#and Crowley has also feared tempting him into it

[lunaamatista]

I will make a longer post about this at some point but: if your theories about why Aziraphale has done bad and abusive things and has been having fun in la la land while ignoring all the horrors around him don’t include the fact that Crowley never told him how he’d been treated in Heaven, Crowley never told him he was at risk of being erased from the Book of Life, Crowley never told him what had he saw in Heaven’s Confidential Files, etc.

I simply won’t take you seriously.

[alargehunkofdebris]

Aziraphale’s reaction to the kiss: A Breakdown (that’s it that’s the reaction.)

A lot of people say that this anguish Aziraphale feels after the kiss is due to this feeling of “Why now? Why didn’t you do this before, when I wanted you to?” And I think that can be part of it, for sure. But man, that’s just one part of this gigantic, writhing ball of emotions in Aziraphale in that moment, all of them fighting each other, all of them painful. I’m going to breakdown the breakdown, because writing essays analyzing the minds of fictional characters is apparently all I want to do these days. Also, judging by this absolute nutball of a season that confirmed literally multiple “bit of a stretch” deep dives, I feel I can ignore that little voice whispering “this is silly” into my ear. I can dive as deep as I want, because there goes Neil Gaiman with an aqualung, swimming deeper.  

So. The kiss, and why Aziraphale looks so gosh darned sad about it. 

First of all, there’s shock. Major shock. Because despite everything, he still likely never thought this would ever actually happen. (Him and me both.) Or maybe – a small maybe, but a maybe that I might put a dollar on, if the odds were good – the idea of kissing Crowley never occurred to his conscious brain before at all. He’s so good at compartmentalizing and denying that it’s very possible he’s managed to nip every intrusive thought before it went far enough to be fully conscious.

Then, there’s fear of being seen. (“Who is watching? Will the Metatron see? He only allowed me to work with Crowley after he regained angelic status – if he sees me and Crowley now –”) Then, a layer deeper, there’s his ever-present fear response to things going too fast, because despite how we all know he feels, he’s still not sure he’s ready for any kind of partnership, let alone one this intimate and close. Because even for humans, this is a really, really big jump – we typically don’t kiss when we haven’t even been on a date (officially) yet, and usually not before both parties admit to their feelings.

Then, even deeper, is that anguished, heartbroken “Why now? My God, why now?” response, because his subconscious has always wanted this, but also knows that this is the worst possible time for it to happen, and now he’s lost that first kiss with Crowley—the one he wanted, anyway. The one that was supposed to be filled with joy, and is instead marked with the worst pain he’s ever felt.

Then there’s the second “Why now” response, and this is where I might be dipping a toe into the Hot Take puddle. Because I think there’s that knee-jerk fear response he’s yet to shake, and which overtakes his rational thinking whenever he’s terrified of Heaven or unsure of himself. It’s the suspicion he’s always held of Crowley. He’s thinking “Why now?” as in, “Is this the temptation that God and Heaven warned me about? Is this Crowley the Serpent, fulfilling his duty? Is this the true proffered apple, a kiss that’s meant to keep me from serving Heaven? Is he tempting me, knowing how I feel, knowing I’m weak?”

That’s the true anguish of this scene, I think. He’s fighting all these feelings, but on top is this old fear, this old anger and suspicion of Crowley, assuming he’s lying. Demons lie, Crowley admitted it himself. Crowley is the original Serpent of Eden, designed to tempt people away from God. And this feeling is what’s on top, because the alternative is…what? That Crowley actually feels this way? That Crowley, a demon, loves him, Aziraphale, enough to be this vulnerable, with no wicked ulterior motive? Aziraphale is a lot of things, but he’s certainly not a being who thinks he’s desirable. He sees himself as opposite to Crowley, and if Crowley is temptation personified, Aziraphale is then the personification of undesirableness. Deep down, this idea of the Serpent of Eden being tempted by him, Aziraphale, is simply ludicrous.

And then there’s self-hatred that he even thinks this thought of his friend, then suspicion, then fear again, then confusion, then anguish, then fear, then pain, and so on. All of this happens in a few seconds, and all of it coalesces into a singular takeaway: “This is the worst.” And because the one who technically caused it is Crowley, Aziraphale does what he does very well: he forgives Crowley, because he’s too prim and angelic to say “Goddamn you,” which is what he truly means. Goddamn you for making me feel this way. Goddamn you for making me doubt you. Goddamn you for forcing this option on me, when I can no longer take it, and when I don’t even know if it’s real. Goddamn you for putting this apple in my hands when we both know I can’t eat it. Goddamn you for reminding me that no matter what, it is not in my stars to live a happy life. 

[aihaloos]

Tempted to write a replaced au twst fic where Yuu (or alternatively, I'll use my Yuu, Riyuu, who is basically who I'm writing this for) used to be the cutest girl around, the cheery one who's always around everyone, the one you can't seem to dislike even if your crush falls for her because she earnestly says sorry (even though it's not her fault) and will always help you out if you need her back in her old school. But one day, a new girl comes around and her whole reputation got destroyed. She helps the new girl adjust, tells her all the rumours and introduces her to all the popular kids. But the girl ends up backstabbing her, telling the popular girls rumours about how she intentionally plays up the act to steal their crushes to her, and lies to the boys, telling them she's just playing with their hearts and that she's a horrible person.

Yuu ends up alone and excluded, being seen as "annoying" and only having a few close friends who doesn't really interact with her in public in fear of their reputation being ruined. She ends up miserable at school, and wishes to not go anymore. But one day comes a saving grace, she gets whisked by a mysterious black carriage into Twisted Wonderland, or more specifically, Night Raven College. She doesn't mind working if it meant she doesn't have to deal with her old school, there was still 1 and a half years left of school and she doesn't want to deal with all ghe group projects to be assigned that will inevitably end with everyone not wanting to team up with her. Plus, as annoying Grim is, he's like the animal friend all of the anime and storybook protagonists she knows has, and she doesn't mind him too much.

Some things did change after she and Grim got officially enrolled, but she had no problem adapting to the social expectations of the world, part time jobs with Sam -- and occasionally the canteen -- paid enough to get her tools for cooking basic but delicious food, and new friends without the weight of her past helped her get settled comfortably.

The existence of Overblots stunned her for a bit, but a peek into Riddle and Leona's memories helped her understand the concept, even if just a little. However, things began to change eerily simlarly to her old school when a new girl comes, also in a similar position to her, getting transported to a new, unfamilliar world, and seemingly hailing from a similar world to the Earth she knows. She warmly welcomes her, eager to finally befriend another girl, but it seems that the girl does not share the same enthusiasm.

The girl only barely responds to Yuu's attempts at forming a friendship, and always seems to talk her in a condescending way, and often dismisses her, and especially so whenever there are any boys around.

Yuu will not deny any statements claiming she's an attention seeker or that she plays up her sweet innocent girl act, but she knows to never, ever sacrifice a bystander for it. But if someone insists on war with her... well that's another, different story. She's learnt her lesson of being overly optimistic, and she will not make the same mistake twice. She will not let her make her life a living hell more than it already is with Crowley's irresponsibleness.

Aaand thus begins the story. Or well, however you wanna continue it. I'm honestly in favour of most Housewardens (Kalim, Vil, and Idia in particular. I'll put my reasoning in a few paragraphs down) Adeuce, Tweels, and Ortho for team Yuu. Why?

Well, first of all, Adeuce. This is mostly because the duo is like. with Yuu since Day 1, as much of a bitch as Ace is, I think those two are the most likely to trust and know Yuu well enough to not believe the lies R (< Replacer) tells. Especially Deuce, he doesn't want to betray a friend he knew for quite a while, that would not be very honor student-like of him!! And she helped him out in a lot of situations too! He doesn't want to hurt you after all the trouble you go through to help him, and also knowing how horrible your living conditions are. Ace would most likely give in to peer pressure if the student body is overwhelmingly in favour of R, but as of now, he maybe enjoys your company just a bit more than R. Just a bit, promise.

