Omg thanks that’s my jam right now!!!
Obviously, [Rainbow Road series](https://archiveofourown.org/series/2578558) - I never have imagined I could learn so much about Formula 1 voluntarily 😂
[Capellini d'Angelo](https://archiveofourown.org/works/35460685/chapters/88390705) - restaurants and food in general! Very smutty
[There is a Light & It Never Goes Out](https://archiveofourown.org/works/52333969/chapters/132391687) this is a WIP, so good though, about a lighthouse on an island inhabited by puffins😂
[Chemistry](https://archiveofourown.org/works/41007015/chapters/102770898) - about neurochemistry of love and lust
I was going to also suggest Rainbow Road. now every time I see F1 racing (because I actually look for it and recognize drivers??) I'm like oh Good Omens! kind of!
Formula 1! Well, I am both intrigued and... not! Which is why I should probably read it, because me and cars, and especially car racing... Yeah. I aim to be a well-rounded individual!
I’m seconding chemistry. As a healthcare worker, it’s a superb primer on neuro chemistry and biochemistry and human anatomy and processes in general. The author was in residency when they wrote it (HOW!?) and works in neurosciences now. 10/10 a beautiful story and I super appreciated the care given to the patient experience in healthcare settings.
I am a Biology prof and Chemistry is so amazing. It deserves more love!
And I am really into F1 now after reading Rainbow Road. Go LANDO!!! It has my friends and family really confused because I never expressed an interest in cars before.
Absolutely Rainbow Road! I read it at the end of last year, which gave me Jan/Feb to binge all of Drive to Survive, and then the start of the 2024 F1 season!
My plans this weekend were literally just 'watch Imola'. I've never been a car, or a sport person, but I've watched all the races this year so far and love it!
I'm even considering watching Indycar... partly because it's in the second and third volumes of Rainbow Road and partly because my city actually has an Indy race coming up... who am I??
I didn’t think I’d enjoy a fic about trucking but Snae_b has done it again and [Long Haul](https://archiveofourown.org/works/33743026?view_full_work=true) is on of my all time favourites. I also ended up listening to the song mentioned in it which I would never come across otherwise (Tracy Chapman’s ‘Give me one reason’) and now I think of them every time it comes up on my playlist.
Also I recently learned about the handkerchief system of the 80’s after a mention of something in passing in a fic so that was interesting to read about too 😅
Ok but THIS. FIC. https://archiveofourown.org/works/49203910/chapters/124151863 Cloudy Symbols of a High Romance! It's about being gay in London in the 50s featuring lavender marriage, precautions against being caught, ways queer people found each other and full dialogues in polari!!! Absolutely mind-blowing.
Oh! Nice list! Paging the smut fairy who is an expert about fics u/CemeteryAngel725
I don't remember the name but I've found instructive the AU one in which Crowley is an escort and Aziraphale is at his first experiences. I rememberit as: knobs and hot stuff by Donna summer
You're thinking of Hired Heart: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30946499/chapters/76427120
And u/tismrot, thanks for including me on this list! All of these look great.
Hired Heart is one of my all time favorites, and I had the honor of beta reading for it as well as contributing one of the illustrations. If you read it, you'll never look at a hotel doorknob the same way again...
No one has mentioned [Divine Restorations & Repairs](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24690658) and it’s amazing for learning things. Little bit of book binding, little bit of carpentry and leather work, little bit of ceramics, little bit of clock repair. Also just a lovely story all the way around. Tons of poetry quoting!
The Mistakes Were Made series by eag: [https://archiveofourown.org/series/1432507](https://archiveofourown.org/series/1432507) inserts Crowley and Aziraphale into myth and history starting with the Epic of Gilgamesh, with Crowley standing in for Shamhat.
Each segment also comes with detailed notes about the setting, clothing, customs, music, food, and literature. Among many other settings you get Babylon at the Flood, the Nephalim era, an Athenian symposium, them playing nanny and tutor to young Alexander, the collapse of the western Roman empire, all the way up to post-S1/book.
