#does Crowley see her stars again? Who knows

[macaronoverlord]

so like,,,,, Aziraphale star pupils origin story-

some frames are kinda *wave hand* cus this was orignally made for tiktok where everything is scrolled from left to right

[rose-tea-and-strawberries]

Of Lions and Mice

Leona Kingscholar x Reader

Reader is intended to be female

Masterlist

Leona was annoyed.

Once again, his golden goody-two-shoes older brother decided to shirk his responsibility of being a father and dump the overexcited, disgustingly bright-eyed crown prince on him for the day. And not only that, it had to be today of all days - a rare day where you were free from picking up Crowleys’ slack, where the loudmouthed, nattering extras that always followed you were otherwise preoccupied (and bribed to bugger off with a bag full of tuna), where he was certain he’ll spend the day in bed with you right next to him. 

But no. Just like with everything else in his miserable existence, his dreams were crushed and he had to spend the day playing caretaker to his nephew instead of wrapped up with you. What’s worse was that, you’d decided to carry the pint-sized load off of his back and gave your undivided attention to the cub when it should have been rightfully his. How he hated that selfless nature of yours, that sweet, caring, gentle nature that would make you look at anyone that wasn’t him with that loving gaze, that would make you brush your fingers through Cheka’s golden orange curls the same way you would Grim’s fur or the stray cats you’d find around campus or any other being instead of his mane. 

He hated just how loving you were, how your eyes could see the beauty in everything.

How, now that it’s late at night, and he’s closed his eyes and pretended to sleep in his attempt to actually get some shut eye and so that the little hairball would quit bothering him but Cheka just continues yapping.

Even in the darkness under his eyelids, he could feel you cast a worried look his way from the spot where his bed sags a little.

“Hey Cheka,” your sweet, dulcet voice (which is currently being used to please his nephew and not sooth him to sleep with the sweet nothings it usually does) pipes up, “how about I tell you a bedtime story from my world?”

“A bedtime story?!” Wow, even with his eyes closed he could see the stars coming out of his nephew's eyes, “yes please!”

Once the little cub has settled into bed, he asks you, “do you know any stories from your world with lions in them?

“Any ones with lions? Hmm, well, I suppose I could tell you about Narnia but I think you might be a bit too young for that and - wait,” you punctuated your words with a snap of your fingers, “I know a short one. There was this man called Aesop who wrote these short stories called fables.”

“What’s a fable?” Cheka asked, his words covered in that innocently curious lilt that all six year olds seemed to have during every occasion Leona wished they wouldn’t - and that was all of them.

You, however, seemed to have much more patience than him, “A story with a moral in them. Like, always be honest, or share, or work together, that sort of thing. I had a book of them when I was younger and I really enjoyed reading them.”

Figures. Of course, the shining beacon of sickeningly polite goodness grew up with such stories. He would’ve teased you for that but he had a child who he’s still trying to convince he was asleep.

“That sounds so cool, Aunty Y/N! Will you tell me more?”

“Of course, I will,” he can hear your smile, “but I’ll tell you them later, okay. Now, it’s time for you to rest.” 

“Okay, Aunty Y/N.”

“Alright so,” you clear your throat, “there was once a lion that lay asleep in his den. A shy little mouse came upon him and in her fright she ran away, only whilst doing so she accidentally ran over his head, waking him up.”

“Oh no,” Cheka gasped, “that lion is going to be so angry if he wakes up.”

Oh, so the little hairball does have a brain after all. 

“You’re right. Furious that he had been woken up, the big lion slammed a paw down on the tiny mouse and grabbed her by the tail. Holding her up, he growled at her,” here you made your voice noticeably deeper, trying to imitate a gruff growl, ““How dare you wake me up! I am the king of beasts and anyone who interrupts my slumber deserves to die! I shall kill you and eat you!””

It took everything within Leona to not burst into laughter at your adorable imitation of a ‘big scary lion’. It’s a voice you’ve used before whenever you tease him, playfully repeating the words his old self would have said to you, and it’s one that he’s rather fond of. 

He loves and respects you, Herbivore, and he’s the first to attest to your formidability and capability - even though you have the annoying tendency to not only blur the line between bravery and reckless stupidity but also play skipping rope with it - but intimidating you are not. 

“This scared the terrified mouse even more. Shaking with fear, she begged for him to let her go,” you make your voice higher at this part, squeaking in a way that oddly suited you, in Leona’s not so humble opinion, ““please, your majesty, I beg of you, please don’t eat me. It was only a mistake and if you let me go I’ll be sure to repay you. If you spare my life one day, I might even save yours.””

“The lion looked at the tiny creature and laughed, amused at how such a small mouse could ever be of use to an animal as powerful as him, “You? Save me? How absurd. You’ve made me laugh and put me in a good mood so I shall be generous and let you go.”

“Thank you, your majesty, thank you,” the mouse squeaked as she was put back on the ground, before scurrying away as fast as fast as her little legs could carry her.”

“Yay, so the mouse is free.” Cheka giggled.

“He is,” you said, “but there’s still more left. A few days later, the lion was prowling around when out of nowhere he was caught in a hunter’s net. Try as he might, he couldn’t get out of it. He tossed and turned, roaring angrily as he struggled to escape.”

“Wait, so now the lion’s in trouble. How’s he going to get out?” Cheka asked in worry. 

“You’ll see. Hearing his cries, the mouse followed the sound, recognising it from the lion he met earlier.

“I have to help him,” she squeaked as she scampered towards him.”

Upon seeing the lion in the net, she said, “hold still your majesty, I’ll get you out!”

And she quickly started to nibble on the ropes with her sharp little teeth, biting until all they broke apart. It wasn’t long until the lion was free.”

“So the mouse saved him. Was it because the lion helped him earlier?”

“It certainly was Cheka. “Thank you, little mouse,” the lion said, “I laughed at you and didn’t think you could ever help me but you saved my life.”

“It was my turn to help you.” The mouse replied, ”never forget that even a creature as small as a mouse can help a lion.”

And that’s the end,” you say.

“Thank you, Auntie Y/N, I really enjoyed that. Do you think the lion and mouse became friends after that?”

“You are very welcome, Cheka. I think they did. They did help each other, after all. Now I think it’s time to go to sleep.”

And once you were sure that the crown prince was asleep, you made your way next to your boyfriend, running your fingers through chestnut locks, “did you enjoy that little story, Leona.”

He opens his eyes to see your endeared smile. Rolling over so that he could wrap his arms around your waist he muses, “it seems awfully familiar don’t you think? A scared little herbivore wakes up a sleeping lion and ends up saving him later.”

“I’ll have you know, Your Highness, that I was never scared of you. Even when you were a rude old brute who threatened to knock out one of my teeth. And I’m certainly not little.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever you say.” 

He pulls, letting you flop down on his bed beside him so that he can spoon you.

“Sweet dreams, little mouse,” he kissed your forehead, “I hope you know that I don’t ever intend on letting you go. Not after you helped in ways you could never even imagine.”

And so the lion fell asleep, holding the prey who rescued him from the confinement of his past safely in his arms.

[thealogie]

picture this. you're michael sheen, beloved queer-friendly welsh actor and recent twilight saga vampire. you want your favorite book to become a tv show, and you want to be the lead. so what do you do? you befriend the author. he wines and dines you, you become a confidant in the scriptwriting phase. and in the process of the GO script you decide you don't want to be crowley, actually, you want to be aziraphale. you put in the work for months to influence the author to the same conclusion. so when neil gaiman comes to you one day saying, "i know you joined on to be crowley... but how would you feel about playing aziraphale?" you say, what a novel idea! i was feeling the same way, i just didn't want to say anything! let's do it.

you're michael sheen, the lead in the adaptation of your favorite book. you meet david tennant as your leading man, a rising star (and vocal fan of yours) you've had a few vague interactions with in the past. on set you immediately find the closest friend you have ever and will ever find in your life, and you know this. the romance you have in your (yes, your) show is ambiguous, but you're michael sheen. you think that romance needs to be explicit. so what do you do? you become a nightmare on set. you get really hands-on; you make costume choices, you make story decisions, you tell your author friend at the very end of filming: aziraphale is in love with crowley and realizes it in 1941. now go do it again.

so the author goes and does it again. you get a season 2. you get 1941 part 2. you're michael sheen, and you are the lead of the adaptation of your favorite book, and the romance you littered into the character you built from the ground up has become unambiguous. everything goes according to plan. but, you see, you have a problem: the author you have baby trapped is acting a FIEND on twitter and tumblr. he's saying everything he can to imply aziraphale and crowley aren't sexually attracted to each other. he's getting a bit too bold with his character assumptions, is all i'm saying. so here's what you're going to do: you play it up with your pal david tennant. you made a show with him during lockdown. you're going to depict your lives as even more intertwined and homoerotically codependent as previously possible. you grow even closer. your wives become best friends, too, because how could they not? this has been the plan since the beginning, too. your lockdown show ends. it wasn't enough.

so you, michael sheen, of course you put in the work. if david tennant's there, you're damn sure you're there physically, spiritually, biblically, in whatever capacity you can be. it's not hard. david tennant is a big fan of yours, after all, so he MAKES SURE you're always in the conversation. you have him wrapped around your little finger, this lovely little boy, and so you know what you do next? you become neighbors. you make your directorial debut casting your best friend's wife watching her husband and male neighbor initiate sex with each other. you play into the swinging rumors (that you, michael sheen, had started). you create a narrative that you and david tennant are two homoerotic besties, and is there more going on in the background there? any deeper conspiracy? who really knows, but what you do know is that the world is talking about it.

and you, michael sheen, your entire acting career has led to this moment, your gay quips, your oscar wilde sex scene (and the interviews following), all of your queer roles, EVERYTHING has brought us to this conclusion. you have created the lab perfect conditions where season 3 must have an explicit gay sex scene. i'm sorry neil, my hands are tied! the people are clamoring for me and david tennant to have sex-- i mean aziraphale and crowley to have sex, the public decided this all on their own! i really don't think you have much choice. but of course, i would never deign to tell an author how to practice his veritable craft. i concede to whatever version of series 3 you create, and i will happy to bring this beloved character to his deserved ending.

and why do you say this? because you're michael sheen. you're just an actor who incidentally stumbled his way into leading the queer romance adaptation of your favorite book that wasn't a romance, and you just read the script the way that it was given to you. and if series 3 means an explicit sex scene between you and your best friend david tennant, then what a lovely coincidence that you had absolutely no part in making happen. because what power do you really have?