Tweels I feel like is self-explanatory. Those two are perceptive as fuck istg it scares me. Jade especially. I feel like the two would just toy with R for a bit despite her facade and lies before dropping her after she bothers them for attention and favours one too many times.

(Ortho ties in with Idia so I'll explain him in Idia's paragraph)

Kalim is actually very emotionally intelligent. He can come off annoying and stupid, but from all the scenes I see of him, he's actually really good at dealing with people. Have you seen how he deals with the Scarabia residents after Jamil's OB??? The way he phrases his sentences?? He didn't force or even plead with them to forgive Jamil, he simply asks them to wait before making permanent judgements, and I think he's gonna be uncomfy with how condescendingly R talks to Yuu, and even if he's used to people going after him for money, I feel like R mostly eyeing him for money and how she "secretly" sighs in annoyance everytime she goes out of the party for a "bathroom break" will only solidify his dislike/discomfort, even if he doesn't show it.

Vil is also kind of self-explanatory if you read into his character and not just the shell the official English localization makes for him. (I could rant for hours about how the official tl portrays his character istg. He's hardworking and he actually didn't attempt to poison Neige out of pure jealousy, he did it because he felt like all his efforts to be beautiful will never be able to surpass Neige, who, in his eyes, always seemed to be innocent and naturally beautiful. He feels like the villain in Neige's story. He feels like he is reduced to what he often plays as, a snobbish, overconfident villain obsessed with overthrowing the hero. And because of it, it became a twisted self-fulfilling prophecy, pushing him to, in a fit of despair, be that same villain everyone sees him as.) I really don't think he will take well to R's condescension to Yuu, who genuinely wants to befriend R. (I actually have a whole thing in my head where Yuu and Vil occasionally have sleepovers where they do skincare together after the whole VDC thing happened. I feel like this is also a "vent sesh" of sorts for the both of them, just to air out their grievances without much seriousness, and I think Yuu would admit to wanting a fellow girl in the school that she could befriend, since no matter what, being the only girl can be exhausting.) Ik Vil's not a girl but he is such a girls' girl istg.

Idia... this mostly ties into Ortho and The STYX Incident, but like,, I think we can all agree on this one,, Idia is smart and capital V Very pessimistic. Would you rather trust the girl you've known for a while, who saw your memories, who helped you in awkward social situations when she can and is besties with your brother or some random new girl who trash talks said girl behind her back? The former, right? Plus, even if Yuu did only hang out with him and his brother because she likes to secretly laugh at him behind his back, there's mo guarantee R wouldn't do the same, given his experience. And he would rather have someone who actively helps him and his brother out than someone who wouldn't.

I didn't put Malleus in because of how canon him actually treats Yuu. I feel like the fandom kind of put on rose-tinted glasses on with his character, and kind of ignored some things like, idk... him just leaving them to fend for themselves homeless during Octavinelle... maybe he thought Crowley would offer them a place to stay but like... I'm still bothered by how didn't atleast offer a spare room in Diasomnia. He's a housewarden goddamnit. He's not as distant or scary as the rumours say but like. still rubbed me the wrong way.

Anyways I don't think my attention span will let me write it to completion so if anyone likes this and wants to write it feel free. Pls tag me if you do tho. I would love to read it :3

[mellosdrawings]

Twisted boys worst to best, GO!!

I'll make it my fav to my meh if thats fine with you. I fear I would spend hours on a detailed analysis for what I consider to be perfect chara design and motivations otherwise.

-Azul (perfect, 12/10, makes my autism go brr, I still need to do that full analysis for him because I love him too much and have too many thoughts, must pull)

-Jamil (perfect, 11/10, someone please give this man freedom and his weight in cookies, must pull)

-Cater (perfect, 10/10, flashy guy with completely dead eyes, reminds me of Childe, pull if possible)

-Rook (perfect, 10/10, makes my autism go brr, perfect world view ideology, rewired my brain chemistry, pull if possible)

-Idia (perfect, 10/10, peak brother, family angst makes my heart go brr, insufferable asshole, pull if possible)

-Jade (9/10, creepy, would go mushroom hunting with him so we could see who's the most autistic about fungi, sometimes pull)

-Vil (9/10, perfection, made me fall in love instantly during his chapter despite me expecting to dislike him, fawn whenever I see him, pull if possible)

-Leona (8/10, absolute asshole, insufferable dick, wish his flashback was done better so we could see how horrendous it could have truly been, plan on rewriting something someday about that, should be on the pull if possible list but I have no self control for this fucker so I always pull for him)

-Riddle (7/10, made me fall in love with the game, used to kin him in all the wrong ways lol, would've overblotted too in his place, no pull)

-Ruggie (7/10, freaky evil little guy syndrome, has the funniest synergy with Leona, love him, would pull for him if I was rich)

-Kalim (10/10, best character ever and people underestimate him and his potential too much, would smother him in kisses, despite being perfect he is still low on the list coz I'm a mess, sometimes pull)

-Floyd (7/10, creepy asshole, love his mood swings and how everybody just works around it, perfect trio with the two others, sometimes pull)

-Deuce (6/10, lovely little mama boy, doing his best, I want to cheer for him, no pull)

-Trey (6/10, perfect house husband, love how hard he tries to be normal even though he's just as much a freak as everybody else, no pull though was tempted once)

-Sebek (5/10, I see potential but I'm not yet familiar with him, golden retriever vibe, would give him a smooch, no pull though I was tempted once)

-Silver (5/10, not familiar with him yet but he has very interesting themes, no pull)

-Epel (5/10, little dick, needs to learn to move past his misogyny and I love that theme for him, but keeps being done dirty by the story who refuses to have him learn the lesson, no pull)

-Lilia (4/10, should be one of my fav coz I absolutely love the "retired war god who settled down to become a father" trope, but I just can't get the spark with him for some reason..., no pull though I was tempted once)

-Ortho (5/10, best baby bro, has a lot of potential, but rarely ever used properly, no pull)

-Jack (4/10, best tsundere boy but kinda boring in my opinion, no pull)

-Ace (5/10, very good character but I would've blocked him so hard coz I can't stand that kind of behavior lol, no pull)

-Malleus (3/10, just like Lilia his trope is usually one I love but I seriously can't care about him no matter how hard I try, no pull)

Others:

-Crowley (10/10, peak character, would punch him in the face if he was real, must pull)

-Sam (9/10, very interesting, would love to see his card or have him more often on screen, would pull)

-Crewel (9/10, dom daddy, gives a mix of Vil and Leona vibe lol, must pull)

-Trein (9/10, father and widower, cat dad, would make him tea and scones, must pull)

-Vargas (3/10, surprisingly one dimensional when the game is so good at fully fleshing its characters, waiting to see more)

-Rollo (9/10, absolute asshole, desperately needs a hug and therapy, should also probably go in prison lol, very interesting fodder for Idia, would have pulled if I had any extra gems)

-Fellow and Gidel (10/10, brothers, assholes, completely out if it and loving them for it, still need to read their stories but I already love them, must pull)

-Skully/Skelly (10/10, looks like the weirdest little shit, super cringe, already loving him but still need to see, must pull)

[aziraphales-library]

Hello :)

Can the mods please recommend any somnophila fics?

I remember one where Crowley was temping Aziraphale in his sleep but that's all I really remember

Thank you

P.S. I love your work this acc keeps me sane

Hi. Here are some somnophilia fics for you. Mind the tags, folks!...

Sweet Dreams Are Made of This by Starlightdreamerstar (E)

Aziraphale read about a new carnal pleasure he’s desperate to try, luckily for him Crowley is happy to indulge his angel.

