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Who: Aziraphale and OPEN
What: Just vibing around the North Pole tbh. May also serve as a general catchall for other bits and bobs through the month.
Where: Several places! Library, dining hall, Vaguely Around, etc.
When: The post-arrival pre-next plot zone. The settling-in zone, even.
Warnings/Notes: None yet, will update as needed/requested!

library.

[ Realistically, this is probably the number one place most guaranteed to get results in the Aziraphale sightings economy. The library is equal parts enrichment in his enclosure and a decent simulation of his native environment. Well, as long as he ignores the DVDs and CDs and such. Which he does.

If someone wanted to make a very posh zoo enclosure for a wild Aziraphale it would basically be this premise. He's in the library on the daily. Around the same time each day, probably, and winding up in the same specific chair, because he feels better when he can have one or two reliable little rituals on his schedule.

What he's got picked out tends to vary. Largely classic literature or stageplays, which he mostly thumbs through purely for the sake of seeing if they're very different in this reality. The ~big ones~. Austen, Wilde, Dickens, Shakespeare, Shelley, Tolkien, C.S. Lewis. Arthurian folklore but only when he's positive Crowley isn't in the library with him. For normal reasons. Some comically ancient guide of some sort about embroidery, because he's got it on the brain now.

(The very, very first thing that he makes sure to sit down with is a 'Winnie-the-Pooh' collected works, of course. It's actually so important that he knows they're the same as the ones he has memorized.)

While in the library, Aziraphale is largely open to socializing. If he's not open to socializing he'll simply not be in the library at all. He'll say friendly hellos every time he first walks in! He's happy to get introduced and talk literature and ask people about what they're reading if they seem amenable!

Although he does have a habit of hitting long stretches where he just sort of zones in on a book and stops paying attention to literally everything and everyone around him. Give him like an hour. He'll blink again, honest. ]

communal relaxation area.

[ Also a decent bet on places to find Aziraphale! It's cozy. He loves cozy. Coziness is in his top three favorite concepts humans came up with. Heaven is too minimalist to take the credit and Hell is too claustrophobic.

He might be reading by a very pretty window, as prophecy foretold. He might just be having some pastries and people-watching, like a cool normal person. An angel practicing his fancy shuffling and other card-based magic tricks? In your North Pole? It's more likely than you think. Important to note: the shuffling and sleight of hand are performed very poorly. Aziraphale is still thriving.

He's even more willing to socialize out here. It's what the whole setup is built for, truly. Come get your free "oh hello!"s and "how are you getting on?"s. Or if you like, in full 'old silly being an old silly' intonation: ]

Lovely weather we're having.

[ It's a low bar, being the funniest angel Heaven's ever turned out. But by god he's doing it. ]

wildcard.

[ for whatever other options! Aziraphale straight up doesn't do sleep, so he can theoretically be found at any hour in these locations, or like... out for a stroll or getting a snack or paging through a book. Doing everything in his power to not learn how to use the network or a modern phone or anything of the sort. If he recognizes anyone from the Wilderlands or the intro event, he's also likely to want to say hi and see how they're doing.

Possibly just having some cocoa and regarding the Globe of Belief with a very real sort of fondness. (A guardian is a guardian and Earth is Earth, even if this isn't the Earth he was made for and he's not the sort of guardian made specifically for it, technically. Always been a problem of his, he supposes. Getting attached.)

hmu with whatever or gimme a poke at

comatoseroses and we can work something out! i'll do closed starters idc. ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Crowley considers that very sensible point, humming to himself for a second and only briefly getting off track as he thinks about all the things Aziraphale loves.]

Suppose I can't argue with that, if we're going by your standards.

[If it's worth fussing to Aziraphale, then he's allowed to fuss.]

What are we even fussing about, now?

[he forgor....]

[ Won a not-argument with his stoned boyfriend. This is a landmark occasion for Aziraphale, truly.

