#crowley's mail

[aydracz]

Shax had a tough time delivering Crowley's mail at The Ineffable Con:

After collecting the Traitor's mail for months,

teaming up with a doppelganger,

interrupting intimate moments,

using threats

and demonic karate skills,

and chasing the Traitor around the entire Moor Hall, while the Traitor was chasing his emotional support angel,

Shax asserted her dominance and delivered the mail

and could finally have some time for herself.

Many thanks to my very own emotional support angels @fuzzywhispersbear and @drimmsydra ��️ The whole weekend has been an absolute blast!

[mizgnomer]

Fancy camera moves in Good Omens Season 2

- a gifset to make you seasick

[sunderwight]

Thinking about the weird camaraderie that exists between demons but not angels in GO.

Have we ever seen two angels who are actually friends? Or even friendly to one another? We have met angels with a capacity to be friendly in general, but I think the closest we've come to two angels actually getting along would be Gabriel making a point to laugh at Sandalphon's terrible "can't have a war without War" line in S1.

Most scenes between the angels actually seem to have an undercurrent of absolute hostility. Teeth-clenched teamwork. No wonder it took them so long to notice that Aziraphale wasn't on the same page as the rest of them! The rest of them are barely on the same page as one another, either! When Gabriel goes against the majority vote, no one bats an eye at demoting him and wiping his memory. Michael and Uriel immediately begin vying for his job. The only times we've seen angels team up is when they're working together to bully someone else, like when they're trying to intimidate Aziraphale in S1 or going to the aftermath of the bookshop raid in S2.

Saraqael's overall neutrality towards Muriel is the closest we get to two angels in Heaven getting along, and it's more a lack of hostility than any kind of friendliness. At least until Gabriel loses his memories and Muriel shows up to spy on Aziraphale, and Aziraphale decides to be kind to both of them.

Demons, on the other hand, actually seem to form alliances and even friendships among one another. Hastur and Ligur are awful, but Hastur seems genuinely distraught over Ligur's death, not just fearful of suffering the same fate. Shax and Furfur conspire together and even though the 1940's investigation into Crowley's fraternizing doesn't work out for Furfur, it's not due to any double-crossing on Shax's part. Unlike the angels, who stick almost exclusively to making threats until the Metatron decides to try dangling a carrot at the end of the season, demons actually offer rewards to other demons when trying to work together. Beelzebub offers Crowley a promotion if he can bring them Gabriel, Furfur offers to back Shax up politically if she goes for the Duke position opening, and Crowley successfully stalls Hastur in S1 by pretending everything was a test and he's going to be put in charge of a legion as a reward for passing. They're still not great at socializing, but they're significantly ahead of the angels.

Of course, it's a fact that demons are awful to one another (Eric's treatment is really bad, they throw that random demon into holy water just to test it, "it'd be a funny world if demons went around trusting one another", etc) but they still seem more capable of forming friendships than the angels do.

I think that's because Hell cramps and crowds everyone together to try and increase their suffering and hostility, whereas Heaven isolates angels to decrease the odds of questioning or rebellion. Hell's methods are unpleasant, but it still ends up putting demons together, and some of those demons inevitably forge alliances and make friendships. Because as Crowley and Beelzebub demonstrate, demons are still social creatures with the capacity for love and affection, even if it's strongly discouraged and buried under nine million layers of trauma and a cultural mandate against kindness.

Angels are the same, but isolation makes is harder to form connections than overcrowding. Muriel and Jimbriel are both so eager to make friends, but Muriel's spent the past millennia shut in an empty office, and Gabriel has been distanced from his peers both through his position and also through Heaven's culture of fear and surveillance. He only breaks away from it when he finds something that's stronger than "choosing sides" (stronger than the fear of being rejected by Heaven and Falling, in fact strong enough that Falling seems worth it if he gets to be with someone he loves). Both Muriel and Gabriel are only able to start forming connections when they're away from Heaven.

I just think it's interesting that demons, despite being supposedly devoid of love, have an advantage in forming relationships compared to angels. Angels are supposed to love, but have far fewer opportunities to actually do so. Demons aren't supposed to love, but they make connections anyway.

[scoobydoodean]

it's SO funny how crowley latches onto dean even tho sam is the one he feels "sentimental" about. bro was like. oh wow the human blood made me think i was in love with u or some shit, embarrassing. is your brother single? and i think that's why sam hates him

One thing I am noticing about Sam is that he is very anti-demon after season 4, which is understandable. We see this most strongly with Crowley in season 5, but it's not just Crowley—it's Meg too. And Sam and Dean also have many other reasons to hate Meg. But like Sam comments twice about how wary he is about them working with Meg in season 7, even if her only role is to keep watch over Cas at the hospital because they have no other options.