This is my favorite book I’ve read so far this year. A rare occasion where the author pulls off use of the second person pov. I really felt like I was a beloved welsh actor crossed with Machiavelli when I read this

[lickthehilt]

Ramble piece but it’s really poorly written because it’s 3am

Edit: adjusted and corrected some things 🗣️

You can’t imagine being left behind. Having no one look for you while you stumble in the dark, hands held limply ahead of your torso. Imagine being a fish deep in the abyss floating by specks of white before seeing the flickering swaying in the distance — but it’s always far, always moving, never winking back at you. Like two shooting stars, always one behind the other and never side by side. Come back my star, you would say.

Ramshackle is cold; not in appearance, but in temperature. You’ve been able to make a home out of someone else’s abandoned building. Although, you don’t like to use the word abandoned — the connotations are terrible: that someone loved and decided one day that they no longer did so. That this space was okay until it wasn’t and they left. You like to imagine that the wallpapers meant something. That because someone put the effort to decorate the barren walls, there was love behind that too.

Peeling wallpaper is love. The cobwebs are love too, from the spiders who had cherished the sharp corners and high ceiling. Charred bricks is love. Curled rugs is love. Sheer curtains is love.

Portraits.

How did you feel? When you travelled the world, it must’ve been…

Crowley had said that this man had a particular fondness for spreading his experience of Halloween. Give, give, give. How wonderful it is to teach, to share your passions and travel. But how lonely. To sleep alone and wake up alone.

It’s like being the only one not assigned a tutu in a group performance — having to stand on the stage behind a girl who does have one and hoping you remain her shadow. Or maybe it’s like being the only one to wear casual business when everyone else is wearing business casual to the interview. Like being the first person to flip over the test paper amongst the silent exam hall.

So yeah, lonely.

But his smile is so mischievous, creeping up his cheeks and accented by his bright eyes peering past his sunglasses. So maybe the loneliness doesn’t bother him? But. But, everyone feels lonely sometimes. Connections are not rare — relationships of all kinds (platonic or not) form where there’s a spark. A positive or negative one, who cares, there is now a dynamic.

So imagine leaving after established that dynamic. I’m sorry, I don’t know when I’ll see you again. But how wonderful this dance was. I won’t be able to kiss or touch you anymore. You won’t be able to follow me, you have a life here. Autumn won’t be the same without you but now, every time I see orange leaves and sunlight peeking through interwoven tree branches, I’ll feel you. Right here.

After the Halloween event on campus, Crowley (under easy influence) allowed you to ferry the portrait back into Ramshackle. Holding the portrait allows you to really admire it. There’s a crackle of paint decorating his lips and his hand flexes in great visual harmony to the rest of his body. And now the same man peers back at you above your fire place.

You hope that it’s warm enough.

[vidavalor]

I think you're the fifth blogger I've seen mention Shax's thing for Crowley... I still can't see it even though I really want to 'cause I think it's hilarious... send help... 🤣🥲😔

I can try lol. Chocolate cake? *slices*

More fun with Shax and Crowley under the cut. We're also going to look at part of Gabriel & Sandalphon's visit to the bookshop in S1 for some bonus fun since it fit in here as it's a parallel scene.

TW: Brief mention of Sandalphon and his homophobia.

For the most part, Shax isn't really in love with Crowley... she's just got a Mr. Brown-level pash on the Crowley that Crowley projects. While Aziraphale hides that he's an angel from the human world so Mr. Brown only believes him to be human, Crowley hides the extent to which he's human and living like one from the demons in Hell. As a result, the demon pursuing him has got exactly one thing correct about Crowley-- that he's hot lol-- but Shax's opinions as to why only partially overlap with ours and Aziraphale's because Shax believes Crowley's big reputation. She doesn't know what we know about him or see him the way we do. Like Mr. Brown with Aziraphale, she exists in part to highlight how insular Crowley & Aziraphale's world of their life together is and how much they have to playact in their respective worlds to keep that secret life they have with one another private and intact.

Shax is a demon who loves being a demon. That's what makes her crazy to us. Most of the other demons we've met are just miserable, even if they're playing along, but Shax is a real go-getter. She's ambitious and she lives to serve their master Satan. She wants to be good at being a demon and she's in love with *Crowley* lol. To us, this seems bananas because ain't no demon ever hated being a demon more than Anthony Jemimah Crowley... but it's proof positive of how decent a job Crowley has been doing at projecting an air of general demonicness for the last six thousand years.

Crowley has been a prince of Hell forever. He's gotten the top jobs-- the stuff of Shax's dreams, really-- and was a particular favorite of Satan, whom Shax worships. He was basically Hell's resident rock star, breezing in every few months to give a demonic presentation and shoot the shit in Lord Beezlebub's office for a half-hour before taking off for Earth again. If you were Shax, spending literally *thousands of years* in that overstuffed, dark, actual hell hole, Crowley showing up must have been like a visit from sexy Santa Claus. Shax is one of those Effort-making demons and most of the demons in Hell are more terrifying than attractive, ok?... even if you find terrifying attractive, like Shax sorta does or at least thinks she ought to.

Who's going to light your fire down there? Hastur? He'd *literally* light you on fire....

We've seen Shax have to deal with misogyny in the workplace (ugh Demon Josh) and you know she never got any of that shit from Crowley. She probably mostly got a "Shaaaaax! How's it hangin'?" from Disco Tony, who was thrilled to have remembered her name this time. Shax was playing it evil demon lady cool on the surface but girl just wants to be first string for the finest demon in Hell and she was swooning internally every time Crowley swooped in to grace Hell with his presence for a hot minute.

There has been suggestion in the series that several demons that we know of from Bible lore are, in Good Omens, all actually Crowley, which furthers this idea of Crowley and his big reputation a bit. The show has actually already done this with a Biblical figure, in that Bildad the Shuite is an actual Biblical character that the show just made be actually the demon Crowley under a different name, so it would make sense that the reason why we haven't seen other famous demons from The Bible in the series are because they're actually Crowley.

One is canon, basically, which is Astaroth/Astoreth, since Crowley was Nanny Astoreth in S1 and I doubt he stole the name from another demon who exists in the GO universe. When Crowley tells Aziraphale he changed his name when they are watching Jesus' crucifixion, Aziraphale first posits two other demons' names and neither of them exist in GO universe to date but both are, lore-wise, powerful: Mephistopheles and Asmodeus. A lot of other great meta has been written about these choices-- in particular, how well Mephistopheles fits Crowley to a tee, which I really, really agree with. You could assume then that the reasons why more audience-known demons like Astoreth and Asmodeus have never shown up in GO-- and we've met the highest-ranking demons already-- is because they actually *have* and they're all just really Crowley.

In demon lore, Astaroth is part of the "evil trinity" with Beezlebub and Lucifer and is a high-ranking demon in Hell... as well as is basically a genderbent serpent goddess with Crowley traits... so safe to say that's one of Crowley's aliases. Crowley has also had his name of "Crowley" for thousands of years by S1 but when he's rolling up in The Bentley in 1.01, Ligur and Hastur clarify what Crowley's "calling himself up here these days", indicating that he might have gone by more names than we might have realized.

Asmodeus, as we all probably know by now, is the demon of lust. A French novel from the 18th century also popularized the idea of Asmodeus as a sort of Cupid, which also goes along with Crowley, who loves love and got genuine joy out of trying to set up Maggie and Nina. So... from Shax's perspective, why *wouldn't* you want Crowley? He's the fine as fuck, Serpent of Eden, legendary prince of fucking lust here lol.

Shax showed up to reclaim his apartment for Hell and you know she expected a scene the likes of which have not been seen on Earth since a post-concert hotel suite occupied by Led Zeppelin lol. She was expecting (fantasizing lol) about having to wade through a rock music blasting, orgiastic drug den to find Asmodeus in his sex dungeon of a bedroom, somewhere in the black silk sheets beneath three playthings.

You know she actually found Crowley, alone, having just finished vacuuming the most fastidiously clean flat this side of Heaven, fully dressed and watching Barefoot Contessa on his massive plasma screen while the only drugs being mixed were special-blend fertilizer for his houseplants. Ina was making Jeffrey red-wine braised short ribs and Crowley didn't say so to Shax, of course, but he's always on the lookout for something his angel might like for dinner. Hang on a second, Shax, gotta save this recipe to my favorites...

At least the black silk sheets were accurate? lol

What probably confuses Shax a little is that she's been meeting up with Crowley and she still wants him and badly, even as it's becoming increasingly clear that he's a bit more complicated than she thought he was. Technically, she should consider him a traitor because of how he betrayed their Master but he's hot, ok, and maybe it's a little sexy to be so bad that you'd defy Satan? (Aziraphale agrees lol.)

Shax has Mr. Brown-level fantasies about where this could go. Crowley was a favorite of Satan's and she can bring him back into the fold. She can heal him. Yeah, this lady demon has gone and got herself one of those 'I can fix him' disaster scenarios. She hates this for her too but she can't help it. He's so sexy. She's been in Hell for a long time. She's sleeping in the bed and showering in the tropical rainforest paradise dream shower of Asmodeus himself, ok?

She's undoubtedly tried to get him to stay. She's so offered for him to live with her in secret and Crowley nearly choked on the air he doesn't need to breathe trying not to laugh at the irony of that one. It's not Shax's fault that he's just not that into her. She's a bad bitch and everything. That's just not his thing. He's just the lonely GI who basically fell asleep during a performance of The Ladies of Camelot. He has always given off the impression that he's into everything there is to sell the whole 'demon of lust' thing but he's really not. Shax doesn't know that, though, because to know that is to know Crowley well and Shax does not.

Does Crowley know that Shax is into him? Yeah, he does.

Shax's thing for him is basically the same thing as when Crowley tries to make a phone call after having taken out the mobile phone network for miles. It's the oh, shit, right, that thing I did that's now fucking up my day in the present... He didn't lead her on specifically as much as he just gave off the vibe in general that he's this debauched, wild, so very wicked demon and, well... if your name is Aziraphale, that's not terribly inaccurate lol... but if it's not, then it's actually not true at all...

