apocalypsehowcomm | (log) tdm prompts

[ Aziraphale is truly never not going to dip his toes into some proverbial book fair waters. It's a real balm on the nerves being around an excess of books in general. And it's sort of nice to be in a mental place where doing that is more soothing than anything.

Time will never heal the bookshop-shaped wound in his heart, but it gets easier to bear. Probably helped by the aforementioned balm of existing around books. Definitely helped by the fact that nothing seems to be going horribly, terribly wrong. Very much helped by the fact that it's always nice to be out with Crowley, while the city is not falling apart around them.

Big fan of that. He looks up from the back cover he was scoping. ]

Is that your way of saying that you think you've outpaced me? [ Angels can sound broadly delighted and also flirt a little bit, as a treat.

If he's been secretly obsessing over his own mental wooing pathways lately, that's his business. ]

[It's not unheard of for Aziraphale to come across as a little bit flirty, on occasion. He sort of just has a vibe that way and Crowley tends to know better than to take it personally, but that doesn't stop it from being delightful.]

Outpaced. Is that the word we're using? You're making it sound like we're counting notches on a bedpost.

[If Aziraphale can flirt as a treat, then Crowley is going to be a bastard as a treat.

Bold of him to make this joke when it's almost entirely likely that Aziraphale has, in fact, slept with more people than he has.]

[ Crowley said "sometimes my crush has thot energy and I both respect and delight in it," and he's right.

Aziraphale does... a scoff. A scoff that says he considered huffing but decided not to, because there are vital differences in nuance that are important to both. ]

No, I rather think you're making it sound like that. Does fortune still favor the bold when it's a bold interpretation?

[ Bedpost notches are rude to furniture. Collect sentimental trinkets across thousands of years without buying a bed, like a normal entity. ]

I would have thought I'd notice if you were making notable rounds in the literary scene, though. [ Not that he would have had a secret collection of works that Crowley had, for whatever reason, probably influenced. Or anything. Definitely purely for the social currency of knowing about it. ] When was this?

[Things Crowley did not anticipate: Aziraphale playing along with this stupid joke instead of just huffing at him and telling him to knock it off. Once again he's been hoisted by his own petard, only in this case it's flustered by his own flirting.

He opens and closes his mouth a couple times, but manages to collect himself ]

What makes you think I've had anything to do with literature?

[Please.

Even if this wasn't almost entirely bullshit, there's some truth there. He popped into the literary scene on occasion, but that was always been Aziraphale's area and he tried to keep some distance.]

[ All along, the secret to victory was deliberately and purposefully flirting back. Aziraphale never would have used that life hack, because having a bit of a moment just to get the upper hand would be cruel, obviously.

But that doesn't make the extended processing any less of an endearing look on Crowley. Which is where the real victory is.

He pauses in the middle of carefully flipping through a couple of pages-- all part of the classic dilemma of not really knowing what he's in the mood for, simply enjoying the process of getting to look at a bunch of books while he figures it out- specifically to look at Crowley with Mild Offense. ]

You were the one who brought up meeting authors in the first place.

[A look of Mild Offense is far more in line with their regular protocol. Much easier for Crowley to handle and respond to, with a pointedly raised eyebrow.]

This may come as something of a shock, but sometimes humans write books that aren't literature.

[This, fortunately, covers everything from non fiction books, to low brow fiction that people in Aziraphale's circles wouldn't deem worthy of being literature.]

[ The audacity.

The accuracy. ]

And I'm certain I love all the humans who write them equally. [ Shepherd and guardian. Etc., etc. ] But no one ever said I had to bother with what they put out.

[Two roads diverged in a local book fair and Crowley decides to take the path that may be far too bold.

Apparently he's decided to just roll with this flirting thing, now that it's happening.]

Well, see, there's your problem right there, not worrying about who's putting out.

[Ba dum tish]

[ It's rude to make an angel snort in public. How very dare.

Then again, at least it's in line with the latest in deliberate flirt progress technology. Finally. A use for skills Aziraphale has historically put far more practice hours into than his sleight of hand. ]

You really haven't run with a proper literary circle, then, my dear. I would argue it's the last thing worth being worried about. By my accounting, they're all hoping to be asked and very happy to discuss their progress.

[ "Progress."

Source: being a tart and a gossip until the early 1900s. He could have sunk ships with his collected Deep Lore. ]

If in a roundabout, well-mannered sort of way.

[It's a win for Crowley to make an angel snort in public.]

So what you're telling me is that authors are gossipy tarts? [Aziraphale might have put it politely but Crowley refuses to do so.

He also refuses to think about whether Aziraphale was actually doing more than just gossiping with these people. It's none of his business even if he cares very much about it.] That sounds about right, now I think about it. Who could forget Byron?

[The absolute incorrigible slut that he was.]

[ Another day, another waspy roundabout conversation cut to the quick.

It's probably for the best. He's trying to improve on that in general. Sort of. Mostly specifically only as in relation to Crowley, actually, and as in so many regards, what anyone else currently on this planet might think of the matter can go hang.

Aziraphale just thinks it's Neat to be a wasp about things sometimes as a hobby. He doesn't directly answer the question, per se, but he does tip his head to one side and pull a very "they absolutely are gossipy tarts, what can ya do" face about it. ]

Oh, Byron. Quite unforgettable. [ He was out there committing to his energy. Weird as hell. That was always worth admiring.

