Prompt: Sita & Rambha (victim of Ravana who cursed him, thereby protecting Sita)
A woman remains behind when the gods descend upon Lanka to bless the captive Sita with security and sustenance, and Sita need only look once at the stranger’s eyes, bright as the dance of sunlight against water, and her hair, shining like the waves of the river to know: an apsara.
“Their Queen, in fact,” says the woman–Rambha herself–confirming Sita’s guess, and inclines her head in response to Sita’s folded hands.
All the world has heard of what she suffered at the hands of the demon king, but Sita must know for sure. “Did he–Did Ravana try–” She breaks off, unsure of how to phrase her question delicately, but it is unnecessary. The apsaras are hardly undiscerning, and Rambha no exception.
“He did more than try,” she says bluntly, and Sita, now knowing all too well what it is to know such powerlessness, shudders with sympathy.
“I am sorry,” she says awkwardly, words insufficient to express what she feels, but Rambha shakes the words away.
“Perhaps, it was for the best. At least it is now such that he can never do so again, not on pain of instant death. If my suffering was necessary to bring that to be, then as Queen I would have accepted the cost regardless.”
Sita marvels with this, enough to dare ask the question that has haunted her. “And your husband–he forgave you?”
Rambha shakes her head. “No,” she says, “for he said there was nothing for which he needed to forgive me. His punishment fell solely on Ravana’s head, to ensure it should be split into pieces should he attempt such atrocity again. Ah yes,” she confirms, smiling at Sita’s clear relief, “such is the nature of my gift to you; to us all, I suppose. And even were it not so—allow me to reassure you again, dear one: you are blameless and innocent, come what may. Whatever sin has been committed is on Ravana’s hands; you need carry none of it.”
“As are you,” Sita dares reply, and Rambha’s smile in return—the smile any number of gods, sages, and demons would have died to earn—remains with her, even into the flames.
Emma Woodhouse: Who doesn’t
Eleanor Dashwood: I know
Marriane Dashwood: Thanks!
Jane Eyre: A horrible decision, really
Lizzie Bennet: *laughs nervously*
Catherine Morland: *laughs hysterically*
Margaret Hale: YEET
Fanny Price: I’m sorry
Anne Elliot: *finger guns*
Catherine Earnshaw: If only there was someone out there who loved you
[Read here on AO3]
There are places [1] Crowley likes to go when it all gets to be a little much, like a snake seeking a hole for refuge from a storm. That Aziraphale is the storm is surprising, or maybe not surprising at all. These places are holy - lowercase h - in that they are undisturbed, protected, and treasured. A reprieve. An indrawn breath before drowning. They are places Crowley goes that Aziraphale does not visit. That’s not to say that the angel doesn’t know where they are, simply that he does not go where Crowley does not ask for him.
[1] A rooftop garden in New York City. A cozy nook inside St. Paul’s. A patch of red dirt outside Tuscon, Arizona. An old iron bench just outside Kensington Gardens. The bosom of Eden.The edge of the World. Others, dozens maybe, that Crowley knows by feel and not name.
He’s in New York two days after the Apocolypse-That-Wasn’t, high up in a humid class cage full of shivering plants that know both fear and reverence. The Orchids have become fussy in his absence refusing to stand straight out of pure defiance. The English Ivy, the oldest, grows thick and lovely in creeping vines along the ceiling and walls. It almost seems to sigh at Crowley as he brandishes a pair of shears menacingly at the disobedient Orchids.
“Not you as well,” Crowley sneers, shaking the shears at the wall, “I won’t hear it.”
In the corner a Snake Plant shakes almost fondly. Crowley hisses, terrible yellow eyes drawn into slits, and it stops moving, its tall leaves stretching skyward as if in surrender. Crowley clicks his tongue and goes back to fussing with the Orchids.
“Don’t know why I even bother. I should just bin the lot of you.”
He does not. Crowley has known these plants for a long time. He takes a seat on the floor amongst empty pots and potting soil, dirt on his hands and smudged along a sharp cheekbone because he allows it to be. There’s something satisfying about the mess. He wonders, vaguely and quite without meaning to, if that is how She feels about Her Creation. Crowley snarls and kicks out at the leg of a table. It wobbles, the pots atop it shuddering with the force, before going still.
An impossible Honeysuckle bush in the opposite corner blooms for him, sickly sweet in her smell. The orchids finally stand upright, maybe sensing the shift in their Master’s mood or maybe just tired of being contrary. Crowley is no longer looking at them, however. His eyes have drifted up, through the English Ivy curling sweetly along the ceiling, where gray skies hang fat and heavy in the sky. The rain starts first as a light pat and, as Crowley watches, works its way to a torrent. Between this and the overwhelming smell of sweet Earth, Crowley can almost fall asleep.
