Just finished reading “What Might Have Been,” a fabulous “fix-it” fic by klikandtuna (an amazing writer who knows and loves these characters).
Written in screenplay format, it’s what the Good Omens finale should have been IMHO. It’s true to the characters and relevant to the themes that are the underpinnings of the show.
If you have a chance, check it out. https://archiveofourown.org/works/86365896/chapters/228476246 (Be sure to read the tags…the author has FEELINGS!)
And as the fic author says,
— Remember:
- Love wins.
- In fandom, we take care of each other.
- When cruelties are imposed upon us, we don't have to accept them as fait accompli. We can — and should — fight for what ought to be true. It is a beautiful and sacred thing, to fight for the world that ought to exist.
- If you are feeling broken…you are worthy of mending. Because you are precious. And the REAL Aziraphale and Crowley would never, ever stop fighting to save you. They would never give up, and neither should you. 💛
How can Aziraphale’s and Crowley’s sacrifice be for the sake of humanity when all humanity in their universe is already wiped out and they don’t even ask that the new universe include humans?
When Aziraphale and Crowley were telling God what they want, they said they wanted her to create another universe. They then listed everything it wouldn’t have (angels, demons, Heaven, Hell, God, Satan, a great plan, anything ineffable). They never said anything about it having an Earth or humans. It was God who said she’d “even let an Earth happen. Eventually, there’ll be humans and life.”
How do I feel about Good Omens 3? In some ways, I’m still processing it. Objectively, the story seemed rushed. (No surprise there!) There were many missed opportunities and questionable choices.
The time spent on the gangster storyline could have been better used elsewhere. While I loved the Jesus character and the way the actor portrayed him, he was practically irrelevant. The pizza/loaves and fishes scene was cute, but it was pointless in that the people he spoke to were wiped out before they could act on anything he told them. Poor Jesus just never got a break.
The returning characters from season 2 were hardly more than cameos. (I did love Mrs. Sandwich, though, and Mutt’s spouse.)
While Michael Sheen seemed to have a field day hamming it up in Hell, again, the time could have been better used elsewhere.
Archangel Michael’s psychotic breakdown and homicidal rampage was just sad.
I don’t believe the writers/director really understood the fans and what they wanted. What was important to me (and many, many others) was Aziraphale’s and Crowley’s relationship. We wanted communication, honesty, resolution. We wanted them to SAY THE WORDS! A kiss would have been nice, but a simple hug would have sufficed. Killing them off was pointless and was an insult to everyone who struggled with them on their journey.
I adored the human couple at the end and cried to see how happy they were. They weren’t Crowley and Aziraphale, though. I did love the Easter egg where the book the human Crowley purchased was Arthur Eddington’s book on relativity. (David Tennant played Arthur Eddington in Einstein and Eddington, a movie I really enjoyed.)
I spoke with my granddaughter after she finished watching the finale. She was an emotional mess as only an 18-year-old girl can be. She’s still processing it, too.
I’ll always love Crowley and Aziraphale and will always be grateful for the way they were so beautifully portrayed by Michael Sheen and David Tennant. I have a hard time accepting this latest chapter as canon, though. Too many inconsistencies, plot holes, and missed opportunities. The show, the characters, and the fans deserved better.
Still, as I approach my 70th birthday, I’m grateful for the phenomenon that is Good Omens. It has brought me so much joy. The fan fiction has been incredible. The art, stunning. Best of all, though, have been the people I’ve interacted with on Tumblr, Discord, and other social media platforms. They’ve entertained, enlightened, and educated me in many ways. I’m a better person now because of them.
This one has been in the works for a while and it’s so special. First credit, of course, has to go to @klikandtuna for writing the story that inspired this podfic. She responded enthusiastically to @frisbay’s request and was willing to trust two internet strangers to record it and for that, we are both grateful.
The three of us had THE BEST TIME recording together, y’all don’t even know!
I did the rough edits of the original audio, but the big lift here was @frisbay for the sound editing. As you listen and enjoy the luscious soundscape they have created, all credit to them. I can’t even describe the awe I feel at their talent. To get the most out of the soundscaping, this podfic is best enjoyed with headphones.
