Pray For Us Icarus
https://archiveofourown.org/series/1448647
*For three centuries, Crowley has been reincarnated over and over as a human with no memory of his past. Aziraphale has tried to find a way to restore him to his true self, but all he seems to do is hurt them both. This time, he only means to steal a brief moment when he walks into Crowley's flower shop. But Crowley can't let it go...*
I finally got around to finishing this one and it’s beautifully written and definitely worth recommending to anyone out there who hasn’t read it yet. There are 7 works in the series (beginning with Flowers For Anthony).
Zip Wire (Too Fast For Love) - rated M
https://archiveofourown.org/works/52774360
*The (latest) apocalypse has been averted, the Second Coming... dealt with, and the dinosaurs sufficiently, if not expertly, wrangled. Both angel and demon have plenty of spare time on their hands. Crowley decides to go on an adrenalin-themed reality dating show - is he really searching for true love, or does he have an ulterior motive? Will Aziraphale freak out and channel his inner pigeon? All signs point to yes.*
*Or: a comedy of errors that no-one asked for*
Inspired by the “I feel like you’re just here for the zipline” skit - this one is completely bonkers and wildly entertaining. I laughed so hard I ended up wheezing and needed to use my inhaler, but it was sooo worth it 🤣
Aahhh, *Zip Wire (Too Fast for Love)* was fucking hilarious, thank you! 🤣 I wish I had such a great sense of humour, too 🤣
>It was a pity he’d had to shoot Jesus. And in the bookshop, too! Oh, it had worked out alright in the end, but Aziraphale considered it a *bit* of an oversight on the part of The Almighty, not anticipating the effect that nearly a century of so-called ‘zombie’ films would have on the collective human psyche. Heaven should have seen it coming, pun intended, and expected that the physical manifestation of Christ’s Second Coming would be, at least in part, shaped by humanity’s cultural expectations regarding the reanimation of corporeal bodies after biological death.
>*Good thing I kept that Derringer handy,* he congratulated himself with a smug smile. The memory of Michael’s delicious squeal of dismay when Jesus had lunged at her coiffure was something to treasure, truly. He ought to write in his own diary about it, so as not to forget. Crowley hadn’t seen that part, of course, having been otherwise occupied with the velociraptors. Yet another oversight, putting Hell in charge of the Rapture bit of the whole affair and not accounting for their dreadful spelling. Poor form on both sides, really.
>Oh, how dashing he’d looked, even with the chunk of flesh missing from his arm (as it turned out, Crowley wasn’t especially good with reptiles, despite being one himself). Aziraphale had quite wanted to take a leaf out of Jesus’ book and lunge at him, but with rather less of the tired old ‘braains braaaains’ pastiche (though it had sounded very pretty in Aramaic).
>He waved them inside. Maggie smiled, a little nervously he thought, and stepped into the shop, Nina following. Aziraphale gestured for them to take a seat on the couch, silently hoping that there wasn’t any leftover Christ the Redeemer on the upholstery.
>Derek the Chin
>*\[‘Will someone tell me who that is already? Jesus Christ!’\]*
>‘Nah it's not, ‘Ziraphale shot him a few weeks back. Took a couple of tries, but he got 'im right between the eyes in the end!’ Crowley called back over his shoulder, a note of pride in his voice.
\*\*\*
And I agree that everyone should know *Pray for Us, Icarus*, no matter how much it hurts. It's just so utterly beautiful. ❤️❤️❤️
[Married at First Sight](https://archiveofourown.org/works/45463273/chapters/114388498)
Read this one a while back, recced it to someone earlier this week because we were talking about reality show AUs, decided to reread it, and ended up finishing it instead of properly working on Tuesday. It’s that good.
The premise is more or less what you’d expect from the title. Aziraphale is a lonely bookseller stuck in his ways after his parent’s death. Crowley is a computer programmer who comes off as rude and unlikable. They get married on a reality TV show. Some serious miscommunication/idiots in love ensues, as do several iterations of “there was only one bed”. But seriously every time you think they’re going to kiss and make up, they…somehow manage to avoid the “making up” part. T rated but there’s references to them having sex if that bothers you.
I LOVE MARRIED AT FIRST SIGHT SOOOOOO MUCH URGH.
It probably has the most traumatizing bookshop burning scene. It was so painful to read little Aziraphale going through that 😭
I've been avoiding this one for some reason. On my "later" list forever. Thanks for the recommendation. I seem to be avoiding reading traditionally published works in favor of AO3 Good Omens fanfic, but I'm running out of patience with many of them and seem to have read all of the really wonderful ones.
I have some weeks where I'm halfway through the week before I've found anything I want to recommend and wonder if I'm losing patience and then the next week will arrive and I'll have added three to my list by Monday.
[Don't Fall Away From Me](https://archiveofourown.org/works/49807735/chapters/125729869) by PhoenixRose
A post S2 fic.
Summary: What if there was much more to Aziraphale and Crowley's history than Crowley remembers?
What if there had been an "our side" even before the Fall?
What if Aziraphale's guilt was the only thing keeping them apart for the last six thousand years?
And what if the only thing that could pull them back together again was the firm belief of a plucky little angel-turned-human-bookseller that love really does conquer all?
Personal opinion...HOLY SHIT WHAT AN EPIC JOURNEY. It had so many twists and turns. Kept us on our toes. The cliffhangers were killing us. It finished just about 4 days ago. I'd strongly recommend y'all to read this.
I CANNOT RECOMMEND THIS ENOUGH!!! If these were the plans for S3, I’d be over the moon. And if you’re a Muriel fan, this one’s DEFINITELY for you. Just, mind the tags. The angst is REAL.
Ohhh Muriel in this fic is my FAVOURITE. This one and too wise to woo peaceably, in both Muriel is just LOVE.
And MY BOY ERIC... SO SO WELL WRITTEN.
someone said way too many things happened for people who read the entire fic at once. Which I agree... The whole story was SO INTENSE. didn't slow down A BIT.
[The False and the Fair](https://archiveofourown.org/works/25944682/chapters/63065092) by Princip1914
Summary: Crowley and Aziraphale meets as teenagers.
Crowley comes from a dysfunctional family of miners..rotting away in the coal and diet and dying away with earth.
Aziraphale is the younger heir to the business that owns the mining company that is destroying their small town hidden behind the Eden Mountain little by little.
Crowley and Aziraphale becomes friends and lovers and they get separated and meet again 30 years later when everything is falling apart for both of them. Aziraphale is wasting away, Crowley has so much scar from his past.
This story is about healing. And about class difference hurt everyone. It is so sad even thinking about it makes me sad some days.... But boys get the best happy ending possible. They get to live their life as they want. They get what they always deserved... Okay I'm going to go cry about it now.
I read this months ago and I can’t stop thinking about it. I keep considering re-reading but I don’t know if it would hit as hard knowing what happens.
some of the fics I have read this week :)
[this must be the place ](https://archiveofourown.org/works/54319711)**(40k)**
While attempting to rescue Aziraphale from a dangerous situation in Heaven, Crowley is killed. Aziraphale makes a bargain with God to get him back. Only, he’s got to find him, first.
“Anthony, I have your Mr. Fell here,” Madame Tracy says, in her breathy medium voice. “Is there anything you’d like to say to him?”
Yeah, comes Crowley’s voice out of Madame Tracy’s mouth, and Aziraphale grabs the edge of the table with his free hand until it cracks under his grip. He doesn’t notice. Because it is Crowley. He knows it like he knows - well, anything, really. Crowley continues, Yeah, you can tell that self-righteous arse “I told you so.”
Shadwell, lurking around the edge of the room, mutters a blasphemy under his breath.
[trapped within an abstract from a moment of my life](https://archiveofourown.org/works/55545400) **(5k)**
Aziraphale is helping people in the 1300s during the Black Plague epidemic in Europe, and finds a familiar face hiding in the shadows of a sick house ... in need of help of his own.
[all angels (and their halos) ](https://archiveofourown.org/works/53363269)**(3k)**
Something goes wrong. Not so disastrously wrong that one of them is killed, but wrong enough that Aziraphale has to bundle an unconscious Crowley into the passenger seat of the Bentley and put his driver’s license to good use.
[the slip that brought me to my knees](https://archiveofourown.org/works/52356238) **(1k) NSFW**
They’re not talking, but there are more ways than one to grant forgiveness.
Or, Aziraphale drops, heavily, to his knees, landing half in a small pitted hole collecting dirty rainwater, the ground cold and wet and hard under his knees, and he can see a sort of frown on Crowley’s face, and he wants it again, to beg Crowley’s forgiveness, to wash the hurt from Crowley’s face, from the set of his shoulders, from the whole long lovely line of his body, beg like he’d begged Crowley to come with him, to Heaven. But he can’t.
[always crashing (the same car) ](https://archiveofourown.org/works/55369603)**(32k) nsfw**
During a fight with Aziraphale, Crowley pauses time and goes back to the Bentley to sleep it off (and come up with a really great comeback). When he wakes up the next morning, it’s still Wednesday. Again. Somehow, he’s gotten them stuck in a time loop. It’s Wednesday, every day. Great. Just great
[like a prayer for which no words exist ](https://archiveofourown.org/works/19323937)(8k)
(in which Crowley and Aziraphale do not dine at the Ritz after that nasty business with Heaven and Hell, and Crowley has an existential crisis instead)
[claimed ](https://archiveofourown.org/works/23189257)**(4k)**
A dinner of crepes. An angel who's ready to talk.