...and this is why Shax cannot for the fucking life of her figure out what the deal is with Crowley and this angel.

Yes, Shax is trying to goad Aziraphale into confirming that he has Gabriel in this scene but this scene also comes off as Shax so incredibly done with how jealous she is over this, in her eyes, ridiculous being, and she's bitchy as all fuck about it. There were other ways to crack at Aziraphale than over his relationship with Crowley and she goes at that hard. She calls The Bentley an old piece of junk when she's really clearly calling Aziraphale that and saying that she doesn't know why Crowley hasn't gotten "an upgrade" since, implying that she considers herself just the upgrade Crowley needs. She brings up 1941 via the rumors that she heard "80, 90 years ago" that Crowley and Aziraphale were "an item", which we know are at least partially derived from what happened with Furfur, who his Shax's closest friend and totally has tried to tell her that this thing she has for Crowley is hopeless because he's doing that angel, Shax. (Poor, pining Furfur lol.)

Shax knows somewhere that Furfur is probably correct but she's decided to pretend that it's Furfur's thing for her that could have caused him to misconstrue at least part of it, right, because the demon of lust only having eyes for one being, let alone that being being this angel, is absurd to her (even if she thinks she can tame him lol.)

Aziraphale is an angel, for one thing. The bastards who did this to The Fallen and who cast their Master to Hell. Their sworn, hereditary enemy. It was one thing when maybe the angel was a dalliance. Asmodeus, lonely and bored on Earth, tired of all the sex with the mortals, and so very bad that he could corrupt an angel. That's a little hot, actually, if you're Shax, but it's the fact that that... does not appear to be what this relationship is... that unsettles her.

During S2, Shax learns that Crowley has a permanent invite into and keys to the bookshop and that Aziraphale can drive Crowley's car to an extent that Shax even has to trick him to allow her to enter it. The angel really seems like he might be Crowley's partner, which would mean that this wasn't Crowley fucking an angel on a whim in 1941 but that Hell's wild prince of lust has actually secretly been in a romantic relationship with Aziraphale for at least, to Shax's knowledge, almost a century.

The purported baddest demon that ever demoned, shy of the literal devil, is apparently mad for this fusty angel and Shax just cannot get it, ok?

Crowley is a a broody, black-clad rock star and Aziraphale is this twee little bookselling angel to her. Shax thinks maybe this was all part of Crowley's breakdown or something and she's Mr. Brown so she hasn't given up hope here, not for most of S2, but she's mostly been trying to figure out how to get Crowley's attention and that's the funniest part of her whole pash, imo.

Shax has no idea what Crowley is into. She can't figure this out to save her life.

She has no idea that it's over before it started because she is just not what primes the engine of Crowley's star factory over here. It's not personal. He just doesn't have a shred of sexual interest in her. Gabriel is getting more action from Crowley this season and he tried to murder him lol. Crowley's spent millennia cultivating a persona of a sex god and now he's got to live with it and he's just praying he never finds out anything she's fantasizing about him because he shudders at the thought of whatever she envisions them getting up to.

Look at what Shax is wearing when she comes to Earth to meet with Crowley, for one of the more hilarious things...

In Hell, Shax wears modern clothes. When she comes to Earth to meet Crowley in the year 2023, she wears a vintage-inspired outfit that is spanning the mid-1930s through WW2 in style (the era she knows he was involved with Aziraphale, who is her main point of reference for what attracts Asmodeus over here lol)... and the dress has the biggest damn bow ever seen. You could see that bow from space. It's like she's trying desperately to figure out what turns Crowley on and so far she's come up with well, he drives an old car and he's rolled that angel so he likes... old things... vintage clothes, like the angel's. She's trying to out-bow-tie Aziraphale.

Now that Shax can spend time with Crowley alone and the possibility of seducing him is ever-present (lolololol), she's spending time trying to figure out what turns on the prince of lust. She's trying to get Crowley's demonically lustful attention and she's reduced to bow ties, okay, take pity on her... she's just like I don't know what his deal with these are, exactly, as it seems kind of specific... but he can unwrap me anytime if that's his thing...

Then, there's that she's sitting too close to him on the park bench and raking her eyes over him while he's sprawling on it. He's not sprawling in a way meant to be enticing. He's actually mid-existential crisis here but that's fine by Shax. She likes 'em a little dark.

My favorite, though, is a scene that actually parallels S1 in a hilarious way and that's from the hot water boiler scene in the other meta that prompted the ask here but isn't a bit that I mentioned in that one.

As Crowley goes back into the bookshop (and he'd never been happier to be on the other side of that threshold in his life lol), Shax is then as physically close to him as she's ever been. If you notice, she actually inhales twice. The first is a regular breath-- which demons don't technically need to take but yeah lol-- and her expression is all oh Satan, he smells amazing and then she straight up sniffs the air as he opens the door. Girl is huffing her fill over here for those shower fantasies for months to come lol. Crowley knows it as his eyebrows are in his hair as he's turning back around like he's all did she seriously just *sniff* me? ugh...

Shax knows Crowley saw her (honestly, probably also *heard* her... Shax, love, a little subtlety wouldn't kill you...) so she covers it up by pretending like she smelled Gabriel in the bookshop. You smelled the archangel in there, huh, Shax? When you can't get through the door? When Gabriel is the same species as Aziraphale, whose bookshop this is, so this can't be some kind of angel-scent you're claiming you noticed here? lol This then parallels and adds to this Sandalphon scene in S1:

I know there's some debate about if there's such thing as an angelic or a demonic smell but I've actually always taken it to be that there isn't. It would seem to me that it would be hard for them to blend in on Earth if there was and if the demonic one was something off-putting to humans, at least. I think most of us, though, do believe that the "evil" Sandalphon is smelling in the backroom is Crowley but considering that the comment comes from Sandalphon, who is introduced to us with reference to his smiting of people in Sodom and Gomorrah, it honestly just comes off that Sandalphon is a raging homophobe and I've actually always taken that as the reason why Gabriel is here in this scene in the first place.

Absolutely nothing happens in this scene. It's a routine checkup. What is the Supreme Archangel of Heaven doing there? Why is he blowing so much smoke up Sandalphon's ass the whole time? It's kind of like he saw that Michael or someone had assigned Sandalphon to do a checkup of sorts on Aziraphale-- or Sandalphon had assigned himself-- and Gabriel pretended that he wanted to see in person how "the great Sandalphon" worked so that he could tag along and make sure that Sandalphon didn't bother Aziraphale. We also learn that Aziraphale hasn't seen Sandalphon in a long time and I'd bet that Gabriel is responsible for that. Gabriel's 'whatever, idgaf' response to Aziraphale's Jeffrey Archer books comment is so... Gabriel hadn't the first clue who Jeffrey Archer is or why his books would be evil lol. He could have easily further encouraged Sandalphon's pursuit of the "evil" scent. He didn't because he could care less what Aziraphale does in the backroom of his bookshop. If anything, he's jealous of him for having found a way to have some freedom and privacy. Gabriel is queer-- he is like Aziraphale. He's just closeted in S1. He's looking out for Aziraphale here by using his power to shut down Sandalphon and then "you can't have a war without war omg wow you are a poet!" him out of there as fast as is possible. If there truly was an 'evil'/'demonic' smell, Gabriel should have been able to smell it, too, and he doesn't. If he did, he wouldn't have been able to subtly shut down Sandalphon the way he did.

So, Sandalphon isn't smelling a demon. He's smelling another man. The "evil" is that Sandalphon can smell remnants of another cologne that isn't Aziraphale's in the backroom of Aziraphale's bookshop and Sandalphon is a homophobe, so he's implying that Aziraphale having sex and with a man is 'evil', even if there's no direct evidence here of that, just the implication of it.

This then would mean that Shax can't actually smell Gabriel in the bookshop in S2. Like Sandalphon, she's pretending to have a supernatural sense of scent but she's really just smelling Crowley. While Sandalphon was repulsed by the idea of Aziraphale's bookshop backroom having the scent of a man, Shax is just inhaling that same being's scent because omfg. so. good....

...something she can't stand that she has in common with that bastard angel, Aziraphale, who is actually allowed to breathe Crowley in anytime he wants... it's just ridiculous to her. Why the fuck does that beige bookseller get to have the sex god of Shax's dreams in his bed and she doesn't? What could Crowley possibly find attractive about him? That she doesn't know and can't really figure it out shows how little she really knows Crowley and also how little imagination she really has.

[fellthemarvelous]

Staged and Good Omens: The discontinuity of a story within a story within a story.

I'm watching the third season of Staged again right now, and I think I've figured something out.

The discontinuity that people are talking about of Good Omens 2.

Staged 3 was a very modern version of A Christmas Carol. Ep 1. Is there a version? (David and Michael work with Simon again) Ep 2. Who's Playing Who? (Scrooge, episode was a farce) Ep 3. Past (Michael and David are co-dependent af) Ep 4. Present (Michael and David fail to write a script) Ep 5. Future (David tells everyone they are doing a live show) Ep 6. Knock, Knock (Simon gets even, ending is sad but not really because they are just taking a break and breaks don't last forever, and Simon gets a job offer based on his script for Knock, Knock, the one story he didn't write.)

The epic trainwreck that is David and Michael's live version of A Christmas Carol is actually a hit, but everyone else has to convince them to stop the show because it can't go on forever. So they end it with Michael and David agreeing to take a break from working together even though it makes both of them sad.

But the whole premise of Staged was that everything was filmed on iPads, computers and cell phones. And it was submitted to Simon so he could piece it together.

Simon Evans wrote Staged as a love story between David and Michael. Simon writes what he sees and finds ways to incorporate fiction into reality. He saw them on Good Omens together and he saw the chemistry between David and Michael, and he turned it into a comedy about these two eccentric actors who clearly love each other. And they agreed to star in it.

They improvised most of it, but Simon laid out the framework of the plot for them to follow, and then he let them be themselves.

The entire show has layers upon layers of meta weaved into it.

Anyway, my point is...

