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aziraphales-library · 2 years

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Hello! Thank you for doing the lord's work, I discovered some amazing fics thanks to this blog, and I'm so so grateful! I was wondering if there are fics where Aziraphale takes care of / bathes / soothes Crowley's burned feet after the church scene? Thank you again <3

Hi! We’re so happy you like the blog. Here are a bunch of feet washing fics set after the 1941 church scene...

Reverberations by MrsMoosie (T)

After the bombs fall in 1941, Crowley finds he is in need of more care than for the burns on his feet.

Kiss It Better by KannaOphelia (T)

Might as well admit it all. Well, not all. Probably not the right moment for I love you, I've always loved you, you took my world when you walked away, my reason for not even caring that I've been damned, I've been stalking you like the creepy demon I'm supposed to be ever since, do you know you're beautiful? "I thought you were saying we were nothing to each other, and I said things I didn't mean. I'm sorry, all right?" There was a long moment in which Crowley stared at his hands on the steering wheel, waiting for Aziraphale to say something. Counting breaths. Six breaths. Seven, eight... "I have first aid supplies in the bookshop. Come along now, don't dawdle, dear boy." "Yeah. Yeah, right. Fine. If you like." * * * The obligatory post-Church bombing scene every Good Omens author must write. With foot-kissing.

As I Have Loved You by summerofspock (T)

Aziraphale takes care of Crowley's burned feet after the church scene.

Deus Ibi Est by missgiven (G)

At the church in 1941, Crowley saves Aziraphale, but hurts himself badly in the process.

Aziraphale tends to Crowley's injured feet, inadvertently echoing John 13:4-5.

(Or: a foot-washing fic.)

Color Me Free by small_blue_owl (G)

When the bomb went off, Aziraphale was calm. Collected. Sure.

It wasn’t until a leather bag of books was placed in his hands by a certain demon that Aziraphale realized the bomb that had gone off in his heart. And in the burning ruins and clouds of smoke, something new appeared. Something soft yet powerful, something gloriously, impossibly, dangerously true. Something that had been caged in his heart for centuries and only just now had been given wings.

-or- Aziraphale comes to a realization after the incident in 1941

The Self-Informing Clavier Player by Jackie Thomas (NR)

There is pacing, peering out of windows, disturbing the books, rifling through the books, mis-shelving the books. He wanders about on the ceiling for a while until the shop bell rings and Aziraphale shoos him down with a broom.

Crowley shelters from Hell in the bookshop.

Let Me Shelter You by TogetherAgain (NR)

This was supposed to be a brief history of the umbrella, Ineffable style. It was also supposed to be pure fluff.

I have no idea how that 1941 post-church scene got into the history of the umbrella. I swear it's not my fault.

Mild CW for indirect references to mustard gas, panic attacks, and the Holocaust, but I promise this is MOSTLY happy, and it should leave you feeling warm and fuzzy.

By the time Crawley became Crowley, he had a collection of objects he had made by hand, in times and places all over the world, all with the hope of someday pretending it was his wing that he was holding over Aziraphale. He hadn’t been able to do so with any of them, but that was hardly going to stop him from trying.

Crowley’s Roman parasol eventually joined the rest of his collection of Things Intended to Give Aziraphale Shelter, Which Have Never Done Their Job. It was a very impressive collection.

The Touch of Your Hand by EdosianOrchids901 (T)

After a moment of casual contact in Rome, Crowley realizes that he’s touch-starved. He dreams about holding Aziraphale’s hand or—even better—hugging him. But Aziraphale is an angel, and Crowley is a demon. And demons don’t deserve hand holding or hugs…do they?

- Mod D

#good omens #ineffable husbands #hurt/comfort #injury #post church scene #mod d

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nihilnovisubsole · 4 years

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Hey man, do you have any advice for describing body movement? I remember your Crowley and Agent 47 (using them as examples that stand out) both had very expressive and true-to-character body language, and I've honestly been killing myself for the past 2 weeks trying to figure out your style, but I either focus on the wrong body parts or choose wrong words - what do you consider to be focal points in mannerisms.. or maybe words/phrases to think about when describing a character's body language?

sorry to hijack your question, anon, but a quick order of business: i’ve noticed something about how i’ve been receiving asks lately. i only tend to get them directly after i post/reblog stuff, like people aren’t sure whether i’m around or don’t want to bother me [which some of them have said outright]. don’t worry about it! trust me, i lurk on tumblr all day. i’ll see it. i’m grateful for the distraction. just because i don’t hate writing doesn’t mean i don’t love to procrastinate.

anyway, body language. i think, without having seen your writing, you’re probably being too hard on yourself. if you’re for-real-for-real using my writing as a style reference, i’m very flattered. if you message me off anon, i’d be happy to chat about it. let’s also not rule out that my style might just be nonsense and you’re struggling to figure it out because it’s, well, nonsense. let’s not forget we’re human here.

but in general, it’s an inexact science - like many things with writing, you kind of just have to feel it out. i don’t follow any body language rules that i don’t make myself follow with the rest of my narration, too. “stay in active voice,” “stay in third-person objective as much as you can,” and “use a verb only once per scene unless you’re really struggling.”

