🐞🐈‍⬛

“it's me and you against the world, m'lady”

[olivia313]

They did it

[dalliancekay]

Aziraphale, Walking

I know we talk a lot about Crowley's walk, but may I present:

The careful way Aziraphale walks?

The way he looks so solid and strong?

So sure?

He seems to like his body

And that's so sexy

He seems like he is ten steps ahead, on a particular, calculated path at any point

Anyway, I love the way he holds himself

And Crowley definitely appreciates that too:

[crowleysgirl56]

Good Omens fanfiction shout out 2024

As we wrap up 2024 I thought I’d post some brief thoughts about the fanfiction I’ve immersed myself in this year. I’ve discovered and read so much by such talented authors this year. Works that have changed me. Works that have touched me deeply. Works that have punched me in the chest. Works that got me a little hot and bothered (if you know what I mean). Works that have made me cry heartily in both joy and sadness. How strange and unreal to experience characters over and over again that can be represented in such different ways. All ways that ring true regardless of the AU they’re presented in. And although I look forward to their canon resolution I can’t wait to read more about all the different lives that they will have and share in fanfiction.

To every single author out there that puts such care and devotion and love into these characters, and into your writing, thank you for sharing your talents and your interpretations and your thoughts. You are all amazing!

And a very big shout out to the following authors who have profoundly changed my soul this year:

@cemeteryangel725 @phoen1xr0se @bellisima-writes @moonyinpisces @gaiaseyes451 @klikandtuna DiminishingReturns (I still don’t know your Tumblr handle), @thenerdalert @riathedreamer and @mrghostrat I could read your words over and over again and never want for anything more. You are treasures! Thank you!

[flameraven]

Good Omens S2 Transcripts

Been working on these for a few weeks now, and they're finally done!

I really missed having the Script Book to refer to, especially when writing fic, so I made the next best thing, which is some transcripts (+minor descriptions)

PDFs:

EPISODE ONE

EPISODE TWO

EPISODE THREE

EPISODE FOUR

EPISODE FIVE

EPISODE SIX

UPDATE: Google docs links below:

Episode One

Episode Two

Episode Three

Episode Four

Episode Five

Episode Six

[shoomlah]

I have a feeling that beneath the little halo on your noble head There lies a thought or two the devil might be interested to know You're like the finish of a novel that I'll finally have to take to bed You fascinate me so

You Fascinate Me So, Blossom Dearie

[hoshioyoo]

let me tell you a story…

[thorin-is-a-cuddler]

Don't leave your demon uncuddled

A/N: Crowley wants cuddles, but Aziraphale never stops reading. This calls for drastic measures.

When Crowley had introduced Aziraphale to the marvels of staying in bed all day – all week, all month, not yet all year – long, he’d had a very specific picture in mind: the two of them wrapped around each other, respective noses buried in shades of cream-colored and auburn-tinted hair, eyes merely opening to exchange glances of fond admiration, warmth encompassing them both in a timeless embrace, a fest of never seizing cuddles.

In Crowley’s opinion, this plan should have worked out fine. Not a single obstacle had presented itself to him when he’d set out to tempt the angel into the gentle embrace of warm blankets and soft pillows. What the demon had underestimated at the time, was the power of Aziraphale’s books.  

If the angel were asked to list his favourite things since… well always, he’d most certainly list Crowley first and foremost. The mention of his books were, nevertheless, only one breath away.

So, quite unexpectedly, since Aziraphale’s introduction to spending quality time in bed, Crowley had not been succumbed to countless hours of cuddling, but to a quite unsatisfyingly absent angel whose face tended to disappear behind the pages of a leather bound classic. Moving between the covers and pillows ended up being rather unpleasant, since numerous pointy hardbacks stuck out on either side of the mattress. And if he got really unlucky, Aziraphale even left their pillow fort for a while, putting many cold miles between their vessels, only to return with more books.

To be fair, the giddy face of the angel who seemed to experience a whole new level of dedication to his favourite hobby was rather endearing and Crowley could not seriously bring himself to complain to Aziraphale about the lack of physical attention to himself. Besides, the angel was a rather entertaining reader, exclaiming and gasping and giggling all the while which did give Crowley some fun hours, as he simply watched him, curled up by his side, shaking his demonic head with a soft smile.

Sometimes Aziraphale had found good compromises: petting Crowley’s back while reading out loud to him or drawing the lines on the pages out with a single finger between Crowley’s shoulder blades. He was also really unbothered about Crowley’s choosing of which way to position himself around or on top of the angel, across his belly, next to his side, underneath his arm – nothing disturbed Aziraphale when he was reading.

Crowley had therefore enjoyed some of the time they’d passed in bed together.

But after two weeks of frequent reading and of books piling up around them like a flooding tide, Crowley did start to feel like he was drowning in old ink and crinkly pages. And it had to come to an end.

“Angel,” he moaned, when hours had passed with only the sound of pages turning, the repetition transforming it into a form of torture to his ears. He was curled up by Aziraphale’s side, the blanket allowing for nothing but his hair and his yellow eyes to stick out – his expression was all but pleased. “Aziraphale!!” He repeated, slipping his head out from underneath the blanket entirely, intensifying the glare he directed up at the angel’s face.

“Hmmm?” He asked, not even looking at the demon, his blue eyes glued on the pages that shielded him from the warm and welcome temptation of snuggling in peace.

Crowley groaned and had to summon all his lazy powers to slip out one arm from underneath the comfort of the blanket. He moved it up to put his hand between the stupid book and the angelic face. “Haven’t you done enough reading for now?”

Aziraphale swatted Crowley’s hand away like a pestering fly and didn’t pay much attention to his responding hiss. “Crowley, why don’t you just go back to sleep, that’s a dear.”

Surprisingly, the displeased look in Crowley’s eyes grew even less pleased than prior and the demon struggled to pull out arm number two from within the sweet – and currently only – embrace of his blanket to cross both of them over his chest meaningfully. “Can’t you just put your book down for a few months and… just…” cuddle meee?, he continued in his head, but a sudden twang of insecurity avoided the words from leaving his tongue.

His lips turned into a thin line, when Aziraphale’s sole reaction consisted of a quickly uttered: “What? Yes, jolly good, indeed.”

Fiddling with his hands, he sighed and glared at the ceiling for a while.

“You’re not going to pay attention to me then?” He asked eventually, moving his head to look at the angel’s face. And just then did a small smile and a very smugly raised eyebrow grace that oh so innocent face.

“I guess not.”

Ohh, thought Crowley. Ohhhh. That was how he wanted to play? Foolish, foolish angel. No one could beat Crowley at a game of ‘You can’t get a reaction out of me anyway’. That was a challenge, the demon was more than apt to live up to.

A smile took over his brooding features as he nodded to himself, feigning peacefulness, his eyebrows rising just as smugly as the angels’ had. “Huh.”

Another page was turned – extremely slowly and extremely loudly. Crowley narrowed his eyes. The angel was still smirking ever so slightly, thinking himself clever. The smile on Crowley’s features grew.

“I see. Don’t let me disturb you then, I’ll just get a little more comfortable.” Lifting his upper-body, Crowley crawled on top of his angel, placing a hand on either side of his body, before lowering himself down. His head came to a rest on Aziraphale’s belly, the soft cotton of his pyjama smelling of fresh waterlilies. With a loud sigh, Crowley cuddled himself as close to the angel’s body as possible, his arms finding the space between the small of his back and the mattress to cross underneath and wrap him up in his embrace.