It’s tempting, and Crowley does love temptations. A hundred year nap after The-End-That-Almost-Was feels well deserved, but Aziraphale gets dreadfully worried if Crowley is gone for too long. He’s startled by a creeping vine tangling around his ankle. He shakes his leg. “Off with you, you annoying little bugger.”
The vine squeezes once before letting go and all at once Crowley misses Aziraphale so dearly it makes his stomach ache. In a wild fit of temper he reaches for an empty pot to throw and smashes it against the wall.
smash
Then another-
smash
And another-
smash smash smash
Until he is left empty and the wall of Ivy is bruised.
Crowley moves then, shaking, standing to shove the table aside with less care than it deserves, cutting his feet open upon broken terra cotta. He rests a hand, gently now, on the Ivy and pulls away green fingers like he’d made it bleed. He puts his hand to the wall again, burying his hand amongst the leaves and pushes . “Dreadfully sorry old chap.” Crowley says and feels the Ivy pulsate around his fingers. [2]
[2] Long ago Aziraphale had given Crowley a little cutting of Ivy from the side of his bookshoppe. “Perhaps you can take up gardening,” the angel said wryly. The Ivy had pulsed in Crowley’s hand then as well, like it was trying to hold him.
Crowley untangles his fingers from the Ivy and it shivers once before stilling. He moves the table back into place and waves a hand dismissively at the floor, clearing the pots. The storm outside rages on and he paces, leaving bloody footprints along the concrete. The garden suddenly feels stifling and Crowley leaves without a word, letting the door clap closed behind him.
Keep reading
I’ve seen a lot of wonderful analyses on how Aziraphale played up the part of Crowley, but I haven’t seen much on Crowley’s portrayal of Aziraphale. This is the angel he’s been in love with for millennia, the angel he’s watched and guarded and adored since before written history began, and finally in the very last episode we get to see what Aziraphale looks like through his eyes.
Standing before the one thing in the universe that could actually destroy him, Crowley’s Aziraphale is resolute, unflinching, gracious to the very end. He talks about the greater good and how angels are meant to be the champions of that greater good even when it goes against how the Great Plan was written. He stands up and speaks his truth even in the face of total opposition. And when the Archangel Gabriel, the person Aziraphale has always tried to emulate, tried to impress, tells him in no uncertain terms that this is what heaven does to the people who fight for the right thing, Aziraphale straightens his shoulders and lifts his chin and says, “It’s been lovely knowing you all. May we meet on a better occasion.” And then he steps into the flames.
We’ve seen other sides of Aziraphale. We’ve seen him be selfish, gluttonous, desperate, closed minded, we’ve seen him be just enough of a bastard to be worth knowing, but when Crowley is asked to take the part of Aziraphale this is who he chooses. This is who he really believes Aziraphale is deep down: kind, chivalrous, compassionate, brave, the sort of angel that heaven ought to be peopled with. The sort of angel who smiles even though he’s broken. The sort of angel who doesn’t mind dying as long as he did the right thing.
im about to test the limits of discord nitro
Addition
To begin with,
In the first place,
Firstly,
The first reason
Additionally
Furthermore,
Another reason why
Secondly, Thirdly,
Next,
Pursuing this further,
Also
Lastly, Finally
In the same way,
Comparison
Similarly,
In the same way,
Likewise,
As with,
Equally,
Contrasting
On the same contrary,
However,
Nevertheless,
On the other hand,
Even so
Alternatively
At the same time
Otherwise
Instead
Conversely
Result
Hence
Therefore
Accordingly
Consequently
Thus
As a result
In consequence
For this reason
For this purpose
Time
Meanwhile
Presently
At last
Finally
Immediately
Thereafter
At that time
Eventually
Currently
Subsequently
In the meantime
Importance
Importantly
Especially
Above all
With attention to
Example
For example
For instance
That is
Such as
As revealed by
Illustrated by
Specifically
In particular
For one thing
This can be seen by
An instance of this
Literary
Clarifies
Conveys
Depicts
Demonstrates
Determines
Displays
Emphasizes
Establishes
Explains
Exemplifies
Highlights
Illustrates
Indicates
Potrays
Represents
Shows
Signifies
Suggests
Beginnings/Causes/Effects
Affects
Generates
Ignites
Impacts
Imposes
Influences
Initiates
Introduces
Involves
Launches
Leads to
Presents
Promotes
Prompts
Results in
Summary
In conclusion,
To sum it all up,
To summarize,
In the final analysis
You can see why …
Finally,
To wrap it all up,
Therefore,
In summary,
In short,
In brief,
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