SAM I don't know. I mean, we can't just leave him. DEAN Well, we can't bring him with us. Everything on the planet's out for us, okay? Word gets out, we can't protect him. Not really. This is safer. Every demon who knows about Cas is dead. SAM Not everyone. Look, Dean, this whole "enemy of my enemy is my friend" thing feels kind of like a demon deal. DEAN It's not a deal. It's – SAM It's what? DEAN Mutually assured destruction. Look, man, I get it. She's not our friend. We don't even have friends. All our friends are dead.

It's funny because people often perceive Dean as this very dogmatic figure who can't handle the idea of working with demons and hates Ruby just because she's a demon, but he is the first person to trust a demon (the often forgotten Casey from 3.04). He never trusted Ruby, but he saved her bacon twice (3.09 and 3.10) because he actually does understand the concept "the enemy of my enemy is my friend". He shows this again with Crowley in 5.20 (an episode titled "The Devil You Know" which is rather pointed). Sam doesn't trust Crowley one iota. He tried to kill Crowley in 5.10 right after Crowley gave them the colt, and I actually think that interaction is what makes Dean decide Crowley can be trusted as an ally against the devil. In 5.20, Dean decides Crowley is on their side and agrees to go with him on a solo mission without Sam (because Crowley does not trust Sam not to shoot him) and Sam is so upset about it he vents to Bobby on the phone lol. (To Dean's credit, when Crowley tries to convince Dean to keep the Brady secret from Sam under the suspicion that Sam will fly off the handle, Dean refuses to lie to his brother).

But yeah I mean joking about Deancrowley aside, Sam has a strong distrust of demons post season 4 and has hated Crowley from day one. He 100% connects him with Ruby, and I don't know that his general distrust of demons or his hatred for Crowley in particular ever truly goes away. I mean I think there's a reason season 13 Dean only dares mention losing Crowley in a private prayer to god while shouting to the roof tops over Cas when it's made clear to him that Sam wants to ignore his death. I think Sam's probably at least a little resentful that Dean seems to be pretty good at figuring out when he can and can't trust a demon not to backstab them. Add the "summer of love" and Crowley's gloating about it and the resentment just builds and builds. Rowena didn't need to do any convincing to get Sam to kill Crowley for her lmao.

[drconstellation]

Obligatory Reminders and Crossing the Lines

Have you been wondering why Shax tries to do a mail delivery to Crowley as he escorts the shop keepers to safety from Aziraphale's Eldritch Ball? It seems a pretty random thing to do at that moment.

SHAX: I brought your mail. CROWLEY: Why? SHAX: It stacks up by the front door. CROWLEY: Keep it for now, not a good time.

It's not the first time Shax has tried to give Crowley his mail. We first see her hand a pile over on the park bench in S2E1, while they have an introductory spy vs. spy catch up, in St James Park.

SHAX: I brought your mail. CROWLEY: Anything interesting? SHAX: Bills, mostly. I don't understand why they won't just deliver them to your car. CROWLEY: Send the bills to Hell's finance office. SHAX: I did. They say they can't accept my signature as your replacement.

Bills, mostly. That aren't being accepted by Hell's finance office, unless Crowley signs them. And they expect to find him in the official residence of Hell's ambassador plenipotentiary to this corner of Earth, in Mayfair.

Next, we see Crowley redefining all that mail as "junk" and discarding it.

uh huh. Lets ignore the conveniently placed disposal unit for the moment...

We need to stop and define what those "bills" actually are. Because they are not actually the financial type of bills. Well, they could be. But this is the GOmens AU, so they have a second meaning as well. Paying your bills is also meeting your duties and obligations to another party, and this is something Crowley is refusing to do right now.

I don't think its as simple as Hell being short staffed and they just haven't got around to doing the change over (I know I suggested the latter recently, sorry) and that's why they aren't recognizing Shax's signature. It's that Hell actually hasn't let Crowley go - he is still "on the books," so to speak, despite all that has been said and done since the Nope-ocalypse. He might call himself a "former demon," and he might call Hell his "former side," but that is definitely NOT how Hell sees it, despite the fact they aren't harassing him or giving him tasks to do.

Actually, that should be haven't been harassing him, because since Gabriel "disappeared," they have been back on his case. The mail is a warning sign, but Lord Beelzebub's summons really should have given you the chills.

Crowley protests that they had a "generalized understanding" that he would be left alone, but Beelzebub declares that "we don't."

