🤷🏻‍♀️ I have a Good Omens fan fiction habit

Read a lot. Write a little. Ridiculous all the time. Ack_Emma on AO3. Recent insane behaviour due to discovering Hollanov.

[dustbunniees]

tbh my biggest problem with go3 is that aziraphale and crowley do stuff that affects the plot and actually makes a difference in the story #notmygoodomens. my ineffables do NOT save the world, they are there while the world is saved

you’ve taken the two most useless beings in existence and you made them make a decision. look at them. they’re suicidal now

[crowleysgirl56]

Good Omens S1:

Crowley suggests Aziraphale kill the anti-Christ. Aziraphale looks sick.

“I’ve never actually killed anything before”

Good Omens finale prologue:

Aziraphale bandaging Crowley’s leg

“I’ve spent the war smiting rogue angels…”

Good Omens S2:

Beelzebub recalls Crowley to Hell and brings up extreme sanctions and the Book of Life. Crowley looks concerned but skeptical.

“That was just a fairy tale we told to frighten the cherubs…”

Good Omens finale:

Saraqael talks about the books of life and there’s a suggestion it could have been destroyed. Crowley walks around discussing the book like he’s some complete authority about it.

“No it’s impossible to destroy, it’s too well made”

DID THE FUCKING WRITERS EVEN WATCH SEASONS 1 AND 2 BEFORE WRITING THIS SCRIPT, JESUS FUCKING CHRIST!

[sabotage-on-mercury]

There is something so uncannily, pevertly religious, or more precisely Christian, to the Good Omens finale that I can't quiet wrap my head around.

I know. Christianity? In my Christian fanfic show? Groundbreaking.

Anyway.

It feels like the writer's intention was to show that Aziraphale and Crowley get rewarded for their suffering by bringing their souls / their lookalikes / their human reincarnations back as Asa and Anthony. That would be a nice thing, right? NO!

What that means is, Crowley and Aziraphale are taking over the role of Jesus. They suffer, they die for (the sins of) humanity, they get ressurected, or more like they came back wrong.

And that honestly feels so... preachy for a show that supposed to be a satire of Christianity. It sounds like the moral of the story is about the virtue of suffering. The new universe is free if God's whims now, yay, but it's fundamentally based on the same Christian morals as before. The mystic lore of this universe is that two supernatural beings loved each other very much but they sacrificed their love and their lifes to defy the old god for others. Sorry, but I'm so unimpressed by this shit. That sounds so much like the creation myth of any other religion. I'd very much prefer the starting point of my universe free of sacrifice and feeling guilty and dead queer love, thank you.

The cycle is not broken. This new universe isn't a complete fresh start, cut lose from the mythical laws of the universe before - Unfortunately Asa and Anthony are the proof of it. Apparently there is something like soulmates, like destiny, whatever you want to call it, that drives these two people together, and it doesn't matter if it's their old souls or if it's just the universe they created that rearranges matter to shape a copy based on the memory of them. In anyway, they and therefore their history and their sacrifice transcends somehow into that new universe and therefore this old religion is still a part of it.

And no, I don't see beauty in the sacrifice and I don't want to see it honestly. I'm so tired by this old chrisitan tale that there is beauty in suffering, that it's the highest moral principle to sacrifice your own happiness for others. That's not virtuous, it's oppressing. Suffer during your earthly life, then your soul gets rewarded in afterlife. That is basically the whole Christian doctrine used to suppress people for hundreds of years.

For Crowley and Aziraphale it's basically the other way around, they lived in the afterlife and their souls (?) got "rewarded" with the earthly life. Wahoo. That certainly is what shades of grey and creating on your own side, and doing the right thing even against the rules is about. The book / s1 ended with that optimistic view that you can deny your fate, take matters in your own hand - nobody needed to suffer. That felt like a massive breakthrough of this old repition of sin and punishment, suffering and reward. Choosing life, hope and humanity over God's plan. So yes, S3 feels very much like a perversion of that initial premise, because in the end, God still wins.

[pirrusstuff]

Fanart inspired by the fic Mama's Boy, Mama's Boy by WhimperSoldier

[trashboatprince]

I took requests on bluesky for different eras to draw of the teeny tiny ineffables. :D

[marcyadventure]

Hi GO fans! I shared this beautiful commission on my Instagram, but I also want to share it on Tumblr!

