#carolyn knapp-shappey-shipwright

[cynicalrainbows]

Fic set sometime after Muriel is given the bookshop to look after, in which she meets a kindred spirit.

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It was a nice day. All the days had been nice, Muriel thought. Probably, anyway. Not that she’d ever seen many of them…or any of them until a week and a half ago, but the ones she’d seen since coming to earth had been very nice.

Like fog! You didn’t GET fog in the accounts department (you didn’t get any weather at all, which seemed terribly sad, although she hadn’t missed it at the time) but here on earth, it could just pop up unexpectedly, like the air was playing a trick on you by going all thick and soupy and making whatever you were going to come across next into a surprise! A hedge! A tree! The side of a shop! Amazing!

Hail was nice too. It gave Muriel an excuse to wear her hat. Not that she needed one exactly, since she hadn’t quite made up her mind to drop her incognito disguise as a Human-Policeman (she quite liked the idea of being a Human Policeman-and-Bookseller), but there was something very satisfying about the feeling of the hailstones bouncing off her hat.

Rain was the best one though. She had heard somewhere that rain was very good for making humans fall in love, especially if they were under an awning, and Muriel liked to watch the humans sheltering under awnings on the rainy days to see if she could spot the exact moment that the love happened. 

(She hadn’t spotted it yet, but that was probably just because she needed more practice. To help her keep her hand in, she’d miracled the biggest, brightest awning she could over the bookshop window and sometimes she’d try to gently steer people who looked like they might be good falling-in-love partners under the awning at the same time, although disappointingly, they often veered off, even though, as Muriel made sure to helpfully call after them, there was rain outside of the awning.)

She was just wondering whether the rain would last long (and rather hoping it did), when the bell hanging over the door jingled. 

People! People coming inside! (She knew, of course, not to sell any of the books but that didn’t mean she couldn’t enjoy talking to the people who came in to look around, even if a lot of them had trouble understand the no-buying-books rule, even when she explained it very slowly and carefully in her loudest voice.)

‘-in here until it dies down’

There was the sound of an umbrella being put down, and the shuffling of feet on the doormat.

‘Can’t I walk to the station and meet you there, Mum?’

‘Why on earth would you want to walk there in the rain?’

‘It’s brilliant walking in the rain! It’s like a water park! Only it’s in your clothes and you don’t have to pay for it!’

There was a slight pause, as if the elder of the two voices was not entirely sure how to respond to the statement, and then the conversation resumed, more crisp and clipped than before, as if the owner of the voice had given herself a little shake.

‘No thank you. OJS does not need it’s only steward going down with pneumonia just before Christmas.’

‘Ok.’ The voice sounded momentarily chastened, and then perked up again. ‘Can I look at the books while we wait?’

‘Yes, go on.’

‘Brilliant!’

The younger of the two disappeared behind a shelf, and Muriel suddenly realised she was being somewhat remiss in her duties as bookshop-keeper. She hurried forward.

‘You can look at the books too!’

The white-haired woman just looked at her.

‘It’s allowed!’ Muriel explained kindly. ‘It’s called browsing! Anyone can do it!’

The white-haired woman gave a little nod.

‘Thank you for the information.’

(Being helpful was one of the best things about being on earth! Hardly anyone ever needed her help in heaven!)

‘You’re my welcome pleasure!’

‘Excuse me?’

‘Oh! Well you see, often when people say thank you, then the other person says you’re welcome or my pleasure.Sometimes they say other things but those are my favourites. Except you can’t say them both, so what I thought I’d do is find a way to say them both so i can say them both to everyone always! Then I don’t have to choose which one to say!’

‘Brilliant!’

The younger man had reappeared suddenly, as if from nowhere, eyes wide with admiration and Muriel beamed back. No one ever looked at her like this in heaven!

‘Oh thank you!’

‘I’m going to say that to all the passengers!’

‘No you won’t.’ This from the white haired woman who looked, if it was possible, even more severe. She sounded extremely certain, although Muriel wondered how she could be sure. Humans, after all, were so very unpredictable, and there was no telling what they might get up to, if you took your eyes off them for half a minute, whether that was a leaving a perfectly good awning during a downpour or finishing off a sandwich without even noticing the pigeons scratching hopefully for crumbs at their feet.

‘Oh. Well, it’s still brilliant I’ve had it said to me!’

The woman sighed a little to herself and gestured vaguely to the recesses of the shop.

‘Why don’t you go back to the books?’

The younger man suddenly gasped.

‘Oh yes, about that!’ He turned to Muriel, lookin very serious. ‘I’m afraid there’s a problem with your bookshop.’