The Night Comes Down Like Heaven by MoonGoddex (E)

"You might want to double check I've locked the door once I'm gone, just in case I've been forgetful." "Right." Crowley stared him down. "I'm sure you won't forget. Because who knows what a demon could do to a sleeping angel." --- Aziraphale feigns a nap. Crowley does what demons are supposed to do with that kind of vulnerability.

Ecstasy and Exorcism by Cunninglinguist (E)

Crowley had been out for what he presumed to be 9 hours or so, peacefully drifting in darkness, enjoying the nothingness of sleep, when a dream began to take shape. It wasn’t visual as much as it was entirely sensory: a palpable presence, warm weight at his back. The smell of vanilla cream and mahogany and old books, deeply comforting, devoid of the loathed night terror’s trademark fear. Crowley sighed in contentment. Aziraphale. For as utterly horrifying as his subconscious could be, it could be just as lovely. Alternatively: Aziraphale takes advantage of Crowley while he's sleeping. Crowley is flattered.

Plausible Deniability by GayDemonicDisaster (E)

Aziraphale didn’t sleep. He didn’t really see the point. But he owned a bed. And he sometimes lay in it, and closed his eyes... For longer than he can remember, there's been a secret relationship with Crowley. But if he can't see it, then it can't be real, can it? So long as he pretends he's dreaming, it'll all be just fine. This fic does reference use of BSL/deafblind manual alphabet. Neither ineffable is deaf or blind, but alternative forms of communication are important to them, for reasons which will become apparent. They also use custom signals of their own that do not correlate to BSL signs, and likely predate them by centuries. You don't need to know any of them for the fic however, all are written in plain English.

Latent by SmutKeeper (E)

Crowley suspects that Aziraphale has a somnophilia kink and tries to tempt him into acting on it.

The Art of Temptation by Ineffably_Yours (E)

Sleeping was more complicated than Aziraphale first thought. It was hard to figure out what was real and what was a dream. Crowley wasn't making it any easier either, grinding against him in the dead of the night and making the angel feel things that he didn't understand. He'd like to say that he didn't give in to the Temptation, but the angel was so weak when it came to the demon he loved. In his defense, he thought he was dreaming. At first. (In which Crowley is a teasing little shit as he sleeps and Aziraphale makes a lot of bad choices.)

- Mod D

[vidavalor]

The Gabriel's Trial Video

Say you're The Metatron...

Why would you send your minion Saraqael to make sure that Crowley was shown the footage of Gabriel's trial and then let him go back and tell everyone about it?

Especially when the only person who comes out looking great in it is Gabriel and the rest of you just look like the evil fucks that you are?

What is the advantage to The Metatron?

It's this bit:

The Metatron knows they'll never convince Crowley that they're not evil (because they are) but if their temptation of Aziraphale is going to be successful, then Satan is going to have to make it look genuine by letting Aziraphale go talk it over with Crowley first.

As we've seen before back in 1.01, Satan can possess and control Crowley against his will if he is able to look at him. He has to be there in the room with him-- and, indeed, he does just that again in 2.06.

He takes over Crowley and tells Crowley that he's The Metatron, which also effectively makes Crowley incapable of considering the idea that this being is anyone but The Metatron for the rest of the season. Satan then has Crowley identify him to the angels as The Metatron-- all of whom cannot recognize him because they are not familiars of The Devil.

The Big Villain Music shows up in the moment that he forces Crowley to stay in the chair and not accompany or follow them so he can tempt Aziraphale:

Like we said, though, in order to have a shot at convincing Aziraphale that he's really The Metatron and that the job offer is real, Satan will have to leave Crowley and Aziraphale alone in the bookshop to discuss it. Satan can watch them-- and does-- but he can't possess and control Crowley unless he's looking at him directly. It's the biggest potential hurdle in Satan and The Metatron's plan. As a result, it matters to Satan and The Metatron what Crowley thinks the risks of the Supreme Archangel position are because if Crowley has a solid argument against that could dissuade Aziraphale, it will be harder for Aziraphale's temptation to be successful.

Showing Crowley the Gabriel trial video was meant to convince him of something that is actually true, which is that the Supreme Archangel position comes with immunity from being sent to Hell. It was to try to allay Crowley's fears about Satan getting ahold of Aziraphale which, as we know, is one of Crowley's worst nightmares-- maybe even his very worst.

Crowley does see that it wouldn't benefit The Metatron to send The Supreme Archangel to Hell... However, Crowley, wisely, doesn't believe that Gabriel's old job doesn't come with immunity from death, though, because his "oh, you are too cute" response to Muriel's whew! reaction to The Metatron's stated punishment for Gabriel was to lightly punch their arm in a way that showed he thought them naive.

Crowley believes that if The Metatron ever got his hands on Gabriel again, he'd try to kill him, but he is convinced from the trial video of the one, true thing that The Metatron's ever really said, which is that it is a political liability for him to keep casting Supreme Archangels to Hell left and right. Doing it once gave him a good story to use to keep the angels in line but more than that and it becomes apparent pretty quickly that The Metatron is the problem and not the angels and that threatens The Metatron's power as it could lead to a revolution.

The Metatron and Satan depend upon one another being in power to keep their own power so they've teamed up for this one so they can get revenge on these rebelling angels and demons and finally get their Armageddon on.

The Metatron is assisting Satan's temptation of Aziraphale by showing Crowley this video.

What our villains have greatly underestimated, though, is Crowley's ability to find something new and terrifying to have an anxiety attack over. They didn't anticipate that he have been stressed half to death for the prior week over a thing that doesn't exist that he and Beez made up ages ago-- The Book of Life. They're just like ok, we showed Crowley the movie, that should do it. They achieved their goal in proving to Crowley that anyone who has the position of Supreme Archangel won't be tossed to Hell because that much is true.

Crowley is just too fixated on The Book of Life being the threat to notice that there's no surety that the job offer itself is genuine.

Between the video and Satan influencing Crowley to believe that he's really The Metatron, Satan and The Metatron have tricked Crowley into believing that the job offer is genuine and that Aziraphale won't be at risk of being tossed to Hell...

...which is pretty ironic, considering that's actually exactly what's happening.

[a-cure-for-hysteria]

Crowley attracts neurodivergents because he smells like us.

(Expanding on my previous rant about how we see ourselves in him). No, not saying he's autistic coded or anything like that, just that - and you probably don't struggle to see where this is going - he kinda portrays several very common autistic experiences. 1: First, he's a naïve 'kid', clearly with a special interest (machines and building things), something he's very skilled at. He assumes he's allowed to ask questions about Creation, not trying to hide his frustration when he doesn't understand why things are the way they are. He does not mask. 2: Then, he's cast out of Heaven with the rest of the angels who asked questions, after them having waged a war on Heaven (?). He fights for good, he wants justice no matter what. 3: After the Fall, his naïvety is gone, replaced by bitterness and cynicism - but even on the walls of Eden, he's still nice to someone who presumably never hurt him. 4: We see him turning into a snake at will in Eden. He slithers around, tempting Eve, pulls strings - still, for justice. He has started masking, and does it well, but believes he does it for good. 5: Throughout history, he mostly spends his time alone or in situations that don't offer connection with others, completing tasks for Hell, gradually losing his sense of self. He still cares, he still want's to be a good person, but he doesn't know what "good" is. Everyone's a hypocrite, and he feels all alone. All he has is his sense of justice, and he comes to believe that he can only trust himself. 6: Aziraphale, arguably also portraying several common autistic experiences, is the only person who understands Crowley. Possibly because he has a different trauma to that of Crowley's, but definitely still a trauma caused by Heaven. Aziraphale knows WHY one masks in Heaven, something Crowley learns too late. 7: Crowley wants to isolate from the world, is angry, traumatized and wants nothing to do with Heaven or Hell. At some point, this requires him opening up just a little to that other weirdo he keeps running into, and they form a partnership - initially only because of common interests. I might be reaching here, but a lot of autistic people have "common interest acquaintances" morph into friendships, they often can't be friends with just anyone. They need a good reason to. And Crowley and Aziraphale's shared desire to do as little as possible (and later, save the world) is such a common interest. 8: Via engaging through their common interest, Crowley opens up more and more. Again, we see the naivety we witnessed earlier (In The Beginning, S2E1) - that happy kid who just enjoyed seeing his machinations take form. For him to dare a romantic relationship with Aziraphale, it is essential for Crowley to (at least begin to) heal the trauma caused by Heaven. Him allowing himself to experience pure, naïve excitement is a prerequisite for love, I think. Without this change, he will be on his toes at all times, never letting his guard down. 9: He finally reaches a point where he forces himself open, out of desperation. It wasn't done right - it was done with fear and anger, but he was vulnerable enough, and finally naïve enough to try. This was immediately punished by Aziraphale, who abandoned him (not necessarily what happened, but definitely what Crowley feels). 10: And so, Crowley might retreat back into his hard, cynical shell, having lost the only person who gets him. Better just self-medicate, with alcohol and whatever else not shown on screen that I can promise you Crowley does. It's the "autistic, care-free kid to bitter, cynical, functional addict/goth-adult"-pipeline.

