Aziraphale
Many people, meeting Aziraphale for the first time, formed three impressions: that he was English, that he was intelligent, and that he was gayer than a treeful of monkeys on nitrous oxide.
CANON.
Good Omens (tv series)
CANON POINT.
Post-canon
AGE.
Unspecified, but at least 6000
APPEARANCE.
Appears middle-aged, male and caucasian. Has curly white-blond hair and plump, manicured fingers. 5' 10", chubby. Holds himself in quite a prim and proper manner, has worn the same thing every day for decades. Resting 👼 face.
Here he is, on the right.
IN CHARACTER
HISTORY.
Very little is known about Aziraphale from before the Earth was created, except that he is an Angel who led armies in the initial war between Heaven and Hell. His story begins when he is assigned to guard the eastern gate of Garden of Eden, though he does a terrible job and lets in the serpent who tempts Eve into the original sin. Afterward, he meets with the serpent named Crawly, who has taken a humanoid form, and Aziraphale confesses that he'd given his sword to them.
Implied to be his punishment, Aziraphale is demoted and sent to be on Earth permanently to perform miracles and promote peace for humans. He meets with Crawly (who had changed his name to Crowley) numerous times, and discovers that Crowley was sent to serve the opposite role on Hell's behalf. They eventually strike up an Arrangement. Over the years, he would perform temptations for Crowley, and Crowley would perform miracles for Aziraphale in exchange. It cuts down on their workload, and frees up their time to pursue personal projects.
During this time, Aziraphale and Crowley also develop a deep friendship.
In 2008, Crowley delivers a newborn Antichrist at an abbey, where they are presiding over two births. In a misunderstanding, the Antichrist is delivered to the wrong couple.
During this time, Aziraphale is visited by the Archangel Gabriel, who vaguely tells him that the world is ending and that Crowley is involved. Crowley chases after Aziraphale to try and get him to stop Armageddon. He refuses Crowley, initially but is convinced that it would be good for him to thwart evil by preventing the Apocalypse. The two hatch a plan to influence the Antichrist so that he won't start the Apocalypse. The two infiltrate the family by going undercover and on the boy's eleventh birthday, an event is supposed to happen to trigger the start of Armageddon. When it doesn't, they realize they have followed the wrong boy, and try to locate the other one by returning to the Abbey. The records, however, were destroyed in a fire.
Driving back home together, they get into an accident and run into a girl named Anathema Device, who is also trying to stop the Apocalypse. They take her home. In her hurry, she leaves a book of prophecies in the backseat. Realizing what he has, Aziraphale quickly says goodbye to Crowley and rushes home to find that he has the key to locating the boy, and he quickly notifies his colleagues in Heaven. The other angels, upon hearing this, disparage Aziraphale, since they all want a war.
He meets with Crowley at a designated meet-up point, but also doesn't disclose that he has located the boy. After a series of rows, Aziraphale decides to leave his bookshop and is confronted by angels who have discovered The Arrangement and threaten him. Aziraphale goes back to talk with God, but is interrupted by a man named Shadwell visiting and believing him to be a demon. In an attempt to make sure Shadwell doesn't step into the summoning circle used to call God, Aziraphale steps into it and accidentally summons himself to Heaven, losing his body.
Crowley meanwhile has gone to Aziraphale's shop to warn him of Hell finding out about their Arrangement, but he is too late as the entire thing is in flames from a knocked-over candle. Crowley believes Aziraphale to be dead and goes to mourn in a pub. Aziraphale returns to Earth as a ghostly apparition to inform Crowley of where the Apocalypse is and that he's leaving to find a body to possess.
Aziraphale then inhabits a woman's body while she is performing a seance. She happens to be Shadwell's landlady, and the three of them meet up with Crowley, Adam the Antichrist, and his friends. The children anticlimactically stop the Four Horsemen, and then they all help Adam stop Satan.
Aziraphale and Crowley's bosses kidnap them in order to dispose of them for averting the Apocalypse, however, there are very limited ways to kill an angel and a demon. The two of them have switched bodies, thereby allowing both to survive. Fearing retribution, Heaven and Hell agree to leave the two alone to retire.
PERSONALITY.
Aziraphale does have a history of protecting humans, and by nature is kind and altruistic. He is first shown on-screen having given away his weapon to Adam and Eve after they had been cast out from Eden, and lies to God to cover it up. He later argues with the angels that the humans can be saved if they just do something about the Antichrist, and is disappointed and disturbed when he discovers that the other angels are completely impassive to the humans' fate.
