost and found each other,” when Aziraphale gets discorporated in the book shop, Crowley truly believes he has lost his best friend, and even Aziraphale has a moment of panic that he won’t be able to return to earth. They are reunited again at the bar and in-person at the airbase. Crowley never wants to lose Aziraphale. When it looks like they won’t be able to save the world, Crowley begs Aziraphale to head to the stars with him. When he thought he lost Aziraphale, he was devastated and was having a break down. Earlier, he ran into a church to save Aziraphale from some Nazis. Crowley is desperate for Aziraphale not to leave him.

“Looking back around, glamorize the chaos Don't let summer nights destroy everything before us”

Everything is in complete chaos during those days leading up to Armageddon. Each night that passed was leading closer to the end. Everything would have been destroyed on that fateful summer day. Perhaps when it was all over, Crowley and Aziraphale reminisced about what happened because, even though it was a disaster, it led to them becoming free.

Million Pieces:

“No one is loving, it's not a drill Don't look outside, the world is ending (Faster, faster, faster, faster, fast)”

It is not a drill, Armageddon is starting. The time they have to stop it is running out. It goes from 11 years to less than a week to mere hours. And well heaven and hell never liked each other, the period where they would tolerate/look other way as two of their agents “love thy enemy” is over. It is time to cut ties with the other side.

“The king's a clown”- the leadership in Heaven and Hell are definitely clowns

“We're too far gone Nothing I say will mean anything”

That point where both Crowley and Aziraphale believe it is too late to stop it. Aziraphale realizes nothing that he can say to his side will make them change their mind. Throughout the series Aziraphale struggles with going against heaven’s wishes, but Crowley points out that if world does end that they will be stuck in their respective awful eternities as well as that they are on “our side” so in a way it doesn’t matter if they say (or do) things that go against their sides’ orders.

“Just drink, fuck, dance right through disaster” -While they don’t really “drink, fuck, dance” through disaster, Crowley does offer for them to run away together while everything else turns into a “burning puddle of goo,” which has a similar feeling of escapism.

“The echoes of that news ring loud (The echoes, the echoes) No sound can ever drown it out (The echoes)”

For Aziraphale that news was probably when God’s representative told him that they were going to go ahead with war instead of avoiding it. You can see on his face that that is the point that he lost all hope in his side doing the right thing and finally decides to abandon them completely. For Crowley it would be when the book shop burns down and he thinks he lost Aziraphale for good.

“Don't speak, 'cause it's like a bitter pill”

This goes along with the two moments I was talking about above, but it also fits with every time that Aziraphale rejected Crowley in some way. Probably also when Crowley asked for the holy water and Aziraphale thought that Crowley was thinking about killing himself.

“It breaks my heart It breaks my heart into a million pieces, oh It breaks my heart into a million pieces If it's gonna break me, won't you let me go? Leave it 'til the morning, I don't wanna know Breaks my heart Breaks my heart into a million pieces”

Again, the moments I was talking about directly above. In general, when the characters are at their bleakest, no-hope, desperate moments.  

Doom Days:

“When I watch the world burn All I think about is you When I watch the world burn All I think about is you”

As the world is ending, all Crowley and Aziraphale are thinking about is each other. After finding out that Aziraphale is still alive, Crowley is determined enough to hold his Bentley together as he drives through the inferno of the M-25.

“Cruising through the doom days”

This, in general, conjures images of anytime Crowley is driving way too fast as he tries to find a way to stop the end of the world, but the scene on the M-25 is particularly fitting.

“God knows what is real and what is fake”

Adam has been altering reality, doing and creating things that defy the logic of the real world. When it is all over and he puts everything back to the way it was, people still remember what happened and are left in a confusion of whether any of it was real.

“Last couple years have been a mad trip”

During the eleven year lead up to Armageddon, everything is a little crazy. Heaven and hell are now focused on making sure it all goes to plan and Crowley and Aziraphale are trying their hardest to stop it. After years of trying to influence Warlock, they learn that they have the wrong boy and all that effort was for nothing. From that point on everything descends into even greater chaos.

“We fucked this house up like the planet We were running riot Crazy that some people still deny it”

Climate change and humanity’s effects on the earth are touched upon in the series. It is mentioned more in the books as Adam takes action to address issues such as deforestation and the dying whales, but it shows up in the TV show too. The aliens even try to give earth a ticket for it.

“Let's pick the truth that we believe in Like a bad religion Tell me all your original sins So many questionable choices We love the sound that our voice makes Man, this echo chamber's getting loud”

This of course brings in the religious elements. Focusing on that context, these lines can relate to the questionable and morally ambiguous areas of the religious structure depicted in the show. Heaven has chosen to believe in “the truth” that violence and killing people are justified if it is part of the path to righteousness. Crowley questions Aziraphale about such choices during the flood scene, horrified that even the children would die. Many of the head angels and demons are so certain of themselves and the correctness of their actions that they seem smug about it. They appear to derive pleasure from hearing themselves speak, especially when it is to chastise others. Heaven and Hell echo each other on the matter of the war, and, no matter who Aziraphale or Crowley speak to, they say the same thing: the war is too be fought, not avoided.

From a Crowley and Aziraphale perspective, they choose for themselves what is right and what is wrong. They (mostly Crowley) question whether the “sins” others have committed are truly wrong and bad enough to warrant the punishments they received. This includes the original sin with the apple and Crowley himself falling just because he asked some questions and hung out with the wrong people. Each inhabits a grey area in their roles as a demon and an angel due to their questionable choices to bend the rules and will of their prospective sides.

In a more general interpretation, these lyrics describe the chaotic state humanity has reached, especially in the years leading up to the apocalypse. This divisive type of mindset can be used by the four horsemen to help spread the plights they represent.

“We'll be the proud remainers Here 'til the morning breaks us”

Crowley, Aziraphale, Anathema, Newton, and the Them (as well as Madame Tracy and Sergeant Shadwell to some extent) are the “proud remainers,” the ones who fight the apocalypse.

“We're gonna rabbit hole down, third act love now”

It is not until the third act, after the climax and resolution of Armageddon, that Crowley and Aziraphale can finally be together since they are finally on their own side. Their love story resolves itself on the bench as they wait for the bus and at the Ritz.

“We'll stay offline so no one gets hurt Hiding from the real world Just don't read the comments ever, ever”

“Think I'm addicted to my phone My scrolling horror show I'm live-streaming the final days of Rome One tab along, it's pornographic Everybody's at it No surprise we're so easily bored”

Technology isn’t mentioned that much in the show, and even less in the original book since it was released almost 30 years earlier. However, I do like all the fan theories and head canons about heaven and hell’s influence in the development of technology, especially Crowley’s role. Perhaps he had a hand in establishing humanity’s current cyber addiction. Maybe he orchestrated the entire thing, maybe he just helped out with a few aspects (developing certain apps, creating specific smart phone/social media features, etc), maybe he had nothing to do with it and just took credit for it, maybe he doesn’t really care about it at all. Either way, technology and social media are a major component of the current state of humanity.

Nocturnal Creatures:

“You put your arms around me Partners in crime in the dead of night”

Partners in crime definitely describes Crowley and Aziraphale, and, by the time the series ends, a gesture of intimacy such as putting their arms around each other doesn’t seem out of the question.

“We've only got ourselves to blame Again and again and again Again and again and again”

Crowley and Aziraphale are the ones to get themselves in trouble whether it is accidentally (Aziraphale in 1941, losing the antichrist) or a conscious choice (working together, trying to advert the war). They are both disobedient and incompetent.

“Let every night play out the same 'Cause I wouldn't, I wouldn't change a thing”

Another set of lyrics that describes how content they are when they are with each other and that they are happy just being together. Besides finally reaching a place where they don’t have to hide anymore, they wouldn’t change a thing.