Aziraphale didn’t allow any of that to disturb him in the least. Behind his book, hidden from view, he bit his bottom-lip, concealing a little smirk. Mischief was in the air and he was quite prepared to see whatever Crowley would come up with to gain his attention. The letters on the pages turned into senseless repetitions of the same line, his attention not really remaining with his lecture.

Crowley was feeling particularly mischievous in that very moment and he was in a rather perfect position to act out his mean little plan. Moving his chin over Aziraphale’s tummy, he tightened his grip around him ever so slightly. Suddenly he buried his nose in the soft, angelic belly and inhaled deeply. “Ahh, you smell so good, angel.”

Aziraphale’s grip on his book grew a little stronger. Oh dear, maybe he was in more trouble than he’d expected. “Crowley,” he warned meaningfully, conveying unmistakeably with his tone of voice that the demon better not do what he appeared very much about to do.

“Yes?” The demon answered innocently, a playful grin settling on his face, as he started circling Aziraphale’s belly with the tip of his nose.

“I’m warning you.” The angel stated, shifting a little on the covers and lifting one hand from his book to hold up a reprimanding finger. His face stayed hidden behind the hardback copy which merely propelled Crowley’s grin to new dimensions of evil.

“I’m not doing anything.” He lied, placing a kiss in the middle of Aziraphale’s belly, before more kisses followed - to his sides, to his ribs, to his hips, all soft spaces that got Aziraphale to hold his breath and press his lips together tightly.

He tried not to react too strongly to the sensations spreading on his midriff, but truly, Crowley started to tickle him more and more and soon enough, Aziraphale was sure of it, it would become unbearable. He cleared his throat and shifted around some more, trying to distract himself with the sentences under his nose, but it was to no avail. He was about to lose their little game, but he tried to stay afloat for as long as he possibly could. Little titters of laughter tinted his voice when next he spoke. “You- you will regret this.”

“I sure hope I will.” Crowley answered, his smirk audible in every syllable and all hell broke loose when next he dipped his head to Aziraphale’s tummy and started growling into it. A loud screech left the angel’s lungs as he slipped out of his comfortable sitting position, starting to hit Crowley’s head with the next best weapon – which turned out to be the very enemy, the book itself.

“NOO!!” The sweetest squeals emerged from the bibliophile angel as Crowley continued to snarl, growl, gnaw and nibble all over the cotton covered ticklish belly at his mercy, paying no heed to the painful attempts at self-defence directed at his poor head. “DON’T DO THAT!!! OH CROWLEY YOU’LL-“ A peal of high-pitched laughter cut off Aziraphale’s line of thought as wily fingers started prodding his sides, adding to the unbearable sensations that overpowered his vessel.

“I’ll what? Tickle you until you pop? Maybe sooo.” Crowley snickered when Aziraphale finally tossed the dangerous book aside and started pushing and hitting at him with his hands instead, his scrunched up face decorated with the sweetest smile and his cheeks painted a very rosy colour.

“I BEG OF YOU!! STOP THIS!!”

Crowley merely smirked lazily, rubbing his face against Aziraphale’s ticklish sides and wiggling his fingers into easily accessible ribs on either side of his favourite body, never wishing for one second to stop.

“Can’t ignore me now, can you?”

Aziraphale arched his back as best he could and pushed his head into a bunch of pillows violently. They went flying, coming in handy and appearing a new wonderful weapon against Crowley’s ticklish attack. The demon started laughing when one of them came down next on his tousled hair, softer than the previous weapons, but nevertheless dangerous in the hands of the angel.

“Hey, stop hitting me!” He chuckled, removing one arm from underneath Aziraphale’s back to protect himself, trying to pull the pillow from the other’s grasp.

“NEVER YOU FOUL DEMONIC-“ Aziraphale choked on a new wave of laughter when Crowley’s hand disappeared underneath his arm, fingers hitting the centre of his armpit and making it impossible for him to keep from squeaking with laughter. The pillow was left harmless on the mattress next to the pair, as Aziraphale tried to curl up into a little ball.

Crowley followed his every move, expertly attacking whichever weak spot revealed itself next, until Aziraphale’s position on the bed had changed from upright to sideways.

“TRUTH, TRUTH!!” The angel squeaked when Crowley’s fingers were gently scribbling up his sides, kisses tickling him underneath his chin. “YOU GOT ME! I GIVE UP! I DO! CROWELY!!”

Chuckling softly, Crowley stilled his skilful fingers and removed his mouth from Aziraphale’s sensitive neck. The angel was panting, a big smile on his face and small titters still spilling from his lips.

Crowley had missed their tickle fights especially during these last two weeks of the angel’s insatiable hunger for books. Nothing was as sweet as his angel’s reaction to having Crowley kiss and tickle all over his middle. Though Aziraphale would probably not agree with him on this – he kept teasing that nothing could be sweeter than his demon flailing like a bug in  the water whenever Aziraphale’s fingers came near his hips or the backside of his ribs.

“You,” Aziraphale exclaimed when his breathing allowed it, “are in for quite the ordeal!”

“Oh, am I?” Crowley chuckled, pushing their noses together and planting a quick kiss on the angel’s lips. “Do you really think you’d have the singlest tidbit of a chance against me right now?”

Aziraphale threw his head back with another peal of laughter when Crowley’s fingers continued their ticklish way up his sides. “NO NO!! NOT A ONE!! CROWLEY PLEASE!!”

“Not a one.” Crowley repeated meaningfully and grabbed Aziraphale’s shoulder to roll them over, grinning happily up at his angel’s bright face. “I won. Now I demand-“ He stopped himself, too embarrassed to say it out loud.

“Cuddles?” Aziraphale offered, smirking knowingly.

Crowley growled  and hissed in response, but his blushed cheeks made it lack any vigour. “Yes, that!!” He spat out, before burying his face in Aziraphale’s neck and turning them over again.

Aziraphale smirked at the demon’s antics, wrapping his arms around him to pull him as close to his body as possible and allowing him to keep his face hidden at his neck. “You shall have your cuddles then, you wily snake.”

Crowley grabbed the blanket and pulled it around them, before letting out the loudest sigh of relief, happily enveloped in the hug he had wished for. Occasionally he allowed his snake tongue to slip out between his lips to tickle Aziraphale’s neck. But apart from that, their cuddle session was not interrupted for an impressive amount of time. And Crowley couldn’t have been happier.

[fuckyeahgoodomens]

Good Omens filming locations masterpost! ❤ 🐍😊 Part 2

(here to part 1 :))

Here to the map :)

Others in England (cont):

Tadfield Manor (S01E01, S01E02) - Bulstrode, Gerrards Cross

Scene: The Tadfield Manor where the satanic nuns run the hospital in the first episode and Aziraphale and Crowley visit in the second episode

Availability (as of 2024): The manor has been in private hands since 2016 - in 2023 sold again, I didn't find on the internet that it would be available to visit in any form, the manor is not visitble from the public road.

