Thank you, cupidsbow! I'm so glad you enjoyed it! My original idea was that one or both of Aziraphale and Crowley was somehow involved in the passing of the (real) letters but that they didn't recognize the impact of them. I decided to layer the caper on top of it; it gave them a reason not to be as curious as they might be in other circumstances.
I'm glad the tension worked. One thing I like in the novel from a characterization angle is that there are times that they have this tension because they've got conflicting goals, despite the same ultimate goal. The scene with Aziraphale getting distracted because he gets the book while Crowley is having a silent panic attack about what Hell will do to him is just so layered and I wanted to try to find part of that dynamic here. I also tried to put in some nods to the Cold War themes and what it might mean to have an enemy-who-is-sort-of-a-friend on the other side. While I cannot take credit for the background historical politics and shenanigans, I find this period in history fascinating and I love that the backdrop worked.
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
branchandroot
(no subject)
Date: 2021-12-20 09:57 pm (UTC)I'm glad the tension worked. One thing I like in the novel from a characterization angle is that there are times that they have this tension because they've got conflicting goals, despite the same ultimate goal. The scene with Aziraphale getting distracted because he gets the book while Crowley is having a silent panic attack about what Hell will do to him is just so layered and I wanted to try to find part of that dynamic here. I also tried to put in some nods to the Cold War themes and what it might mean to have an enemy-who-is-sort-of-a-friend on the other side. While I cannot take credit for the background historical politics and shenanigans, I find this period in history fascinating and I love that the backdrop worked.
Thank you so much for your review!