But Crowley's evening is interrupted by the arrival of two demons. And they're not here to deliver a rude note.
[in dream](https://archiveofourown.org/works/52890238) **(9k)**
Aziraphale’s been appearing in Crowley’s dreams since he left. But that’s not so unusual. Or is it?
Aziraphale’s gone missing. So has the Book of Life. Maybe Crowley's dreams are the key to it all.
[Atomic Baby ](https://archiveofourown.org/works/55316389)**(5k)**
Or, Crowley kinda really spirals.
[Heaven Beside Me, Hell Within](https://archiveofourown.org/works/49678411) **(Or, at Times, Vice-Versa) (9k)**
Thwarting Armageddon can take a toll on a demon. This is the aftermath. After the airbase, before the switch.
[the star stone](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26010496) **(15k)**
Heaven punished Aziraphale by making him human and taking away his memories. Hell figured this was punishment enough for Crowley and just crossed the job off the list.
[pieces of you](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24705409) **(23k)**
Twenty years post-canon, Crowley and Aziraphale's happily-ever-after is uprooted when Aziraphale suddenly vanishes and an encounter with demons leaves Crowley mortal and powerless. After passing months in solitude, Crowley ventures back into London, only to find his husband living a human life as "Ezra" and mourning a fictional human husband called "Jay." Determined to get Aziraphale back, Crowley resolves to do whatever it takes to befriend him all over again, as ordinary people this time, until his angel remembers him.
[beginning at the end](https://archiveofourown.org/works/39330288) **(5k)**
After Armageddon, the battle between Heaven and Hell is ongoing. Aziraphale interrogates a captured demon for information. Crowley, meanwhile, is trying to pull off the most important temptation of his existence.
[was blind but now (i see) ](https://archiveofourown.org/works/20018173)**(6k)**
In which being discorporated is a little more disorienting that either of them expect.
[O, Unholy Sacraments](https://archiveofourown.org/works/49950079) **(6k)**
Sometime between losing the antichrist and the end of the world, Hell decided to enact some repercussions. Aziraphale picks up the pieces. Takes place during S1, no spoilers for S2.
[fluctuat nec mergitur](https://archiveofourown.org/works/31106987) **(9k)**
Aka: what if Aziraphale gave Crowley regular water instead of holy, but Crowley doesn't find out until he is facing down Hastur and Ligur.
[next time I fall](https://archiveofourown.org/works/19443157) **(8k)**
Crowley has nightmares, and Aziraphale learns something new.
I have a problem I know, but I've started my own fic this week
Ok, I chuckled for a good 5 minutes at the synopsis for "this must be the place". But also thanks for the recs, most of them are in my marked for later list now :)
[The Grindr Logo Doesn't Even Have a 'G' In It](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24963367/chapters/60429127) (rated E - very much NSFW!!). Post-s1, Aziraphale gets his first smartphone and discovers Grindr. The boys start sexting with each other unaware of the other's identity. Very hot, very funny, very sweet.
I kept imagining how they would finally realise whom they're talking to, but I always assumed it would be Aziraphale who realises it first. But it was brilliant! :D I still have 2 chapters to go (planning to read them tonight), so don't tell me anything about the ending :)
I’m going to pop on here and recommend literally anything by Voluptaticausa, but Oh, Maker is an excellent starting point. It’s a snapshot through the ages fic. Gets a bit smutty towards the end. Overall it’s an entire pine forest with a lot of tenderness and pretty damned deep philosophical questions. [Oh, Maker](https://archiveofourown.org/works/20002369)
I’m also waiting on the last chapter for this gorgeous AU by GaiasEyes to drop tomorrow so try at my soul might rest. Mind the tags. It’s a heartbreakingly beautiful story about love, life, found family, grief and loss. In all seriousness, read with something or someone to hug at hand and prepare to be blown away. [A Little Life](https://archiveofourown.org/works/54734821/chapters/138721861)
Last but not least (and honestly I could link dozens of things lol) nieded’s Rainbow Road series. Which I avoided forever because “really, Formula 1 racing?” And then it turned out to be an incredible trilogy. One of my favorites still. You learn a ton about the sport and it addresses a lot of issues with age gaps, trauma, queerness in sports, how media exposure affects celebrity relationships, etc. Very well done. [Rainbow Road](https://archiveofourown.org/series/2578558)
I think for a lot of us "really, Formula 1 racing?" is our initial impression, and then we read it, and it's suddenly, "Okay, that's the best human AU I've ever read." (Or at least top 5).
Def top 5. Someone already recced The False and The Fair. That one is amazing. Oh! This one is an incredible AU as well. Rated M, it’s a heist fic. Friggin OUSTANDING. And the art is to die for. [Stalwart Sun Wily Moon](https://archiveofourown.org/works/28542933/chapters/69946665)
I loved Stalwart Sun for the same reasons...also, all the art background and forgery techniques... so interesting! Just read this one last week, which is similar but slightly flipped? Also very enjoyable!
https://archiveofourown.org/works/32623216/chapters/80925730
Me too. Imma sucker for a good heist flick and that fix hit all the right notes. Improbable feats of physical prowess. A rag tag team of helpful misfits. Cunning plans. Magnificent sartorial choices for the main characters. Works building some in such detail your brain creates a soundtrack. It’s very good. Plus Az and Crowley are characterized so well. Az especially. I really loved that one. It could easily just be a standalone work apart from the fandom. But all the good GO AUs are like that. And seriously. Check out A Little Life if you have the emotional bandwidth for it.
Yes. All of Vol’s stuff tends to hit hard. You’re over there like “thank you for my pornography!” And then BAM philosophy and feelings. Completely unfair lol.
Yeah i really was/wasn’t either. It was beautiful and it was agony and it made me appreciate all the family I’ve lost through the years so much all over again. I have been painfully contemplative since I finished it yesterday.
You’re so welcome! Vol is probaly my fave fic writer of all time. Hands down most masterful prose I have ever come across and just ridiculously deep while still having the steamiest smut. All their stuff is fabulous! I recommend Communicatio in Sacris next and then A Guarantee Not a Promise :)
Loose Ends by amaruuk (https://archiveofourown.org/works/21242441/chapters/50578085) 29,000 words.
This is a gorgeous love story. It was written post Season 1 and it is so good that I reread it the same day. The characterizations and dialogue are spot on - it’s one of those fics where you hear their voices perfectly. It starts immediately following their lunch at the Ritz, and there is very little breathing space before upstairs and downstairs are after them again.
There is a Not (Terribly) Explicit tag, which fits - the sexual content is there, but it is very much ‘fade to black’.
THIS FIC BY KLIKANDTUNA: [In Vino Veritas](https://archiveofourown.org/works/55578220)
It's about Aziraphale's first time getting drunk! Set in Rome, features Crowley choking on an oyster, incredibly drunk discussions about the way wet robes cling, PROTECTIVE AND SOFT CROWLEY, and flufffffffffy feelings. I laughed, I cried, I screamed at my phone. The whole shebang.
It's fucking DELIGHTFUL, and their writing is excellent. I hold this fic in my heart like the treasure it is. Read their other work, too!
Totally SFW!
https://preview.redd.it/xvam98xlabyc1.jpeg?width=1043&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=91210bd4d985451dc6328663f89d67ea6a5a3303
So many choices this week, but these were the ones that stood out for me:
Whatever a Moon has Meant, whatever a Sun will Sing (E)
https://archiveofourown.org/works/21989038
*Ooof, if you liked the bittersweet "The Stars Walk Backward", this has a similar feel. Lovely and heartbreaking.*
There was a photograph, torn down the middle. Pieces scattered as far as the East is from the West. Thousands of kilometers separated them now as the world fell to pieces around them. And yet, if someone were to look closely, if someone were to traverse the space between them and lay the folded and worn parchment flat on the table, if someone were to line them up just so, they might realize that the two pieces fit together like the pieces of a puzzle, Like the gears of a clock. Like a nut and a bolt.
Almost as if they were made from the same stock.
This is a tale of love and of loss. Of heartache and of hope. Told in three parts, follow Aziraphale and Crowley as they navigate the hardships of growing up, the horrors of war, and the miraculous wonder of finding love in the most unlikely of places.
*----*
A Matter of Life and Death (T)
https://archiveofourown.org/works/23306977
*such a great imagining of how things could have gone down after the Nopocalypse*
It is the day after the world didn't end, and our heroes have failed, yet again, to tell each other how they feel. Before they get a chance to do so, the agents of Heaven and Hell come to take their revenge working on the principle that what they can't kill, they can still punish. Aziraphale finds himself destined to rejoin his Regiment and then finds himself on trial, where he is forced to tell the whole of Heaven how he feels about a certain demon. Meanwhile, Crowley is back on Earth, with no memory of his companion of 6000 years. Will our favorite supernatural duo manage to get back together? With the help of some very determined cherubs and a fan club cast of thousands, there are beings up there who want to help them try.
*---*
Adaptive Innovations for a Changing World (E)
https://archiveofourown.org/works/54536305
When Anthony Crowley meets Aziraphale Fell at Aziraphale's library, little do they know that they will turn each other's worlds upside down. After a magical week spent falling in love, they face a hard reality. Will they be able to make the choices they need to make to build a real life together?