This post is one of several that covers the different ways discontinuity seems to occur during Good Omens 2. The evidence is very compelling.

I'm not here to point all that out because I don't have the strength of some of the meta writers in this fandom, and they're already on top of it, but if we look to Staged as an example, what is the plotline that Good Omens 2 is following?

Good Omens 2 is a modern version of.... Ep 1. The Arrival Ep 2. The Clue (A Companion to Owls) Ep 3. I Know Where I'm Going (The Resurrectionists) Ep 4. The Hitchhiker (Nazi Zombie Flesheaters) Ep 5. The Ball Ep 6. Every Day

What are the stories happening around Aziraphale and Crowley? They're the focal point of season two, but what else is happening?

Neil Gaiman has said that everything means something. They aren't just showing us these things by accident. There is a story happening outside of Crowley and Aziraphale's relationship. And we are all looking closely for that person doing a very odd thing just out of sight or objects being moved around without knowing how they got there in the first place.

There was literally an entire scene in Staged where they are trying to figure out who is playing Scrooge and Simon is so anxious that he keeps moving his plant between two different spots in the room. It also ends up with Georgia accidentally planning her own birthday party because David is in Tokyo. But then they cut at one point and you learn David was actually in his bedroom and not a hotel room in Japan and Georgia didn't really just plan her own birthday party. That chaos was scripted. David has to change clothes, they have to go several minutes back in the scene they just did, but as Anna points out, the sun is not in the same place it was when they started the scene. And then Michael loses his shit at Simon and storms off.

You think that's the reason Simon left, but then we get the episode where Georgia tells David Michael wants to write the script and then tells Michael that David wants to write the script. She does it so she can get them alone in a room together because people love watching them argue. They find out she set them up about six hours later. They are hungry and hot and annoyed and mad at her so she gets Simon to come back to work with David and Michael. Simon comes back from cosplaying as a dentist, brings the food Michael ordered hours ago, and sits down to write. Michael gets pissed off at Simon again because Simon forgot the prawn crackers, so he throws his food at Simon.

Some of these are of the past. Some are of the present. They were all filmed at the same time though so you don't know what happened when or why.

These scenes are all cobbled together. They tell a complete story though. The order just isn't exact.

The story we are seeing in season 2 isn't the real story. It was happening around Aziraphale and Crowley, but with them at the focal point, you get a romantic comedy and it distracts you from what's going on in the background.

There is more than one story in season 2. It's basically a jigsaw puzzle that we can try to piece together, but we won't know what's actually happening until we get the much needed context of season 3.

There are clues all over the place in Good Omens 2. The story is being told through so many other methods except for the one that makes the most sense to us because someone doesn't want us to see what's coming, so we get distracted by Nina and Maggie, Jim, Aziraphale and Crowley.

We know Muriel and Saraqael are up to something. We know Shax and Furfur are up to something. We know the Metatron is up to something. What we don't know is where God went. We hear God's voice in Companion to Owls and we hear God's voice speaking through and with Jim when Crowley orders him to tell them what is going on. It ties directly to the first time Crowley and Aziraphale ever worked together.

We know that Aziraphale is going to Edinburgh and he knows exactly where he's going because he and Crowley have been there before. It challenges the concept of good and evil because Crowley does the good thing and gets sucked into Hell. Right next to Gabriel's statue.

We know that Aziraphale picks up a hitchhiker even though he doesn't want to, and it turns out to be Shax. She reminds Aziraphale of the time that Furfur caught them working together. There were zombies and human magic tricks and Aziraphale uses sleight of hand to save Crowley from being dragged back down into Hell again.

The episode titles of Staged 3 all represent different chapters of A Christmas Carol. But it was more than that because Michael is upset with David for doing adverts without him after they were both asked to work together at first. They love each other and they love working together, but it's preventing them from doing other things they want to do. Hence the break from working together.

It's a story within another story within another story.

And I think that's what we are witnessing in Good Omens. Things aren't happening in the right order. Beyond the sadness of Aziraphale and Crowley splitting up, there is still the next apocalypse to deal with. The story we are getting in season two isn't happening sequentially. It's being manipulated to hide the signs that things are already underway by giving us a love story as a distraction.

And it works very damn well. Because the love story was beautiful.

Staged 3 ending

Good Omens 2 ending

[caplanbuckybarnes]

Dean Winchester Drabbles/One Shots

updated November 22 20224

Main Masterlist

Adoration || Summary: it’s no secret Dean adores her.

Baby, I'm Yours || Summary: When news of your pregnancy comes to light, Dean rushes to your aid.

Blood Stained Hands and a Broken Heart || Summary: Dean thinks he did the right thing when he slaughtered a pack of innocent vampires. You disagree.

Bold Statements || Summary: mercenary work has its perks.

Broken Weddings || Summary: Dean misses your wedding to go on a hunt with Sam

Celestial Stars & Candy Apple Eyes || Summary: You’re torn between man & angel, and cannot handle the jealousy anymor

Could Happiness Last? || Summary: Dean holds his child for the first time.

Daddy's First || Summary: Dean dreams of having a baby with you.

Demonic Taunts || Summary: Winchester brothers were psychotic in their own rights.... it seemed as though they'd gotten off on the fact that you were being tortured.... maybe so.

Drinks With Demons || Summary: looking for demons doesn't end to well for you.

Ever Play Tag, Darling? || Summary: Ever played tag with adrenaline running through your veins?

Freckles and Green Eyes || Summary: You and Dean had a lazy morning.

The Falling of Icarus || Summary: Dean winchester will do annything and every to take down Crowley. So when one of Crowley's supporters come to him in a time of desperation, Dean does anything he can to take it.

Forevermore Revenge || Summary: Years ago, you'd witnessed the murder of your parents. After tons of consoling and peace of mind, you decide to finally have a chat with the man who did the deed. It wasn't at all what you'd expected.

In the Lonely Shadows || Summary: Crowely's always there to help convince you everything's going to be okay after Dean leaves with Lisa & Ben.

It's Going to Be Okay || Summary: you’re stressed about the apocalypse

Leather Confessions || Summary: By reading your journal, Dean finds out a secret of yours

Little Pet Shop || Summary: After gathering the shopping list, you and Dean run out to grab some things, only for you to convince Dean to stop at a nearby pet store.

Losing Control || Summary: You’d never tell a soul where Sam was being tortured.

Love of the Rivaling Seaboard || Summary: After being at sea for months at a time, you'd never expect to see your 'rival' at the docks with your crew...however the reunion is anything but hostile. [tumblr link]

Miscommunication || Summary: you left the bunker after overhearing a conversation with the Winchester brothers.

Mourning You || Summary: are you a demon or human?

Never Again || Summary: he was still normal… right?

Never Be Yours Again || Summary: dean runs into his ex partner on a hunt in a hotel. (Male!reader)

No Love For You || Summary: Dean knows exactly where it hurts….

Not Your Time || Summary: when you can't find Dean, you go looking for him, only to come to find your worst nightmare.

Patience With Love || Summary: Dean comes home feeling sullen about the loss of his favorite patient.

S.O.S. || Summary: you find out Dean had said yes to Michael after all…. [TUMBLR LINK]

See You Again || Summary: When dean turns into a demon, you make the ultimate sacrifice…

Sleeping Cuddles || Summary: One morning laying next to Dean.

Sneaking Away || Summary: Dean catches you just before you leave the bunker for good.

Snuggles || Summary: Dean holds his newborn baby in his arms while you watch in amazement.

Something Wicked This Way Comes || Summary: Living as a witch isn’t as fun as you’d think.

Sunshine in Darkness || Summary: You always loved waking up next to Dean

A Thousand Years || Summary: Happiness never lasts

Traitors Everywhere || Summary: You try and find dean before he kills the innocent

Trusted Loss || Summary: Dean finds out you cheated on him with lucifer.

Wedding Dates || Summary: Dean aks you to pretend to be his date at his father’s wedding.

Worrisome || Summary: you went out for groceries only to be rescued by Dean after being captured by a pack of werewolves.

Your Savior Will Come || Summary: you run to your best friend for help after you escape your abusive boyfriend dean.

[aziraphales-library]

Hello there! Thank you for this awesome library :) I read "a lighthouse (burning)" by books-and-omens (everybody_lives) and I LOVED it. Are there any other fics where Crowley & Aziraphale encounter ghosts? Preferably not a human AU though. Thank you!! ❤️

Hi! Here are some fics in which there are ghosts...

No victory without suffering by DarkmoonSigel (G)

Tumblr prompt about the bookshop being haunted, and Aziraphale not noticing.

Who Moved My Cheesecake? by Rathgrith (T)

Aziraphale and Crowley discover they have a ghost in the bookshop, and call Madame Tracy - now Marjorie Potts - for help communing with the dead.

the thirteenth night by darcylindbergh (M)

Crowley and Aziraphale have found everything they've been looking for in a cottage in the South Downs. Unfortunately, something else in the cottage finds them.

If I Risk It All by EdosianOrchids901 (M)

Eager to get closer to Aziraphale, Crowley suggests that they feign a relationship while on assignment. Aziraphale agrees, and soon they’re off to a grand country estate. But things at the estate may not be as they seem…

Death in Love by Aspirina_Effervescente, Cyanidechan (M)

After tempting a composer to fame and success, Crowley is cursed by his wife and tormented by her ghost until the end of his days. Aziraphale would do anything to save him, the only problem is that he doesn't know what's going on and, anyway, the problem could be much more complicated than it seems. Inspired by Giuseppe Tartini’s Sonata “the Devil’s trill”

And the one you mentioned...

a lighthouse (burning) by books-and-omens (M)

In good weather, one can see the lighthouse at the Rock from the shore: a dot on the horizon, a distant star flashing red and white and red again. It’s been dark for a fortnight, of course—ever since the incident that every newspaper had breathlessly written about, that the paper-boys on the corners had shouted themselves hoarse over. This is where Aziraphale is headed: it is his duty, after all, to find out what happened, to make sure that the beacon can be safely lit once again. He does not expect Crowley to follow him to the windswept isle, to the lonely lighthouse at what could just as well be the edge of the world. Crowley follows him anyway.