“We're nocturnal creatures, we own the night And we don't need a reason if we want to lose our minds We're nocturnal creatures, drawn to the flame And the morning doesn't reach us Well, not until we want it to, want it to”

In the end, when Aziraphale and Crowley are a united force, they are unstoppable. This part of the song embodies the new confidence they have, especially after dealing with heaven and hell’s attempts at punishing them. They are reveling in their new found freedom which leads to the clip at the end of the song:

“We received the freedom but we were completely unaware what to do with this freedom It felt like the hungry people received the foods and we just ate everything” 

Unlike in this clip, they know what to do with their freedom. They are going to dine at the Ritz and start their new life together. They have been starved of being allowed to show each other their full level of affection for 6000 year, so if they get carried away and  “eat  everything” (*wink, wink*), who can blame them.

“No moon, no stars above us The orange sky says the night's alive This time with you's elastic We stretch these hours as far as we can make them go”

Holding on to their time together, whether it’s desperately clinging to the moments they share in secrecy during the first 6000 years, or enjoying those first days together when they don’t have to hide and that promise a beginning to hopeful future.

“It's our weekend religion A different chord but the same refrain”

Crowley has always had his own definitions of right and wrong. He asked questions and disapproved of punishing people indiscriminately, especially the children. Even in his role as a demon, he spreads evil differently, favoring free will and creating circumstances where the humans to do the bad things of their volition. Because of his relationship with Crowley, Aziraphale started questioning Heaven too. 

4AM:

“Tuesday'll be doom day, this got out of hand”

Technically doomsday occurs on Saturday in Good Omens, but this lyric has the same level of immediacy for the end of the world approaching. Things did get out of hand for Crowley and Aziraphale. They thought they might be able to advert the apocalypse if they raised the child to be normal, but, when the hell hound failed to show up, they realized they were in trouble, and things continued to spin out of control from there.

“Here, here, my family (Might be a walking disaster) You are my familiar, you are my familiar (Not much, but all I would ask for) Here, here, my friends and me (Might be a walking disaster) You are my familiar (Not much, but all I would ask for)”

Crowley and Aziraphale are friends, family, each other’s familiar, two halves of the same soul, and more. Being with each other is all they would ask for in the world. That’s why “or I’ll never speak to you again” is the greatest threat for them both. They are also both walking disasters (They spent eleven years trying to stop Armageddon and in the end they only played a minor part in what actually went down).

“Oh, there is nowhere I would rather be Never felt more comfortable, could never want for more when I'm here No, there is nowhere I would rather be, oh-oh Never felt more comfortable, could never want for more when you're near”

Again, they are happiest when they are with each other. They got their ideal ending when heaven and hell left them alone and allowed them to spend the rest of their lives together without having to hide it.

“I don't care if we're talking 'bout the same things I don't care if we're stuck in the familiar I don't care if we're going 'round in circles Again, again, again”

I feel like this describes how comfortable they are with each other that they would be content just talking about whatever and doing the same old things as long as they are with each other.

Another Place:

  *I started this one in another post, but I’m going to do the full explanation here. I’m probably just going to steal some bits directly from that post. (Also for this one to fit I’m using the full romantic interpretation of their relationship).

This song is the epitome of all those feelings Aziraphale has in his internal struggle with and conflicting feelings over loving Crowley and knowing his place as an angel. It also captures the longing they both feel.

“I am bound to you with a tie that we cannot break With a night that we can't replace I'm lost but found with you, in a bed that we'll never make It's a feeling we always chase”

Crowley and Aziraphale have had a connection for 6000 years. They are bound to each other and even if they tried to they could never truly escape that. Both Crowley and Aziraphale are lost: Crowley never meant to fall, all he did was ask questions and now Aziraphale is starting to question heaven too. When they are together, they don’t feel so lost. They have found themselves in each other, yet Crowley is the one who encouraged Aziraphale to become lost in the first place. And they can never truly be together because heaven and hell would never approve. Instead they have small moments of intimacy, chasing those feelings.

“Oh, in another place In another time, what could we have been?”

If they weren’t an angel and a demon, if they weren’t risking everything if they got caught, what could they have been.

“You go too fast for me, Crowley.” Maybe one day they could have a picnic or dine at the Ritz. Maybe one day they could be together if Aziraphale can come to terms with defying heaven and having his existence no longer being strictly defined by his role as an angel. But this is not that time.

“So lie to me tonight and pretend 'til the morning light And imagine that you are mine 'Cause when the sun will rise with the truth coming out your eyes We'll be good in another life”

When the apocalypse is averted and they no longer have a side, that’s when they can indulge those feelings. They are not in the clear yet; the wrath of heaven and hell will still be coming down upon them, but they don’t have to worry about that until the morning. Just for that one night they can pretend that everything is alright and spend the night at Crowley’s place and be together. If they survive tomorrow, they will finally be truly free. That “other life” will finally have arrived. They can dine at the Ritz and will no longer have to hide their love for each other.

“I could write a book about the things that you said to me on the pillow And the way you think, and how you make me feel You can fill my mind and move my body with the fiction, fantasies Just call this what it is, we don't pretend it's real”

The singing and the beat in this part of the song... I can’t quite describe it but it feels so intimate. It sounds like someone who is absolutely intoxicated by their feelings for the other person and being driven crazy by their need to be with them. Aziraphale and Crowley have come to know each other so well, and their connection to each other is stronger than that of any humans; they are bound to each other’s very existence. Therefore, I believe there must have been moments where they were completely overwhelmed by their love for the other, where it feels like all their thoughts and actions are being overtaken by their longing and desire to be with them. The orbit each other and gravitationally pulled together.

“Feels like something's special but it never felt like love Wonder what we could be living in another life Catch us in the mirror and it looks a lot like love Then you stop me talking as you kiss me from above”

Because Aziraphale has so much trouble coming to terms with the fact that he loves Crowley, I doubt he let himself consider for even one second that those feelings might go beyond on just loving Crowley in a fraternal way, but in a romantic way. Crowley too might have stopped short of thinking about showing his affection for Aziraphale in the traditional human ways of kissing and so on. But to many of the viewers, and maybe even the characters in the show, it does look like a romance, especially in that last scene at the Ritz when they are no longer holding back. Cue all the fanart and drabbles/fanfics of them kissing, dating, etc.

Those Nights:

“Those nights when your friends are gone When you're holding on for someone to leave with Those nights when you crave someone To be there at dawn, to wake with, 'cause aren't we all just Looking for a little bit of hope these days? Looking for somebody you can wake up with? Looking for a little bit of hope these days? We are, we are”

As the end of the world approaches, Crowley and Aziraphale both feel lost. They each have permanently cut ties to their respective side, so now all they have is each other. After the book shop burns, there is a stretch where they both believe they don’t even have each other. But they have always had each other. They found that person who would be there with them early on. It just took them awhile to realize/admit it.

When things are at their darkest, each is looking for some hope. Aziraphale goes to his higher ups, hoping they would be willing to advert the war, and, when that doesn’t work, he tries to contact God Herself; however, he receives the same answer there. Crowley too makes a plea to God to not test humanity to its destruction, but he knows that it is pointless. Crowley does, however, hope that Aziraphale will leave the planet with him, and he continues to hold out for that even after Azirphale rejects his offer.

“You'll never get to heaven on a night like this”

“You try to get to heaven on a night like this But you, you never get to heaven on a night like this”

“We'll never get to heaven”

Neither one will ever be forgiven by heaven or hell. They can never go back to what they were. However, by the end, both seem to have already happily accepted that.

“I can feel your eyes in the back of my head Burning, burning, burning Floating through the room as the hairs on my arms are Rising, rising, rising I'm chemically drawn closer to you Eyes wide, eyes wide open Will you be my future or just an escape? Love me, love me, love me”

“Pulling at my t-shirt, your hands everywhere Rising, rising, rising As you trip and fall, dragging me up the stairs What's your, what's your name, now?”

I’ll just leave these lyrics here for you all to picture since this crosses more into the world of fan fiction again.

Joy:

*This is the other one that I don’t have much for. The song describes a kind of specific moment that doesn’t really fit with the series, but the general idea of that one person who can always bring you joy does describe Crowley and Aziraphale. So again, bear with me. (Maybe this one is more of an epilogue of their life after the series ends).