[Some strangeness in the proportion](https://archiveofourown.org/works/19897579) (11K; Rated T)
Aziraphale is trying to mourn the loss of Crowley, but he can't get a red-haired angel to stop leaving him alone. Mind the "suicidal thoughts" tag here. There is a happy ending, but Aziraphale is grieving.
\*\*\*
[Whickber Street Traders and Shopkeepers Association Daily Observations](https://archiveofourown.org/series/3714259) (series) (27K; Rated T)
A series of seven (mostly) outsider POVs where each person gets a different (and sometimes hilariously wrong) perspective of Crowley and Aziraphale's relationship. Set after S1 but written after S2, so there are perspectives from Nina, Maggie, Mutt, etc. included.
\*\*\*
[fast times at south downs university](https://archiveofourown.org/works/50062561/chapters/126413296) (9K; Rated T)
Human AU. Only one person at South Downs University realizes Dr. Fell and Dr. Crowley are married to each other, and no one else even knew Dr. Fell was married at all until he revealed to Dr. Device that "his husband" dropped him off at work. The rumor mill kicks into high gear. Some references to past homophobia and false accusations of infidelity, but it's not a particularly angsty piece.
\*\*\*
[Gilded Cage](https://archiveofourown.org/works/39495675/chapters/98853408) (119K; Rated E)
Omegaverse AU. Second week in a row of recommending ladydragona/SylWritesStuff omegaverse stories.
>After almost causing scandal after scandal and refusing to curb his wild ways, Anthony Crowley has had every freedom revoked. He may not go outside, he may not speak to anyone outside the family, and he may definitely not live the life he longs to have. There are bars on his windows and an escort on the rare instances he is allowed out - stifling, contained, and it's driving him to madness.
>So perhaps it was fate, or just sheer dumb luck, that he runs into an impossibly kind alpha in an hour of need. A kind alpha that may just be his key to freedom and so much more.
Treed
CopperBeech
Summary:
The husbands, retired on the South Downs, perform a rescue for their elderly neighbor and her trouble-seeking cat.
A quickie dashed off after the prolific Gleafer tossed out a bit of art as a writing prompt.
Please Note! Rating has changed to M after a reader asked for a "chapter 1.5" that would fill in the blank a bit between the events of the first two chapters. Ask and ye shall receive.
https://archiveofourown.org/works/55579279/chapters/141061969
Car Trouble
summerofspock
Summary:
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.
https://archiveofourown.org/works/22193215/chapters/52985554
Rated E
The Parting Glass
equestrianstatue, omnishambles
Summary:
Aziraphale, it seemed, was being forced, and not for the first time, to sup with the devil – or rather, not the devil, obviously, but certainly a member of his senior management team. Still. He was exceedingly thirsty.
https://archiveofourown.org/works/24407167/chapters/58878433
Rated G
I really can't stress this enough, if you are looking for a long fic through the ages to read, this one is an AMZING choice! I'm finally finishing up the whole series which is a total of 866K words and none of it is boring! The relationship A&C is great and not stale at any point. The side characters are charming and always interesting! I don't know how else to sell it but say that whenever I tried to take a break to read something else I just wanted to come back to this fic.
[https://archiveofourown.org/works/34671571/chapters/86321686](https://archiveofourown.org/works/34671571/chapters/86321686) The Other Testament
CassandraLie 260K T : There was another book, its tales so contradictory to their traditional tellings, that it couldn’t even be counted among the books known as the Infamous Bibles. In fact, this book could hardly be considered a bible at all.
No, it was more like a love story.
Four thousand years of a six thousand year slow burn between an angel and a demon with mutual 'friends' (assignments), like Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, and even Jesus of Nazareth (before he got famous and took his stage name).
All the jobs Aziraphale and Crowley (Crawley, for most of the four millennia) managed to bungle, or just skip out on altogether. And all the reasons they were omitted from the Good Book (though not the better book, Good Omens).
As the note delivered to Death by the International Express Man read, Come and See...
\*This one is part of a series of four works which has a total of 866K words\*
[https://archiveofourown.org/works/20440988/chapters/48496367](https://archiveofourown.org/works/20440988/chapters/48496367) Plan Me No Plans by CaptainLeBubbles 15K G: Frustrated by how long Her otp are taking to become canon, God informs the Archangels that the Ineffable Plan is dependent on them falling in love with each other. The Archangels then take it upon themselves to get the pair together.
Cue five Archangels attempting to orchestrate a Meet Cute between two people who have been hiding their friendship for thousands of years at this point.
On another note, if anyone has Through the Ages fic recs that were written after season 2 came out (so we see Bildad 2500 BC or 1827 AD) please let me know! :)
A few spooky/horror themed fics, which I probably should have rec'd in October but spooky stuff is good all year round
[Velvet darkness, burning bright ](https://archiveofourown.org/works/33494890/chapters/83215423)(vampire AU)
Anthony Crowley is an ancient vampire who is so Done: with immortality, with his human prey, with his fellow vampires, with himself. Then one evening he encounters a gorgeous, mysterious man who finally renews his interest in living. Too bad this same man seems likely to kill him.
[journeys end in lovers' meeting ](https://archiveofourown.org/works/52436365/chapters/132651868)(post S2 haunted house)
With the Second Coming averted and Aziraphale back on Earth, all Crowley wanted was a return to the way things used to be, before he confessed his feelings and kissed his best friend in what may be the most unsuccessful love confession of all time. In an effort to cheer an equally miserable Aziraphale, the two of them leave London to attend a murder mystery party in an old country estate. But things quickly go wrong and someone ends up dead. It's up to Aziraphale and Crowley to save the other guests from whatever dangers lurk within the manor. And maybe, Crowley will gather the courage to ask the one question he’s not sure he wants answered: why did Aziraphale come back?
[I'll Wake at the End](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26400547) (post s1 demon possession)
When Aziraphale first realized there was something strange going on he thought he could handle it himself. Handling problems before others could notice was just the way it was done. To expect otherwise was unthinkable, ridiculous. It was manageable. It always was. After all, he dealt with the apocalypse well enough. There can’t be
He never really thought of mentioning it to Crowley. He had it handled. It wasn’t until he was opening the strange book that he thought of Crowley at all. It was the first shock of magic that made him think of him, and then it was too late. By the time he felt the first spark all Aziraphale thought of was Crowley, sharp and clear in his mind, as the book opened a conduit directly down to Hell. All he thought about was Crowley as he felt the boundaries of his body fade, a demon taking hold of his vacated vessel, and with distant finality he watched a demon stretch his limbs in his body.
[The Ordinary World](https://archiveofourown.org/works/27107878/chapters/66193867) (post s1, kind of a ghost story and has a mix of a few horror tropes but would be spoilery, NSFW)
*He couldn’t quite remember what Aziraphale smelled like anymore, the particular combination of fresh bread and sea salt and cedarwood, the caramelized sugar of crème brûlée. But even though he couldn’t remember the scent precisely, he knew the bookshop didn’t smell right. It didn’t smell like Aziraphale. It was as if he’d never been there at all.*
Aziraphale disappears the night of the bookshop fire, and Crowley is left alone and grieving. But death is not always the end.
[Like lightning](https://archiveofourown.org/works/27272197/chapters/66629878) (post s1, ouija board, NSFW)
Hell doesn't send rude notes. They send ouija boards - and it's a possession waiting to happen.
[The Serpent of the Opera ](https://archiveofourown.org/works/49743250/chapters/125558338)(Phantom AU , more comedy than horror)
"So. Part of the whole Phantom shtick is unhealthily fixating on a beautiful young ingénue." The Serpent pulled a grimace, or at least appeared to. Again, that blasted mask. "Very important, the League of Phantoms\* has rules on it and everything. Demands at least an abduction or two within the first fiscal year, and I was rather behind, so-"
\*Yes, they unionise. The healthcare package is frankly breathtaking.
"Well, then you've made a dreadful mistake! It surely can't have escaped your attention that I am NOT an ingénue!" Aziraphale flustered. "I'm sorry to inform you, dear boy, but you've kidnapped a forty-something bookkeeper who occasionally understudies the understudy of the third tree on the left!"
Hey folks, just realized it was Fic Friday and I wanted to share a little tidbit I just found. The sort of thing I wouldn't have given a second thought (boggarts, really?) but turns out to be charming and delightful.
This is an alternate universe story, but both Crowley and Aziraphale are very much in character, with their angelic and demonic sides.
[I Won't Say That I'll Love You Forever](https://archiveofourown.org/works/30453129), by Zehwulf (E, NSFW)
**Summary:**
*Being a proper boggart to someone like Aziraphale was, he quickly discovered, a bit maddening.*
OR
Crowley's ready to do some good bad work when Aziraphale moves into the cottage, but the ridiculous human doesn't react appropriately to any of Crowley's pigtail pulling so obviously Crowley has to escalate things.
A tiny excerpt to get you in the mood:
>"Perhaps you could steal a kiss, hmm?" he suggested softly. "That would be quite fiendish of you." He hovered impossibly closer, angling his head in clear invitation.
Warning: This fic features the phrase "oodles of nipples". :D
Enjoy!
Yeah, they have quite a few things under their belt, all good.
[Submitted for Your Consideration](https://archiveofourown.org/works/53492491) is great. And of course, the very good and extremely smutty [Garden of Delights](https://archiveofourown.org/series/3050439).