- Mod D

[goodomens-hints]

Episode 1 plot summary (+complete list of scenes) and more details about later episodes

SPOILER WARNING SPOILER GOOD OMEN SPOILERS BELOW i'll leave my inbox open in case anyone has specific questions about season 2 eps

Scene 1: star creation scene Crowley needs help building constellations so he calls out at a shooting star-shape that turns out to be Aziraphale, who materializes in front of him. He asks Aziraphale to hold up an open scroll with schematics for the galaxies. When Aziraphale does so, Crowley pokes the center of the scroll with his hand crank device and twists it, so that nebulae shoot out. Yes there is a scene where Crowley says "look at that, gorgeous" and Aziraphale gets flustered. They watch in awe until Aziraphale tells Crowley "you do know after 6,000 years it'll be gone right? I read about it in the Great Plan". Crowley gets upset and protests, questioning the almighty, how there should be a suggestion box where they can put suggestions, and Aziraphale advises him not to say such things. Crowley says it's not like asking questions gets you into trouble. They watch the galaxies bloom and Crowley veils Aziraphale with his wing as shooting stars fall toward them, similar to the Garden of Eden scene but in reverse. Scene 2 aziraphale goes to record shop Aziraphale gets a note in the bookshop that says there's a matter of great "ugrency" (misspelled). He visits Maggie in the record shop and she's crying because she can't pay rent, so she's prepared to move. Aziraphale says if she gives him the records he requested, that'll be equivalent to the rent she owes. Maggie asks how he can forgive her and he says "I'm all about forgiveness, actually" and leaves.

Scene 3: crowley talks to shax this is the one posted on youtube, though it's a lengthened scene that includes the beginning where a spy tries to talk to crowley on the bench and he redirects him to the guy feeding ducks. those are the guys crowley is yelling at later. there is also a part where shax implies that crowley owes her specific information? it's very vague but it's probably why she's giving him updates on hell. yup, crowley does say he hasn't seen aziraphale in a while but it's clearly a lie lol Scene 4: michael mentions book of life

in heaven, michael is arguing with someone on the phone about the book of life, i thought at first it was beelzebub on the other end but it's probably uriel

Scene 5: gabriel appears on earth maggie visits nina who remembers her coffee order (skinny latte). then they're distracted by the commotion outside wherein gabriel shows up naked carrying a box. aziraphale is listening to the records but gabriel knocks on the door of his bookshop. there's a huge crowd outside and the moment aziraphale opens the door, gabriel says "I know you! :D" and hugs him in front of everyone while still naked LOL. aziraphale gets really embarrassed and brings gabriel inside. the rest of the scene is the one on youtube where gabriel explains he doesn't remember who he is. Scene 6: muriel finds matchbox short scene where muriel finds the matchbox with Job's passage on the floor of Heaven. you can see a bit of this in the trailer

Scene 7: crowley throws mail and meets shax again Crowley is in a random street throwing the mail shax gave him into a garbage can. Suddenly shax calls and crowley picks up, snapping at her that she shouldn't call and appear suddenly at the same time. shax appears behind him and says "why not?" this is the pic where both shax and crowley are on the phone -- theyre actually talking to each other lmao. shax tells crowley there are rumors of gabriel being missing and crowley is happy. she leaves. Scene 8:

aziraphale is talking to gabriel and we get the whole trailer scene ("you know that feeling where...") but in the real ep aziraphale's reaction is SO ANIMATED, with him standing up and saying "No! definitely not! I have no idea!" LMAO it's so funny, he's so in denial. We hear FLIES when it cuts to gabriel btw so maybe beelzebub is spying? HOW SUSPICIOUS. At one point Gabriel says "I love you" out of nowhere to Aziraphale and Aziraphale says "I..." and Gabriel smiles, looking like he's expecting an i love you back but Aziraphale just says "hmm". People were laughing so hard at this.

Aziraphale calls crowley and asks to meet at the coffee shop. Crowley informs him that gabriel is missing.

Scene 9: short scene where michael and uriel argue because michael said now with gabriel gone, someone has to be in charge...

Scene 10: Maggie brings Nina a record but Nina doesn't have a record player. Nina reveals she has a partner (Lindsay) and Maggie gets disappointed and leaves. She bumps into Crowley and Aziraphale on the way out and tells Aziraphale "you're an angel" lmao.

Scene 11: Crowley is PISSED PISSED PISSED the whole time, in fact the whole ep he looks like he's about to explode. We get the coffee shop scene HOWEVER right before that Crowley asks Aziraphale "what's wrong?" and Aziraphale says "why do you think something's wrong?" all nervously and Crowley says "you only ever call for 3 reasons: one, you're bored, two, you accomplished something and want to brag about it, and three, something's wrong. And you're using your 'something's wrong' voice." YUP THIS IS THE NEW 'i know what you smell like!'. we then get the naked man convo and crowley realizes immediately that aziraphale is stressed and says "is it something i can help with?" and aziraphale nods and THEY IMMEDIATELY GET UP and go to the bookshop with a plate of eccle cakes lmao. once crowley sees gabriel he and aziraphale start fighting. crowley gets mad at aziraphale and tells him he didn't command gabriel to answer properly. He yells at gabriel "WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN THE BOOKSHOP?!" and uses his hypnotism but gabriel just says "I'm dusting" and does the passive-aggressive feather duster motion. we get the "carved out for ourselves" convo .aziraphale says "fine, i would love for you to help, but if you won't, then feel free to leave". crowley says "i'm not helping" and storms off. he goes out into the street and says to himself "dont do anything rash... wait 10 seconds before doing anything..." but he's already emmitting smoke. We get a funny convo between nina and maggie who are watching crowley from the coffee shop. Nina's all "the man who drank six expressos! He's smoking!" and maggie says "well of course, he needs to calms down!" and nina says "no i mean actually smoking!" Crowley does the lightning thing (maggie thinks he was actually struck by lightning) and it ends up locking Maggie and Nina in the shop and killing their phones. Scene 12:

seroquel and muriel show michael and uriel the matchbox. It has "The Resurrectionist" on it. They are baffled that something material has made its way into heaven. We get the "Gabriel, I think he's gone to earth" line.

Scene 13:

Crowley's in his car and flies start buzzing. beelzebub appears in his car and teleports them both to hell using flies. This is the pic in the poster where beelz and crowley are sitting on chairs side by side. crowley is disgusted and spits some flies out lmao. beelzebub says he can come back and work for hell (and even get a promotion) if he finds gabriel, and that according to heaven, anyone involved in hiding gabriel will be erased from the book of life. crowley is teleported back to his car and begins panicking. Scene 14: nina and maggie bond while locked in the coffee shop. maggie doesn't drink wine and didn't party, nina opens up some wine and drinks it out of a teacup. she says her girlfriend makes her text if she's late by 10 minutes and that she must be freaking out right now. they see someone walking outside and try to ask her to help free them but she doesn't notice them.

Scene 15:

Crowley is mad in his car, speeding, doing the usual etc. Good Old-fashioned lover boy is playing!!!! Scene 16: Crowley arrives and Nina and Maggie catch his attention. They signal for help and he just goes "oh" and snaps his fingers, unlocking the coffee shop and bringing back the electricity. He walks off lmao. Nina and Maggie are weirded out, Nina groans because her phone is bombarded with texts from Lindsay asking where she is. Crowley enters and we get the "I'm back" scene. Aziraphale says he has to do the apology dance and Crowley is all "no way" at first but Aziraphale says "I had to do it in 1861, 1942..." and Crowley says fine and dances.

IT'S REALLY HILARIOUS. HE ENDS IT WITH A BALLERINA BOW LIKE THIS LMAO

So we get the "we need to hide him" convo and they decide to each use half a miracle so that their miracles wont be detected by heaven/hell. crowley will hide gabriel from heaven and aziraphale will hide gabriel from hell. they do the hand-holding thing (like in the pic). theyre not sure if it worked but crowley tests it by standing on a chair and poking at the space above gabriel LOL and there's a hint of a shield so he says it worked, and that he's sure heaven or hell didn't detect a thing. Gabriel is all "now i have two friends :D" and crowley says "We are not friends >:(" Scene 17: an alarm is blaring in heaven because CLEARLY they noticed the half miracle ahahahaha. michael, uriel and seraquel go to the globe and see purple smoke streaming out of the UK. they 'zoom in' and realize it's coming from aziraphale's bookshop.... (interesting that michael refers to aziraphale as a 'former angel' here)

End episode Soon I will summarize ep 2! Some hints for future eps too: -There's a big rain scene -There's an epic scene in the bookshop that took several weeks to film! (youve seen some hints in the trailer) -There are at least 3 jokes about aziraphale and crowley having sex that are scattered throughout the season LOL one of them is nina noticing crowley grumpy and saying "you look like mr. fell didn't let you top last night" and crowley's reaction is amazing. I'll say no more (for now)

[actual-changeling]

i thought too much about Crowley's fall and ended up with 800 words of... something. enjoy (hopefully)

——

Crowley—still Crawly then—wondered for a while whether there was anything noble in falling. It had certainly felt like it for a while, when falling meant spreading your wings and warming steel within your fists, when falling was not falling but rising from the depths She had bound them to.

With his own creations at his fingertips, he understood the urge to protect what seemed so much more fragile than himself, thinking himself to be Her in all the ways that mattered—thinking that She, too, would protect what was Hers and nothing but a candle flame next to Her radiance.

After the fall, after broken wings and bleeding hearts, and even with his memories buried in a fog of pitch-black pain, he knows that he never regretted a single question. She made him, but he was remaking himself.

When he met a familiar face on the walls of Eden, he soon understood that there was the same familiar warmth in an entirely different kind of fall.

After falling for love—for his stars—he fell into love with open eyes and no fear of hitting the ground. Nothing could ever compare to the agony of grace burning its way out of his soul, and despite still healing scars, he was hoping to never land at all.

Crowley fell for six thousand years, falling so Aziraphale did not have to, falling because he saw something worth protecting, falling because he could protect him.

Falling because no one protected him, and now pain does not matter anymore. Falling because if there is one thing worse than regretting the jump, it is realising half-way down that the person you jumped for never meant to catch you at all.

God had loved him, once upon a time, with kindness in Her eyes yet not in Her words, not in Her hands. When he fell out of Her favour, he was swallowed up by the dark and spit out at the feet of the earth, forever bound to shadows.