“I'm your walking disaster, keep on dragging me From self-pity, poor me”

They are both walking disasters, but they are each other’s walking disaster. I’m not sure how much self-pity there is but maybe they help the other one pull themself together (or at least pull themselves from individual walking disasters into a collective walking disaster).

“Thought I'd never be waking on the kitchen floor But here I lie, not the first time Now my morning has broken, and it brings the fear My mind's falling, falling” “Take a walk through the wreckage, clearing out my head”

I feel like this would describe the morning after the world was saved. They survived the worst of it but they still are going to have to face the consequences of opposing heaven and hell.

“Then I feel my pulse quickening But regrets can't change anything”

“Then I feel my pulse quickening But I wouldn't change a thing”

Abandoning Heaven was a hard decision for Aziraphale and it probably took a little time to fully come to terms with (for example he was still thinking about what his side would think about him staying at Crowley’s place after everything was over). Of course he’s glad he made that choice, but maybe he regrets not fully joining Crowley sooner or those times in the past that he chose heaven over Crowley. But then again, everything turned out for the best and they still have their whole future together so he wouldn’t change anything even if he could.

“Oh Joy, when you call me I was giving up, oh, I was giving in Joy, set my mind free I was giving up, oh, I was giving in” “How'd you always know when I'm down?”

I feel like this is their reunion when Crowley realizes Aziraphale isn’t gone. But this could just also be their general dynamic for the rest of their lives together where they are each other’s rock and always know when the other is feeling down and how to cheer to cheer them up.

“I hear your eyes roll right down the phone” - You just know this happens often

“As the night dissolves into this final frame You're a sweet relief, you saved me from my brain”

As the series ends on that final moment of them dining at the Ritz, finally together and happy. They saved each other from a lot of inner turmoil and now they will always have each other.

*If you read all this or even just skimmed it, thank you so much! It means a lot. I did not expect this to take over a year to complete, yet here I am. I know neither the show nor the album is topical any more so some of that initial buzz/excitement/interest has died away. So it means even more to me if you still took the time to read this now!

[new-endings]

it’s a gray day; have a whumpy wip.

(reverse omens; raphael is an archangel, living under the guise of crowley, a lower tier angel; azira is the poor demon that raphael lied to for 6 millennia and got his heart broken upon learning the truth) 

takes place at the bus stop after armageddon: 

---

Azira flinches when Raphael— appearing this time as Crowley— approaches.

Raphael opens his mouth, trying to get a word in, but Azira won't let him.

"You shouldn't be here."

Crowley— no...Raphael pauses. It's the same words he greets the demon whenever he shows a little too much enthusiasm at spending time with the angel. 

"They'll come for you, if they knew your involvement. You may be an archangel, but you'll be outnumbered."

"I don't give a damn about that!" Raphael automatically retorts.

For the first time since his arrival, the demon turns to look at him. "Since when?" Azira asks evenly.

This time, it’s Raphael that flinches. He always used that excuse to avoid getting closer to the demon, the excuse to stave off those feelings that have been brewing since the beginning of humanity.

What will my superiors say when they find one of their own fraternising with a demon?

Words he threw out so carelessly before, but Azira had always been undeterred, always saying that he'll be sure to be careful.

(he never was, hence why Raphael had to lie and say he was only manipulating the demon for Heaven’s benefit)

He’ll make it up to him. He will. "Since now," Raphael says, sitting next to him on the bench.

His heart aches when Azira stills before inching away from him. "There's no need. What's done is done. They don't need to punish both of us."

"I won't let you suffer alone— "

"You don't need to be here, Raphael." 

That word, that name, doesn’t sound right coming from Azira's mouth. It was always Crowley. He was always Azira's Crowley.

But Azira's not done. "You have what you want and I have what I want. Perhaps it's time to end this little arrangement—"

"What," Raphael grabs him by the arm, heart splintering when Azira looks at him with fright. "What do you mean—"

"The hellfire. It's yours. And I—" Azira swallows. "I have my earth. I may not have long to enjoy it but—"

"Then come with me,” Raphael pleads. "I'll protect you, I've always—"

"No," Azira gasps. "No, I don't— I'll be fine on my own."

"Azira, no, we both know—"

"Yes, yes, I know, I've always depended on you to keep me safe, isn't that right? Well, it's a damn good thing I'll no longer be your burden to bear!"

"Burden?" Raphael breathes out. Where is this coming from? 

"It's a fine thing you did, hiding your name, hiding your power, hiding your intentions all this time. I know I wouldn't have the patience to pull it off."

"My intentions—"

"Were to manipulate a demon, isn't that right? Gather intel for Heaven?"

The realization sinks in. His demon overheard him and misunderstood. "Azira, wait—"

"I'm no longer of any use to you. When they bring me back, it will be to my execution." He turns to Raphael, the warm, firebright glow that always used to shine when the demon looked at him, dulled to dying embers. "I don't have much time. Please, let me go."

"You're mad if you think I intend on letting you go—I'm telling you, I can protect you! I won't let them hurt you, you know that—"

"By what? hiding me away? Do you have a cozy little prison waiting for me in Heaven where Gabriel can torture me for more information with the bloody Sound of Music—"

Raphael's growing frustrated; time's running out and—he's never had Azira deny him before. Not like this. Not even with the hellfire. "Do you honestly think I’d do that to you!?" Raphael's grip on Azira's arm is beginning to hurt and the demon whimpers under the force. "How long have you known me, Azira? I would never—"

"I don't," Azira gasps, prying his arm from Raphael's grip and scrambling away from him in a panic. "I don't know who you are."

Raphael's heart breaks. "It's me. Yes, I lied about my name and my position in Heaven but that's all—Azira, I swear to you! I lied to the others so they wouldn't suspect a thing when they saw us together—"

"So you lied about being worried that your superiors might catch you?!"

"Azira!" Raphael knows he should be apologizing, begging for forgiveness, but he can't stand that look of contempt on his demon's face, not when that face had only ever shown him warmth and happiness when they were together.

"I loved him, did you know that?" Azira breathes out, eyes wet.

Something ugly twisted in Raphael's chest at the admission. "Who?"

Who is he? who stole your heart after all this time? After I thought you had only wanted mine?

"Crowley," Azira says, tears streaking down his face.

Raphael’s heart stops. "Azira..." A delirious warmth spread throughout his chest. Raphael wants to gather the demon in his arms, kiss him until the tears stopped and kiss him more after that. "I'm here, Azira, please— I lo—"

"But he was a lie too, wasn't he?"

that’s all i have so far. 

the idea i had in my head was a reverse!omens with a demon aziraphale and an archangel raphael who lives on earth under the alias of crowley

the gist of the whumps is that azira fell and fell hard for crowley and crowley....cared about him (this is really a reversal) and only learned to love him much later on—

only for aziraphale to realize that the person he fell in love with is a lie.

crowley never existed. only an archangel who lied to him for millennia

it's the reverse of Good Omens too in that azira is very open in his adoration and (giant) crush on crowley, but crowley always played it off, at first believing that— well azira's a demon so that's a no-go, but also later on when he does start admitting to himself that he cares for the demon a lot more, he ALSO puts the barrier up because... he knows now that he's putting the demon he genuinely cares about in danger by being with him

later on, when they have an argument over hellfire (crowley wants it as insurance; he may be powerful, but so are the other archangels), crowley calls their tentative whatever it is "fraternising" and it honestly breaks azira's heart 

like poor azira, he genuinely thinks that maybe there's a chance that he could be more than just good company to have, someone the angel can converse with over wine about topics that he can't with other humans—

but it's there that azira gets this feeling that crowley...might just be using him. 

it. hurts.

