JustAnotherFan

Only problem is there is some kind of glitch purpose-built into the code that makes the game constantly threaten to crash. Bit shit of the creators to work that in there. But that's fine, you're still having fun. It's a really fascinating open-world game with tons of options and players have total leeway for decision-making. A game where every choice matters.

One day, the big one happens—the big crash. It really looks like all of your progress is wiped out. Somehow, you manage to get the head game developer over to your house. The developer tells you that they have the willingness and ability to pretty much do whatever you want (turns out, they've been watching your progress and you're their favourite player). You could ask them to make your computer 3D print ice cream. They are literally just that powerful.

Ok, so, since anything is on the table, at minimum what you should probably do is have the developer reboot the game from the last save file and ask them to remove the code that keeps making the game glitch so that you can continue playing without the constant risk of a crash.

Instead, you tell the developer they can delete all the backup files and just start the game over for you from scratch. You want a "real" game where a player's choices matter. (It has already been established that your choices matter in the game.)

Also, you let the developer make you burst into confetti along with the love of your life. They replace you both with clones who have worse hair, none of your history or memories, and few of your defining personality traits except for a couple of hobbies and maybe a catchphrase. They will play the game in your stead.

After yeeting Adam at the nuns, he tried to convince Aziraphale to help him stop the Apacolypse, and you know what his arguments were? If Earth is destroyed, we won't have anywhere to go on our pretend real dates. Food, music, the bookshop. Things they enjoyed together.

When he realized they raised the wrong kid, his entire plan became ditch Earth and run away. Three times he decided that was the best next step. Twice he pitched it to Aziraphale and once while he was alone.

When he thought Aziraphale was murdered, he gave up on saving Earth or running away to hide and got spectacularly drunk instead.

When he realized Satan was on his way, it took Aziraphale threatening him before he locked in. And that threat was fix this, or we (literally) end here.

Crowley loved Aziraphale more than he ever loved people and more than he loved the Earth.

The people saying they didn't need a second, proper, tender kiss because it would have been "the same or less" are just fucking homophobes.

Including Prime.

Fuck the kiss, why the hell didn't we even get a HUG?!

They were literally dying in front of each other, and all the writers deemed acceptable was for them to hold hands for the first time in 6,000 years?

What, are hugs too sexual now? Too intimate? Not "transcendent" enough?

It is never truly about a TV show, is it?

If you have had a rough time in your real life for quite a while, and you were waiting for the finale to give you a bit of joy, of course this would hit hard. We are left thinking that even in fiction, a happy and peaceful existence is not an option. Love does not conquer all. The universe is rigged beyond saving. And if this is impossible in fiction, what does it mean for us, for our very real lives?

Try that finger kiss in Good Omens 3 to your partner/spouse/lover etc. Not on the back of the fingers, exactly just like it was with 2 fingers. No context needed.

aziraphale: are we going to talk about what happened between us? before I left for heaven

crowley, avoiding looking at him: no

aziraphale, disappointed: no. quite right. a shame, though. I would've quite liked to try it again

crowley, scoffs: have you lost your mind? the answer is no, angel

aziraphale, raising his hands: of course, I quite understand *pauses* it is unfortunate we never shared our kiss under the proper circumstances *smiles, wiggling his shoulders* I have a feeling we'd be rather good at it

crowley, steps closer, pointing at him: no, no. you don't get to tempt me. I won't be tempted. I'm a demon, if there's any tempting to be done around here, I'll do it

aziraphale, nods: yes, yes, you're right *pauses; let's out a longing sigh* oh, I just know it would've been terribly romantic

crowley, arms folded, mutters mockingly: terribly

aziraphale, looks around the bookshop: well, everything seems tickety-boo

crowley, waves his hand to dim the lights and ignite candles, striding towards aziraphale: *mutters* fuck it *gently takes aziraphale's face in his hands and kisses him*

aziraphale, holding on for dear life: *kissing back*

crowley, let's go and staggers back: *panting*

aziraphale, thrilled: vavoom, indeed

(in no particular order, no spoilers)

I want to preface this by saying that despite everything and even though I didn't like the finale ending personally, I did love everything else about it and I love good omens 3 in general. All these are fics that purely read as a season 3 that I absolutely adore and take comfort in. They're all complete and horrendously long I'd say, and of course a guaranteed happy ending. Story and character focused recommendations.

