#new good omens content… nature is healing

[worrynoodle]

How much do yall wanna bet there's some stills of the kiss they've kept under lock and key just fuckin waiting for the exact moment to pull them out as the killing blow on all of us sad desperate omenians??

New behind the scenes photos from Good Omens s2

(source / source)

[agerefandom]

Mornings and Knights

Fandom: Good Omens

Characters: Aziraphale & Crowley

Words: 1,800

Summary: The first morning that Crowley wakes up still regressed, after an evening of regression with Aziraphale as his caregiver. (Able to be read alone, but technically a continuation of my ‘Evenings of Eternity’ series!)

Content warnings: Bath time, play-fighting with sticks, and enough fluff to rot some unsuspecting teeth.

“Up you go!” Aziraphale caught Crowley gently, lifting him up towards the midmorning sun. He was cheating a bit, ignoring the gravity that should be pulling them back down to the ground, but he was sure that Crowley wouldn’t notice.

Crowley was laughing, wiggling in Aziraphale’s grasp. He stretched his fingers up towards the blue sky, dark against the shining backdrop.

Aziraphale brought him back down into an embrace, holding him tight. “There’s my little one!” he exclaimed, pressing a kiss to Crowley’s bedhead. Neither of them had gotten dressed before running outside this morning, after a quick breakfast of cereal and a longer cleanup of said breakfast. Crowley had certainly gotten into the spirit of making a mess as a toddler.

“I want to play!” Crowley protested, trying to get out of Aziraphale’s arms.

Crowley didn’t really go in for the baby talk, but Aziraphale could tell how much less he filtered himself. How different he was like this, how open. Aziraphale was amazed every time by how much trust Crowley was putting in him, to take care of him and see this part of him. It had been just over a month since Aziraphale had first raised the topic, only four evenings of exploring Crowley’s regression.

Crowley had taken to it like a duck to water, from finger-painting to playing pretend. Aziraphale was hard-pressed to keep up with his toddler energy, but he admired this new form of Crowley as much as he loved the other lives they had shared together. It was nice to have a natural place with this version of Crowley, each of them constructed to fit the other: Aziraphale the one with snacks and napkins, and Crowley with a mischievous grin and fast-running legs.

“Remember to stay in front of the house,” Aziraphale told Crowley before he let him run off into the field. The backyard was still sizeable, but it dropped off into a sheer cliff that Aziraphale didn’t want Crowley going near when he was regressed.

Crowley didn’t pause to acknowledge the warning as he bolted out of Aziraphale’s grasp into a longer patch of grass. He batted at the fronds that bobbed at the level of his chest, then went into a complicated martial arts routine that flattened a large section of the poor greenery. He flipped between coordination and childish stumbling steps, a contradiction in movement. Aziraphale leaned against the gate and watched him, calling out encouragement every now and then. He loved to watch Crowley play, showing an internal drive and joy that Aziraphale didn’t often see in him.

Crowley was now performing some speech in the center of the grass, attempting to threaten the remaining fronds into submission while illustrating the consequences with punches to the air.

Aziraphale smiled fondly at the sight of Crowley yelling, dressed in a new t-shirt with two crossed swords on front. Crowley, as a toddler, had an obsession with knights and weaponry. Aziraphale was almost convinced that it was adult Crowley mocking him, knowing just how much Aziraphale had hated their days in knightly armour, but Crowley was much too genuinely excited as a toddler to have a nefarious agenda. So there were pledges of loyalty and honor, quests for imaginary treasure.

Aziraphale was thinking about getting Crowley some kind of playset that was themed around knights, but he wasn’t sure if that would be taking things too far. He would have to ask Crowley when he was feeling grown up.

“Help me siege the castle!” Crowley yelled, pointing at the tree in their yard with his newest ‘sword,’ a broken piece of wood that Aziraphale had dulled on both ends with a quiet miracle.

“At your service, my liege!” Aziraphale called, running to his side. “I come with my bow!”

“Good.” Crowley took his position, chest puffed out and sword raised high. “Shoot them all! But don’t hurt them too much.”

“No worries,” Aziraphale assured him. “All of my arrows are covered in sleep dust, and they’ll fall asleep as soon as they’re hit.”

“Brilliant!” Crowley swung his sword around once with a fierce war-cry and rushed at the tree, Aziraphale obediently loosing imaginary arrows over his head at the invisible enemy.

“They’re no match!” Aziraphale called as Crowley slashed at the trunk with his stick. He wouldn’t do any real harm to the tree, Aziraphale knew. And if he accidentally hit too hard, they could always heal it later. They both loved the shade of its leaves too much to allow it wounds from silly games. “You’re too good!”

“None can defeat me!” Crowley cried.

With one last thrust to the trunk, Crowley dropped his sword for a victory lap around the tree, his fists held high.

“The knight victorious!” Aziraphale said, exaggerating a bow. “How can we repay you?”

“No repayment,” Crowley said imperiously. “I do what I do for the good of the chivalric code. As all men should.”

“A noble knight,” Aziraphale nodded. “Truly.”

“Can I have a medal?” Crowley’s eyes came together, and his eyes were wide. Aziraphale laughed, recognizing what writers would call ‘puppy-dog eyes.’

“You may have a cookie, darling one, and that will be your medal.” Aziraphale held out his arms and Crowley jumped into them, curling long limbs in until Aziraphale was supporting his weight entirely. “And a bath for your grass-stained knees.”

“I don’t need a bath!’ Crowley protested, but Aziraphale knew from previous discussions that a bath was something Crowley had been wanting to try for a while. Neither of them usually took baths, able to miracle away any blemishes that settled on them. It would be a new experience for both of them, and all the better for being tried together.

“But don’t you remember the new duck we bought for your bath time?” Aziraphale coaxed as he carried Crowley towards the house. “I think he deserves a chance to float around.”

“Oh, true!” Crowley brightened, squirming in Aziraphale’s grasp until he could wrap his arms around Aziraphale’s neck, nuzzling into his chest. “And will it be very warm?”

“The warmest,” Aziraphale promised. “And you can take a nap afterwards.” The door opened politely for them and Crowley’s shoes unlaced themselves, tucking themselves away in their proper spot. Aziraphale toed off his own shoes and carried Crowley down the hall to the bathroom, sitting him gently on the closed toilet seat.

The running water was calming, sound and steam filling the room as Crowley chattered about the morning and his escapades. Aziraphale sat on the edge of the tub, one hand testing the water’s temperature, smiling and listening to Crowley’s stories. Once the bath was full and warm, he helped Crowley undress and watched him clamber into the tub, settling in with a sigh of contentment. Aziraphale could practically see him soaking up the warmth.

Just as Aziraphale started to wish that the bath was big enough to fit two, there was suddenly enough room for them both. Aziraphale blinked, fairly certain he hadn’t made that happen. Crowley stretched his arms over his head, wiggling back and forth to send waves through the bath, then grinned at Aziraphale, reaching out a hand in his direction.

Aziraphale laughed and started unbuttoning his shirt. “If you wanted me to come in, you could have just said so.”

“You need to wash my hair!” Crowley pointed out, grabbing for the shampoo bottle and making a little sound of surprise when it fell into the bath water with a splash.

“Patience,” Aziraphale said, scooping the bottle up and putting it on the side of the bathtub as he stepped into the warm water. He’d made it a bit too hot for himself, knowing that Crowley would appreciate the extra heat, and his pale skin turned rosy red as the water touched it. He sank into the water carefully, trying not to jostle Crowley. The tub might be big enough for two now, but it was still a bit of a squeeze with Crowley’s long legs. “Okay, lean back,” Aziraphale said when he was settled.

Crowley obediently leaned back against Aziraphale’s chest, and they both huffed a contented sigh at the same time.

The world was full of soft steam and wonderful warmth. Crowley’s familiar sharp lines were pressed against him, head on Aziraphale’s chest and their arms pressed together on the sides of the bathtub. Aziraphale could feel the inhuman heat coming from Crowley’s skin, could feel the lines of his ribs as he breathed. Aziraphale wished they could stay here forever, basking in the water and the intimacy. He wrapped his arms around Crowley, tugging him closer and hooking a chin over Crowley’s freckled shoulder. Crowley nuzzled his cheek against Aziraphale’s, damp hair tickling Aziraphale’s nose.

“I love you very much, little one.” There were no words for the pressing feeling in Aziraphale’s chest, but those would have to do.

“Love you too,” Crowley murmured into the quiet air.

After a moment of silence, Crowley started playing with the water, splashing it between his hands. Aziraphale laughed, unwrapping his arms from around him so that he could play. Crowley didn’t have a long attention span when he regressed, preferring to be moving at any given moment. Sometimes Aziraphale wished he was more interested in cuddles, but he was happy enough to spend the time with Crowley however he wanted to.

The rest of the bath passed in a cycle of suds and rinses, with Aziraphale doing his best to keep the soap out of Crowley’s eyes and give him enough time to play with his rubber duck in between bottles of shampoo and conditioner and bodywash. Crowley liked pushing the duck under the water and then watching it shoot up to the surface, laughing delightedly every time.

“Come on, darling one, out you come.” Aziraphale had some trouble coaxing Crowley out of the nice warm water, but eventually it cooled down enough that he clambered out and into the towel Aziraphale had been holding for the last ten minutes. Aziraphale towelled him off with determined scrubbing, and an unusual gust of indoor wind finished the job, pushing Crowley’s hair into an absurd shape and making him laugh.

Aziraphale carried Crowley back to bed and put him into pyjamas, changing into his own comfortable clothes. Crowley willingly crawled under the blankets, but left the corner turned down in a clear invitation.

Aziraphale hesitated: he’d been planning to do some reading this afternoon, and a nap was not really part of that plan… but Crowley looked so cozy that Aziraphale eventually gave in and climbed after him, wrapping Crowley in his arms and closing his eyes to let the now-familiar darkness of sleep claim him for a little while longer.

[quillyfied]

Mega Good Omens Fic Rec Post 4

I LIIIIIIIVE

99 titles on this list again and once again we have an extra category, and I am pumped that I finally got this one done! Got a lot of holiday overflow but suck it up bc here it comes. As a refresher, the categories are: Jaunts through History/Canon, South Downs, Post-Apocalypse, Bus Ride/Night Before/Heaven and Hell, AU/UA, Soft, Before (exclusive to this list and List 2, meaning takes place almost exclusively Before Canon, as in The Fall/Creation/etc), Touch-Starved/Body Worship/Wings, Bonus, and H/C /Whump/BAMF. Warnings for gore and explicit material present where applicable. I don’t read smut fics but sometimes more adult material sneaks in there.

Mega GOmens Fic Rec Post MASTER

PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF A LINK IS BROKEN OR IF I MISATTRIBUTED AN AUTHOR.

JAUNTS THROUGH HISTORY/CANON

1. You are a Call to Motion – @freyjawriter24 (G, the one where Aziraphale would like to dance but doesn’t. Very sweet and soft and kinda sad, follows Aziraphale through history wanting to dance (specifically with Crowley) until he finally gets to. The pining is so good, y’all.)

2. I love you because I know no other way than this – kriswithakay (T, the one where Aziraphale and Crowley use the excuse of being spectacularly drunk to get in little touches and kisses throughout history. This one is so sad and so full of yearning, the whole time you just wish they would face each other sober. It’s so quiet and beautiful.)

3. A Simple Thing – Sir_Bedevere (T, the one where Aziraphale gives out forehead kisses and Crowley is jelly about it. Continuing with the trend of being achingly sad and tender, this fic packs a wallop in that department. Forehead kisses aren’t always given at the happiest of times, after all. Also Crowley continues his stint as a pine tree and it’s painful.)

4. The Problem with Saints – Lurlur, D20Owlbear, robynthemagpie_writes, Wyvernquill (T and G, the series where it’s Catholic but funny. This series is weird and it’s hilarious and I hope there will be more, because this series goes through some fairly niche Catholic saint stories and the retelling of them featuring the Ineffable Husbands is hysterical. I don’t even want to tell y’all too much about it, just go read them and laugh with me, because they’re beautiful.)

5. When The Things You’ve Planned Need a Helping Hand – Proskenion (T, the one where Crowley and Aziraphale run into each other in the 1920s. Flapper!Crowley being a lounge singer is the centerpiece of this one, which is delightful enough, but throw in some canon-typical friction over the Arrangement and a chance for Aziraphale to come to the rescue, it’s a lovely little romp that has just the right edge of emotional tenderness to take the sting out of said earlier friction. Or add to it. Just depends on your point of view, really.)

6. The Serpent and the Lady – @summerofspock (T, the one where Aziraphale is Lady Fair and Crowley is competing in a tournament for his favor. Has female-presenting Aziraphale still using male pronouns bc that’s just what he’s comfortable with, and definitely, definitely has that Disney animated Robin Hood flavor. This fic scratches so many of my itches—Aziraphale in a dress, Crowley being a dashing BAMF, chivalric courtship, swordplay, armor, hand-sewn tokens of favor. A delicious little diversion, very worth it a++++.)

7.  Sunlight and Water – @themoonmothwrites (M, the one where Aziraphale is a flirty drunk and Crowley has to be the sensible one. M for some racy elements but not explicit. This one is fun but then takes a direct left into Feels Town, which, when coupled with @cassieoh’s art, just makes the whole experience dreadfully unfair. A gorgeous little story, and the ending is just *chef’s kiss*.)

8. Sloth – libbyfay (T, the one where Aziraphale checks in on Crowley after the fourteenth century. This one is a delight, and includes Aziraphale recommending The Canterbury Tales, as well as a back-and-forth about depression versus Sloth and a lot of talking around feelings. Must absolutely be read in conjunction with the next rec in the list, which is something of a continuation. )

9. I have an aungel which that loveth me – HolRose (NR, the one where Crowley follows up on The Canterbury Tales recommendation from Aziraphale and it gets a bit deep. A continuation of the previous rec, and oof, y’all. This one gets hella sad, which hits pretty hard after Crowley laughing his head off about the funny bits in Canterbury Tales. There’s also Feelings, which are desperate and tender and guys they don’t even kiss but it’s still breathtaking. They love each other so much.)

10. (heaven is) a place on earth – rattatatosk (G, the one where Aziraphale nearly loses his bookshop. This takes place during the deleted scene from the 1800 opening of the bookshop, and has oodles of Aziraphale building himself a home and being devastated about nearly losing it. Not a nesting fic in the traditional sense (meaning it isn’t about building a home for himself and Crowley, it’s definitely just for him), but for fans of happy Aziraphale being fluffy and content in his bookshop, here you go.)

11. No other news to report – @argentconflagration (T, the one where Aziraphale is torn up about an assignment. Y’all want Crowley interfering in angelic plans? Y’all want tenderness and holding? Y’all want Aziraphale letting himself be bested? Then stay a while, because this one is a heart-wrecker. Featuring a very sick and very devout child, and female-presenting Crowley.)

12. These Things Were Here – @MajorEnglishEsquire (T, the one where Crowley resorts to snake form to deal with his feelings. This one is long and it’s emotional; Crowley reverts down to being a snake whenever he gets especially bad assignments from Hell, and it’s about him and Aziraphale finding balance and harmony between themselves when Crowley is like this. Very sweet and very tender and very sad.)

13. Crossing Paths – @amuseoffyre (G, the one where Crowley and Aziraphale meet every few years. This is your typical “through the ages” fic but it’s Fyre writing it, and that means it has so much humor and heart and history in it it’s practically like reading deleted scenes of the show. The boys are so in-character and their love is subtle and slow-boiling but there. Highly recommended, absolutely.)

14. apples (per the author’s intention) – @lwtis (T, the one where apples is a recurring theme in their friendship. This one is hilarious and it’s heartfelt and I quite enjoyed it; the bits where Aziraphale is absolutely convinced this is a temptation of some kind are particularly juicy (not unlike Crowley’s backside in a certain pair of trousers). Crowley absolutely knows how to beat a joke to death and he does it with style.)

SOUTH DOWNS

15. up in our bedroom, after the war – @rufeepeach (T, the one where Crowley and Aziraphale need to get away to process things. In this one, they more vacation to the South Downs rather than move there, but them working through the awkwardness of Armageddon’s fighting and gently taking their relationship to its natural conclusion is beautiful and good. It isn’t urgent or desperate, just quiet and understated and organic. A lovely piece.)