Link on the map

Four Horsemen meeting (S01E05) – Old School Cafe, Longcross Road B386

Scene: The cafe where Four Horsemen meet

Availability (as of 2024): street all day, the cafe Mon-Fri 7:30-15:00, Sat-Sun 8:30-15:00

Link on the map

Heaven middle floors (S01E01, S01E03, S01E04, S01E05) - Weybridge Business Park, Addlestone

Scene: The Heaven middle floors scenes in season 1 were filmed here

Availability (as of 2024): The places can be sort of seen from the street but I don't think that visiting is possible

Link on the map

Pollution by the river (S01E04) – River Wey Navigation, Guildford

Scene: The International Express Man delivers the package to Pollution

(fun fact: this one was the harderst one to pin down the exact location, I only knew bc of an article that the schooting took place by "Wey Navigation" which is a river long 32km (miles), I tried to find a better mention or through google maps comparing place for a long time but couldn't, finally I wrote to the River Way Navigation organization on facebook but they had no record of the shooting. Finally, in one of the photos I noticed that in the background there is a footbridge that I saw a photo of a similar footbridge while searching on a history of Wey Navigation river on the UK National Trust page and fortunately the previous mentioned facebook page knew where it was, WAHOO! :))

Availability (as of 2024): all day

Link on the map

Hogback Wood (S01E01, S01E02, S01E04, S01E05) - Painshill Park, Cobham

Scene: The Hogback Wood where The Them play, seen in several episodes.

Availability (as of 2024): The entrance to the park is paid (£11 with prebooking online on https://painshill.co.uk/visit-us/ticket-prices-booking/) They open at 10 and close at 16-18 depending on the season. The World Word II crater they shot the main scene at should be in the west-south tip of the park. The whole path there and back is 4km (2,5 miles).

Link on the map

International Express Man's house (S01E04) - Shetland Close, Guildford

Scene: The International Express Man leaves the house to make deliveries

Availability (as of 2024): street all day

Link on the map

Agnes Nutter's village (S01E02) - Weald & Downland Living Museum, Chichester

Scene: The Agnes Nutter's village in episode two. In the map I highlighted which part we see the villagers and Witchfinder Major Pulsifer to through in the show.

Availability (as of 2024): The entrance fee is paid (£15.50 for an adult ticket prebooked online https://www.wealddown.co.uk/), it opens at 10 and closes at 16-17 depending on the month.

Link on the map

Tadfield Air Base (S01E05, S01E06) - RAF Upper Heyford, Bicester

Scene: For the shooting of the Tadfield Air Base the former RAF Upper Heyford was used, by the examining the google maps and screenshots from the series I think that the area labeled as 'Shelter 9' was used.

Availability (as of 2024): The place is no longer used by RAF purposes, there are several companies that use certain areas it but it is not available for public. The Upper Heyford Heritage though organizes (paid - £25.00) tours through the airbase: http://www.upperheyfordheritage.co.uk/home-page/tour-booking/

Link on the map

Soho (S1) – Bovingdon Airfield Studios

Scene: The Aziraphale's bookshop and Soho in season one were built at Bovingdon Airfield Studios

Availability (as of 2024): The studios can be rented but I don't think they are publicly available – the Soho is not there anymore though, it is now build in studios in Scotland.

Link on the map

The motorway on fire (S01E05) - M96 Training Motorway at Fire Service College, Moreton-in-Marsh

Scene: The motorway on fire when Crowley is heading for Tadfield was filmed at M95 Training Motorway at Fire Service College that is usually used for training emergency service professionals

Availability (as of 2024): Not publicly available.

Link on the map

South Africa:

The 1941 church (S01E03) - St. Saviour's Church, Claremont, Cape Town

Scene: The scene in Season 1 where Aziraphale is outsmarted by the Nazis and is saved by Crowley

Availability (as of 2024): Their facebook says Always open

Link on the map

Famine at a fancy restaurant (S01E03) - Mutual Heights building, Cape Town

Scene: The restaurant where we meet Famine for the first time

Availability (as of 2024): It is a building with flats, offices and a reception, not available to public.

Link on the map

Crowley in a cinema (S01E04) - Joseph Stone Auditorium, Cape Town

Scene: Crowley in a cinema (with Neil Gaiman cameo) watching animated rabbits when Hastur interrupts

Availability (as of 2024): Not publicly available as such but they there are presentations and and such happening there https://www.facebook.com/josephstone1968/

Link on the map

Aziraphale dancing gavotte (S01E04) - Casa Labia, Cape Town

Scene: Aziraphale dancing gavotte in a discreet gentlemen's club in Portland Place in the late 1880s was filmed at Casa Labia in Cape Town

Availability (as of 2024): Casa labia is hotel and a restaurant so it can be visited in that way https://www.casalabia.com/

Link on the map

Anathema's child home (S01E02) - Llandudno Rock Villa, Cape Town

Scene: The home which we see Anathema as a child with The Book (in the show it's Malibu, California)

Availability (as of 2024): street all day, the villa itself seems that it can be rented

Link on the map

Eden desert and ep6 time bubble desert (S01E01,S01E06) – Atlantis Dunes, Cape Town

Scene: The Eden desert scenes and the time bubble with Adam and AC were filmed in the Atlantis Dunes at the outskirts of Cape Town

Availability (as of 2024): The Atlantis Dunes – or Witzands Aquifer Conservation Area – is a protected natural area. Biking adventures can be booked through https://atlantisdunes.com/ or also other activities through https://www.capetown.gov.za/Family%20and%20home/see-all-city-facilities/our-recreational-facilities/Nature%20reserves/Witzands%20Aquifer%20Nature%20Reserve

Link on the map

The apple tree in the Garden of Eden (S01E01) - Waterfall Valley (formerly Cascade Country Manor), Paarl

Scene: The Eden apple tree with the waterfall in the background was filmed at the retreat Waterfall Valley (then Cascade Country Manor) (the tree was added by the film crew for the scene)

Availability (as of 2024): I am not sure if you can visit the waterfall like that or you have to be a guest in the restreat. The retreat is available for booking: https://www.waterfallvalley.online/

Link on the map

There were other scenes also filmed at South Africa (thought not specified exactly where): Hell was filmed in Cape Town in a former abattoir. The Noah’s Ark scene and the Crucifixion scene were filmed on a windswept plain just outside Cape Town. Also the Meggido scenes. The entire village used for the scene with War causing mayhem in an african village is in fact a set, built on scrubland over a sand mine just outside Cape Town. The French Revolution scene wa shot on a set that had been used twenty-four hours earlier for the scene in Ancient Rome. Famine visiting a burger place with Elvis was shot on a set in Cape Town. Also some scene's in Anathema's cottage with Anathema and Newt.

SEASON 2

Most of season 2 has been shot inside the film studio in Bathgate (f.e. the whole Soho has been built there), the Hell in S2 has been shot in an old disused factory (not specififed which one). The shots of the Edinburgh castle have been shot from the top of the The Caledonian hotel.

Edinburgh:

Crowley and Shax in St James's Park (S02E01) – Inverleith Park, Edinburgh

Scene: Crowley and Shax meet to discuss the news in St James's Park – the scene though was actually filmed in Scotland.

