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#omens universe fic
fearandhatred · 4 months
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the very first thing i did in 2024 was go insane aka i slept at 7am and among other things i drew these! they're unrefined and only two panels of a much larger thing i'm doing but since that'll not be done any time soon i thought i might as well post these first
panel 8 of panel 2
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guardian-of-soho · 8 months
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I think Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett must have planned originally for Aziraphale to be involved up in Heaven leading up to when the Second Coming starts, or whatever actually happens in s3. Gaiman’s said he wrote s2 as a bridge to get them to the events of the sequel they’d plotted — and he spends most of it showing us again how they love each other and the world, how close they are to a truly shared life. And then he splits them. It feels like such a shock.
And he said he and Finnemore didn’t know till quite late how to write that bit. So I think that that must have been the decades-old plan. And s6 must have been the only way he could imagine it happening — the only way Aziraphale would ever leave Crowley to rejoin Heaven after everything — only if they promised to welcome Crowley and to offer Aziraphale the power to preserve the world. (Lie that that was.)
So in the end I’m guessing that, since it’s only a second installment/interlude instead of the entire sequel Pratchett and Gaiman envisioned (which would end happily), that’s why they made Crowley confess at the end of this season — so we had one hopeful thing amid the shock. At least we could imagine the eventual happy ending, the finally-together-after-all. It would have been an entirely different kind of crushing if Crowley hadn’t spoken — if he’d broken his heart over Aziraphale leaving in utter silence. That would have done me in. As it is I’m only mostly dead.
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Grab a card. See you Wednesday.
Our favorite therapists from @mouseonamoose
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ingravinoveritas · 6 months
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So, it looks like the SAG-AFTRA strike is finally over which means Michael and David can re-enact this moment and actually just snog for several very long minutes on camera before pulling back and straightening* themselves out and nonchalantly continuing to talk about the kiss in GO 2...
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*As much as it is possible for either one of them to be straight, at least...
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never-let · 1 month
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Crowley and Aziraphaella based on my 18th century fic!
You can read it on Ao3
You can read 1chap, 2chap on tumblr
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4rtificialfolio · 3 months
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It’s complicated, my darling - The Prologue
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“Ada is an operative in the 1940s from Brighton in England, sent over to New York City to work with the Americans, uncovering secrets and spying on potential suspects. She meets a handsome young man, Nick Folio, on the train into the city; little does she know how that moment would change the trajectory of her life”
Parings: Nick folio X OFC
Word count: 1.4K
Chapter Warnings: brief hinting at death, explicit language
Series master list
(see masterlist for overall warnings, chapter begins below the cut)
Ada
May 19th 1941
New York City, USA
8:23 am
Dear Diary,
Spring is coming any day now, the chill has died off and flowers are beginning to bloom, but I’ll say the air here in America feels a bit thicker when you’re not by the sea. Oh, I miss the seaside, Dad says they closed the beaches back in Brighton last year after Dunkirk, it was too dangerous to keep them open. It’s a shame, our Peggy loved the beach. We used to buy her a 99 and take a walk down the pier watching the seagulls nick a chip out of an unsuspecting victim’s hand. This one time, Peggy laughed so hard she dropped her ice cream and made me and the old man march back down the pier to buy her a new one, just to do the walk up the pier all over again. I would give anything to see her smile again but for now, it’s back to business aye? 
Speaking of business, my dick of a boss, John, back in England assigned me a new mission yesterday. Something about money being stolen from one of the precincts in the city? I'm not sure, I haven’t gotten all the details yet but I guess I’ll find out more in today’s briefing at the head office. 
Anyway, must be off. My train into the city should be here any minute now and God knows my grumpy sod of a boss will have my head if I’m late to another meeting. 
Talk soon.
__________________
“Excuse me, ma’am, would you mind if I sit here? All the other seats are taken”
You avert your eyes from the book you’ve been engrossed in for the past 10 minutes; “The So Blue Marble” by Dorothy B. Hughes, a truly riveting thriller novel. Bookmarking your page, your gaze meets the handsome young chap standing before you.
“Oh yes of course, please, sit down” He’s a rather handsome fellow, clean-shaven with his hair slicked with a side part, perfectly framing his chiselled jaw. Heat flushes across your cheeks and you can’t help but feel a little flustered as he takes a seat in front of you.
“Thank you, Ma’am” He extends his arm for a handshake.
“Please, call me Ada”
“A pleasure, Ada” You can’t help but notice his peculiar accent, it appears to be a southern accent of sorts but you can’t quite place it.
“Is that a southern accent I hear- oh sorry, I didn’t ask your name?”
“Ah no, Maryland although I do get that a lot, and no worries. The name’s Nick but everyone calls me Folio” You tilt your head ever so slightly at the nickname, wondering how that came to be. As if he already knew your next question, he smiles.
“My surname Is Folio, there’s another Nick amongst my friends so over time I just became Folio”
“Aah makes sense. Well, it’s lovely to meet you, Folio” You flash a smile, trying your best not to blush too hard.
“Judging by your accent, you’re from England I assume? What brings you to America, New York City at that?”. It’s the dreaded question you always fear to answer. Although you’re trained to lie, to be deceitful, you can’t help but feel a little guilty each time you respond to that question. It’s not easy to live your life pretending to be someone you’re not, half of the time you’re not even sure what’s real anymore; but that’s the job. Everyone is doing what they can to help the war effort, you included and if that means putting up a facade each day, then so be it.
“My family evacuated from England, we would’ve gone to Canada but my brother is deployed here in the States” You feel your heart drop to your stomach. This isn’t a complete lie; your mother and youngest sister, Mary and Agnes, did evacuate from England, but the ship carrying them to Canada took a devastating blow and ultimately sunk; the total casualties are still unknown. No one knows the whereabouts of your brother, Dennis. You received a telegram in July last year to notify that he was M.I.A when he didn’t return to base with his aircrew. So, no, it wasn’t a complete lie but you have to carry the sadness on your own.
“So, what will a gorgeous lady like you be doing in the city? ” He leans forward on the table, raising his left eyebrow. His words make your heartbeat speed up a million miles an hour. Of course, he doesn’t know the real reason you’re in the city but a little fun can’t hurt, right?