Aziraphale loves him, and that has never been the question Crowley was too scared to ask—it is the 'how' that terrified him, or rather the fact that the answer to it has always been buried deep below his ribs. He wasn't scared to ask; he was scared to look down and see him stepping away with his hands behind his back.

Aziraphale loves him like God loves him:

Not like a fragile creation to protect, but a creature with the purpose of serving as the oxygen to his flame, so he can keep shining while Crowley watches his hands blacken with ash and soot. In all their time, Aziraphale never dared to reach out, to touch, apparently too afraid of tainting himself; still guiltessly hoping that She, who averted Her gaze long ago, would one day meet his eyes again.

Crowley saw the truth of Her light and fell for his stars. He fell for an angel no longer his, he fell, so Aziraphale did not have to. They are both standing on the same precipice, one having already clawed his way back up, the other closing his eyes and refusing to hear Her voice commanding them to jump.

Risk the fall, gain freedom or balance on the edge, and convince yourself that you will never sway too far to the wrong side. Convince yourself that She would ever allow you to step back from the cliff instead of pushing you off it. Convince yourself that you are too light and burning too brightly for gravity to ever get a hold of you. Convince yourself that those are the screams of the depraved and not the righteous—you with a different face, you with darker wings, you in all but name in soul, you you you—meeting a fate meant for all of Her children.

This has to be love, Crowley decides halfway down; it has to be. After all, he will still be there once I have climbed back up.

After all, he never told me to jump.

After all, he never pushed me off the edge—he simply stepped back and said you first without ever intending to follow.

In love, there is devotion, and what is devotion but carving the best parts of yourself out of your soul and offering them—raw and bleeding—to someone who would rather watch you destroy everything you could have been than ever hand anything back to you?

(Someone who watched you jump and judged you for it.)

There is barely anything left of him now, but there is something left. Something bright and fragile, a being robbed of innocence so long ago. The only thing worth falling for, no matter what name he gives himself.

Crowley breathed life into the emptiness of the universe, and now it owes him; if no one is willing to fall with him, he will pull them down and reclaim what is his until his feet are touching the ground again.

Until he stops looking up and looks forward instead, no longer waiting for anyone to follow while he finally walks away from heaven's edge.

[david-talks-sw]

Okay so I watched Inside Man on Netflix. It's interesting. More importantly, it's a masterclass in crafting likeable characters and how the POV we follow in a scene affects the way we see a character. Also, this somehow relates to the Star Wars Prequels, I promise! 😆

The moral of the series is that "everyone is a murderer, all it takes is a good reason and a bad day." The main characters are:

A vicar who - through a huge misunderstanding - has now locked his son's tutor in his basement and doesn't know how to get out of this situation, played by David Tennant.

A convicted murderer and ex-criminal psychology professor who solves crimes from his cell, as he waits for his execution, played by Stanley Tucci.

So a man who locked a woman in his cellar and a guy who murdered his wife. In any other movie, these guys are the villains. Yet, both of these characters are extremely likeable!

This is achieved through how relatably they behave in their relationships (kind, humble, humorous)...

... and through the emotion and/or charisma brought by the actors playing them (it's THE DOCTOR/CROWLEY and Stanley Friggin' Tucci)... but also through the amount of screen time they get.

We're with them for most of the show. There's other characters (the journalist, the trapped tutor and the vicar's wife) and subplots, of course, but they're our two anchors.

So when I'm watching David Tennant lock his son's tutor in his cellar and consider if he should free her - only to see him and his wife make things worse - I'm not thinking "you monster" like I do when I see Buffalo Bill in Silence of the Lambs for example.

No, I'm thinking "goddammit vicar you're making things worse, it'll come back to haunt you, there's still a chance to turn back, please!" I'm rooting for him to make the right choice because I'm seeing him struggle and despair and hesitate throughout many scenes.

When I'm watching Stanley Tucci guiltily say he deserves death, after being so darn charming, humble and in clear possession of a moral compass, my instinct as a viewer isn't to go "he's right".

It's to go "aaaw, no it's fine, everyone makes mistakes."

And these characters remain likeable and/or relatable for a huge chunk of time... until, every once in a while, the show reminds you that, "remember, these guys are criminals."

"One of them's killed his wife then decapitated her, and the other one is contemplating murder, so they did/are doing evil stuff, they're the villains and you shouldn't grow fond of them."

Then it goes back to making you empathize with them again.

It's quite the emotional roller-coaster, very intriguing yet frustrating, which I have to guess is exactly what the show is going for.

But the point is: the amount of time we spend with these characters is partially what elicits this emotional reaction out of us.

If we consider the tutor's character:

For all intents and purposes, we should feel sorry for her, or full-on fucking love her. Objectively-speaking, she's:

smart but obviously scared,

we establish early on that she has a brave heart and stands up for oppressed women,

she thinks she's trapped by a pedophile or a man defending a pedophile, figures he'll inevitably try to murder her, yet manages to stay resourceful, determined and cool-headed despite it all.

She's an absolute superhero.

But that's not how the narrative frames her.

She's framed as an antagonistic force, in the vicar's subplot.

She may be the one tied up in a basement, but she's in control and the vicar is not. She's almost framed as being in a position of power (when she's really not), which leads the audience to view Tenant's vicar as an underdog.

When the vicar is trying to look for alternatives to end this situation so that he doesn't have to kill her, she's unhelpful,

and even starts pitting the vicar and his wife against each other.

Again, in-universe, she's scared shitless and in "fight-or-flight" mode. She's putting up a front because she's just trying to get outta this alive. She's the victim, here, not the vicar who captured her.

But as a viewer, you don't feel that, despite objectively knowing that. Why and how?

Because we barely see this character, compared to Tenant's vicar. So we have more time to grow to feel for him. There's "why".

Also 90% of what we do see of the tutor is her being aggressive, manipulative, sometimes downright merciless and we're seeing her from the POV of the vicar or the vicar's wife. There's "how".

Result: the viewer feels sorry for the captor and frustrated towards the captive.

This isn't a rational reaction, it's an emotional one (the goal of any visual artform being to get an emotional reaction out of the viewer).

Which means the series and Stephen Moffat effectively did their job.

How does this relate to the Prequels?

Well, a lot of people see the Jedi in a negative light in the Prequels, and Anakin in a more sympathetic one.

Even though the Prequels are about how a good man becomes bad, and even though the Jedi embody one of the major Star Wars themes (selflesness) as opposed to Anakin who clearly displays the anti-theme (selfish)... a majority of fans feels more for the latter than the former. Why?

Because the Prequels unintentionally do what Inside Man does purposefully. You react to Anakin like you react to the vicar. You react to the Jedi like you react to the tutor.

Simply put: Anakin has more screen time than the Jedi. And we don't just see him more, we see him struggle, we see him about what he knows to be morally right vs what he really wants, we see him be overtaken by his own fear...

... and just by contrast, that makes him more relatable than the Jedi, who have already overcome their character arcs and mostly all learned to keep their flaws in check.

The narrative doesn't intend to frame them as antagonistic. We do see them talk about how worried they are, we do see them emote.

And if you think about it, it's easy to see why:

their entire way of life is going to crap,

their values are being corrupted as they're forced to fight and die, alongside their clone brothers, in a war they wanted no part of,

they sense that the Force is close to the breaking point and that the galaxy's inhabitants are suffering on the daily.

But, for example, when Mace or Ki-Adi Mundi are shown expressing concern in the Prequels... as worried as they are, in-universe... out-of-universe, their measured reactions doesn't emotionally impact a viewer as much as Anakin's intense ones do.

So a big chunk of the audience will sympathize more with him than them. But like the tutor in Inside Man, the Jedi are objectively the victims and Anakin is objectively an unstable space-nazi who betrayed and destroyed them.

Just because we're not shown these characters be worried beyond just monotonously saying "I'm worried" doesn't mean they're not actually worried as Anakin is in Revenge of the Sith (if not more).

However we don't see it.

Because these three films aren't about the Jedi Order, they're about the Republic and about Anakin and about how each of these two beautiful things were corrupted (by Palpatine and by themselves) into becoming the very thing they stood against.

The Jedi aren't a factor in either of those two themes set up by George Lucas.

They became a factor when fans - who despite not liking the Prequels, still admirably chose to engage with the material - made the Jedi be more important to the narrative of the Prequels by re-framing these films as "The Failure of the Jedi".

Now, should Lucas have recognized that most fans wouldn't give two shits about why a Republic falls or the "matinee serial" format, and would've rather he focused on the Jedi, and developed them accordingly? Probably.

But good luck telling an indie filmmaker with a bunch of money how to tell the story he wants to tell.

Could Lucas have done more with the Prequels to highlight the fact that the Jedi are the underdogs of the story, not Anakin's oppressors? Yes.

But, firstly, he probably didn't think that was a point that needed explaining. And secondly, as he explained at Cannes, in 2002, feature films are a very limiting format to tell a story, especially one of the Prequels' scale. If it doesn't directly contribute to the story you're telling... it's gotta go.

A limited show would've been better to cover every aspect of the Prequels more in detail and avoid confusing the audience re: who they should be rooting for.

Which is why it's interesting, to me, that Stephen Moffat used his limited show to INTENTIONALLY confuse the audience! 😃

[sundeum]

the possibility that aziraphale and crowley might have known each other even before eden is enough to destroy me i think. the fact that they might've known each other at the dawn of time, when nothing existed and everything was particles coming together and a world forming, two essences in the dark opened their newly formed eyes and the first thing they might've seen was each other. they knew each other at the beginning of time and they knew each other at its (almost) end. a relationship which defies any human understanding. if they knew each other as angels, just imagine – innocent and naive crowley, the starmaker, the angel with spacedust in his hair and hope in his eyes who truly believed heaven was good, who only wanted to learn and understand how the world worked, how god was executing her plans, and did the one thing heaven forbids (as is shown in eden through the tree of knowledge) – asked questions, demanded knowledge and answers. the very thing which is his nature got him banished from his home. imagine aziraphale seeing it all happen after knowing crowley as an angel, after he was utterly smitten by the being with the brightest smile and hopeful nature, the being who literally hung the stars – and then meeting again at the beginning of human history, aziraphale sees those same eyes and he longs to protect him in the way heaven never could. and his slight hesitation when he didn't know what to call crowley – does that mean crowley had a different angel name and aziraphale wasn't sure if he had kept it? and also the fact that aziraphale never had to introduce himself and crowley just knew his name in the second scene ever of them together !!!!