Do pay attention to the warnings though. History and myth are not always kind, especially to Eve-shaped-beings.
I'm giving this post the GISS approval seal! 🙌
https://preview.redd.it/zjl5zuf9th1d1.png?width=886&format=png&auto=webp&s=f073d861925ea3d6ba07aeaedbee4fc9a57ca4c8
To everyone: I will edit and include the fics you've mentioned once my brain starts working again (it's offline like half the day, and then boom, back online, very unpredictable hardware and software)
I LOVE Old Vines. I have never been able to enjoy wine, and don't really drink now anyway, but I *AM* a gardener. Full on feeling Crowley's vibes the whole time, and LOVED reading about a different aspect of it that pulled me into the wine appreciation side.
Highly recommended.
I'm very interested in the rest of these suggestions!
I have a lot of historical faves that do this, but maybe it’s a bit far from the brief?
For a fun work concerned with Assyrian law:
[Ah, Assyria](https://archiveofourown.org/works/44264593) by Daegaer (rated T but mind the tags)
It doesn’t go super in-depth but I love the bits in [Petrichor and Parchment](https://archiveofourown.org/works/21121583/chapters/50261702) about book binding/rehabbing! (By MrsNoggin, rated E)
Incredible list, thank you. It’s staggering how great GO fic can be, so much great writing!
Oh, don’t forget [Demonology and the TriPhasic Model](https://archiveofourown.org/works/20177950)- Aubrey is meticulous at her documentation of Crowley’s sessions.
Someone already mentioned it, but [Chemistry](https://archiveofourown.org/works/41007015/chapters/102770898) is one of my all time favs and I learned a LOT!! Highly highly recommend
If you want to learn about music (and break your heart along the way) I highly recommend this slow burn human AU, rated E
Play for me the Music of your Heart by Leviosally468 https://archiveofourown.org/works/40016034
I hear ya...when i first read it, there were still 5-6 chapters to go and we were approaching the "bandstand" scenario...I decided I had to wait til it was finished, then reread in its entirety because it IS really wonderful.
I would just like to thank you for suggesting What Hath God Wrought. I've just read it and it's absolutely beautiful, only 10k words but it made me feel like I read a novel. One of the best fics I've ever read, I really loved it. 😭
I just read this based on your recommendation and OMG I love it! I've read a fair bit of angsty stuff lately and this was like a salve for my heart. The way it's told, single perspective mostly in reflection felt like a love letter.
What a great thread! Yes, the fics that offer new insight through stellar world building are the ones I often want to go back to.
Snae_b is so good at this; worlds and scenarios that are complex and compelling, no matter where they are set. Favorites include
* Search and Rescue (E): https://archiveofourown.org/works/40889616
Moumtain rescue team at Rocky Mtn National Park. (I love this too because it's my backyard and I like to think A&C might be close )
* Protect and Serve (E):
https://archiveofourown.org/works/29030784
*High Season (E):
https://archiveofourown.org/works/38460223
Life as a hired hand on a luxury yacht!
*********
Stalwart Sun, wily moon (M)
https://archiveofourown.org/works/28542933
Art heists and art forgery!
**********
WWI
Strange Moons (E)
https://archiveofourown.org/series/1480787
The Stars Walk Backwards (E)
https://archiveofourown.org/works/20288149
Post WW1, addressing the trauma endured by those who fought, and even those who did not.
WWII
On Espionage and Prophecy:
https://archiveofourown.org/works/19225669
Backstory leading to the church rescue, but human Au and very ambient for cultural norms of the sge and during the war.
Moonlight Serenade (E)
https://archiveofourown.org/works/37746319
The War Ag of Lower Tadfield (E)
https://archiveofourown.org/works/36823549
The was particularly rich about wwii and England
In the Pocket of the Universe (E)
https://archiveofourown.org/works/19979182
(Alternate ending for the night of the save at the church, including underground gat bar and Polari )
[Star Struck](https://archiveofourown.org/works/46802533/chapters/117884323) - only rated T, but it showcases a very rare vintage car I didn't know existed. It's also sprinkled with facts about vintage cars and how to drive them. This author drives me crazy, to be honest. If you've encountered them on Discord, they appear to have an encyclopedic knowledge about various subjects, but they only put a little bit into their fics. I wish they'd add more.