“I’m looking around for a job but most businesses are shut and I’m not first aid trained, so that’s pretty much any job out of the question” Another lie.
“Well, I can’t give you a job but If you ever want some company, please feel free to come down to the 13th precinct. I’d be happy to keep you company” His flirtatious manner doesn’t go unnoticed, nothing overly forward but enough to make your face burn up. A high-pitched whistle blows outside of the train and it isn’t until you see passengers standing up collecting their belongings from the overhead shelves that you realise you’ve reached your destination. You both walk off of the train onto the platform, pushing through the crowd of busybodies.
“Well I must be going, I’ve got some job interviews lined up today. It was lovely meeting you, Folio”
“You too, Ada. Good luck with the interviews, I’m sure you’ll find something soon”. Folio, once again, extends his arm for a handshake. Saying your goodbyes, you make your way along the path towards the north exit gate but your attention is averted as you hear that familiar, not-so-southern, voice.
“I hope you take me up on that offer, Ada!”. He bellows. Turning on your heels, you chuckle thinking about the gorgeously mysterious man you just met.
__________________
“Ah right on time Chapman, makes a change. I was beginning to wonder if that pretty face of yours knew how to tell the time” Alfred, your other male chauvinist pig of a boss, says as you walk into the meeting room.
“Morning Alfred, Sir” Oh how you’d love nothing more than to punch his disgusting, smug face, but you need this job and you need the money, especially if you want to get your dad and Peggy over here in the States.
“As John mentioned to you yesterday, he has assigned you a new mission. The higher-ups believe that someone in the 13th precinct is stealing money from their funding-”
“Sorry to interrupt you, sir, but did you say the 13th precinct?” This can’t be possible, surely not?
“For fuck sake Ada, maybe if you spent less time dressing like a whore and more time paying attention you would’ve heard me. Yes, I said the 13th precinct now shut up and listen” Anger rises through your body as he berates you in front of your team, but you take a deep breath, reminding yourself not to give him the satisfaction of a reaction.
“Sorry, sir. Please continue”
“As I was saying, you will be tracking one man. We believe he is acting alone, stealing money to put into an offshore account. You will be working at the precinct undercover as an accountant, you will need to keep track of all the money that goes in and out of their accounts. You’ll be given a written brief with more details. Make sure to read it thoroughly after the meeting ends, if that’s even possible for that empty fucking head of yours. We will go over the target’s name and description so everyone is aware of exactly who the suspect is”. Annie, Alfred’s assistant, hands out copies of the brief around the table.
Flipping over the first page, which details the goal of the mission, you see the name of the suspect.
“Fuck” Is all you can mutter out under your breath as you stare at the page, mouth agape in disbelief.
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me” There’s no denying the name and image that’s staring right back at you. Is this a sick joke? A punishment for leaving your family behind?
“Billy, can you please read out the suspect’s name and character description” A part of you still hopes that you’re imagining what you’re seeing in front of you.
“Nick Folio, sir”
There’s no such thing as fate, but the universe has a funny way of deciding it for you.
________
AN: i genuinely loved writing this first chapter. I hope you guys will love this story as much as me, please let me know your thoughts! also please let me know if you’d like to be tagged for each chapter :)
reminder my inbox is always open if you’d rather send your thoughts anonymously (no fic requests)
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laiqualaurelote · 4 months
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2023 Fic Round-up
This year I wrote seven fics and 108,512 words, which is more than I thought! Here's a round-up
maybe everything that dies someday comes back (The English | Cornelia/Eli | M | 14k)
The post-apocalyptic Mad Max Fury Road zombie AU where David Melmont hires bounty hunter Eli Whipp to track down and retrieve a fugitive called Cornelia Locke.
wins this year's award for: Fic That Fulfils My Childhood Dream (writing a zombie apocalypse)
ain't practical, a world you can't touch (The English | Cornelia/Eli | G | 5k)
The Pushing Daisies AU in which Eli can bring people back to life with his touch, but has tried his best not to until Cornelia.
wins this year's award for: Deepest Cut, Zagged
The Lady With The Recorder Asks The Questions (Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries | Phryne/Jack | T | 6k | WIP)
Modern-day newsroom!AU - Phryne is a star investigative journalist who breaks news as easily as she breaks hearts; Jack is just trying to do his best in the war on error.
wins this year's award for: Fic I Most Regret Not Finishing (I'm sorry!)
constant as a northern star (constantly in the dark) (Ted Lasso | Ted/Trent, past Trent/OFC | T | 10.5k)
The saga of Trent Crimm and his independent ex-wife.
wins this year's award for: Most Surprisingly Popular Fic
all the men and women merely players (Ted Lasso | Ted/Trent, Roy/Keeley/Jamie | T | 50k)
The Station Eleven!AU where the Richmond Players are a travelling Shakespearean company performing in the ruins of a post-pandemic England, and Trent is, despite the apocalypse, still a journalist.
wins this year's awards for: Longest Fic, Fic That Survived The Most Hiatuses, Fic I Am Proudest Of
well-versed in etiquette, extraordinarily nice (Good Omens, Historical RPF | Aziraphale/Crowley | G | 3k)
The Regency heist fic in which Jane Austen, criminal mastermind and aspiring novelist, pulls off the 1810 Clerkenwell Diamond Robbery with the help of a certain demon.
wins this year's award for: Quickest Fic (I wrote it in four days)
speak easy, swing hard (Marvel Cinematic Universe | Steve/Tony | T | 13k)
The 1920s Prohibition era!AU in which Tony runs a nightclub empire, Steve is an aspiring artist and/or questionably undercover agent, Sam and Bucky are bootlegging their way through America and nobody knows what Natasha is up to.
wins this year's award for: Most Historical Research (I watched two seasons of Boardwalk Empire and had to figure out multiple characters' speech patterns, then transpose these to the 1920s. Also I listened to so much vaudeville)
I don't think I will be around as much in 2024, barring unexpected hyperfixations, but I wish you all a glorious year anyway! May your WIPs be finished, your ships prolific and your fandoms full of joy.