Factory Settings by Anonymous (103k) - absolutely the fucking holy grail. i mean who hasn't read this masterpiece? amazing story, perfect characterisation of both aziraphale and crowley as well as an angelic version of crowley. it has banter, its well paced and my darling aziraphale. if you haven't read this, GO GO GO! [T rated]

The Ineffability of Gray by kitfornow (100k) - this one doesn't lose Aziraphale's determination and sense of responsibility he feels to do the right thing. Slow burn, angsty but the ending is gorgeous. [Not rated but no smut]

Three Is Not Enough by haleinedelail (93k) - this one is my absolute FAVOURITE. author basically wrote a season 3 complete with splitting the story into 'episodes' and including flashbacks. the characterisation is perfect and dare I say, the story is a lot more compelling than the actual finale (mostly because its 93k and not rushed 90min lmao). it has it all, hurt crowley, amnesiac aziraphale, cute muriel and the climax is very satisfying. [T rated]

Perennial Care and Keeping by cyankelpie (11k) @the-written-wyrm - I see this one more as an epilogue to season 3 exploring how their relationship is affected by years or pushing eachother away now that they finally have forever. [G rated]

The Angel You Were by cyankelpie (47k) @the-written-wyrm - what can I say I really love this author. this is less s3 plot focused and more focused on aziraphale and crowley's dynamic. it has amnesia, angel crowley, angst but its so so satisfying to read because it kind of puts our husbands at the backseat plotwise which is very reminiscent of s1. I just love this author and how they write aziracrow so I honestly recommend you read all their work but since this is s3 focused I'll put this here. [T rated]

Flaws by indigo (indigo_angels) (218k) - angst lovers this is for you. depressed and hurt crowley, aziraphale trying his best (i do think crowley is extremely hurt and it blames aziraphale a bit too much it makes sense purely on the context of the fic and I love angst shutup). BUT it has amazing writing and I've read this about 6 times already. despite the angst the ending is so sweet and sappy and well earned. [E rated]

Good Omens - Corner Office with a View (Broke My Wings so You Could Fly) by Noli_Timere031754 (84k) @nolitimere54 - genuinely the most pathetic wet cat crowley you'll ever read. love the characterisation of both the husbands and their interactions are phenomenal. also great for BAMF aziraphale. [M rated]

Synchronized With You by ayellowbentley (legends_saga) (38k) - part one with a part 2 epilogue with amazing ace aziraphale and crowley, miscommunication and reconciliation. [T rated]

scherzo in f-sharp minor, for orchestra by astrhae (23k) @astrhae - i know I've recommended some beasts but this is a shorter story which I think characterises aziraphale and crowley very well and resolves the conflict perfectly. slow burn but worth it. [M rated]

On the Side of the World by profdanglais (58k) @wistfulcynic - oh i absolutely love this one with aziracrow scheming and trying to save humanity together despite their differences plus I really liked the way they saved everything. [M rated]

I'll follow you down 'til the sound of my voice will haunt you by midnightdragons @midnights-dragon (66k) - angst lovers this is for you. complete with tortured crowley, bamf aziraphale and focus on the angst followed by softness and ofc we have our happy ending. [T rated]

We Can't Keep Meeting Like This by Ginger_Cat (65k) @gingiekittycat - this is porn with reluctant plot because surprisingly none of the fics here any of that BUT if you like pining while fucking, this is amazing. [E rated]

hurry back, please bring it back home to me by Percyjacksonfan3 (103k) - very angsty and somehow silly. cute jesus and love their mutual pining and slow burn in this one. [T rated]

(Obligatory disclaimer that these are just my own thoughts. I know this was a polarizing finale, and I don't want to pretend that my opinion is the only correct one. Also, as long as everyone stays civil, I'd love to hear other people's perspectives in the tags/comments!)

I honestly liked the first 70 minutes of the finale. This might be a bit of a hot take since I've seen a lot of people say it's totally off/poorly written/etc, but personally given the short time frame and the fact that I knew it would be rushed going into it, I was pleasantly surprised.

Some things I liked:

Aziraphale snapping at Sandalphon and the other angels

Muriel and Eric

Pathetic drunk Crowley

Jesus was so likeable and I wanted more of him (never thought I'd be saying that as an atheist, but here we are.)

Aziraphale claiming he's given up food and then immediately caving when he sees the dim sum

Crowley looking after Aziraphale's bookshop and being willing to sacrifice the Bentley for it

Aziraphale being an absolute legend at cryptic crosswords and saving the Bentley

Callback to the apology dance

Crowley’s angel outfit (which Aziraphale chose for him!)

Pointy teeth Aziraphale

Aziraphale's stupid long haircut

What I DIDN'T like was basically everything from when they arrived at the eternal flame onwards. The first time I watched the movie, I was too stunned about watching my favorite characters DISAPPEAR INTO DUST to even remotely enjoy the ending scene.