[theravenmuse]

Theorizing time! Crowley was Lucifer!

I’m going to preface this by saying I’m 50/50 on this theory, but it’s fun so we’re gonna talk about it. 

Now Lucifer and Satan are not necessarily the same person in the Bible. We also know for a fact that Satan and Lucifer aren’t the same entity in Good Omens. (Neil has said this but I’m too lazy to track down the ask.) BUT  in Paradise Lost, which I see as a big influence on Good Omens, Satan is the fallen angel Lucifer. Now Crowley is not Satan. We know this for certain as we get interactions between them via the Bentley in S1E1 and at the airbase in S1E6. But in this theory, the lines have been muddled and Crowely is the fallen Lucifer while Satan is someone else. No idea who. That’s not important.

Evidence Part 1: Biblical stories attributed to Lucifer/Satan that Crowley is now known to be responsible for. 

Now all of these are technically attributed to Satan, not to Lucifer. See opening note about muddled lines.

The original sin 

Job’s trials

The temptation of Christ

Evidence Part 2: Crowley’s former status in Heaven

Crowley can access a file that is only available to “Throne, Dominion, or above.” Now, the angelic hierarchy in GO is twisted up so much I hardly know what to make of that, but it definitely means high up. 

Then, shortly after this revelation, we get the Metatron saying this: “For one prince of Heaven to be cast out into the outer darkness makes a good story. For it to happen twice, makes it look like there is an institutional problem.” 

Are the two connected? Not necessarily, but the proximity of them indicates to me that they might be.

Evidence Part 3: Crowley’s power

When Shax mentions (in episode 2) the accidentally super powerful miracle that Crowley and Aziraphale co-created, she calls it one that “only the mightiest of Archangel’s could have performed.” Crowley responds to her query with, “how do you know I didn’t do it?” Now, is he talking out of his ass? Who knows. He does tend to do that a lot.

What we do know is that Crowley can stop time and create pocket dimensions. Something we don’t know of anyone else being capable of. He does this most notably by creating a pocket dimension in the climax of S1 to give him and Aziraphale time to talk to Adam, but he also freezes the executioner in 1793 and Mr. Dalrymple in 1827. The latter is especially notable because Aziraphale requests that he do it instead of simply doing it himself. Now this could just be Aziraphale goading Crowley into doing things for him again, but I’m inclined to believe this is something Crowley can do that Aziraphale can’t. Aziraphale is pretty high up by angel standards.

And then obviously there’s the star making in the opening of season 2. Or, more accurately, the star factory making, which is even better in my opinion.

Evidence Part 4: “Let there be light”

Ah, that gorgeous opening scene where Crolwey creates M16, the Eagle Nebula, which contains the gorgeous Pillars of Creation. He uses that classic line, “let there be light,” to set it all off. Lucifer is known as “the light bringer.”

Then we get a call back to that opening scene in episode 5 with Gabriel and the lamp. Being mentioned a second time means to me that there’s something intentional there. 

Evidence Part 5: Gabriel’s triggered memory may be a bit more specific than Crowley would like to admit.

“I remember when the morning stars sang together, and all the angels of God shouted for joy.”

Lucifer is also known as “the morning star”

Crowley deflects and says it’s what God told Job. He’s absolutely right, but I don’t think Gabriel picking it out was random. I think it’s because he’s looking right at the morning star (or perhaps one of several, since God says morning stars, plural?)

Now this is probably the weakest bit of evidence out of the bunch, BUT, it’s what tipped me off to this theory in the first place.

Now the cons. 

The most obvious is that Satan is typically fallen Lucifer and Crowley is most certainly not Satan.

Crowley also mentions Lucifer by name once in season 1, in the drunk scene after the bookshop fire. Granted, he’s starting on his third bottle of Talisker, so that may be enough for him to start talking in the third person, but it’s still odd.

Like I said, I’m not sold on this theory, but we’ve got at least three years of clowning to do so why not have fun with it?

[filmtv2022]

Every Part Of You

Pairing: Aziraphale x Reader (Female Reader) 

Synopsis: Aziraphale struggles to understand why the reader would want to be with him. The reader takes it into her own hands, and does what she can to prove that he is more than worthy of her love. 

Warnings: slight spice/suggestive behavior/kissing

A/N: I loved writing this shorter piece. Also, I know this is a story with a female reader, but I firmly believe that Crowley and Aziraphale are endgame for the actual course of the show. We need season 3 of Good Omens ASAP! Those two blundering idiots (with all the love and affection) love each other!

Warm light filled the room, though the sky outside the windows sat pitch black. Even the stars didn’t shine. Heavy rain beat on the glass, creating a steady calming rhythm. Snuggled into his side, her head rested on his chest, their legs tangled beneath the sheets. Strong hands held her as they traced patterns along their bare skin. A sleepy haze settled over her, but the same didn’t seem to be happening for him. His body remained tense as if he was ready to spring out of bed at any moment. 

Pushing herself up on an elbow, she scanned over his face. Deep lines of contemplation sat between his furrowed brows. Smoothing over the lines with the tips of her fingers, she watched as he turned his face to meet theirs.

 “What’s going on in that head of yours?” 

“It’s nothing, I promise,” his voice was steady but low.

“Don’t try to lie to me, I know you better than that,” she brushed an errant curl from his face as she whispered, “Talk to me, please.” 

“I just… I don’t…” turning slightly, he wrapped her further in his arms, “I don’t understand how I got here.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, I don’t understand how a woman like you could ever love a man like… well, like me.” 

“What are you talking about? You can’t possibly be that daft.” She chuckled quietly, but the humor quickly faded when she clocked the look in his eyes. His question was no attempt at humor. 

“You’re serious?” she waited for a response, but when none came she kept going, “Oh my god, did I do something to make you feel-”

“It’s not you, trust me.”

“Then what is it? Who is it?” 

“It isn’t one person, it’s… I see the way people look at us when we walk down the street or sit down for a nice dinner out. Their eyes linger just a touch too long before they turn to whisper to their friends. Their attention never truly leaving us. Confusion, that’s what I see on their faces.” 

“You’re wrong. If you think for a second that you’re not worthy of my love, then you’re wrong. I’m not sure you’ve ever been more wrong.” 

“Sweetheart, please don’t try to make this better, I-”

“No, I’m not going to let you keep thinking this way. Just listen to me for a second, will you?”

“Okay, fine, I'm all yours.”

“Wonderful. Now… where should I start?” Roving over his face and body with her eyes, she contemplated where to begin, “Oh, I know, how ‘bout we start with this.”

Her slender hand came up to brush gently over his forehead, following the gentle curve of his hairline, “I love this mind. Your creativity, your intelligence. The way you are always thinking of me, looking for ways to care for me.” He smiled sweetly up at her, running her fingers along the fine lines of his forehead, but it didn’t reach his eyes. There sat a sadness and uncertainty in his gaze. 

Sliding her fingers into the soft curls a low hum rumbled through her chest. She combed through his shocking white locks as she continued to speak, “And these curls, the way they feel between my fingertips it’s… it’s heaven.” 

Tugging lightly at the roots, she watched in awe at how his eyes closed in reverence and his head fell further into the pillow, exposing his neck to her. A quiet noise fell from him and he focused on her touch. Her soft lips pressed into his temples, brushing a feather-light kiss to each.

Pulling back just enough to see his face again, she swept her thumb gently over his lips, the soft flesh moving delicately under her touch, his eyes fluttered open at the sound of her words, “And your voice, I love that too. The way you speak life back into me when I need it most.” 

Bringing their lips together, she allowed the kiss to linger. His strong hands came to rest on her back, pressing her tenderly to him hoping beyond anything to hold onto this moment. Breaking the embrace, the warmth of her breath was hot on him as she spoke, “Your lips, the way they feel against my body… it’s intoxicating.” 

Firmly held beneath her luscious weight, he lifted his head so that he could find her skin. Taking his time, he laid a line of fire along the column of her throat and along her chest. A sharp gasp tore through the air as he mouthed at the swell of her breast, his teeth raking lightly against the tender flesh. 

“Don’t try to distract me, my love.” 

He grumbled in amusement, “All right, as you were.” 

“Thank you,” a bright smile painted her face.

Sliding down his body, her hands and lips trailed in the wake. His muscles twitched beneath her touch, the feeling of her sent electricity running over every inch of him, “You know what else I love, dear?” 

Giving him no time to speak, the coarse hair on his chest tickled her nose as she nipped at the spot over his heart, “I love this heart and the way that it cares for others. You make people feel special ... like they matter.” 

She soothed over her bite before moving to place a nearly imperceptible kiss on his sternum. Trailing down over his soft stomach, she listened to the way his breath hitched, his hands found purchase on whatever part of her they could. She reached the waistband of his boxers, toying with the smooth cotton. His hips jerked up to meet her touch, and a desperate whine fell from him as he begged for more. A sly grin twisted her lips at his neediness, “Hold on darling, I’m not quite done.” 

Throwing a leg over his, she straddled his hips, the blankets that had covered her pooled around her waist leaving her entirely exposed to his gaze. One of his hands found the curve of his waist, holding her in place. While the other wandered higher, palming her breast. Leaning down. she pressed her chest into his, finding his lips again. It started slowly, languid, but grew heavier as the seconds passed. Her hips rolled against his, earning a heady groan from him. Matching her need, he threaded his thick fingers through her silky locks, gripping tightly to keep her close. 

With her lungs heaving for air, she was forced to pull back, her forehead resting on his, “I love you. Every part of you. Please, don’t you ever doubt that again.” 

“Never,” smiling against her lips, he held her more surely, closing the minuscule gap between them.