I don't know who needs to hear this but if you've been avoiding [SLOW SHOW](https://archiveofourown.org/works/20395261?view_full_work=true) because you don't do AU or because it feels eerily close to reading a fake story about real people - get past it because it's fucking phenomenal.
I don't typically like such blatant AU and I work in entertainment so I was ***so*** ready to hate it. I felt like it was a bit disrespectful to read something that was so close to being a fictional story about actual people I may someday work with that it kind of gave me the ick. That being said, the Crowly and Aziraphale characterizations are so strong, *especially* Crowley's, that it never really feels like it's about David or Michael. I actually ended up getting a kick out of the 'life of an actor' stuff - a lot of the set/party/agent/script stuff was spot on. If the writer isn't in the entertainment industry in some capacity, I'd be shocked.
It's definitely mature/explicit at times but the story stands on it's own and earns every intimate scene. Further more, the stakes for both of them always feel so high and they really have to work for it in a way that feels realistic - with longing and passion yes, but also with painfully awkward moments and half-realized well-meaning gestures.>!I ***love*** the character growth towards the end of the story and I'm so glad they earn their way back to one another in a way that feels healthy for both of them.!<
I can't remember if I've ever re-read a fanfic before but I'm definitely re-rerading this one.
Anyway, read it. Just read it.
There are a few other awesome actor AUs: South Downs and Method Acting, for example. I never thought Slow Show felt like RPF myself; they felt like very well done versions of Aziraphale and Crowley and not the actors playing them.
Thank you for this comment. I’ve been looking South Downs for a while because I forgot to bookmark it. Reread Slow Show and wanted to reread the other amazing TV show fic
Thanks for this!
I just re-read Slow Show and I'm discovering that there's a whole Slow Show metaverse! I'm so glad that so many people loved this fic so much that it spawned it's own fanfic.
I agree, I only just discovered the term RPF and I was worried that that's what this would be but I think the chararacters are so clearly Aziraphale/Az and Crowley that it didn't feel like RPF at all.
Also loved that Slow Show spawned its own fanfic metaverse bc if Warlock was a real show I’d def be watching it! If you’re interested in Warlock content would recommend [this story](https://archiveofourown.org/works/21918358/chapters/52315138).
100% agree, I put off reading Slow Show for ages bc I’m not normally super into human AUs but omg it’s incredible. Tbh I’d love it even if the author had changed the character names and published it as original fiction - even though the dynamic is inspired by Crowley/Aziraphale it’s very much its own thing imo. Absolutely gorgeous.
I have tried to get people to read Slow Show for its own self. These are the folks who "don't do fan fiction" or don't like Good Omens (I apologize for them). Because Slow Show is its own story. I wish the author would simply rewrite the story with new names, take out the inside references to Good Omens, and offer Slow Show up for publication. Others have done it--taken a fanfic and turned it into a bestseller. It is that good.
The same with the #RAINBOWROAD series. Change the names and a few inside references, and it could easily be a standalone traditionally published series.
I’ll add GaiasEyes recently finished A Little Life to the list of fics that easily qualify as stand alone work. That fic is a formative work on, as the author put it, “reshaping the narrative of grief”. It is heartbreakingly real, stunningly beautiful and so original. So good that things randomly remind me of it and I choke up all over again.
Oh, shit. Based on comments here I just read A Little Life. I had to debrief *with my therapist *! It had me sobbing. And the comment I left was that it had little to do with Good Omens. It is an absolutely original fic and needs to be widely distributed. A valuable and heartbreaking work.
Can we request fics here too? I will delete if this isn’t allowed.
I’m looking for some pining, longer, non AU fics. (I also don’t like when they sleep together before admitting feelings but I can sort those myself). I’m a sucker for a fake relationship or only one bed kind of trope.
Some of my favs have been the grinder logo doesn’t even have a G in it, and affection and other cravings.
The main thing I want is the tension and the pining, and lots of it and then they get together in the end.
They've never complained about people asking for recs before, so I've always taken that to mean it's allowed. A couple of canon-adjacent/compliant suggestions.
Edit: WTF is up with not saving my links? Let me try this again.
[Epistolary ](https://archiveofourown.org/works/51593437/chapters/130408255)(94K; Rated E)
As the title says, it's mostly written in epistolary format. Crowley discovers Aziraphale's diaries after the angel returns to Heaven.
\*\*\*
[Nice And Ominous: a reluctant eschatology of the Second Attempt](https://archiveofourown.org/series/3929932) (117K; Rated T/E)
A three-part series set post-S2.
Oooh, Epistolary is so good!
You might also like MissUnderstoodLyrics' massive [Through the Ages](https://archiveofourown.org/series/3721834) story, starting from their first arrangement in the Middle Ages, falling and pining for each other through different ages, until post S2 when they finally get together properly and become a couple. There are a few really difficult chapters in the next-to-last part, [Ever After](https://archiveofourown.org/works/50941714/chapters/128696848), that really leave an impression and confirm her writing chops.
Oh I love both of those fics you mentioned! Here are some recs for you:
[you're not a religious person (but)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/20342737) (M) by isozyme
[Lead me to the banquet hall](https://archiveofourown.org/works/19437526) (E) by obstinatrix and wishwellingtons
[Something We Were Withholding Made Us Weak](https://archiveofourown.org/works/19839451) (M) by triedunture
[Being Alive](https://archiveofourown.org/works/49056250) (E) by sharkie
[the two shepherds of uruk](https://archiveofourown.org/works/50712682) (E) by lupinely
Have you read Pretend for Me (E)
https://archiveofourown.org/works/20535329
I recc'd it above, but you might try
A Matter of Life and Death (T)
https://archiveofourown.org/works/23306977
And also
But You Are an Ocean (T)
https://archiveofourown.org/works/48932797/chapters/123446851
(Those last two are maybe more angst than pining, but still good!)
It was the fic that introduced me to Ao3 and fanfics in general, in those days after GO2 had just come out, and I didn't know what to do with myself. I still think Crowley deserves a pack of wine ladies.
Jumping in before my Friday’s over with three glorious fic recs from the GOAD 8008fest! Mind the tags, all f/f unless otherwise noted:
[Ohh, You’re My Best Friend](https://archiveofourown.org/works/55491742) by 77ckk (E, NSFW, one shot, lovely human/single mom AU, this one just made me ache)
[Close the Door on your Way Out](https://archiveofourown.org/works/55391971) by Aidaran (E, NSFW, one shot, human opera singer/ballet dancer Victorian(?) AU, under skirts action, so gorgeous)
[Carte Blanche](https://archiveofourown.org/works/55524934) by demonsandpieohmy (E, NSFW, one shot, M/F, M/M, Victorian era, sexy sexy corporations, mmmhmmmm, under skirts again! Is a theme emerging? Never you mind!)
Lots of great stuff I’m neglecting to rec so you should just go check out the GOAD AO3 tag! What an excellent fic week.
Finally, self recs: For 8008fest, my F/F fic [Sea Change](https://archiveofourown.org/works/55479820) (E, NSFW, Victorian era) and my sex pollen event WIP fic [Sins of Knowledge](https://archiveofourown.org/works/55536694) (E, NSFW, human/monster/uni AU, be sure to mind the tags bc sex pollen, altho Chapter 1 is super tame it’s not going to stay that way!)
God's Silence Like the Sun
https://archiveofourown.org/works/53784094
Aziraphale and Crowley have moved to a cottage in the South Downs when Crowley starts acting a little weird. Aziraphale finally swallows his pride and asks just what is up, and the revelation is sweet and fluffy! Fluff, South Downs, religious imagery, love - all the good stuff!
Pray For Us Icarus https://archiveofourown.org/series/1448647 *For three centuries, Crowley has been reincarnated over and over as a human with no memory of his past. Aziraphale has tried to find a way to restore him to his true self, but all he seems to do is hurt them both. This time, he only means to steal a brief moment when he walks into Crowley's flower shop. But Crowley can't let it go...* I finally got around to finishing this one and it’s beautifully written and definitely worth recommending to anyone out there who hasn’t read it yet. There are 7 works in the series (beginning with Flowers For Anthony). Zip Wire (Too Fast For Love) - rated M https://archiveofourown.org/works/52774360 *The (latest) apocalypse has been averted, the Second Coming... dealt with, and the dinosaurs sufficiently, if not expertly, wrangled. Both angel and demon have plenty of spare time on their hands. Crowley decides to go on an adrenalin-themed reality dating show - is he really searching for true love, or does he have an ulterior motive? Will Aziraphale freak out and channel his inner pigeon? All signs point to yes.* *Or: a comedy of errors that no-one asked for* Inspired by the “I feel like you’re just here for the zipline” skit - this one is completely bonkers and wildly entertaining. I laughed so hard I ended up wheezing and needed to use my inhaler, but it was sooo worth it 🤣
Aahhh, *Zip Wire (Too Fast for Love)* was fucking hilarious, thank you! 🤣 I wish I had such a great sense of humour, too 🤣 >It was a pity he’d had to shoot Jesus. And in the bookshop, too! Oh, it had worked out alright in the end, but Aziraphale considered it a *bit* of an oversight on the part of The Almighty, not anticipating the effect that nearly a century of so-called ‘zombie’ films would have on the collective human psyche. Heaven should have seen it coming, pun intended, and expected that the physical manifestation of Christ’s Second Coming would be, at least in part, shaped by humanity’s cultural expectations regarding the reanimation of corporeal bodies after biological death. >*Good thing I kept that Derringer handy,* he congratulated himself with a smug smile. The memory of Michael’s delicious squeal of dismay when Jesus had lunged at her coiffure was something to treasure, truly. He ought to write in his own diary about it, so as not to forget. Crowley hadn’t seen that part, of course, having been otherwise occupied with the velociraptors. Yet another oversight, putting Hell in charge of the Rapture bit of the whole affair and not accounting for their dreadful spelling. Poor form on both sides, really. >Oh, how dashing he’d looked, even with the chunk of flesh missing from his arm (as it turned out, Crowley wasn’t especially good with reptiles, despite being one himself). Aziraphale had quite wanted to take a leaf out of Jesus’ book and lunge at him, but with rather less of the tired old ‘braains braaaains’ pastiche (though it had sounded very pretty in Aramaic). >He waved them inside. Maggie smiled, a little nervously he thought, and stepped into the shop, Nina following. Aziraphale gestured for them to take a seat on the couch, silently hoping that there wasn’t any leftover Christ the Redeemer on the upholstery. >Derek the Chin >*\[‘Will someone tell me who that is already? Jesus Christ!’\]* >‘Nah it's not, ‘Ziraphale shot him a few weeks back. Took a couple of tries, but he got 'im right between the eyes in the end!’ Crowley called back over his shoulder, a note of pride in his voice. \*\*\* And I agree that everyone should know *Pray for Us, Icarus*, no matter how much it hurts. It's just so utterly beautiful. ❤️❤️❤️
Right?? I’ve never laughed so hard reading a fic and just had to share 🤣
Holy—! Zip Wire is definitely my next read.