The "we" is something that can be so personal. The implied automatic tie-in to whatever Aziraphale is fussing about this time. Crowley is so sweet and so just vibing right now. ]

Your living situation. [ Crowley? Please? Well, but. Given the circumstances. ] Have a day off from that issue, though, I'll fuss enough to cover us both.

[ Since apparently Crowley isn't all that fussed about it to start with. Even though he clearly should be! Not that it's bad that he's not, he guesses! Aziraphale doesn't know, he's trying his best out here. ]

[He nearly says something silly about living in the North Pole right now, before he mentally recaptures the thread of conversation and waves a hand.]

There's really no need to fuss, but if you're insisting on it, why don't we fuss over dinner?

[Does he just want to see if Aziraphale will let him out in public right now? Maybe so.]

I'm always happy to fuss over dinner with you.

[ A little semi-compliment to Crowley's company. As a treat. ]

Once you've had enough fun here and you're ready to sober up.

[ For lack of a better term. ]

[Compliment: good. Being told to sober up: bad.

Crowley makes a very dramatic pbbt sound, just because he can.]

You think no one's ever been high at a Thai restaurant before?

Edited 2023-10-16 18:18 (UTC)

In the vast span of human history, I'm sure it's happened. I don't see why you need to continue the tradition, is all.

[ Nice as it is to see him somewhat relaxed. ]

[There is a very skeptical scoff from Crowley, because he's sure it's happened very frequently, not just a rare occurrence that Aziraphale seems to be suggesting.]

Come onnnn, angel, I'll be on my best behavior, promise.

[He's far more likely to eat, too, if he's still stoned, but he isn't sure how to communicate that without it sounding weird.]

You're never on your best behavior.

[ That can't be an argument if it just sounds fond, Aziraphale. You are losing vital ground. ]

[He may be too stupid to realize that tone is fond, but he does know it means he's winning.]

Then it'll be a novel experience that you'd be remiss to miss.

[hehe that rhymed.]

[ Crowley is so dense. Aziraphale dreams of kissing him under the moonlight for it, with absolutely zero self awareness.

Novel, indeed. He weighs the fun values on Crowley being a little bit silly in public spaces versus the fact that if he wheedles Crowley into getting un-stoned, it probably means that after dinner he's going to have to confront that vape again. Hate that. ]

If you cause a ruckus, I'm coming back to the library.

[ Mid-meal? Unlikely. He'll think about it very hard though. ]

[At some point once he sobers up, he's going to realize that he basically told Aziraphale that he'd behave for him, and will need to have a 4-7 hour lie down about it.

For now, he just rolls his eyes.]

I haven't done lines of bloody coke, angel, I won't cause a ruckus.

[He might be a little more silly, but he mostly just wants to eat a little food and drink a lot of wine and stare at Aziraphale. None of that is a crime or disruptive to other diners.]

You sort of have to — focus, to get people to see you, but it's easy enough once you've got the trick of it.

[Has Aziraphale been out much since they got here? Probably not. There's a library and yetis that provide snacks and meals at someone's whim, why would he leave?]

[ RIP future Crowley and his lie down. Aziraphale already knows what's what.

He has, in fact, not been out much since getting here at all. The North Pole is so much of a perfect zoo enclosure for him. It's even got Crowley in it. Not to mention the books, cozy clutter, food, alcohol... top tier stuff.

(If he also hasn't really gone out a tiny bit because he doesn't know exactly what the children here-- expect, or how he's meant to provide it, that's his business. He's processing.) ]

I ought to be able to pick it up quickly.

[ It's basically 1:1 with hurling his noncorporeal form down to Earth and then making himself register to a soused-sounding Crowley, right. ]

I've the utmost faith.

[Sometimes things said cheekily and a little sarcastically can be so personal because they're actually very much true. He might tease Aziraphale for being stuck in the past, but he's quick on the uptake when it matters. Mostly.]