16. Somewhere Alive and Green – @thetunewillcome (T, the one where they make a necessary move. This one is quiet and reflective, as a good South Downs fic should be, and though it’s short I think it’s wonderfully healing. Very good.)

POST-APOCALYPSE

17. England’s pleasant pastures seen – @squidsticks (T, the one where Aziraphale has an appointment with a book collector and Crowley offers to drive. Y’all it’s so sweet and, dare I say, uplifting, how much they love each other. Someone drops the “husband” word at some point and someone else has a joyful fit over it and I bet you can tell who does what. There’s also a lot of teasing and the kind of easy banter that comes with knowing someone for so long. V. good.)

18. you have built nests from all my bark – @mutalune (T, the one where Crowley is nesting as an aggressive courting maneuver. This fic is so much fun. Highlights include Michael thinking Aziraphale must have a special connection with the Almighty and trying to emulate his lifestyle in order to have one herself, Crowley getting irrationally jealous over it all and constructing the finest nest known to reality (including cupholders, which I now also want in all my pillow piles), Dagon looking for a very similar thing from Crowley that Michael wants from Aziraphale, and lots of delicious humor and unexpected character interactions. I highly recommend this one if you’re having a bad day.)

19. Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance – @divisionten (T, the one where Crowley and Aziraphale find out how to get around Heaven and Hell and it’s through summons. More of an anthology than a solid story, and it’s such a fascinating universe, liberally layered with overcoming trust issues and adjusting to being in a loving relationship, and it’s Good Food y’all, trust me on this.)

20. That’s Not Funny – cyankelpie (G, the one where they’re exceptionally drunk and Crowley says I Love You and Aziraphale thinks he’s joking. This one is sharper than expected but it makes the moment where they finally have everything out in the open so much sweeter. Lots of protective Crowley and very confused Aziraphale.)

21. Stars – @lyricwritesprose (G, the series that’s a spinoff of Tales of the Them that’s about Crowley and the stars, ostensibly. It’s a spinoff bc it deals with Aziraphale’s point of view, too, and their careful navigation of a complicated subject in Crowley’s history. Very soft and bittersweet.)

22. In Action How Like an Angel – PinkPenguinParade (T/NR/M, the series where Aziraphale stumbles into making some useful wards and then Crowley gets taken. Rated high for safety but the violence is truly not that bad and the sex jokes are very mild. Come for cool worldbuilding, stay for BAMF!Aziraphale, and have some extra bits of Anathema and Newt being very good and helpful friends on top!)

23. Let’s share a drink! – @nohaijiachi (G, the one where Aziraphale gets horribly discorporated and gets his body back fairly quickly thanks to quick thinking and Gabriel being easy to gross out. This one is a bit gross, fair warning, but it’s not too graphic, and it’s hilarious besides. Peak Bastard Aziraphale Hours, this one is. If you like reading about Gabriel getting messed with, welcome to the party.)

24. Metastable – MrsCaufield (Not Rated, the one where Aziraphale is having an existential crisis post-Armageddon. Featuring lots of miscommunication, some mild jealousy, and Aziraphale figuring himself out, which is always lovely to read about. Misunderstandings and two supernatural beings being grossly in love, can’t get better than this!)

25. Taking Steps – @joyandotherstories (G, the one where Aziraphale decides he wants to take salsa dancing lessons and Crowley agrees. Oh, y’all. You like pining? You like awkward touching? Do you perhaps like…faked relationships turning into real relationships? You’d best have a seat and dive into this one, because the payoff is many-layered and just phenomenal. The pride in these idiots not only learning to dance but learning to be open about how much they love each other is so good.)

BUS RIDE/NIGHT BEFORE/HEAVEN AND HELL

26. Introspection and Starlight – d20owlbear (T, the one where Aziraphale has a breakdown and is hold. I seem to have a special taste for Aziraphale breaking down, and this one is Hecking Delicious—it’s a slow break but it’s so achingly tender and emotional, especially once sleepy Crowley gets on the scene. Apologies are made and two very tired beings just hold each other at the end of it all and it’s so good.)

27. The Longest Night – @charlottemadison42 (T, the series where Crowley and Aziraphale are taking slow and important steps. Three fics in the series so far, and each one captures their hilarious and effortless dynamic so well while still paying homage to their quiet love. There are so many cool details to explore, ESPECIALLY in the bodyswap fics, and overall they are a really fun and thoughtful look at how the Night the World Didn’t End could’ve gone. OH AND A FOURTH ONE HAS GONE UP WHILE I WAS WORKING ON THIS LIST and you guyssss so much good content about Crowley’s (Presumably) Foot Thing and Shoes, omg. A treasure.)

28. Last Confessions and Hopeless Loves – @girlwholovesherwords (G, the one where they very neatly and annoyingly slot into their new dynamic. This one is so matter-of-fact and tongue-in-cheek I about died laughing, which is amazing given that it’s less than 3k words. A very good little egg.)

29. Choose Your Faces Wisely – @cheeseandonioncrisps (G, the one where Crowley and Aziraphale set the record straight on how they portrayed each other. This is a fun one based on the very good meta bits floating around (which have been bolstered by Neil Gaiman’s commentary in the DVDs I will have you know) that their performances in each other’s skins is how they see each other and how different that is from how they see themselves and guys it’s so good, I wanted this conversation to last forever and ever.)

30. and I just want to love you, to love you, to love you well – BrinneyFriday (T, the one where apologies are made and kisses are had. Guys it’s so soft. Oh my gosh you guys the tenderness is unreal. There’s Crowley falling asleep in Aziraphale’s lap and there’s deciding they’re stronger together and guys pls it’s so good just read it pleASE—)

AU/UA

31. A Curious Case of Miracles on Marlborough Street – @nihilnovisubsole (M, the one where there might be such a thing as too much of a good thing. M for sexual humor and situations but nothing all that graphic. Y’all it’s the “angels accidentally cast miracles when they orgasm” crack given the serious treatment it deserves, and this fic also wins awards for its brilliant OC angel Sabrael, Keeper of Miracles. The icing on the cake? Beautiful artistic accompaniment to go along with the brilliant writing. Just delightful, a whole entire treat. An afternoon delight indeed.)

32. Too Much of a Good Thing – @yamisnuffles (G, T, the series where Crowley and Aziraphale are both angels and things are a bit different. It’s not fair that yamisnuffles is a distinctive and wonderful artist, they have to be a good writer, too, and be terribly talented at telling a good story. Crowley’s character arc and emotional growth as a disgraced angel cursed to live as a snake for a while is fabulous, and it’s only ramping up, so jump on the train now! It’s a good train!)

33. Measures of Freedom – KazLangston (T, the one where Crowley is an acquisition made by one Mr. AZ Fell. This is one of those “turn left” AUs where they’re still an angel and a demon, they just didn’t meet in Eden. Instead, they meet because Crowley gets himself captured and Aziraphale doesn’t think it’s safe to let a real, dangerous demon loose. Their relationship is very combative and antagonistic but it softens; the emotional journey they go on from clear enemies to clear friends is fantastic.)

34. Somewhere Down Below – jane_with_a_j (T, the series where Aziraphale is captured as an incentive for Crowley to jump masters in Hell. There’s lots of hurt!Aziraphale in this one, as tends to happen to an angel captive in Hell, and an excruciating amount of pining that doesn’t so much counterbalance the angst so much as spice it up enormously. There’s intrigue, there’s a daring escape, it’s radical, folks.)

35. How it Happens – @captainqueernerd (T, the one that’s based on a comic and both are DELIGHTFUL. The fic here is an extension of the comic and so sweet, oh my goodness how sweet it is. The best bits aren’t even when they cover the comic’s events—it’s AFTER that is the real treat. I’ll hand out brownie points to anyone who can find the sentence that made me put down my laptop before I accidentally chucked it while laughing too hard.)

36. mors certissima – @northerntrash (T, the Hades and Persephone AU where Aziraphale is Hades and Crowley is Persephone and they’re all doing their best. This is a super fun one, beautifully written and lovely original lore that has Aziraphale really coming into his own as a god of death and what that means for the wider pantheon and the world. And IT’S ABOUT TO GO DOWN where the fic is at the moment, I’m pumped for the conclusion!)

37. It’s All Greek to Me (that is, Ineffable) – @ulspi (UR, the series where Crowley and Aziraphale are cast in different mythological roles in each fic. This one’s gorgeous, you guys, haunting and romantic and each fic has a distinct flavor that is impossibly good. A beautiful way to spend a rainy afternoon, in my opinion.)

38. The Princess and the Serpent – @longforgottenhymn (G, the one where Aziraphale takes Crowley to King Arthur’s court to get a nobleman off his back and oh no, fake dating becomes real dating, oh no. You think you’re ready for this fic? FOOL. This fic is going to carve you up from the inside out and you won’t even be READY for it even if you know it’s coming. This fic is going to promise intimacy and deliver in terrible, terrible tenderness. I am being melodramatic but THIS FIC. THIS FIC IS SO GOOD. This fic is not what I was expecting and it hits HARD because of that.)

39. Wicked dance – pirripipi (T, the one that’s a royal AU with incredible depth and complexity. Listen, what this fic might lack in polish it more than makes up for in flat-out interesting worldbuilding. The characterization is on point and the nonlinear storytelling is very well-handled. And that ending! So triumphant, so utterly joyful. What a joy this fic is! Just wait until you see the Garden of Eden, it’s SPECTACULAR.)

40. The sun doesn’t set on the shoreline – VinWrit (G, the one that’s a selkie and siren AU. This one feels more like it’s being told in microfiction installments and that’s certainly interesting on its own, but it reads like a horror story and it’s chock full of worldbuilding, and the characterization of Crowley especially just breaks my heart right in two. What a great little story.)

41. An Angel’s Hope – @braver-stronger-smarter (M, the one that’s a crossover with the Kiesha’ra book series by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes and it’s delicious AF. Not sure why it’s rated M, but it does deal with a war and the fallout of dealing with constant violence and death. Explains things well enough that you don’t need to have read the Kiesha’ra to understand what’s going on (or, like, if it’s been well over a decade since you last read it…), and the integration of Crowley and Aziraphale into the main plot of these shapeshifter snake and bird cultures is effortless. Can’t wait to see where this one goes (bc even if it just follows the plot of Hawksong, it’s sure to be an exciting ride). (Side note, read the Kiesha’ra, it’s a good series.))

42. By Grace – @seaskystone (G, the one that’s the little soulmate AU that could. Not very long but still highly impactful in my opinion, featuring Crowley and Aziraphale meeting in heaven and knowing right away they’re meant for each other, but canon still happens as it does. Short and bittersweet and pretty.)

43. The Ones Who Walk Away from Nevaeh – @soft-october-night (T, the one that’s the “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” AU none of us ever even knew we needed but heck if we didn’t get it anyway. If you aren’t familiar, “Omelas” is a short story by Ursula K LeGuin that I absolutely believe you must read in order to get the full impact of this and what the author does with the story with regard to our two boys, it’s earth-shattering. Soft-october-night does it again, just goes and makes outstanding AUs that own my entire soul like it ain’t no thing. Completely unfair.)

44. Take the Fall (What’s a Second Time) – @triffidsandcuckoos (T, the one where Crawly does what it says on the tin. This one includes a nice helping of Crowley suffering from chronic pain as a consequence of taking the blame for the apple business, and some sweet care from Aziraphale, who is well aware it’s his fault. An interesting take and a heartwarming story (even if suffering from chronic pain is the pits and there’s no way around that).)

45. forgotten (but not gone) – @writeonclara (T, the one where their memories are taken and Crowley and Aziraphale still manage to stay away from each other for about .04 seconds. This one has some hard edges and it is a harrowing story about accepting others and yourself, and having faith in yourself and your loved one, but the way they can’t keep their hands to themselves when all the stops are pulled out is frankly hilarious and I commend this story whole-heartedly for committing to that.)

46. It’s Not the Years, it’s the Mileage – @moveslikebucky (T, the one that’s an Indiana Jones AU based on @yamisnuffles’ art. You want Aziraphale doing his best in an Indy role while still being an angel? You want Crowley owning a bar and it DOESN’T suck? You want pining and heartache and hilarity? Park it, then, folks, you don’t even need to know the Indiana Jones films to enjoy it (I certainly don’t and I am aware of this failing, thank you).)

47. or the look or the words – @taizi (T, the one where they just keep getting married and it doesn’t stop from happening. Guys they are literally married HUNDREDS OF TIMES throughout history STARTING AT THE ARK. They are literally so soft and so in love and I am beside myself right now, please love yourself and practice some self-care by reading this fic.)

48. Give me a title, I’ll give you my heart – @nohaijiachi (T, the one that’s a human AU based on fanart and it’s great. Single dad Aziraphale with a cautious past, determined son Adam who is gonna get his dad a date if it’s the last thing he does, utterly besotted Crowley who is excellent at being gentle and also a great beta reader…a surprisingly emotional and fun piece, very good.)

49. what if you fall? oh, but my darling, what if i fly? – Doggoos (T, the one where they loved in Heaven and outside interference tore them apart. I LOST THIS FIC AND SPENT FOREVER TRYING TO FIND IT AGAIN. The one detail that kept me going? Crowley (as Raphael) and Aziraphale exchange jewelry before Gabriel sticks his stupid nose in it and the jewelry is visually stunning and emotionally gorgeous. It’s emotional and it’s fraught and there’s erased memories to contend with but holy COW, y’all. They’re so in love.)

50. Snakes and Stones (the Crowley/Aziraphale Human AU) – @deerstalkerdeathfrisbee (G, the series where it’s exactly what it says it is. The opening fic for this series is where literally everyone in Aziraphale’s dorm thinks his boyfriend is made up and Aziraphale has the enormous pleasure of proving them all wrong. It has great Newt characterization and, surprisingly, Gabriel being likeable, though he has to work for it. It’s fun and a little silly and I adore it.)

51. in the arms of the ocean (so sweet and so cold) – robynthemagpie_writes, agent_of_mischief (T, the one where Aziraphale becomes a lighthouse keeper and Crowley is probably a sea monster. This is a horror story and it’s a love story and while reading it kept me awake at night, thinking about it also kept me very much awake at night. I am the world’s biggest chicken and the spoop is real, friends, but more than that, it’s the horrors lurking in Aziraphale’s past (and probably Crowley’s, I have some theories) that are the heartbreaking bit. Not for the faint-hearted, it goes hard and I have a feeling it’s only going to go harder.)

52. i’ve found a way (a way to make you smile) – @fremulon (T, the one that’s an AU of The Office. Requires no knowledge of The Office but I’m sure it helps. This is one I kept putting off and deeply regret doing so (though, on the other hand, waiting so long to read it meant that I caught up the night before the last chapter went up, so HA). Y’all, it’s so funny and so relatable as an adult stuck in a dead-end job I don’t like, and the romance between Aziraphale and Crowley is so simple and so sweet. I just love it and I love this fic and I want you to read it immediately right now.)

53. I Know Places We Won’t Be Found – FangsScalesSkin (T, the one where Crowley and Aziraphale run away together from the Garden of Eden. I have been waiting for someone to write this forever and it’s finally happening. And it’s got such fun worldbuilding, and their interactions are so cute, and I just love them and want them to be okay and to be married forever and ever.)

54. an imitation of the garden of eden – @dyslexiccrowley (T, the one that’s a D&D-inspired AU. Speaking of AUs that come out of hecking nowhere, here’s one! This one is a really fun adventure, and if you thought me turning the Bentley into a horse in several of my fics was fun, this one beats me out by a country mile and I couldn’t be more gleeful about it because THE BENTLEY IS A DRAGON. I could deffo see the dnd elements throughout but the flavor of it is so unique, I thoroughly enjoyed the adventure and the character moments.)

55. Hell is Just a Sauna – @anthonyjcrowiey (T, the one that’s a “Ten Things I Hate About You” AU. I haven’t seen the film (though I have read Taming of the Shrew and I have been on Tumblr long enough to absorb several gifsets), but this fic was still so good and managed to hook me right in regardless of that fact. I can’t wait for it to finish up, we’re on the emotional crux of the plot and it’s tearing me up how it’s been left!)

56. be mine tonight (be mine forever) – @qorktrees (T, the one that’s a literal “fake dating becomes real dating” AU. Human AU, and these idiots I SWEAR. Aziraphale needs a date for the office Christmas party, Crowley is available and bribable, and of course it ends in their ruse becoming the real deal, this is fanfiction for crying out loud. It happens so sweetly, though, you’ve gotta see this.)

57. Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes – @gigglesnortbangdead (T, the one where Heaven and Hell turn enemies into children instead of smiting. Oh, goodness gracious y’all are not ready for this one. You aren’t ready for the way being turned into a child affects an angel or a demon. You aren’t ready for the myriad ways bb!Crowley is gonna tug at your heartstrings. You aren’t ready for the way Aziraphale is when it finally happens to him. You AREN’T READY. This is precisely why you should go read it right now immediately, to see just how unready you really are. You should take care of that at this exact moment.)

58. Ineffably Yours – SecondHandNews (M, the series where Crowley and Aziraphale choose each other and keep choosing each other. Listen to me: this series is the length of several novels. I have only read the first one, after stumbling on a side-story that was really good and not realizing it was a side-story of a bigger series until I’d finished it. I am planning on reading the rest of the series, which is still updating. I am a little terrified at this titan who has managed to write over 360K words since June in this one series alone. The first one absolutely had me biting my nails and rocking back and forth in an anxious haze, and it’s so tender and so beautiful and SO NERVE-WRACKING. Crowley and Aziraphale learn the Rapture is coming and they just…kinda snap, really. Stop avoiding each other, start choosing each other, and all the twists and turns that comes with it. Just. Really outstanding work, I am an anxious mess but it’s good XD)

JUST SOFT

59. Where to Start – @freyjawriter24 (T, the one where Crowley nearly kisses Aziraphale throughout history like A LOT. Guys you wanna feel the pine crushing into your soul? You want to feel that deep ache of wanting to touch so badly but holding back out of sheer desperate force of will? Read this, prepare to have your knees appropriately weakened from the longing.)

60. A Softer Fall – @themoonmothwrites (T, the one that’s the wall shoving but soft. Bury me in this one, boys, my corpse will rest well for eternity, because holy COW the longing and the fear and the reassurances…my heart is a marshmallow now and it’s this fic’s fault.)

61. for the dancing and the dreaming – @une-danse-macabre (G, the one where Aziraphale proposes. Listen I know this entire section of the post is for Soft Fic but this is Softe Fic and I am not joking even a little bit. Crowley desperately deflecting using humor bc he is so overwhelmed? It’s more likely than you think. Read this, it’s a beautiful little shot of humor and romance.)

62. in candlelight, we dance – SaerM (T, the one where they take a shower together. I have a deep and abiding weakness for bathing fic, and even better, it’s not a sex fic! Just two ineffable partners being tender and washing each other and being together. So sweet and good.)

63. A Pile of Pillows – @waffleironbiddingwar (T, the one where Aziraphale seems to have built a nest during a weekend apart. There’s a few cute nesting fics in this here post but this is one of my very favorites; even has some wing grooming, and lots of teasing and kissing. Very cute!)

64. When the Wind Changes – Star_less (G, the one where Crowley makes faces at babies. Listen. LISTEN. You don’t have to personally like kids to go all gooey over how much Crowley seems to like kids, entirely without meaning to. It’s too cute. Someone call the Cute Police.)

65. with adorations, with fertile tears – waywarder (T, the one where there’s an emotional meltdown while watching a high school production of Twelfth Night. So sweet and unsure and awkward, this one; it’s canon-verse, Aziraphale just drags Crowley to a high school production and then proceeds to very nearly have an angelic aneurysm over trying to hold his hand. If you’ve a soft spot for the Ineffable Husbands quoting Shakespeare at each other, welcome to the party, you’ve arrived.)

66. Sleeping Angel – @whatawriterwields (G, the one where Aziraphale is asleep on Crowley’s chest. It should be noted that this writer wields tenderness like a weapon, stiletto right between the ribs to knock all that breath right out of you, which is a much more gruesome descriptor than I probably should’ve used but YOU GUYS CROWLEY TALKS TO AZIRAPHALE IN HIS SLEEP AND IT’S SO SWEET AND I CAN’T BREATHE.)

67. in so many words – @asideofourown (G, the one where Aziraphale has trouble saying “I love you.” This one made me laugh and “aww” in equal measure, but to get you to click on the link and read as fast as I did, Aziraphale says “thank you” the first time Crowley says “I love you” and I DIED.)

68. A First Christmas, Once Again – lalaland666 (G, the one where Crowley and Aziraphale get to celebrate Christmas together. This one has a fun twist on why Aziraphale dislikes the holidays and a really cute Crowley getting excited for them, and I think it’s well worth reading whether or not you find the December holiday season celebratory or not.)

69. (i love you) as you are – @asideofourown (T, the one where Crowley tries to change to be more like Aziraphale in order to keep him and it’s heartbreaking. Listen, this writer is great and more often than not draws me in bc the dialogue is so good, but this one just crushed my heart into pieces, because Crowley is trying SO HARD and he doesn’t have to but doesn’t realize that he doesn’t have to and AUGH.)

70. the commendation – @forineffablereasons (G, the one where Aziraphale’s ring is itself a commendation from Heaven. This one is short and sweet but it GUTS me every time, just over Aziraphale and how much Heaven screwed him over and failed him by making him feel like the failure. Something this short should not hurt me so much AND YET. Crowley makes it better. Obviously.)

71. the other way round – @forineffablereasons (G, the one where Aziraphale lays in Crowley’s lap instead. Listen we all love it when Crowley puts his head in Aziraphale’s lap but this writer has the right of it, we don’t see it nearly enough the other way round and HHHHGK. The tenderness. The softness. It BURNS.)

72. Every Song in Every Key – @impishtubist (T, the one with the seriously misleading summary. I mean this in the best possible way. Crowley being the one to enjoy the holidays is fun enough, but the true meat of this fic came out of nowhere and it hit me square in the squishy bits. One of the tags is “kid fic” for a little bit of a hint but I shan’t spoil it for you, just go read about Crowley being soft.)

73. shed a sweet light – @areyougonnabe (T, the one that’s not anti-holiday so much as a non-holiday holiday fic. That was probably confusing for you BUT IN ESSENCE: Aziraphale has been around too long to get too attached to any particular holiday (plus time passes so differently when you’re immortal), and attracts the ire of holiday influencers. It gets surprisingly dire, and then delightfully Jewish. Has the exact heart that every holiday story hopes for: quiet, enduring love amidst the chaos. A beautiful little thing.)

BEFORE

74. Unexpected Variables – @seaskystone (T, the one where God keeps having to reset the universe. Hands-down the most hilarious fic on the list just by virtue of God’s impending migraine in dealing with Crowley and Aziraphale, who are so incompetent and I love them so much.)

75. Astralphysiastrics – @wortlby2 (T, the one where Crowley and Aziraphale finally talk about Before. This one’s “Before” elements take place in flashbacks but given that they’re a pretty significant portion of the fic, I put it in this category anyway. Guys this one HURTS, but there’s healing in it, too, which is a beautiful balance. Ends nice and fluffy, which is a good landing after the flashbacks are done tossing you about.)

TOUCH-STARVED/BODY WORSHIP/WINGS

76. To Preen a Songbird – @tiger-in-the-flightdeck (T, the one that’s just some good old-fashioned preening, y’all. Prepare for these idiots being silly and bantering and teasing, because the back-and-forth is so good. SO good. So very, very good.)

77. Life Hurts (But Not With You) – Spider_Lilly (T, the series that’s about Aziraphale letting Crowley preen him. This one takes a pretty serious turn and talks about what happens to angels with slightly more realistic-type wings who don’t have help preening. Fair warning, there’s a bit of grossness with impacted preen glands (which are oil glands) and if you are squeamish I would tread carefully, bc it can get a bit disturbing when Crowley has to help deal with them, but if you like realistic wing care, this is the series for you. Also love. Also pining. Also they’re kind of the same story from different perspectives and the one from Aziraphale’s perspective is SO MUCH WORSE EMOTIONALLY. A good bit of catharsis fic, for sure.)

78. Descent Suspension – @onheil-ferguson (M, the one where Crowley could use some tying up. M for shibari but it’s nonsexual. Book!verse. I apparently have a thing for nonsexual BDSM and bondage, because this fic absolutely took my breath away. It’s very calm and understated and dignified, just feels quiet. A beautiful piece, for sure.)

79. The End (of the Beginning) or A Not-So-Nice or Accurate Guide to Sex on a Stick, By Anthony J. Crowley, Demon. – @fantasticallyobscure (T, the one where Crowley has been trying sex with all the wrong people. Not explicit at all, just has a lot of discussions about sex, which can be off-putting but now you know going in (if the title didn’t give it away). Basically Crowley keeps trying sex with people who have his same physical build and loses his appetite for it, until he and Aziraphale finally get their heads on straight and Aziraphale wants to try it. Some hilarious metaphors and a lot of adorable Aziraphale being jealous, which is a trip. A wonderful little romp, for sure!)

80. You Are Unbreaking (Though Quaking) – @lesbianscrowleys (T, the one where Aziraphale works through his knee-jerk reactions to being touched. A very good little snapshot of healing and working through things while communicating with your partner, and there’s a fun side-story about accepting who you are that underscores the main theme rather well. Crowley is so good and patient and Aziraphale is trying so hard.)

81. A Treatise Concerning Religious Affectations – forthegreatergood (T, the one where there are discussions of religious ecstasy versus regular ecstasy. This one involves more or less orgasming via manipulation of miraculous brain chemistry, and it’s a little bit funky, but you get in the vibe of the fic pretty quickly, I think, the writer is good about setting the tone. And it’s adversarial as all heck, this is a legitimate disagreement Crowley and Aziraphale are having and you feel every weighty second of it. It’s sensual, I think, but not necessarily erotic, and that’s a hard needle to thread and they do it very well.)

82. 451°F – @purple-suits (G, the one after the church bombing where Aziraphale wants so badly it hurts. Guys, oh you guys, the pure need in this one isn’t even really sexual but it HURTS, it is so physical and raw and achey. It absolutely put about five more aches under my skin just from secondhand need. Oh, y’all. Oh beans.)

BONUS

83. Chaos Theory – @themoonmothwrites (T, the series that’s about Adam hitting on Warlock in a bar and then reintroducing him to his old nanny and gardener. This one is 1. prime Adam/Warlock material, and 2. PRIME Warlock/facing his feelings and confronting his past and figuring out his future material. I have the weakest spot possible for Warlock Dowling and this one hits that spot like a LOT.)

84. Through the branches there’s a son that’s always shone – @jessicafish (G, the one with a contented Warlock. This one is a Halloween fic that has the softest Warlock and Crowley interaction of all time, it’s so short but it hits so hard and I must thank it for my life, really.)

85. Love, And Its Interference With The Nature of Reality – @souljellied (M, the one where Adam has a big ole crush and reality is warping for Warlock. M for some saucy makeouts at the start but it’s pretty tame. Guys if the fact that at one point the headlines in a news stand all read “TOP TEN REASONS TO DATE ADAM YOUNG” before Warlock blinks and they all change back to normal isn’t a good enough reason to read this fic then I don’t know what to tell you, it’s so delightfully tongue-in-cheek about Adam’s effect on reality and so funny and so sweet, even if it does end on a note that makes me howl for wanting a continuation.)

86. Slumber Party Summons and Aftereffects – @joyandotherstories (G, the series where Crowley gets summoned by a party of teenage girls and has a very heartfelt, productive evening with them. I dragged my feet on this story for incomprehensible reasons so DON’T YOU MAKE MY MISTAKES. The teenage girls who summon Crowley are so sweet and loveable, each and every one of them, and guys they ship Crowley and Aziraphale so hard when they finally pry Crowley’s life story out of him, with help from some memory projection witchery. It’s so good, y’all, so cute and so fresh. Just the best.)

87. Christmas Delivery – Daegaer (G, the one where Gabriel sends obnoxious Christmas cards and they are the highlight of Heaven’s holiday (to make merciless fun of). It should be noted that these Christmas cards all feature artistic renderings of Gabriel himself. I about died laughing and it’s canon now in my heart. I should not be endeared to the Archangels but here we are.)

88. and i don’t care if you don’t want me (i’m yours anyhow) – shaekspeares (T, the one where Warlock is figuring himself out at uni. This one is complex and deadpan and has such a good representation of Warlock and what he could grow to be, plus that excellent Warlock/Adam content I am always here for and Warlock having a complete meltdown over the idea that his former nanny and gardener were sent by his parents to spy on him, but not that they’re an angel and a demon. This kid has his priorities in order. Well, no, he doesn’t, but it’s fun to watch him get there. And he and Adam have the best dynamic ever, it’s full of friction and no small amount of adversarial energy turning sweet over time. This fic is physically healing to read and we aren’t even done yet. A fantastic addition to the fandom, if just for what Warlock does to the British equivalent of the Young Republican student body.)

89. Demonology and the Tri-Phasic Model of Trauma: An Integrative Approach – Nnm (T, the one where Crowley gets a therapist. I know most of you should know this, or at least have heard of it, but pipe down bc I finally got around to reading it and it’s AMAZING. If you’re a human who’s gone to a good therapist or who needs to, this story’s protagonist is phenomenal. And she’s not static in her own journey, either, she grows and heals along with Crowley, and it’s not linear or clean or simple. Like real life, it has dips and turns and bad patches, but the healing is palpable. A masterwork, truly, just real dadgum good, y’all.)

H/C /WHUMP/BAMF

90. I Don’t Want the World to See Me – @coulson-is-an-avenger (T, the one where they navigate an unexpected boundary concerning Crowley’s glasses. People who flinch every time they read about Aziraphale taking off Crowley’s glasses without permission rejoice: we have a fix-it fic for you. It’s tender in every sense of the word, and shows great boundary communication (y’know after the immediate scare is over), and all around is incredibly worth the read.)

91. Still Waking Up – @sleepymccoy (T, the one that’s trauma recovery with lots of bed-sharing and pining. Friendos if you want to feel every inch of that slow burn, you’ve arrived. This fic is careful and it’s emotionally ragged-edged and it’s just so dang pretty as Crowley and Aziraphale work through their separate issues and come to terms with what it means to them to be together with each other.)

92. Borrowed Scars – dreamsofspike (M, the one where Aziraphale finds out what Crowley goes through when he’s in Hell. M for implied/referenced rape and onscreen torture (and like some heavy petting that gets interrupted by feels). This one’s heavy, y’all, heavier than my usual fare, bc Aziraphale is in Hell wearing Crowley’s body when he finds this out so it’s pretty firsthand. Most of the bad bits are told in flashbacks but there’s also the healing part where Crowley finds out and he and Aziraphale have to have a heart-to-heart about what happened and how it’s never going to happen again. Drags you through the mud but then sets you back on your feet, a very good little number, I thought.)

93. Surviving Hell – @whatawriterwields (T, the series where Crowley’s coping mechanism is to shut down and then that coping mechanism becomes maladaptive in the new world. If you’re like me, you’re used to this writer writing the fluffiest creations known to man, so this foray into deeper territory socks like a cannonball right in the gut. Crowley’s healing process is long and it’s slow, with so much aching tender care from Aziraphale it is physically painful in a way. Can’t wait for it to update, I am INVESTED.)

94. Easier than Air – @a-candle-for-sherlock (G, the one where Aziraphale finally deals with stuff. This is a collection of panic attacks, as a warning; Aziraphale’s entire six-thousand-year life is catching up to him, living under Heaven’s eye and knowing he doesn’t measure up, still trying to be with Crowley even though knowing the danger…it’s a lot on a person, and it all kinda comes crashing down after Armageddon’t. Crowley takes care of him, talks and holds him through it all, and it’s so sweet, so freeing to vicariously fall apart through Aziraphale and be held through it by Crowley. Just. Augh.)

95. So Still I Wait – HotCrossPigeon (T, the one where Heaven locks Aziraphale in a void, basically, for three months, and then dump him back on earth for Crowley to pick up the pieces. Guys this one is part of a “hurt Aziraphale” series and it delivers. Aziraphale is his usual soft, silly self all throughout and that makes it hurt worse when he’s suffering, and downright agonizing when he’s trying to recover. Heaven is horrible to him throughout, and Crowley is so gentle and scared, and honestly I don’t know how I didn’t just keel over while reading it. This takes touch-starved to an extreme that booted it from the Touch-Starved category and into this one, because WOW. WOW.)

