#i used to reference characters’ bodies only like. as a motif etc (hands mostly)

[hideyseek]

11.16.2022

hmm i think i need to bully myself into not writing for a few days again… today’s writing session was SINGULARLY terrible, i feel like i am just slapping random character dynamics onto a story that may or may not fit them and ALSO none of the writing is beautiful or even functional, it’s just incredibly stilted words. grrrrrrrrr.

but it’s fine! how i feel about the project has almost zero correlation with how the project is going! just because i feel like i am plodding forward directionlessly does not mean that the project will constantly feel like this!

i’m worried that i’ve stopped writing linearly — not because there’s anything wrong with skipping around, but because i have yet to procure any evidence that when i do this i actually finish a coherent draft. well. this time it — OH MY GOD THE REASON I FELT LIKE SHIT THIS WHOLE DRAFTING SESSION TODAY IS BECAUSE I FUCKING STARTED WRITING A SCENE THAT ISN’T EVEN IN THIS ARC. because i knew i already had drafts of the rest of the scenes in this arc and momentarily it became more important to me to hit the completely arbitrary wordcount of 7.5k than to ACTUALLY WRITE THE STORY I AM TRYING TO WRITE. sigh… classic hidey brain move…

well ok, helpful realization. i think then… i’ll try to spend the rest of this month writing only when i really definitely WANT to, and try to spend those sessions revising the existing drafts of the last few scenes of this arc — i am making up the rules of this writing process myself! the goal is: work on this fic in a semi-structured way! there is LITERALLY NO RULE that says i have to fuck around and keep writing this fake “first draft”, or that eveything i write in this month needs to be the same like, “version” of the draft! there is no rule that says it!!!!!

maybe what i will need to do is put together a scene tracking document for this arc — i’ve seen a few other writers i follow do this so i kind of have a sense of what i’m looking for in it. just so i can kind of ease myself back into that bird’s-eye view of the arc that i need to be able to move to/from when revising. hmmm but that can be a next week problem!

but, yeah. the ACTUAL goal of this month is to have a more intuitive sense of what i’m trying to do in this first arc, and to have an understanding (or at least to have some notes) about plots and subplots that i’m opening up and progressing in this arc that i can use to tie the various arcs or whatever together. this goal is NOT “generate as many words as possible all in the same draft version until you hit your wordcount” NO NO NO!!! NO!!!!!!!!! *thwapping myself lovingly with a beanie baby* NO NO NO THE GOAL IS TO PRODUCE READABLE FIC! NOT JUST WORDS! yes when i am stuck or looking for where to take a scene! then this exploratory pantsing drafting is great! but IF I KNOW WHERE I’M TRYING TO GO!! i don’t need to waste my own time writing in circles just to generate draft material i know i’m not gonna want to read through! gAHHHHHHH

[exquisitecorpsehq]

first, i just want to thank each and every applicant so much for applying. there was truly not a single bad app and all of you put such thought and care into your characters that it was truly so difficult to choose! without further ado, meet the whitmouth visual arts class of 2008!

THE HEAD is deckname levanter, written by seb!

I’m completely obsessed with Deckname. His conflicting relationship with Ernest comes through so well, as does his position as de facto leader of the group. Writing blurbs for his feelings on every other skeleton was absolutely not required but really helped get across his role as their leader and his feelings about them as individuals and as a group. His path to philanthropy in adulthood makes so much sense, as does his feeling of disconnect from it. “Deckname decides he’s going to break Ernest Hastings”, I clapped, I cheered.

THE HEART is natacha sanon, written by diaz!

Natacha’s tenderness and love for the cohort comes across so strongly! Her trying to keep in some sort of touch over the years, only to be overwhelmed 15 years later by a need to see them all again was so sweet! It was such a lovely touch to include her trying to empathize with Ernest and understand what would have made him so cruel. I also loved the inclusion of her adult self’s conflict about Ernest’s death and the way she’s coping with it. “The distance made her true wish impossible: to hug each one of them, to feel their body altogether, to make the hug last more than one minute, so by the end she could ask a pleading: please, come, let’s settle, let’s end this, let’s start again, it is time to live free.” She’s so sweet!

THE EYES is desmond harper, written by mickey!