Availability (as of 2024): All day

Link on the map

The place where Crowley parks the Bentley (S02E01, S02E02) – Circus Lane, Edinburgh

Scene: The place Crowley goes to to park the Bentley and sleep there

Availability (as of 2024): street all day

Link on the map

AC and Elspeth in Edinburgh (S02E03) - Moray Place, Edinburgh

Scene: Aziraphale, Crowley and Elspeth are taking the first "pickled herring" to be sold, Aziraphale and Crowley are debating good and evil

Availability (as of 2024): street all day

Link on the map

Detective Aziraphale parks the Bentley (S02E03) – Victoria Street, Edinburgh

Scene: Aziraphale arrives in the Bentley and happily goes to investigate

Availability (as of 2024): street all day

Link on the map

The Resurrectionist (S02E03, S02E06) - Cask and Barrel, Edinburgh

Scene: Aziraphale goes to investigate to The Resurrectionist bar (also in Gabriel's memories with Beelzebub) – filmed in the Cask and Barrel bar

Availability (as of 2024): outside all day, inside 12-24, Fri-Sat 12-1

Link on the map

Stirling:

Edinburgh cementery (S02E03) - Old Town Cemetery, Stirling

Scene: The cemetery in episode 3 was filmed at the Stirling cemetery (grave, some gravestones, Gabriel's statue and the crypt has been added by the crew for the shooting)

Availability (as of 2024): all day

Link on the map

AC and Elspeth going through Edinburgh (S02E03) – Broad Street, Stirling

Scene: Aziraphale, Crowley and Elspeth going through Edinburgh while Aziraphale is trying to persuade her that she could do something else

Availability (as of 2024): street all day

Link on the map

Meeting Wee Morag (S02E03) - Mar's Wark, Stirling

Scene: The small corridor behind the gate where Wee Morag is staying

Availability (as of 2024): The front all day, the corridor if not through the gate then hopefully from the other side

Link on the map

Others in Scotland:

AC drinking whiskey with Mr Darlymple and the corridor to Mr Darlymple (S02E03) – Hopetoun House, Queensferry

Scene: Aziraphale and Crowley drinking whisky with Mr Darlymple while he explains why he needs fresh dead bodies also at the house has been filmed the corridor reading to Mr Darlymple

Availability (as of 2024): Hopetoun is visitable, Friday 29 March 2024 to Sunday 29 September 2024 Open 5 days per week (Thursday – Monday) from 11am to 5pm, £13.50 for an adult ticket for House and Grounds (to see both), or £13.50 for Grounds (to see the corridor)

Link on the map

The Windmill Theatre in 1941 (S02E04) - Hippodrome Cinema, Bo'ness

Scene: The theatre that Crowley delivered the broken alcohol to and Aziraphale performed the bullet catch

Availability (as of 2024): You can visit the cinema for a movie or an event https://www.hippodromecinema.co.uk/whats-on/

Link on the map

Soho and more (S2) - The Pyramids Studio, Bathgate

Scene: The S2 Soho has been built in the Bathgate studio, also there were built and shot many other scenes

Availability (as of 2024): It is not available to visit for public

Link on the map

London:

Possibly only streets were filmed and the Bentley was added with VFX.

C on the way to A after A calls him (S02E01) - Wardour Street, London

Scene: Crowley on the way to Aziraphale after Aziraphale calls him (to tell him about Gabriel)

Availability (as of 2024): street all day

Link on the map

C rushing to A after Beelzebub's visit (S02E01) - Regent Street St James's, London

Scene: Crowley rushing to Aziraphale after Beelzebub told with that anyone who will be find helping Gabriel will be dealt with extreme sanctions

Availability (as of 2024): street all day

Link on the map

Whew! This masterpost took me several weeks, hope you enjoyed it and it might help you plan your trip to see the Good Omens places! :) ❤ 🐍😊 Wahoo! :)

[ppaemeu4]

stuck with demon

[halemerry]

On the Bookshop, the Concept of Home, and Going Too Fast

So, weirdly enough, I want to start with a scene that has very little to do with the actual Bookshop: 1967. We get Crowley planning a heist and being interrupted by an angel clutching a thermos full of holy water and promising that someday, maybe, they could let themselves have the life they want together. And we get that line. You know the one. You go too fast for me.

This one line of dialogue went a very long way to cementing the fanon perception of their roles in the relationship as we've largely been shown them - Crowley gently pushes and gives Aziraphale space to slowly feel comfortable setting his own boundaries or adjusting his worldview. And I’m not saying this is wrong - it’s definitely what we're primed to expect in their pattern - but I do think it ignores a fairly common variation of their pattern. See, sometimes, Aziraphale is actually the faster of the two of them - he's just not quite as flashy about it.

Crowley very rarely actually does any pushing without getting some kind of signal from Aziraphale first. Aziraphale, whether consciously or otherwise, quite frequently is the player making the first move on their metaphorical chess board. We see that he's the first to push for them to work together in the story of Job. We see that he's the first to invite Crowley to socialize together in Rome. We see as early as the Globe that Aziraphale has discovered and weaponized how to ask Crowley for things with a simple look and that Crowley has gotten very good at reading those asks. We actually see this dynamic in real time as Aziraphale drops signals to Crowley on how he should form his deception of the angels in the Book of Job. Even the Arrangement itself is something Crowley doesn't push for until he knows explicitly that Aziraphale isn't happy with the terms of his work. In other words, Aziraphale sets a cue, Crowley picks up on it and adapts.

So what does this have to do with the Bookshop?

Well. The Bookshop is a prime example of Aziraphale getting there faster. Because the bookshop, whether he knows it at the time or not, is absolutely a nest.

Nesting is behavior typically associated with birds, but is actually something lots of animals do. Even humans exhibit this behavior to some degree. It’s functionally gathering a bunch of stuff to create a safe, comfortable place, typically constructed for the purpose of raising children or attracting a mate. In other words: the creation of a home.

Because the Bookshop is their home. It is their safe space and sanctuary. It is a space for them to meet and just Exist without worrying about being seen. A home base where they can just Be themselves. It’s a constant in a world ever shifting around them. It’s a place for them to come back to. A place that will always be waiting for them both. And a place that they both have to be able to check in on each other. This is why the Bookshop burning hit as hard as it did. Their home was destroyed in fire and flame. And they both know it. Every expression and shift in tone when they talk about it speaks to the gravity of that loss - even if it was only temporary. And I think it was always intended to be just that on some level from the very start.

So timeline wise the closest scene we know about to Aziraphale starting his plans for the shop is the scene at the Globe. This takes place in 1601 and features the two of them being very conscious of being seen and the potential consequences thereof. They pick going to the Globe expecting it to be busy enough to blend into the crowd and Aziraphale's objection re the Arrangement has shifted onto the idea of Hell destroying Crowley.

It is less than a century later that Aziraphale buys the land that will eventually become the bookshop. In 1630 he purchases the land with his own money. That’s his money. Money that he made mostly the human way. Although this space would eventually become an embassy to Heaven it was made via earthly means. It’s his, not Heaven’s. Less than 30 years after we first see them express concern for how dangerous it would be to be seen Aziraphale starts making a space for them to retreat to.

And he does it slowly. He spends decades slowly buying up the land in the area. In fact, it’s nearly 200 years before the Bookshop will be ready to open. By the time we hit the Bastille, he’s clearly decided on a bookshop and has clearly told Crowley all about it. They’re comfortable with each other and already trust each other to a frankly absurd degree. Aziraphale risks discorporation on the sure thing that Crowley will know he’s in danger and come save him just because he wants to see him. In other words, by the time they’re at the point where they’re making elaborate excuses to see each other, Aziraphale is less than a decade away from naming the home he has been carefully making for himself A.Z. Fell and Co.

The and Co is important here for obvious reasons. We all know there’s only one person that it could be referring to. Even as Aziraphale is still denying that they are friends, he is plastering the idea that they are a unit all over the front door of his home long before even he realizes that what he is feeling for Crowley is love.

This is part of why the conversation about ‘our car, our bookshop’ comes much easier to Aziraphale. And it is an easier jump for him to make. He's the one that brings it up and he does it quite casually. He's testing the waters a bit, but is confident the conversation will go his way. Of course we have a car. Just as we have a bookshop.