but azira's in love and has been in love for so long, and against himself, he gives crowley the hellfire anyways. he leaves it there, warming the cold, barren hearth of crowley's apartment

in the attempts at botching the Armageddon, azira misplaced the antichrist. crowley's furious, not really at the demon, no, but azira's right there and a target of the archangel's panic and ire

azira recommends that they run off together and crowley scoffs at the idea

in crowley's mind, he knows that he won't be able to protect them both this time. he won't be able to fend off the other archangels who not only want his blood, but his demon's as well

crowley needs a plan and needs it fast. and— he can't have azira flubbing it this time

((raphael, obviously stronger than azira, has spent maaany millennia saving the demon. weird, it's almost the spoilt thing wants to be rescued))

he tells azira to leave and go home; he already made a mess of things as it is and that he'll call azira if he needs something

((further cementing the feeling azira has that crowley is only using him))

heartbroken, azira leaves but not before finding the book of prophecy the witch-girl left after crowley, in his panic-stricken mind, actually ran over (she was okay; azira made sure she survived) he goes through it, poring over it and understanding the prophecies and goes to crowley to show him what he's found out— show him that he's not just a burden—

only to sense the powerful presence of several archangels

azira panics— what if they found out what crowley was up to? what if they take him, or worse, punish him for trying to avert armageddon?

he hides his presence (a neat little trick he picked up; very useful when following the trail of the angel you love) and listens in on the conversation and nearly has a heart attack when crowley drops the façade and shows his form, his true form, the archangel raphael

heartbreak 1: crowley lied to him. in fact, worse: crowley was the lie himself. the being that azira loved and cherished never existed

heartbreak 2: the archangels are talking to Raphael about the demon that he was supposedly 'manipulating' in order to gain intel (a lie Raphael came up with so that they wouldn't be suspicious about why he was hanging around a demon so much); of course, azira believes them and understands, truly, that he was just being toyed with from the start

heartbreak 3: Raphael sounds like he's all for war (he's not; he's playing the role the archangels expect him to) ready to eradicate the legions of hell and bring an end to this miserable world (the world azira loves, the world where he feels he belongs, the world where he fell in love and almost believed himself to have a chance at being loved in return)

azira leaves and vows to fix things

he doesn't need crowley, raphael, whoever— he is

he'll stop armageddon himself if he needs to

azira goes to track down the boy himself using the prophecies from the witch's book meanwhile, raphael is panicking; the plans are underway and even speaking to the metatron doesn't give him access to speak to God— his last-ditch effort

he thinks back to azira's stupid suggestion—that they run off together—and a part of him is desperate enough to believe that even prolonging their demise would be enough.

he can't—won't fight azira in the battlefields. and he'll slay his own kin if they so much as raise a sword to his demon

he's calling azira's bookshop but there's no answer. he goes there himself and finds it engulfed in flames

hell has found his demon and raphael gives up all hope

it’s azira that finds Adam and is the one to single-handedly convince him to stop armageddon, that he doesn't need to be a slave to this supposed destiny of his

meanwhile, crowley watches on, stunned—that his demon is alive and—actually competent?

raphael wants to be there, wants to stand by azira's side so badly

he knows he has a lot to explain, a lot to apologize for, over 6,000 years of lies and deceit but it's that look in azira's eyes from across the tadfield air base that stops raphael in his tracks.

fear

azira is afraid…of him

armageddon is averted all thanks to a demon that loved this world more than anything and no thanks to an archangel who would have committed treason to save the demon he loved

[thenoctambulist]

Just a J, Really

Read on AO3

Summary: Aziraphale pops by Crowley's apartment and he isn't there. Upon further investigation, Aziraphale discovers a journal that might hold the answers to the question he's been seeking... what is Crowley's middle name? He isn't prepared, however, for what he does find.

(Disclaimer: it’s 3k words)

“Crowley? Are you in there?” Aziraphale knocked three times on the apartment door. “I know it’s a bit of a surprise, but I thought I’d just stop by.” He waited for an answer, but none came. 

“I-- I brought biscuits!” he added. After being faced with another minute of silence, he tried the knob. To his surprise, it turned easily, and soon he was staring at the minimally furnished, completely quiet abode of his friend.

“Crowley?” he called again, still expecting an answer. He wandered down the hall, through a verdant sea of various potted plants. He glanced into the adjacent rooms at the end of the corridor; both were empty. He set the biscuit tin he had brought on the nearest table and wandered into the kitchen. Crowley wasn’t there.

Aziraphale pursed his lips. “Well then,” he said to no one in particular. He exited the kitchen and returned to the main room. A large flat screen TV was hung on the wall, perpendicular to a sketch of the Mona Lisa. A large throne-like chair was positioned slightly away from a grand desk, as if someone had just gotten up. Soft afternoon light filtered through the blinds opposite the desk. Aziraphale inhaled deeply. It smelled faintly of paint, rain, and wood. 

Aziraphale decided he better check all the rooms, just to make sure Crowley hadn’t fallen asleep or was too far to hear him. He turned on his heel and went back to the area with the plants. They seemed to sway in his presence. He fingered a waxy leaf and smiled to himself. This was his first time in Crowley’s apartment, and he never would have guessed the demon would keep plants. 

There was another doorway across from him; a quick peek revealed that it was Crowley’s bedroom. A large, dark wooden bed with sharp corners was centered in the room, laden with various throw pillows with exotic patterns. Dark curtains twirled in the breeze coming from the window. A dresser was across from the foot of the bed, and there was another desk right under the window. 

Aziraphale wavered at the threshold. He wasn’t sure whether Crowley would appreciate his snooping. But really, was it snooping? The door had been left open, after all. He could hardly blame himself for Crowley’s carelessness. Besides, what did Crowley have to hide?

He entered cautiously, stepping lightly on the cool floor. The walls were charcoal grey. He made his way over to the desk, smiling as he approached. Upon it was a stack of papers, underneath a snake paperweight he recognized as one he had given Crowley after seeing it in a shop downtown. The papers underneath it were half filled in memos to be sent to hell. Aziraphale clicked his tongue, dismayed at Crowley’s sloppiness. 

His eyes traveled over the desk’s surface until they landed on a journal. It was sleek and black and looked well-used. The edges of the pages were rough, as if various clippings and papers had been shoved haphazardly into it. It was obviously something private.

Aziraphale felt his hand gravitate towards it. He wanted to know what was inside, but wasn’t sure how Crowley would feel if he knew he had read it. There wasn’t really any particular thing he was looking for anyways. He was an angel. He could tell wrong from right, and this was most certainly wrong. 

Though, he supposed, there was one thing he had always wanted to know. 

Ever since the forties, when Crowley had adopted his alias, Aziraphale had wanted to know what the ‘J’ stood for as his middle name. When he asked the first time, Crowley had shrugged and claimed it was ‘just a J.’ Aziraphale was still convinced it stood for something, and had the inexplicable urge to know what it was. It wasn’t that he needed it for any particular reason, or was going to use it; he was just tired of not knowing and felt that, maybe, one day, it could come in handy. 

His heart sped up in anxiety as he reached for the book. He felt as if he were stealing something, though he wasn’t planning on taking anything except information. 

He turned open the cover. Written, on the inside, in a dark, loopy script, was property of Anthony J. Crowley. Aziraphale huffed. He had thought that that would have been the place to find the answer to his query, but Crowley had unknowingly made it more difficult than that. 

Then again, people didn’t normally write about their middle names in journals. Why would they? But, Aziraphale convinced himself, Crowley was not exactly a normal person. (And he needed a good reason to justify looking through the journal.) 

The first page contained illegible thoughts and random mutterings, penned with what looked like a quill. It was dated a good many centuries before Crowley had adopted his human-esque name. 

Knowing he wouldn’t find the information he wanted, Aziraphale began to fan through the pages, only stopping when he caught sight of his name.

The page that referred to him was from 1793. Racking his brains, he recalled their meeting in the Bastille and the crepes they had afterwards. 

He turned back to the journal and started to read. 

Dined with Aziraphale today. That idiot, he got himself stuck in the Bastille. Seemed grateful when I rescued him, though. And his smile is so perfect as he eats. I told him I was in the area, and he seemed to believe it. No need for him to know I’d been dropping by without him knowing to see how he was doing. 