First of all, please excuse my English; it's not my native language 😅

I know many of us still have strong emotions about the ending, myself included. It's okay if you enjoyed it, and it's okay if you didn't. We may have different opinions, but I think we can all agree that we'll miss Aziraphale and Crowley, and seeing Michael and David working together. I sincerely hope they can perform together in another show.

I want to thank Yoko_de_limon, from Instagram, for this commission and everyone in the GO fandom. Thank you for the fanarts, comics, fanfictions, cosplays, and so much more! Thank you to all the artists for sharing their art with us and for everything you want to continue sharing with the fandom. This is my way of saying thank you; I hope you enjoy it 💖

This commission was inspired by some of my favorite fanarts that have been made in the fandom, @cesiscribbles @enelica @lychoubi.art @damntheseeggs @pietu.draws @tokkis_lab @sightkeeper @someoneinyourwallz @mattibirb @demonphy.nx and @dreamdust ; I hope you like it!

P.S. Some of these artists are on Instagram; go check out their art it's beautiful✨️

[kotse]

from one, two

commission me on kofi

[penandinkprincess]

okay but anecdotes about other people accidentally having other people's service dogs task for them because dog just went "oh you are doing thing i am meant to fix" has me laughing imagining shane just having a high anxiety day for some reason and someone's anxiety service dog (maybe still in training, so a lil confused still) continuing to try and approach and task, but shane is just CONVINCED that it's ilya somehow trying to get this dog to keep coming over, and he's already on edge anyway, so people noticing that this dog keeps trying to come closer just keeps winding him up more, which just makes the dog try to come back over, which just makes him tell ilya to knock it off again, which makes ilya say he's not doing anything, which makes-

and finally whoever the handler is just "sorry, she's still in training." and ilya is just "ah, a professional in training. what a smart girl." "yeah, she's training to be an anxiety service dog. :)"

and ilya just looks RIGHT at shane, who is suddenly

[penandinkprincess]

oh my GOD, they had been fighting about getting another dog because ilya wanted anya to have a sibling and shane wanted to call it at one dog because what if the next one ISN'T good and now they're going to have two dogs AND one is a problem-

so they're already miffed at each other, and shane is convinced ilya keeps somehow signaling this dog to come over because he's being an asshole about their fight about dogs, the exchange about her being an anxiety service dog happens, shane avoids eye contact COMPLETELY and manages to fully escape standing next to ilya

but then ends up retreating to an empty conference room that the dog and handler also happen to go to as a break place for the dog, and the handler is like no worries if not it's okay but do you mind letting her practice tasking? it's really okay if not but she seems really eager-

and what is shane going to do? say no i won't help out with training this dog? no.

but now he's laying down under the very reassuring pressure of this dog, totally physically relaxed, but just sighs and goes "...goddamnit" because he knows ilya is going to find out about this SOMEHOW and then they're going to end up with a second fucking dog

[penandinkprincess]

in their household, she is dogtor rosie because she has a degree even if she doesn't use it (ilya made it, it hangs on the fridge), and when shane tries to appeal to ilya to help him call rosie off when she's tasking, ilya shakes his head and refuses

it's dogtor's orders

[nightquills]

dogtor rosie is SO good at this! she's a little angel (and sometimes menace), and i adore her.

i can also maybe picture anya picking up the basics of some of these moves/behaviors after the two dogs have spent some time together and she's seen rosie receive positive attention/praise for doing so. (ilya is for sure providing that, even if shane himself is more unsure at first)

all of a sudden, anya is also now fetching things With Purpose when she senses that someone is upset/anxious. she doesn't have rosie's discernment or training, so she's not grabbing water bottles or prescriptions (even if they are for the wrong person), but she is bringing whatever random item feels right in the moment. she has the spirit!!!

it's very hard for shane to stay in his anxiety spiral for long with two concerned dogs insistently handing him ilya's medication and.... the tv remote? and well, if rosie is going to press herself across shane's lap, anya is going to do it too!!! she won't be left out of the cuddle pile when a packmate is in distress! and if rosie is going to be licking and nudging shane's hands every time he goes to pull at his hair, redirecting him, anya is doing the same—she's not going to miss out on any opportunity to be pet, either!