The thing is I don't think Crowley ever really got that memo on a conscious level. We can see his relationship to the shop shift in the way he moves around the shop shifts over time. The earliest we see him in the shop itself is 1941. It's night time which gives the whole thing a bit of clandestine air, which is fitting for where they're at on the timeline. He stays mostly in one spot in his shots here, sort of hovering about the shop not getting too close to Aziraphale but not drifting out on his own either. He also stays as close to sitting normally as we tend to see Crowley ever sit and his glasses stay on. Which that's not to say he doesn't relax at all. He takes off his hat and make himself comfortable and, most telling, doesn't bother with fixing his glasses when they slip off his nose. He's comfortable and familiar here but it's in a strained sort of distant way. There's trust there, for sure, but he is clearly a visitor in this space.

The next we see of Crowley in the shop is the mid 2000s. It's still night time. His glasses stay on until he's drunk and the he takes them off of his own accord. He moves about the shop, touching various objects and leaning against various pillars and shelves and furniture. He's more comfortable here, but he still he needs a bit of alcohol in his system to get there.

We then see him briefly in the daytime after they realize they have lost the Anti-Christ. The glasses stay on here and alcohol is notably present. And then we do not see him in the shop again until it is burning. All and all most our shots of the bookshop from season one are Aziraphale alone moving about his space. We know Crowley's there enough that his smell lingers in the place, but we don't actually see that much of it beyond those first tom scenes.

Season 2 couldn't be more different in this regard.

Crowley moves in and out of the bookshop as it suits him. At one point he wanders off in the middle of Aziraphale zoning out in a memory without bothering to shake Aziraphale out of it. We even get him doing what is functionally a bird courtship dance right here in the middle of the shop. Aziraphale in turn takes active steps to get Crowley into the shop whether it's leaving him to watch it while he's gone or suggesting that Crowley likes waiting in the shop for him - a thing Crowley does not outright deny beyond objecting to Gabriel's presence there.

And we get a lot of Crowley in the shop this season- both with and without Aziraphale. And regardless of Aziraphale's presence, Crowley's behavior doesn't really shift too much. He's moving around the shop far more that we've ever seen him historically and he spends half that time sprawling on the furniture like it's his.

And, of course, nearly every time we see him enter the Bookshop to engage with Aziraphale, the glasses come off.

He lets his face stay exposed in the shop, even eventually in front of Gabriel. The only other place we've ever seen him take his sunglasses off by his own choice are in his own flat or when he's trying to make a point about his own nature. Even when he's engaging with Hell, so long as he's not grabbed unexpectedly, he has them on. Crowley wears them around people well before sunglasses had technically even been invented. But not here. Not anymore. Not in this story that is framing the bookshop as a literal safe haven.

Even the palette for the Bookshop this season speaks volumes. Now Season 1 in general is a little grayer than Season 2 (this is in part because of the general aesthetics of when they were made and in part because of the difference in tone between the two seasons) and it's very very noticeable in the shop itself. Here's some side by sides of similar areas of the shops between two seasons, I bet you could guess which was which based on the colors themselves.

The palette season 1 suits Aziraphale just fine. It's more neutral tones like he tends to favor on himself. It's still cozy but in a dusty sort of way. The palette of season 2 is warmer. Less white and more orange to the point where even the pillars holding up the bookshop are more vibrant. There's more natural light and we see it more often during the day. It's a warm, shared, space now. They both get plenty of use out of it.

And Crowley now looks like he fits there too. The shift in his palette makes him feel in conversation with the bookshop in a way his season 1 red can't quite mesh with the more washed out palette. I won't repost all these images I was going feral over last night but you can find a lot of shots of him in the shop windows here that really show the ways he works with the colors of the shop.

So why hasn't Crowley moved in officially if he's practically done so already?

Because this is their whole problem in a nutshell. It's a prime example of the way their pattern doesn't work anymore. It's not built for a world like this. Its built for a world where they have to hide and make excuses. And while being free of that is objectively good it also means they have none of that to hide behind anymore. Subtext doesn't have to be subtext anymore and that can be as scary as it can be exciting. Freedom from things like Heaven and Hell can be hard when that's all you've ever known. This is all new territory for them. The meaning of what home can be to them shifts a lot in a space where they can more or less do as they like.

Aziraphale doesn't need to be indirect about what he wants anymore but can't quite figure out how to be more direct in the asking. He's ready but can't quite parse how to say that out loud. Or why he would even need to when he's been saying it quietly for more than a century. He built a shop full of human knowledge into a safe haven for the demon that fell for asking questions. He invited Crowley into the shop on day one, just like everything else he loves. He's already left the door open for Crowley to come and go as he pleases and as far as he's concerned Crowley has already half moved in anyway. From his perspective he's already set a large blinking neon sign up that says 'this is your home too'.

Crowley, for his part, can't read this cue. Not without thinking about going to fast or starting a battle with his own sense of self worth. He's been in keep them alive mode for so long I'm not even sure he really knows how to let himself have needs outside of that on any conscious sort of level. There's nowhere to push if you don't have an endgame. And even if he did have one the last explicit boundary he had established by Aziraphale was telling him to slow down.

But I do think they both realize this. Crowley grumbles about what's the point from the start of his first scene and of course eventually does take a shot at expressing his wants. Aziraphale's fixation on the Ball comes into play here too. He says they allow humans to realize they have misunderstood each other and that they're actually in love. Which is just flat out their whole problem summarized for us nice and neatly.

They're not understanding each other. They haven't had the conversations they need to have. But they are trying. They still trying, even if they don't understand the ways each other is doing so. And at the end of this season even as they are separated again, the nest still stands. And, maybe the next time we get to see them, they'll decide it's in good hands right now and start building another nest together in in South Downs, but, no matter what, the shop is still home. And even if it is a place they have lost each other twice, there is no doubt in my mind that it is a place they will find each other again.

[camilleflyingrotten]

𝘖𝘩 𝘈𝘻𝘪𝘳𝘢𝘱𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘦…

[nik-knight]

His World in Her Hands His skin crawled with the wrongness of it all. His eyes stung from the holiest of holy light, and every fibre of his being was telling him he was in the wrong place, that he shouldn’t be here, that this was wrong and forbidden. But She stood there waiting for him, and he had not been vaporized into nothingness, so he must’ve been permitted to be here just this once.

The weight of the angel he bore in his arms was nothing compared to the sinking weight of his stomach. His nerves were on edge as he approached Her, exceedingly careful not to drag his angel’s battered wings across the floor.

Of course Aziraphale had to play the hero this time. Of course he had to shield Crowley with his own body when Micheal attacked him. Of course the idiot had to sacrifice himself against a blow that was delivered by the one who threw Satan down to Hell herself. The hit would have killed Crowley, there was no doubt about it, but at least he wouldn’t have to see his angel like this, limp and lifeless with only the tiniest residual grace resting within the corporation proving that Aziraphale was just barely hanging on.

He finally reached Her, or about where he thought She was. His eyes were glued to the floor, not knowing if looking at Her with his damned eyes would be enough to set Her off.

“Please,” he begged. This was his last and only hope, and he’d beg and grovel on his hands and knees if it would convince Her to help, but he wasn’t going to let go of his angel. “Please, he’s all I have. He’s the only real good left on Earth. Lord, I’ll do anything, please…”

He stood there, gaze still glued to the floor, but now he was dripping tears onto Aziraphale’s wrinkled coat.

“Crowley,” She said to him. This made him finally look up at Her.

She said his name. Not the name She had given him upon his creation, but his name. The one he chose for himself ages ago.

That would have caused Crowley a whole different kind of crisis if there weren’t more pressing matters at hand.