Mondi’s obsession with perfection and tendency to view every aspect of life as a competition come through so clearly. The golden cage his parents built for him and the fact that he continues to build it for himself coupled with the repeated references to architectural constructs are just *chef’s kiss*. I love his reasoning for returning being that he wants to get his autonomy back. “they weren’t given the building blocks to assemble a road that wasn’t their own, like you” just encapsulates this character so well. Instructed to build his own cage and now he can’t stop.

THE EARS is philomena harper, written by nos!

Phil’s progression from the girl in the shadows to the girl who is eager to get any amount of attention to someone who is actually trying to be in control of her own life is great. I love that her motivation for returning is mostly spite, mostly a desire to show how far she’s come and be recognized for it. “Phil feels useful; she tells herself this is the same as being loved” is devastating but paints such a clear picture of Phil’s desire for love, affection, etc. and her inability to get it in more healthy ways.

THE HANDS is isabella darling, written by asbury!

I absolutely adore the way you structured this around pieces of art she’s made in reverse chronological order. It paints a picture of a woman desperate to be always moving, always trying to keep herself distracted. The repeated motif of the shaking hands and then the reveal that that started after Ernest’s death? Incredible. “Hastings would have called it contrived and said you could do better. It’s one of your favorite pieces.” is great. He’s still in her mind because of course, but she’s also working against the internalized commentary.

THE LEGS is eden togashi, written by cam!

Eden is a fascinating character. The way he views suffering, punishment, and pain are exquisite. I love that this person who has spent their whole life running, thinking they’re running towards something, has kind of hit a wall. He’s sort of the extreme of someone who peaked in school and that makes his desire to return all the more believable. “and he's always liked pain. all of his cohort are sort of like a dagger in the stomach, an intensity of feeling he can't forget, an infection left to fester. how better to feel for once than ripping the bandage right off?” encapsulates these feelings perfectly.

THE NERVES is jude takea, written by bel!

Jude is so sweet and the anxiety that defines their life is palpable throughout, especially the bit about his sister’s wedding. Speaking of which, their connection to their sister is so sweet and her being a Whitmouth dance student and encouraging Jude to apply is a great touch. “on the acknowledgements page you even spare a line for professor hastings — he may not have been your biggest fan, but he did teach you how to weather even the harshest of storms. you’re sorry he didn’t get to see the ways you’ve continued to grow despite his assertion that you never would” is just so great! Acknowledging Ernest in such a public way while still having that private secret and that vague element of spite to it, like you said I’d never do this but here I am! Such a special moment to me.

THE HIPS is parker st. luke, written by wolf!

Parker’s background as an ignored child shipped off to be out of her parents' hair leads so well into her tendency to be attention grabbing. I loved the details you included in their connections, with the distrust of the Heart’s altruism, the guilt they feel for confiding in the Hands, the inspiration that the Plexus was to her. “They had an eye for that sort of thing— the monsters. They don't go bump in the night, they're old creepy men who can't take the word no for an answer” was a line that really compelled me and your inclusion of her artistic inspirations/art style was a great touch!

THE PLEXUS is moon cho, written by gisele!

Moon is so cool, I want to watch her grindhouse-esque expressionist videos so badly! I think the inclusion of her alcoholism and the fact that she was blackout the night of Ernest’s death is going to be a fascinating addition to the plot and a complication for all of them. The reunion coinciding with her marriage going south is a great impetus for her to return to Whitmouth. “Being constantly shot down by Ernest eventually wore her down and she still worked hard but... the natural fire she had inside of her... it was starting to go out. It was starting to weigh on her... more than she let on to her friends.” made me so sad! Her passion being ground down by Ernest is so devastating!

[themanwhomadeamonster]

1-30 for the art ask 😂

But honestly, please pick out whatever questions you want!! I’d love to know!!

HAHA THANKS you underestimate my need to talk about myself 😌✨ tis quite long so i put it under a read more

1-6 has been answered here and ask game can be found here!