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th3t4-s1gm4 · 4 months
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Okay okay Good Omens AU idea
Good Omens x Sweeney Todd
Crowley is Sweeney Todd and Aziraphale is the pie lady. There's also romantic subplot of course !! (Maybe it's more plot then subplot)
Also have some Fanart (not mine, all credits to original creator)
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creapysummer · 23 days
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thinking so much about my good omens circus AU but the one thing I CANNOT manage is a plot
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neverlet · 2 months
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Chapter one of The Queen Of The Dunes
Summary of the fic:
Crowley and Aziraphaella live in a small fishermen village which is surrounded by dunes from one side and from the other by the sea. Everyone knows Crowley who is famous because of his harmless but annoying jokes and everyone knows Aziraphaella - her kindness and her love for telling children her stories.
Every villager is used to see Crowley as lazy and irresponsible fellow, while Aziraphaella tries to open his hidden side.
As they are trying to get to know each other closer, they notice horrible things happening to their village.
Chapter one summary:
Aziraphaella finally meets Crowley in person. Although their first meeting doesn't go quite well, she decides to invite Crowley for a walk, hoping that the this meeting will be more successful.
Word count: 2k
Next chapters will be longer, this one is like an introduction.
You can read it on AO3
This work is based on Lithuanian folklore, mythology and everything is happening in this country, but you don't have to know anything about Lithuania itself in 18th century, as everything is explained.
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the-oaken-muse · 4 months
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A Year in Fanfiction 2024
Hello everyone! It’s the start of a new year, and with that comes new year’s resolutions!
I personally want to try to read more this year, both published books as well as fanfic. I finally made a goodreads account to keep track of my books and wanted a way to track my fanfiction reading too, so with the help of @kinglazrus, King of Spreadsheets, I present to you A Year in Fanfiction 2024: a combination google form and spreadsheet!
All you have to do is fill out the form…
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And it automatically adds a new line to the spreadsheet and tallies how many fics and words you’ve read!
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There’s a space for the title, author, fandoms, summary, characters, pairings, tags, as well as personal notes and a link to the fic, so you can easily find what you’re looking for, whether you read it on AO3, FFN, or tumblr!
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If you’re trying to read more this year, still working your way through all the fics from the last fandom event *cough* @ecto-implosion *cough* shameless plug *cough*, want to make your own AO3 Wrapped at the end of the year, or just think it’s neat 🥔
Click here to make a copy of the spreadsheet
Click here to make a copy of the form  
The form is optional if you’d rather manually input the information into the spreadsheet. Just make sure that you put “Finished” in the Reading Status column, or the formula won’t add it to your word count tally.
If you want to use the spreadsheet and the form, read below the cut for instructions on how to link them.
There doesn’t seem to be a simple way to share them already linked, and there are a few quirks with setting this up, but it’s not difficult.
Step 1: go to the Responses tab of the form and click Link to Sheets.
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Step 2: Click Select existing spreadsheet and find the copy you saved of the A Year in Fanfiction spreadsheet.
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Woohoo! They’re linked! Now this is where things get a little tedious.
You’ll find that you now have two tabs on your spreadsheet, one that has the pretty AO3-inspired formatting, and one that’s plain. The plain sheet is where the form sends your answers.
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Alternate Step 2: Click Create a new spreadsheet, this way the plain sheet and the pretty sheet are separate documents.
Step 3: In the plain sheet, hide column A and delete the blank columns to the right.
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Step 4: In the pretty sheet, click cell B1, hit ctrl+a, right click, and copy. Go to the plain sheet, click cell B1, hit ctrl+a, right click, and paste.
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Step 5: Submit a test response on the form. If you are in edit mode for the form, click the eye symbol at the top to go into preview mode. Your response will appear on row 2 of the sheet.
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Step 6: Select row 3 and drag it back to row 2, bumping your test row down. 
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Step 7: Click cell B1, make sure the formula in orange says $B$3:$B. Repeat with cell C1; the orange formula here should read $M$3:$M and the one in purple should read $H$3:$H. This tells the sheet to start counting at row 3, your first row of fics!
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Step 8: PROFIT!
Feel free to play around with it! Change the theme, the alternating colors, add new categories to the form, make it your own!
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Happy New Year and happy reading! ♥️
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transplantedmate · 3 months
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Writer's Guild Cock Fight: Salt (Fic)
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CW/TW: Explicit M/M sexual content, human AU, pining to lovers, (sensible) amounts of alcohol consumption, explicit discussion of consent. Additional tags on AO3.
Summary: Brief human AU in which they're (hopelessly smitten) coworkers. Anthony is moving on to a different job and Ezra is torn between being happy for him and sad about how much he'll miss him. The gang goes out to a club as Anthony's send-off; pining, confessions, and lots of loving ensue.
This is a GOAD smut war submission, please mind the rating and tags❤️
Excerpt:
He looks over to Anthony on instinct and is surprised to find Anthony looking back. His face quickly morphs into one of concern, and Ezra realises he is crying. 
It won’t be the last time they meet, surely. They can still get lunch every once in a while, or go to the pub on a Friday. They’ve been to each other’s flats, and Ezra’s roommate, Muriel, loves Anthony. Surely they can make it work, keep it going, and maybe one day Ezra will be brave enough to tell Anthony that he is in love with him something fierce. 
But what if they don’t? What if he never gets the chance? 
Anthony deserves to know. Or maybe Ezra simply wants to tell him. 
Anthony’s thumb strokes his cheek. Ezra looks at him with wide, teary eyes. When did he get so close? 
Ezra hopes he’ll stay. 
Do it again.
Read the full work on AO3
My eternal gratitude to betas LemonTart and MissUnderstoodLyrics who helped turn my late-night madness into readable content.
Picture is the view from Millenium Bridge in London, just down the road from the Globe Theatre (taken by me, while slightly tipsy from mead and good theatre). It loosely inspired the bridge scene in Salt.
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welcometololaland · 11 months
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Fic Rec Friday - Round Up Part 2
Thanks to everyone who participated this week - the theme was: rec a fic starting with the same letter as your name / username. I have a list below, but I only included ones people tagged me in or ones I could find from the #fic rec friday tag. If I've missed any, please let me know!