She looked just as he remembered Her. She was Everything. She was Everything there ever was and Everything there would ever be. And that was all that could really be said.

“Crowley, what would you give in return for his salvation?”

Right to the point, as always.

“Anything,” he breathed. He wasn’t sure why She asked. She had to have known this already. “Anything at all. Please. Please, Lord, please save him.”

Though She was Everything, and thus hard to discern Her expression, he knew She was watching him closely.

“Would you give your life for him?”

Crowley expected this question, so he was more than prepared to answer.

“Yes.’”

The atmosphere in the room shifted, and suddenly there was a giant pair of hands before him, open and waiting for Crowley to move. He gently lowered Aziraphale’s corporation into Her hands, selfishly letting his fingers linger as he pulled away, not sure if he would ever hold his angel again. She waited until Aziraphale was carefully set in Her hands before pulling back and lifting the angel towards Herself.

At first, nothing happened. The atmosphere was silent save for the softest humming of holiness that existed everywhere in Her Domain. Then, so quietly Crowley thought he imagined it, there was a soft blowing of air. Similar to how someone might gently blow on glowing embers to raise a fire.

Crowley held his breath as the surrounding holiness focused into Her hands. It reminded Crowley of what it felt like to Create. Like gathering hydrogen and helium to make a tiny little star in your hands before setting it out into the black canvas of space to shine.

She was breathing life back into Aziraphale.

The next moment the focus was gone. The surrounding holiness calmed and rested loosely in the air, it’s job done.

“Crowley,” She spoke again. Without uttering anything else, She lowered Her hands, offering Crowley his angel back.

“Aziraphale, Aziraphale!” He panted as he nearly leapt up to take him from Her. “Angel, angel, angel…” He scooped Aziraphale up in his arms, holding him close and looking over him. He was still a bit of a mess with wrinkled clothes and ruffled feathers, but his chest was rising with the familiar habit of breathing, and his eyes were shifting under his eyelids as if he were dreaming.

And Crowley could feel Aziraphale wholly in his corporation again, not just withering vestiges of his fading grace.

Crowley sobbed with relief. His legs gave out under him, and he crashed to his knees, just barely managing not to jostle the angel out of his arms.

“Thank you,” he whispered in between relieved sobs. “Thank you, thank you…”

He cried and held his angel as tightly as he could without crushing him. He was making Aziraphale’s face wet with his tears as he peppered kisses onto his brow and into his hair. He coughed out pained ‘I love you’s over and over again, hoping that it’d stick, that Aziraphale would know this one thing. The one thing he could never manage to say, and he doubted he’d ever get another chance.

The room (if you could even call the strange dimension a room) grew quiet again as the demon’s sobs died out, giving way to a dreadful sort of peace.

Aziraphale had been saved, but Crowley now had his end of the bargain to uphold.

Still not having the strength to let go of the angel, Crowley looked up at Her again with a heart filled with equal parts relief and dread.

“He will still need rest for a while, but he is healed and whole again. A bit of time and care and he will be up well again.”

Crowley nodded. He hoped that Muriel or maybe Maggie and Nina would be up to the task of caring for the angel after he was gone.

“And… when will I be destroyed?” He gulped, trying to be brave. “Do I have time to bring him back to Earth or do I…?”

Die now, his mind finished for him unhelpfully.

The holiness in the air bounced around with a jovial sort of movement, almost as if it were a chuckle.

“You are not to be destroyed, Crowley,” She said, sounding mirthful.

“But… but I agreed to give my life for him.” He hoped She wasn’t just playing games with him. He wasn’t in the mood to be given false hope just for him to be suddenly snapped into oblivion.

“And you will,” She promised.

Crowley blinked and suddenly She was there.

She had taken on a human-like form. Still made of pure Everything, but something smaller… almost comforting.

It was impossible to describe God’s appearance in something as trivial as words, but if Crowley had to, he would say…

That She looked like his Mother.

She smiled at him, and he could see it plain on Her face. It was the same proud look a mother might give to her child after learning they had helped an elderly neighbor bring in their groceries. It was soft and warm and something Crowley had never seen before.

She calmly stepped towards him, and it took all Crowley had in him not to try and flee. She crouched a bit and lifted a hand towards his face. He was ashamed to say he flinched the tiniest bit, but he then squeezed his eyes shut and lifted his head towards Her. He focused all his attention on the feeling of the angel resting in his arms. He wanted Aziraphale to be the last thing he thought about before he was wiped from existence.

Her hand gently cradled the side of Crowley’s face, and She used Her thumb to wipe the tears from his cheek.

“Oh, Crowley. It’s all right. Open your eyes.”

What else could he do but comply? He opened his eyes to see Her looking down at him fondly.

“You said you would give your life for him, and so you will.” She spoke in the same voice he’d known since his creation, but here in Her smaller form, it did not sound like the booming thunderstorm that echoed across time and space. It sounded human.

Strange. He didn’t think She liked humans anymore, but perhaps he was wrong.

She knelt down in front of them and rested Her other hand so that it sat on Aziraphale’s shoulder. The angel sighed quietly, still asleep.

“You will give your life for him. You will take him home to Earth and you will care for him as he recovers. You will give your life caring for him, protecting him, and loving him. You two will care for each other, protect each other, and love each other, just as you always have.” She gave Crowley a happy, patient smile. “It won’t always be easy, and you may have to save the world again a time or two, but you’ll muddle through it together just fine, I’m sure of it.”

Crowley looked at Her, then down at the angel in his arms.

“…You gave the Earth a good protector,” He muttered tiredly, still reeling from having his loved one saved and himself being permitted to live.

“And now I’m giving him a good protector,” She added conclusively. “Demon Crowley, the First Tempter, the Serpent of Eden… and the Guardian of the Guardian of the Eastern Gate. That’s quite a title.”

“Bit of a mouthful,” he tried carefully, still unsure about what She thought of him.

“Don’t like it?” She teased.

“Nah, ‘s all right,” he shrugged. “I’ll get used to it.” He attempted a weary smile, then hauled himself up on his feet with the angel still cradled gently in his arms.

She stood with him and reached up to place Her palm on his cheek again, and he leaned down a bit so She could reach him more easily.

“Go now. There is much yet to be done, but your angel needs you now.” She stood on her tiptoes for a moment to place a gentle kiss on his brow.

Before Crowley could even react, God pulled away, and Her form returned to the larger form of Everything that She always was--

--And then he was in the bookshop.

He firmly decided that he would unpack all of that once he got the angel settled and resting in bed.

For now, he sat the angel down on the couch, propped a pillow under his head, laid that ugly tartan blanket over him, and went deeper into the bookshop in search of some fresh bedclothes.

God, from wherever She was, looked down upon Her two interesting creations and marveled at how they and their relationship kept on surprising Her in the most wonderful ways. She looked at the bond they’d built over 6,000 years… And God saw that it was Good.

[Written for @camilleflyingrotten]

[jameszmaguire]

I think it would be better for everyone if I were to be left alone in the future. Don't you?

[ineffable-anathema]

20k+ fic recs: adult omens edition

here are some of my favourite long mature & explicit fics that have been getting me through this Trying Time (general & teen recs here) these brighten my day and warm my heart. thank you, authors, for all of your wonderful work!

fics are listed in order of increasing word count, WIPs at the end as I know they’re not for everyone.

take care and happy reading x

Complete

A Bushel and a Peck - @thehoyden (20k) 

Sometimes, a family is a demonic nanny, an angelic cook, and a kid who isn’t actually the Antichrist.