[penandinkprincess]

ANYA DOING HER RESIDENCY UNDER SUPERVISING PAWSICIAN DOGTOR ROSIE

also the idea of anya frantically looking around for an item to give shane when rosie goes to grab the empty pill bottle from the counter because she WILL go looking for it if they don't leave it there for her is SO cute and funny to me. incomplete list of items anya has prescribed shane to make him feel better:

his sunglasses

ilya's keys

yuna's purse

a pair of tongs for the grill

her leash AND rosie's leash

a pillow from their bedroom

her stuffed hockey stick toy

the empty pill bottle when she got there first, prompting an annoyed rosie to try and take it from her because that's HER item!! give it!! meaning it actually did work because shane is now having to ref a sibling squabble over helping him with an empty bottle of medication that wasn't even his to start with

and @hardlyhinged adding your tags here because Best Wiggly Girl hopping the boards and getting carried off with a puck in her mouth is SO delightful to me

she is their biological daughter <3

[sighed-the-snake]

It's not about a kiss. It's about promises made by the narrative that were never delivered.

The reason the fandom is reacting this way is because Neil Gaiman changed the genre of Good Omens from adventure fantasy comedy to romance fantasy comedy, and then he broke the cardinal rule of writing romance comedy: There must be a happy ending with no tragedy.

The story stops when the couple feels the most optimistic and hopeful for their future. A tragic ending does not belong in rom-com. It does not belong because going through this emotional journey with the couple only to have it end in painful disaster makes readers angry.

Good Omens S1 introduced overtly romantic elements with scenes that did not exist in the book:

Crowley flirting with Aziraphale as they watched the animals board Noah's ark.

Aziraphale flirting with Crowley in Rome.

Saving Aziraphale's reputation and his books in the church.

"You go too fast for me, Crowley."

"We could run away together."

"I don't even like you / Yes you do."

"Your boyfriend in the dark glasses"

There are tongue-in-cheek implications of romance in the book, but it is never explicitly stated or given space on the page to explore because how Crowley and Aziraphale feel about each other is not the point of this story. The humans are. We spend far more time following the humans and their thoughts and struggles because this story is not about Heaven and Hell, it's about humanity fighting for its right to exist.

To explore Crowley and Aziraphale's relationship in the original text would have made them too important. They were not supposed to kiss, there was not supposed to be a love confession, they were supposed to run around like incompetent headless chickens and make us laugh.

This is why fanfic exists. We pick up on the context clues in the text and we write our own stories to flesh out the things we wish had more time in the canon, even when we understand why it wasn't included.

But Gaiman gave the angel and the demon a whole bunch of extra scenes in the TV series, made their interactions overtly romantic in nature, and it disturbed the balance of the story. Good Omens became about them and their 6,000 year slow-burn enemies-to-friends-to-lovers story arc. Adam and Anathema and Shadwell became moving pieces buzzing around Crowley and Aziraphale.

The building up of Ineffable Husbands diminished the importance of everybody else until they ultimately got sidelined in favor of an outright love story in S2.

It's like the significance of everything the humans did was undone by Ineffable Husbands. This is no longer a story about humanity claiming its sovereignty and choosing their own fate in spite of plans made by Heaven or Hell. It became a story of how the unlikely love between an angel and a demon is the only thing that could possibly save the universe.

No. No, no, no. That was never the story. Could never be the story. Good Omens was never supposed to be a romance with Crowley and Aziraphale at its center.

Imagine When Harry Met Sally but Sally gets hit by a car after their love confession. Imagine The Princess Bride but Prince Humperdink wins. Imagine A Midsummer Night's Dream ending in shambles. That is the level of narrative betrayal happening in this script. That is why people are angry. It's not about a kiss. It's about giving us two seasons of a rom-com and then slipping us a tragedy at the end and calling everyone ungrateful when we rightfully complain because this was always meant to be how it ended.

Which only reveals that Gaiman was planning to betray his audience from the start, because he does not write happy endings.

This is why we are angry. It was never about a kiss. Gaiman broke the rules of rom-com and now we are angry.