We also have to give a special shout out to Limikeriskit, Sparklyshinymagpie, IneffableCharlie and JustaDandelion for their recording of the commercials for other fics by @klikandtuna that exist between the sections. Those are special just for the podfic and we hope you like them.
Do yourself a favor, give this a listen. You’ll laugh, you’ll shout, you’ll tear up. It’s our gift to you this holiday season. We hope you love it.
Summary: The transcription of an episode of Discovery's reality show "Naked and Afraid," featuring Anthony Crowley, a survivalist YouTuber from London, and Aziraphale Fell, an in-house veterinarian for the Chester Zoo.
Hiii! I’m here to announce that today me and a bunch of other lovely authors posted the first chapter of a collaborative tribute fic for the incredibly talented and immensely loved @klikandtuna! 🖤
It’s a crack Good Omens fic inspired to her beautiful WIP (almost finished now) In His Hand a Burning Coal. In this AU, though, Azlan is a werewolf. Because why the hell not? 🤣
It started as an inside joke between the members of Steph’s server and then it evolved into something more: a group project full of silliness and fun. 💙
I loved writing the first chapter. I hope y’all will enjoy the rest, too!
And if you haven’t read In His Hand a Burning Coal, why are you still heeeeere! There’s an amazing fic waiting for you. And let me tell you—you’re in for a ride. 💙
klikandtuna (she/her) is a widely known AO3 author and illustrator, who has quickly produced fanfics of many varieties since the airing of GO S2. Keep reading to learn more about all these works, as well as the story behind her unique online handle (which she now answers to as readily as her own given name😆)
Here's some background into klikandtuna's world when she’s not thinking about Good Omens (though GO has a very special place in her life):
“Hi, I’m Steph and I live in Oregon (USA) with my husband, three kids, and two cats. Writing and illustrating GO fanfic is my favorite hobby, but I also cross-stitch (including designing custom pieces for myself and others) and play an occasional DnD campaign, and if I have any time left over I’m reading weird fantasy novels.”
klikandtuna’s journey into writing started at an early age - and the rest (as they say) is history:
“When I was in the fourth grade, we had just moved from Wisconsin to North Carolina and no one really liked me (to be fair, I was and remain an acutely introverted weirdo), but one day the class held a creative-writing contest where we all took the same prompt and wrote a little story with it. My story won. And that’s my origin tale: I’d found something I both really enjoyed and was good at, and writing has been part of my life ever since. My ninth-grade English teacher once held up an essay I’d written and swore he’d see my name on the spine of a novel someday. Writing is what I’ve wanted to Do — a Writer is what I’ve wanted to be — for most of my life.”
Good Omens was not unfamiliar to klikandtuna before her discovery of the series. But the series (and two magical actors) took her love of the story to the next level:
“I read the book once ages ago, but didn’t remember much of it by the time the series rolled around. But the trailer was intriguing and I vaguely remembered liking the book, so I gave it a shot. Loved it. Love love love loved it — especially, obviously, our two leads. There’s something so healing about Good Omens, in regards to my religious trauma. I’ve since reread the book, of course, and Season 1 truly is a masterclass in book-to-screen adaptation: it drops what isn’t necessary and preserves everything that makes the story magical, while building upon the existing lore in believable and delightful ways.”
klikandtuna’s inspiration to write stories about Good Omens is probably the same for many writers in the fandom (hint: it might have had something to do with that “moment” we all obsess with over and over and over again😭):
“Season two broke my damn brain, that’s what happened. Season one was LOVELY, I adored the expanding of Crowley and Aziraphale’s roles and characterizations, and for whatever reason I was content with it. But that second season…that final fifteen… I watched it alone. ALL ALONE, Y’ALL, I didn’t even know anyone else who was into the show! I went to my online friend group like “has anyone maybe heard of this…?” and thank Bentley two of them pounced, and we were able to weep together. It was really that sense of community that sparked the obsession, I think.