Or: Crowley helps Aziraphale secure a different position at the Dowling Estate.

That this could be the kingdom - @bestoftheseekwill (21k) 

I have lived my whole life with a wrecked heart. Fr. Aziraphale Fell’s present mirrors his past, as long ago roommate, classmate, and former friend Anthony Crowley reappears in his life in an unexpected and disarming way, challenging Aziraphale’s choices, and bringing him back to the breaking point, when he made a decision he couldn’t take back. It isn’t temptation, it’s revelation.

The 21st Century, In Which They Finally Work It Out - @fieldbears (22k)

This is light speed in comparison to the last few centuries of their relationship, but Crowley is barely holding on to his patience.

Good Neighbours, Good Fences (and Other Misunderstandings) - @out-there-tmblr (28k) 

The first time Crowley meets his downstairs neighbour, Aziraphale is breaking into his flat. He’s not what Crowley imagined in a burglar – he’s fussy, old-fashioned, and surprisingly adorable. Crowley is intrigued, Aziraphale is ready to share a good wine… and possibly more. (Human neighbours AU.)

Doubt Thou The Stars Are Fire - @princip1914 (31k) 

“But how,” Aziraphale gasped, agonized and close to tears. “How can you be sure. Crowley, dear, you got thrown out of heaven for questioning everything. How can you be sure about this?”

Crowley loves and Aziraphale doubts. God intercedes. A groundhog day kind of situation ensues wherein Aziraphale has to fall in love with Crowley over and over again as a human until he gets the point. Highlights include: delivering medical care in rural Louisiana, stargazing in Vegas, strangers on a train, and teaching middle school.

Petrichor & Parchment - @MrsNoggin (33k) 

“Mr. Crowley, I presume?” Aziraphale asked in lieu of an introduction, which was not forthcoming. The guy hadn’t even removed his sunglasses. Oh God, he had a tattoo on his face. Aziraphale wasn’t one to judge, but… what kind of gardener had a snake tattoo on his face?

Coffee, Wine, Textbooks - @shaniacbergara (42k) 

They’re professors. They’re ridiculous. What more could you want?

Try Me Once More - @Mackaley (42k) 

“Actually, can you do me a favor? No tempting. No sins. Just a way for us to spend some time together while I finish what I need to do.”

Aziraphale considered it and then nodded. “Well, I don’t see why not.”

“Can you pretend to be my wife?”

Or, 9 Times They Get Married + 2 Times It Was Actually Real.

Acts of Service - seekwill (52k) 

After receiving direct instruction from God, village reverend Aziraphale leaves his countryside congregation to serve the underserved and in-need at an urban church in London, a transition made all the more complicated by the mysterious and handsome Crowley, who always seems to appear when Aziraphale least expects him.

with all your delights - @weatheredlaw (62k) 

Crowley laughed. “I thought you’d have realized by now. I am no ordinary king.”

“No,” Aziraphale said. “You certainly are not.”

or: aziraphale is sent as a gift to the southern king to smooth over trade negotiations. they both find themselves in over their heads.

The Serpet and the Lady series - @summerofspock (66k) 

Aziraphale was thankful Crowley was nowhere to be seen. He would never let Aziraphale live this down. Bestowing a kiss upon the winner of a tourney? Crowley would surely mock him for years to come. Medieval AU.

Golden Handcuffs - seekwill (70k)

Far from any city, near the Scottish coast, Tadfield College has a celebrated history, an unrivaled academic reputation, and two departments at war. When the Biology and English departments are forced to share a building, Senior Lecturer and botanist Anthony Crowley finds himself drawn into the orbit of the polite but strange English professor, Dr. Aziraphale Fell. As the new term begins, two academics navigate the politics of both their offices and academia, and try to solve the puzzle of one another. (The sequel contains the most captivating ineffable bureaucracy I’ve ever read.)

Barriers, and the Breaking Thereof - @cardinaldaughter (71k) 

Ezra Fell has long been comfortable in his loneliness. He’s content to simply run the Soho Public Library and otherwise keep to himself. However, when a handsome stranger bursts in one evening with a baby, frantic and in need of help, Ezra finds those carefully constructed barriers he’s long maintained begin to crack.

Perhaps it’s time to let them fall.

Style and Substance - @Cabernet_Woebegone (89k) 

Aziraphale is having difficulty running his restaurant, and it isn’t helping that he believes the place across the street is trying to sabotage him.

To his surprise, chef Crowley comes to him on friendly terms. Together they come up with an arrangement that could benefit them both.

Car Trouble - @summerofspock (103k) 

Aziraphale’s car breaks down so he takes it to the first mechanic he can find. From there, his mundane life changes drastically as he finds himself befriending the man fixing his car.

WIPs 

our touching, our stories; earthy and holy both - @mortuarybees (14k)

A series of ficlets about Human!AU Crowley and Aziraphale.

(look I know it’s shorter than what I said but I need more people to scream about this fic with me)(they’re both trans and it just *clenches fist* gets me)

In Any Way, Shape, or Form (Parts 3 & 4) - @zehwulf (20k) 

In a post-series universe, Aziraphale and Crowley are in an established (post-Armaggedon’t) sex-favorable asexual relationship. Featuring: buckets of softness, explorations of gender presentation and gender identity, soppy gift giving, low-key and also high-key discussions of asexuality, highly detailed descriptions of non-sexual physical intimacy, somehow so much lingerie, and both awkward and non-awkward sex (apparently)

Leave the Light On - @killerqueer & @VentureTrain (44k)

Azra’s life is turned upside down when his partner of two years breaks up with him, seemingly out of nowhere, and kicks him out of their shared flat. Well, Gabriel’s flat. Left to start over on his own, he ends up living above the bookshop and below his incredibly rude landlord, who seems to insist on having incredibly loud intercourse at all times of day. Meanwhile, in a moment of loneliness, he finds himself doing something he has never considered, and calls a phone sex line. Oh, and he might just be falling in love with the operator.

icing on the cake - @Etheostoma (56k) 

Anthony Crowley’s bakery is top in Soho and quickly becoming well-renowned throughout all of London. When Crowley hires the soft-spoken, cherubic Aziraphale as his main decorator, it doesn’t take long before the two men realize that there may just be something to the idea that opposites attract…

Or, the bakery AU that no one actually asked for.

Shotgun Wedding: sometimes a first date requires paperwork - @charlottemadison42 (78k) 

There are rules about these things. Rules that exist for very good reasons, to protect everyone involved. And if the rules say no dating, they mean no dating. But then, Crowley loves a loophole….Aziraphale pretends he doesn’t. But he has a talent for working within the letter of the law to get what he wants. Between the two of them, they’ll find a way. (A human AU in which Crowley parents teens and Aziraphale teaches teens, and they both do it very well. Extremely soft, cinematic, and sometimes serious. They just really really like each other.)

[thechekhov]

Alright, so I know I haven’t been posting Good Omens stuff a lot lately because I’ve been busy with other things, but I need you all to know about one of my FAVORITE fics that I’ve been keeping up with -

Shotgun Wedding by @charlottemadison42

This fic has consumed and comforted me, and I was lucky enough to leech off of charlottemadison’s incredible brain for my fic - On The Same Page - so if you read that and liked it, I guarantee you you will LOVE Shotgun Wedding. 

[lonicera-caprifolium]

another older commission redraw! This one was for chapter 7 of @charlottemadison42's super gorgeous fic, Shotgun Wedding!