Please read at your own discretion. Heed tags and ratings on each individual fic. Keep yourself safe, friends!
Also PSA - the rec lists were super long this week so i'm so sorry if i have stuffed up a link or accidentally put someone in the wrong category!
911 Lone Star (part 2) (needed to be split into 2 posts this week!)
Sanctuary by @reyescarlos
Say You’ll Remember Me by @myemergence
Searching For A Trail to Follow Again by @sunshinestrand
Seven Ways Back to You (series) by Lolaland (me)
Slowly Becoming Lovers by @morganaspendragonss
So Many Somethings by @iboatedhere
somebody to you by @reyescarlos
Soon by @rmd-writes
snapshots by @sanjuwrites
still we’re holding on by @rosedavid
sweetest devotion by @reyescarlos
Teardrop on the Fire by @carlos-in-glasses
The Many Names of TK Strand by tabbytabbytabby
The Marriage Tamales by @bellakitse
The Ring In by Lolaland (me) and ifyoustay
the ruins of wonderland by @carlos-in-glasses
The Sex Pollen Incident by @hoko-onchi-writes
The Space in Between by @fortunatelydecaffeinateddinosaur
to live for the hope of it all by @strandnreyes
to which there is no reply by @reyesstrand
Two Hearts gone black and blue by paperstorm
Two paper airplanes flying by @liminalmemories21
Vet Pups and Set Ups by @iboatedhere
View from the Top by @bellakitse
What Family Does by AShortWalkToDelinquency
What You See Will Be by @thevenstar
When I dropped my sword I threw it in the bushes and knocked on your door by @liminalmemories21
when I’m like this, you’re the one I want by @thebumblecee
White by @chaotictarlos and paperstorm
Wings Are Frayed by @iboatedhere and @pragmatic-optimist
911
hate to say i spent it all on masquerades by @hattalove
i don’t think that we should have friendly sex, anymore by @capseycartwright
i like you so much (it's kinda gross) by @gayhoediaz
Make it pretty for me. by @snarky-drabbles
Our story's been heartache and wonder by @tails89
The Shift by @popfly
whenever you call me, i'll be there by ipretendtobesane
with every heartbeat I have left by iriswests
Black Sails
i might believe a good deal of it, too by explosiontimothy
Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Raspberry Sherbet by theclaravoyant
Repudiate and Disavow by mystery_ink
Check Please!
A Whole Different Kind of Light by @porcupine-girl
As We Run, We Become by @iboatedhere
at certain times by @parvuls
Chris Chow, Matchmaker Extraordinaire by 42hrb
Cromwell Cinematic Universe (series) by @sincerelyreidburke
Crossed Wires by @lecrivaineanonyme
Theatre Building, Dec. 6 by @cricketnationrise
There Have Been Five Kisses by @cricketnationrise
Good Omens
Take My Hand, Take My Whole Life Too by @thebibliosphere
Inception
Wherever You Will Be (That's Where I'll Call Home) [The DomesticVerse] (series) @gyzym
Loki
A can of josta by @jim-jam-gem
Cold, Cold Heart by @amadness2method
Marvel Cinematic Universe
take it or leave it by kellifer_fic
Merlin
in a field of dandelions by @princess-of-the-worlds
It's Not in the Way that You Came Back to Me by nie_narzekam
Parks and Recreation
It's a Strange Paradise by CongressmanNoJaw
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densewentz · 9 months
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I absolutely adore Crowey and Hanna theyre the sweetest! Could you please tell us more about them? Like how did they end up together, was it accidental child acquisition or something else?
Thank you for the ask!! Tbh i just started going feral about my new little au these last few days so nothing is set in stone yet, but here's my current write-up for how it came about that I'm using for art inspo How post-s2 Crowley ended up with an unhinged Daughter
I'm thinking Hanna is a startlingly young but frequent Group Home (or whatever the UK version of a Group Home is) runaway, and during one of her bolts she stumbles across a spitefully morose Crowley sprawled in the grass at a park telling his tales of woe to some ducks or something. Hanna is pretty precocious and also likes Crowley's red hair and the odd way he sits and she has a favorite duck at that particular spot anyway. one which, as she informs crowley, is a better listener than the big brown one with the mean look about him who once chased her half way to the next bench over.
I imagine Crowley will aim for aloof and miss because he's always been helplessly charmed by weird kids, and will ask why the duck was chasing her in the first place. Hanna'll say it must not have liked her mushroom story, to which Crowley will give an "oh?" and Hanna will plop herself down next to our demon and launch into a passionate rant about her favorite fungi. At some point much later a social worker (or again, whatever the UK version of a social worker is sorry im from the States) will track her down (maybe the park is a frequent spot for her?) and drag her back to the group home. But as it happens the next few times she runs off she bumps into Crowley as well, be it by dumb luck or divine intervention who knows. They'll form a camaraderie and get up to some mischief before she's found again. I imagine she catches on to the demon thing pretty quick (she's as bright as she is nosy and Crowley isn't particularly subtle) and is ecstatic to see Crowley's eyes for the first time (before asking why he has eyelids and if he needs to blink). Eventually he'll ask once why she runs away, and she'll tell him the families that come to adopt kids think she's too odd, too underfoot, that she asks too many questions. so instead of waiting around to be left behind she just leaves. Its not so scary that way, she says. And suffice to say Crowley ends up a little attached and perhaps a little fond and perhaps doesn't want to have to watch the social worker drag this lonely kid away again. So he says if she wants she could maybe stick around. They can be something of a team, maybe. And he won't mind that she's odd, or underfoot, or that she asks so many questions. And that'd be that! Demon hand-wavey adoption goes through without a hitch, and soon Crowley's got a car seat in the Bentley and a tiny green step stool by his plants and a kid on his hip💕 So in short to answer your ask, it was not so much an accidental child acquisition as it was a rather intentional child acquisition
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never-let · 1 month
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Chapter 2 of The Queen Of The Dunes
Chapter summary: Crowley and Aziraphaella finally meet each other. The girl discovers that the village's most famous 'snake' has an interest she never could have thought of him having.