7. A medium of art you don’t work in but appreciate

oil painting! i tried to get into it but couldn’t wrap my head around it lmao. also paints/brushes were expensive + i don’t have great ventilation in my house :’)

8. What’s an old project idea that you’ve lost interest in

SO MANY. usually it’s less lost interest and more I can’t show this to anyone so what’s the point of trying to polish it LOL

i do have an old character design i’ve always been trying to revive but idk what to put them in

9. What are your file name conventions

this was the name of one of my wbn drawings :^)

10. Favorite piece of clothing to draw

dresses! nothing that clings to the body bc i can’t draw folds :’)))

11. Do you listen to anything while drawing? If so, what

of courseeee usually what fits what I’m drawing. edgy stuff I listen to heavier or classical music, silly stuff I listen to more upbeat music, and if I’m drawing jack in a dress then rammstein apparently xD

12. Easiest part of body to draw

hands and arms so so much HAHA

13. A creator who you admire but whose work isn’t your thing

uhh i know i have some but they don’t come to mind rn xD

14. Any favorite motifs

mmmmm hands i think, they can tell so much about something \(^o^)/

15. *Where* do you draw (don’t drop your ip address this just means do you doodle at a park or smth)

on my bed. not a good habit lmao. i don’t usually draw in public bc i’m too shy. the closest i get to drawing with other people is on a shared drawpile canvas

16. Something you are good at but don’t really have fun doing

uhhhh nothing lmao. i don’t think i’m good at any particular aspect of art, and the only thing i hate doing is backgrounds which i suck at to begin with <3

17. Do you eat/drink when drawing? if so, what

noooooo because then my canvas or tablet gets dirty :(

18. An estimate of how much art supplies you’ve broken

zero B) how many i’ve lost however is another can of worms though

19. Favorite inanimate objects to draw (food, nature, etc.)

cloudsssss <3 very relaxing to blend shapes

20. Something everyone else finds hard to draw but you enjoy

hands apparently? they’re definitely difficult at first but they can provide so much gesture and action to a figure that they’re almost like my crutch LOL

21. Art styles nothing like your own but you like anyways

really meticulous line works - pointillism, calligraphy, lineart, etc. i don’t have the patience nor skill for it, but they’re all so beautifulllll mwah mwah

22. What physical exercises do you do before drawing, if any

i do the thing where you bend your wrist back and forth mainly. doesn’t rly help though since it’s my posture that’s the problem so it’s my shoulders that hurt after askdhskdfhkd

23. Do you use different layer modes

yeessss mostly just multiply so i can see my sketch layer + accent shadows but otherwise i eyeball the colours/values

24. Do your references include stock images

yessss, anything that helps me understand what i’m trying to draw!

25.  Something your art has been compared to that you were NOT inspired by

dark souls and castlevania goddamn it. they’re pretty but they’re not where i get my influences lmao

26. What’s a piece that got a wildly different interpretation from what you intended

some of my sfw stuff has been mistaken for p0rn before 😭😭

27. Do you warm up before getting to the good stuff? If so, what is it you draw to warm up with

less warm up and more do rly quick thumbnails of ideas i have so i don’t have to keep redoing my ideas :’))) if i’m drawing irl faces i usually do warmups bc i have less opportunities to be careless lol

28. Any art events you have participated in the past (like zines)

i’ve been in around 7 zines I think? one of them was my uni art club’s zine which just got delivered yesterday actually! i helped manage the zine project and the final product looked really good! i’ve also participated in secret santas and hopefully the one for wbn goes through as well! :D

29. Media you love, but doesn’t inspire you artistically

the elder scrolls. i love the series but it feels artistically bland T_T i do like the architecture of elsweyr and the black marsh though.

30. What piece of yours do you think is underrated

none i’m happy with any attention anything gets LMAO

[cre8ives]

1. Art programs you have but don't use

Adobe stuff, although I use Lightroom + photoshop for photography sometimes

ibis paint, I used to use this all the time but don’t much anymore since moving to doing art on my laptop

2. Is it easier to draw someone facing left or right (or forward even)

I can do Anything but side profiles. Side profiles are the worst

3. What ideas come from when you were little

I’ve always loved drawing eyes. And little creatures sometimes

there’s not many character ideas that have carried through from what I’ve made when I was little but I’ve always considered reimagining some of my shitty old FNAF ocs I made when I was 12