Ah. So all is not as it appears. They are just playing nice because they want something (Gabriel) and in reality Crowley's position in relation to Hell really is fragile. Yet outwardly he seems more worried about Aziraphale.

It goes downhill from here. Shax begins to stalk him.

This image of Shax is just delish. The sharp "V" of her her decolletage reminds us of a stork's bill, her avatar animal, and it's stabbing down at the snake on her belt. She might be seeking the Frog Prince who escaped Heaven but she's also got a certain snake in her sights.

Shax can't can't cross the threshold of the bookshop without an invitation from Aziraphale. This plays into the old belief that supernatural creatures such as vampires, demons and faeries can only enter a house if invited in. We also see this extended to the Bentley, once "ownership" is extended to the angel, but the door of the bookshop is the important border here for now.

Then have this threat of war being declared:

War on Aziraphale, not Crowley, as they still consider Crowley to be on Hell's side. They don't see it the way Crowley does as Us and Them, to Shax there is still only Heaven and Hell.

So we come back to the second round of mail delivery:

Crowley is about to escort the human shopkeepers to safety and Shax confronts Crowley right on the threshold with his duties and obligations. He really doesn't want to have that conversation right now, not here and not with Shax. As far as he is concerned, he has no obligations to Hell any more, and he's not taking any notice of their demands in any form, either, so Shax may as well just get out of the way and take the mail with them.

And with that, Crowley crosses the threshold, leading the humans out.

At this point in the story you might be asking what's the big deal about that? Crowley has been going in and out over that doorstep several times a day lately, and has crossed it hundreds of times over the last couple of centuries since the bookshop was built. It's not a barrier to him.

The significance of this boundary line has been highlighted to us in S2. We have Shax actually telling us that she knows she can't cross the "threshold" in S2E3, then she asks again in S2E5 where the boundary line is just before Mr Brown is hauled off into the demon Legion. But its even more than that.

On one level its the line that Crowley has drawn for himself. He's not going back to Hell if he can at all help it, and he's quite resolute about that. It's his side or no one's side, from there on in. He reinforces that when talking to Aziraphale in the Final Fifteen.

On another level, I'm wondering if we could consider this a step on the eponymous Hero's Journey? Crossing the Threshold is one of the early stages of the journey where the hero crosses into danger or the unknown. We're shown things aren't normal outside by the mist and green light. Then he diverts off unexpectedly to Heaven with Muriel. Just throwing it out there to see if its worth exploring a bit further. I'd say we've only got the early stages of the journey in S2, with the remainder to come in S3.

[biracy]

Disclaimer that I've only seen three episodes of this show and idk exactly how all this works exactly but while on call with @mifs yesterday I posed this question, and since we've been unable to gather answers anywhere else they told me to post it. So I will

[lowpolybread]

surprise crowley

[tsyvia48]

My name is Tsyvia and I am a fanfic-aholic. (I’m addicted to fanficahol). I used to just read, but lately I’ve been experimenting with actually writing.

Today I posted the final chapter of my second-ever human AU. There’s pining. There’s love. There’s a museum and references to David Bowie. There are explicit sexy times.

[suzypfonne]

Headcanon that Aziraphale founded the Royal Mail in 1660 just so he could communicate more directly with Crowley.

[fuckyeahgoodomensfanfic]

Good Omens Fic Rec: You’ve Got Mail

Aziraphale and Crowley are hereditary enemies, rival book shop owners engaged in corporate warfare. They are also pen pals that are perfect for one another. They don’t know about that bit though.

Length: 68,184 Words

AO3 Rating: Teen and Up

Best for: Safe in Public, Human AU, Enemies to Lovers

Triggers: None

Read it here, fic by SouthDrarryReturned

*Minor Spoilers* This is a You've Got Mail but Good Omens remake. I've never seen You've Got Mail, and I'm not planning to, but if you told me this was a completely original human AU for Aziraphale and Crowley, I would have absolutely believed it! Tons of fun, lots of adventure, and I'm a sucker for pen pals.

So if you also don't know the plot of the movie, here's the summary for this fic. Crowley is the heir to a massive book retailer, and he is opening a new store right down the road from Aziraphale's cozy and struggling bookshop. They meet and sparks are already igniting, but once Aziraphale learns who Crowley is, it's all-out war, with plenty of misunderstandings and accusations flying. At least at the end of the day, Aziraphale has the comfort of a new email from his dear pen pal Anthony. You get the picture.

I love how this very much feels like its own thing, but still follows a very cinematic storyline. I don't know how close of a remake it is, but I'm assuming it veers off from the movie, at least with its Hastur and Ligur scenes, but possibly others as well. It gets a little action movie in the middle of its rom-com, but I found it pretty fun. Full of clumsy and awkward Crowley, which is always a good time. Their emails are definitely a highlight, I like their more formal tone and how instantly they fall for each other through that medium. I will never tire of their chemistry! Completely safe in public, and I think it's a great low-stakes casual read!