With that, Aziraphale’s heart leapt. Crowley had been… checking on him? He continued reading. 

The job demands it, after all. 

Aziraphale’s face fell. Of course. Part of the job. Crowley was watching him on hell’s orders and nothing more. 

Still, it gives a good excuse for me to see him. I might load off a couple temptings on him, tell him it’s payment for his rescue. 

Aziraphale huffed. Crowley had indeed done that after his rescue. He had sauntered by the bookshop a year later claiming he ‘owed him one.’ Frustrated, he flipped through more pages until he got to the ones just before he learned of Crowley’s name.

Apparently Angel’s been doing some shady business with some Nazis, Crowley had stated at the top of the page. I’ve been asking around and it seems some of the operatives here are planning on scamming him out of books. I’ve narrowed down their meeting places, and from what my sources have gathered, they’re meeting in a church. It’s just my luck they’re meeting on consecrated ground. Why couldn’t they do it at a bleeding park or something? Az probably thinks no one would double-cross him in a church. Still, I wonder if I could get some holy water there? I honestly don’t know why I’m doing this. I haven’t really forgiven him for the whole “refusing to give me holy water” ordeal. Worst part about it was that he said he didn’t need me. Oh, to be one of the ducks on the pond that day, wading about, eating bugs… sounds like the ideal life to me. I bet they don’t have to deal with insufferable angels. 

“Well, really!” Aziraphale said indignantly, not realizing he had spoken aloud. No one was there to hear him, anyways. 

I wonder if he’ll ask me to lunch again. Maybe if I get him drunk enough he’ll bless some water for me. 

Aziraphale pursed his lips. He couldn’t help but be annoyed by Crowley, despite him being the one looking through private thoughts. He turned a few more pages. There was another entry a couple days after.

We didn’t have lunch was the first sentence. I would have hoped, but no. He did allow me to chauffer him back to his shop, though. That’s something. 

He ALSO learned about the name I’ve taken to using lately. I always thought it was sharp, but the look he had when he first heard it? I could tell he hated it. Maybe I should change it. I don’t know. I just think ‘Anthony J. Crowley’ sounds so nice, you know? I suppose I haven’t even thought about what the J stands for. He asked about that, you know. Maybe I should come up with something. 

Here it is, thought Aziraphale. He could find what he’d been looking for, and then he could wait for Crowley in the sitting room. No need to let him know he’d been reading his journal.

Anyways, I saved his books. He looked pretty pleased. I hope I didn’t let on how pleased I was, too.

Aziraphale frowned. He was so disappointed on the change of subject he didn’t completely register the subject it had transitioned to. Upon a quick scan of the rest of the entry, nothing else about his middle name appeared. 

A little pissed off, Aziraphale aggressively flipped through the journal and slammed it gently back on the table, dejected. He massaged the bridge of his nose and hmmphed, looking back at the journal. It had fallen open to a wrinkled page, obviously one that had been visited many times before. It had places where the ink had run, suggesting the writer had been either crying or messily sipping water while penning out the entry. 

Aziraphale pulled the journal towards him and eagerly began to read. 

Dammit, Angel. Damn it all. Too fast for him. Too bloody fast. What the heaven is that supposed to mean, anyways?  I’m sorry our relationship doesn’t have a speedometer, Angel. If you can call it a relationship. It feels pretty one sided, with you constantly reminding us “oh, we’re not friends.” You idiot. 

No. No, I’m the idiot. I’m the idiot who couldn’t help himself. Who always asked the wrong questions. Who always wanted what I couldn’t have. I didn’t mean to become a demon. And I didn’t mean to fall in love with you, Angel.

Aziraphale’s heart beat faster and faster. Love? Crowley? He felt the instant need to take a break and keep reading all at once. He decided with the latter.

Damn. I guess it’s true, innit? I do love you. Ach. It feels wrong to even write. I think it’s love, at least. Who knows if demons can even love?

Aziraphale touched his heart and gasped softly. Oh, Crowley, he thought. If only I’d known sooner. 

“Angel?” Aziraphale was so caught up in his own thoughts, and so used to hearing Crowley’s voice in his head, that he didn’t realize it was actually Crowley until he looked up. 

“Crowley? Crowley!” he exclaimed, shoving the journal away like it was burning him.

Crowley’s mouth opened in shock. His eyebrows puckered in the center. He looked scared.

“Angel! Did you--” Crowley could barely get the words out. “You shouldn’t be here. Why--” 

Aziraphale had never seen Crowley this flustered before. He was always so smooth, so unflappable. It wasn’t natural. Of course, Aziraphale was also ashamed of himself. Not only had he been snooping, he had been caught doing it, which was infinitely worse.

“I- well, you weren’t home, and I- I left the biscuits on the table, and--” 

“Biscuits? What biscuits?” Crowley asked, arms spread. “Just--” He strode forward and ripped the journal from Aziraphale’s hands. 

“You left the door open,” Aziraphale cried. “So how was I supposed to know--”

“General socially accepted RULES, Angel! Ever heard of ‘em?” Crowley spoke in a loud tone but was avoiding Aziraphale’s gaze. “You don’t just go into people’s houses on a whim; you knock, and if they aren’t there, you leave.”

“You come into my bookshop!” Aziraphale countered. 

“It’s a public space!”

“Well…” Aziraphale was running out of subpar reasons to pardon his behavior. “You left the journal just out in the open!”

“Because I never thought you’d come here and see it!” yelled Crowley. His tongue was forked and his eyes were slitted and yellow. A sheen of sweat was present on his forehead. He looked down. “Please go.”

“Crowley--”

“Go, Angel.” Crowley pointed at the door. Aziraphale’s mouth wavered, and closed. He got up to leave. 

“Crowley,” he said when he reached the doorway, turning to face the back of Crowley’s head. He took a deep breath. “The things you wrote? The feeling is mutual.”

Crowley became rigid. He slowly pivoted until he was facing Aziraphale. His face was a mask of indecipherable emotion. 

“The feeling’s- what now?” he asked. He looked almost pained, as if it was too good to be true and he didn’t want to get his hopes up. Aziraphale smiled gently. 

“It’s mutual, my dear.” Aziraphale studied Crowley as he strutted closer. He tried not to grin with self-satisfaction, as Crowley’s eyes were welled with tears and he didn’t want to risk ruining the moment with one of his stupid smiles. Crowley cupped his face. Aziraphale could see his reflection in his glassy, reptilian eyes. 

“Say it again,” Crowley whispered, clutching Aziraphale by his lapels.

“I love yo--” started Aziraphale, but was interrupted by a low growl from Crowley as he swept closer and pressed his mouth to his. 

Crowley’s lips were rough, but it wasn’t entirely unpleasant. Aziraphale slowly grew accustomed to their feel on his own. And, oh, his tongue. Crowley had a certain awareness over it that Aziraphale guessed was from being a snake. 

Aziraphale’s hands had lingered, unsure of what to do, on Crowley’s arms, but soon Aziraphale found them wound in Crowley’s hair and stroking his neck. Crowley’s hands remained gripping Aziraphale’s lapels, doing it so tightly as if he was afraid to let him go. 

They were pressed together as close as humanly (and inhumanly) as possible, but they longed to be closer. Aziraphale soon slid his hands under Crowley’s jacket and felt his formed back muscles and sharp shoulder blades. Crowley shivered and shrugged off the jacket, barely pausing to toss it on the ground before winding his arms tightly around Aziraphale. 

Crowley stumbled backwards and sank into a leather bench at the foot of his bed, pulling Aziraphale with him. Aziraphale’s jacket and bowtie were also abandoned, and Crowley started to unbutton his waistcoat. It was rather hard, as Aziraphale had grabbed him by his tie and placed a hand under his chin, keeping their lips together. 