4. Fav character/subject that's a bitch to draw

Monsters/any inhuman designs. It’s just something I need more practise with

5. Estimate of how much of your art you post online vs. the art you keep for yourself

Literally only like 2% of it gets posted. Maybe even less. Mostly because I hardly ever finish stuff

6. Anything that might inspire you subconsciously (i.e. this horse wasn't supposed to look like the Last Unicorn but I see it)

Huh… it’s hard to pick anything specifically. I feel like a lot of little tidbits come from everywhere, whether it’s media or art by others

7. A medium of art you don't work in but appreciate

Sculpture of most kinds. It’s something I’ve wanted to try getting into but I never have. There’s so much sculpture that’s just so impressive to me though

8. What's an old project idea that you've lost interest in

Once I started drawing two of my ocs in barbenheimer style outfits but now the time has kinda passed and I don’t feel like finishing it

9. What are your file name conventions

Keysmashing, a swear word of some kind, a phrase making fun of the character in the art, or just.. the characters name. Usually with a keysmash after it

10. Favorite piece of clothing to draw

Button up shirts are fun to draw! A lot of collars are fun, whether that’s on shirts or coats or whatever

11. Do you listen to anything while drawing? If so, what

Video essays or music usually

12. Easiest part of body to draw

Uhhh…… the face shape? I also don’t struggle TOO much with hands but that might just be because of how much I enjoy drawing them

13. A creator who you admire but whose work isn't your thing

I don’t know if this counts as she’s not really like… a CURRENT creator. But Frida Kahlo

14. Any favorite motifs

I don’t know. I like most things. Not much of my art has anything particularily recurring. Like not even my ART STYLE is consistent.

15. *Where* do you draw (don't drop your ip address this just means do you doodle at a park or smth)

In my room

16. Something you are good at but don't really have fun doing

I don’t know.. lineart???

17. Do you eat/drink when drawing? if so, what

Sometimes potato crisps

18. An estimate of how much art supplies you've broken

I haven’t broken anything I’ve used for digital art, as for traditional art supplies… I don’t want to know

19. Favorite inanimate objects to draw (food, nature, etc.)

I have no idea I don’t draw inanimate objects much.. I like drawing glasses

20. Something everyone else finds hard to draw but you enjoy

Hands. Don’t get me wrong they are hard to draw but I like it

21. Art styles nothing like your own but you like anyways

Most painters. There are so many I find really admirable and visually interesting but my style hardly resembles paintings. I’m sure that’s something I could try in the future though

22. What physical exercises do you do before drawing, if any

None… maybe I should

23. Do you use different layer modes

Sometimes, if it works. But it’s not something I consistently rely on

24. Do your references include stock images

yeah probably. I get them all from Pinterest

25. Something your art has been compared to that you were NOT inspired by

I genuinely can’t think of anything that applies to this. I haven’t had too many comparisions

26. What's a piece that got a wildly different interpretation from what you intended

There’s also not anything I can think of for this either

27. Do you warm up before getting to the good stuff? If so, what is it you draw to warm up with

Yeah…. Not really

28. Any art events you have participated in the past (like zines)

does art fight count? I’ve done that for 3 years now

29. Media you love, but doesn't inspire you artistically

Hades, the 2020 game. I LOVE the story, dialogue, and characters, but I’m not a big fan of the art style and outright dislike a few of the designs

30. What piece of yours do you think is underrated

All of them 🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄

Weirdly Specific Artist Ask Game

Didn't see a lot of artist ask games, wanted to make a silly one.

(I wrote this while sick out of my mind last year and it's been collecting dust in my drafts, I might as well let it run free) 1. Art programs you have but don't use

2. Is it easier to draw someone facing left or right (or forward even)

3. What ideas come from when you were little

4. Fav character/subject that's a bitch to draw

5. Estimate of how much of your art you post online vs. the art you keep for yourself

6. Anything that might inspire you subconsciously (i.e. this horse wasn't supposed to look like the Last Unicorn but I see it)

7. A medium of art you don't work in but appreciate

8. What's an old project idea that you've lost interest in

9. What are your file name conventions

10. Favorite piece of clothing to draw

11. Do you listen to anything while drawing? If so, what

12. Easiest part of body to draw

13. A creator who you admire but whose work isn't your thing

14. Any favorite motifs

15. *Where* do you draw (don't drop your ip address this just means do you doodle at a park or smth)

