Our entry for the GOetry Pillow Fight Week One prompt: Cuddles.

Art by me and a GORGEOUS poem written by the amazing @nightshiftcaffiene

Find the full painting together with the accompanying poem here on AO3

“We Had Crepes” by tabbystardust [AO3]

How come I never shared this sketch of short-haired Crowley?

Cover art by @kiratastic. Show them some support on Patreon, Instagram, Reddit, and Bluesky. CW explicit, omegaverse

Summary: The year is 1911. Anthony J. Crowley (Royal Navy surgeon, passionate zoologist, and official photographer of the Northern Party) is preparing to go into heat, all by his lonesome on a remote beach in East Antarctica.

Everything changes when he catches an odd scent in the air.

Fully written. 30k words. 70% smut. Updates every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

This story can be enjoyed on its own, but you’ll probably have more fun if you read I have my ways of knowing first ;) Excerpt:

“Aziraphale…”

Crowley’s voice was small, tender, a little hoarse. He didn’t know how long he’d spent crying into Aziraphale’s chest, or how long he’d been listening to his heartbeat afterwards — all he knew right now was that he was hungry.

“Yes, my darling?”

“Could you go fetch the breakfast I didn’t get to have this morning?”

“Of course, sweet thing. Where is it?”

“In my coat pocket…”

The Angel caressed his hair for long moments.

“May I suggest some water as well?”

“Oh, right… there’s a few canteens in a crate on the dining table… um, and a flannel too, please? You saw where I got the ones from earlier…”

“I would be delighted to do that for you, Crowley. Whenever you are ready, simply release me from your grasp and I shall soon return with everything you need. How does that sound?”

“Um, alright…” Crowley mumbled, utterly loath to relinquish the warm embrace, clinging onto Aziraphale even tighter, rubbing his face on soft velvet skin. “Actually… I don’t think I can… I think— I think you should make me do it.”

Read the rest here on ao3

xenanigans passed away on 28/04/26 

This fic is published in his memory by blackjeans93 as his fannish next of kin.

All words were written by xenanigans.

Art trade with Cassieoh

I think for a lot of us it utterly failed and we are left with exactly that - a cruel writing choice that people tried to pad to make it a bit less hurtful. The analogy that’s coming to mind is cushioning broken glass with cotton candy so you can eat it. Like, that’s not how that works. If someone tries to feed you broken glass you refuse and then try to make sure they don’t do that again. And also cotton candy dissolves with the slightest moisture so it’s ineffective anyway.

I know the theme has been talked about at length but well, what's one more? I have thoughts that I have expressed here and there but have not put them all together, so here we are. (and yes, although I have tried to look for more of Terry's words, there will be references to NG's interviews or blogs because whether we like it or not, he made the TV show, that's just facts)

The book ending ruined the TV show

One of the first things I said after watching GO3 was "this is a Terry Pratchett" ending, the getting rid of the supernatural that is, taking down the oppressive institutions so humans could be humans. I still believe that. However, TV Good Omens was no longer a Terry Pratchett story. The ending was set in stone, we knew that, but the road to get there diverged so much from the original road that it no longer fit. The book is satire, it is comedy, it is social commentary. The book was never a romance. The show however, was purposedly written as a romance all the way back to Season 1.

GO TV companion book

It was going to take skill to bring it back to its roots, to solve the romance satisfactorily and then bring the social, supernatural and human themes of the book to the forefront again so the ending would feel natural, earned. Skill that evidently the writers didn't have.

In addition to the writing, we have the the added issue of the creator and the promotion fanning the flames of the fandom, encouraging and teasing that the romance would be solved the way the fandom has been expecting for years; the way a romantic comedy is expected to end, with Crowley and Aziraphale finally being together and living happily in the South Downs. Crowley and Aziraphale, the characters that went through the hurdles, the ones with the shared history, the ones that fought Heaven and Hell for humanity and their own freedom. Those characters are the ones that needed the resolution and the reward. The show did none of that. Ultimately GO3 broke the author-reader pact and delivered an ending that did not fit the story it was telling anymore. It forced a humanistic fantasy satire ending onto a fantasy romance. The noble sacrifice of a heroic epic instead of the happily ever after of a romance.

The change from satire to romance

Back in 1988 two guys wrote a book about the end of the world (published in 1990). In that book an angel and a demon formed one team in favor of averting said apocalypse. One team among three others; the witch/junior witchfinder, the jezebel/senior witchfinder and the children, all of them, human.

And that's the thing, Crowley and Aziraphale were never the main characters, this wasn't their story. Their only inadvertent real contribution was keeping the eyes of Heaven and Hell (including themselves) distracted for 11 years, because not even the mix-up at the birthing hospital was Crowley's doing.

Locus Magazine 1991

The cold open of Episode 3 of Season 1 exists because Crowley and Aziraphale are not in a good chunk of the book and that space had to be filled somehow. The body swap does not exist in the book, neither does the bandstand or the conversation outside the bookshop ("I forgive you"), and there aren't mentions of Alpha Centauri. All of that was added to their love story.