Muriel furrowed her brow in concern, but she also couldn’t help but feel a tiny thrill. A problem! Not good exactly, but how wonderful it would be if she could fix it! She leaned forwards eagerly.

‘Thank you so much for telling me. Is it on fire?’

The white-haired woman almost choked.

‘What? Why on earth would it be on fire?’

‘Well, statically,’ Muriel explained helpfully, ‘human bookshops like this one, their biggest problem is fire! So I thought that perhaps this one might be. Is it?’

The young man shook his head.

‘Oh no, nothing like that. It’s this. You don’t have White Fang.’

‘Ah!’ Even better- a chance to explain AND a chance to reassert herself as a human! ‘No, you see, that’s because I’m a human bookseller. I have teeth. Look!’

She opened her mouth wide to demonstrate but the young man shook his head.

‘Wow! Shiny! But no, I mean the book White Fang. It’s brilliant! But you don’t have it. I checked in the fiction section and in the nature section and I was going to look in the cookery section, in case someone had gotten confused- because after all, there’s a lot of eating in the book, even though it’s not the humans doing it….but you don’t seem to have a cookery section. It’s not anywhere!’

He looked so concerned that Muriel couldn’t help but feel worried.

‘Oh…should we have it?’

The young man nodded emphatically.

‘Yes! It’s not a bookshop if you don’t have White Fang!’

‘Oh no!’

‘I know.’

There was a pause, as Muriel wrestled with something in her head. Eventually, she said carefully, ‘But this is a bookshop. The bookshop doesn’t buy books.’

‘You sell books!’ put in the young man, looking as if he was rather happy to be doing a spot of explaining himself. Muriel shook her head.

‘Not this bookshop. Can you buy a book for a bookshop? Is it allowed?’

They considered for a moment and the young man rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

‘Oh wow. That’s a really hypocritical question….’

The white-haired woman tutted loudly.

‘No it isn’t!’ She looked as if she was annoyed at herself for listening to their conversation for so long without saying something. She looked at Muriel. ‘Surely you know where you get your stock from?’

Muriel considered and then shook her head. Not really- no one had ever explained, and it had never even occurred to her that the books came from anywhere. Surely the books were just part of the bookshop.

 ‘Well, where did all these come from?’

‘A…friend.’ (Aziraphale was a friend, surely?) ‘I’m looking after the shop for him.’

‘Ah!’ The woman nodded, as if things now made more sense. ‘Well in that case, perhaps you don’t need to buy a copy yourself? Just wait for him to come back and he can order one.’

‘Oh.’ Muriel thought about it. ‘Is that how it’s done?’

‘Yes! Like how only Mum can order the tea and coffee, because once Herc did it and Mum got really cross and asked if he thought we were made of money. And once Douglas did it, and he was gone all morning because he was trying to find more expensive coffee than Herc got and-’

‘Yes, thank you Arthur,’ the woman interrupted. Then, to Muriel, ‘Yes, that’s how it’s done.’

‘He might not be back for a while though…’

(Was Aziraphale coming back? Was anyone coming back? The Metatron hadn’t said and Muriel hadn’t had a chance to ask.)

‘Wait! I know!’ The young man looked suddenly thrilled. ‘While you wait, you should read White Fang! He can’t have read it, or he’d have it in the shop!’

Well, maybe that was true. Aziraphale had read an awful lot of books, but if White Fang was so very important, surely he couldn't have read it? But then something occurred to her.

‘But I can’t read it. There isn’t a copy of it here.’

‘Oh that’s ok!’ The young man rummaged into one of the pockets of his coat and pulled out a very battered paperback. ‘You can borrow my copy!’ He held it out and Muriel took it, reverently.

‘Are you sure?’

‘Of course!’ The young man looked surprised she’d even asked. ‘You can’t tell your friend about how good it is if you haven’t read it, can you?’

Muriel supposed that made sense.

‘Well-’

She was cut off by an exclamation by the woman.

‘The rain’s stopped! We’ll need to hurry or we’ll miss the train.’

‘Ok. Thanks for letting us stand in your shop. You probably read it twice before you give it back, so you don’t forget any of it.’

‘I will.’ Then something occurred to her. ‘But how will I give it back? Should I wait for it to rain again?’

‘You could!’ The young man looked thrilled at her suggestion but the older woman shook her head. ‘Or I suppose I could write down the address and you could post it back. Or! Or you could come and give it back yourself! You could meet GERTI and come flying with us-’ He turned to the woman. ‘Can she, Mum?’

The woman sighed and then nodded.

‘I suppose so. If it’s a short, cargo flight.’