D'you need to sort anything out before we head out?

[He's just going to miracle them somewhere, it's fine.]

[ Aziraphale counts that as a flirt and puts it in his flirts pocket like a pre-date pocket square. A thoughtful token. Wow.

He has himself a ???-brand glance around, on principle. ]

If I do, it's news to me. [ He's just been sitting here with books, but they're not even his and he's not even restoring them or anything. Business is dead. ]

[The little glance around is cute, so Crowley will allow it.]

Hold on to your hat, then.

[He isn't even wearing a hat.

Crowley snaps his fingers, dragging them both through space to London, specifically Chinatown, specifically outside the Speedboat Bar.

Notably, Aziraphale is now wearing a replica of the coat he tragically lost during his earlier adventures; it's as perfect a copy as Crowley can make, which is pretty perfect, considering how long he's seen Aziraphale wearing it. He'd been planning to do this for a while but hadn't been sure how to give it to Aziraphale without making it a whole thing.

Maybe they can just pretend it never happened and move on.]

Oh, brilliant, I was worried it might not exist here.

[ Every day a new adventure, a new surprise. Oh, just a casual teleport into London, just a casual lovingly detail-accurate replacement of Aziraphale's lost favorite coat, no great happenings afoot here.

Wrong. Mostly about the coat; not to discount the impressiveness of having a hop to London in the bank in this reality, of course.

Crowley does these things, sometimes. Very singularly kind and caring things, for Aziraphale's sake, that nobody else in the universe would probabaly ever bother with doing for him. Crowley does these things, sometimes, and he acts like it's no greater trouble to go to than-- than holding open a door. Less than. Like it's to be expected, not a very touching gesture that squeezes Aziraphale by the ribcage, just because it's something that Aziraphale cares about. (Even if it's something Crowley doesn't personally understand being hung up on, even if Crowley thinks it's ridiculous. As though that's not a marvel.) ]

Mm. Quite. [ Aziraphale's ass is NOT listening. He's taking in the return of an extra layer of familiarity. He's feeling a lot of emotions. He's channeling all the self restraint that thousands of years of practice creates to keep from grabbing Crowley by the face and kissing him.

He is looking at him like he hung the moon. It's one for the "happiest he's been in ages" tumblr compilation. It's fucking sickening over here tbh. Untenable.

Don't worry he has the perfect very forward romance move for this: putting a hand on Crowley's elbow like they're taking a very old timey stroll. angel.exe will be back online in a few seconds. ]

[Ah, he miscalculated the effect of the coat. That's probably on him, since he knows how much the damn thing meant to Aziraphale, how much all of Aziraphale's silly little possessions mean to him, even more so now that they're stuck somewhere he can't access his books or snuffboxes or whatever other collection he's got in the shop.

Maybe he should have just left it on his bed one day while Aziraphale was in the library or dining hall, but then he wouldn't get to cast a very careful sideways glance to catch the look he's being treated to. And it's a wonderful look, he's going to keep that one in his back pocket for ages.

There's even a hand on his arm, curled around his elbow, he decides to be bold enough to give Aziraphale's hand a little pat before settling atop it. Like they're taking a very old timey stroll.]

We couldn't have you out here in only three layers. There'd be a riot.

[Things he knows for a fact: Aziraphale wears an undershirt, because of course he does, and of course he had it on when Crowley borrowed his body.

He also knows, because Aziraphale gave Crowley's body back with a singlet he hadn't been wearing before.

Ridiculous, truly.]

[ A little bit goofy and twitterpated on main, as a treat. Aziraphale is almost always goofy on main, but that has no bearing.

It's just. Nice. It's nice. Is all. To go out together without scrounging up pretense for it. Not having to put mental real estate towards being seen or found out. They were already found out, and they've at least got that sorted out for now, and they're not even in that reality besides. So he's not even going to think about it.

