The Middle Distance

A Sybaris of Snakes
Fandom: Good Omens
Pairing: Aziraphale/Crowley
Rating: Explicit
CW: Fantasy Shapeshifter Bestiality


Summary: Sequel to A Susurration of Serpents. Aziraphale accepts the invitation to the one-demon snake orgy!

But!

The Good Omens Holiday Exchange has wrapped up its 15th year!

The story written for me:

What Happens To the Heart by irisbleufic
Aziraphale/Crowley
Mature
Author's Summary: “[My father] was hell-bent—or heaven-bent—on completing it, and we just were unable to get a musical accompaniment that he was satisfied with. I think it’s one in a long line of songs that have his essential thesis in life, which is the broken hallelujah. Everything cracks, and this is what happens to the heart.” —Adam Cohen, regarding Leonard Cohen's posthumous album release, "Thanks for the Dance"

Absolutely beautiful slow-burn story in several vignettes, each based around a different Leonard Cohen song. (I had requested something A/C inspired by his lyrics). I strongly recommend listening to those songs while reading it, or just before or just after. Over decades, these songs help Aziraphale and Crowley really see other, and really come to terms with what they are too each other - the cracked, the holy and unholy - and eventually the light gets in.

I wrote:

The Year Without a Summer
Aziraphale/Crowley
For Ineffablemercury
Explicit
Author's Summary: Once upon a time in 1815, a mountain exploded and covered the world in cloud, cold, and darkness for so long that 1816 had no summer in the West, and crops failed, causing panic and famine. That same year, a demon decided to steal away an angel to an Underworld hideaway. Coincidence?

I mashed-up two of my recipient's requests: they wanted something inspired by Hades/Persephone, with Crowley abducting Aziraphale to Hell, OR something historical from a list of periods including Regency. What they got was Regency A/C, and Aziraphale gets taken to the old Hellfire Club caves to hide from Heaven. There is a pomegranate and there's ravishing.

It's been a TERRIBLE year for me for writing, and I'm so glad I was able to shake off the cobwebs.

cross-posted to Twitter and Tumblr.

Lately I’ve had two requests to include stories of mine in Bottom!Character collections on AO3 - two different pairings, two different fandoms! One fic is Johnlock and the other Aziraphale/Crowley. I’m sitting on them and mulling.

Because sure, the character they like bottoming does in both those stories (Sherlock and Aziraphale) and I don’t mind those readers with a strong preference enjoying those stories, at all!

But for both those pairings I am VERY STAUNCHLY a switch/vers writer (in fact, in the case of A/C I think it’s symbolically and theologically important that they switch). And there are a lot of jackasses out there who can’t cope with this.

The kind of people who harass writers for writing it “wrong” (and have driven several wonderful writers out of fandoms over it). So I’m hesitant to expose my fics to their attention (because if they check out my other work they will certainly find things they don’t like, fuck yeah) or to give even the SLIGHTEST hint that I might ever endorse or respect that mentality. I want my position on positions to be clear - it’s all fine, except flaming people for writing it the other way; that is NOT fine, ever. And I like to write it all the ways.

I’ve got some excellent feedback on the Twitter and Tumblr threads, and I’m strongly leaning towards saying no. Yet I don’t mind people who have a preference reading the fics of mine that match that and passing on the others - not every story is for everyone, that’s no problem. Of course it’s flattering to be asked. But I don’t want my vanity to lead anyone to getting the wrong impression.

What do y’all think?



Anyway, here are two of my most explicitly switch fics:

Race to the Bottom (Aziraphale/Crowley). This one is all about why it’s actually ineffably important that they get to take turns.

Splat! (Sherlock/John, Appalachian AU) This is the one where they compete for topping “privilege” by hunting each other with paintball guns. There’s a scene where Sherlock wins and a scene where John does.