[locationvoid]

AziraCrow

Demon Aziraphale -> Demon name: Zira

Angel Crowley -> Angel name: Raphael

~°~°~~°~°~°~°~°~~°~°~°~°~°~~°~°~°~°~°

You don't have to read this part but this is my take on demon Aziraphale and Angel Crowley

So we don't have a whole lot of context on Crowley's past as an angel but we know he helped create the nebulas, helped out the start of the universe in place, and even participated in the Battle on the Plains of Heaven. We also know angels can have their memories wiped and tampered with and Crowley has stated how he doesn't remember everything about being an angel but he remembers he was high ranking since he had access to Gabriel's files and he remembers making the nebula cluster. He even remembers starting up the universe since he has the same crank tool he used to get everything started for the big bang.

I'm into the shared idea that Aziraphale, upon turning into a demon, will have gone blind for at least the first few weeks of becoming an angel. There's a theory that Crowley HAD to fall to be able to become the snake of Eden, which makes sense but still very f***ed up. But I believe Aziraphale would Still be a snake for there to be a snake of Eden. Snakes are seen as untrustworthy, sneaky, fast, tempting, and deceitful which would go well with my idea that after the first day Aziraphale and Crowley met each other, Aziraphale goes back to his own duties and can't help but think about what Crowley said, about how the angels who are also contributing to working on the Great Plan should be able to have a say in things as well. Conflicted, I can see him going around to other angels, innocently asking them what they think of the idea. Soon enough, instead of Satan and the guys finding angel Crowley, they overhear Aziraphale asking questions and invite him to hang out, so he does, not wanting to be rude but so genuinely curious to hear what Satan has to say. Then I can see Aziraphale slowly forming his own thoughts, wanting to show the other angels and God that they can all work together as equals and all get the credit they deserve.

This is where the war would come in. Originally, Aziraphale became guardian of the East Gate of Eden so I think it's safe to say he had a somewhat important role during the war. And Crowley was said to have ridden Furfur's back during the war which may seem like he did absolutely nothing but mess around during the war but the actual terms used for Crowley's role can honestly be referred to in a way where Crowley also played an important role on the opposing side. But I can say for sure until S3.

The idea for demon Aziraphale is that word would get around about Aziraphale asking questions and hanging out with Satan and he would be "tried" for his treason. But he knew there wouldn't be one and that he would be cast out so he joins the war on the opposing side, knowing how corrupt Heaven truly is. His last ditch effort to stop God's abuse of power and hopefully get someone new in charge but it's no use. I imagine the "war" is more like a civil war instead of a full on world war. And after, all the angels involved were cast out of Heaven, Aziraphale included. One of her strongest, most loyal soldiers betrayed her so when he falls, he's forced into his new life blind and afraid. Aziraphale's hands are now adorned with sharp claws and the whites of his eyes have darkened and his iris has turned to snake-like slits. He's forced to be a snake, not because it means he won't see the stars again but to remind him that he refused to trust Her and the Plan.

I can see Aziraphale still wanting to be an angel but not with Her in power so he accepts his fall to an extent.

Demon Aziraphale would still like his Tartan clothes, just in darker form, with the addition of dark blues. He would still like reading books but would be more open to other hobbies as well.

I can also see him hesitant to fully change his name so he may go by Zira as his demon name or he may use a demon name while in Hell and/or talking to Satan or the other demons but use the name Zira when talking to Crowley.

/////////////////////////////////////////

Angel Crowley will have thought about what Angel Aziraphale said to him, about how he shouldn't be asking so many questions because he wouldn't want to see Crowley (Raphael) fall. He would finish his duties of starting the universe and report back to God. He would try to put it out of his mind and continue on his duties like normal and, with Satan and the guys being occupied with Aziraphale, Crowley wouldn't have the chance to hang out with them.

I believe Aziraphale and Crowley (in the original story) still talked to each other at least every now and again when they were both still angels. This would be the same in this timeline but with some differences.

Every now and again the two would see each other and chat, carelessly, not wanting to talk work with each other, Aziraphale too scared of losing Crowley's friendship to bring up the fact that he's hanging out with Satan.

Then the rumors would start. Crowley will have heard about Aziraphale talking to Satan, other angels would see it as treason but Crowley would be genuinely intrigued with Aziraphale's new life. He would want to ask him questions, try to, but Aziraphale would refuse to answer, not wanting Crowley to get in trouble.

The war would happen and Crowley would be out in an important position (just like Aziraphale had been) and Aziraphale would fight on the opposing side.

Afterwards, upon Aziraphale's fall, Crowley is placed as guard of the Eastern Gate of Eden and given a flaming sword.

I believe the story would play out similarly as it did in the show except Angel Crowley would be a bit more confident than angel Aziraphale and wouldn't second guess giving his sword away. This lack of hesitation would intrigue Zira and it would be the start of a long friendship.

Angel Crowley would also be confident in his clothing style as well, switching up clothes each day/week to satisfy his need for change. Instead of a bookshop there would be a greenhouse attached to an apartment where people can buy plants ranging from decorative flowers and ferns to spices to fruits to vegetables and so on. He would also be a big fan of space and would have many space-themed pictures and objects around the place. Aziraphale would have a library space in his own apartment and a place for his music. He and Crowley both enjoy classical but I can see them both enjoying other genres as well that you wouldn't think angel Aziraphale or even angel Crowley would even like.

//////////////////////////////////

When it comes to the two of them together, I can see them being clingy, like in the books. Angel Crowley wouldn't be as hesitant to touch Aziraphale and wouldn't be as embarrassed to be nice to demon Zira since Crowley's angel side would be more confident in that sense. I can even see demon Zira being quite the passive aggressive demon while Crowley would be a very blunt angel, at least especially after the Garden of Eden when God has fully calmed down from the giving-his-sword-away thing. He will be more confident in his Earth work and thus a bit more blunt regarding what he wants. They would eat together, Crowley happily being introduced to human food by Zira, they would drink together, and they would sit close to each other. They would often show little signs of affection through touches and I could even see Crowley hugging Zira out of excitement sometimes.

I can see, even though angel Crowley is more confident, there are situations where he gets overwhelmed or outnumbered or just stuck and Zira is happily coming to his aid to help in any way he can. Not caring what the mission is, he just wants to be able to be by angel Crowley's side and help him, no matter how dangerous. He does like detective books.

But confessions of love would still be something that would happen later since, well, they're ineffable idiot lovers, they take their time.

(If you're wondering what the tattoo is on Aziraphale's face in the drawing, The Bowl of Hygieia, is one of the symbols of pharmacology, and along with the Rod of Asclepius, it is one of the most ancient and important symbols related to medicine in western countries. Hygieia was the Greek goddess of health, hygiene, cleanliness, and sanitation, and the daughter of Asclepius, who she is often closely associated with e.g. in prayers and hymns. Asclepius' symbol is his rod, with a snake twined around it; correspondingly, Hygieia's symbol is a cup or chalice with a snake twined around its stem. Hygieia was also invoked, along with her father Asclepius, and Panacea in the original Hippocratic Oath.)

[may--hawk]

passive aggressive (ineffable remix)

XVIII. Passive Aggressive - Placebo

Every time I rise I see you falling

Can you find me space inside your bleeding heart?

Aziraphale’d been there when Crowley had Fallen. All the angels had. They’d all been called to witness the ranks of rebel angels, vanquished and manacled, backed up to the very edge of Heaven as their sentence was proclaimed: eternal damnation, torn from Love, no hope of forgiveness. They had been weeping. All of them, the angels and the fallen angels. Gabriel. Uriel. Michael. Aziraphale. Even proud Lucifer. Even Crowley.

Aziraphale had sought him out in the crowd: no longer so springy, so sure, but just as bright and beautiful as before. A cut across his cheek. Aziraphale just couldn’t understand how something so lovely, so clever, so clearly Her creation could stand against her. Aziraphale had wished the angel would look at him for the last time, had wished he won’t. It would have been the last time. He stopped just short of a prayer, because prayers by angels had a way of being heard.

Their sentence was proclaimed, and the angel who would later become Crowley raised his eyes one last time, mouth parting slightly, as if to speak. Aziraphale almost cries out, stepping forward. Aziraphale will never see this angel again; this angel, cast down, will never see the stars again -

And then the entire Heavens shook and shuddered as if crying out in despair, and the rebel angels were Falling, long streaks of light. Aziraphale turned away, unable to watch.

An eternity went by, or perhaps not. Time hadn’t been invented yet. Aziraphale thought of the angel often but tried not to. He was a demon now, the enemy. The angels still in Heaven were told all kinds of things about the demons trapped down in Hell, the prison created specially to hold them. They were told of the rebel angels’ evil, their depravity, their ceaseless machinations to pull Heaven down to their debased level. What hurt Aziraphale the most was hearing that they were monstrous now, half fallen angel, half beast, remade into things that crept and crawled and groveled, a rejection of Her image, Her grace. Aziraphale tried very hard not to think about it. He told himself there must have been something wrong with the other angel, or God would not have cast him out, surely.

And then Aziraphale was sent down to Earth, and the demon was there, in the Garden, and Aziraphale glanced at him once, twice, each time looking away, not wanting to see this beautiful creature’s degradation. Not the new form: Aziraphale found the snake lithe and graceful, the demon’s eyes a beautiful marbled yellow. No, Aziraphale was afraid to look into his eyes and see what he was told he would see: malice, disgust, evil. No trace of the angel that had been all that time ago amongst the stars.

But he found he couldn’t help but look, and look again, and again. For despite what the demon - Crawley, then Crowley - said - he was still himself, still the same angel Aziraphale had met among the stars. Aziraphale could see it with his many eyes. Throughout the years, he looked and looked all over, but every examination, every angle showed the same thing: the angel’s heart, still present, almost exactly the same. A little tarnished, perhaps, but largely unharmed. Merely encased, protected, but inside cracked open, raw and bleeding.

So he reminds Crowley, over and over again, even when Crowley doesn’t want to hear it: reminds Crowley of his past, of his goodness, still so present in him. He forgives Crowley as often as he can, bestowing his one blessing the only way he can, knowing Crowley is incapable of doing the same.

Perhaps Crowley did not see him there, in Heaven, watching, and doing nothing. Perhaps Crowley does not even remember him. Oh, but he remembers Crowley.

Every time he looks at Crowley, he thanks God, because what he has lost has been returned to him. He will not lose it again.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/52878844/chapters/136955758