[carrieblmt]

The Name Change…🐍

This blindsided my brain yesterday, so of course I had to rewatch several GO clips/episodes to be sure my brain was braining correctly. And now that I know it is, here’s my most recent epiphany. It involves Crowley’s name change.

Here we have the demonic CRAWLEY, with an A…

…fairly fresh from crawling & slithering around Eden & causing the Fall of Man.

He meets angelic Aziraphale…with whom it can be argued he is immediately smitten when he learns that Aziraphale has just given away his flaming sword:

TELL ME this isn’t the face of a demon in love. You look me in the eye and TELL ME!

Oooo, he’s got it bad.

Fast forward a couple thousand years, and our heroes meet again on the eve of The Flood, where Crawley is still Crawley…

…popping up behind Aziraphale & recognizing him immediately. He expresses his regret that kids are going to be killed in the flood, and we start to sense maybe this demon’s not really quite so terrible. It gives Aziraphale something to think about, too.

The next time our duo come face to face, Crawley has been given a permit to destroy the goats, geese, property & children of blameless Job…

BUT…..does he really WANT to? After all, the goats & geese & kids are just as blameless as Job, maybe even moreso.

And Aziraphale clearly agrees. Not only that, in just the couple interactions he’s had so far with this Fallen Angel, he’s seen Crawley’s ‘soft side.’ AND he remembers the angel Crawley USED to be. So he calls him out on it…

Crawley unflinchingly asserts that he LONGS to strike down the blameless children of blameless Job, leaving Aziraphale to walk away with his head hung low as he questions his character judgement of Crawley. But just moments before he leaves the courtyard, he hears a bleating coming from some crows…and in moments, he’s miracled away the illusion that Crawley had created to disguise Job’s blameless goats.

TELL ME this isn’t the satisfied face of someone whose character judgement has turned out to be correct after all.

Crawley then goes on to help save Job’s children from destruction; and along with the assistance of a lie from Aziraphale, he returns them to Job & Sitis no worse for the wear.

Later, he helps allay Aziraphale’s fears of going to Hell by telling him that *he* won’t tell Hell about Aziraphale’s lie if Aziraphale won’t tell Heaven. And thus, a rather unlikely friendship is born.

NOW we come to the good part.

Ah, who have we here? At their very next meeting following the Job escapade?

Why, it’s Aziraphale and Crawley!

Wait…no. It’s CROWley now…because CRAWLey sounds too slithery.

But is that all? Nay, I say:

CRAWLey dredges up images of him slithering & crawling through Eden tempting Eve and causing Man to Sin.

CROWley, however, brings to mind the scenes of him sparing Job’s goats by turning them into CROWS…and the further moments when he also saved Job’s children.

This big, bad demon wants this glorious angel to REMEMBER THE GOOD IN HIM—and, perhaps, even remind Crowley himself…?—EVERY TIME THE ANGEL SAYS HIS NAME.

CRAWLEY: BAD.

CROWLEY: CAPABLE OF GOOD.

Remember that, Angel.

Headcanon accepted?

[shinjisdone]

More Female MC brain rot thoughts pls?🤲🥺

I take it for TWST? Ngl my brainrot is running low...mostly because imo being female in twst is just a little "difference" for characters and Settings where these differences are valued/seen and therefore treated differently. No one would outwardly be different or not in character just because you or MC is female.

MUST PROTECC GIRL BCUZ THEY GIRL:

Ace (ur his best friend and the school is filllled with jerks who'd see u being a girl in NRC is a reason to bother u for. Course he gotta protect you! Would not treat u differently)

Deuce (is aware how vicious bullies can become when they see an "anomaly" around to feel powerful of. He was one himself. Also tends to think that Girls just need protection in general. Gets real serious and panicky real quick when u are in trouble. Will beat ppl up for you)

Riddle (confused on why ppl are/would be bothering you??? Do they not have manners??? Will not treat you differently, let alone not follow the rules, but is aware that you might have a hard time as the only female. Will make sure you aren't bothered and follow the rules but expects you to give your best just like any other student)

Trey (very chill. Knows you might have a hard time and rather indirectly lends a shoulder. Is emotional Support unlike Riddle who would cuff anyone who is mean to you)

Jack (a good boy who hates the injustice in this school in general. Just looks out for you but wouldn't be in your face like ADeuce)

Azul (once he takes a liking to you of course. Will Trick ppl and condemn them to a 'poor unfortunate soul' by having them work in Monstro Logue and give you free Drinks served by the bullies (once ☝️ the next one u will pay))

Malleus (he would protect u regardless but end up believing that women need to be protected ALL the time just cuz u got in trouble ONE TIME (and then another...and another...) and will kinda hover over ur shoulder as ur??? Protector???)

Sam (looks out for you and is ready to lend and ear but it'll cost ya)

Vargas (No STUDENT SHALL FEEL UNWELCOMED, HE WILL DO EVERYTHING TO HAVE U FIT IN)

YOURE A GIRL? HAW-HAW:

Leona (While he does respect women, he likes to make fun of you SO MUCH. Its too tempting, too funny, too entertaining. He won't disrespect you and will talk more normaly with you than others but when he sees an opportunity to make fun of you? He seizes it, be prepared.)

Ruggie somewhat (Like, he's not scared of you. Will always put up a front of being strong and in a group and if he needs you to fear him or not take him too lightly and targeting you based on your gender will help him get there, he will use the opportunity to be mean.)

Floyd (not in a mean-spirited way but more like a 'OMG a girl in an all-boys-academy! Thats so funny! Hey, hanging out with you must be interesting, right?' Just teases you to get you riled up, nothing personal.)

Jade (also just to rile you up but less mean and direct than Floyd. Just wants to have fun with you.)

Crowley (would sometimes make jokes and think theyre funny - they are not and Ace tells him off)

MAY DAY MAY DAY, A GIRL HAS ENTERED THE CHAT:

Idia (first goes HUUHH??? what are YOU doing here???? But will calm down. Girls aren't super scary but he is sure to keep his distance just like he does with everyone else.)

Rook (more fascinated than anything. You being here must be fate! Ah, he shall watch you very closely to see what your destiny has in store.)

I literally do not care:

Jamil (he has so much on his plate that meeting you for the first time will just have him raise a brow before returning to his food umbothered. He already has to deal with Kalim dont become a Problem child too.)

Kalim (Will go 'Oh!' Before promptly bot caring that you are a girl. So what? Friends are friends and he wants to be yours!)