‘Brilliant!’

‘Now we really must be going-’

They were gone before Muriel could say much of anything else: she stroked the cover of the book in awe.

What a day. She was going to get to read the best book in the world, and she’d met humans who could fly.

If every day was going to be this exciting, she rather hoped Aziraphale didn’t come back for a long, long, long time.

[beastlyanachronism]

Snoopadoop the cockapoo, noblest of hounds

[thekenobee]

Cabin Pressure + Poirot (Part 7)

[olympain]

cabin pressure (a-z): ottery st mary

[mjn-air]

- Of course.  And do you so decide?

[theresa-of-liechtenstein]

i imagine herc and linda got off the plane in newcastle with very different opinions about how their positioning flight went (credit to @sircarolyn for the inspiration)

[thebraxiatelcollection]

carolyn and herc + silence, andor leela and romana + starry night? 💙💙

December Prompts 🌟

Carolyn hated the silence.

That’s when the thoughts crept in, the niggling sense of self-doubt and imposter syndrome. At least having Arthur kept her distracted, he talked constantly and that itself was a blessing as well as a curse. As CEO of MJN Air, her job kept her preoccupied every single day for she knew without her, the whole company would fall apart like dominos. Even if she had to deal with the most infuriating passengers, and tweedle-dee and tweedle-dum for pilots who shared one single brain cell between them that passed from one to the other, before flying out of the escape hatch.

“Penny for your thoughts?” Herc asked as he watched Carolyn stare out of the window. They were heading towards Svalbard, just in time for Christmas. It made Arthur very excited as he had been humming ‘We wish you a Merry Christmas’ non-stop since boarding.

Martin and Douglas were flying, and Herc had taken some time out of his busy schedule to fly with her.

She would find that very sweet, if she was a romantic.

Sadly, she didn’t have a shred of romance in her bones.

Despite all that, Herc loved her all the same and she couldn’t fathom why.

“Oh nothing,” She lied, and she tore her gaze away from the window which overlooked a landscape of snow that looked like a child’s Christmas painting, and plastered a smile. “Just thinking when Arthur would stop that awful singing of his.”

“It’s not all that bad,” Herc replied, amused. “It could be worse. You could have Douglas and Martin singing carols.”

“Ugh, don’t start,” She groaned and rubbed the bridge of her nose. “If you start singing, I won’t hesitate to open the emergency doors and throw you out and hope you get eaten by polar bears.”

“You say the sweetest things.” Herc entwined his hand with hers and gave it a warm, gentle squeeze. “This is a holiday for all of us. Arthur might actually get to see a real polar bear out in the wild.”

“Arthur VS the polar bear.” Carolyn chuckled and pictured an excited Arthur in the middle of Svalbard trying to pat the Polar Bears as if they were domestic animals. “I’d pay a handsome money to see that.”

Bing-bong.

“Ladies and Gentleman, Dasher, Prancer, and Rudolph-” Douglas’s voice blared to life on the comm. “We will be aiming to arrive at Svalbard within the next two hours should our Merry God be with us. Under your seats, you will find some crackers that have been placed there by our very helpful elf, Arthur.”

“Crackers?” She arched an eyebrow.

Herc leaned forwards, and pulled out two red and green crackers. “Crackers.”

“And from all of us at MJN Air, we like to thank you for flying with us, and to celebrate Arthur's favourite time of the year, we have prepared this song, especially for him.” Both Douglas and Martin broke out into song. “Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle all the way. Oh, what fun it is to fly our Gerti who is a golden plane!”

The comm cut off and Carolyn shook her head, amused. “At least they didn’t sing the full song.”

“That they didn’t,” Herc smirked, and he offered her one of the crackers. “Shall we?”

“If they don’t have a terrible joke in them, I’m going to sue Douglas.” Carolyn complained, and she grabbed the other end and pulled until the cracker snapped and broke in half. Having a terrible joke in the cracker was even better than the gift.

A blue hat fell out, and Herc picked it up and placed it upon her head like a crown. “A crown fit for a Queen.”

“Oh shush,” Carolyn blushed, but she leaned in and pecked him on the cheek. “Merry Christmas, Herc.”

They pulled the other cracker, and a green crown fell out. This time, Carolyn picked it up and adjusted it on his head before briefly letting her fingers run through his wispy hair.

“Merry Christmas Carolyn.” Herc smiled.

For Carolyn in that moment, all was well within the world.

[mrsmarymorstan]

Me, looking at an M/F couple whose whole thing is that they bicker and argue and to the outside eye look like enemies: You want what Carolyn and Herc have, but you will NEVER have it. Ever. If she wouldn't spend 300€ on a dead sheep just because she knew he would loathe it then DON'T even TALK to me.