After his fingers had finished fumbling with the waistcoat buttons, they found their way up Aziraphale’s soft form. Crowley had finally moved his mouth away from Aziraphale’s and now planted his kisses right along his jawline. His skin there was especially soft, and Crowley couldn’t resist taking the occasional gentle nibble. He relished the satisfied noises Aziraphale would make in the back of his throat. 

Aziraphale buried his face in the side of Crowley’s head and inhaled his scent deeply. He smelled of the rain and salt and alcohol with a hint of subtle cologne.  

Crowley reached a hand behind him and tried to hoist himself up on the bed, but found himself still under Aziraphale’s weight. Aziraphale sensed what he was trying to do and got off him, scooped Crowley up, and slid onto the neatly pressed sheets and covers with Crowley draped in his arms. He leaned down and kissed him tenderly. 

Crowley’s face was flushed and his chest rose and fell quickly. His eyes were bright.

“Angel--” he started, gasping. “I never--” 

Aziraphale smiled coyly and cut Crowley off with another kiss, covering his mouth completely with his own. Crowley moaned into Aziraphale and slithered his hands beneath his shirt, which was already hanging quite loosely, staying closed because of a few small buttons. His golden curls were disheveled but he looked entirely perfect to Crowley.

Crowley, meanwhile, still had his necktie and shirt on, and Aziraphale felt the need to do something about it. Not wanting to break his touch and focus, he gave a snap and miracled them away, having them reappear neatly folded on a nearby chair. 

A laugh rumbled in Crowley’s chest. “Did you just miracle my shirt away?”

“I might’ve.” Aziraphale looked sheepishly away, and then turned back, the passion in his expression multiplied. He moved predatorily over Crowley and pushed him back onto the mountain of throw pillows. And then, he did what Crowley least wanted him to do. He paused, as if he had suddenly realized what exactly they were doing. 

“What is it? What’s wrong, Angel?” Crowley asked, worried. He propped himself up on his angular elbows. 

“Are you sure you want this, Crowley?” Aziraphale glanced away, obviously nervous. He fiddled with a tassel on the corner of one of the pillows. 

Crowley scoffed. “What kind of a question is that, Angel? Do I want this? You read the journal, you tell me.”

Aziraphale looked worried. “I don’t know… I just think...”

Crowley’s eyes widened. “Wait, do you not want to do this? Because we don’t have to. Things can go back to the way they were before. I promise. I understand. I’ll just--”

“Crowley! I don’t want things to go back to the way they were. I just- don’t want to be the reason it all falls apart. What if you decide I’m not good, or I’m not enough, or--”

“That’s what this is about? For Satan’s sake, Angel, you can be awfully thick sometimes. Of course you won’t muck it up. Love like this…” Crowley’s voice grew soft. “It doesn’t just fade in a day.”

“Are you certain, dear?” Aziraphale looked up with misty eyes, and Crowley’s heart melted. 

“I’ve waited six thousand years for this, Angel,” Crowley whispered into Aziraphale’s ear as he rested his arms loosely on his shoulders. “I’ve never been more certain of anything in my life.” 

Aziraphale gazed into Crowley’s eyes. Their noses touched, and their arms were slung over the other’s shoulders and clasped behind their heads. His legs were stradled around Crowley’s thin torso. He felt… safe. He smiled, and leaned in for another kiss. 

Crowley fell back into the pillows with a thump, Aziraphale following suit. The various embroideries on the decorative cushions scratched at his bare back, but he didn’t mind. It was a small price to pay for having Aziraphale on top of him.

Aziraphale’s kisses slowly moved from Crowley’s mouth to his jawline, and then down his throat onto his chest. Crowley felt his back arch and he gave an involuntary moan and shiver. Aziraphale planted his mouth lower and lower, until it lingered at Crowley’s waistband, and invitation and question all at once. 

Crowley gave a slight nod and soon, his pants had joined his shirt and tie on the chair in the corner. Aziraphale ran his hand along Crowley’s side and buried his face into his stomach.

Crowley’s thoughts were a mixture of oh Satan it’s finally happening and what could only be described as mental keyboard smashes as Aziraphale caressed him. It was both heaven and hell on Earth, and Crowley didn’t want to miss a minute of it.

Aziraphale, meanwhile, was completely lost in the moment. The only thing he knew was Crowley, Crowley, Crowley. The low rumble he could hear in Crowley’s throat as he kissed every inch of his cool skin he could find; the hard, bony planes of his chest; the way Crowley’s olive eyes widened with every touch. Aziraphale felt he could stay this way forever, and wasn’t sure he would be able to leave. 

They eventually found solace wrapped around each other, Aziraphale hugging Crowley’s midsection and resting his head against his chest. Crowley was stroking Aziraphale’s hair gently. 

“Dear?” Aziraphale’s voice was foreign to his ears; he felt as if he had simultaneously ruined the moment and made it more tender. 

“Mmm?” was all Crowley replied.

“What does the J stand for, anyways?” Aziraphale asked, glancing up at Crowley’s face. 

“In my name?” Aziraphale nodded. “Well… it’s just a J, really. I told you before.”

Aziraphale’s face fell, not noticeably, but enough for Crowley to place a finger under his chin and tilt his head up to face him. 

“But for you, Angel,” he whispered, “that J is anything you want it to be.” 

Aziraphale’s eyes crinkled as the corners of his mouth turned up. He nestled further into Crowley’s bare chest.

“I love you,” he said. Crowley smiled. 

“Love you too, Angel.”

[caffeinechic]

Good Omens Fic Recs 1/?

I went to fix a link in this post and managed to delete the entire thing like an absolute fool. 

But my complete annoyance with myself won’t be bested with my determination to post this lot. So here I go again. I am so sorry if this has shown on your dash a million times. And sorry for the double links / tagging as I honestly went half mad over even the basics. This is where I am with life.

I have about 300 Good Omens fics bookmarked at this point to trying to pull out my absolute favourites sent me down a re-read (and in many cases a re-re-re-re-read) rabbit hole, which was an absolute joy so no complaints here!

These are just some of the ones that have just really stuck with me for one reason or another so I’ve gathered them up under the cut

4 Authors I just need to do like a HUGE rec for as they’re life ruiners. How dare they be this good. HOW DARE THEY.

@princip1914 @princip1914

Yeah I started pulling out the bookmarks I had for @princip1914 and realised it was...everything they’d written. All of it. Just...all of it.

But my particular favourite out of an outstanding batch is the following - which I have read approximately 70 squillion times. It stuck with me for so long in a way that I don’t think many fics have, ever. I actually can’t recommend this enough:

Doubt Thou The Stars Are Fire

“But how,” Aziraphale gasped, agonized and close to tears. “How can you be sure. Crowley, dear, you got thrown out of heaven for questioning everything. How can you be sure about this?”

Crowley loves and Aziraphale doubts. God intercedes. A groundhog day kind of situation ensues wherein Aziraphale has to fall in love with Crowley over and over again as a human until he gets the point. Highlights include: delivering medical care in rural Louisiana, stargazing in Vegas, strangers on a train, and teaching middle school.

@bestoftheseekwill @bestoftheseekwill

Same “problem” with @bestoftheseekwill - READ EVERYTHING. Oh my god, the human AUs, THE HUMAN AUS.

Special shout out to Acts of Service which was the first Human AU I’d read and got me completely hooked and now whenever seekwill posts I immediately read.

Acts of Service

"You seem very familiar to me. I can’t say why that is." As Aziraphale spoke, Crowley turned away from the fire, and Aziraphale was momentarily concerned that the spell had been broken, that he had crossed some invisible line. But Crowley smiled and brought his beer to his lips.

"Maybe we met in a past life. Does your lot believe in that?"

"Past lives?"

"Yeah."

Aziraphale smiled into his wine. He was sure Crowley was poking fun, ever so slightly, but he liked it. "Not strictly speaking. No."

Crowley shrugged, taking another long sip of his beer. “A mystery then."

After receiving direct instruction from God, village reverend Aziraphale leaves his countryside congregation to serve the underserved and in-need at an urban church in London, a transition made all the more complicated by the mysterious and handsome Crowley, who always seems to appear when Aziraphale least expects him.