(you can read it here! ♡)

[assiraphales]

the fact that aziraphale grabbed and held crowley’s hand (not Canon canon but canon) on the bus after the almost armageddon is contextually one of the funniest parts about the show bc here we have this demon who has been absolutely head over heels for the angel for 6000yrs, and an angel who has been pointedly ignoring the significance of their relationship for 6000yrs, but two minutes after deciding he doesn’t care what heaven thinks anymore, the angel is like Heck Ya it’s Hand Holding TIME & anthony“I go to fast for u apparently” crowley is like UH?

[fred-erick-frankenstein]

Have that almost canon (canon) scene again because, why not??

Slow-mo gif by @senator-organa 💕💕

[on-stardust-wings]

“At least we know whose fault it is!”

I’ve seen several posts discussing how Hell overestimates Crowley. And lots of posts on how Aziraphale and Crowley don’t actually do anything to save the world, that they’re just kind of there.

On that tangent, personally I think the other characters don’t actually do all that much more. Aziraphale and Crowley aren’t the only characters who seem to do less than you’d expect in the end. Anathema comes to England expecting she’ll have to save the world. In the end, all she really needed to do was be there, lose the book so Aziraphale can read it, and take Newt to the airbase so he can break the computers. Even the Antichrist doesn’t defeat the horsemen by himself, he’s got his friends with him who do it. And while Adam defeats Satan by refusing to accept him as his dad, he didn’t think he could do it alone. He needed reassurance and support. The end of the world is stopped by many small contributions, not one big heroic act. That’s part of the charm, I think.

But, I’m rambling away. I was going to write about how Crowley is or maybe is not overestimated by Hell, and how Aziraphale is looked at by Heaven in turn.

A common fandom opinion seems that they’re both rather bad at their respective jobs. But, their superiors don’t seem to think so, and that’s interesting to me.

Hell gives Crowley a commendation for the Spanish Inquisition, although he had nothing to do with it, and is completely horrified by it (at least in the book, but you can just as well see it for the show). They also commend him on the French Revolution in the show, and accept his claim that he started the second World War. They like his M25 scheme. Not everyone understands it, demons like Hastur don’t agree with Crowley’s methods (and personally just don’t like him), but you get the idea that they do indeed think he’s doing a somewhat good job. They give him the very important Antichrist delivery job, too (when two Dukes of Hell were up there anyway and could have completed the job). Hastur, while admittedly not the sharpest tool in the shed, for a moment actually believes Crowley’s Dark Council bluff. He wonders if maybe Crowley is more than he seems. Hastur hates Crowley, but he doesn’t think him incompetent.

Hell is shit, yes, but Hell also respect Crowley’s work. Or at least what they think Crowley works on. Crowley has rather successfully tricked Hell into thinking he’s actually more competent at demoning than he really is. He is clever enough to hide his weaknesses (like his rather undemonic moral code, his dislike of killing or his friendship with an angel), and he’s learned to play the system to his benefits.

I first thought Heaven thinks rather more lowly of Aziraphale, because of how patronising they treat him. They look down on him. They ignore his input. They bully him. They invade his personal space, they treat him without respect. It’s easy to assume they also think he’s incompetent.

But. That doesn’t seem to be the case.

Firstly, there’s the deleted bookshop opening scene where they wanted to give him a medal. Were they trying to get him replaced because they thought he sucks at his job? Was it actually a promotion for a job done well? It’s hard to tell.

Or maybe, and I think that’s my point, were they trying to replace him with someone they trust more?

Heaven doesn’t trust Aziraphale. Over their power play it’s hard to spot, but they don’t. And it doesn’t start once they get suspicious about his comments regarding the Antichrist. It’s there from the start. 

Gabriel and Sandalphon show up in the bookshop well before they start to actually investigate Aziraphale’s contact to Crowley and involvement in Armageddon. They walk into his shop, shout about pornography, and corner Aziraphale in the backroom. They keep him between them, like in a particular nasty cross examination. Sandalphon blocks the doorway. Gabriel casually reminds Aziraphale of Sandalphon’s happy smiting of entire cities. They are there to threaten him. You don’t threaten people you think are incompetent and stupid. You threaten people you’re worried you might not have under control.

They are belittling and don’t take him seriously when he comes to talk to them about the opposition having possibly lost track of Adam, but once he’s gone, they start thinking. This isn’t the behaviour of superiors who think their underling is daft. They think Aziraphale dangerous enough to worry he could be up to something. They don’t know what, but they’re quick to get suspicious.

Michael considers the thought Aziraphale might work for Hell, as a double agent. Micheal, Uriel and Sandalphon again go to threaten Aziraphale, practically on his home turf. Hell sends Hastur and Ligur to collect Crowley (and threatens him rather badly in the book). In the show, three Archangels come to gang up on Aziraphale. They want to scare him. So shortly before the battle, three high ranking angels presumably have important things to do. They wouldn’t bother with Aziraphale if they didn’t think him worth some concern.

And then at the airbase, Adam stops Armageddon. Aziraphale and Crowley haven’t actually done anything to stop it yet. Their part comes in supporting Adam in stopping Satan. But that is later. At this point, all they did was go there. Yes, they conspired to stop the apocalypse, but they didn’t actually stop it. That was all the human characters.

But true to form, neither Gabriel nor Beelzebub think humans can do much of anything, and Gabriel naturally assumes it’s Aziraphale (and Crowley’s) doing. “At least we know whose fault it is!” And later, when they try to execute Aziraphale: “With one act of treason, you averted the War.”

By seemingly surviving their executions, Aziraphale and Crowley scare Heaven and Hell, sure. But it’s not scaring them out of the blue. Both Heaven and Hell were thinking they are more dangerous than they probably are already before that, and this might be why they buy it like this.

Crowley has a long history of surprising Hell with his schemes (not near all of which are actually his, but they don’t know that). Aziraphale has, somehow, made the Archangels suspicious of him already before they had actual reasons to be suspicious, and then a whole platoon of angels plus the quartermaster watch him jump down to Earth without body to possess a human. To Heaven and Hell, their final coup doesn’t completely come out of the blue.

On the contrary, with hindsight they’ll probably be even more wary. Imagine Hastur’s face when he connects the dots between Crowley being immune to Holy Water and his plant mister bluff. For all Hastur knows, Crowley had actual Holy Water in the mister. Imagine the hysterical screaming that follows the realisation. Imagine Sandalphon’s face when he realises he punched an angel in the gut who later breathed Hellfire at him. For all they can tell, Crowley and Aziraphale have been going easy on them.

[whispsofwind]

The very interesting thing about Aziraphale and Crowley is that I do think they’re bad at their jobs… but they’re bad on purpose, which kind of means they are, in fact, very good.

Good enough that they can slack off and do nothing while also giving the impression of being very industrious.

Not to mention Crowley’s methods are, in fact, very effective, and while we see little of it, Aziraphale is capable of matching Crowley every step when it comes to influencing humans.

Honestly, I think we get the impression that the Archangels consider Aziraphale an ineffective, bumbling idiot… because that’s what they want Aziraphale to think. The amount of gas-lighting going on there is unbelievable.

They constantly keep him guessing, they criticize him every step of the way, but under a fake friendliness that makes Aziraphale unable to see them for what they actually are. They’re only just watching out for him. It’s his fault they’re not satisfied (except sometimes they are, which means it is possible to do good in their eyes, it’s just that Aziraphale is usually falling short).

I don’t think they have a particularly high opinion of him - the cut bookshop scene makes the Earth position look like something undesirable - but I do think they are aware that he knows Earth and humans much better than they do.