[mywingsareonwheels]

Suddenly imagining Crowley and Aziraphale doing their Emma-like matchmaking... only instead of for Nina and Maggie, it's for Carolyn Knapp-Shappey and Herc Shipwright. :D

[ao3-martindouglas]

Almost Lover

Almost Lover

by LtAvaSpitfireRichardson (ThegirlwiththeCessna)

Martine has left for Zurich. Douglas became captain. They so do not need each other.

"Zurich Ground, G-ERTI, request clearance for taxi." "Zurich Ground, Swiss Air Flight 8472, on short final."

The world of aviation is smaller than most think.

Words: 16665, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Fandoms: Cabin Pressure

Rating: Explicit

Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Categories: F/M

Characters: Martin Crieff, Fem!Martin Crieff - Character, genderbend Martin Crieff, Douglas Richardson, Herc Shipwright, Carolyn Knapp-Shappey, Arthur Shappey, G-ERTI, Theresa of Liechtenstein, Original Characters

Relationships: fem!Martin Crieff/Douglas Richardson, Martin Crieff/Douglas Richardson

Additional Tags: Genderbending, Alternate Universe - Gender Changes, Genderswap, Romance, Unresolved Tension, Unresolved Sexual Tension, Age Difference, Size Kink, Idiots in Love, Not Actually Unrequited Love, Angst, Love, Sexual Tension

from AO3 works tagged 'Martin Crieff/Douglas Richardson' https://ift.tt/d9ZLViB

[cabin359]

Cabin 359: Stop it! It’s not funny!

Ottery St Mary

Herc: Well, it’s-it’s muddy and… hilly and… there’s sheep everywhere. Carolyn: So? Herc: I don’t like sheep. Carolyn: Well, you don’t have to like them. You just have to walk past them. Herc: I don’t want to walk past them. Carolyn: Hercules, are you frightened of sheep? Herc: No! No I’m not, no. Carolyn: Baaa. Herc: Stop it. Carolyn: You are! You’re frightened of sheep! You’re frightened of little woolly baa-lambs! Herc: No, no, I am not! Little baa-lambs I can take in my stride. It’s big, mean, hooved, horned beasts that I don’t like. Carolyn: Baaaaa! Herc: Stop it! It’s not funny! Carolyn: If I can just pick you up on a small point there, Herc: It is the funniest thing I’ve ever heard! Herc: It’s not, actually. Why do people always react like this? Carolyn: Yes. Though, of course, now… now I understand the vegetarianism. You fear reprisals. The midnight raid on your house; twelve balaclava-ed ewes with a thirst for revenge, a jar of mint sauce, and a murderously sharp sprig of rosemary. Herc: I’ll see you back at the car!

35: Need To Know

Maxwell: “From a psychiatric standpoint, he remains in outstanding health-" Jacobi: Yeah! See, what I mean? Maxwell: “-Except, of course, for his inexplicable, nearly pathological fear of ducks.” Hera: ...You're... afraid of ducks? Jacobi: No I'm n-! [clears throat] No, I’m- Of course I’m not. Lovelace: Quack. Jacobi: Stop that. Lovelace: Quack! Jacobi: I said stop it! It's not funny! Minkowski: Yeah, uh, not to go against you, Jacobi, but... Maxwell: It's the funniest thing I've ever heard!

[thekenobee]

Jack: What a debauched sloth!

Stephen: My sloth is not debauched!

Jack: Then whose sloth is it?

[jessicamariana]

* ¨•. An OJS Christmas .•¨ *

[mjn-air]

[theresa-of-liechtenstein]

Kataka-takang mahibang ang katulad ko sa iyo Biru-biro ang simula ang wakas pala ay ano? Aayaw-ayaw na ako, ngunit ’yan ay ’di totoo Dahil sa iyo, puso kong ito’y binihag mo!

not to make kundiman about blorbos from my show but. hercolyn :)

[thebraxiatelcollection]

I’m just imagining how wholesome Carolyn’s and Herc’s wedding would be. It would be small, knitted wedding but that’s just the way Carolyn and Herc like it with all their close friends. 

Douglas ironically ends up being best man. Arthur is somehow responsible for the rings, manages to lose them at one point, but finds them with the help of Martin. Martin wears his pilot uniform, even with the ridiculous medals for special occasion, and they even play the lemon game.

Finn McCool III also makes a special guest appearance by greeting the other guests at the entrance of the venue, much to Herc’s horror.

 Quiches are on the menu.