OH!! but also

That this could be the kingdom

- this one sat with me for a while. Stunning

I have lived my whole life with a wrecked heart. Fr. Aziraphale Fell’s present mirrors his past, as long ago roommate, classmate, and former friend Anthony Crowley reappears in his life in an unexpected and disarming way, challenging Aziraphale’s choices, and bringing him back to the breaking point, when he made a decision he couldn’t take back. It isn’t temptation, it’s revelation.

@mygalfriday @mygalfriday

Ah here, listen - I went to get my bookmark list for @mygalfriday and just ended up re-reading all 12 fics this week.

i can't say the words, so i wrote you into my verse

Aziraphale blinks as it slowly dawns on him exactly what he’s looking at. Crowley has a tattoo. Well, another one anyway. Unlike the small serpent curled just beneath his temple, this one takes up far more space.

And listen if you don’t read the blind date au series then I don’t know how to help you!

I couldn’t find Rend_Herring  Found @rendherring @rendherring on Tumblr but I had to put my phone and my head down after I read both of these.

The Lightness of You

God should not have built them with such discrepancy, made them need for love, and long for wholeness, then left them to their own devices.

This Soul Outstreaming

“Why did you come here?” Aziraphale interrupts. “Why do you keep doing this?” All the saving, he means, all the chasing after Aziraphale he does. It can’t only be that he’s not keen to endure a replacement. That can’t be it, not anymore. He’s going to get himself in trouble, and then it’ll be Aziraphale’s fault.

Crowley’s mouth shuts with a click. He shifts uncomfortably in his seat, reaches for the handle of the fork and taps his fingertips against it before setting his hands in his lap.

When he speaks, it’s very soft. “Don’t you know?” he asks.

Aziraphale, unaccustomed to his heart refusing to translate why it throbs with such haste, shakes his head.

Fics that, to me, are just stunners. I love them so much.

Slow Show - @mia-ugly @mia-ugly Honestly if you’re seeing a rec list WITHOUT slow show...I’d be legit surprised In which temptations are accomplished, grand romantic gestures are made, and two ineffable co-stars only take four seasons of an award-winning television program to realize they’re on their own side (at last, at last.)

Barriers, and the breaking thereof - @cardinaldaughter @cardinaldaughter Ezra Fell has long been comfortable in his loneliness. He’s content to simply run the Soho Public Library and otherwise keep to himself. However, when a handsome stranger bursts in one evening with a baby, frantic and in need of help, Ezra finds those carefully constructed barriers he’s long maintained begin to crack.

Perhaps it’s time to let them fall.

Anthophilia - @fortinbrasftw @fortinbrasftw Anthony J. Crowley's life seems like it's finally falling into place: his floral shop has begun to gain an undercurrent of appreciation in the design elite of London, and he might have even finally found a boyfriend who looks just right lounging on his Tenreiro sofa. Things seem almost perfect, until one day the empty shop across the street is leased to frumpy fellow Oxford alumni, who doesn't seem to remember Crowley nearly as well as he remembers him, which really shouldn't bother him as much as it does - it was ten years ago after all, and it wasn't even that good of a kiss.

The road to rapture has a lot of pit stops - @emmagrant01 @emmagrant01 Five times they kissed over four thousand years, and one time they actually meant it.

Demon and Angel Professors - Ghostinthehouse - not 100% sure that this is also their tumblr handle so if anyone can confirm that would be great! They're professors. They're married. Their students don't realise. Cue shenanigans.

Multiple short arcs with one-shots (and often pauses) between them. Characters continue from one arc to the next. It's marked as complete, because each short arc is complete in itself, but there will be more arcs and one-shots in the future.

The Grinch Who Sold Christmas - @forineffablereasons @forineffablereasons Anthony J. Crowley, a big-time attorney from London, is sent to small-town Tadfield to close a deal before Christmas that would sell out half of high street to a fancy developer and put him up for partner at his firm. The deal will run the local businesses out and change the landscape of the town forever, but that’s none of Crowley’s business; he’s just doing a job.

But as the town invites him to share in their lives and their hopes and their holiday celebrations, and as the enigmatic Aziraphale invites him to share in something more, Crowley starts to wonder: if everything has its price, is he still willing to pay what this deal will cost?

Slow - write_away It started like this: A boy with the ability to warp reality met an angel and a demon and he made assumptions.

You might say it started like this: An angel and a demon found a marriage contract hung on the wall of the angel's bookshop. They didn't question it.

It also could have started like this: Once upon a time, the angel told the demon he went too fast. The demon took it to heart.

Aziraphale and Crowley find themselves somehow married. Crowley fears going too fast. Aziraphale forges ahead. Neither know how to ask questions of each other.

You, soft and only - @thehoyden He hadn’t expected a sudden lapful of angel.

“Very sorry about this,” Aziraphale said, and kissed him.

A Bushel and a Peck- @thehoyden  Sometimes, a family is a demonic nanny, an angelic cook, and a kid who isn't actually the Antichrist.Or: Crowley helps Aziraphale secure a different position at the Dowling Estate.

Long is the way, and hard - Kate_Lear The first time Crawley meets the angel, the celestial being is twisting its shining white robe in its fingers and looking wretched. It hardly spares him a glance as he shifts from snake to human, and Crawley is a touch put-out. It’s taken some practice to be able to do it so fluidly.

A story of Crowley's thoughts about Aziraphale, from the Beginning to the present day.

And also of temptation, and want, and whether - for a Fallen Angel - redemption is possible after all.

the 21st century, in which they finally work it out - @fieldbears @fieldbears This is light speed in comparison to the last few centuries of their relationship, but Crowley is barely holding on to his patience.

A Few More Rescues - @poetic----nonsense @poetic----nonsense 5+1 Times Crowley Rescued Aziraphale According to the Romantic Tropes of the Era, and One Time Aziraphale Turned It Around on Him (plus Prologue)

The Cottage, the Husbands (series) - Dragonsquill A demon and an angel fall in love and decide to take on the monumental task of living together in a cottage by the sea.

[go-events]

GO Rom Com Spotlight: @zaxal​

The most excellent @zaxal​ (also zaxal on AO3 and zaxalrie on twitter) has claimed Hello, Dolly! to adapt for Good Omens in the Good Omens Rom Com Event.

For reference, here’s a little background about the source material!

About Hello, Dolly!: In 1890s New York City, the bold and enchanting widow Dolly Levi (Barbra Streisand) is a socialite-turned-matchmaker. Her latest clients seeking assistance are the cantankerous "half-a-millionaire" Horace Vandergelder (Walter Matthau) and a young artist named Ambrose (Tommy Tune), who is in love with Horace's niece, Ermengarde (Joyce Ames). Dolly's scheming soon involves Horace's employees as well as a New York hatmaker, as she tries to cover up her own secret romantic designs.

We spent some time chatting about how the adaptation is coming so far, as well as future plans for it! Now, get to know @zaxal​ a little better!