[ellakas]

[ellakas]

[knight--error]

CANNOT take credit for these, my sister in law made them. Behold.

[magicratfingers]

i need this completed or ill die who is kitty?? WHO IS LYDIA

[fishing4stars]

@scyllas-revenge this has your name written all over it. twice.

[scyllas-revenge]

Ahh my two favorite things smushed together!!

[ellakas]

as op of this post this had me laughing truly out loud @scyllas-revenge

my bro in law: I hope they fold their gowns properly

[nearlywitxh]

standard archangel activity

[hollow-head]

i just wanna say that i really loved the go3 fix-it ending comic you posted. it’s so perfect. it just reminds me that the greatest thing about this book/show has always been the fan content. thank you!

I want to talk about my history with Good Omens fan content. I read Good Omens at a pivotal point in my teens, about 2 decades ago now. It shaped my sense of humor. It is the book against which I judge all other books. It was instantly my favorite. My friend who lent me the book and I had a running joke about me being a demon and her being an angel. After school, I went to the public library and hopped on the computer and tried to find out if there were sequels, other works by these authors together, anything. That’s literally how I discovered fan fiction. I read a couple but there wasn’t much the really hit the mark for me. (And I never liked how the book fandom drew the characters, and I didn’t ship the book characters anyway.) So life went on and I read a lot of Terry Pratchett. But when the show came out — it was like a Cambrian explosion. The characters were a little different, but their story was so beautiful. The greatest love story ever told. I love what Michael Sheen and David Tennant breathed into their characters. Suddenly everyone was drawing and writing about these guys. There was so much fan fiction I could be picky about it. And the community was full of such smart funny people. It really helped me get through 2020. It’s just a pity that the people in this world with the power to fund art don’t seem to appreciate it, or don’t bother to engage analytically with the text in the way the more clever fans do. But the characters will live forever. They walk in eternity. They’re right up there with Sherlock Holmes and Faust and Hamlet and Peter Pan. If I were a better artist and I lived in a world that valued great story telling I could spend the rest of my life drawing them the way that some people are able to make a career out of drawing Batman or Star Wars or any of the other perpetual IPs. I’ve wanted to make a Death of Discworld as the anthropomorphic personification of Death of the Author joke for ages, because I’m a nerd, and also because it is a quintessentially human thing to keep meaningful stories alive, keep spreading and growing them beyond the lifetime of whoever wrote them. I like that they called Crowley an artist.

[balthazarsspacebar]

[scinnlaece]

And there was something that was far too soothing about the way Rozanov’s fingers combed through Shane’s short hair, and curved down to trace the bridge of freckles that stretched across his face.

Rachel Reid | Heated Rivalry; Chapter Thirteen

[chronicallyinvisible]

sometimes depression is so scary because you stop being able to achieve any sense of fulfilment. a huge part of being human is looking forward to things and having treats, goals, rewards, outcomes that you strive towards. if you don’t have those things it can be really, really hard to find any sense of purpose. having depression is asking yourself what do i want to eat, what do i want to watch, what do i want to play, what do i want to listen to, what do i want to do, what am i looking forward to, what’s driving me to keep going, and having the answer be a resounding ‘nothing’

[armageddidnt]

This is just a quick thank you for all the people out there right now creating art, stories, posts, supporting other people‘s content, any kind of contribution at all. I feel like we as the fans have suffered so much over the last few years, we are such a war-torn fandom, been in the absolute trenches of Aziracrow hopes and dreams and failed promises and endless waiting and through it all, the thing that has most filled my heart is the imagination and creativity and laughter and love that we have all used to hold each other. Thank you for everyone spreading kindness and comfort. Love and need you <3

[thedoctorajcrowley]

From Rachel Talalay on Bluesky. Say what you will about the finale (I personally loved it), knowing that this has been going on for her, I hope generates some empathy in the fandom. Especially about her comments that might be seen as glib or unsympathetic. She was in a shit position professionally and now personally is going through the worst loss imaginable. I saw that she was with her partner for 40 years. This coming year will be 20 with mine and I cannot fathom life without them and how I would begin to function, let alone comment on my professional work.

We are, each of us, doing the best we can. Let us assume good intentions.