It was those same two friends who read my first tiny tentative drabbles — classics like “The Broom Cupboard” and “Unforgettable” which will never be made public, and yes I’m only saying this to tease and tantalize — and they were so delighted and encouraging that it made me want to do more. I had never written fanfiction before and at first it felt odd to play with someone else’s characters, but I was having such fun and my friends enjoyed it so much that I just kept going.
Everything on my AO3 page before “In Vino Veritas” was written entirely in a vacuum — before I had any contact whatsoever with the fandom, when no one but those same two friends read my work. I hadn’t read anyone else’s work (I still don’t, or almost none), had never heard of human AUs until my friend introduced the concept and suggested I give it a try (the result was “Every Damn Day”), and was so self-conscious about it all that it took my friends six months to convince me to post my existing stories on AO3. With some trepidation, I did…and the reception has been so overwhelmingly positive that I’m full-on hooked 😄 I’ve since acquired a fabulous beta-reader by sheer luck, and I wouldn’t trade her for anything!”
Out of all her wonderful written works, is klikandtuna willing to tell us which one is her favorite? (we’ll do the apology dance for asking🥲)
“This is so mean. What a mean question. 🤣 Choose a favorite piece of my soul?? I could NEVER.
But I will give special shoutouts to a) “Naked and Afraid: Jingle Hell” (human AU, rated T, 24k complete) because the stupidest idea and a format I’d never attempted turned into something absolutely glorious (and it’s getting its own podfic, with me voicing the narrator!), and b) “When You Go” (rated E, 102k) a Reverse Omens fic that I feel I absolutely nailed the characterizations in, but is also very angsty and ends (temporarily!!!) on one heck of a cliffhanger so is largely overlooked. I could talk about WYG for hours but never get the chance!”
And does she have any interest in OTHER fandoms besides Good Omens??
“Nnnnnnope 😄 I used to be in a LiveJournal community centered on the “A Song of Ice and Fire” book series, but that’s it. I tend to enjoy things privately and not interact with the larger fandom; GO is the only exception, and therefore is receiving all of my creative energy.”
Speaking of klikandtuna’s “creative energy” - let’s dive into some of the questions submitted by our wonderful readers and followers:
✨Where does your creative energy, talents and inspiration come from? “I don’t think this has an easy answer. My creative ENERGY has yet to reach its limit; I write voraciously and there are never enough free hours in the day for it. Talent is what a person is born with, and I guess I got some of that; skill is how that person works to develop their natural talent, and no matter what level they start with they can always increase their skill. But inspiration?
Stephen King once wrote of “the pool where we all go down to drink, to swim, to catch a little fish from the edge of the shore; it's also the pool where some hardy souls go out in their flimsy wooden boats after the big ones” (this was in “Lisey’s Story”). In “Find the Light” I described it as silver threads in the dark aether — a glitter catches my eye, I pluck the thread and start to follow its path, and weave it into something that feels true. Sometimes a friend (usually my wonderful beta-reader) tosses an idea at me and I just can’t resist; sometimes I start with a topic I’m personally passionate about, like marching band. However I begin, I wait for that glitter and follow where it leads. Discovering a story like that is one of my favorite feelings in life 💛”
✨What was the inspiration behind the thematic of the pondwater in "Find the Light"? Is there a story behind that motif? (P.S: I loved every second of that motif, it is so beautiful. And the fanfic itself too, enjoyed it a lot): “I started writing “Find the Light” with no idea where I’d end up; I simply stood with Fell in his office and let things begin to unfold. When Fell turned his face to the sun and dipped briefly into memory…I saw the pond scene from his past, in its entirety. And when I wanted to write a song that was AJ’s ode to his lost love, I just…started typing. It took me maybe fifteen minutes to write the entire song. It was just THERE.
‘Pondwater’ is AJ’s own memory of those painful moments at the pond: beauty and grief and regret and passion rolled into one. I love it too, and I’m thrilled to announce that a ‘canon’ version of the song, as something you’ll actually be able to listen to and sing along with, is currently in the works!
(PS. If you love FTL but haven’t yet earned the right to read my AU crossover fic “Find Every Sky” (rated T, 48k complete), you might want to do so. AJ talks about his school-days friendship with Fell in a way that’s never fully explored in FTL!)”
