Fanfiction and metaphors we love by: a conceptual metaphor analysis of ‘sinful’ queer desires in the fic Vine Slips of a Strange God

This article examines the representation of queer desire, consent, and BDSM relationship dynamics in Vine Slips of a Strange God, a popular Good Omens fan fiction by Chloë (Depraved Dame), through the lens of Conceptual Metaphor Theory (CMT). While fan fiction scholarship has extensively explored fandom, intertextuality, and queer storytelling, the application of CMT to transformative works in general (and slash fiction in particular) remains underdeveloped. Addressing this gap, the paper offers a close reading of Vine Slips, a 350,000-word human alternate universe in which the angel Aziraphale is reimagined as a Catholic priest and the demon Crowley as a landscape gardener. Drawing on Lakoff and Johnson’s theory of conceptual metaphor, the analysis demonstrates how recurring plant, vine, bird, and Edenic imagery structures the priest character’s understanding of desire as simultaneously sinful and salvific. Metaphors such as DESIRE IS A TWINING PLANT, EMOTIONS ARE FORCES, and PEOPLE ARE PLANTS shape the narrative’s exploration of longing, shame, devotion, and healing. The study argues that the fic transforms traditional Christian metaphors of transgression into frameworks for mutual care, informed consent, and queer flourishing. By reframing same-sex desire and consensual BDSM practices as restorative rather than corrupting, Vine Slips exemplifies the capacity of fan fiction to reimagine inherited narratives and create alternative storyworlds of inclusion, vulnerability, and redemption.