As far back as Eden, the metaphorical butterfly started fluttering its wings (more like a metaphorical dragon). That first scene was changed from a random conversation between two onlookers to a meet-cute. From Aziraphale shading only himself to shading Crowley.

The sequel and the South Downs

Ok. Back to the novel. In Halloween of 1989, while promoting the book, they came up with the idea, the title, and the plot of a sequel. The Second Coming, Jesus on a plane, a road trip across the US, "668, the Neighbour of the Beast," all of that was imagined back then. But it never got written. And then in June of 2005 they met at the Audie awards and talked a little more about it. That's when the South Downs bit came about. That September at two different events -one Terry's, one Neil's- they talked about that meeting and the sequel and we learned about the cottage.

The authors, however, did not see them as a couple at the time. Good Omens still wasn't a love story, neither was the hypothetical "Good Omens 2".

Entries in NG's journal June 5th, 2005 and May 8th, 2006. The URL in the second one is a link to the first. And a summary of two events a fan (Irisbleufic) attended in 2005

Fandom's gotta fandom and fandom had been shipping these two for 15 years already. And whether you saw the book boys as a couple or not, this was still the end point the fandom looked forward to for 21 years. TWENTY ONE YEARS! Retiring together in a cottage in the South Downs was a glimpse into a happy ending nobody had expected, but now it was there, within reach. This didn't outright spell "romance" but it did spell "peaceful rest after everything is said and done"

Back to the ending

Yes, both book and show warn of "the big one" but in the book even the discussion about the big one was about humanity itself. The show mentioned it but it really didn't go into a discussion about it, instead it left us with a sense of peace and of triumph for our ineffables.

This is why I can see the seeds of a Terry Pratchett ending; still pursuing the meaning of humanity, of good and evil, and of Heaven and Hell as the oppressing institutions that represent it. And ultimately the abolishment of said institutions even if that means removing all the supernatural presence.

This is why I can see Aziraphale and Crowley walking away if that means humans get to be free of ineffable plans and tests, if that means they really get to walk their own path. I can see this making sense with a plot that, as the first book, focuses on humans and is not, you know, a love story.

On Terry's ideas about fiction and stories

In June of 1989, at Iconoclasm, a convention held in Leeds, Terry gave an interview to Octarine, Science Fiction & Fantasy Humour Appreciation Society where he talked a bit about his writing. This was barely four months before plotting the sequel in Seattle.

Have you always written humour? Not intentionally. It’s just a style that I tend to gravitate to. I tend to write in a fairly lightweight style, partly because I cannot handle the quantum’s and orbital mechanics and partly because fiction as a whole relies on the suspension of disbelief, that million-to-one chances can work. In an awful lot of writing you have to believe that there is a moral force on the side of your main protagonist which will see to it that he can win. There is a lot you have to take seriously but when you do you realise that it is actually quite funny, so you tend to subvert the thing. I find that whatever I start out by doing, it tends to wind back to humour in the end.

So maybe Terry did have Crowley and Aziraphale give up their ethereal/occult natures somehow, but if he did, he also would have given them and us something that made it worth it and fair. Even if that something was turning human and living their last years like that in their cottage in the South Downs, it would have felt fitting and fair.

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?

So some fanartist drew a “sexy” (read: booby) version of a (cartoon) character who is traditionally very non-sexualised. Fans of the character got mad about it because it’s kind of groundbreaking how that character is written and portrayed and this art totally ignores the entire point of the character. They demanded the art be deleted. In response to that other people said, well what the fanartist did may be distateful but they have every right to draw what they’re into. The two sides fight for days and each starts a harassment campaign and even report their “opponents’” accounts.

So far so typical. But things eventually come to a head and they decide that this will be settled by votes - not through a poll. Through donations to a children’s education charity via each side’s portal. Whoever can get the highest amount of donation wins.

Happy birthday to our lovely @spacegiraffetoo ! Here's a little treat for you!

This story takes place between two of the drabbles in my "O Night Divine" series that Raff asked for so very nicely so here we are!

Title: A New & Glorious Morn

Rating: E

Word Count: 2768

Summary: Aziraphale and Lucifer experiment with boundaries, roles, and trust as they spend a spicy evening together.

Excerpt:

“You are being a very naughty angel,” Lucifer growled, his voice rough and heavy with lust. He tested the bonds around his wrists, but there was no give. He could feel the bruises forming as he yanked at them until a sharp swat to his hip landed with a loud crack. “Behave, darling,” Aziraphale said, wriggling his hips and making Lucifer moan with need. “You are testing me,” the demon snapped. “Testing the limits of my control and my patience before I simply snap these bonds and take what I want.” “No.” “No?” “These bonds are stronger than they seem.” Aziraphale leaned over him, his eyes flashing blue as he rested his hands on Lucifer’s wrists. The Morningstar gasped as holy light flowed into the ropes, strengthening them against demonic influence.

Huge thanks for @kneelbeforeyourdogbabylon for beta reading!

Read the rest on AO3 here!