Read it here, fic by SouthDrarryReturned

[aydracz]

Crowley's mail for The Ineffable Con

Here's a detail of Crowley's mail that Shax was handing out to The Ineffable Con participants as a gift.

Making these brought me immense joy because it felt like giving back to the fandom, which is full of amazing people whose creations I enjoy every day. So these are for all of you, my dears!

And there was a little surprise in each of them

Some of the letters are still up for grabs at the Bandstand in Battersea Park in London together with some amazing art by @drimmsydra and @fuzzywhispersbear! (See details in the previous post.)

Aubrey Thyme's sign was created by @onlylurkingreadingstuff and used with their permission.

[mynikontripod]

Welcome to my blog!

I’m Nikon, a three legged black cat! I used to live outside in the streets, but was rescued after I was in an accident! The nice people that found me saved me, but my leg had to be amputated. My person adopted me when I was about a year old in October of 2022, and now I live with them and our family of people and cats!

My person might post my family as well, but you know you’re here for me, right? Right!! I guess it’s okay if you want to support them, too…

If YOU want YOUR cats posted, submit them!! I’d love to see you all from around the world!!

please be nice to me I am very small and have no money

[saunteredserpent]

- "𝑊𝑒 𝑚𝑎𝑦 𝘩𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑜𝑓𝑓 𝑎𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒𝑙𝑠, 𝑏𝑢𝑡 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑓𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑛."

- "𝐼 𝑑𝑖𝑑𝑛'𝑡 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝑓𝑎𝑙𝑙. 𝐼 𝑗𝑢𝑠𝑡, 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤, 𝑠𝑎𝑢𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑣𝑎𝑔𝑢𝑒𝑙𝑦 𝑑𝑜𝑤𝑛𝑤𝑎𝑟𝑑𝑠."

[scoobydoodean]

wait cas was lying about sam’s soul being too damaged?? i thought death also confirmed that? it’s been a while since i’ve watched s6 so maybe i’m not remembering smth?

Some might prefer the description "Cas is being highly misleading". What I mean moreso is that I don't think Cas actually thought returning Sam's soul was the wrong move despite the risks (and it is always spoken of as "risk" not as fact). His motives when he said that were not what they seem. What first made me start thinking about this is that Cas did a 180 in the middle of 6.10. Soulless Sam prayed, demanding Cas's help finding his soul. Cas agreed to help Sam find his soul because he was concerned about him. He said Sam "needed help". Then midway through the episode, Cas changed his mind and started telling Dean that putting Sam's soul back in is a bad idea. Why did he change his mind?

Two crucially important details emerge here in hindsight:

First, when Cas first agreed to help, he did not know that Sam and Dean's plan was to make Crowley return Sam's soul. He also didn't know they had Meg waiting in the wings to help them torture and kill Crowley. After agreeing to help, Cas finds out they're looking for Crowley—his secret business partner—which is a problem for Cas. However, Sam and Dean have no idea where Crowley is in the beginning so it isn't an issue at first. Sam and Dean ask Cas to do a tracking spell and it doesn't work (is that because Crowley covered his tracks well, or is it because Cas didn't really do the spell because he didn't want them to find Crowley?) It's only after Sam and Dean figure out where Crowley is from Samuel and Meg shows up with her demons (Cas asking, "Why are we working with these abominations?" but underneath, knowing Sam and Dean have serious backup!) and they're all ready to leave for Crowley's lair within the hour, that Cas suddenly says he doesn't think Sam's soul should be put back in.

Second, Cas knows Crowley did not get Sam out of The Cage—HE did. To force Sam and Dean to do his bidding, Crowley lied to Sam and Dean and told them he got Sam out of The Cage and he could throw him back in. This is why Sam and Dean assume they can threaten Crowley into getting Sam's soul out of The Cage. Cas knows Crowley can't get Sam's soul out of The Cage and this is a fruitless mission. Which means when he says "maybe we shouldn't do this because Sam's soul shouldn't be returned" he isn't being honest about the reason he doesn't want them to go. Getting Sam's soul is not a thing that's going to happen at the end of this anyway!!!

So Cas starts the episode wanting to help return Sam's soul, but midway through, when The Winchesters and Meg storming Crowley's lair is imminent, Cas starts saying Sam's soul is a "mutilated thing" that shouldn't be put back.

[vulpinesaint]

watched the last episode of good omens. what the hell were you all talking about

[sivavakkiyar]