16. Something you are good at but don't really have fun doing

17. Do you eat/drink when drawing? if so, what

18. An estimate of how much art supplies you've broken

19. Favorite inanimate objects to draw (food, nature, etc.)

20. Something everyone else finds hard to draw but you enjoy

21. Art styles nothing like your own but you like anyways

22. What physical exercises do you do before drawing, if any

23. Do you use different layer modes

24. Do your references include stock images

25. Something your art has been compared to that you were NOT inspired by

26. What's a piece that got a wildly different interpretation from what you intended

27. Do you warm up before getting to the good stuff? If so, what is it you draw to warm up with

28. Any art events you have participated in the past (like zines)

29. Media you love, but doesn't inspire you artistically

30. What piece of yours do you think is underrated

[juspeczyk]

answering art questions for my beloved @belzebub430

1. Art programs you have but don't use

procreate T-T i don’t draw often enough anymore to keep my ipad reliably charged, and it takes so long to charge up when i DO want to draw, it’s a whole thing. also gimp because it looks like the version of photoshop i’m used to except everything is two inches to the left and i don’t have the patience to learn it properly

2. Is it easier to draw someone facing left or right (or forward even)

you expect me to think about what direction my blorbo is facing? you expect me to think and not just vibe with what looks good at the moment?

3. What ideas come from when you were little

my comic/novel princess huntress and by extension my d&d homebrew world! always loved princesses, always loved fantasies, was a tiny lesbian who thought the beast was way cooler than the prince and belle was dumb for de-beasting him

4. Fav character/subject that's a bitch to draw

plants and buildings :(

5. Estimate of how much of your art you post online vs. the art you keep for yourself

if it’s drawn, i usually post it somewhere; if it’s a collage, i usually keep it to myself. probably 5% of my collages are shared in the group chat or in person

6. Anything that might inspire you subconsciously (i.e. this horse wasn't supposed to look like the Last Unicorn but I see it)

i was a tim burton child and a my chemical romance teen so now i lovingly craft deep, dark undereye bags and shadows on to 90% of the people i draw regardless of how much sleep they get

7. A medium of art you don't work in but appreciate

oil painting!!! i dabble in acrylics and watercolors, but i LOVE the texture and color blending abilities of oil, and it’s so so so so so so gorgeous and if it wasn’t so expensive i would dabble in it too. also clay. also stained glass. also prop foam. i did set design in high school and got to make an entire brick building facade for the glass menagerie out of foam and heat tools it was SO FUN

8. What's an old project idea that you've lost interest in

markers :/ like they’re great and i still use them but they’re just for fun now, not something i really invest practice in

9. What are your file name conventions

usually [character name/s] [situation/theme depicted] .png

10. Favorite piece of clothing to draw

veils, jewelry, plate armor

11. Do you listen to anything while drawing? If so, what

whatever playlist relates to what i’m drawing

12. Easiest part of body to draw

hands cause they can be a little funky or a little simplistic and it still looks fine cause hands are just Like That

13. A creator who you admire but whose work isn't your thing

every glassblower ever

14. Any favorite motifs

heresy and sacrilege >:3c

15. *Where* do you draw (don't drop your ip address this just means do you doodle at a park or smth)

my bedroom mostly, i do love drawing outside but i usually get too distracted by the world

16. Something you are good at but don't really have fun doing

inking... i’m not BAD at it but it can smell my fear

17. Do you eat/drink when drawing? if so, what

never eat (food on paper!!! bad!!! no!!!), sometimes fix a cup of coffee or tea, set it aside to cool, and then forget about it forever

18. An estimate of how much art supplies you've broken

Y’ALL ARE BREAKING YOUR SUPPLIES??????