Word count: 5k
You can read it on Ao3
You can read chapter 1 on tumblr
Full second chapter under the cut:
The girl got up early in the morning, before the first rooster crowed and the sun rose, and went about her daily business by candlelight. She washed her face, swept the still fairly new wooden floor and prepared the food, always looking out of the window to see if the sun had coloured the whole sea pinkish red. Almost the same colour as Crowley's hair... 
Scolding herself for those thoughts, she greeted her parents, who stood up and thanked her in a friendly manner when they saw the holiday clothes already smoothed and ready to wear. They were amazed at their daughter's diligence, for levelling clothes was time-consuming. Still wet clothes had to be twisted around a kind of wooden rolling pin, then with a sudden movement the cloth had to be rolled on the table, using a board with a scalloped bottom, and then rolled around the rolling pin back again. This was repeated until the clothes were perfectly smooth, and since metal coal irons didn't do so well with linen, the practice was still popular to their day.
The mother went to check on the animals, while the father sat on the bench and smoked his pipe, looking out the window. Since it was Sunday morning, everyone was preparing to go to the local little church where, although the village population was small, everyone could barely fit on the narrow pews in a small and stuffy room where the only natural source of light was the stained glass window above the wooden head of Jesus, set so that at certain time of the day the sunlight would fall on the altar itself. If there were no candle stands on the sides, people would fall over each other, stumbling over the uneven clay floor, but that didn't stop the faithful from continuing to walk there with eagerness to listen to the priest's long discourse on the past, present and future for which people should be thankful.
Having announced that she was going for a walk, and having met with no complaints - the father considered that his daughter had the right to do what she wanted, for he was completely sure that nothing bad would happen, and Aziraphaella was already a responsible adult, therefore could decide for herself, but it was still nice that she always announced that she was going somewhere.
When the girl went outside, the sun was already peeking out from behind the sea, and the blonde headed towards the dunes without waiting, knowing that the way through the loose sand would take quite some time, and not wanting to keep Crowley waiting - after all, she was the one who had asked the guy to meet her! Even if she had no idea what to talk to him about, or if they'd even find common topics of conversation.
When she reached the top, she began to look around. From here she had a view of the sea that surrounded the spit on all sides, the sandy areas that looked like a desert in sunny summers, the dead dunes, and the green areas that seemed almost grey because of the scant vegetation of mosses and low grasses. Aziraphaella loved this half-island more and more each year, not understanding why some people wanted to trade this life for a bustling life in the city, where you could get lost amongst lifeless buildings and be completely destroyed emotionally without seeing so much nature around you, which allowed the mind to relax.
Aziraphaella sat down on the sand, pulled her knees up to her and dipped her toes under the sand, occasionally spreading her fingers apart and watching the sand scatter between them. She sank into her thoughts and wondered if Crowley would come. It was very impolite of her to say nothing to him at first, and then come over to arrange another meeting. He might have thought she was ashamed of him and didn't want others to see them together. It was actually quite dangerous to meet before marriage, because parents could think that the young people were doing something inappropriate and the lovers would be punished properly, but, after all, the girl didn't know Crowley as a person at all, and the idea that someone would suspect them of doing forbidden things before marriage was ridiculous.
The girl rested her chin on her knees and closed her eyes. The morning sun had not yet warmed up the ground, so it was a little chilly, the wind was blowing behind her, making strands of her hair stick to her face, but she sat relaxed and not paying attention to what was happening, as if merging with nature and becoming a part of it. Where did people who lived in cities go to relax? Were they satisfied with miserable parks with bushes here and there, where you could still hear the noise of people in the streets?
“Are you not afraid to miss the church?”
A voice which came from nowhere, not far from her, made Aziraphaella flinch and open her eyes. Crowley was standing in front of her with his hands on his belt, looking at her with his head tilted to the side. His hair was gathered into a small ponytail, but few strands still rested on his shoulders.
“Not at all," she said and immediately got up from the ground. She did it so abruptly that Crowley didn't even have time to offer her help, causing his eyebrows to rise for a moment, though perhaps that reaction was due to her words. “And you?”
The girl stopped in front of him and tilted her head to the side as well, mimicking the guy's pose. This caused him to smile, baring his teeth slightly, so sly, as if he knew something more. And what to say about that incomprehensible low grunt that Crowley often expressed himself with instead of using words. But, in fact, this manner of reply was understandable to everyone, expressing both the lad's opinion and the emotion he was feeling at the same time.
“You never go to church. I've seen you tending the chickens or sitting at the spinning wheel in front of the house," Crowley said, ignoring her question. The guy was looking her straight in the eye, she was sure of it, even though he was wearing sunglasses. He didn't seem to be accusing her, just frankly perplexed as to how someone like Aziraphaella could skip going to church and, even stranger, how her parents could take it so easily or even allow her to commit such a transgression, even though they were firm believers themselves.
Aziraphaella only smiled modestly at him without saying anything, and, looking the other way, pointed with her hand to the woods in the distance, which led to a cosy shore where no one would find them, and suggested, “We can go there.”
Crowley, who himself had walked round the whole half-island many times, at once realised what the girl meant, and nodded, following her.
“So you don't believe in God?” he asked curiously, knowing that such a question usually sounded very negative and that it was better not to bring up such topics in public, but for him it was not a taboo topic, and Aziraphaella did not seem to mind.
“In one god, no. Gods, yes. I'm a pagan.”
Crowley snorted out something in reply, as if considering her words. He himself did not believe in superstition, legends, or gods, but the answer intrigued him, for paganism had not existed in the country for centuries, and it was incredible that there were still pagans in such a remote land. He hadn't been interested in the subject before, he just knew that it had been the main religion in their country until it was forcibly replaced by another.
“So what exactly do you believe in?” he asked, not knowing how to continue the conversation. At this time they were descending a steep slope, and Crowley held the girl's hand to keep her from falling.
“That every phenomenon in nature depends on a god or a creature. You probably know Austea, don't you? The goddess of bees. Or Gabia, the goddess of fire. There are many of them, big and small, but each one is responsible for something, and if even one of them disappears, the world will fall into chaos.”