✨You've written so many human AUs, so what got you into writing those in the first place? And, have you ever considered writing one where the one is human and the other isn't? “Back when I was writing in a vacuum, one of the two friends who read my work said “hey sometimes people write them as regular humans. Maybe you could give that a try?” And my little brain exploded. “Every Damn Day” is a completely pure work in that not only had I never read another human AU when I wrote it, I wasn’t even aware of the concept of human AUs until that moment. And I love my Avery and Anthony with every last bit of my heart.
When I became aware of the existence of other human AUs, it still didn’t occur to me that I could just…write another. Not until Suzy — an acquaintance of pure happenstance who had convinced me to join Tumblr and later became the best beta-reader in the business — sent me a Tumblr post that had a set of gifs and a vague prompt, and she said, “You could write this.” I laughed at first. I could NEVER write another human AU, I had already done my allotment. …Right? 🤣🤣 Thankfully I overcame that weirdness, and “Find the Light” was born, and I was off to the races.
The idea of one of them being human and the other supernatural doesn’t really sit right with me. So, no thank you ☺️”
✨A number of your stories create a more in-depth characterization for your lead pairs than the typical fan fic. Do you see yourself moving onto writing original characters? You're getting close already. “If you’re following along with my current WIP “In His Hand a Burning Coal” (human AU, rated E, updates weekly and will wrap in October), you’ll know that I can and do write OCs! The ONLY canon characters in that one are the lead pair themselves and God; the rest of the fic is populated entirely with original characters, and I adore them.
If you mean completely original fiction, well — that’s the dream! But I’m having too much fun with fanfics at the moment ☺️”
✨I absolutely love your reinterpretation of Romeo and Juliet. Is there any other media you would consider reinterpreting through a Good Omens Lens? “To be fair, I’m really not trying to reimagine the play itself with “In His Hand a Burning Coal”; I take the basic concept of lovers belonging to rival tribes and apply it to college marching band, annnnnd that’s about it. Any other parallels between the two are delightful to theorize, but not intentional on my part. I’m just writing a story 😄
But I LOVE the idea of reimagining an existing story through the lens of Good Omens and would absolutely be interested in doing so in the future. Open to suggestions!”
✨What is something one of your characters has said or done that surprised you as you were writing it? “Oh lord, they do this ALL the time! This is why I never try to fully plot out my stories in advance; it feels too restrictive, and I’d rather give my characters room to tell me their own story organically. I only write in order, never skipping ahead, and my characters surprise me often.
One instance that immediately comes to mind is the infamous Crystal Ceremony in “Sky Clear Blue” (human AU, rated E, 289k complete). Azekiel said he had a plan, annnnd I had no idea what the plan would be until I was in the middle of writing the scene. It just unfolded around me, and ended up being one of the most powerful scenes in the fic!”
✨Any news on the book printing of your absolutely fabulous epic fics FTL and SCB? “Thanks to the unending generosity and diligence of SparklyShinyMagpie, who has done all of the pretty social-media coding you’ll see in my fics, the print books are inching closer to becoming a reality! The current holdup…is me 😆 So poke me now and then to make sure I’m holding up my end of things. At the moment we’re working on “Find the Light”; SCB will take a little longer.
The books will (eventually) be sold at cost, with no profit to me.”
✨You always put in your author’s notes and the tags that you won’t spoil the end of your stories. Would you ever consider NOT giving Aziraphale and Crowley a happy ending? ““Happy” is such an UNuseful word here. Is the ending SUITABLE? Does it make sense in the context of the story and the character arcs? Does it seem inevitable in retrospect? —These are the important questions, and the things that matter more to me (as both a reader and a writer) than whether the ending falls under the WILDLY subjective definition of “happy.”
That being said…I think that Crowley and Aziraphale, no matter what reality we find them in, OUGHT to have an ending in which they’re together and at peace. Heartbreak and tragedy have their place, but these two dopes are simply meant to be and nothing else feels right.