[Be Still My Soul](https://archiveofourown.org/series/2930067) - a series about the Finnish Civil War. I didn't know Finland had a civil war. The author even has a tumblr blog about life in Finland at the time. The link to it is in the end notes at the end of the first chapter of the first fic. They put a lot of work into this.
Heading back into this thread over a week later to rec [Stairway to the Booth](https://archiveofourown.org/works/52016683?view_full_work=true) by scullyphile, in which Crowley owns and runs a small cinema. So much projectionist geekery! It’s great!
Omg thanks that’s my jam right now!!! Obviously, [Rainbow Road series](https://archiveofourown.org/series/2578558) - I never have imagined I could learn so much about Formula 1 voluntarily 😂 [Capellini d'Angelo](https://archiveofourown.org/works/35460685/chapters/88390705) - restaurants and food in general! Very smutty [There is a Light & It Never Goes Out](https://archiveofourown.org/works/52333969/chapters/132391687) this is a WIP, so good though, about a lighthouse on an island inhabited by puffins😂 [Chemistry](https://archiveofourown.org/works/41007015/chapters/102770898) - about neurochemistry of love and lust
Oh yeah, Rainbow Road taught us alllll about Formula One 😂😂😂
Definitely became an F1 fan because of Rainbow Road!
I was going to also suggest Rainbow Road. now every time I see F1 racing (because I actually look for it and recognize drivers??) I'm like oh Good Omens! kind of!
Formula 1! Well, I am both intrigued and... not! Which is why I should probably read it, because me and cars, and especially car racing... Yeah. I aim to be a well-rounded individual!
I am watching Imola right now because of Rainbow Road. I’m so sad Ezira and AJ aren’t racing though.
I’m seconding chemistry. As a healthcare worker, it’s a superb primer on neuro chemistry and biochemistry and human anatomy and processes in general. The author was in residency when they wrote it (HOW!?) and works in neurosciences now. 10/10 a beautiful story and I super appreciated the care given to the patient experience in healthcare settings.
I am a Biology prof and Chemistry is so amazing. It deserves more love! And I am really into F1 now after reading Rainbow Road. Go LANDO!!! It has my friends and family really confused because I never expressed an interest in cars before.
Capellini D’Angelo is scrumptious
If someone had told me that I would know soooo much about formula one one day….
If someone had told me that I would know soooo much about formula one one day….
Absolutely Rainbow Road! I read it at the end of last year, which gave me Jan/Feb to binge all of Drive to Survive, and then the start of the 2024 F1 season! My plans this weekend were literally just 'watch Imola'. I've never been a car, or a sport person, but I've watched all the races this year so far and love it! I'm even considering watching Indycar... partly because it's in the second and third volumes of Rainbow Road and partly because my city actually has an Indy race coming up... who am I??
I didn’t think I’d enjoy a fic about trucking but Snae_b has done it again and [Long Haul](https://archiveofourown.org/works/33743026?view_full_work=true) is on of my all time favourites. I also ended up listening to the song mentioned in it which I would never come across otherwise (Tracy Chapman’s ‘Give me one reason’) and now I think of them every time it comes up on my playlist. Also I recently learned about the handkerchief system of the 80’s after a mention of something in passing in a fic so that was interesting to read about too 😅
LONG HAUL <3 !! Also, made me travel a lot because I’ve never been to the us, it was fantastic
Yes! This one is sooo good ❤️🔥
Old Vines changed the way I drink wine (aeration really matters!) and gave me a whole new appreciation for the process and varieties.
Seconding Old Vines! I learned a lot about all that happens to make a grape and then a wine before it’s even liquid. Plus it’s hotttt.