Yes, Crowley remembered something like that. Perkunas, Zemyna, Laima... He remembered a few names and their approximate duties, but there were many more. He had never really cared about any of that, but he was curious about how the pagans perceived the world around them, and he decided to test Aziraphaella to see how strong her faith was, for he was a real trickster himself.
As they walked, he looked carefully around and even lowered his glasses on his nose to see better. The girl at that moment was looking at the clear blue sky, which didn't have a single cloud on it. She looked relaxed, and Crowley was sure that he would manage to surprise her properly.
Finally the young man's sharp eyes spotted what he was looking for. He let go of Aziraphaella's hand, which he still held even when the steepest slope had long since ended. Crowley ran down and leaned suddenly towards the ground and seemed to grab something, shrieking triumphantly. Intrigued, Aziraphaella quickened her step to catch up with the guy who now had his back to her.
As she approached, Crowley suddenly turned around and looked at her through the lowered lenses of his glasses. 
“And the grass snakes, hmm? The pagans believed in them, too," he said, as if trying to prove something to her. The young woman only flinched, surprised by the suddenness of his movement, but not at all frightened, looking at the black grass snake with yellow "ears" wriggling in Crowley's hands, trying to escape from his jail of fingers.
“Yes. Pagirnis is a god in the form of a snake," Aziraphaella held out her hands, and after a moment of hesitation - this was not the reaction he had expected, Crowley placed the snake in her palm. Apparently the warmth of her hands calmed the reptile a little, because the creature stopped wriggling and just curled up in a ball. “He keeps the house in order," she laughed and bent down, letting the snake loose and watching it crawl away. “When dad found the grass snake you left in his clogs, I persuaded him to keep it at home, and now I feed it eggs every morning. You mustn’t hurt them, or they will bring you bad luck.” 
Crowley awkwardly looked away when he heard about his prank, but the girl only laughed, noticing his reaction, because she was not angry with him at all and, moreover, she could even thank him for such a ‘gift’.
“Hmm... Other girls are afraid of them..." he finally answered, deciding it was time to change the subject. Crowley looked thoughtfully after the snake, which finally burrowed into the sand and disappeared. “If you hear them squeak, you can be sure they saw a snake”
“Yes, unfortunately, their religion says that innocent grass snakes bring evil…” Aziraphaella sighed and said something she wouldn't dare to say to others. Apparently, Crowley really influenced people... “The Christian god is very cruel... He forces you to believe in him and doesn't want people to have a choice…”
“God has nothing to do with it. It's people who create it and then attack each other if their opinions on religion don't match. That's why I don't believe in them. Too many fights happen over things that don't exist.”
Aziraphaella chose to remain silent. Yes, their opinions didn't coincide, but she agreed that it wasn't worth fighting about it, especially since they had both expressed what they thought, what they believed or didn't believe, so there was no need to go on about it all. It would be awkward if on their first walk they immediately started hating each other.
When silence came, they started walking again, looking at the trees around them and getting closer and closer to the shore. It was a little uncomfortable as each of them sank into their own thoughts, but they were just starting to get to know each other, so they had to accept that sometimes silence would accompany them, and thus awkwardness, because one of them would have to start a new topic that would suit them both.
“So... do you believe... in... something?” Aziraphaella asked timidly, knowing that faith wasn't necessarily religion, and hoping that Crowley understood that too.
The boy didn't answer immediately. He thought for a long time, going over all the options in his head and figuring out if they would be suitable as an answer to the blonde girl who was patiently waiting for him to find the right answer. He knew exactly what she meant, but he didn't know exactly what he himself believed, which was why it took so long. No one had ever asked him a question like this before. He could answer all the questions he had ever been asked in a split second, even if he had to lie, but now that he had the opportunity to just say “no”, Crowley somehow didn't take that easy way out. 
Finally they approached the shore. Aziraphaella, lifting her skirt slightly, sat down on the grass and dipped her feet into the water. Crowley sat down beside her, tucking his legs under himself, and watched the girl move her white feet under the water. Her movements raised the sand, causing several fish to swim up to her, thinking that the raised sand was food.
“Don't believe in the world, believe in fairy tales,” Crowley said after a while and smiled to himself. Aziraphaella looked at him, waiting for further explanation, and tilted her head interestedly. She couldn't say that she had expected such an answer from Crowley, but she was glad that he had decided to keep the conversation going and try to answer her honestly. “Well... you've probably seen me... I often listen to you while you are telling fairy tales to children…” 
“So you like fairy tales?” the blonde asked when he was silent for a long time, thinking about how ridiculous his words sounded and twisting a stalk of grass into a knot because he didn't know what to do with his hands.
“When they're told by you…” Crowley suddenly raised his head and looked directly into her blue eyes, which were almost indistinguishable from the colour of the sky, but actually much more beautiful, because they were full of innocence and enthusiasm. The girl blushed slightly, and now it was her turn to look away for a moment. “Actually, well... Icreatemyownfairytales," he said it so fast that his words strung together, and Aziraphaella blinked a few times and frowned slightly, trying to make out at least one.
“What..?” she asked quietly, still blushing and thinking she should have listened more carefully.
Crowley took a deep breath, realising he'd fallen into a hole he'd dug himself. If he'd kept quiet, he could have avoided all this. Or turned it into a joke, but now it seemed like he was really into it and Aziraphaella wouldn't believe him if he tried to joke about it, saying he didn't really believe in anything.
“I create... my own… well… fairy tales…” he answered very timidly, and would have blushed himself, but the contrast of his red hair with his pale face made it completely unnoticeable.
“Really? Oh, wow! Couldn't you... could you tell me one of them?” The girl even stopped shuffling her feet, ready to catch every word he said as carefully as possible, in case Crowley was shy and spoke again at lightning speed.
The young man opened his mouth, pondering how he could avoid this whole situation and why he had even admitted to it in the first place. If he had remained silent as always, it would have been much better..! However, not only was he influencing Aziraphaella, but she was influencing him as well. Crowley was afraid to admit that all these stories were quite simple and he would not be able to gather a bunch of children around him and tell them in such a way that they would listen to the end. Since he himself could neither read nor write, he often forgot the endings of his own stories, and sometimes they merged into one, and sometimes the names of the characters changed halfway through. In short, Crowley was not the best storyteller, so he decided to get out of the situation as quickly as possible, and fortunately his wits helped him to do so.