Vil (just...dont care. Hes got his business to take care of and not enough time to take a look at you 💅)

Epel (is kinda surprised but then just is not and wont care but will protect you when you need him. It makes him feel STRONK and MANLY.)

Ortho

Silver (would notice it and promptly fall asleep after)

Lilia

Sebek (*grabs by the neck, shaking u* HUMAN IS HUMAN AND A NUISANCE TO WAKA-SAMA)

Cater I think wouldnt????

Crewel (puppy is puppy and puppy must O B E Y)

Grim (henchwoman is henchwoman and must give T U N A)

Trein

[sunderwight]

finally put my finger on something that's been bugging me about people going "aziraphale is allowed to make mistakes!" (totally true) but then almost always following it up with "crowley makes mistakes as well!" (also true, but...)

the thing is, crowley's mistakes are totally irrelevant to the conversation about aziraphale's mistakes.

it feels kind of like there's this tendency to reach over and be like, see, aziraphale's not making a uniquely bad mistake here, crowley has also made mistakes, so it evens out and ergo no one is worse than anyone else! and that's what's important! keeping everything perfectly balanced at all times is the only way to have a healthy relationship!

but a relationship is not only "equal" if everyone's always got comparable successes and failures at all times. even if we give crowley the moral high ground for the last bit of s2, that doesn't mean aziraphale is put in the red in some kind of cosmic ledger system that he subsequently needs to atone for. that kind of thinking is in fact some of the thinking that the show is positing as a problem.

aziraphale can "do the bad thing" and still not be a bad guy. we've seen that throughout history, he's struggled to reconcile himself to his own imperfections. it's in fact deeply uncomfortable for him to contemplate being really, seriously wrong, making a truly wrong decision, because he's learned to equate that with falling. if he does bad things, makes big mistakes, then he should stop being an angel, shouldn't he? that's how it went for crowley, after all. but for crowley's part the worries around doing troublesome is completely different. that's just a fear of retribution if hell finds out, not an internal conflict within himself. not like how it is for aziraphale. crowley's afraid of getting caught, not afraid of what his choices actually say about him.

deep down, aziraphale knows that he's fallible. he knows it better than he'd like to, I think. but he also thinks that he's not supposed to be. so he's terrified of it. it's a big source of anxiety for him, and I think an underappreciated aspect of his dynamic with crowley is that even though crowley also knows aziraphale has flaws and doesn't judge him for them (even likes him for them), crowley is a demon, so his acceptance is also troubling sometimes. the being aziraphale agrees with nine times out of ten and whose judgment he trusts more than anyone else's, is a demon. someone who is supposed to be "evil", who lived through aziraphale's nightmare scenario as a result of his opinions. so what does that say about aziraphale? of course, it's actually really good for him that crowley accepts him. someone should! but it's not easy for aziraphale to accept that acceptance... erm, sort of.

ironically aziraphale's fear of making big mistakes actually leaves him more vulnerable to doing that, because he doesn't fully trust himself or particularly want to introspect either. he's willing to be swayed by manipulative people telling him what he wants to hear. sometimes that's frivolous, like crowley tempting him with something he likes, and sometimes it's serious, like the metatron offering him a "promotion" on a silver platter with an apparent solution to several other dilemmas too.

personally, I think that it's a fitting part of aziraphale's journey if he's just made a big, unambiguous mistake. I think he's overdue for one of those. because that's how we get to the point where he can confront his fear of them. if this isn't another one of those grey area situations like the sword or the many times he's lied to heaven or waffled back and forth over topics like grave robbing and medical advancements, if this just ends up being a fucking disaster of a decision, he will have to go through that and realize that he's still loved. he's still himself. he didn't suddenly become a villain or monster. he just made a bad call in a tough situation. happens all the time!

and none of that ought to be compared with crowley also making mistakes, because it's established that crowley, a demon, has already fucked around and found out. he doesn't need to learn that he can make mistakes, he's not on the same part of this personal journey as aziraphale. if anything, crowley needs to learn that he can actually succeed in changing things for the better sometimes, and that it's always worth it to try.

[aithusarosekiller]

A little thing to think about that makes me love the Crowley=Raphael hc. (This isn’t canon and I don’t claim it to be, it’s just random crap I’ve strung together for fans of the headcanon.)

Put yourself in the shoes of Satan. You are, from what we can gather, a fallen Angel, and we can also safely assume that you were previously Samael, a fallen archangel. You fell from heaven to become Satan, ruler of Hell and King of demons. All other demons are fallen angels, you are the only ex-Archangel, which could very well give you more power and influence over them, and, for the sake of this post, that power would stop the chance of revolts against you. They are demons, after all, they aren’t supposed to be kind and loyal. But there is an issue, when your brother Raphael goes missing from heaven, after following your footsteps and -you discover- falling to hell. Partially your fault of course, he always looked up to you, but that is unimportant.

You now have a dilemma. You are no longer the only archangel, and fear that Raphael could potentially overthrow you. You must find somewhere to assign him to ensure you keep your place at the top of hell. You could trust him fully, and keep him by your side. You could pretend he is the same as all the other demons and hope for the best.

Or you could assign him to earth to keep him away from you. Give him tasks to keep him busy, stop him from seeing too much of the other demons. He’s changed his name to Crawly, and then again to Crowley, so nobody knows who he is, not even heaven.

He’s still your brother of course, so you entrust him to go up to Eden and tempt Adam and Eve. You give him more chances than the other demons, letting him get away with petty temptations and tampering that other demons see as lazy. You trust him above all others to deliver your child, the Antichrist, to earth despite everything he has done and everything he has failed to do.

Whether this is truly out of brotherly trust or instead out of fear and desperation to keep him on your side doesn’t matter, because as long as you keep him away from your throne, you don’t care.

[unhealthy-reading-habits]

So after many many many meta posts I’ve been reading about Aziraphale and Crowley, one of the big turning points in their relationship I haven’t seen mention much is Aziraphale finally calling Crowley that he “knows where the anti-Christ is”.

We know the events leading up to this moment, and the devastating scene immediately after at the bookshop, but I feel it’s really worth highlighting that this a major change in Aziraphale’s and Crowley’s dynamic, namely this is the first time (that I could find) where Aziraphale went to Crowley after an argument.

For the majority of their relationship, Crowley is the initiator – he is the one that seeks out Aziraphale, for discussions or tries to get Aziraphale on board with his way of thinking (in modern era).

Garden of Eden – Crowley approaches Aziraphale

Mesopotamia – Crowley initiates the conversation

Golgotha – Crowley approaches Aziraphale again

Rome – The first time Aziraphale approaches Crowley

Wessex – Random chance (part of the ineffable plan)

The Globe Theatre – Aziraphale messages Crowley to join him at the the Globe Theatre, since Crowley comments that Aziraphale said “they would be inconspicuous here”

Bastille – Crowley saves Aziraphale

Victorian London – their first big fight, it’s implied Crowley is the one that calls Aziraphale here since he is the one requesting a favour, and ends up them both stating they didn’t need the other (first big fight)

WW2 – Crowley saves Aziraphale, Crowley hasn’t contacted or communicated with Aziraphale about being there since Aziraphale seems genuinely surprised at him appearing, and walking into desecrated ground!

1960s – Aziraphale approaches Crowley with the holy water

So as we see from the above timeline, its is established that Aziraphale CAN and WILL approach Crowley first (Rome, The Global Theatre and 1960s).

However, when they have their big fights, Crowley is the one that has to initiated the next conversation – Aziraphale, either from nervousness or fear from Heaven, does not seem willing to approach Crowley after an argument between them.

This is shown a few times over the course of the tv series as well when they have fights, Crowley is the one that has to restart their communication channels, or redirect so Aziraphale doesn’t leave.