96. Flaming Like Anything – @thepoetoftime (NR, the one where any weapon Aziraphale holds flames. This one isn’t silly, exactly, but it is hilarious watching Aziraphale flame things like a stick and an umbrella and then absolutely CREAM his foes with them. Never stood a chance, poor souls. A wonderful read, with a surprising twist near the end I highly recommend savoring, it’s too good a mental image.)

97. Love Seeketh Not Itself to Please – @dietraumerei (T, the one where Aziraphale is hurt by a summoning and Crowley takes him to Heaven for healing. This one hurts on so many levels I don’t know where to begin. There’s the physical hurt—obviously—but then there’s the tension of our favorite reprobates being back in Heaven, and a moment where the rug is pulled that is disorienting and just…hateful, absolutely hateful, but in the weirdest, most relieving way. I cannot explain this to you, you must read it. And then sweet, sweet aftercare, because of course. I wouldn’t recommend it to you if there wasn’t any comfort in it, and this writer in particular has historically done excellently with the comfort aspect; this is certainly no different. It absolutely tickled my fancy.)

98. Cry for Absolution – forthegreatergood (T, the one where a miscommunication causes six thousand years of touch avoidance. Guys. GUYS. Crowley thinks his touch hurts Aziraphale and you know what it actually does? It actually hurts ME, personally, watching Crowley misread Aziraphale’s little gasps and flinches as pain rather than shock. Then they fight about it, and things resolve, but HHHNG. THAT PINING. THAT TOUCH-STARVED LONGING.)

99. White Walls and Dead Air – BabyHoldMyFlower (G, the one where Crowley has to physically take Aziraphale away from the plague. This one lands in this category rather than in the Body Worship/Touch-Starved/Wings category is the sheer (DESERVED) emotional vitriol Aziraphale has bottled up in him, the anger at God and Heaven, and how ragged he is from trying to stay ahead of the plague but just not being able to. Crowley helps, because of course he does, but this fic is the emotional equivalent of being put through a wringer. It’s exhausting and it’s beautiful.)

[thechekhov]

Good Omens Fic Recs

First of all, I’m gonna say that these are probably not ALL the fics I’d recommend, there are more, but I’m trying to keep it comprehensive. 

Fics listed here are non-explicit in nature, though they might contain sexual-ish elements or allusions to sex being had. 

All fics under the cut contain explicit sexual content.

Pre-Apocalypse:

it’s the light (it’s the obstacle that casts it) (5783/Complete)

It's like having a curtain pulled back on something he wasn't expecting to see. A surprise punch-and-judy at an up-scale restaurant, a lobster thermidor when he's ordered an ale.

Crowley's gleefully trying to wrap his head around the fact that Aziraphale is speaking Polari. Because of course he is.

Or: The Patron Saint of London's LGBT Community is real, and he lives in Soho.

two slow dancers last ones out (1658/Complete)

“Do you even know how to waltz?” “No. But you could teach it to me.”

and, so on (8938/Complete) 

Crowley doesn’t remember heaven, but Aziraphale remembers him. 

notes on a theme (4501/Complete)

After six-thousand odd years playing human, Crowley is beginning to suspect they've both gone a bit native.

Nanny Knows Best (series) (32,800/Kinda Complete?)

Being a nanny, that should be simple. Simple. Easy as pie. Crowley wished that were true. (*Warning: this fic contains various depictions of sexual harassment Nanny Ashtoreth has to deal with.)

Wings and How to Hide Them (10134/Complete)

Crowley's been annoyingly in love for six thousand years. What's another lifetime between friends? (*Warning: this fic contains a mild sex scene but it’s not overly explicit, so I’m letting it split through)

When in Rome (series) (3938/Complete)

"And have you?" Aziraphale asked. "Anywhere to be, that is?"

"I don't suppose I do," Crowley said. "Would you like to go to dinner?"

"With a demon?" Aziraphale replied, tipping his head a little, his smile still hiding in his eyes. "I probably shouldn't."

names in history (23468/Complete)

Maybe he’d shown Crowley how to perform a few miracles, but that Crowley had taken to them so well was surely a sign that he wasn’t all bad. And maybe Aziraphale had let himself be called upon to perform a few temptations, but that was just testing the will of the faithful if you looked at it from a different angle.

dream to me (7342/Complete)

“You know, angel. Sometimes I think we’ve been bearing witness to a very great love affair, and we didn’t even notice.”

or: an angel and a demon fall in love. but a bookshop and a bentley do it first.

Linked (15665/WIP)

Crowley allows himself to get caught in a ‘demon trap’. He is now trapped. Oh no. Whatever shall he do.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Post Apocalypse:

Love’s Such An Old-Fashioned Word (2,384/Complete)

There has to be, Crowley thinks, a better word than love.

all i need, darling, is a life in your shape (14,243/Complete)

After everything, Aziraphale and Crowley, by unspoken agreement, begin sharing their lives.

Rip It Up and Start Again (9128/WIP)

After the Apocalypse is averted, an Angel and a Demon go on holiday, which turns into something a bit like retirement... or it would, if there weren't so much unfinished business following them around...

Gourd Omens (11504/Complete)

“Neave is a name I believe and certainly rings a bell but I will have to look up what a cucurbita is - it sounds rather latin.”

“Pumpkin.”

“Yes, dear?”

“Wh-NO not you!”

Aziraphale and Crowley move into their new cottage in South Downs after Armageddidn’t blows over. But of course hellish interference is never far away, and it looks like its target is the local flower show. Can the pair prevent Asparageddon, befriend their neighbours, grow the largest vegetables and win the cup for division B?

A Sky Full of Stars (2575/Complete)

Aziraphale takes Crowley as close to Heaven as they can get, these days.

Salinity (And Other Measurements of Brackish Water) (3455/Complete)

It's an odd thing, getting on after the End of the World. Crowley takes to sea-watching.

dawn on the gates of eden (1262/Complete)

It’s the first day, but it’s an old story.

Slow (9371/Complete)

It started like this: A boy with the ability to warp reality met an angel and a demon and he made assumptions. Aziraphale and Crowley find themselves somehow married. Crowley fears going too fast. Aziraphale forges ahead. Neither know how to ask questions of each other.

it’s a new craze (5541/Complete)

CROWLEY: I try not to make a habit of gratitude, but I must give our appreciation to everyone out there who’s been listening and subscribing to The Ineffable Plan. AZIRAPHALE: Ooh, yes, we’ve become quite popular, haven’t we? CROWLEY: Yeah, just hit number eight on the advice charts … No advertising at all. AZIRAPHALE: Mm. How … miraculous. CROWLEY: … Aziraphale. You did not.

Warning: the rest of these recs contain explicitly mature themes. I’ve tried to tag them to the best of my ability. 

Long Is The Way, And Hard (27081/Complete)

The first time Crawley meets the angel, the celestial being is twisting its shining white robe in its fingers and looking wretched. It hardly spares him a glance as he shifts from snake to human, and Crawley is a touch put-out. It’s taken some practice to be able to do it so fluidly.

#through the ages #gets explicit at the end #soft and emotional sex 

small infinities and all that (13208/Complete)

And there it is, isn’t it? Something they’ve known for a long time, but haven’t named it. Have been too scared to name it. Something that speaks in their bones, in the space between them.

#Crowley and Aziraphale are turned human #gets explicit at the end #soft and emotional sex

The Pleasures of the World/Sleight of Hand (35480/Complete)

Aziraphale's fingers brushed [Crowley's] cheek, then turned his head slowly.

"I'm asking you to think it over," he said, so quietly that Crowley almost couldn't hear him. "That's all."

Crowley's stomach clenched harder. Somehow his hand had gotten ideas again and migrated in the direction of Aziraphale's waist, blindly creeping its way around, forcing the angel to lean slightly forward. This was the sort of thing reckless human teenagers did, or in the very least reckless human adults who hadn't gotten out much and were just beginning to notice how entrancing their bridge partners were.

"Won't take much," Crowley said, and leaned over to kiss him.

#slow burn #buildup of various sexual encounters #Aziraphale and his Hedonism are out for a joyride

The 21st Century, In Which They Finally Work It Out (22379/Complete)

This is light speed in comparison to the last few centuries of their relationship, but Crowley is barely holding on to his patience.

#gets explicit in the end #soft and emotional sex

You, Soft and Only (9400/Complete)

He hadn’t expected a sudden lapful of angel.

“Very sorry about this,” Aziraphale said, and kissed him.

#Aziraphale and Crowley have various sexual encounters through history #get you horny first and break your heart halfway through the story #fem!Aziraphale #fem!Crowley #all sorts of genital configurations and all of it is thoroughly entertaining 

The Better Part of Valour (6204/Complete)

“...the apocalypse has Not Happened and they’ve fallen into queerplatonic (or so they think) bedsharing and Crowley thinks he’s alone in being driven slowly to distraction by it, so he says nothing. Then one night he wakes when it’s still dark, and at first he doesn’t know why, until he hears Aziraphale’s breathing a little raspier than usual, and feels the very slight trembling of the bed.”

#bedsharing #Aziraphale has a Vulva #masturbation #fingerfucking #this one gave me about 5 heart attacks from how hot it was

for let thy efforts be (9337/Complete)

The first time Crowley made the Effort, he was reclining on a very comfortable couch in the dimly-lit confines of a cozy little restaurant in Rome, with his head pillowed upon the breast of an Angel.

#alcohol #nonhuman genitalia #fingering

Surrender (series) (78,828/Complete)

Aziraphale felt the explosion of dark power all the way in London, but had no idea Crowley was involved. When he realizes the demon is missing, Aziraphale goes looking. What he finds is not the lively, wily adversary but a dying snake that barely feels of demonic power at all. The angel can perform miracles, but he can’t heal a demon. Aziraphale has to do everything he can to save Crowley, because an eternity alone on this Earth is as unthinkable as the end of the world was.

#Hurt and Comfort #Near Death Experience #Crowley is a VERY pushy sub #marking/possessiveness #piercings and tattoos done with holy water/blessed objects

[prettywordsyouleft]

New Predictions

Summary: You were frightened so you called Mark as he was the first person who came to mind. Yet you weren’t ready for all that came with seeing your ex-boyfriend again.

Pairing: Mark Tuan x reader

Genre: ex-lovers / angsty-fluff

Warnings: none

A/N: So a few weeks ago I was really freaked out by an incident that happened one night and so instead of sleeping, I calmed myself down writing this. Why do I always use Mark (or Kyungsoo) to self-soothe? Anyway, I held off sharing this until my Christmas content was over!

Word count: 1710

Somehow despite the panic overwhelming you, there was still a small part that felt foolish for ringing his number.

Perhaps it was because you vowed to never do so again. Or the fact that you knew you would be safe now; the police had assured you so.

Still, you were alone and couldn't stop looking over your shoulder, the shivering continuing despite chanting repeatedly to yourself

You were safe, you were safe, you were...

“Y/N?” His tone was laced with confusion and thick with sleep. You could tell you had woken him up, though there was more to it. With your alertness, you were processing it faster than usual.

He wondered why you had called him too.

“I uh, well I know its stupid to still be scared when the police told me it was going to be alright now but I still can't stop-”

“Woah, hang on,” he breathed, pleading with you to stop for a moment, the confusion now altered. Sleep had departed from him with those three words he spoke into the receiver and was replaced with a growing need.

You could hear him moving out of his bed.

Sucking in a deep breath to settle your emotions, you wrapped your spare arm around yourself, searching for comfort. “There was a man standing across the street staring up into my apartment.”

You heard him curse dangerously low, though perhaps that had something to do with the way he was moving. You were certain he had his shoes on and when you heard a jingle of keys, you imagined him heading towards the front door. Finally, he spoke to you. “Keep the door locked until I'm there.”

When the call ended, it hit you then like a wave of delayed emotions. Your hand rose to your mouth to stifle your gasp, pushing it back down, in attempts to disguise your surprise. However, your eyes remained large, round with the realisation.

Of all the people to ring first, you had called your ex.

You moved around the living room floor to your couch and teetered on the edge of it, gnawing on a nail absentmindedly as you processed the fact that Mark was on his way here. Soon, you stood up and returned to the spot across the room once again, eyes peeling out into the street. It was uncanny, you had been frightened to your wits end about the man who had been out there before, but now he was less of a concern than watching out for Mark to arrive. Would he really come? Further, should you let him inside?

Jarringly, you shifted back and forth. From the window to the couch and then the front door, you didn't know what to do with yourself.

Or how you would cope with the aftermath of seeing him again.

The knock on your door was louder than usual, swift and desperate. You flinched, and despite knowing who was there, you looked through the viewfinder before unlocking the door and letting him inside.

It was all too quick.

You couldn't tell who had moved faster, if you had dove into his arms first or if Mark had swiftly taken you within his protective embrace, holding you tightly as you shuddered through your emotions. You rode the waves of tears, gripping onto him and finally feeling safe.

Your limbs grew weak from your ordeal and your body sagged within his grip. And without questioning it, Mark held you up, murmuring into your ear words you longed to hear.

“I have you now.”

“You're safe, I'm here.”

“Lean on me.”

You listened to everything he said, his words fooling you into some pretence that you wanted more than you realised. With his lips pressed to the side of your head, you grew warm, comfort enveloping you completely. This was what you had been searching for earlier when you were alone and attempting to wrap your arms around yourself in a self-soothing manner.

You needed these arms. These words, this long lost level of comfort.

Just how long had you gone around cold for?

At some point, your mind caught up with you again, reminding you that this wasn't something you could have again. Lifting your head away from where you had buried it, you finally looked up at Mark for the first time since he arrived. His expression softened for a moment, examining you much as you were him.

And then he sighed, his eyes growing cautious.

You stepped away, your body feeling foreign on its own after being encapsulated by Mark's warmth.

“Are you okay?”

You could tell he was waiting for more than the story of what happened before, the unspoken nature of the way you both fell apart now lingering in the air. You chewed on your lip, wondering what it was like for him when you both stopped trying.

Still, you chose to avoid it, much like you had his calls until they stopped coming through.

Stepping over to your couch, you laughed awkwardly. “I'm so stupid for ringing you and calling you here-”

“Why? You were scared.” The hardness in his gaze surprised you as did his taking a seat beside you. You fidgeted with your fingers and Mark groaned. “You called me because you needed me, Y/N.”

Because you wanted me.

The unspoken sentence hung between you, silencing you both for a few minutes. You eventually nodded, letting your head drop as a tear slipped down your cheek. It was all you could offer in that moment, unable to say more than your gesture had.

Mark sucked in a deep breath at your admission, raking a hand through his hair, grappling at a way through all this. His own gaze fell to the floor as he spoke. “And I came because you needed me.”

“I'm a big girl though; I should have been able to handle more than this.”

I should be able to get over you.

“Is it so bad to reach out for help? We can't do everything on our own. You know I will always come when you call.”

You knew then he had waited for your name to flash over his phone screen all this time. Glancing up at him, you gauged his emotions as you slowly moved closer. Mark watched you intently, eyes not falling from yours even as he reached out a hand to guide you closer.

Back into those arms that felt like home.

You inhaled deeply, his scent that had long faded from your bed overpowering your senses.

“How did we end up like this?” you wondered genuinely. You could remember the anguish, the loss, the hard pill you had to swallow to separate yourself from him. But you couldn't remember why. What had factored into your inability to connect back then? The fights, the distance, what triggered the cold path you took away from him? It felt immeasurable and so feeble as you looked into his warm eyes, sinking within them like you once did.

Had there been no way through to him back then?

“Can we just stay like this instead?” he asked slowly and you felt his chest tighten with the question. “Can we find us again?”

It was tempting. You wanted nothing more than to fall into these arms and never resurface again. Images of your past flashed by and the echoes of your laughter rang in your ears. You had been happy together.

You could be happy again.

“Do you want to?”

He smiled, a weak chuckle rumbling through his chest where you had positioned yourself. If he had told you that the answer would be in his heartbeat, then you knew he would be screaming out yes to you with how it hammered against his ribcage. Your stomach fluttered, hope building within.

“I came running here as soon as you rang me, remember.”

“I called because I felt too scared to be alone.”

He nodded at you once you lifted up your head, smiling warmly at you all the same. “You could have rung to simply tell me the weather for tomorrow and I would have come over to hear the forecast in person.”

“I felt stupid for ringing you,” you admitted and his gaze narrowed on yours, producing an airy laugh and your cheeks to redden. “I knew why I did but after you hung up, I grew worried. We broke up for a reason, Mark.”

“We did. But that reason isn't enough to deter me from wanting another chance with you. I know you want it too.”