Aziraphale shifts into gay gear. Which is to say he is done scouring this book area and so he matter-of-factly threads his arm through Crowley's to bring him along, like they are touring the grounds in a regency film or something. ]

I wouldn't say I found that his charms outweighed his abhorrent drinkware preferences by any means, but I suppose I wound up in the minority there.

[ Imagine a skull cup not being a dealbreaker. Couldn't be him. ]

[Any attempts at rational conversation will have to wait a moment or two while Crowley's brain reboots in the aftermath of having Aziraphale take his arm so that he can lead him along to the next book-perusing spot.

It's hardly much of anything, in the grand scheme of things, but when combined with the tiny bit of flirting and everything that's happened since they arrived, it feels intentional in a way that he wasn't anticipating.

But he's cool and collected and can get his brain working again after a few seconds.]

He was also a bit of a dick, along with the skull nonsense. Was probably for the best that Annabella kept Ada away from the man, who knows where humanity would've ended up if he'd filled her head with poetry instead of mathematics.

[Not that he doesn't like some good poetry now and then, but it would've been a waste of her talent to not be a mathematician.]

[ So far so good. No complaints from Crowley.

Excellent. He's the best at subtle romantic overtures. He's been so subtle in the past that he hasn't even made them, in fact.

This is nice. Aziraphale will be personally carrying it with him all day even when he hits the inevitable point of tearing off on his own to save books from, checking the notes here, "public availability." ]

And she turned out to be the... computers one, yes? [ Local angel loves Earth and loves humanity, would do anything to try to keep them from getting destroyed, top priority, absolutely. But also math and technology aren't his problem.

They sort of are in this world because he's learned to use his mobile phone and the two of them have to think realistically about budgets, but like, in the grand scheme. ]

[All things considered, Crowley is actually impressed that Aziraphale even knows enough about Ada Lovelace to connect her to computers.]

That'd be her. Brilliant young woman, if more than a bit troubled.

[She might have had an easier time if she'd been born at least a century later, but that would have equally set humanity back.]

S'always a shame, isn't it? The clever ones always seem to have a rough time of it.

[Another aspect of humanity that's always struck him as unfair, not that there's much the two of them can do about it.]

[ Culture knowledge bank directly tied to prolific (or grating) authors pays dividends once more. Aziraphale is unstoppable. ]

That does tend to be the case. [ The clever ones, the unusual ones, the exceptionally gentle ones. Humanity can have a harsh gearwork in motion. One that chews certain types up. ] Ahead of their time, as the saying goes. Although if I'm honest, that's always felt too disingenuous.

[ Sort of goes against the convention of existing. Interference is never strictly the point, but it's also a bit like well please do get it together, human race. ]

Unappreciated in their time, maybe. Neglected.

[ He gives Crowley's arm a little tap as if he is not personally the one steering the stroll boat. A free "I am changing course to go to those murder mysteries I just saw instead of this next spot actually" alert.

Good solid genre, mystery. Catches a bit of everything. ]

[They've always felt similar with regards to this sort of business. Humanity and all their quirks. It's always been something of a reassurance to Crowley, who certainly doesn't agree with other demons in their view of humans, and who's too removed from humans to discuss it with them.]

Or the opposite. Had too many people up in their business, got used up and tossed aside once the world was done with them.

[He barely notices the arm tap, when he's too busy being distracted by the rest of Aziraphale, but he's easily led regardless, letting himself drift wherever Aziraphale might want to take him.]

[ There can be a little loss in translation trying to discuss the human experience, most times conversation trends that way.

Heaven having a different energy about it goes without saying. With humans of a mood to get philosophical-- well, there's a line between the human experience as in being a human, and the Experiencing Of Humans. Not a line that smudges, really.

Crowley's always been more of the same mind. Isn't it odd how that works out. ]

That is a shame. [ Local immortals are all-time champions of putting it mildly. ] Always struggling to sort themselves out a little bit, aren't they?

Part of the deal, isn't it? Free will comes with all sorts of nonsense.

[As much as there was ever a deal, and not a very obvious trap set up that poor Adam and Eve fell into, leaving the rest of humanity to deal with the fallout.

When they make it to the mystery section, Crowley only takes a few seconds to peruse the options before reaching out to tap a finger against the cover of In A Glass Darkly by Sheridan Le Fanu.]

There's one for me. Met him through John Mitchel, which was about the only good thing to come from hanging around that man.

[He did some decent work for Irish Independence but was, unfortunately, incredibly fucking racist.

A win for Hell in the end, though.]

Infinite layers of nonsense.

[ Good for humanity. Also terrible of them. Depending on the nonsense at play.

Peering at book with a gay little 'ooh': activated. Bit of competition at a book fair is all fine and good, yes, Aziraphale is the exact brand of uppity assuming he will simply win, yes, but deepening his Crowley lore is also fun. ]

An influential Gothic get. I might have guessed. [ Say Gothic mean spooky initiative. Probably not worth the cost of John Mitchel admission organically, but if one had to be hanging about him for work already... well. Best scrape out what benefits one can. ] A touch reclusive, if I recall. Did you get on?

(log) tdm prompts

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