Example 1) Victorian London to WW2 argument and resolution

Example 2) St James park in the first episode, after Crowley first proposes stopping Armageddon, Aziraphale intends to immediately leave

Crowley is the one that has to restart the communication by purposefully choosing something he knows Aziraphale will agree with

Example 3) The band stand break up – Crowley is the one that walks away from the argument but Aziraphale does not contact him again. Crowley has approach him in the Bentley outside the bookshop as a last-ditch effort to convince him to leave with him to Alpha Centauri

Now it is very obvious that Crowley is an impulsive demon. He does not think beyond Step 1.

This is shown so many times from him since the beginning (he didn’t think it was that big a deal tempting Eve - he’s admitting he didn’t think through the full consequences of what he was doing), up to the start of the current story when he is given the anti-Christ. Crowley immediately drops off the anti-Christ at the nun hospital (probably because he was being monitored by lower management) but I also think it’s because he isn’t very capable of thinking more than one step ahead.

The logical thing would be to stop and try and speak to Aziraphale first before progressing the evil plan but he goes immediately to the nuns, and only after contacts Aziraphale, at which point they have to come up with a counter plan.

While Crowley is very good at coming up with plans and ideas in the moment, it’s never with a long term multi-step plan in mind. The only “goal” he has is staying with Aziraphale.

An example of this is like in the previous Band stand -> Alpha Centauri -> Cinema scene -> Last chance to convince Aziraphale (get in the car) sequence

Crowley calls Aziraphale, again initiating the contact. He tells Aziraphale to go to the 3rd meeting point, which Crowley has memorised but Aziraphale flusters which one is correct.

At this point Aziraphale KNOWS where the anti-Christ is but during their band stand break up scene, he explicitly says several things that he knows will hurt Crowley:

There is no “our side” – but Aziraphale slips up and says “not anymore”

They cannot just leave – but Aziraphale never says he doesn’t want to leave, but rather than "there is no where to go"

“A: I don’t even like you” “C: you doooo” – Aziraphale doesn’t deny it at all but deflects that he cannot work with him, not that he doesn’t like Crowley

Now, why is this important? Because Crowley is impatient but pays attention when Aziraphale talks, and in the moment he storms off, most likely because he knows he’s going to lose his temper, but he was listening during the conversation.

It’s shown consistently in their history that when Aziraphale tells him something, Crowley remembers it, no matter how trivial, as well as repeatedly mentioning throughout the story Aziraphale’s favourite things, so specifically he knows his favourite places, specific composers, foods and activities.

I strongly suspect after leaving, and having time to clear his head, Crowley would have noted what Aziraphale did and did not say, which gives him the main thing that keeps him attached to Aziraphale; hope that they could continue to be together.

Aziraphale wants to be with Crowley, but he cannot admit it yet. Normally, Crowley would give him what he needs, time to think which before has always worked with their last big argument in Victorian London. But now they do not have the luxury of waiting for Aziraphale to process things. Armageddon is coming.

Crowley returns to his flat and falls back on his normal habit. Coming up with a last minute, not thought out plan to be with Aziraphale and he comes up with – escape with Aziraphale somewhere else, namely Alpha Centauri.

This hasn’t been mentioned before as an option (at least I don’t remember it being mentioned as a feasible option) until the band stand scene. Why? Because Crowley probably just thought it up on the spot while talking to Aziraphale then (impulsive/not thinking beyond the next step).

And because it is not a thought-out plan, Crowley couldn’t present it to Aziraphale in the correct way which would normally work in getting Aziraphale on his side. Contrast with episode 1 re avert Armageddon, Crowley knew what to say and delay for time so he can work on Aziraphale to get him to agree. But in this instance, they don’t have time, Crowley didn’t know what to say to convince him (and it could be argued that he says the “wrong” thing in this instance by saying they have been “friends” for 6000 years), so Aziraphale dismisses it.

If the escape plan was an option 11 years ago at the start of this crisis, Crowley might have had enough time to convince Aziraphale, but he doesn’t right now, he’s just running on instinct and first thoughts are being acted out rather than thinking it through.

While Aziraphale says he doesn’t know where the anti-Christ is (a lie), Crowley has no reason not to believe him. Crowley could have kept trying to find the anti-Christ after Aziraphale says it is over, but now Crowley has abandoned all the previous plans to avert Armageddon to follow through with the new plan; running away with Aziraphale.

As soon as he found a likely candidate (and a little soul searching chat with God) he then goes… to a movie theatre? Why? The doomsday clock is ticking, and he’s wasting time in a movie theatre, what’s the motivation here?

Because he knows he has to give Aziraphale time to calm down. After every big fight in the past (and from the “you go too fast for me Crowley” comment) Crowley has learnt he has to give Aziraphale time to process his emotions before he approaches him again. He’s very conscious of not upsetting his angel, of not pushing too far as his biggest fear is Aziraphale never talking to him again.

It’s only after the movie scene and Hastur warns Crowley that Hell knows and is coming after him now that he impulsively goes to Aziraphale immediately. This is not following the rulebook the both of them have set over the millennia but Crowley is out of time and out of options, and in his desperation all he can do is follow the plan (the one-sided plan he’s made up on the spot in his head the day before) of get his angel and go to Alpha Centauri.

Aziraphale is most likely still reeling from their previous break up, and all the issues with Heaven’s indifference to the suffering the war will cause and his crisis of faith, when Crowley appears too soon and too forcefully.

Crowley opens with a pet name, apologises (badly) then very badly tries to emotionally manipulate Aziraphale to go with him now “work with me here, I’m apologising here, yes? Good, get in the car”.

The usual suave, manipulative Crowley is completely out of the window because of his distress, the only driving force is “get the angel, then get out”. Aziraphale hasn’t even spoken yet and Crowley has already had the entire conversation of “convincing” Aziraphale to get to his objective with himself.

Aziraphale, rather obviously, refuses but he says something extremely telling which again I think Crowley does not realise at the time since he calls Aziraphale stupid, but after leaving (and dramatic exit monologue because of the stress he is under) he would have realised what Aziraphale was saying.

Aziraphale was still trying to find solution for them – after saying there is no “our side”, after everything Aziraphale said during the band stand, he was still trying to find a way to avert Armageddon by “talking to the right people” and even trying to find a way to talk to the Almighty herself just to get this Armageddon thing “all straighten out”, showing to Crowley just how much Aziraphale cares about him and wants to be on Earth with him.

I don’t think Crowley realises until after these interactions what Aziraphale is saying, but we know the Crowley takes in pretty much everything Aziraphale says since he can quote their conversations from the past flashbacks, but given the stress Crowley is under and his own impulsive nature, he cannot process the conversations at the time so instead leaves but then takes the information on board when making his next move.

While driving back to his apartment, suddenly the plan has changed again, running away to the stars is out and now it is avert Armageddon again - by full on killing other demons.

Crowley is now throwing his full weight behind Aziraphale and their relationship, no more towing the line between Aziraphale and keeping Hell off his back. While Hell is now aware that Crowley has messed up, and coming for him, Crowley could probably find a way to slither his way out of this situation (No, I’m not apologising for the bad snake joke).

He could also have just left, he had enough time in his flat to set a trap with holy water and the water mister bluff, if he actually wanted to leave to the stars, he could have done.

But he chooses to instead kill (and/or at least hinder) his demon trackers to buy himself and Aziraphale time, all because Aziraphale has told him he is still trying with the original “stop Armageddon” plan. After everything that happened between them and all the hurt comments, Aziraphale is still trying and that is enough to convince Crowley not to run.

And then the big moment, Crowley has killed a demon with holy water, his bluff has been called with Hastur, and Aziraphale calls him “I know where the anti-Christ is”.

Aziraphale is saying he is now fully on “our [Crowley’s] side” – can we interpret it this way? Yes!