You smiled. Right now, you would take as many chances as you could reach out for to remain at his side.

“I'm sleepy,” you concluded and he chuckled, nodding gently. “And I woke you up before too.”

He didn't reply verbally, it wasn't needed. You both knew when the sun rose tomorrow that there would be a much-needed conversation. Feelings would be displaced and sorted through and hopefully, it would be alright again. Much like his comfort, you could tell he was healing from the loss of you from his side with every touch he made.

Instead, Mark stood up, pulling you up with him. He took the still well-known route towards your bedroom, pulling back the blankets on the side of your bed he knew you slept on. You smiled, slipping under them and watched as he walked around to the other side and got in.

You expected it to be awkward. Uncomfortable. Shared with distance.

Your bodies moved towards each other like a well-rehearsed play, unable to avoid their roles of entanglement.

You smiled. “Mark.”

“Mm?”

“I know what the weather is meant to be like tomorrow, by the way. Do you want to know?”

Even in the dim lighting, you saw his lips spread into a smile. The exhale of his breath that fanned over you anticipated your answer.

He was longing for a good sign.

“It’s mostly sunny.”

“No rain?”

“No, there's no rain forecasted for the next ten days at least.”

Boldly pulling you into his arms, Mark nestled into you, kissing your forehead gently. Your heart soared.

“Good, it looks like all our bad omens may have left us after tonight.”

You hoped his prediction was right.

_________________

All rights reserved © prettywordsyouleft

[GOT7 Masterlist] | [Main Masterlist] | [Request Guidelines]

[catherine-carbon]

There are important things that at some point have the chance of becoming a part of your life -

then, after observing you rather closely, they know it’s not the time. But when they eventually meet you, they are truly welcomed.

That’s my story of how Good Omens found me.

When I was about 13, my cousin recommended me The Discworld Series by Terry Pratchett. I accidentally chose a book that (sic!) didn’t interest me. So the Discworld itself was waiting for me until a colleague of mine brang Equal Rites (or Sourcery, can’t recall) to school. He was spending way too much time on it for the book to be boring - so I asked a little about it. This chat made me read another few books, and I loved the Death saga quickly.

In the meantime, I asked my cousin for some other recommendations. he showed me Good Omens - but didn’t really explain anything.

First, I’ve read the note on the back. As an anxious, christian child, I was rather worried about the content...

Then, I looked at Josh Kirby’s cover:

Unconvinced by the weirdness of Green Goblin Man, I decided not to read it for another 10 years.

About ten years have passed (I’ll always have to be kinda late to the party).

A year and half ago, I’ve seen an early trailer of the show on YouTube. Once again, the weirdness of it didn’t catch with me. The CGI, the UFOs, and the world ending must be too stressful...

A few months later, I’ve watched the trailer again. By this time, I think I’ve seen some fanarts on tumblr and fan-made videos of best scenes. Weirdly enough, this time it... just clicked?

I wanted sooo badly to see the show with my friend (so I was waiting for her to go back home and use Amazon’s 7-day-trial, teehee).

After a few days (weeeks? I lost count...) I was convinced I’ll LOVE the show. I was watching the same fan-made vids over and over (just not to spoil myself the show too much - I believe one of my favourites is still “Crowley’s pointless noises”). I think what really got me was the chemistry between main characters. The sass, the wit, the care and, to some point, devotion to each other. Before the actual watching of the show, I already became fan number one!

The show I loved indeed. Later on, I got immersed in tumblr fanarts. My heart grew and grew with all the fluff I was encountering. Seeing how different persons can find their own thing in this fandom and share it with respect filled me with joy (a big shout out to y’all for warm welcoming of aros and aces!).

I’ve read the posts, the theories, characters’ analysis... After a great hole in my heart left by the end of Sherlock, this fandom finally hit home. I decided to read the book and all additional stuff. Almost a year has passed, and I am still holding onto this fanbase like anything before. I’m terrified of the sole thought of the fandom “burning out”, but my anxiety tells me it is inevitable at some point. I hope I’ll make some friends in here and share just a few pieces of my art before this beautiful ship goes vaguely downwards. But, hey, even the Armageddon got cancelled, right? Going back to the point of “all this”: why do Good Omens matter for me? And why they came in the right time?

I am not that “anxious christian child” anymore. I am an adult person, questioning everything around and within me, trying to get my life together, heal my traumas and reinvent myself. For five years I’ve been constantly learning new things about psychology and improving on my mental health.

Crowley is especially dear to my heart, as he wanted to know. Rejected by others and authorities, he seeks what’s moral and important to him/them.

And lately I’ve been feeling like seeking the truth, the meaning, the purpose - as it’s important to restart yourself once in a while, even if you know you’ll only scratch the surface of a problem! I wish to get rid of what has been oppressing/hurting me my whole life, get rid of the systemic lies, find the beauty and aim of human nature. Build myself again, from scratch. Accept my body, personality, reinvent my faith/spirituality.

That’s what I mean by welcoming Good Omens in my life. Truly a book and a show to live by. It gave me the courage to be who I am supposed to be: a human.

I am forever thankful to Terry, Neil, Douglas, David and Michael, and all wonderful human beings who helped me get a step closer to the truth.

(PS I’d love to make friends... and collaborations! Just let me know)

[kaesaaurelia]

master whumptober 2020 list

Both for my own sanity and because I occasionally get new people dropping by, here are my 2020 planned Whumptober plotlines.  All of these are Good Omens, and they all have happy or hopeful endings, except for the last one, “bookends,” which are two self-contained but connected angsty stories, rather than one storyline.  I reserve the right to change everything if I have a better idea.

There are minor spoilers here, in that future days and themes are listed!

heavenly interrogation completed!  [ao3 link] (Aziraphale/Crowley and Michael/Ligur; mostly Crowley whump.  A lot of physical hurt/comfort and some emotional hurt/comfort.  Set in 1066.)

an agent of the adversary Day One, “Let’s Hang Out Sometime” (waking up restrained, shackled); Crowley whump.

the fun kind of hate Day Three, “My Way or the Highway” (manhandled, forced to their knees); Ligur... whump?  Explicit Michael/Ligur scene, femdom, painplay, consensual but not particularly nice relationship.

not exactly an injury Day Seven, “I’ve Got You” (enemy to caretaker); Crowley is hurt, Aziraphale comforts.  Explicit Aziraphale/Crowley scene, roleplaying/in danger of being caught.

the least dangerous game Day Seventeen, “I Did Not See That Coming” (wrongfully accused); Crowley whump.

the devil’s own luck Day Twenty, “Toto, I Have A Feeling We’re Not in Kansas Anymore” (lost, field medicine, medieval); Crowley is hurt, Aziraphale comforts.

something more serious Day Twenty-Three, “What’s a Whumpee Gotta Do to Get Some Sleep Around Here?” (exhaustion); Crowley is physically hurt and Aziraphale heals him, but also Aziraphale is worried and Crowley reassures him.  Explicit Aziraphale/Crowley scene.

2020 satanic cultists completed!  [ao3 link] (Aziraphale/Crowley; both are whumped.  Set in 2020.)

aside from the kidnapping and the satanism Day Two, “In the Hands of the Enemy” (kidnapped, collars); Aziraphale whump.  Post-Lockdown video/set in actual 2020.

i’m just here for the cult stuff Day Nine, “For the Greater Good” (ritual sacrifice); Crowley whump.

a dull knife Day Ten, “They Look So Pretty When They Bleed” (blood loss); Aziraphale whump.

as a treat Day Sixteen, “A Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day” (hallucinations); mutual whump.

not himself Day Twenty-One, "I Don’t Feel So Well”; Aziraphale whump.  Implied sexual content, implied dubious consent, implied xeno, threat of vore.

overpowering urge Day Twenty-Five, “I Think I’ll Just Collapse Right Here, Thanks” (disorientation); Aziraphale whump.  Sexual content, sex pollen/dubious consent, xeno, threat of vore.

nature is healing Day Twenty-Eight, “Such Wow.  Very Normal.  Many Oops.” (accidents, hunting season); no one is really whumped but Aziraphale is worn out from his ordeal.  Allusion to sexual content and xeno, implication of sex pollen, implication of offscreen violence.

ouroboros Day Thirty-Two, “Kaesa Can Write A Little Monsterfucking, As A Treat”; no whump, just sex pollen-y xeno.  Explicit.

the tower of babel completed!  [ao3 link] (Aziraphale/Crowley; also featuring the Disposable Demons, and Nisroc, a demon OC I wrote about last Whumptober.  Female-presenting Crowley -- although she’s still called Crawly at this point.  Mostly Aziraphale whump.  Set in Biblical antiquity.)

the tower Day Four, "Running Out of Time” (collapsed building, buried alive); Aziraphale whump.  Large-scale/citywide disaster.

let us go down and there confound their language Day Five, "Where Do You Think You’re Going?” (rescue, failed escape); Aziraphale whump.  Large-scale/citywide disaster, potentially screenreader-inaccessible formatting.

charades Day Eight, "Where Did Everybody Go?” (abandoned); Aziraphale whump; grief.

deals and contracts and paperwork fiddle faddle Day Eleven, “Psych 101″ (defiance); Aziraphale whump and also Nisroc whump.  Discussion of pregnancy.

signs and symbols Day Twelve, “I Think I’ve Broken Something” (broken trust); Aziraphale whump.

fire escape Day Fourteen, “Is Something Burning?” (fire); Aziraphale whump.  Body horror, being burned alive.

blackout Day Twenty-Four, “You’re Not Making Any Sense” (blindfolded, sensory deprivation); Aziraphale whump.

hellquake Day Twenty-Seven, “OK, Who Had Natural Disasters On Their 2020 Bingo Card?” (earthquake, power outage); mutual whump, I think.

fine quality copper ingots Day Twenty-Nine, "I Think I Need A Doctor” (reluctant bedrest); mutual hurt/comfort, with a cute fluffy post-canon ending. possession completed!  [ao3 link] (Aziraphale/Crowley; also featuring Beelzebub.  Mostly Aziraphale whump; some Crowley whump.  Set post-canon.)

strange symptoms Day Six, "Please” (get it out); Aziraphale whump.  Body horror, illness, brief respiratory distress, flies.

you catch more flies with vinegar Day Thirteen, "Breathe In Breathe Out”; Aziraphale whump.  Flies, body horror, respiratory distress, vomiting.

backseat driver Day Fifteen, “Into the Unknown” (possession); Aziraphale whump.

impostor Day Eighteen, “Panic! At the Disco” (paranoia); Crowley angst.

one of the classic blunders Day Twenty-Two, “Do These Tacos Taste Funny to You?” (poisoned, drugged); Crowley whump.

how get rid of flies Day Twenty-Six, “If You Thought the Head Trauma Was Bad...”; Crowley whump.

the old beelzebub bait and switch Day Thirty, “Now Where Did That Come From?” (ignoring an injury, wound reveal); Crowley whump, happy ending.

bookends completed! (Crowley + OC friendship-and-betrayal backstory, and Satan/Crowley after the War in Heaven) here’s your shining sword and spear [ao3 link] Day Nineteen, “Broken Hearts” (grief, mourning loved one, survivor’s guilt); OC whump.  Suicide mention/allusion.

the pit is prepared, the fire is made ready [ao3 link] Day Thirty-One, “Today’s Special: Torture” (experiment); Crowley whump.  Satan/Crowley, body horror, abusive relationship.

[fenrislorsrai]

2020 Good Omens fanwork review

2021 continued 2020′s work, so yeah just getting to this now.

The major themes for the entire year:  

WHAT IS SELF? 

CAN YOU EVER REALLY HEAL?

COMPLETED

A Bit Snug- 78K T- hurt/comfort -  “I do need a body. Pity I can’t inhabit yours. Angel, demon...probably explode…”  and then they did anyway!  

How can you deny you are unworthy of love when you are sharing a body with the one you love and thus must direct some of that love at yourself?

Offerings- 69K- E  for VIOLENCE/MAJOR CHARACTER DEATH - Human and supernatural AU- mind the tags. each chapter has author note with additional info on exact type of content- 

As a young man, Anthony saw Death and invited it into his life. Gave it a home. Gave it a life. Bought that time with Death with the blood of others. And now he’s growing older. His last victim nearly took him. Death comes for everyone. Anthony accepts this. Knows he’ll die too. Have to leave Death alone again. And Death can’t accept that. 

An asexual gothic romance on the nature of healing and cycles.

A Receptive Body- G 2K- Aziraphale needs a body. An AUTOBODY will do!  Possess the Bentley, shenanigans ensue.

Playing Possum- T 1K- A young angel fights a demon and he’s sure he’d killed it... he’s about to find out what an OPOSSUM is!

Faithful- G 1K- Aziraphale has never seen Crowley's true form but wants to. Crowley is afraid he won't like what he sees. Crowley doesn't.

Guess the Author- I did 11 Guess the Author prompts of 500 words, which I will not link to all of them! here’s the oldest one, “You Started It!” which is all bickerflirting

A TEAM EFFORT!

Aziraphale’s New Year’s Day- G 7K- Art by me for this historical comedy. Big Bastard energy for Aziaphale!. Featuring terrifying true form!

A Mighty Flame Followeth a Tiny Spark- E 57K- VIOLENCE- Azirphale travels through the circles of Hell to retrieve Crowley-  I did art for this one as well. Muliple paintings.

All the Little Comforts- G 1K- words by me. Aziraphale’s emotional exhaustion makes even the smallest tasks seem too hard. Part of the BT Tower Telephone Event- Hurt/Comfort group

All the Choirs of Hell- G 1K- words by me. Warlock can make his house a little haunted, for fun! - Part of the BT Tower Telephone Event- Warlock Fluff group.

Angelic True Form BISCUIT- E- 1.5K and pictures-  lets make some true form cookies based on MovesLikeBucky’s true form smut.  a delicious edible cookie sculpture.

ONGOING, TO BE COMPLETED IN 2021

Find Your Way- T-76K posted- After getting together post-armageddon they’re trying to figure out who and what they are. Without a Great Plan, they need to try and see a future they can work towards.

Bone Wars- T 46K- Crowley heads to 1879 America to heat up the Bone Wars between two paleontologists with dueling visions of history. Dinosaurs are a joke that they haven’t figured out yet.  But the longer Crowley is here, the more it seems like the joke is on him.

[wanna-b-poet31]

An (at this point certainly more than) 4-part Meta on Good Omens Part 3: The Dubious Coping Skills of Aziraphale

Sooooo! Surprise surprise, I have lots and lots of thoughts on the ineffable husbands and their respective trauma/abuse recovery arcs. Sorry if anyone expected different content from me.

Before I get into how the abuse the ineffable husbands endure affects their relationship with each other or how through their relationship together, they are healing, helping both of them recover their issues, I want to examine their current coping skills.

Aziraphale, the loveable bastard

Aziraphale is many things. Loving, kind, naive, powerful, and forgiving. Which, is why the audience and Crowley love him. He’s so gosh darn good at being good (and a bastard). However, Heaven is a highly emotionally abusive and manipulative place and Aziraphale is traumatized by his experiences. 

God openly admits that interacting with her is like playing a game in a dark room where the dealer is always smiling and changing the rules. Essentially, the “parental” figure is distant, and often unsupportive of the “child’s” needs or thoughts.  I already explain in Part 1 how Heaven’s angels (cough cough Gabriel the asshole cough cough) are explicitly emotinally abusive. 

This is compounded not just by the threat of expulsion, but the reality of it. On no uncertain terms, dissenters (demons) are cast out, ultimately denied the love and care supposedly implicit in being a child of God. They’re all typecasted as evil, bad, wrong creatures unable to do the right thing. Although abuse is a complex, often fluid, mix of manipulation, intimidation, and aggression, the lack of communication and implicit expectation of compliance, breeds abuse and instills trauma.  God’s threats of abandonment, coupled with the intimidation by archangels with their own agenda (see part 1), and a lack of any healthy support system loom low over the head of our favorite angel. 

For example, in the beginning, he already knows the difference between kindness and cruelty; right and wrong; good and evil. Instead of he simply “does” his little rebellious act of giving humans his flaming sword, no questions, no permission, no bureaucracy, just action out of kindness and compassion for these creatures who had just gone against a direct order from God. Aziraphale is doing good at this moment. His only concern is with their ability to protect themselves and their children. He knows that not doing so would put these creatures in harm's way. He doesn’t hesitate, he doesn’t ask questions, he doesn’t doubt himself, he simply acts. 