“Recently I began to create one…” even a lie like that, told directly to Aziraphaella's face, somehow seemed cheeky to him. “It's not finished yet, so... Well, I can't really tell you all of it yet.”
Aziraphaella nodded, afraid to even interrupt Crowley. The boy swallowed, realising that he was really in trouble now, and began to look around, trying to remain calm. His gaze lingered on the trees, the sea, the sand, the sky... Nothing that could help him think of anything that would be interesting to listen to.
Finally he remembered the grass snake he already had seen and began to think of how to come up with a story about it. Realising that Aziraphaella might not be interested in hearing about the life of the snake and its hardships, Crowley looked again at the surrounding trees. A name immediately came to mind, and the lake finally told him how to begin the story.
“There were three sisters swimming once…” Crowley began slowly, giving himself time to think about what to say next. Aziraphaella seemed to hold her breath, eagerly swallowing his every word and nodding quickly, as if asking him to continue the story. “They were swimming until the sun began to equal the sea…
“At last they climbed out, began to dress, and then... Then the youngest, whose name was Egle, began to shriek... The other two ran up to her and asked her what was wrong. They took a closer look - there was a grass snake in her clothes and it wouldn't crawl away. The eldest wanted to kill it with a stick, but he started to speak…”
Aziraphaella gasped. The young man didn't think that he was telling something interesting, he was afraid that the girl would realise that he was only making up a story now, and perhaps it would become clear when he got stuck in some place and didn't know what to say next, or because or because he was constantly searching for the right words.
“And what did it say?” she asked suddenly, after Crowley had gone silent, maybe for a minute, not realising it at all and just looking down. Why was he ashamed of himself for coming up with such a stupid lie? After all, he usually lied about much more important things.
“The snake, it… it told the youngest sister Egle that if she promised to marry him, he would crawl out of her shirt.”
“And she?..” the girl asked, eyes wide.
“And she... She promised. The sisters said there was nothing wrong with it. In the end, it was just a snake. Whether she promised or not, nothing would change and she won't have to get married. So the snake crawled away, having received the promise, the sisters went home and immediately forgot about that meeting,” Crowley bit his lip, realising how ridiculous it all sounded, but Aziraphaella listened to him anyway, as if he were telling something interesting.
“And what happened next?” No doubt the girl was extremely impressed with what Crowley thought was a silly story, and wanted to know how it ended. Of course, the guy could have said that he hadn't thought of anything else, but he thought he would appear a fool in front of her for making up simple, short, and meaningless stories. He had to think of something else.
“After three days…” suddenly Crowley decided that it was time to really surprise Aziraphaella and show that he really knew how to create tales that could impress with their originality. “Three days later, when Egle was at home with her twelve brothers and two sisters…” Yes, the boy thought, the more the better. “The ground began to shake... When they looked out the window, they saw that in the distance, there were a lot of snakes crawling and wriggling towards them in all sorts of ways, and even the sun seemed to be darkened by their numbers. There were so many of them that it was not clear where one began and another ended. Some big, others small... They started circling round the house, knocking on doors, windows... Her parents, of course, hid Egle, not wanting to give her away.”
“But she promised!..” Said Aziraphaella, surprised at the insolence of the protagonist.
“Would you marry a snake?” Crowley suddenly asked boldly, looking her straight in the eyes again. Apparently his tone was too harsh, because the girl was a little embarrassed, and he quickly added. “I'm sorry. I was just wondering…”
“Promises must be kept…” she said quietly after a while, running her finger over the patterns of her skirt. She wasn't sure if she could marry a snake, or if it was even possible, but if she would promise, she'd keep her promise, because she felt she had to be responsible for what she said.
Crowley only raised one eyebrow in response, but he couldn't say anything. It seemed Aziraphaella really was the kind of person who would marry a damn snake if she had promised it that. He didn't know why he thought that, since the very idea already sounded strange and unrealistic, but the girl was talking about it so freely and openly that it was hard not to believe her.
“So... Of course, Egle's loved ones didn't want to give her to the snakes... So when one of the reptiles spoke up to say that they had come here to take the bride with them, Eagle’s father decided to trick them.” Crowley fell silent, unable to think of a way to trick a group of snakes, so he looked at the girl and asked in a curious tone, as if to give her a chance to guess, at the same time remembering how she used to ask children when she told them stories what they thought about this or that aspect of the story she was telling. Of course in reality he just decided to give himself time to think. “What do you think - how?”
“Well…” she looked off into the distance and pressed her lips together slightly, thinking. “Maybe... her father... took a blanket and hid the lamb in it? And gave it to the snakes…?” - she again looked at him.
Both of Crowley's eyebrows flew upwards, causing the girl to blush even more and stare in the other direction, trying to avoid embarrassment. Aziraphaella had heard a lot of fairy tales, and frankly, she no longer had any issues when fairy tale characters managed to escape some situation in a strange way that wouldn't have worked in reality, such as the one she had suggested.
Crowley realised that his reaction was not quite appropriate (after all, he was the one who had started the story about talking snakes, so the girl's idea wasn't that outlandish), and cleared his throat, trying to think of a way out, because he didn't want to offend the blonde in such a stupid way. He wasn't surprised anymore, but the fact that someone would start hating him because of a simple story he'd made up a few minutes ago made him sad rather than amused.
“Maybe it would have worked, but... the snakes have a good sense of smell, don't they? Or at least they should have... So they'd quickly realise it wasn't Eagle under that blanket…”
“Yes... I think you're right…” Aziraphaella said quietly, smiling with barely perceptible embarrassment. “So how did the father decide to trick the snakes?” 
“Well, maybe he did not exactly trick them… The father told his sons to get pitchforks…”
The girl gasped again, but this time she covered her mouth with her small hand and looked much more surprised, apparently it wasn't hard to understand why the sons had armed themselves.