Aziraphale explicitly told Crowley that he would never tell him where the anti-Christ is even if he knew, because they are on opposite sides.

And now Aziraphale for the first time is approaching Crowley after (two) big arguments and giving him the single piece of information that shows he is with Crowley.

Crowley seems to have the utmost trust in Aziraphale, since he doesn’t even seem to think to question if Aziraphale is right or not, if the angel says he knows, then he knows!

After trapping Hastur, his first action (again, not thinking anything through) is to go straight to Aziraphale.

Why do I say he is not thinking things through? Because trapping Hastur in an answer machine message is which is literally playing a message showing he has betrayed Hell (rather than losing the anti-Christ being just a “cock up”) is stupid and keeping him alive as a witness means it is problem that Crowley has to sort out later.

But none of that matters, because his angel is on his side and Crowley’s only objective is to be with Aziraphale.

Which makes the bookshop scene even more devastating, can you imagine the joy Crowley must be feeling while driving to the bookshop (despite the circumstances)? Aziraphale has finally moved away from abusive Heaven, shown Crowley that he trusts him and is now firmly on "our side".

Crowley was playing “You're My Best Friend” by Queen which is a love song, probably thinking that Aziraphale and him still have a chance, that hope of averting Armageddon and being together on Earth for the foreseeable future.

But then, Aziraphale isn’t picking up his phone, which makes him on edge again and when he arrives, the bookshop is on FIRE.

He never once seems to think the Aziraphale has betrayed him i.e. returned to heaven to fight or run off himself without Crowley.

Crowley truly believes that someone has killed Aziraphale, as it is the only explanation in that moment, Aziraphale was ready to be with him, them against Heaven and Hell and there was no reason for him to not be in the bookshop and the bookshop not to be on fire unless the angel was dead.

His angel is dead, nothing stings more than having your hopes raised so high and for them to be shattered.

After this harrowing moment, Crowley goes to get drunk and just wait for the end of the world. There’s no more fight, no more plans, not even try and find Aziraphale’s murderer and get revenge – the only plan was to be with Aziraphale and with that gone, he has no interest to do anything else.

I won’t go into the bar drunk scene since that’s a whole analysis on its own, but after Crowley gets hope again, that Aziraphale (even in sceptre form) is still there, or a part of him, his first thought after their chat about the book was to get to him.

Crowley says “wherever you are, I’ll come to you, where are you?”

He doesn’t think beyond the first step, he has no idea where Aziraphale is or how any of it works, but it doesn’t matter to him. Crowley’s only thought is “get to Aziraphale”.

When Aziraphale says about meeting him at the airfield, Aziraphale is noticeably upset at this and questions “why?”, he doesn’t like the idea because it goes against his one plan. But what his angel wants, his angel gets and Crowley will be at that airfield, losing one of his most precious possession in the process as Aziraphale is the number one, and only, plan.

Source of Gifs: fuckyeahgoodomens https://fuckyeahgoodomens.tumblr.com/post/633606041548079104/good-omens-gifs-masterlist

[theniceandaccurategoodomensblog]

Who was angel Crowley?

There’s a few theories floating around about exactly who angel Crowley was, as well as theories that he too experienced some kind of memory wipe during the Fall. Here is my take at the moment—

In terms of who Crowley was, I’m favouring that he was the second in command to the Supreme Archangel (who was Lucifer; now Satan). In humanity’s mind it has gotten mixed up— Lucifer and his second in command have been blended into one. We already know that humanity has blended the two angels/demons to some extent because Crowley was the Serpent. So this would be an extension of that. This would mean that Crowley likely never had a name that we would recognise. We won’t know his angel name just as we don’t know “Crowley”.

The reason I’m favouring that specific former angelic position for Crowley is:

That’s what Aziraphale (with the Metatron’s prompting) offers to Crowley. I know it doesn’t have to be the literal same position but it is so much neater, so much more poignant, so much more tempting for Aziraphale if it is. It is Aziraphale fully restoring him to his rightful place! How could Aziraphale resist that?

He’d still have been very high up indeed but Satan would be the former Prince of Heaven. This fits better I think with what we know of their relationship. Crowley is clearly terrified of Satan. I know Satan is in a position of authority over him now, but if he always was that gives this more weight and backstory to Crowley’s fear. Plus, angels/demons seem to be both organised into an authority hierarchy which is changeable and to vary in natural power which is not (as Crowley is still so powerful). It seems like the hierarchy of authority and the level of natural power were once one and the same. But after the Fall, they are not. Crowley doesn’t show the kind of fear towards Beelezebub that he shows to Satan even though they outrank him. In contrast, he initially assumes that Satan showing up simply means they “are fucked”. Is it because Satan is more powerful than him? If so, it suggests that Satan had a higher rank than Crowley in pre-Fall Heaven.

If Crowley was second in command to Lucifer and humanity has blended the two in our myths then his “it’s Lucifer and the guys” comment in season one makes complete sense without any stretching at all. It is still the case that the questioning angel piece that humanity associates with Lucifer was Crowley just as the serpent was Crowley. Lucifer then is the power-hungry, humanity-hating Lucifer.

And then- consider this—Lucifer/Satan could well have agreed to the terms of the Fall. If his aim was power this makes sense. He makes a move for ultimate power, falls a bit short but takes the offer of power over Hell as a substitute. If the creation of Hell was a deal, this explains the back channels. It explains the cooperation. Lucifer wanted power. He got power over Hell. And Heaven got an opportunity to rid itself of troublesome angels including Crowley. Real wars have ended like this. Real wars often end with everyone signing a treaty and walking away with the best deal they can broker. It is also consistent with the multiple references to 1984, which I won’t go into now but can be found here.

What does that mean for Crowley and the memory wipe? Well, that makes complete sense! Lucifer knew how troublesome Crowley would continue to be, even in Hell. So he asked for Crowley’s memory to be wiped and he sent him up to Earth as soon as possible. He figured Crowley would be less trouble to him there, away from the power structures of Hell. Plus, what Lucifer/Satan does respect in his second in command is his imagination and on Earth this could be put to good use for Hell. It’s all very neat and logical.

Have Aziraphale and Crowley actually talked about any of this? Does Aziraphale know Crowley’s memory was wiped? I doubt it. Does Crowley know that Aziraphale actually met him pre-Fall? I doubt that too. I think Crowley has remembered/worked out his former position and so when Aziraphale references the angel he was he knows Aziraphale would have known of him. But I don’t think it occurs to him that they had an entire interaction (or that Aziraphale was already crushing on him). Just another reason they are out of sync.

[aziraphales-library]

Hii, hope you're doing well!

Do you possibly have any fic recs/aus (preferably not smut but I also wouldn't mind if it is) where Heaven and Hell send Az and Crowley on the same assignments/have them working together or something and they have to pretend they hate each other/don't know each other and such? Thxs!

Hello! Here are some fics in which they work on assignments together. The pretending to hate/not know each other is more difficult to find specifically, but as it is a general element to the canon story, I'm hopeful it's in here somewhere...

Like an Earthly Nebula by Carimes_treehouse (G)

To teach Aziraphale how to do Temptations for the Arrangement, Crowley suggests they go on an assignment together. Scotland was a beautiful place, that time of year... --- Aziraphale ended his portion of the broth and Crowley slid his unfinished bowl towards him, receiving a thankful smile from the angel. They were now enveloped in silence —a comfortable sort of silence— when Aziraphale’s entire face lit up, looking directly behind Crowley and through the window. “Oh, Crowley, look!” Crowley turned around.

Joint Assignment by Calypso1012 (M)

Crowley and Aziraphale are assigned to a mission TOGETHER by Heaven and Hell. Aziraphale is extremely nervous about the assignment and seems to think that this is all just an elaborate test designed by Heaven and Hell to test their true loyalties. Crowley tries to be as patient as he can with his angel, but sometimes he just wants to kiss him until he doesn't remember what his fears even were to begin with.