However, everyone else around him who he is expected to trust, would not think his actions are just. God angrily confronts him, Gabriel belittles him, and the guard preparing him for battle insults and shouts at him (calling him a pathetic excuse for an angel).  This all causes him significant anxiety because of the threat of real loss. Not just of love and home and family, but of identity. Aziraphale’s defining defining defining trait is his joy of helping others and pride at being an angel. He loves being “good”, and damn it is he good at the job (if not a tad naive at times). 

But, several times (with God, Gabriel, and the guard respectively), we see the impact of this decision to give away his sword results in a spike in Aziraphale’s anxiety, fear, and denial. All of which are byproducts of his abuse. Unfortunately, his instinct for deflection from a problem is the perfect recipe for several shots of top shelf levels of repression, his primary coping skill.  

Based on his conditioning, he should have shunned the humans just like everyone else. He should have smitten the demon Crowley and turned his back on humanity. He is an angel, after all, and he can’t disobey orders. But he doesn’t hate them, he can’t hate them. He loves them all. 

Aziraphale constantly shows that he loves hard and honestly. He must have been the only one listening when God said to love all of her creatures because he genuinely wants to help them. But, based on the lack of communication and distinct power imbalance between him and the other angels, he’s not sure HOW to do it all the time. 

He’s constantly fearing that he’ll be punished for his compassion, for his love of humanity. Which, in many ways shows the complexity of his abuse at work. He doesn’t hate Heaven or God, not really, he’s a firm believer that they are the purveyor of good up until it’s obvious that no one (save Crowley) ever intended to treat him like an equal. Instead, throughout the series, he deflects from Heaven’s actions, believes them when they say that demons are evil, that giving his sword away was wrong, that God is unquestionable, that he is soft (read: pathetic). Even, and often frequently, when he knows that the information is wrong. 

 He knows through Crowley that demons aren’t (all) bad. It is evident when Crowley performs miracles for him unprompted, or when they go for lunch, or when they time and time again try to save each other. He also knows he loves Crowley based on the fact that he actively seeks out his companionship and is terrified of someone “destroying” his best friend.

He knows from Pepper and Adam and Eve, that giving humans a way to protect themselves is necessary (even if War is bred from it) otherwise they wouldn’t have been able to survive. 

He knows that God IS questionable ANDD that you should be questioning her because drowning!! a whole bunch of people!! including kids!! is wrong!! and he knows as much when he distances himself from Her choices. 

He knows he’s not soft (even though Gabriel tells him he is) because he’s willing to do the difficult thing when the cards are down, and even then he believes fighting a war is not the solution to Armageddon. Hell, he knows neither killing the kid or going to war is going to solve all his problems. But being compassionate, or young, or naive isn’t a bad thing, it makes him stronger and able to identify with Adams’ fears about being able to stop Satan. 

But just because he can see the truth, no, rather ESPECIALLY  because he can see that this is true, he knows he’s woefully underprepared for any sort of confrontation on his feelings. He doesn’t know how to cope with the mental disconnect between his heart and Heaven. How can Heaven be right if they’re wrong about smiting, and safety, and him, and Crowley? The short answer is they can’t. But, he doesn’t know what to do with this paradox, and the doubt scares him to the core. 

At first, he denies there’s anything traumatic going on. There is nothing wrong with the constant fear of falling by stepping out of line. That there is nothing what’s happening or how Crowley is being portrayed as evil when at best he’s wily. He buys the “there’s nothing to see here” mask of Heaven.  

He is clearly more than willing to internalize the dismissive nature of Gabriel (see parallels between being called soft and calling himself soft). He can excuse the fear tactics of Uriel (just trying to prevent the wily snake from doing bad like demons are supposed to do). He can even rationalize the destruction of Noah, Sodom, Gamorah, and Jesus (all part of the ineffable plan). However, none of it is healthy for him, because it requires him to distance himself from the good he wants to do and the abuse he’s suffering. 

But, once it’s too overwhelming to handle, and the cost of acknowledging that there is a problem with the system is too high, he starts repressing his desires. 

For example, he represses his instinct for action allll the time. Where in the garden he just DID give humans his flaming sword, he has to physically restrain himself from action and calling Crowley the moment he learns the truth about Adam. He goes as far as LIE to Crowley that he’d tell him the news when he got it because he’s unable to coordinate the conflicting ideas that demons are bad, but Crowley is good. Subsequently, he represses his love for Crowley down, because the only supportive thing in his life Also is the biggest thing that goes against everything else he’s been conditioned to believe. 

Whenever there’s a whisper of doubt, he falls back on the dogmatism of “I’m an angel”, as a reason for action or inaction and represses his instinct to do anything about it. But a denial of a problem isn’t solving the problem. Repressing his issues aren’t coping with the underlining abuse that the whole power structure is based on.  

Let’s take the break-up scene where shit had hit the fan. 

The end of the world is coming and Aziraphale KNOWS where the anti-christ is. He’s figured it all out, and he needs to act, the thing he is more afraid of doing than anything else. He acted in the garden, had done what needed to be done, and for his efforts was shamed into denying what he had done, and lied to (almost) everyone about giving it away. He got lucky he didn’t fall then (lying to God and all) and he simply doesn’t have the support system to risk her or Heaven’s wrath. 

So, he can’t just act on it. He doesn’t just go in on a Bentley on fire or run away with Crowley, or even just admit that there’s a problem with heaven. He’s to a point where he’s been conditioned into thinking anything but Heaven’s side is wrong. He’s clinging to the only thing that feels stable when he’s scared. Put simply, he can’t admit that the right thing to do here is to tell Crowley, tell him, fix the problem, or fight Heaven and Hell trying. He’s too afraid of the real consequences. He’s too afraid of being alone, without anyone to lean on. And, it doesn’t help that he’s been manipulated for 6000 years into not questioning procedure. 

But then he’s confronted by Crowley. Crowley tells him (under the assumption they were always on their own side) that if they can’t solve Armageddon they’ll run away together and try their best avoiding the war. But to run away would be admitting that Heaven is >gasp< wrong. That there is a flaw with his home, his family, with God’s plan and he doesn’t have the tools to do that. Sure, by this point he’s questioned everything they’ve told him about Demons, but it’s ingrained into his psyche. He either has to trust Heaven or be damned to hell.  There is no middle ground for Aziraphale. 

So he does the only thing he knows how to do in a traumatic situation. He deflects. He reverts back to 6000 years ago when he should be horrified by Crowley. He says “we’re on opposite sides” and that he doesn’t like Crowley. He says they aren’t friends. He lies. Because it’s easier to lie than to confront his trauma.   It’s easier to lie and say there’s nothing there (it’s easier to repress) than to admit that yes, he wants to run away, he wants to be with Crowley, he wants to be on their own side. It’s easier than the alternative which is a loss of identity and safety. 

All of this to say that his reaction is the consequence of repressing his doubts about heaven and his love for Crowley. He explodes at the demon. He says harmful, hurtful, things to his best friend because he doesn’t know how to reconcile the abusive power structure of heaven and the support Crowley has given him. So, he chooses not to act. He can’t leave. No matter how much he wants to go with Crowley at that moment, his repressed feelings won’t let him. Even as he’s days away from Armageddon, he can’t work through his feelings yet. He doesn’t have the tools or security yet. He doesn’t feel safe.

If he weren’t repressing his actions -- if he would look the abusive gift horse (Heaven) in the mouth -- he would see that Heaven is manipulating him, intimidating him until they get what they want -- war. But, he doesn’t know how to cut the cord, or to do the right thing without falling. And falling, without anyone to catch him, is too scary, too daunting. He’s traumatized into believing the only one capable of loving him, even if it’s conditionally, is Heaven and God, and losing that support is out of the question. What he doesn’t realize is that Crowley is head over heels in love with him, and (even if he weren’t in love) prepared to catch Aziraphale from falling. 

Because it’s always Crowley. It is only Crowley -- the supposedly “bad” character -- who supports him about the sword. Only Crowley reassures him his actions and justifications are valid and soothes his anxiety, reaffirming that his position matters. For all the fanfare Crowley makes about being “not nice”, or jabs at Aziraphale’s love of magic, he never once belittles his angel. Sure, there’s light-hearted banter, but nothing he says really has a bite to it. Nothing he does is to harm or degrade Aziraphale.  There’s mutual respect, care, and active love oozing off of Crowley towards Aziraphale. 

The only caveat is that due to Crowley’s own dubious coping skills (see next installment) he clashes with Aziraphale’s understanding of the world at the park.  Consequently, it and makes Aziraphale’s coming to terms with his own Heavenly abuse harder, because he can’t be sure Crowley will be there to catch him. 

It is not until he tries to go to the top, go directly to God, and met with indifference, and then is confronted by the guard who tells him he’s pathetic does he realize that there is, in fact, a problem with the way he’s being treated and the way the system is built to fail. It’s built to harm humanity and destroy everything Angels are supposed to love. It is until he cannot deny it any longer, or risk everything he’s trying to say, that he finally stops repressing his instincts AND HE GOES. He leaves Heaven, a man on a mission style. And it’s not that he falls so much, that he jumps. 

The terror of falling is the lack of control and concent. If he’s pushed, falling backward into the hellfire, he loses his identity, he loses his home, and he loses his only sense of self. If he jumps, however, he’s on his own terms (for the first time in the whole blessed series) and he can make choices about who is in his life and how. If he jumps, he’s not at the mercy of his distant “parent” or his blood-lust fellow angels.  In short, if he jumps, he’s free of the power imposed onto him. If he jumps he’s able to make his own decisions. If he jumps he’ll end up with Crowley. 

So he jumps. 

The bottom line is that repressing his behaviors is harmful to his own mental health and nearly destroys the only meaningful, and unconditional relationship he has. Since the dawn of time, and perhaps before then, Heaven has made it perfectly clear that he is disposable. Aziraphale is just another name on a roster who is causing too much trouble for the strict dogma of Heaven, Gabriel, and God. Those in charge treat him like a half-rate idiot who is missing the point of their war because he’s soft, or naive, or too human. They all treat him as lesser because he’s different, and believe they hold all the power over him.

Which brings me to the whole point of unpacking how Aziraphale fails at coping with trauma. Equality. When he goes to heaven with his news, he’s met with dismissive coddling and outright insult. When he >spoiler< masquerades as Crowley, he is 3 against 1, horribly outnumbered, and not expected (well Crowly’s not expected) to get through the “trial” alive. God herself literally speaks down to him when asking about his sword. There is, ultimately, no winning for Aziraphale in Heaven or Hell’s systems. He has to cobble together his own side to truly be able to move forward and past the trauma. 

AND there is ONLY 1 single character in the whole series sees eye to eye with Aziraphale (quite literally). Only 1 character who treats him as an equal on the same level. 1 person who recognizes Aziraphale as a force to be reckoned with in his own right, and someone who is so worthy of love and trust without question. 

Crowley. 

It is only when he is fully vulnerable to Crowley, that he can stop repressing his doubts and, as it were, put all of his cards on the table. Once Heaven shows its hand, it is painfully obvious that no one ever intended to help or support Aziraphale’s efforts to save humanity. Once he commits to Crowley he can no longer repress his doubts or ignore the reality of the abusive situation he’d been living through. He is forced to reconcile the idea that he is loved as he is with Crowley, whereas in heaven, he is simply a disposable soldier to them, not an equal who deserves to be heard and whose concerns should be considered.

However, despite the trauma and abuse, and more incredibly, despite his repression, he is able to cope with some of his issues throughout time with his relationship with Crowley. He is able to work through his concerns about Noah and Jesus with Crowley by his side, listening and validating his experience and concern as something to be taken seriously like no one else had ever done before. Together, they treat each other with mutual respect, and more than losing his status as an Angel, Aziraphale is terrified shitless at the idea of losing Crowley.  The aforementioned break-up scenes are catalysts that force Aziraphale to make a choice and resist the intimidation and trauma caused by Heaven. And, once he commits to Crowley, there’s no going back, because, for the first time in over 6,000 years, he has a support system ready and able to help him cope with his issues. 

And so, Aziraphale begins his road to recovery thanks to the help of his loving and supportive relationship with Crowley which I will do a deep dive of soon. 

Sooooooooo this section went on wayyyyyy longer than intended. Look out for a Crowley-centric version tomorrow and a few more than 4 installments of this meta over the next week.  #sorry.

TLDR: Aziraphale’s abuse doesn’t allow him to cope with the fact his bosses and his instincts are telling him to do 2 very different things. He manages to cope but only by using denial and repression. It is only when he finally puts down his defenses and being honest with himself that he is not in a good place in Heaven, but he is in a good place with Crowley, that he can start working toward recovery.

Thanks for coming to my Ted talk.

[goodlucktai]

giving up on giving up slowly

good omens  pairing: aziraphale/crowley word count: 3437 part 1 of the is there a better bet than love? series read on ao3

x

They don’t quite make it back to Mayfair.

“Oh, Crowley,” Aziraphale murmurs. “Are you really so tired?”

The demon regards him with weary yellow eyes, little more than a pile of boneless coils draped in the next seat. Aziraphale strokes a hand from Crowley’s head down his neck, fingers gentle against the smooth groove of scales. Crowley is familiar to Aziraphale in all his forms, but there is a very special place in the angel’s heart for the serpent.

There is still a conversation to be had. Heaven and Hell certainly aren’t pleased with their meddling, and Agnes’ last warning of choose your faces wisely hasn’t been far from the front of Aziraphale’s mind since he read it. They’re not out of the woods just yet.

But for now-- for a little while, at least-- there is time to rest. Crowley can press into the warmth of Aziraphale’s hands and know he is safe.

Aziraphale can hold him and know the same.

“Never you mind, my dear,” Aziraphale says, his heart full. “I’ll carry you the rest of the way.”

It’s his turn, he thinks, to bear some of the weight.

#

There is a cross little voice somewhere in the back of Aziraphale’s mind that tells him how foolish it is, to place so much trust in a demon. It’s a familiar voice; it sounds a lot like Michael, chiding him every time he lingers too long in Crowley’s shadow, nudging him away every time he wants to stay a little longer, talk a little more. There are ways angels must behave, after all. There are things one can and cannot do.

He wonders what Michael would say if she could see him now, giving Crowley his form to wear like armor. He wonders what his punishment would be, for granting a Fallen One this unlimited access to the holy grounds. But more than that, he wonders if this will be enough.

“If they take you,” Aziraphale says fitfully, clutching Crowley’s hands-- his own hands, piloted by Crowley’s reluctant affection as they hold each other. “If they take you to Heaven-- “

“Don’t you waste time worrying about me, angel,” Crowley mutters, shifting uneasily. He doesn’t have sunglasses to hide behind, not now that he’s wearing Aziraphale’s face, and their eye contact is a very fragile creature indeed. “I’ve been Upstairs before, for all that it’s been awhile. You just worry about Hell, about getting out safe.”

“And if it goes wrong-- “

“We’ll think of something.”

It’s strange to look down at himself and know it’s Crowley staring back at him from those misty blue eyes, but it’s only strange in a fleeting sense, the way bedclothes are cold at first until they warm with body heat. If anyone could be trusted to parade about in Aziraphale’s form-- if anyone could know Aziraphale well enough to get it right, to pass without suspicion-- it would be Crowley.

And isn’t that a funny thought, he muses as the sun warms to the idea of a new dawn. The morning light peers through the wide windows of Crowley’s airy flat, glancing down on the two of them where they sit cross-legged and facing each other on the bed.

Funny that the idea of Gabriel or Uriel coming this close, taking this much, is enough to make Aziraphale’s breath hitch with fear.

Funny that a sweep of Crowley’s thumb across his knuckles is enough to soothe him entirely.

They’ve been this close before; stowed away in the cavernous hull of the great ark with a hundred smuggled Mesopotamian children, while drowning men outside begged for entry; stranded on the shores of Pompeii as a city they were both fond of and its twenty-thousand souls succumbed to ash; Europe when it was ravaged by the plague, millions of people dying faster than two desperate angels could heal them; that awful cantina where Crowley went half out of his mind in 1481, a burned letter of commendation lost somewhere among empty jugs of wine.

They’ve held one another up through countless tragedies. They held one another up through the end of the world. It comes naturally by now.

“Whatever happens, you’re not alone,” Crowley tells him, misreading the sudden tension. “You know that.”

