Little Ash truly believed that he was the same sort of creature as boys, albeit of a superior variety, being a demon and therefore knowing things that human boys did not. The angel, however, merely found it convenient to wear a shape in which one could easily study the holy books. Inside itself, it felt closer in kinship to the books themselves, or to the sorts of things an angel might be tasked to look after, like sunlight and rain. Little Ash understood by the angel’s question that it had some hesitation about being incorrectly defined by the identity document, and he supposed it was a reasonable enough fear to have, if you were used to being what the Universe told you to be instead of choosing for yourself.
The latest @jewsinfandoms prompt inspired me to write a sequel to my Good Omens/When the Angels Left the Old Country crossover.
Of Demons and Water
Rated G, 500 words
“I don’t understand,” Uriel said, putting down its spoon. The angel’s eyes were wide in bewilderment. “Why were the other sheydim frightened because you took a bath? Do they not like being clean?”
“The bathtub was full of holy water,” Aziraphale repeated, as if that explained anything.
In which an angel and a demon are confused by a different angel and demon.
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Since I’m rereading When the Angels Left the Old Country right now, here are a couple of sketches I did a while ago that probably aren’t going to get turned into finished drawings at this point.
An alternate cover I designed just for the heck of it
When the Angels Left the Old Country by Sacha Lamb
Voting ended onSep 28, 2024
Book summaries below:
The Masquerade Series (The Traitor Baru Cormorant, The Monster Baru Cormorant, The Tyrant Baru Cormorant) by Seth Dickinson
Tomorrow, on the beach, Baru Cormorant will look up from the sand of her home and see red sails on the horizon.
The Empire of Masks is coming, armed with coin and ink, doctrine and compass, soap and lies. They'll conquer Baru’s island, rewrite her culture, criminalize her customs, and dispose of one of her fathers. But Baru is patient. She'll swallow her hate, prove her talent, and join the Masquerade. She will learn the secrets of empire. She’ll be exactly what they need. And she'll claw her way high enough up the rungs of power to set her people free.
In a final test of her loyalty, the Masquerade will send Baru to bring order to distant Aurdwynn, a snakepit of rebels, informants, and seditious dukes. Aurdwynn kills everyone who tries to rule it. To survive, Baru will need to untangle this land’s intricate web of treachery - and conceal her attraction to the dangerously fascinating Duchess Tain Hu.
But Baru is a savant in games of power, as ruthless in her tactics as she is fixated on her goals. In the calculus of her schemes, all ledgers must be balanced, and the price of liberation paid in full.
Fantasy, epic fantasy, secondary world, politics, series
When the Angels Left the Old Country by Sacha Lamb
A queer immigrant fairytale about individual purpose, the fluid nature of identity, and the power of love to change and endure.
Uriel the angel and Little Ash (short for Ashmedai) are the only two supernatural creatures in their shtetl (which is so tiny, it doesn't have a name other than Shtetl). The angel and the demon have been studying together for centuries, but pogroms and the search for a new life have drawn all the young people from their village to America. When one of those young emigrants goes missing, Uriel and Little Ash set off to find her.
Along the way the angel and demon encounter humans in need of their help, including Rose Cohen, whose best friend (and the love of her life) has abandoned her to marry a man, and Malke Shulman, whose father died mysteriously on his way to America. But there are obstacles ahead of them as difficult as what they’ve left behind. Medical exams (and demons) at Ellis Island. Corrupt officials, cruel mob bosses, murderers, poverty. The streets are far from paved with gold.
Fantasy, historical fiction, young adult, folklore
The entire ineffable family piles into the Bentley for a road trip. Crowley and Azi in the front, Muriel, Uriel, and Little Ash in the back. Crowley looks over his shoulder. “Angel we CANNOT adopt anymore kids. I refuse to be seen in a minivan.”