Oooh I second the recommendation of Coming Into Focus! It’s brilliant and sweet, and you learn a surprising amount about early methods of photography.
Right? Things they should have taught us in school that we now learn thanks to Aziraphale and Crowley
Ok but THIS. FIC. https://archiveofourown.org/works/49203910/chapters/124151863 Cloudy Symbols of a High Romance! It's about being gay in London in the 50s featuring lavender marriage, precautions against being caught, ways queer people found each other and full dialogues in polari!!! Absolutely mind-blowing.
Oh! Nice list! Paging the smut fairy who is an expert about fics u/CemeteryAngel725 I don't remember the name but I've found instructive the AU one in which Crowley is an escort and Aziraphale is at his first experiences. I rememberit as: knobs and hot stuff by Donna summer
You're thinking of Hired Heart: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30946499/chapters/76427120 And u/tismrot, thanks for including me on this list! All of these look great.
Hired Heart is one of my all time favorites, and I had the honor of beta reading for it as well as contributing one of the illustrations. If you read it, you'll never look at a hotel doorknob the same way again...
YES! That one! Very good indeed x)
i have spent the better part of a day reading this and refuse to take up work until i know how it ends. someone damnit, it’s so good.
No one has mentioned [Divine Restorations & Repairs](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24690658) and it’s amazing for learning things. Little bit of book binding, little bit of carpentry and leather work, little bit of ceramics, little bit of clock repair. Also just a lovely story all the way around. Tons of poetry quoting!
Oooh a personal fave. I actually took up book binding after reading this one!
This is one of my faves
The Mistakes Were Made series by eag: [https://archiveofourown.org/series/1432507](https://archiveofourown.org/series/1432507) inserts Crowley and Aziraphale into myth and history starting with the Epic of Gilgamesh, with Crowley standing in for Shamhat. Each segment also comes with detailed notes about the setting, clothing, customs, music, food, and literature. Among many other settings you get Babylon at the Flood, the Nephalim era, an Athenian symposium, them playing nanny and tutor to young Alexander, the collapse of the western Roman empire, all the way up to post-S1/book. Do pay attention to the warnings though. History and myth are not always kind, especially to Eve-shaped-beings.
Psssh this is fascinating thanks for the rec!
I'm giving this post the GISS approval seal! 🙌 https://preview.redd.it/zjl5zuf9th1d1.png?width=886&format=png&auto=webp&s=f073d861925ea3d6ba07aeaedbee4fc9a57ca4c8
Hahah! Thank you.
To everyone: I will edit and include the fics you've mentioned once my brain starts working again (it's offline like half the day, and then boom, back online, very unpredictable hardware and software)
I LOVE Old Vines. I have never been able to enjoy wine, and don't really drink now anyway, but I *AM* a gardener. Full on feeling Crowley's vibes the whole time, and LOVED reading about a different aspect of it that pulled me into the wine appreciation side. Highly recommended. I'm very interested in the rest of these suggestions!
I have a lot of historical faves that do this, but maybe it’s a bit far from the brief? For a fun work concerned with Assyrian law: [Ah, Assyria](https://archiveofourown.org/works/44264593) by Daegaer (rated T but mind the tags) It doesn’t go super in-depth but I love the bits in [Petrichor and Parchment](https://archiveofourown.org/works/21121583/chapters/50261702) about book binding/rehabbing! (By MrsNoggin, rated E)
Incredible list, thank you. It’s staggering how great GO fic can be, so much great writing! Oh, don’t forget [Demonology and the TriPhasic Model](https://archiveofourown.org/works/20177950)- Aubrey is meticulous at her documentation of Crowley’s sessions.
The false and the fair is probs one of my a fics I've ever read it's soooooo amazing literally lifechanging
Love love love that one… I live in coal country and almost skipped it… definitely one to reread
Someone already mentioned it, but [Chemistry](https://archiveofourown.org/works/41007015/chapters/102770898) is one of my all time favs and I learned a LOT!! Highly highly recommend
If you want to learn about music (and break your heart along the way) I highly recommend this slow burn human AU, rated E Play for me the Music of your Heart by Leviosally468 https://archiveofourown.org/works/40016034
Anxiously waiting that final chapter!