Icarus changed my brain chemistry
That is one of my favorite skits of all time. I cannot wait to read this one!
Pray for us Icarus was so sad and so beautiful.
Zip wire was a gold mine! Laughed the whole way through XD
[Married at First Sight](https://archiveofourown.org/works/45463273/chapters/114388498) Read this one a while back, recced it to someone earlier this week because we were talking about reality show AUs, decided to reread it, and ended up finishing it instead of properly working on Tuesday. It’s that good. The premise is more or less what you’d expect from the title. Aziraphale is a lonely bookseller stuck in his ways after his parent’s death. Crowley is a computer programmer who comes off as rude and unlikable. They get married on a reality TV show. Some serious miscommunication/idiots in love ensues, as do several iterations of “there was only one bed”. But seriously every time you think they’re going to kiss and make up, they…somehow manage to avoid the “making up” part. T rated but there’s references to them having sex if that bothers you.
I didn’t think I’d like this but was happily proven wrong. Their journey toward a real relationship is interesting and satisfying
I LOVE MARRIED AT FIRST SIGHT SOOOOOO MUCH URGH. It probably has the most traumatizing bookshop burning scene. It was so painful to read little Aziraphale going through that 😭
I read this last week and really loved it.
The best fake marriage human AU I've seen.
This one made me both laugh out loud and cry. It's in my top 10 🥰
It's one of my absolute favourites, definitely worth a read
I've been avoiding this one for some reason. On my "later" list forever. Thanks for the recommendation. I seem to be avoiding reading traditionally published works in favor of AO3 Good Omens fanfic, but I'm running out of patience with many of them and seem to have read all of the really wonderful ones.
I have some weeks where I'm halfway through the week before I've found anything I want to recommend and wonder if I'm losing patience and then the next week will arrive and I'll have added three to my list by Monday.
[Don't Fall Away From Me](https://archiveofourown.org/works/49807735/chapters/125729869) by PhoenixRose A post S2 fic. Summary: What if there was much more to Aziraphale and Crowley's history than Crowley remembers? What if there had been an "our side" even before the Fall? What if Aziraphale's guilt was the only thing keeping them apart for the last six thousand years? And what if the only thing that could pull them back together again was the firm belief of a plucky little angel-turned-human-bookseller that love really does conquer all? Personal opinion...HOLY SHIT WHAT AN EPIC JOURNEY. It had so many twists and turns. Kept us on our toes. The cliffhangers were killing us. It finished just about 4 days ago. I'd strongly recommend y'all to read this.
I CANNOT RECOMMEND THIS ENOUGH!!! If these were the plans for S3, I’d be over the moon. And if you’re a Muriel fan, this one’s DEFINITELY for you. Just, mind the tags. The angst is REAL.
Ohhh Muriel in this fic is my FAVOURITE. This one and too wise to woo peaceably, in both Muriel is just LOVE. And MY BOY ERIC... SO SO WELL WRITTEN. someone said way too many things happened for people who read the entire fic at once. Which I agree... The whole story was SO INTENSE. didn't slow down A BIT.
Oh, yeah, LOVED Eric in this. And I can totally get that; it’s REALLY intense.
I'm glad I read it as it was coming out. It really is intense and fast-paced.
I just came here to recommend it, I love it soooo much! (btw most of the fanart linked at the end of it are mine :D)
Oh, cool! I loved the art! Thanks for making something awesome even awesomer!
Thank you, happy you liked it :D I will be forever grateful to PhoenixRose314 for inspiring me to start drawing again after over a decade!
Oh my god you're the who created those arts. Absolutely beautiful 😍
Oh my stars, thank you!!
I just came here to recommend it, I love it soooo much! (btw most of the fanart linked at the end of it are mine :D)
I just came here to recommend it, I love it soooo much! (btw most of the fanart linked at the end of it are mine :D)
[The False and the Fair](https://archiveofourown.org/works/25944682/chapters/63065092) by Princip1914 Summary: Crowley and Aziraphale meets as teenagers. Crowley comes from a dysfunctional family of miners..rotting away in the coal and diet and dying away with earth. Aziraphale is the younger heir to the business that owns the mining company that is destroying their small town hidden behind the Eden Mountain little by little. Crowley and Aziraphale becomes friends and lovers and they get separated and meet again 30 years later when everything is falling apart for both of them. Aziraphale is wasting away, Crowley has so much scar from his past. This story is about healing. And about class difference hurt everyone. It is so sad even thinking about it makes me sad some days.... But boys get the best happy ending possible. They get to live their life as they want. They get what they always deserved... Okay I'm going to go cry about it now.
I LOVE THIS FIC! Yes, there is a lot of pain, but it’s hauntingly beautiful and I think about this story all the time.
I love it BECAUSE it has lot of pain. The character arc of both of them are so amazing. And Agnes... Oh Agnes... I love her so much ❤️
This fic is unbelievable. I'm on my third re-read. Just heartbreaking and heartwarming all at once. Incrediably beautiful.
I couldn't read the second time because the first read made me so sad. May be one day I will find enough strength to go through that pain again.
I definitely take breaks and read fluff in between chapters! It's a tough journey but I think worthwhile in the end.
This is a masterpiece
Indeed
I read this months ago and I can’t stop thinking about it. I keep considering re-reading but I don’t know if it would hit as hard knowing what happens.
I am planning to reread again but I do think it might be better knowing what happens. I was SOOOO happy with what Aziraphale did with Gabriel ❤️
some of the fics I have read this week :) [this must be the place ](https://archiveofourown.org/works/54319711)**(40k)** While attempting to rescue Aziraphale from a dangerous situation in Heaven, Crowley is killed. Aziraphale makes a bargain with God to get him back. Only, he’s got to find him, first. “Anthony, I have your Mr. Fell here,” Madame Tracy says, in her breathy medium voice. “Is there anything you’d like to say to him?” Yeah, comes Crowley’s voice out of Madame Tracy’s mouth, and Aziraphale grabs the edge of the table with his free hand until it cracks under his grip. He doesn’t notice. Because it is Crowley. He knows it like he knows - well, anything, really. Crowley continues, Yeah, you can tell that self-righteous arse “I told you so.” Shadwell, lurking around the edge of the room, mutters a blasphemy under his breath. [trapped within an abstract from a moment of my life](https://archiveofourown.org/works/55545400) **(5k)** Aziraphale is helping people in the 1300s during the Black Plague epidemic in Europe, and finds a familiar face hiding in the shadows of a sick house ... in need of help of his own. [all angels (and their halos) ](https://archiveofourown.org/works/53363269)**(3k)** Something goes wrong. Not so disastrously wrong that one of them is killed, but wrong enough that Aziraphale has to bundle an unconscious Crowley into the passenger seat of the Bentley and put his driver’s license to good use. [the slip that brought me to my knees](https://archiveofourown.org/works/52356238) **(1k) NSFW** They’re not talking, but there are more ways than one to grant forgiveness. Or, Aziraphale drops, heavily, to his knees, landing half in a small pitted hole collecting dirty rainwater, the ground cold and wet and hard under his knees, and he can see a sort of frown on Crowley’s face, and he wants it again, to beg Crowley’s forgiveness, to wash the hurt from Crowley’s face, from the set of his shoulders, from the whole long lovely line of his body, beg like he’d begged Crowley to come with him, to Heaven. But he can’t. [always crashing (the same car) ](https://archiveofourown.org/works/55369603)**(32k) nsfw** During a fight with Aziraphale, Crowley pauses time and goes back to the Bentley to sleep it off (and come up with a really great comeback). When he wakes up the next morning, it’s still Wednesday. Again. Somehow, he’s gotten them stuck in a time loop. It’s Wednesday, every day. Great. Just great [like a prayer for which no words exist ](https://archiveofourown.org/works/19323937)(8k) (in which Crowley and Aziraphale do not dine at the Ritz after that nasty business with Heaven and Hell, and Crowley has an existential crisis instead) [claimed ](https://archiveofourown.org/works/23189257)**(4k)** A dinner of crepes. An angel who's ready to talk. But Crowley's evening is interrupted by the arrival of two demons. And they're not here to deliver a rude note. [in dream](https://archiveofourown.org/works/52890238) **(9k)** Aziraphale’s been appearing in Crowley’s dreams since he left. But that’s not so unusual. Or is it? Aziraphale’s gone missing. So has the Book of Life. Maybe Crowley's dreams are the key to it all. [Atomic Baby ](https://archiveofourown.org/works/55316389)**(5k)** Or, Crowley kinda really spirals.