if finding focal points on a character’s body helps you, let’s look at it that way. which body part is changing? what were they holding still, but are now moving? which part of their face is communicating their expression the most? i notice that people emote a lot in their eyebrows, which may be where eyes get their reputation for being “windows to the soul.” some people talk with their hands or interact a lot with the furniture around them. some people are more self-contained.

more importantly, what do you notice? what do you like to think about? your sense of human observation is what will make your writing yours. do you find yourself paying attention to people’s hands a lot? or maybe their posture? you’re not doing it wrong if you’re not doing it exactly like me.

if you want some more detailed thoughts, i’ve included one of my usual tl;drs below the cut. these are less a direct answer to your question and more ideas i have about writing body language in general.

1. acting helps

if you’re writing a character that somebody has portrayed onscreen, you’ll have a big advantage when you try to write how they move. skilled actors are able to give their characters a distinct physical presence, and it’s all just sitting there for you to study and work from.

this is the big reason i like modeling my characters on famous people. i mean, well, mainly i just love movies and daydreaming about what filmed versions of my stories would be like. but when you have that base, you can look up videos of them and analyze everything from their physical habits to the cadence of their voice. how do they sit? what kind of roles have they performed well in? certain people just fit into a time period or aesthetic like a glove. i was completely lost with marcus until i made the connection between him and henry rollins, and then it all fell into place. that stiff, over-disciplined posture and tamped-down nervous energy were perfect for a career military man with a lot of inner turmoil.

in crowley’s case, david tennant is a very physical actor. anyone who writes good omens fic has a treasure trove of lanky, rubbery body language to work with. [aziraphale, my favorite, is kind of the underdog here. i love michael sheen’s performance, but aziraphale’s whole thing is restraint, so i guess crowley ends up being the one who jumps off the page.] on the opposite end, agent 47 is extraordinarily still, with bursts of extraordinary brutality done with extraordinary precision. where crowley is swooshy, 47 is about no wasted movements. his body is wired to be a predator even when he’s off the job. i know it’s weird to compare a video game character to a live actor, but i assume 47 was mocapped, so just… bear with me.

once i have that frame of reference - or i don’t, and i have to come up with my own - i start to act out the character myself. i’ve talked about this before: i feel more comfortable writing a character when i can “embody” them, imitating their body language as i read their dialogue. i must look pretty eccentric when i do it, but it works.

P.S: of course you don’t have to limit yourself to trained actors. you can just as easily reach into your personal life. a lot of authors get incredible results from going back to their mother, or a friend, or some tragic first love.

2. simple, but specific verbs

i’ve heard that a lot of creative writing teachers find their students are timid about the strength of verbs. they’ll bend over backwards to “soften the blow” with gerunds or other unnecessary clutter because they’re not confident that they’ve chosen the right one. “he was sitting on the stump and starting to carefully carve a bar of soap when she came over and he pressed a kiss to her hand.” that kind of thing. my preference is, own it. choose a good verb and leave it naked. let it speak for itself. be declarative. be more forceful in your personality. fight. WIN!

for the record, i’m not averse to using a thesaurus. i think they get a bad rap because of writers who shoehorn in SAT words to make themselves sound more intelligent. did your character walk across the room, or did they pace? did they stroll? did they stride? did they lope? did they run, or dash, or scamper, or bolt? they all feel different, don’t they?

counterpoint: some people add flourishes to their body language so that you’ll really linger on the feature in question. the first thing that comes to mind is romance, where they want you to think long and hard about, i don’t know, the hidden strength in the love interest’s folded hands. this is… i feel… a matter of artistic discretion. it’s not my thing - i prefer to describe more neutrally - but many people love it. it’s something my producers at voltage lovingly bap me on the head about, because lovestruck games are all about zesty High Romance™ and i always wish i could play it down with my plain, unromantic prose. i used to rail away about it in other people’s work. now? whatever. i’m not here to judge you. writing is hard.

3. on the other hand, don’t be afraid to get colorful

if, in the process of writing, you discover some quirky figurative twist that nails dead-on what you’re envisioning, i say go for it. especially if you’re not trying to be wholly detached as a narrator. if i tell you a character “scooted across the bed like a seal,” it gives you a pretty clear mental image, doesn’t it?

if you have a distinctive voice - and i’m sure you do - i think these are the times where you, the writer, as a character are really going to come out. the reason we keep coming back to, say, mark twain is because nobody “prose talks” quite like he did. whether you like it or dislike it, it’s unique.

full disclosure: this is a potent spice, so you may want to use it in moderation. the most fanciful comparisons may work better in comedy, when you have a little more room to be out-there. my mother defines humor as “associating two unlike things in a way that highlights the absurdity of how similar they actually are.” it may not be a coincidence that a curious case of miracles and death and orchids are less serious stories, so i felt comfortable being sillier with my figurative language, and that may have made crowley and 47 seem more expressive. YMMV!

#anon #asks #writing #long post #sorry lads on mobile it's like 1300 words

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