On rewatch, there are admittedly a few parts of it I can appreciate:

Aziraphale (or Asa) being the one to take the leap and pursue Crowley rather than the other way around

Crowley being an astrophysicist. He's always been a nerd at heart, and he will always love space

At the end of the day, I'm a sucker for a sweet gay meet-cute. I liked watching them flirt

The acting is amazing as always, so it's very believable

It ends in the South Downs cottage, with a garden with an apple tree

There are nightingales

The wedding rings

I love human AUs (I've even written one). If this show had extra time for a filler episode, this would have been a fun little “what if?”. If they wanted to get a little more sci-fi with it, they could even make it so that main Aziraphale and Crowley get a glimpse into this parallel universe and meet their human selves. That would have been fun.

What they shouldn’t be is a replacement for the real main characters of the show. When I remember these guys are in their place, I get frustrated and sad. While these two may have similarities to Aziraphale and Crowley, it doesn't change the fact that they're NOT them. They don't have the same memories, and they don't have the shared thousands of years that shaped them into who they are. That version died forever, and never got a happy ending.

We could have had a lot of these same moments without Aziraphale and Crowley sacrificing themselves. They could still be married, happy, and living together in a cottage, sharing a peaceful retirement.

That, ultimately, is what frustrates me the most: the fact that the ending is so unnecessary.

There are SO MANY scenes from the series that blatantly contradict the idea that Aziraphale and Crowley sacrificing themselves (and the current Earth) is somehow the only way for humanity to be truly free:

Laudanum Crowley’s whole anti-suicide speech

The arc scene where Crowley despises the idea of starting humanity over

The story of Job. Killing off three children and replacing them with three new ones is not, in any way, a fair substitution. Aziraphale's moral stance on this was so strong that it was one of the first times he actively defied his orders

It also just seems incredibly out of character for either of them to be fine with sacrificing each other. I truly don’t believe that the characters would ever willingly make a decision that led to the other one’s demise. They care about each other far too much to allow that to happen.

I also feel that this sends the message (whether advertently or inadvertently) that queer/neurodivergent/different people are inherently less deserving or less capable of happy endings

Aziraphale and Crowley's non-human nature can be read as a metaphor for neurodivergence (I wrote a meta about that here if you want to read it), so the idea that this part of them needs to be erased in order for the good of the people around them stings

I'm sad they never got another kiss. While I know that kissing isn't the only way to show that characters are in love, the inclusion of a tragic, angry, on-screen kiss in season two does set up the expectation for another, happy one. Especially because Aziraphale enjoyed bits of that first kiss even despite the tragedy of the moment. In Rob Wilkins’ words, Aziraphale was literally thinking to himself, “do it again”. So to never include another, happy one, is certainly… a choice. There are some weird, slightly homophobic undertones to the fact that the only gay kiss that was shown in the series was a tragic one.

Going off of the last point, there wasn't even a tender hug. I feel like at the very least the characters could have used that.

I’ve also seen a few people argue that this is a happier ending, since their human selves likely didn’t have to experience the same trauma and isolation that Aziraphale and Crowley did as angels and demons. This, to me, feels off. Having past trauma does not somehow make someone less deserving or capable of happiness and joy later in life. In my opinion, the story is much more powerful when Aziraphale and Crowley have been traumatized and hurt, and yet still manage to find joy anyway. Crowley doesn't need to be a human to have a happy, ending just like he doesn't need to be an angel again to have a happy ending.

I'm so, so sick of queer stories having unexpectedly sad endings. We deserve better than that. Happiness should not be exclusively delegated to straight people.

Above all: this story didn't NEED to end in tragedy.

This is a comedy show starring two supernatural beings. Aziraphale and Crowley, as characters, are immortal. They were the one thing in the world that literally COULD have lasted forever, and frankly, after thousands of years fighting for a happy life together, they deserved to get that.

Representation of queer joy is so important, especially now, when we are surrounded by queer tragedy in both fiction and reality, when our rights are being targeted and our voices are being suppressed.

I'm heartbroken we never got to see Aziraphale and Crowley get their happy ending. I'm grateful for the many amazing artists and writers in this fandom who have softened the blow.

For me personally, I'm not quite sure where I'm going from here, but I can say with some degree of certainty that I'm still going to make some comics and fanart of these two, at least for a while (making this one, for example, was wonderfully cathartic). Despite everything, Aziraphale and Crowley hold a special place in my heart. I'm not sure I'll ever fully stop enjoying these characters, even as I explore other stories and other interests.

To everyone who has supported my stupid comics throughout the past few years. To the fandom. And, of course, to the world.