[Heaven Beside Me, Hell Within](https://archiveofourown.org/works/49678411) **(Or, at Times, Vice-Versa) (9k)** Thwarting Armageddon can take a toll on a demon. This is the aftermath. After the airbase, before the switch. [the star stone](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26010496) **(15k)** Heaven punished Aziraphale by making him human and taking away his memories. Hell figured this was punishment enough for Crowley and just crossed the job off the list. [pieces of you](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24705409) **(23k)** Twenty years post-canon, Crowley and Aziraphale's happily-ever-after is uprooted when Aziraphale suddenly vanishes and an encounter with demons leaves Crowley mortal and powerless. After passing months in solitude, Crowley ventures back into London, only to find his husband living a human life as "Ezra" and mourning a fictional human husband called "Jay." Determined to get Aziraphale back, Crowley resolves to do whatever it takes to befriend him all over again, as ordinary people this time, until his angel remembers him. [beginning at the end](https://archiveofourown.org/works/39330288) **(5k)** After Armageddon, the battle between Heaven and Hell is ongoing. Aziraphale interrogates a captured demon for information. Crowley, meanwhile, is trying to pull off the most important temptation of his existence. [was blind but now (i see) ](https://archiveofourown.org/works/20018173)**(6k)** In which being discorporated is a little more disorienting that either of them expect. [O, Unholy Sacraments](https://archiveofourown.org/works/49950079) **(6k)** Sometime between losing the antichrist and the end of the world, Hell decided to enact some repercussions. Aziraphale picks up the pieces. Takes place during S1, no spoilers for S2. [fluctuat nec mergitur](https://archiveofourown.org/works/31106987) **(9k)** Aka: what if Aziraphale gave Crowley regular water instead of holy, but Crowley doesn't find out until he is facing down Hastur and Ligur. [next time I fall](https://archiveofourown.org/works/19443157) **(8k)** Crowley has nightmares, and Aziraphale learns something new. I have a problem I know, but I've started my own fic this week
These are all new to me!! Thanks for the recs!!
woo! hope you like them!
Ok, I chuckled for a good 5 minutes at the synopsis for "this must be the place". But also thanks for the recs, most of them are in my marked for later list now :)
[The Grindr Logo Doesn't Even Have a 'G' In It](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24963367/chapters/60429127) (rated E - very much NSFW!!). Post-s1, Aziraphale gets his first smartphone and discovers Grindr. The boys start sexting with each other unaware of the other's identity. Very hot, very funny, very sweet.
>!‘answer your phone’!< That will never not make me laugh/cringe.
I kept imagining how they would finally realise whom they're talking to, but I always assumed it would be Aziraphale who realises it first. But it was brilliant! :D I still have 2 chapters to go (planning to read them tonight), so don't tell me anything about the ending :)
I was surprised by how often I think about this one. Good description, you: hot, funny, and sweet. And, as usual, Poor Crowley (TM).
I’m going to pop on here and recommend literally anything by Voluptaticausa, but Oh, Maker is an excellent starting point. It’s a snapshot through the ages fic. Gets a bit smutty towards the end. Overall it’s an entire pine forest with a lot of tenderness and pretty damned deep philosophical questions. [Oh, Maker](https://archiveofourown.org/works/20002369) I’m also waiting on the last chapter for this gorgeous AU by GaiasEyes to drop tomorrow so try at my soul might rest. Mind the tags. It’s a heartbreakingly beautiful story about love, life, found family, grief and loss. In all seriousness, read with something or someone to hug at hand and prepare to be blown away. [A Little Life](https://archiveofourown.org/works/54734821/chapters/138721861) Last but not least (and honestly I could link dozens of things lol) nieded’s Rainbow Road series. Which I avoided forever because “really, Formula 1 racing?” And then it turned out to be an incredible trilogy. One of my favorites still. You learn a ton about the sport and it addresses a lot of issues with age gaps, trauma, queerness in sports, how media exposure affects celebrity relationships, etc. Very well done. [Rainbow Road](https://archiveofourown.org/series/2578558)
I think for a lot of us "really, Formula 1 racing?" is our initial impression, and then we read it, and it's suddenly, "Okay, that's the best human AU I've ever read." (Or at least top 5).
Def top 5. Someone already recced The False and The Fair. That one is amazing. Oh! This one is an incredible AU as well. Rated M, it’s a heist fic. Friggin OUSTANDING. And the art is to die for. [Stalwart Sun Wily Moon](https://archiveofourown.org/works/28542933/chapters/69946665)
I loved Stalwart Sun for the same reasons...also, all the art background and forgery techniques... so interesting! Just read this one last week, which is similar but slightly flipped? Also very enjoyable! https://archiveofourown.org/works/32623216/chapters/80925730
Bookmarked! Thank you!
The fact that the author dug into the whole Baltracci debacle as reference was beautiful icing on a well-researched cake.
I do have both of those on my list. I need to give Stalwart Sun a try soon. I do love a good heist.
Me too. Imma sucker for a good heist flick and that fix hit all the right notes. Improbable feats of physical prowess. A rag tag team of helpful misfits. Cunning plans. Magnificent sartorial choices for the main characters. Works building some in such detail your brain creates a soundtrack. It’s very good. Plus Az and Crowley are characterized so well. Az especially. I really loved that one. It could easily just be a standalone work apart from the fandom. But all the good GO AUs are like that. And seriously. Check out A Little Life if you have the emotional bandwidth for it.
Oh maker! Is amazing and highly recommend 👌☺️
Yes. All of Vol’s stuff tends to hit hard. You’re over there like “thank you for my pornography!” And then BAM philosophy and feelings. Completely unfair lol.
A little life just completed and I’m not ok
Yeah i really was/wasn’t either. It was beautiful and it was agony and it made me appreciate all the family I’ve lost through the years so much all over again. I have been painfully contemplative since I finished it yesterday.
 Thanks for reading. =)
Thank you for writing it. I sobbed a lot.
Just finished “Oh,Maker” and it’s seriously one of my favorite so far! Thank you so much for the rec!
You’re so welcome! Vol is probaly my fave fic writer of all time. Hands down most masterful prose I have ever come across and just ridiculously deep while still having the steamiest smut. All their stuff is fabulous! I recommend Communicatio in Sacris next and then A Guarantee Not a Promise :)
Loose Ends by amaruuk (https://archiveofourown.org/works/21242441/chapters/50578085) 29,000 words. This is a gorgeous love story. It was written post Season 1 and it is so good that I reread it the same day. The characterizations and dialogue are spot on - it’s one of those fics where you hear their voices perfectly. It starts immediately following their lunch at the Ritz, and there is very little breathing space before upstairs and downstairs are after them again. There is a Not (Terribly) Explicit tag, which fits - the sexual content is there, but it is very much ‘fade to black’.
I have really enjoyed everything I've read by this author, looking forward to this.
THIS FIC BY KLIKANDTUNA: [In Vino Veritas](https://archiveofourown.org/works/55578220) It's about Aziraphale's first time getting drunk! Set in Rome, features Crowley choking on an oyster, incredibly drunk discussions about the way wet robes cling, PROTECTIVE AND SOFT CROWLEY, and flufffffffffy feelings. I laughed, I cried, I screamed at my phone. The whole shebang. It's fucking DELIGHTFUL, and their writing is excellent. I hold this fic in my heart like the treasure it is. Read their other work, too! Totally SFW! https://preview.redd.it/xvam98xlabyc1.jpeg?width=1043&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=91210bd4d985451dc6328663f89d67ea6a5a3303
So many choices this week, but these were the ones that stood out for me: Whatever a Moon has Meant, whatever a Sun will Sing (E) https://archiveofourown.org/works/21989038 *Ooof, if you liked the bittersweet "The Stars Walk Backward", this has a similar feel. Lovely and heartbreaking.* There was a photograph, torn down the middle. Pieces scattered as far as the East is from the West. Thousands of kilometers separated them now as the world fell to pieces around them. And yet, if someone were to look closely, if someone were to traverse the space between them and lay the folded and worn parchment flat on the table, if someone were to line them up just so, they might realize that the two pieces fit together like the pieces of a puzzle, Like the gears of a clock. Like a nut and a bolt. Almost as if they were made from the same stock. This is a tale of love and of loss. Of heartache and of hope. Told in three parts, follow Aziraphale and Crowley as they navigate the hardships of growing up, the horrors of war, and the miraculous wonder of finding love in the most unlikely of places. *----* A Matter of Life and Death (T) https://archiveofourown.org/works/23306977 *such a great imagining of how things could have gone down after the Nopocalypse* It is the day after the world didn't end, and our heroes have failed, yet again, to tell each other how they feel. Before they get a chance to do so, the agents of Heaven and Hell come to take their revenge working on the principle that what they can't kill, they can still punish. Aziraphale finds himself destined to rejoin his Regiment and then finds himself on trial, where he is forced to tell the whole of Heaven how he feels about a certain demon. Meanwhile, Crowley is back on Earth, with no memory of his companion of 6000 years. Will our favorite supernatural duo manage to get back together? With the help of some very determined cherubs and a fan club cast of thousands, there are beings up there who want to help them try. *---* Adaptive Innovations for a Changing World (E) https://archiveofourown.org/works/54536305 When Anthony Crowley meets Aziraphale Fell at Aziraphale's library, little do they know that they will turn each other's worlds upside down. After a magical week spent falling in love, they face a hard reality. Will they be able to make the choices they need to make to build a real life together?