“Of course I do,” Aziraphale says. Truly, he does.

#

It’s lovely to see the bookshop intact. Aziraphale had been fully prepared to find a smoking ruin, or so he told himself, but everything was exactly where it should have been (with the exception of a few childish additions, courtesy of the Antichrist).

Crowley follows him home from their celebratory lunch at the Ritz, picking his way gingerly up the steps with perhaps a fifth of Aziraphale’s enthusiasm.

Aziraphale, to his shame, doesn’t even notice until he’s gone on and puttered about for a good twenty minutes. It’s not until the fourth time Crowley grants him no more than a two-syllable response that Aziraphale is drawn up short. He pauses with a well-loved first edition of The Tempest in his hands, looking over at where his friend is lingering uncomfortably by the door.

“My dear?” he says. “Won’t you come in?”

Crowley slouches the rest of the way to the back room with a commendable amount of surliness, but Aziraphale isn’t fooled. He summons a bottle each of Chateau Palmer and d'Yquem and sets them on the table-- with the white nearest Crowley, who would never admit he preferred it over the red-- and settles in for a gentle interrogation.

“Don’t even start,” Crowley grumbles, cutting him off at the pass. He knocks back the first glass of wine, without a pause to appreciate the vintage or bouquet, and pours another. “Just looked different.”

Aziraphale can’t help glancing about the shop. It’s as dusty as it ever was, with its towering stacks and dimly-lit sconces. Even the piles of books on the tables and chairs are the same, down to the last crack in the last vellum spine.

“Before,” Crowley elaborates. “When it was burning. Looked different.”

“Oh,” Aziraphale says, surprised. “Yes, I rather think so.” He pours himself a glass, more for something to do with his hands than anything, and says slowly, “You were here, then? When it-- You saw it, I mean. From outside.”

“From inside, angel. Ran in for you, didn’t I?” Crowley abandons his glass and picks up the bottle, lifting it in a toast. The drinks over lunch have already softened his sharp edges, and what’s left of him isn’t quite up to guarding his secrets as stubbornly as usual. “Fat lot of good that did. You’d gone already.”

He’d come to the bookshop by himself earlier that morning, before their trials, at Aziraphale’s behest. The angel suddenly, fiercely regrets it.

“Oh,” Aziraphale says again.

There is something churning inside him that feels both like anguish and quite a bit like wonder. How a feeling can be painful and pleasant at the same time, he’s no idea, but he embraces it.

“You’re remarkable, Crowley.” It’s the first thing he can wrestle out of his aching chest, and it falls laughably short. “Demon or not. I’ve never known anyone else like you.”

Crowley laughs, a short, unhappy sound. “Oh, yeah. I’m one of a kind.”

Aziraphale pats the seat next to his on the worn sofa, suddenly quite unable to bear the distance between them. “Come here, dear.”

For a long moment, Crowley doesn’t move. His eyes are hidden behind those sunglasses, rendering his face all but unreadable. Then, as though coming to a decision, he unfolds himself from the sagging armchair and rounds the table, collapsing showily next to the angel in a splay of long limbs.

The nearness of him settles the ache in Aziraphale’s heart, whether or not that was his intention. Aziraphale can feel Crowley’s heart racing, the fragile human body wrapped around that celestial core thrumming with stubborn life. It’s a comfort, this nearness.

“Damned if you do, damned if you don’t,” Crowley says, more to the bottle in his hand than to anyone else. “Lucky me, I’m damned already.”

“What on earth are you talking about?”

“Ngh. Don’t worry about it.” He shifts closer by an inch, head lolling along the back of the sofa until it comes to a daring rest against Aziraphale’s shoulder. “I’ve decided I’ll take what I can get.”

#

Aziraphale has a shop to run, and Crowley has plants to terrorize, so they part ways somewhere between midnight and morning. It’s surprisingly difficult to watch the demon leave, after having come so close to losing him; so Aziraphale stays safely behind his counter, where he’s far enough away that he can’t reach out and hold Crowley back.

They’ve spent whole years apart before, whole decades. What is a night or two, or even a week, even a month, now that they’ve got the rest of their lives ahead of them? A blink of an eye, really. A fraction of a second. It’s foolish to feel a pang at the parting.

Lingering by the door, Crowley turns around. There’s a peculiar look in his eyes, exposed and uncertain, when he says, “Hey. How about that picnic?”

Aziraphale brightens.

One can always count on Crowley to remember even the smallest exchange, even if it was years ago and offered as little more than a hopeful afterthought. It’s one of the staggering multitude of ways the demon is actually very sweet, though it’s best not to say as much aloud.

“I’d love to, dear boy. Tomorrow?” He glances out the window at the gray light of early dawn. “Or this evening, rather?”

“Tomorrow,” Crowley corrects, a half-smile on his face he can’t seem to help. “You’ll be wrapped up in your books all day and I’m not going to the bloody shops without you. We can pick up what we need tonight. Maybe try that new Indian restaurant in Kensington for an early supper?”

Aziraphale has the overwhelming urge to sweep out from behind the counter and gather the dear creature up in his arms. He folds his hands instead and contents himself with a smile as warm and as wide as he can make it.

“That sounds divine.”

Crowley’s half-smile graduates into the full thing, a crooked, helplessly charming number. It seems to linger in the shop long after he’s gone, and Aziraphale feels changed by it somehow, as though there’s a weight in his chest that wasn’t there before. A weight like a hand pressing harmlessly, without urgency, without agenda, against the fluttering mess of his very human heart, and when Crowley looks at him like that, smiles at him like that, it presses just a little bit harder.

#

Aziraphale tends to fuss over details, but really, he wants the picnic to be perfect. He’ll need some crisps, cold cuts, and fruits to finish out the platter he has in mind, but the cheese is an excellent start. Crowley has more virtue than the other angels of Hell combined, but even his patience is waning by the time they stop at the cheese counter.

There’s a new truffle gouda that the helpful associate recommends, offering Aziraphale a sample wedge with a generous dollop of honey and a sourdough cracker, and he’s rather taken by it.

“Really, Crowley, try a bite,” he coaxes. “It can’t be worse than the oysters.”

“We’re going to miss our reservation if you keep dithering, angel. Just get that moldy lot you usually do and be done with it.”

“I should think that for a special occasion you might be willing to try something new,” Aziraphale says primly. “And I wish you wouldn’t call it moldy, Camembert is delightful.”

“I’m going to be put off my appetite at this rate,” the demon grouses. When he stalks off, it’s not quite as dramatic as he might like it to be, considering the laden grocery basket hanging from his elbow. “I’m picking the wine.”

“Oh, get a Pinot Noir, would you?” Aziraphale calls after him. “It should compliment this gouda wonderfully.”

The associate is smothering a smile as she wraps up the gouda, along with his favorite Camembert and a large wedge of alpine.

“I hope he isn’t too upset with you,” she says when she’s handed it all over. “The two of you make a good pair.”

She doesn’t know them as any more than passing strangers, but Aziraphale can’t help feeling touched. It’s perhaps the first time anyone has said as much about the company he keeps, that they’re good together.

Aziraphale certainly thinks so, and damn anyone else’s opinion, but it’s still a nice thing to hear.

When he catches up with Crowley, the demon is making a big show of studying the white wines, but there’s clearly a Pinot Noir already bundled into his basket. Smiling, Aziraphale steps up beside him and slips a hand into the crook of his free arm.

Crowley is pleasant to the touch for a cold-blooded creature. He radiates warmth and good intentions like no angels of Heaven have ever done, a tireless spring of imagination and optimism and endless, fearless curiosity. No matter how high he builds his defenses of sarcasm and indifference, the truth is there. It’s always been there, from as early as the garden wall.

He belongs in Hell about as much as Aziraphale belongs in Heaven; which is to say, he doesn’t really belong there at all.

“You don’t have to try the cheese,” Aziraphale says, offering the token olive branch.

Crowley seems thrown for a moment, tense with surprise beneath Aziraphale’s hand, but he relaxes a heartbeat later.

“This is what we do now?” he asks of the rows of wine, hidden eyes trained straight ahead.

“I don’t see why not,” Aziraphale tells him. They’ve newly run out of reasons not to do as they wish, and lately-- often-- Aziraphale wishes for nothing more than this: Crowley, and himself, and as little space between them as can be managed. “You know what that young lady back there told me? She said we made a good pair.”

“Shows what she knows,” Crowley says, scathing. Incongruently, the hand he rests over Aziraphale’s is so gentle the angel has to look more than once to make sure it’s really there.

#

While Crowley was crawling about in the garden on his belly, Aziraphale was guarding it with a god-given sword. One of them has always been much softer than the other, even if they’re both usually content to lose track most of the time.

Most of the time.

“I’m sorry,” Aziraphale says, not feeling very sorry at all, “but what is it that you think you’re doing here?”

The angel in the bookshop is unfamiliar to him at a glance. It could be that their corporeal form is new, or that they’ve never met before, but he sees the way they look at Crowley. He sees the disdain dripping off them like a disease. A being of love, created for a higher purpose, and they can stand here and hate as if they have any right to.

“Michael may have told the rest of us to leave you alone, but it doesn’t seem right,” they say by-way of greeting. “Leaving you down here with nothing but a demon for company. He’ll ruin you.”

Behind him, Crowley twitches. It’s impossible to say what his expression looks like, but Aziraphale has known him for over six thousand years. He can guess.

“We’ve heard stories about you,” the angel goes on. They sound impossibly young. “All of us have. You’ve been on earth since the beginning. You’ve seen the garden. You faced the Morningstar. You can do whatever you want, I bet, so why are you here?”

“You’ve answered your own question, my dear,” Aziraphale says mildly. “Because I can do whatever I want.”

Crowley is tense at Aziraphale’s back, coiled like a snake ready to spring at any second. Aziraphale wishes he could reach back to soothe him.

He is, at first and at last, a Principality. He is at his strongest when he has something to guard, and this shop is his domain. With Crowley behind him, the most precious thing Aziraphale has ever put behind him, he would like to see this fledgling try anything.

Perhaps sensing how outclassed they are, the fledgling does not.

“Now,” he says briskly, “if you’d like to have a civilized conversation, you’re more than welcome to sit down for tea. I’ve even got a delicious Battenberg cake we can nip into for the occasion. But Crowley is my guest, my friend, and my dearest love; I hold him in much higher esteem than I do any of your lot, and I won’t tolerate rudeness. So what shall it be?”

For a moment, no one moves. Crowley is strung as tight as a wire, and the angel in the bookshop waffles visibly as they come to a decision they never thought they would have to make: pick a fight with a Principality or take tea with a Fallen One.

Finally, grudgingly, they ask, “What is cake?”

Only after they’re squared away in the back room, eating sweets with a look of wonder on their face, does Aziraphale turn to Crowley.

The demon is staring at him, sunglasses slipping down his nose.

“You said,” he begins, and stops there, as though he’s hit a dead end.

“I’ve been terribly unkind to you,” Aziraphale admits softly. “Denying you to everyone who asked, like you were something shameful. You must know that I love you, you clever old serpent, but I’m sure it would still have been nice to hear.”

“I thought it was an angel thing,” comes the lurching, uncertain confession. “Loving everyone. I knew you loved me, but I thought it was-- default.”

“An angel thing.” Aziraphale frowns at him. “As if Gabriel is even capable.”

Crowley laughs shortly, half-hysterical. “Okay. You’ve got a point.”

The picnic will have to wait, thanks to their visitor in the back room. The hamper receives a stern look and makes the decision to keep itself fresh for the next day, since Aziraphale refuses to be put off any longer than that.

Then he steps forward and takes Crowley’s hands.

“I was going to give up,” Crowley says helplessly. “I was jussst going to take whatever I could get and be happy with it. I go too fast and it's been so long I can't ssslow down, I don't know how."

"Don't worry about it anymore, my dear." Aziraphale uses their joined hands to pull him closer, until he can wrap his arms around Crowley and hold him as tenderly as he deserves. The demon shivers, as though chilled, and Aziraphale loses a kiss somewhere against his wayward hair. "I've finally caught up to you."

#

Nanael is still puttering about the shop a month later. Aziraphale has grown fond of them, not in the least because they take to the books like a fish to water. It took them about two days to decide Crowley was safe enough to pester, and watching them pelt a recalcitrant snake with question after question about the earth's history has quickly become one of Aziraphale's favorite ways to spend an afternoon.

"You were there when they built it?" Nanael demands, holding a book open to a glossy two-page photo spread of La Torre Di Pisa. "What was it for? Why does it lean?"

"Look, Feathers, why don't you ask Aziraphale? He's right here, not busy doing anything but laughing at me," Crowley mutters, making his slow and winding way up the side of the counter. "He'd be more than happy to tell you whatever you want to know."

"But I want to hear it from you," Nanael says stubbornly. "He knows more about things, but you know more about people. You like people, he said. You liked Eve, that's why you gave her the apple."

"I gave her a choice. She didn't have to eat the apple, did she? She chose to, because she wanted-- "

"Knowledge," Nanael says, hugging the book to their chest. There's hope for this one yet, Aziraphale thinks with a surge of pride. "Yes, exactly. Please tell me. I won't call you a demon anymore if you'll tell me."

Crowley looks up at the ceiling as though hoping for divine intervention, and then slides his yellow eyes Aziraphale's way.

"Isn't there supposed to be a honeymoon period before the kids come along?" he grouses. "I feel cheated."

"I'll make it all up to you," Aziraphale vows, stroking a familiar hand down his spine. "All of it, my love."

[adhd-worlds]

Anglo-Saxon Futhorc

The Anglo-Saxon Futhorc wasn’t commonly used to be written down but dates between the 5th (500′s) to the 11th century (1000′s), during the time of the Elder Futhark. It’s believed that the Anglo-Saxons created more runes for the different phonetics in Old English, resulting in 33 runes, while other places such as Iceland had condensed it into to 18 runes (Younger Futhark). Not much is known about Anglo-Saxon Runes as they weren’t commonly used so it’s hard to say how they were used for magic. However, the first 24 runes are borrowed from Elder Futhark so they can be used if you so wish.

Below are the list of runes and their meanings. If you find an issue with the information provided, please inbox me with the correction. Don’t reblog/comment with the correction, I won’t see it and therefore I won’t update it with the correction. Thank you.

ᚠ - Feoh - Cattle - f: Cattle. Material possessions. A time to share. Working hard to produce great wealth. Generosity and riches.

ᚢ - Ur - Aurochs u: Ox. Strength. Energy. Proving your abilities. Adventure and enterprise.

ᚦ - Th - Thorn - þ: Frost Giants. Thor’s protective power. Balancing dangerous opposites. Chaos. Harmful obsessions. Gain at a cost. Impending disruption alongside a balancing force. Discipline. Knowledge. Make careful and thoughtful decisions to look after your well-being.

ᚩ - Ós - Mouth/God - o: From Ansuz, the ancestral god, Odin. Communication. A revealing message or insight. The power of words and naming. Good news and tidings are received from a friend. Justice. Truth

ᚱ - Rad - Journey - r: Thor’s chariot. Travel. Change. A journey undertaken. An emotional and physical rite of passage.

ᚳ - Cen - Torch - c: Wisdom. Creativity. Fiery passion and romance. Carnal knowledge.

ᚷ - Gyfu - Gift - g: A very good omen. A new love. The reception of gifts. Marriage. Freedom.

ᚹ - Wynn - Joy - w: Happiness and fulfilment. Success at the end of a long journey.

ᚻ - Hæg - Hail - h: Hail. Loss. Destruction. A disruption to plans. Drastic change. Life lessons. An unavoidable but temporary setback

ᚾ - Nyd - Need - n: Need and responsibility. Pragmatism and practically. Poverty. Hardship. Events will progress at their own rate. Developments cannot be forced. Change will happen naturally.

ᛁ - Ice - i: Patience. Reflection. Freezing lake. Hibernation for the winter. Putting projects on hold. Resting.

ᛄ - Jara - Year - j: Yearly harvest. Effort with rewards. Predictable change. The cycle of life. Hard work through the season. Wealth and riches at the end.

ᛇ - Eoah - Yew Tree -  ɨ: The tree of life defeating all else. Honesty and reliability. Trustworthiness. Driving force. Rising sap. Green energy.

ᛈ - Peorð - The Game - p: A secret. The fickleness of fate. Rebirth. Feminine mysteries and fertility. Magic. Best not to know the answer to your question. A danger sign. Act wisely and succeed.