19. Favorite inanimate objects to draw (food, nature, etc.)

plants, kitchenware

20. Something everyone else finds hard to draw but you enjoy

noses and hands uwu

21. Art styles nothing like your own but you like anyways

hyper-realistic painting!! oil, acrylic, digital, it’s all fucking gorgeous and jaw-dropping

22. What physical exercises do you do before drawing, if any

none. don’t be like me

23. Do you use different layer modes

if i color it yes, if i’m just sketching i usually only change the opacity

24. Do your references include stock images

how do you use references WITHOUT stock images

25. Something your art has been compared to that you were NOT inspired by

no clue

26. What's a piece that got a wildly different interpretation from what you intended

little mini comic of the joker and harley quinn from like 2016 that everyone on tumblr thought was the lead singer of a boy band

27. Do you warm up before getting to the good stuff? If so, what is it you draw to warm up with

i start with rough sketches and get more detailed as i go, but i usually just work on one piece at a time, no separate warm-ups or anything

28. Any art events you have participated in the past (like zines)

i’ve submitted stuff to the county fair (and won honorable mentions!), library competitions, and some of my comic pages from college were displayed there for multiple years!

29. Media you love, but doesn't inspire you artistically

whatever tv shows i’m into at the moment

30. What piece of yours do you think is underrated

all of them. everyone should be praising me and giving me money at all times forever.

[argentconflagration]

Aziraphale and (Sexual) Innocence

(Thanks to @ineffable-endearments for some key insights and a lot of encouragement!)

[Read on AO3]

As we all know, one of the biggest things that changed from the book to the show is that in the show, the relationship between Aziraphale and Crowley is written as a love story. Now, of course, that doesn't necessarily imply anything sexual (and I think there's a lot of interesting things to be written about a reading of their relationship as specifically a nonsexual love story!). 

On the other hand, the interpretation of them as having either literally or metaphorically a sexual relationship is (I would say intentionally) presented to the viewer as a potential lens for viewing the story. In your average romance arc, the characters are understood to be sexually attracted to each other, and if it's at all targeted toward adults, the viewer is generally intended to assume that the characters sleep with each other at the end of the story (whether it's shown onscreen or not). In Good Omens, there are a few obviously sexually-charged elements during the course of the love story (the statue in Crowley's flat, Crowley slamming Aziraphale against a wall, etc.). At the end, Aziraphale goes back to Crowley's flat, and by morning they've entered each other's bodies. Literally sexual? Not necessarily. Metaphorically sexual? Yeah kinda.��

So let's talk about knowing, in the Biblical sense and otherwise. 

(Just as a quick note: this analysis is show-based— assume I'm referring to the show except where I specifically mention the book.)

Crowley is the serpent of Eden, who tempts others to eat of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, and thereby introduces sin into the world. I'm hardly the first one to point out that Aziraphale and Crowley's relationship involves Crowley persistently (but not insistently!) tempting Aziraphale into the knowledge of good and evil. He fell for asking questions, continues to question the Almighty's decisions throughout the show, and in general represents a force of knowledge and free will, for humanity, for himself, and for Aziraphale. 

To quote the linked post:

"Why was the apple forbidden food? It gave the knowledge of good and evil. It enabled them to choose for themselves instead of blindly obeying orders. Why is Crowley forbidden company? He does the same."

Crowley is the serpent, the tempter, but he is also the apple, the forbidden fruit of which Aziraphale is not allowed to partake. He offers free will to Aziraphale, starting from the very beginning when he (unintentionally) reassures Aziraphale that he can't do the wrong thing, up until the very end when Aziraphale tells him that he has accomplished his temptation.

By the way, why is the apple an apple, anyway? Many people know, and I’m sure Pratchett and Gaiman knew, that Genesis doesn’t specify a kind of fruit. Rather, the image of a shiny red apple is a product of millennia of religious interpretation. It largely comes to us through Paradise Lost, and has now long since been cemented in pop culture. Using the apple as a recurring motif in Good Omens tells us that we’re not meant to understand this as a commentary on the most literal translation of the Bible, but on Christian culture as a whole, including the parts that wildly diverge from the source text. 

And you can't talk about cultural Christianity for long without talking about purity culture. There's a lot that can be written about purity culture, but I'm going to focus on the idea that the opposite of sinful knowledge and agency is ignorant innocence and inaction. A little knowledge is a dangerous thing, says purity culture. It's okay if other people suffer, so long as your own hands are clean, says purity culture. 