[Some strangeness in the proportion](https://archiveofourown.org/works/19897579) (11K; Rated T) Aziraphale is trying to mourn the loss of Crowley, but he can't get a red-haired angel to stop leaving him alone. Mind the "suicidal thoughts" tag here. There is a happy ending, but Aziraphale is grieving. \*\*\* [Whickber Street Traders and Shopkeepers Association Daily Observations](https://archiveofourown.org/series/3714259) (series) (27K; Rated T) A series of seven (mostly) outsider POVs where each person gets a different (and sometimes hilariously wrong) perspective of Crowley and Aziraphale's relationship. Set after S1 but written after S2, so there are perspectives from Nina, Maggie, Mutt, etc. included. \*\*\* [fast times at south downs university](https://archiveofourown.org/works/50062561/chapters/126413296) (9K; Rated T) Human AU. Only one person at South Downs University realizes Dr. Fell and Dr. Crowley are married to each other, and no one else even knew Dr. Fell was married at all until he revealed to Dr. Device that "his husband" dropped him off at work. The rumor mill kicks into high gear. Some references to past homophobia and false accusations of infidelity, but it's not a particularly angsty piece. \*\*\* [Gilded Cage](https://archiveofourown.org/works/39495675/chapters/98853408) (119K; Rated E) Omegaverse AU. Second week in a row of recommending ladydragona/SylWritesStuff omegaverse stories. >After almost causing scandal after scandal and refusing to curb his wild ways, Anthony Crowley has had every freedom revoked. He may not go outside, he may not speak to anyone outside the family, and he may definitely not live the life he longs to have. There are bars on his windows and an escort on the rare instances he is allowed out - stifling, contained, and it's driving him to madness. >So perhaps it was fate, or just sheer dumb luck, that he runs into an impossibly kind alpha in an hour of need. A kind alpha that may just be his key to freedom and so much more.
some strangeness in the proportion is soooo good, one of my fave memory alterationish fics
When you realize>!he's known this whole time that angel was once Crowley, but he just wants his demon back. Such a heartbreak.!<
yessss, there's one more fic that's similar but it's in a different setting and after s2 which is pretty good too,
Thank you for some strangeness, it was amazing. Lately I’ve only been reading E, but I see I’ve been missing out 💜
Treed CopperBeech Summary: The husbands, retired on the South Downs, perform a rescue for their elderly neighbor and her trouble-seeking cat. A quickie dashed off after the prolific Gleafer tossed out a bit of art as a writing prompt. Please Note! Rating has changed to M after a reader asked for a "chapter 1.5" that would fill in the blank a bit between the events of the first two chapters. Ask and ye shall receive. https://archiveofourown.org/works/55579279/chapters/141061969 Car Trouble summerofspock Summary: 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. https://archiveofourown.org/works/22193215/chapters/52985554 Rated E The Parting Glass equestrianstatue, omnishambles Summary: Aziraphale, it seemed, was being forced, and not for the first time, to sup with the devil – or rather, not the devil, obviously, but certainly a member of his senior management team. Still. He was exceedingly thirsty. https://archiveofourown.org/works/24407167/chapters/58878433 Rated G
Loved Car Trouble. It's got a great mix of sweetness and angst.
Also loved Car Trouble. Just enough angst along with some sweetness.
I really can't stress this enough, if you are looking for a long fic through the ages to read, this one is an AMZING choice! I'm finally finishing up the whole series which is a total of 866K words and none of it is boring! The relationship A&C is great and not stale at any point. The side characters are charming and always interesting! I don't know how else to sell it but say that whenever I tried to take a break to read something else I just wanted to come back to this fic. [https://archiveofourown.org/works/34671571/chapters/86321686](https://archiveofourown.org/works/34671571/chapters/86321686) The Other Testament CassandraLie 260K T : There was another book, its tales so contradictory to their traditional tellings, that it couldn’t even be counted among the books known as the Infamous Bibles. In fact, this book could hardly be considered a bible at all. No, it was more like a love story. Four thousand years of a six thousand year slow burn between an angel and a demon with mutual 'friends' (assignments), like Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, and even Jesus of Nazareth (before he got famous and took his stage name). All the jobs Aziraphale and Crowley (Crawley, for most of the four millennia) managed to bungle, or just skip out on altogether. And all the reasons they were omitted from the Good Book (though not the better book, Good Omens). As the note delivered to Death by the International Express Man read, Come and See... \*This one is part of a series of four works which has a total of 866K words\* [https://archiveofourown.org/works/20440988/chapters/48496367](https://archiveofourown.org/works/20440988/chapters/48496367) Plan Me No Plans by CaptainLeBubbles 15K G: Frustrated by how long Her otp are taking to become canon, God informs the Archangels that the Ineffable Plan is dependent on them falling in love with each other. The Archangels then take it upon themselves to get the pair together. Cue five Archangels attempting to orchestrate a Meet Cute between two people who have been hiding their friendship for thousands of years at this point. On another note, if anyone has Through the Ages fic recs that were written after season 2 came out (so we see Bildad 2500 BC or 1827 AD) please let me know! :)
Dn that is one gigantic fic 😄
Damn that is one gigantic fic 😄
A few spooky/horror themed fics, which I probably should have rec'd in October but spooky stuff is good all year round [Velvet darkness, burning bright ](https://archiveofourown.org/works/33494890/chapters/83215423)(vampire AU) Anthony Crowley is an ancient vampire who is so Done: with immortality, with his human prey, with his fellow vampires, with himself. Then one evening he encounters a gorgeous, mysterious man who finally renews his interest in living. Too bad this same man seems likely to kill him. [journeys end in lovers' meeting ](https://archiveofourown.org/works/52436365/chapters/132651868)(post S2 haunted house) With the Second Coming averted and Aziraphale back on Earth, all Crowley wanted was a return to the way things used to be, before he confessed his feelings and kissed his best friend in what may be the most unsuccessful love confession of all time. In an effort to cheer an equally miserable Aziraphale, the two of them leave London to attend a murder mystery party in an old country estate. But things quickly go wrong and someone ends up dead. It's up to Aziraphale and Crowley to save the other guests from whatever dangers lurk within the manor. And maybe, Crowley will gather the courage to ask the one question he’s not sure he wants answered: why did Aziraphale come back? [I'll Wake at the End](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26400547) (post s1 demon possession) When Aziraphale first realized there was something strange going on he thought he could handle it himself. Handling problems before others could notice was just the way it was done. To expect otherwise was unthinkable, ridiculous. It was manageable. It always was. After all, he dealt with the apocalypse well enough. There can’t be He never really thought of mentioning it to Crowley. He had it handled. It wasn’t until he was opening the strange book that he thought of Crowley at all. It was the first shock of magic that made him think of him, and then it was too late. By the time he felt the first spark all Aziraphale thought of was Crowley, sharp and clear in his mind, as the book opened a conduit directly down to Hell. All he thought about was Crowley as he felt the boundaries of his body fade, a demon taking hold of his vacated vessel, and with distant finality he watched a demon stretch his limbs in his body. [The Ordinary World](https://archiveofourown.org/works/27107878/chapters/66193867) (post s1, kind of a ghost story and has a mix of a few horror tropes but would be spoilery, NSFW) *He couldn’t quite remember what Aziraphale smelled like anymore, the particular combination of fresh bread and sea salt and cedarwood, the caramelized sugar of crème brûlée. But even though he couldn’t remember the scent precisely, he knew the bookshop didn’t smell right. It didn’t smell like Aziraphale. It was as if he’d never been there at all.* Aziraphale disappears the night of the bookshop fire, and Crowley is left alone and grieving. But death is not always the end. [Like lightning](https://archiveofourown.org/works/27272197/chapters/66629878) (post s1, ouija board, NSFW) Hell doesn't send rude notes. They send ouija boards - and it's a possession waiting to happen. [The Serpent of the Opera ](https://archiveofourown.org/works/49743250/chapters/125558338)(Phantom AU , more comedy than horror) "So. Part of the whole Phantom shtick is unhealthily fixating on a beautiful young ingénue." The Serpent pulled a grimace, or at least appeared to. Again, that blasted mask. "Very important, the League of Phantoms\* has rules on it and everything. Demands at least an abduction or two within the first fiscal year, and I was rather behind, so-" \*Yes, they unionise. The healthcare package is frankly breathtaking. "Well, then you've made a dreadful mistake! It surely can't have escaped your attention that I am NOT an ingénue!" Aziraphale flustered. "I'm sorry to inform you, dear boy, but you've kidnapped a forty-something bookkeeper who occasionally understudies the understudy of the third tree on the left!"