But “#Author REFUSES to spoil the ending in the tags” is my favorite tag and isn’t going away anytime soon 😁”
These two ABSOLUTELY deserve the happiest of endings!! And klikandtuna’s last answer OBVIOUSLY answers our next question - who is your favorite GO pairing to write about?
“I mean, is anyone’s FAVORITE pairing in this fandom anything other than our Ineffables? 😄 They’re the core of everything that’s brought us all together. I’ve featured or alluded to other relationships in my stories — Gabe/Beez, Uriel/Sandalphon, Maggie/Nina, Muriel/OC demon — but Crowley and Aziraphale are why we’re all here, and they’ve touched my heart and my creativity in a way that really no other fictional pairing I’ve ever encountered can compare to. 💛”
Any writing themes that you prefer for the Ineffable Duo?
“Redemption for all (potential/offered, even if not fulfilled). The transformative power of love. How belief can shape reality. Time is a pond. Aziraphale hates puns and Crowley hates autocorrect. At Least One Of Them Is A Virtuoso Musician. Sleepovers usually sneak in somewhere. This Love Is Destiny. Etc 😁”
klikandtuna has THREE works in progress right now - here’s a preview (and also your sign to subscribe so you don’t miss a thing!!):
““In His Hand a Burning Coal” (rated E, 28/43, 311k) — this massive beast of a human AU features Ant and Azlan, college students at an American university, who are in marching band together. Humor! Drama! Pining! Daring heists! Tons of fun OCs, including an aggressively hateable antagonist! 1-2 illustrations per chapter! Basically my personal love letter to band, delivered via a beautiful story of destiny and perseverance.
“Because We Can!” (not posted yet, will be rated T or possssibly M) — a campy human AU about time cops, equal parts drama and humor. This one has been shunted to the back burner until my FTH fic is complete, but I’ve written five chapters and really love it.
“What I Never Said” (human AU, not posted yet, will be rated M) — my winning bidder in the Fandom Trumps Hate auction presented me with a MASSIVE CHALLENGE that has required extensive research, but the result is going to be beautiful. Stay tuned.”
Okay - it’s time to end all the suspense. WE NEED TO KNOW THE STORY BEHIND THE HANDLE!!! (And for the record, klikandtuna sort of begged for this question in her intro 😁🤣):
“Hoist with my own petard. I brought up how stupid the handle is, so now I’ve gotta tell the stupid story 😆 SO. In 2018 I finally wanted to join Twitter, but every handle I could think of was taken, so I had to reach back into the vault of Dumb Family Legends to find something…
June 2005. On a five-day fishing trip on a remote Canadian lake with my dad and brothers. On the final day, in preparation for leaving, we disposed of most of our leftover food.
Well, the float plane that was supposed to pick us up was late. Like, REALLY late. The window of time during which it could pick us up and make it back to civilization before dark was rapidly narrowing, and the four of us suddenly had to face the possibility of spending an extra night at this tiny cabin in the middle of nowhere with no food except the two items that couldn’t be thrown away or burned: one 8-ounce can of Starkist tuna, and one can of Klik, which is kind of a Canadian Spam and which we’d only purchased because we thought the name was funny.
The float plane DID come, thankfully, but we kept that can of Klik in the pantry for like ten years until Mom threw it away because she didn’t fully appreciate the sentimental value of it. I always keep a couple cans of Klik on my own shelves now, though, just for good luck.
“Klikandtuna,” typed 2018 Steph into the field to create a Twitter handle, just for a giggle…and lo and behold, it went through. So then I just had to live with it. Annnnd since it’s always available on any new social media platform and it’s nice to have just one handle across the board, I’ve stuck with it. Annnnd now it’s basically my name. This is my life now. I am two canned meats. Told you it was stupid.
(Sorry I don’t clicker-train cats, that would’ve been rad)”
And this wonderfully unique name is how you will always be able to find her online:
“Tumblr, BlueSky, and Instagram are where you can see my art; I’m also on Discord, and even have my own little server for “In His Hand a Burning Coal.” No matter where, I’m always klikandtuna 💛”
klikandtuna shares more with the fandom than just her beautiful artworks and fabulous tales:
“I’ve designed and completed a GO cross-stitch that I’m proud of (and which David Tennant has signed! one day I’ll complete the set, I hope), and I’ve made a set of custom “Little People” GO figures. Most of my creative energy these days goes into the fics and illustrations!”