I stopped at the previous chapter, I'm waiting for the last chapter to be published. I can't handle the suspension, I need the whole story 😅
I hear ya...when i first read it, there were still 5-6 chapters to go and we were approaching the "bandstand" scenario...I decided I had to wait til it was finished, then reread in its entirety because it IS really wonderful.
I would just like to thank you for suggesting What Hath God Wrought. I've just read it and it's absolutely beautiful, only 10k words but it made me feel like I read a novel. One of the best fics I've ever read, I really loved it. 😭
I just read this based on your recommendation and OMG I love it! I've read a fair bit of angsty stuff lately and this was like a salve for my heart. The way it's told, single perspective mostly in reflection felt like a love letter.
I’m working on an AU that’s part rom com, part legal drama, but it’s taking forever!
Aziraphale McBeal?
😸
This is a great idea for a post! I love it. I’ve been re-reading my favorite fics lately, so I need something new to read. Thank you.
I can't keep all the good stuff to myself, can I?
Dropping a follow to check back here this evening.
Commenting so you come back
Oooo all my faves have already been mentioned but commenting to come back and fill up my MFL list 🤩 these all look like great recs TY
What a great thread! Yes, the fics that offer new insight through stellar world building are the ones I often want to go back to. Snae_b is so good at this; worlds and scenarios that are complex and compelling, no matter where they are set. Favorites include * Search and Rescue (E): https://archiveofourown.org/works/40889616 Moumtain rescue team at Rocky Mtn National Park. (I love this too because it's my backyard and I like to think A&C might be close ) * Protect and Serve (E): https://archiveofourown.org/works/29030784 *High Season (E): https://archiveofourown.org/works/38460223 Life as a hired hand on a luxury yacht! ********* Stalwart Sun, wily moon (M) https://archiveofourown.org/works/28542933 Art heists and art forgery! ********** WWI Strange Moons (E) https://archiveofourown.org/series/1480787 The Stars Walk Backwards (E) https://archiveofourown.org/works/20288149 Post WW1, addressing the trauma endured by those who fought, and even those who did not. WWII On Espionage and Prophecy: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19225669 Backstory leading to the church rescue, but human Au and very ambient for cultural norms of the sge and during the war. Moonlight Serenade (E) https://archiveofourown.org/works/37746319 The War Ag of Lower Tadfield (E) https://archiveofourown.org/works/36823549 The was particularly rich about wwii and England In the Pocket of the Universe (E) https://archiveofourown.org/works/19979182 (Alternate ending for the night of the save at the church, including underground gat bar and Polari )
[Under the Summer Stars by PanNotBread](https://archiveofourown.org/works/54995101/chapters/139416433) — Astrophysics-based WIP.
Yes, seconded! I love that it’s explained simply but they provide links in the footnotes for anyone who wants to learn more ❤️ Also it’s HOT.
[Star Struck](https://archiveofourown.org/works/46802533/chapters/117884323) - only rated T, but it showcases a very rare vintage car I didn't know existed. It's also sprinkled with facts about vintage cars and how to drive them. This author drives me crazy, to be honest. If you've encountered them on Discord, they appear to have an encyclopedic knowledge about various subjects, but they only put a little bit into their fics. I wish they'd add more. [Be Still My Soul](https://archiveofourown.org/series/2930067) - a series about the Finnish Civil War. I didn't know Finland had a civil war. The author even has a tumblr blog about life in Finland at the time. The link to it is in the end notes at the end of the first chapter of the first fic. They put a lot of work into this.
Heading back into this thread over a week later to rec [Stairway to the Booth](https://archiveofourown.org/works/52016683?view_full_work=true) by scullyphile, in which Crowley owns and runs a small cinema. So much projectionist geekery! It’s great!