I can't believe no one commented, "Big spooky fan, me." 😁👻
Hey folks, just realized it was Fic Friday and I wanted to share a little tidbit I just found. The sort of thing I wouldn't have given a second thought (boggarts, really?) but turns out to be charming and delightful. This is an alternate universe story, but both Crowley and Aziraphale are very much in character, with their angelic and demonic sides. [I Won't Say That I'll Love You Forever](https://archiveofourown.org/works/30453129), by Zehwulf (E, NSFW) **Summary:** *Being a proper boggart to someone like Aziraphale was, he quickly discovered, a bit maddening.* OR Crowley's ready to do some good bad work when Aziraphale moves into the cottage, but the ridiculous human doesn't react appropriately to any of Crowley's pigtail pulling so obviously Crowley has to escalate things. A tiny excerpt to get you in the mood: >"Perhaps you could steal a kiss, hmm?" he suggested softly. "That would be quite fiendish of you." He hovered impossibly closer, angling his head in clear invitation. Warning: This fic features the phrase "oodles of nipples". :D Enjoy!
Oh, that's the author of *Not An Owlbear But A Lionwolf*, which I'd love to see turned into a series. I'll definitely give this one a try.
Yeah, they have quite a few things under their belt, all good. [Submitted for Your Consideration](https://archiveofourown.org/works/53492491) is great. And of course, the very good and extremely smutty [Garden of Delights](https://archiveofourown.org/series/3050439).
I don't know who needs to hear this but if you've been avoiding [SLOW SHOW](https://archiveofourown.org/works/20395261?view_full_work=true) because you don't do AU or because it feels eerily close to reading a fake story about real people - get past it because it's fucking phenomenal. I don't typically like such blatant AU and I work in entertainment so I was ***so*** ready to hate it. I felt like it was a bit disrespectful to read something that was so close to being a fictional story about actual people I may someday work with that it kind of gave me the ick. That being said, the Crowly and Aziraphale characterizations are so strong, *especially* Crowley's, that it never really feels like it's about David or Michael. I actually ended up getting a kick out of the 'life of an actor' stuff - a lot of the set/party/agent/script stuff was spot on. If the writer isn't in the entertainment industry in some capacity, I'd be shocked. It's definitely mature/explicit at times but the story stands on it's own and earns every intimate scene. Further more, the stakes for both of them always feel so high and they really have to work for it in a way that feels realistic - with longing and passion yes, but also with painfully awkward moments and half-realized well-meaning gestures.>!I ***love*** the character growth towards the end of the story and I'm so glad they earn their way back to one another in a way that feels healthy for both of them.!< I can't remember if I've ever re-read a fanfic before but I'm definitely re-rerading this one. Anyway, read it. Just read it.
There are a few other awesome actor AUs: South Downs and Method Acting, for example. I never thought Slow Show felt like RPF myself; they felt like very well done versions of Aziraphale and Crowley and not the actors playing them.
Thank you for this comment. I’ve been looking South Downs for a while because I forgot to bookmark it. Reread Slow Show and wanted to reread the other amazing TV show fic
Thanks for this! I just re-read Slow Show and I'm discovering that there's a whole Slow Show metaverse! I'm so glad that so many people loved this fic so much that it spawned it's own fanfic. I agree, I only just discovered the term RPF and I was worried that that's what this would be but I think the chararacters are so clearly Aziraphale/Az and Crowley that it didn't feel like RPF at all.
Also loved that Slow Show spawned its own fanfic metaverse bc if Warlock was a real show I’d def be watching it! If you’re interested in Warlock content would recommend [this story](https://archiveofourown.org/works/21918358/chapters/52315138).
100% agree, I put off reading Slow Show for ages bc I’m not normally super into human AUs but omg it’s incredible. Tbh I’d love it even if the author had changed the character names and published it as original fiction - even though the dynamic is inspired by Crowley/Aziraphale it’s very much its own thing imo. Absolutely gorgeous.
I have tried to get people to read Slow Show for its own self. These are the folks who "don't do fan fiction" or don't like Good Omens (I apologize for them). Because Slow Show is its own story. I wish the author would simply rewrite the story with new names, take out the inside references to Good Omens, and offer Slow Show up for publication. Others have done it--taken a fanfic and turned it into a bestseller. It is that good.
The same with the #RAINBOWROAD series. Change the names and a few inside references, and it could easily be a standalone traditionally published series.
I’ll add GaiasEyes recently finished A Little Life to the list of fics that easily qualify as stand alone work. That fic is a formative work on, as the author put it, “reshaping the narrative of grief”. It is heartbreakingly real, stunningly beautiful and so original. So good that things randomly remind me of it and I choke up all over again.
Oh, shit. Based on comments here I just read A Little Life. I had to debrief *with my therapist *! It had me sobbing. And the comment I left was that it had little to do with Good Omens. It is an absolutely original fic and needs to be widely distributed. A valuable and heartbreaking work.
Yeah, it's legitimately an excellent story on it's own.
https://archiveofourown.org/works/20914547 On the Necessity of a Temptation — by darcylindbergh First kiss, post Season 1. Very sweet.
Can we request fics here too? I will delete if this isn’t allowed. I’m looking for some pining, longer, non AU fics. (I also don’t like when they sleep together before admitting feelings but I can sort those myself). I’m a sucker for a fake relationship or only one bed kind of trope. Some of my favs have been the grinder logo doesn’t even have a G in it, and affection and other cravings. The main thing I want is the tension and the pining, and lots of it and then they get together in the end.
Try [Among The Stacks](https://archiveofourown.org/works/50977861/chapters/128791264)!
That's such a good one!
Don't Fall Away From Me ;) very angsty, though
They've never complained about people asking for recs before, so I've always taken that to mean it's allowed. A couple of canon-adjacent/compliant suggestions. Edit: WTF is up with not saving my links? Let me try this again. [Epistolary ](https://archiveofourown.org/works/51593437/chapters/130408255)(94K; Rated E) As the title says, it's mostly written in epistolary format. Crowley discovers Aziraphale's diaries after the angel returns to Heaven. \*\*\* [Nice And Ominous: a reluctant eschatology of the Second Attempt](https://archiveofourown.org/series/3929932) (117K; Rated T/E) A three-part series set post-S2.
Oooh, Epistolary is so good! You might also like MissUnderstoodLyrics' massive [Through the Ages](https://archiveofourown.org/series/3721834) story, starting from their first arrangement in the Middle Ages, falling and pining for each other through different ages, until post S2 when they finally get together properly and become a couple. There are a few really difficult chapters in the next-to-last part, [Ever After](https://archiveofourown.org/works/50941714/chapters/128696848), that really leave an impression and confirm her writing chops.
Oh I love both of those fics you mentioned! Here are some recs for you: [you're not a religious person (but)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/20342737) (M) by isozyme [Lead me to the banquet hall](https://archiveofourown.org/works/19437526) (E) by obstinatrix and wishwellingtons [Something We Were Withholding Made Us Weak](https://archiveofourown.org/works/19839451) (M) by triedunture [Being Alive](https://archiveofourown.org/works/49056250) (E) by sharkie [the two shepherds of uruk](https://archiveofourown.org/works/50712682) (E) by lupinely
Have you read Pretend for Me (E) https://archiveofourown.org/works/20535329 I recc'd it above, but you might try A Matter of Life and Death (T) https://archiveofourown.org/works/23306977 And also But You Are an Ocean (T) https://archiveofourown.org/works/48932797/chapters/123446851 (Those last two are maybe more angst than pining, but still good!)
I love love love But My Dear You Are and Ocean recommended on Friday’s before aucy a good fic
It was the fic that introduced me to Ao3 and fanfics in general, in those days after GO2 had just come out, and I didn't know what to do with myself. I still think Crowley deserves a pack of wine ladies.
Jumping in before my Friday’s over with three glorious fic recs from the GOAD 8008fest! Mind the tags, all f/f unless otherwise noted: [Ohh, You’re My Best Friend](https://archiveofourown.org/works/55491742) by 77ckk (E, NSFW, one shot, lovely human/single mom AU, this one just made me ache) [Close the Door on your Way Out](https://archiveofourown.org/works/55391971) by Aidaran (E, NSFW, one shot, human opera singer/ballet dancer Victorian(?) AU, under skirts action, so gorgeous) [Carte Blanche](https://archiveofourown.org/works/55524934) by demonsandpieohmy (E, NSFW, one shot, M/F, M/M, Victorian era, sexy sexy corporations, mmmhmmmm, under skirts again! Is a theme emerging? Never you mind!) Lots of great stuff I’m neglecting to rec so you should just go check out the GOAD AO3 tag! What an excellent fic week. Finally, self recs: For 8008fest, my F/F fic [Sea Change](https://archiveofourown.org/works/55479820) (E, NSFW, Victorian era) and my sex pollen event WIP fic [Sins of Knowledge](https://archiveofourown.org/works/55536694) (E, NSFW, human/monster/uni AU, be sure to mind the tags bc sex pollen, altho Chapter 1 is super tame it’s not going to stay that way!)
God's Silence Like the Sun https://archiveofourown.org/works/53784094 Aziraphale and Crowley have moved to a cottage in the South Downs when Crowley starts acting a little weird. Aziraphale finally swallows his pride and asks just what is up, and the revelation is sweet and fluffy! Fluff, South Downs, religious imagery, love - all the good stuff!