Because! There's hand touching. On purpose! He's going to thrive on this for weeks like any self-respecting glacially-paced idiot. ]

Public indecency is never in vogue, no. I'm very grateful. Things just weren't the same without it.

[ He misses his shop and all his silly little possessions so much. This is a gift of the highest importance. For many reasons, he's going to keep it so well cared-for.

But also, with a sidelong glance and a turn in tone from blatantly soft to knowing™️: ]

You've been 'on the clock' quite a bit lately, have you?

[Hand touching maneuver: successful. He'll be riding this high for weeks, which is probably a little ridiculous, considering that Aziraphale was the one who initiated the touch, so he shouldn't be too shocked that his own return of the contact didn't earn shock and discuss.

Things that were less successful: getting away with any of the nonsense he's pulled without having to talk about it. First the coat and now the fact that he was easily able to produce said coat while also easily being able to teleport two fully grown ethereal/infernal beings. He's not sure exactly what Aziraphale's power status is, and he's been kind of assuming that more kids believe in Aziraphale from the get go, on account of the angel thing, but he doubts he'd be so casual with power use.

Crowley shrugs, but only the shoulder that isn't near Aziraphale, not wanting to risk jostling him.]

S'just like being a demon, isn't it? Only for myself, not bloody Satan.

[It's nothing like being a demon, actually.]

[ They're inventing romance. They're incredible at it, and so normal. ]

I'm not certain I can see where those particular lines intersect.

[Don't make him explain his terrible logic! At least he can start leading Aziraphale into the restaurant as he talks, maybe he'll get distracted by the food and ambiance and won't listen to what Crowley says.

It's honestly a foolproof plan.]

Instead of tempting someone to sin, I'm doing whatever I need to do so they know I'm real and keep believing in me.

[That makes sense, right? Probably?]

[ This is now an active old timey stroll. Love that. Aziraphale 100% is not following his logic on this. Except in the roundabout sense of understanding that Crowley simply doesn't want to say "yes I've been out doing things to help and protect children who believe in me" for varying valid reasons.

It's just that it's a bit like saying "instead of buttering toast, I climbed a tree." In his opinion.

Crowley needs to shore up his denial game, clearly. ]

Yes, exactly. Two different things.

[ That said: 10/10 on interesting ambiance, might be on the path to distraction. ]

[Crowley wants to snap at him to leave it, because he feels like they're dangerously close to a four letter word being used, but getting snarly might lose him arm holding slash hand touching privileges, and he's not quite ready to lose them.]

Oh, you're impossible.

[Blaming Aziraphale for his own lack of sense-making is clearly the right approach.

The other right approach is to lead Aziraphale upstairs to sit, both because it's a little quieter and because it means there's more time for physical contact before he reluctantly has to release Aziraphale so he can take a seat.

Tragic.]

The point is — [He'll go ahead and pull out a chair for Aziraphale, because he's a gentleman.] — I've got plenty of power, so no need to fuss about miracles.

[ Aziraphale doesn't say you've said that before and will again, but thank you for the compliment about being called impossible. He taps a finger on Crowley's arm a couple of times as a thank you instead.

Because "you're impossible" basically means "you're right and I hate it" and finger tapping counts as heavy flirting. Obviously.

It is tragic to lose the contact, though. Even with all this gentlemanly chair pulling out (local demon not beating the sweetness allegations). Maybe he can do it again on the way back out. Since it seems like it wasn't unwelcome at this juncture. Much to consider. ]

You are being safe about it?

[ What if he fusses about something anyway. His life story. ]

[The trick to dining with Aziraphale and continuing a conversation is to use a little nudge of demonic power to keep a waiter from approaching them immediately so the angel doesn't get distracted.

And to give him time to look at the menu.]

'Course, angel. Not that there's much dangerous about helping out some teens every now and then.

[The word 'helping' comes out a little sarcastically as a defense against the fact that demons aren't supposed to be helpful.]