Mercy by rowenablade (M)

Aziraphale and Crowley collaborate on an assignment, and Crowley takes on a bit more than he can handle. In the aftermath, Aziraphale has to face some uncomfortable truths about his feelings.

A Most Unusual Affair by clenster, HolyCatsAndRabbits (G)

Crowley was slouched on the bookshop sofa in a snake-like curl of dark clothing. It was late afternoon and the noise from the street outside was muted here in the back room. Aziraphale had welcomed the opportunity to close the shop early when Crowley had sauntered in, carrying a bottle of red wine and looking quite Tempting. Now, to clarify: the demon Crowley was, by nature, very tempting. It had always been his job, starting with Eve. But Aziraphale made a distinction in his mind between Crowley being tempting and his being Tempting. The former was innate, the latter very much Crowley’s own creative mind attempting to wile an angel into agreeing to things which he should not. There was Tempting in Crowley’s expression today. “Let’s hear it, then,” Aziraphale invited. **In the late 18th century, Aziraphale and Crowley join forces to carry out an assignment from Hell and discover a mystery on a country estate.

Job(s) by sharkie (T)

Once, Crowley and Aziraphale received the same assignment.

The longest shadows ever cast by bookmarksorganization, semperfiona_podfic (M)

For almost five years, Aziraphale has largely been avoiding Crowley—unprepared to deal with the reality of his feelings after his realization in 1941. Their paths cross in Buenos Aires, when they stumble into working the same assignment for the first time in centuries: influencing the enigmatic manager of an illegal high-stakes casino. Faced with glamour, luxury, danger, and each other, Aziraphale and Crowley find themselves dancing closer to what separates them than ever before.

- Mod D

[vidavalor]

I know you're writing a meta about it & I can be patient. 😁 Just tell me if you think they had a plan in The Final 15?

Hi there. 💕 *makes you hot chocolate with marshmallows while you're kind enough to be interested in my ramblings and to wait*

Best I can tell, yes, they each have a plan ahead of the "no nightingales" conversation and I'm pretty sure I've worked out what those plans are. (I am about 99% sure on Crowley's and about 90% on Aziraphale's.) The heartbreaking thing is that they are very, very, VERY similar plans... just with one key-- and actually really romantic-- difference. Both plans make a lot of sense, are deceptively simple, and are also based on prior stories we've seen in both seasons, if you want to start guessing while I'm working on the meta. 😊

They're both trying to covertly tell one another their plan but a series of unfortunate events and just really common human errors cause them to not understand for a time that each other even realizes that there is danger in the first place and they need to form a plan together. They basically accidentally convince one another that they are speaking in earnest when they're really actually both trying to convince each other that there's trouble and of a plan.

As a result, they wind up arguing over misconceptions of what the other is saying and neither of them realize the extent to which they're both really trying to sacrifice for one another. The nature of what they're talking about causes their worst fears to get in the way. They start to believe that each other thinks things about them that they actually do not and they get upset over not being heard. Aziraphale is tempted to go to Heaven if it's real-- because he can't not choose a situation that could allow him to make Crowley safer-- but he also doubts that it's real in the first place and he has a plan that Crowley can't hear him trying to say because Crowley is too convinced that Aziraphale is completely in earnest about what he's saying, which just gets Aziraphale angry and frustrated. Crowley feels the same way because the same thing is also happening in reverse.

They're both missing things about what each other was saying that, when they are able to speak freely and work through this in S3, will have them both swooning.

Preach it, Inspector Constable. You nailed the whole damn thing lol.

[tonydaddingham]

(1/3) Coming off anon to thank you for clarifying the nicknames! I can’t believe “Every” is unrelated to “Every Day”; that’s quite the coincidence. More importantly—I read the linked post where you coined the Feral Domestic (iconic of you), and god, your early sleep-deprived impressions still resonate so hard. (ctd.)

oh. my. word. @nimpseudo!!!✨💕 hello, hi!!! thank you so much for this lovely, lovely ask!!! god, where do i start-

first of all, thank you so much for the kind words!!! this fandom is chock full of intelligent, insightful, and observant people; it's incredibly easy to stoke the imposter syndrome when writing your own meta or analysis, especially when you anticipate it might be quite controversial. everyone sees things differently, and everyone sees things differently over time, but to have a view that might just be a bit of an outlier is doubly scary. but to know that - if even only a handful of people - resonate with my ramblings truly is what makes me keep doing it. so thank you, thank you, thank you!!!✨

im certainly not the only one who feels like this about the Feral Domestic and the kiss in general. now i will admit that in this scene, i do have some aziraphale prejudice, and i can come across as quite biased towards his view of what happened. i think it might be because in the same situation, i think id do the same thing, or view it the same as i perceive aziraphale to do. but over time, my empathy towards crowley has definitely increased, certainly more than my first reaction suggested at the time i posted it; i get his perspective, his terror and fear and vehemence towards aziraphale's offer, and in his shoes id also refuse to join aziraphale.

i think what truly made me recoil tho, as i said in the post and you said in your ask, is the kiss itself. i get why he did it, i get why he was desperate and overwhelmed, but all i can see in response to that is aziraphale's reaction. whilst i see the purely emotional side of crowley kissing him - and god do i sympathise - logically it didn't prove much. aziraphale knows crowley wants to be with him, and crowley knows the vice versa (they literally said as much! that's probably one of the only points in this dialogue that they actually communicate!). the issue on both sides is the caveats - aziraphale doesn't want to run, crowley doesn't want to return. and both are completely understandable.

imo; if the kiss was meant to prove to aziraphale that crowley wanted him, wanted him to stay - well, it wasn't needed, aziraphale heard crowley all but beg him to stay. alternatively, if the kiss was meant as a "this is what you'll be missing", or "this is my goodbye", or - as i personally think - "this will make you stay"... well, these are all pretty shitty.

i do have to wonder if aziraphale has even imagined a kiss with crowley (jane austen, iirc, didn't write romantic kisses in her stories - although she did imply them - and therefore arguably a kiss wouldn't fit into his view of ideal romance... he's likely read other romance stories, but it's specifically austen's he refers to in a romantic capacity in ep2). he likely hasnt, imo, and so with this in mind, when crowley kisses him, how could he possibly see it as anything other than possession, carnal and rough, and as manipulation?

that isn't to say aziraphale isn't open to it - the ox scene and the 40s minisode certainly suggest it, as does him briefly reciprocating during the kiss itself - but it was sudden and fast and unexpected... arguably all the things that scare aziraphale. he reciprocates, but does he even see his own action as willing, or the result of a temptation? because crowley tempted him? it wasn't consensual, it wasn't discussed or eased into, and to my mind it wasnt emotionally romantic.

regardless of the extenuating emotion behind it, it was not a good move on crowley's part. manifestly, it might have even pitted aziraphale against him - aziraphale has always seen crowley as a good person, that's the whole reason behind the restoration offer in the first place... but this? this will have potentially shown to aziraphale that crowley might not be wholly who he thought he was. bad news bears.

anyway sorry, accidental analysis!!!✨ but regardless - thank you so much for being so kind to say what you have, it truly is lovely and very much appreciated. please keep sharing your own meta and analysis, regardless of reach you do or do not have; ive added on multiple posts a tag that reads "#in this house every opinion is valid if you can argue it well enough", and whilst jokey, i do hold that stance. ive rb'd and liked plenty of meta/analysis that are different to or at odds with my own, because i definitely don't think im 100% correct, and actually we all might - between us - have reached the right interpretation together, collectively. as long as it isn't outright offensive, and basically doesn't point-blank ignore the canon or narrative, i truly don't think any interpretation is cancellable if it can be backed up!!!✨💕