“Yes, they ran outside and started swinging pitchforks, but it didn't help. There were a lot of snakes in the end… Some curled around the sons' legs, others around their arms, until they all dropped their pitchforks in surrender.” It was obvious that Crowley had vividly imagined the scene of the ‘battle’, so he did not pause and made expressive facial movements, occasionally waving his hand. Aziraphaella smiled, because finally the guy seemed to relax and spoke more freely.
Noticing her smile, Crowley fell silent and cleared his throat, himself smiling faintly. For a moment he rubbed his ear between his fingers, as if thinking, and seemed about to say something, but in the distance he heard the ringing of a church bell - the service was over.
“Oh!.. I must go home…” Aziraphaella rose abruptly from the ground. Unlike the other people who wanted to interrupt her conversation with Crowley, she actually looked sad. “Could you tell me what happened next when we're on our way back?”
“No. It would be bad if you were seen with me," Crowley said seriously, trying to hide how hard it was for him to say it. “Go. I'll stay here a while longer," he added quietly, and leaned his head back, enjoying the warm rays of the sun.
To Crowley's great surprise, the girl sat down next to him again and looked at him expectantly. Confused, the boy stared at her.
“You wanted to continue the story," she reminded him, smiling softly.
Crowley stared at her for a few more moments. Her expression was so sweet compared to the way the others usually looked at him. Even if Aziraphaella was only interested in his stories and not him, the guy was determined to create at least a hundred more for her, and would even try to memorise the names of all the characters so he wouldn't get lost.
“So... Well, the sons have failed... The big reptile spoke again. He threatened that…” Crowley quickly scratched the back of his head and continued. “That they'd kill all their cows and chickens and other animals if... well, if parents didn't give them Egle.”
“Poor souls! But Egle even promised... If I were her, I'd have given up to them by now…” said the girl, even a little worried. It was obvious that she was much more concerned about her family's welfare than her own.
“Really? Would you go outside when there are hundreds... no, thousands of snakes! At least a few would definitely crawl up your sleeve…” Crowley asked with a smile and even leaned forward slightly, reaching out his hand to the girl and moving his fingers, imitating the movement of snakes, so that Aziraphaella realised that he was joking and provoking her.
“They're not poisonous at all!..” she laughed, catching Crowley's fingers and, as if answering his mockery, began to stroke them. “If Egle has enough chickens, she can feed all the snakes with eggs and make friends with them!”
Crowley, even though he was embarrassed by the girl's bold act, didn't want to show it, so he swallowed and took Aziraphaella's hand. It was uncomfortable because he was sitting leaning forward with his arm fully extended, but he liked to see the girl embarrassed and blushing. She didn't seem to be mad or uncomfortable, not at all, in which case he would have let her go immediately and apologised. The blonde probably just didn't expect that their jokes could get to this point.
After watching her reaction for a few more seconds, Crowley moved closer, not letting go of her hand but keeping his distance. He held her fingers as if they were crystal, giving her a choice to let go. Since the girl didn't seem like she was going to answer because she was too embarrassed, Crowley continued his story.
“As you said... Eagle finally decided to surrender on her own so that her parents, sisters and brothers wouldn't suffer… The snakes immediately got out of her way and where the biggest pile of reptiles had gathered, it turned out that they were covering a golden carriage, in which, of course, instead of horses, the grass snakes themselves were harnessed…” That was the first thing that came into Crowley's head, and only when he said it out loud did he realise how silly it all sounded, but it was too late to change anything, especially as the girl didn't seem surprised by this continuation - after all, it was a fairy tale, and in a fairy tale not everything had to make sense.
“And... where did they take her?” Aziraphaella asked after a long pause during which they both stared at their intertwined fingers.
“Erm... this... well... fairy tale, after all, is... unfinished...” The blonde's question threw Crowley off balance a little; he sat back, relaxed and completely forgot that he had to keep thinking of a continuation of a story. He cursed himself in his own head for not being able to think of something else to say to spend more time with the girl. But he wouldn't be called a cunning snake if he didn't immediately come up with a solution to this dilemma. “But, um. I'm gonna keep the story going, right? And that's why we can meet again…”
The girl timidly raised her eyes to Crowley, who looked at her expectantly, afraid that she would refuse, for the villagers might quickly notice that they were both absent and begin to suspect them of the unprecedented. That, of course, would hit Aziraphaella's reputation hard.
“In a week's time. When everyone will go to church again…” she replied quietly, still blushing and averting her gaze.
Crowley nodded. He hadn't expected to meet her earlier. To be more precise, they were seeing each other often, but usually didn’t have a chance to talk, nor that they needed to, but now, at least until he told his story to the end, there was definitely a point in meeting. All that was left was to figure out how to stretch the story out as long as possible so the girl wouldn't get bored.
Crowley got up off the ground and helped Aziraphaella to her feet. She wiped her wet feet on the grass to keep the sand from sticking to them and stood for a moment, spreading her fingers and letting the thin stalks tickle her delicate skin.
“I think we can meet on the same dune… and maybe go the other way," she suggested.
“Yeah, sure…”- Crowley said, a little confused, and tilted his head up, looking up at the sky. Through the small slit between his glasses and his face, the girl watched his squinting brown eyes, which seemed to be searching for something in the wide endless blue. “Well? It would be better if you went back alone,” he said, though he wanted to spend a few more minutes together.
“Yes, I'm sorry... See you later..?” she asked, taking a few steps forward and looking back.
“Yes. Absolutely,” even Crowley himself thought he said it with a little too much confidence in his own success.
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4rtificialfolio · 3 months
Text
It’s complicated, my darling - Series Masterlist
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“Ada is an operative in the 1940s from Brighton, England, sent over to New York City to work with the Americans, uncovering secrets and spying on potential suspects. She meets a handsome young man, Nick Folio, on the train into the city; little does she know how that moment would change the trajectory of her life”
Pairings: Nick Folio x OFC (Ada Chapman)
Genre: Romance, Fluff, Smut, Angst, 1940s AU
warnings: 18+, set during WWII but no explicit details, brief mentions of injury & death, smut, fluff, angst, explicit language
Specific warnings will be used per chapter
* = smut
Character Introductions: pt 1 |
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The Prologue | Chapter 1 |
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