Perhaps the most obvious instance of Crowley trying to shake Aziraphale out of this mentality is all the way back in 3004 BC, at the Flood. Crowley tries to make Aziraphale aware of good and evil— God is going to kill the kids, and that's wrong (and right and wrong can be known outside of simply adhering unquestioningly to what God says). Aziraphale defends his innocence by appealing to ignorance: the Almighty's plans are ineffable, so Aziraphale can't question them, and he's not going to do anything about it. He's trying to stay in the pre-Fall state, without knowledge, free will, or sin.

Over and over, Aziraphale can be seen engaging in basically useless, performative behavior for the sake of not being directly implicated in evil deeds. When he resists the Arrangement, it's not because it will have any meaningful impact on the world for good or evil. But it causes Aziraphale to be directly involved in evil, and it's against the rules. Similarly, he tries to persuade Crowley (and later Shadwell) to kill the Antichrist, and Crowley to vanish the airbase guard, rather than doing it himself— not because the outcome will be different, but because he wants to preserve his image of himself as pure and holy. (Worth mentioning is that this characterization is way more pronounced in the show than in the book— in the book he gives only half a line of lukewarm resistance to the idea of vanishing the soldier himself before he does it.)

But back to sex, like I promised. 

There's no two ways about it— Christian purity culture is largely about sex.  So we might expect Good Omens to make some sort of commentary on the most pronounced aspect of Christian purity culture— the measuring of people's goodness based on their lack of experience (i.e. knowledge) of sexual things specifically. And what we see is that here, too, Aziraphale tries to preserve an image of himself as pure, while Crowley tries to shake him out of that mindset. 

In presenting himself as human, Aziraphale presents himself as a gay man. In general, stereotypes of gay men are hypersexualized, but the specific tropes that Aziraphale draws upon are sexless, neutered, and nonthreatening. This is epitomized by Anathema's narration (in the book) as she parts ways with Aziraphale and Crowley after the bike crash. She's very wary of getting in a car with two strange men at night, and treats the two with suspicion and hostility throughout the encounter, but concludes that "She had been perfectly safe after all" when she reads them as a gay couple. 

(It's not only because of Heaven's expectations that Aziraphale presents himself this way, of course (perhaps not even mostly). He doesn't want to hurt people. He'd rather avoid a war than win it, give away his sword than use it to drive away humans, go to lunch with the Adversary than thwart him— he is, in a word, soft. And after all, on a textual level, a sexual relationship with Crowley wouldn't be forbidden because it's sex, but because it's Crowley— it's specifically his choice of lover that Heaven would have an issue with, presenting an obvious analogy to gay identity that Aziraphale could hardly avoid picking up on. Like most aspects of Aziraphale's self-presentation, his presentation as a gay man reflects both his idea of what a Good Angel should be and who he really is.)

But in addition to presenting himself to humans in a desexualized way, Aziraphale also sets himself up as the sexual gatekeeper in his and Crowley's relationship (assuming a sexual reading of the relationship arc, that is). Christian purity culture expects women to be gatekeepers against men's sexuality, protecting both men and women from the sinfulness that is sexuality (outside of very narrow parameters). While gender is more fluid than that in Good Omens, the angel/demon binary is strong, and Aziraphale and Crowley constantly wrestle with it. Aziraphale takes it upon himself – as an angel – to protect the both of them against Crowley’s interest in furthering the relationship. 

I should mention here that Heaven's initial purpose in placing Aziraphale on earth was literally to guard a gate, and that Aziraphale immediately wanted nothing to do with that role.

And, just as he does in other matters, Crowley offers Aziraphale a way out. He doesn't pressure or force Aziraphale— he wants him to make his own decisions. Aziraphale says, "You go too fast for me." Aziraphale says, "Don't go unscrewing the cap"— i.e. "I'm ready for this, but I'm not ready for everything." 

When, finally, Aziraphale and Crowley spend the night together, when they inhabit each other's bodies, when they defy Heaven and Hell together, it's the culmination of a lot of things. For Aziraphale, it's the acceptance of the knowledge that Crowley has been trying to impart to him the whole time. Know me, Crowley says. And know yourself. The fear of falling (from Heaven, from Eden, in love) has been overcome— there never was an apple that wasn't worth the trouble you got into for eating it.  

In conclusion, Crowley said fuck the expectations of purity culture, sexual and otherwise. Now, go forth and write thematically resonant smut. It's what Michael Sheen would want.