ᛉ - Eolh - Elk Sedge - x: Protection. Support. A friend who will protect or assist.

ᛋ - Sigel - Sun - s: Health. Energy and competition. Growth. Success. Power. Rewards, luck and new life.

ᛏ - Tir - Creator - t: The creator. Strength. Warrior. Duty. Victory and courage. Strength and fortitude will overcome a difficult situation.

ᛒ - Beorc - Birch Tree - b: Fertility. New Beginnings. Birth. Spring and new life. A fresh start. A positive change.

ᛖ - Eoh - Horses - e: Travel and movement. Swiftness. Migration to new grounds. Power. Teamwork. An ideal partnership.

ᛗ - Mann - Man - m: Self, family, Relationships. Sharing problems with friends and family. Caring and helping through troubles. Kindness.

ᛚ - Lagu - Water - l: Emotions. Revelation. Counsel. Changing of moods. Romance and companionship. The fickleness of and unpredictability of nature.

ᛝ - Ing - Fertility - ŋ: New birth. Fruitfulness. Male fertility. Sex. Balance. Productivity. Positive change. The end of a barren period. The arrival of success and contentment.

ᛟ - Éðel - Home -  œ: The home and family duties. Fairness. Inheritance. Legacy. Using power wisely. Help and be helped in return.

ᛞ -  Dæg - day - d: New beginnings and positive changes. Awakenings and awareness. Happiness and success. Light and energy. The start of new projects. Looking forward.

The five runes are unique to the Anglo-Saxon and Anglo-Frisian systems.

ᚪ - Ác - Oak Tree - a: From Ansuz, the ancestral god Odin. Strength. Sturdiness. Intellectual. Deep roots. The great power of strong, continuous growth.

ᚫ -  Æsc - Ash Tree - æ: From Ansuz, the ancestral god, Odin. Growing tall. Strength with flexibility. Aiming high. Growth of the soul. Feeding the spiritual nature. Poetry. Arts. Guardian of children. Protection. Healing.

ᚣ - Yr - Yew Bow - y: Mastery. Combination of all skill and knowledge. The tool of a knight. Arrow to target. Lost things found. Fruits of labour. Transformation . Turning point.

ᛡ - Ior - Eel - io: Eel. Serpent. An amphibious river fish that lives in water and eats on land. Dual nature. Living between two worlds. Duplicity. Hardships.

ᛠ - Ear - Earth - ea: Earth. Grave. Life and Death. The unavoidable end to all things. Decay. Leave the past behind. Time to look forward to the future.

The following four runes are not present in more southerly saxon realms in England or the Anglo-Frisian/continental variants of the rune row. They can loosely correspond with the four elements of Wicca and the four suits of the Tarot.

ᛢ - Cweorð - Fire-Twirl/Sword - kw: Flame. Destruction and transformation. Liberation of the spirit through fire. Ritual cleansing. The sacredness of the hearth and home. Phoenix rising from the ashes.

ᛤᛣ - Calc - Cup/Chalice - k: The natural ending or conclusion of a process. Death. Offerings. Honouring the gods. Femininity. Intuition. Spiritual insight. Magic

ᛥ - Stan - Stone - st: Stone. An obstruction. A blocked path. The link between the spiritual and the earthly. Breaking down walls. Obstructing and turning back opposition.

ᚸ - Gar - Spear (Odin’s Spear Gungnir) - ḡ: Odin’s spear, Gungnir. The centre point. Always hitting the target. Reliable success. Great power and skill. Mastery and balance. The hunt. Battle and victory

[bldgrelationshipwgod]

RE: RE: Matthew 17:14-21 | The Demoniac: Boy is Healed

When they came to the crowd, a man came up to Jesus & knelt before Him. “Lord, have mercy on my son,” he said. “He has seizures & is suffering terribly. He often falls into the fire or into the water. I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not heal him.” “O unbelieving & perverse generation!” Jesus replied. “How long must I remain with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring the boy here to Me.” Then Jesus rebuked the demon, & it came out of the boy, & he was healed from that moment.

Afterward the disciples came to Jesus privately & asked, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?”

“Because you have so little faith,” He answered. “For truly I tell you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ & it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”

But this kind does not go out, except by prayer & fasting.

                    _____________________________________________________

Charles Ellicott Commentary (1819 –1905)  | Matthew 17:14

[14] And when they were come to the multitude—Luke states that it was on the next day, the night having apparently been spent on the Mount of Transfiguration.

The magic power of the art of Raffaelle has brought into vivid juxtaposition the contrast between the scene of glory above & that of trouble & unrest below, but we must not allow the impression made by the picture to distort our thoughts of the history.

The two scenes did not synchronize.

The vision was at night, & the descent from the mountain would have carried those who made the journey some way at least into the day that followed.

There came to Him a certain man—Mark [Mark 9:14-16] narrates more fully that as our Lord & the three were coming to the disciples, they saw a crowd, & scribes disputing with them; that when the multitude saw this they were astonished, & running to Him, saluted Him; that He then asked, “Why dispute you with them?” & that this drew forth the answer & the prayer which in Matthew’s record stands without any prelude.

[15] See Note on Matthew 4:24. Other Gospels add some further touches.

The boy had a “dumb spirit.” When the spirit seized him it “tore him,” & he foamed at the mouth, & gnashed with his teeth.

Slowly, & as with difficulty, the paroxysm passed off, & the sufferer was wasting away under the violence of the attacks.

The phenomena described are, it need hardly be said, those of epilepsy complicated with insanity, a combination common in all countries, & likely to be aggravated where the “seizure,” which the very word epilepsy implies, was the work of a supernatural power.

Prolonged melancholy, indescribable look of sadness, a sudden falling, & loss of consciousness, with/out convulsions, passing into a tetanic stiffness, periodical recurrence coinciding often with the new or full moon [hence probably the description of the boy as “lunatick”], grinding teeth, foaming at the mouth, are all noted by medical writers as symptoms of the disease.

The names by which it was known in the earlier stages of medical science were all indicative of the awe with which mankind looked on it.

It was the “divine,” the “sacred” disease, as being a direct supernatural infliction. The Latin synonym, morbus comitialis, came from the fact that if a seizure of this kind occurred during the comitia, or assemblies of the Roman Republic, it was looked upon as of such evil omen that the meeting was at once broken up, & all business adjourned.

Whether there was in this case something more than disease, viz., a distinct possession by a supernatural force, is a question which belongs to the general subject of the “demoniacs” of the Gospel records.

[See Note on 8:28.] Here, at any rate, our Lord’s Words [Matthew 17:21] assume, even more emphatically than elsewhere, the reality of the possession. [See Mark 9:25.]

[16] They could not cure him—This, then, would seem to have been the subject-matter of debate.

The scribes were taunting the disciples, who probably trusted to their use of the wonted formula of their Master’s name, & were wrangling in their defense.

Neither scribes nor disciples had thought of gaining the spiritual power which might avail by the means which they both recognized as effective.

[17] O faithless & perverse generation—The words were obviously addressed both to the scribes & the disciples.

Both had shown their want of the faith which utters itself in prayer to the Father; both were alike “perverse,” in finding in the misery brought before them only an occasion of wrangling & debate.

This was not the way to obtain power to heal, & formulae of exorcism were but as an idle charm, without the faith of which they were meant to be the expression.

How long shall I suffer you?—The words are significant as suggesting the thought that our Lord’s whole life was one long tolerance of waywardness & perversity of people.

Bring him hither to me—Mark, whose record is here by far the fullest, relates that at this moment “the spirit tare him,” & that he “wallowed foaming,” in the paroxysm of a fresh convulsion; that our Lord then asked, “How long is it ago since this came unto him?” & was told that he had suffered from his childhood; that the father appealed, half-despairing, to our Lord’s pity, “If you canst do anything, have compassion on us, & help us;” & was told that it depended on his own faith, “If you can believe; all things are possible to him that believes;” & then burst out into the cry of a faith struggling with his despair, “Lord, I believe; help Thou my unbelief;” & that that faith, weak as it was, was accepted as sufficient.

[18] Jesus rebuked the devil—Better, demon, as elsewhere in these cases of possession. The child was cured—Better, the boy.

Mark 9:21 implies, as indeed the Greek does here, that the sufferer had passed beyond the age of childhood.

Mark gives the words of the rebuke, “Thou dumb & deaf spirit, I command thee, come out from Him, & enter no more into him.” This was followed by a great cry & another convulsion; then He fell down, “as it were, dead,” & many cried out, “He is dead.” Then Jesus took Him by the hand, & raised Him up, & the work of healing was accomplished. Calmness, & peace, & self-possession were seen instead of the convulsive agony. The spiritual power of the Healer had overcome the force, whether morbid or demoniac, which was the cause of His sufferings. Our Lord’s Words, it need hardly be said, assume it to have been the latter; & those who deny the reality of the possession must, in their turn, assume either that He shared the belief of the people, or accepted it because they were not able to receive any other explanation of the mysterious sufferings which they had witnessed. Each hypothesis presents difficulties of its own, & we may well be content to confess our inability to solve them. [See Note on Matthew 8:28.] Speaking generally, the language of the NT seems to recognise, if not in all diseases, yet at least in all that disturb the moral equilibrium of mankind’s nature, an infraction of the divine order, & therefore rightly sees in them the work, directly or indirectly, of the great antagonist of that order. All our Lord’s works of mercy are summed up by Peter in the Words that “He went about doing good, & healing all that were oppressed of the devil” [Acts 10:38], & on this supposition the particular phenomena of each case were logically ascribed to demoniac forces. [19] Why could not we cast Him out?—The question came obviously from the disciples who had been left below when our Lord went apart with Peter, James, & John, to the Mount of the Transfiguration. They did not even now see the reason of their failure. They had dealt with this case as they had dealt with others. Why had they not met with a like issue? They did not as yet perceive that they came under our Lord’s language of rebuke, & did not look on themselves as belonging to the “faithless generation.” [20] Because of your unbelief—The various reading, “Because of your little faith,” found in many, but not the most authoritative MSS., is interesting as an example of a tendency to tone down the apparent severity of our Lord’s Words. They show conclusively that the disciples themselves came under the range of His rebuke to the “faithless & perverse generation.” If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed—The hyperbolical form of our Lord’s Words, repeated afterwards in Matthew 21:21, excluded from the thoughts of the disciples, as from our own, the possibility of a literal interpretation. The “grain of mustard seed” was, as in Matthew 13:31, the proverbial type of the infinitely little. To “remove mountains” was, as we see in 1 Corinthians 13:2 [this may, however, have been an echo of our Lord’s teaching], the proverbial type of overcoming difficulties that seemed insurmountable. The Words were, we may believe, dramatised by a gesture pointing to the mountain from which our Lord & the three disciples had descended, as afterwards by a like act in reference to the Mount of Olives [Matthew 21:21].Nothing shall be impossible unto you—The Words, absolute as they sound, are yet, ipso facto, conditional. Nothing that comes within the range of faith in the wisdom & love of God, & therefore of submission to His will, is beyond the range of prayer. [21] This kind goeth not out but by prayer & fasting—The Words imply degrees in the intensity of the forms of evil ascribed to demons amounting to a generic difference. Some might yield before the energy of a human will, & the power of the divine Name, & the prayers even of a weak faith. Some, like that which comes before us here, required a greater intensity of the spiritual life, to be gained by the “prayer & fasting” of which our Lord speaks. The circumstances of the case render it probable that our Lord himself had vouchsafed to fulfil both the conditions. The disciples, we know, did not as yet fast [Matthew 9:14-15], & the facts imply that they had been weak & remiss in prayer. The Words are noticeable as testifying to the real ground & motive for “fasting,” & to the gain for the higher life to be obtained, when it was accompanied by true prayer, by this act of conquest over the lower nature. So Peter’s vision [Acts 10:9-10], & the appointment of Paul & Barnabas by the direct guidance of the Spirit [Acts 13:2], are both connected with fasting. And Paul, besides the “hunger & thirst” that came upon Him as the incidents of His mission-work, speaks of himself as “in fastings often” [2 Corinthians 11:27].

[buyayurvedicproductsonline]

CURCUMIN TEA - PRESERVA WELLNESS

Holi is a festival of colours and beauty.  It falls in spring and has its origin from the Indian subcontinent. Predominantly, the ‘festival of colours’ is celebrated in India and Nepal but has spread to the Western world with migrating Indian population as a ‘festival of love’. The significance of this festival lies in the victory of good over evil. It marks the end of winters and arrival of spring. The nature welcomes the new life on treas. People generally forget the bitterness and forgive each other. After all, it is the time to love, laugh and play and repair broken relationships.

Since Holi season also marks the onset of new infections, colours which are put on each other have their medicinal significance if their sources remain natural. E.g., green colour made from leaves of Neem plant protects against virus,bacteria, fungi and other pathogens; yellow colour from haldi or turmeric is protective against many diseases. These herbs have been used in prescription by various Ayurvedic doctors and many others are present in genuine Ayurvedic herbal products.

The first of its kind in the world are herbal curcumin teas made by Preserva Wellness which are packed in colourful containers representing health and life in their own ways:

The Colour Brown – Daily Detox Tea!

The colour of earth, wood and stone which also represents wholesomeness is the colour brown. It stands for reliability, elegance, security, warmth, and honesty. Brown is a natural and neutral colour. Associated with the concepts of natural and organic, it brings simplicity, warmth and health to the user. The vision of this colour is comforting and nurturing giving rise to fertility and growth.  This colour is thought to stimulate appetite, provide stability, structure and support and hence has been chosen by Preserva Wellness for its herbal curcumin tea which serves the purpose of detoxifying the body. Since it enables detoxification of body via liver, kidney and skin and improves digestion; Daily Detox Tea also serves the purpose of improving appetite. To follow a colourful Detox routine this Holi, get to your home brown container of herbal curcumin tea.

The Colour Yellow – Immune Boosting Tea!

Yellow is the colour of sunshine, hope and happiness.  It is the colour of shining sun or the bright light. Yellow is one of the brightest and most noticeable colours by human eye. This colour is mentally creative and is a practical thinker and not a dreamer. It is uplifting, illuminating and stimulates mental faculties and motivates to find new ways of doing things The bright yellow colour in turmeric i.e. the colour of curcumin has been found to boost immune system in its fight against infections and gives inspiration for yellow container of the Immune Boosting tea which is an improvised version of a turmeric tea.

The Colour Lilac or Light Violet – Daily Boost Tea!

Lilac flowers of the same colour signify first love. How can one avoid falling in love with the luscious and fragrant herbal curcumin tea packed in a lilac container?  The blend of various herbs in Daily Boost Tea makes it an amazing Ayurvedic herbal product to gain instant energy. Like the first love does, Daily Boost Tea induces an altogether new freshness in your body by providing a boost to your mental and physical alertness.  Since this colour also represents softness, the contents of lilac container by Preserva Wellness work in the gentlest way to improve your energy levels.

The Colour Green – Daily Diagemax Tea!

Green is the colour of life, renewal, nature, and energy and represents freshness, harmony, safety, fertility and environment. It brings balance to life and symbolises renewal or rebirth. Being an emotionally positive colour, it is associated with creating equilibrium between head and heart. The colour green emphasises on restoring the sense of well being in living being and therefore is present on the container of Diagemax Tea marking the action of herbs and curcumin supplement in restoring proper functioning of digestive system.  The nurturing aspect of the colour is present in the herbs inside it which ward off digestive problems and improve digestion.

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The Colour Purple – Daily Calm Tea!

Purple is the colour of crown chakra known as Sahasrara or ‘thousand- petalled lotus’ located at the top of the head. The colour purple is known to uplift mood and calm the mind and nerves and therefore forms the colour of container of Daily Calm Tea.  Since the colour purple is considered to be the colour of the highest, it imparts a royal feel to the container. It is one of the colours of healing and hence its contents focus on healing mental health. The colour helps in clearing congestion in head and calms the nervous system. This is the only herbal tea by Preserva Wellness which neither has curcumin supplement nor is a turmeric tea.

Healing begins with vision and the colour of packaging makes the vision clear for the Ayurvedic herbal teas by Preserva Wellness. With the colours carrying aura of relief and health; the products are more likely to help you recover from your existing state of disease. As soon as you look at these containers, your mind begins to reach a cheerful stage which is a good omen for health and prosperity.  Wish you all a very happy and prosperous holi!

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