Sohmygodness - Be Curious

Cathy Park Hong, from "Spring and All"

"Stop, Aziraphale, stop," Crowley whispered above him. The voice that was always so sharp, so sure, trembled as Aziraphale dropped to his knees, hands on the demon's sinewy thighs.

The angel pulled back, ceasing the gentle kisses he'd been peppering down the demon's front. Immediately he was hit by the waves of deep shame rolling off Crowley; his demon, his best friend, the being he cared more for than first editions, delicately iced tennis cakes, Veuve Clicquot at the Ritz.

"My dearest one," Aziraphale startled, "what is it? I'm so sorry, have I done something wrong?"

"We have to stop, if we don't-" Crowley sobbed, "... We can't do this- you can't be with me- you'll fall. You can't fall for me. Please, angel."

In an instant Aziraphale knew. Those were not Crowley’s words, they were his own. Not expressed directly, but implied through years of his righteous prejudice. Reminders that he was not an angel, he was not holy, he was not the same as Aziraphale.  

The angel also knew that if they were to be together he needed to tear at their shared wound. He would reach in and pull at his own weakness and cowardice until it was torn from its warm resting place above Aziraphale’s heart where it slept, leaking the thick toxic doubt that they were drowning in.

Crowley had been strong, hanging in by his polished black nails to the thought that maybe he could be loved. And now that his unattainable hope was within reach he was willing to choke the breath from the poor creature because the thought of his dream bearing its sharpened teeth and hurting his angel was too much.

Aziraphale rose and tugged the demon closer, encouraging him to open his soul to the angel, just for a moment. Only long enough to get to the ledge together.

“It is not a sin to love, my darling,” he stated, but his voice trembled. “I’ve been falling for you since the moment I opened my wings, and furthermore-...”

Aziraphale took a deep breath as he neared the edge where Crowley was already standing. He had been standing there since the beginning, waiting patiently for Aziraphale.

“... I am so sorry that I've made you feel as if you weren’t worth falling for.”

Crowley let out a desperate broken sob of relief and they stepped off together.

Surprise

(via)

Good Omens 2 + Text Posts

I get lost thinking about the journey Crowley makes from Eden to the Apocalypse. I completely adore pre-Flood Crawly, the way that he’s still gleeful and curious about the world. He’s such a wily mischief fluff.

In praise of terrific and deliberate costume design: I can’t believe it took me this long to notice the way he gradually covers up his eyes more and more. After the Flood, she has her head covered. The next time we see him, post-Crucifixion, the sunglasses have arrived. And the specs get progressively larger over time, hiding more and more.

(I particularly love the L-shaped lenses in 1862.)

By the time we reach the Apocalypse, the glasses are opaque and completely closed off. Solid, armored protection on all sides.

(I know I didn’t catch every era, don’t @ me, tumblr gif search is the worst and the general progression seems fairly obvious, especially because of where it ends.)

You can see the progression on Crowley’s face too, of course. Watching Humans being Humans for so long starts to get to a demon. The glasses have to be impenetrable when this is where time and the Ineffable Plan have brought you.

(Got to be careful who gets to see you with the glasses off.)

(Got to have a whole glove box filled with extras so as never to be caught without them.)

There is something carefree about Crowley’s very first park bench scene with Aziraphale, in ep1. But it’s such a different kind of carefree than we used to see before the Flood. It’s world-weary, resigned, cool. He’s seen it all and he knows how the game is played.

This contrast, to me, is so perfect: he’s still Crowley. He’s just been around the block a few times by now.

And even after all of this, he wants to save the world.

Clock (Words by William Shakespeare, Read by Neil Gaiman, Music by FourPlay StringQuartet)

Released on World Shakespeare Day 2023, this is Clock, Shakespeare’s Sonnet 12, read by Neil Gaiman and set to a haunting musical backdrop by Australia’s FourPlay String Quartet. Taken from their debut album Signs of Life.

Read by Neil Gaiman Violin & vocals – Lara Goodridge Viola – Shenzo Gregorio Viola & vocals– Tim Hollo Cello & vocals – Peter Hollo

The Scene That Nearly Got Cut

The Good Omens crew had, for the first time in history, received permission to film at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre. The scene was originally supposed to be the successful first week of Hamlet, with over 500 extras in costume, but the Good Omens team were only given 5 hours to film. They realised it was impossible to shoot, and so Douglas Mackinnon Neil Gaiman rewrote the entire scene and both agree it’s one of the best scenes in the series.

Have you any long, angsty, fluffy human AUs? E rated content isn't ideal, but it can be there.

Or any long regency or Victorian era fics, preferably human?

Thank you!

Regency:

Only Ever Yours [E] by Caedmon

Aziraphale Fell, Ninth Duke of Tadfield, is quite happy with his life. He has his books, his friends, and no need for more. His sister, Michael, disagrees. She feels most strongly that Aziraphale should have a wife, and has determined to see him married with an heir on the way by the end of the Season. So she installs her husband's valet, Crowley, to spy on him and help her find him a wife.

Nobody is expecting the Duke and the valet to fall in love...

The Lord of Tadfield Manor [E], WIP by Cousin Serena

Brooding Lord Anthony Crowley must find a wealthy wife or risk financial ruin. But then, the rakish Baron finds love and passion where he least expects it, and it is not with his intended bride-to-be. Now that he has found his heart, will he have the courage to follow it?

An Inducement to Marry [T] by angelsnuffbox (MrsCaulfield)

Aziraphale Fell did not dream of much beyond his contented life as the owner of a small bookshop in Tadfield. In contrast, all his neighbours seemed to be under the impression that the famously rakish Mr Anthony Crowley, who had for the past couple of years been a repeated visitor of his shop, quite fancied him. Preposterous, of course. People like Crowley did not enter into relations with people like Aziraphale.

But when news breaks out that Crowley is being pressured into marriage by his mother, Crowley comes to him with a peculiar request, leaving Aziraphale to reconsider all the notions he'd previously believed regarding the nature of Crowley's feelings, as well as those of his own.

Victorian:

Reprise [M] by Cardinal_Daughter

Ezra Fell ventures to a molly-house in search of companionship. What he finds there will change his life forever.

Human AU in the Victorian Era.

Devotion [T] by AnnaTheHank

Gabriel married Aziraphale, not that anyone in their circle was excited about it. They moved away to a new town to escape the 'shame', yet the rumors of their sorted past followed them. Things get interesting when painter Crowley comes into the scene, eager to steal Aziraphale away. But Aziraphale's strong devotion to Gabriel is a problem, one that Crowley can't seem to overcome as the truth of Aziraphale's past starts to reveal itself.

The Best of Both Worlds [M] by AppleSeeds

It’s 1895, and Aziraphale runs an old-fashioned apothecary shop with his brother Gabriel. Crowley is a pharmacist secretly planning to take over their business. But after he meets Aziraphale, the most adorable and trusting person ever to walk the Earth, what starts as an semi-innocent flirtation rapidly turns Crowley into a pining mess. This calls for a change of plans...

Basically lots of flirting, Crowley's ridiculous internal monologue and a close encounter in a very small shed, followed by rather a lot of angst and misunderstanding (but I promise it’ll all be lovely and fluffy in the end).

There is a Historical AUmens fic collection with lots of both of those eras included.

Also tag searches respectively for Regency and Victorian!

~Mod N

Muriel: sweetest angel in the garrison.