Here are some truthful and beautiful words of encouragement from klikandtuna for others who love writing or are considering dipping into the writing pool:
“Writing is scary.
Fan art is great because even a very rough sketch can carry at least the approximation of ideas and forms and intent, and your audience can take it in at a glance and offer kind words. But with writing you have to be at least kind of objectively good at it to properly pull off the telepathy of transmitting the intent in your own head into the heads of other people. Writing can’t be taken in at a glance — you have to be good enough for readers to stick around, focus, pay attention, dedicate their time. You have to EARN it. And that’s scary because it might not work.
AO3 is such a fun platform because it encourages reader interaction in a way that traditional publishing cannot. But the kudos and comments, and even the genuine friends I’ve made via these channels, are not the reason I write. And anyone for whom that IS the primary goal might end up having a bad time.
Do you fall through the page when you’re writing, losing track of the minutes? Do you make yourself laugh? Does your heart beat faster when you find that perfect phrasing? Do your fingers itch when it’s been too long since you got to sit down and get to it? Do you stage potential scenarios for your characters while folding laundry and scribble notes to yourself before you forget? Does your heart flood with genuine affection when you think of the people you’ve created, who feel more real to you than a lot of actual people you know?
Write because you love it. Because it’s fulfilling a huge and wonderful need in your soul. Let go of the end result and embrace the joy of the process — of working at it, of TRYING, of wrestling with words and ideas until it feels just right. The only real point of creating art of any kind is the feeling it inspires in the artist themself. Write for YOU. Make yourself your own target audience. That’s the best advice I’ve got.”
Final thoughts?
“I’m deeply grateful to everyone reading this. For not letting this fandom die, for continuing to find beauty and hope here…both in this story that means so much to us all, and in the community we’ve found with each other.”
klikandtuna - we are so very grateful for YOU and all the fantastic gifts you give to this fandom. Thank you so much for sharing your story with us!!! 💝
Here's some links where you can continue to follow klikandtuna:
“Hi, all! I’m Steph (she/her) and I’m probably better known as klikandtuna — a stupid handle with a stupid story behind it, to which I now answer as readily as to my actual name. I’m klikandtuna on AO3, Discord, Tumblr, BlueSky, and Instagram.
Fandom has been a completely new experience for me. My first tentative GO drabbles were only shared with two friends, whose enthusiasm and support helped to build my confidence; all of my early works were written in a vacuum, with only this tiny audience and no participation in the fandom. My friends finally convinced me to join AO3 in February 2024, and thanks to the overwhelmingly positive reception of my work I’ve been rabidly churning out fics ever since!
I’ve written one-shots and sprawling epics, the canon couple and human AUs, familiar faces and original characters, angst and comedy and romance and drama of all ratings. All of my recent works even include illustrations, also by me! GO is my only active fandom, this is my number one hobby, and I’m having the time of my life playing in this sandbox with like-minded new friends. 💛”
You can read and see more of klikandtuna‘s amazing works on AO3 and Tumblr
Everyone will have one week’s time (until Sunday, July 6) to read some - or all - of klikandtuna’s works and to submit your questions. We will then share all the author’s exciting answers on Sunday, July 13.
GOOD OMENS TAROT READING - PREDICTIONS FOR S3!!! ✨
As some of you know, I have been doing tarot readings for a very long time, and recently I’ve been doing some with my Good Omens deck as a thank you to those who tip on my kofi page - today I wondered what would happen if I asked the deck what was going to happen in Season Three/the final 90, and it had some VERY promising suggestions…
I decided to do a seven-card spread instead of my usual three (because God likes sevens, and also three cards didn’t really seem like enough to cover a whole ninety minutes)… and the results literally blew me away. I ACTUALLY burst into tears when I pulled “The World” as the seventh and final card.
Check out the cards and their interpretations:
What do you think?? 👀
Can you imagine what might be happening that the cards might be referring to??