* * *

goromcom: You chose to adapt Hello, Dolly! as your rom com. Has this movie been a favorite of yours, or is there some other reason you chose it?

zaxal: I actually hadn't seen Hello, Dolly! until the last year when I saw the movie for the first time and then saw the play live, but when I was considering a prompt, I was really drawn to the chaotic scene at the Harmonia Gardens when the three main plot threads intersect and ends in a huge brawl. The image of Aziraphale calmly finishing his meal at the Ritz while utter chaos rains down around him before he gets up to deal with it stuck itself in my head, and I couldn't resist trying to make it real.

goromcom: What's your favorite moment of Hello, Dolly!, and are you looking forward to presenting it in your adaptation? Any loose plans for that scene that you can share?

zaxal: My favorite moments of the show and of Dolly as a character is her fast-talking and friendly manipulation of the world around her, but it's not something Aziraphale (in her place narratively) can replicate. Rather than trying to bend him out of shape to match her character, I'm allowing him to twist the world more organically with friendly suggestions and some light miracle-work as needed.

goromcom: Do you plan to stick very closely to the beats of the original story, or make bigger changes?

zaxal: There's quite a bit of creative liberties being taken with the story beats of Hello, Dolly! especially with regards to Dolly herself. Dolly's personal story is driven by her love and devotion to her deceased husband Ephram who she asks to give her a sign if it's okay to pursue a romance with Horace Vandergelder. Rather than have Aziraphale with a deceased spouse, I decided that Crowley would be playing both the roles of Ephram and Horace. Aziraphale's personal plot thread is driven by trying to understand why Crowley suddenly, several years before the story, began to act as though they were nothing more than distant friends due to the Arrangement, and if he can do anything to rekindle a romance that's been forgotten.

goromcom: What's an interesting decision you've made in your planning so far--a notable casting decision, a changing of venue, or some other plan you have to paint Good Omens all over your rom com?

zaxal: I'm shifting the story from New York to London, the Harmonia Gardens to the Ritz, and I'm definitely not shying away from using Aziraphale and Crowley's supernatural powers to cause more mayhem as needed. Anathema and Newt are filling in the shoes for Ermengarde and Ambrose, but rather than have a tertiary romance plot in the form of Barnaby, Irene, Cornelius, and Minnie, I have a slightly-aged-up the Them meeting a slightly-aged-up Warlock and going on a big adventure in the city alone and unsupervised whether they're supposed to be or not.

goromcom: I am blatantly stealing this last question from The Good Place: The Podcast, but here goes: Tell me something "good". It can be something big or small. It can be a charity you think is doing good work, or you can talk about how great your pet is.

zaxal: I'm gonna be a lil predictable and brag about my cats. They're named Sonia and Simon; they're both rescues, and I love them to death. Sonia doesn't know how to meow; she beeps and hums with her mouth closed instead. She's very adventurous and extremely cuddly. Simon is a big boy who came to our home with severe anxiety and has opened up more and more in the few years we've had him. He still runs and hides from everything, but he's quicker to come out now, quick to meow for food and prime lap real estate, and he's finally seemed to accept that this is his home and we are his people. I'm very proud of him!

goromcom: They sound adorable, and what’s more they LOOK adorable! See, everyone (Simon left, Sonia right):

goromcom: When you’re done gazing at the lovely felines, make a note to catch the GO adaptation of Hello, Dolly!, coming soon!

[dragon-kazansky]

Hiii! Dunno if you do poly ships(?) but if u do. Can I request something with arizaphale x reader x Crowley. Where reader(gender neutral) gets hurt and they both are on it ASAP 💕💕

It was always a comfort to know that when things went wrong you had someone to come to your rescue.

In your case, two people.

Your lovable boyfriends, Aziraphale and Crowley.

Now, you weren’t no damsel who needed saving every other day and were more than capable of of taking care of yourself, but you can bet that if it was needed, those two would come running faster than anything.

Getting hurt wasn’t common for you, but accidents happen.

You had a terrible accident and hurt yourself quite badly. You had injured your leg during a horrible fall, due to being a little clumsy that day, and the pain was almost unbearable.

“Damn it!” You hissed between clenched teeth. You couldn’t apply pressure onto your leg without pain shooting through it.

You fumbled for your phone and instantly called Crowley. You couldn’t bare to tell Aziraphale first for he would only worry and make a fuss. He treasured you dearly and you didn’t want to make him upset.

Crowley answered right away, his voice cheery and cocky. You could hear the grin in his voice.

“My day just got brighter, what can I do for you, love?” He said that a lot when you call him. He liked teasing you.

You rolled your eyes, despite your situation, and hissed down the phone. “I need you. I’ve… fallen.” 

“Fallen?” The cocky undertone of his voice seemed to slip away. “How bad?”

Crowley was worried. Very rarely you got hurt, so when you did, it was concerned for your health. He liked knowing you were well and happy when he wasn’t around.

“Very. I hurt my leg and can’t walk properly. I need you to help me, please don’t tell Aziraphale. Hell only make a fuss over me, bless his heart.”

“I can’t keep that from him! I’m on my way. Aziraphale can fix that in a snap of his fingers.”

“Crowley, he’ll be upset with me…”

You could see it now. Aziraphale’s smile would falter and his brow would crease. He want nothing more than to be at your side to help you when in pain. The angel hated the thought of you being hurt, despite how little it ever actually happened.

“He will, but he’ll also forgive you right away. You know how he is, now stay where you are, we’ll be there soon.”

“You don’t even know…” he hung up, “where I am.”

You lowered your phone and tried your very best not to move too much. You cursed yourself for not paying enough attention, but were glad your boys would be here to help.

Gritting your teeth you leaned back and let your mind wander. You needed to get your mind off of the pain.

Your mind decided to focus on your boyfriends.

That made you smile.

Aziraphale panicked a little when Crowley had told him what had happened. He didn’t like the thought of you in any sort of pain and made sure to tell Crowley to hurry up.

The poor angel just wanted to fix up your leg and make you comfortable. Kisses would of course be given to help you.

This was one of the few times Aziraphale didn’t comment on Crowley’s driving.

“Aziraphale, calm down a little bit. She hurt her leg, she wont die from it.” The demon glanced as his lovable angel who had concern written all over his face.

“Still, they are hurt. We must hurry.” 

Crowley didn’t like seeing Aziraphale this way. Where as the demon would try to hide his worry and focus on making the situation better, the angel would show his concern and let others know how he was feeling.

It was just one of the things you both loved about the angel.

“I’m going as fast as possible.”

“For once… it’s not fast enough.” The angel sighed and looked out the window with worry. He hoped you were doing alright until they could get to you.

You heard the Bentley coming. You knew the exact sound it made and could always tell when it was near by. It was something you had just learned the more time you spent with the demon.

It parked sharply and in no time at all your two lovable celestial boyfriends climbed out and came over to you. Aziraphale hurried over, while Crowley took his time.

It wasn’t that he wasn’t worried, but he knew you were other wise OK. Aziraphale would be able to take care of the injury for you.

“Oh dear, how did this happen?” Aziraphale hovered his hands over your injured leg, not wanting to make the pain any worse.

“It was an accident, please do something, Aziraphale. It hurts.” You looked at him with big bright eyes.

“No need to worry, I’ll take care of it. Think of something happy and wonderful!” He gave you his angelic smile and kept his hand over your leg.

His very presence was soothing to you. You were grateful he came even though you asked Crowley not to tell him.

Crowley knelt down beside you and wrapped his arms around your torso, pressing a kiss to your head. He watched the angel perform his little miracle and let you rest against him.

You smiled and leaned back into the demon, letting your mind fill with thoughts of your beautiful boys.

Aziraphale waved his hand along the length of your leg and with a jolt of sudden pain, making your flinch, everything soon settled down and was gone.

Crowley made sure to give you a squeeze while Aziraphale performed his miracle.

You opened your eyes and glanced at the angel and then the demon.

“How does it feel?” Aziraphale asked softly.

You looked at your leg and slowly got up, with the help of Crowley. You stood on your leg slowly and carefully, just in case. Though you had no doubt it had worked.

Aziraphale was an expert with miracles.

“All better. It doesn’t hurt any more!” You smiled at the pair.

“Oh, I’m glad! I hate seeing you in pain.” Aziraphale pulled you into a hug and kissed your temple.

“We should go back and rest. Don’t want to jinx this by hurting yourself again.” Crowley teased. He was smirking from behind you.

You scoffed and turned to kiss the demon on the cheek.

“Alright, but only if you stay with me. I need my boys to look after me.”

The pair of them were more than happy to comply.

“How did you find me, anyway? You had no idea where I was.” You looked at Crowley, considering he drove here.

“We always find you.” He winked. You couldn’t see it because of his shades, but you knew he did it.

You chuckled.

Your evening was filled with lots of hugs, kisses and your boys looking after you, even thought you healed now.

You were very proud of your boys for coming to your rescue.

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@dekahg