Though he seems altogether unassuming and "soft" as he puts it, he is also capable of doing scary things when pushed; we see glimpses of this when he banishes the guard keeping them from entering the airbase, and when wielding Shadwell's gun as Madam Tracy. Occasionally he gives in to doing something a little bratty, like setting a parking ticket on fire, but he is usually aware of the magnitude of his powers. And although he is a pacifist, he easily slips into a fighting stance when given his sword, and is high enough ranking to be a commanding officer. He does prefer less conflict and to appeal to characters' reason rather than to fight them outright. And when he is feeling bold, he is commanding: arguing with the Metatron to put God on the line, and interrupting Gabriel to say his piece.
Aziraphale is not the biggest fan of change, and although it seems as if he had caught up with the fashions and times until the late 1800s, he appears to sometimes be stuck in the Victorian era with his manner of dress and home furnishings. He still uses a rotary dial and on one occasion refers to a bicycle as a velocipede, doesn't listen to popular music written after the 1950s, and has not changed his hairstyle in 6,000 years. But he is cultured in most things old, being a lover of the written word and classical music.
Often petty and sometimes sassy, Aziraphale is not mean-spirited and has a pretty even temper, but not the patience of a saint, particularly when crunched for time.
He is also intelligent, well-read and perceptive, though because of his incompetence, he is often underestimated by his superiors and seen as sort of bumbling, harmless, and too caught up in his own navel-gazing to be much of a threat. It is possibly because of this that the Upstairs doesn't suspect any foul play when he and Crowley switch places - they don't think him capable of hatching such a plan!
Aziraphale undergoes a lot of character growth throughout the mini-series of Good Omens that stems from him starting to lose his faith in God refusing to take his call and the angels wishing for Armageddon at the cost of the Earth. But even though he has improved, he is still a repressive character, often eschewing his own feelings when the matter of what he thinks is right doesn't coincide with what Heaven wants. This manifests in a chaotic, wildly fluctuating energy as he goes back and forth deciding who to trust with what information.
He is almost overly-obsessed with appearance in this regard, tending to find it easier to accept Crowley's amoral plans when they correspond to being able to pass off positive outcomes to the Upstairs. But he is also a being of creature comforts, keeping his clothes in working condition for centuries, having a very particular haircut for his entire existence, being well-manicured, etc. He once dressed up in aristocratic clothes during the Reign of Terror and was scheduled to be executed; his excuse was that he "has standards."
Often pulling frivolous miracles -- to have enough coin to buy snacks during a show, or to set fire to a parking ticket -- he was reprimanded for doing just that, because he is heavily reliant on reality bending itself on his account.
He is an incredibly stubborn individual, and sometimes is either so self-important or otherwise focused that he ignores others around him. He is used to things going his way, or being able to manipulate a situation otherwise, and often gets upset when he's forced out of his comfort zone. That's part of the reason why he usually never leaves it, preferring instead an unchanging, slow life.
Aziraphale is also not the greatest liar, possibly in part because he already has a nervous, conflicted energy, and in part because he always wears his emotions on his face. He also shoulders guilt very easily even though he is a rulebreaker, and it compounds his stresses.
STRENGTHS.
angel physiology.
Organs are not necessary for Aziraphale. He is ageless, and doesn't actually require breathing nor eating to sustain himself.
miracles.
Aziraphale liberally performs miracles. Miracles essentially bend reality to the user's whim, and have been demonstrated to do the following:
- Conjure light
- Heal broken bones
- Resurrect small animals
- Banish someone
- Teleport
- Sober up from a night of drinking
- Clear up dinner reservations
- Make someone fall asleep and give them good dreams.
blessings.
Blessings are kind of like a good luck charm and also offer an improbable amount of protection. They are also harmful to demons.
flight.
With big white swan wings (will be clipped for game), Aziraphale can take to the skies. Honestly though? He prefers to take the bus.
empathy.
He can feel love, and he has plenty of it to give.
strength.
unknown level of strength, but is shown to easily pick up ~200lbs.
languages.
Having been around for 6000 years, he speaks many Earth languages, most of them dead.
WEAKNESSES.
food.
Aziraphale will literally show up to the French Revolution dressed like an aristocrat for some crepes.
hubris/arrogance.
Also stubborn, he is rather unyielding to alternative ways of thinking.
image-obsessed.
Not necessarily in a vain sense (though he can be vain), he puts a lot of focus on what things might be perceived as to others.
curses.
He is particularly susceptible to hellfire and other sorts of hellish things, like curses.
OPT-IN.
Yes!
ITEMS
CLOTHES.
- Victorian frock coat, original
- Velvet waistcoat, also original
- Light blue button-up shirt
- White undershirt
- Tartan bow-tie
- Brown slacks
- Button-front boxers
- Pinky ring (wing shape)
Stolen items: tartan socks, brown-and-tan high-top oxford shoes, sock garter.
ITEMS / PETS.
One gold pocket watch and pocket watch chain. Possibly some spare coins and slightly melted pocket candy.
WEAPONS.
N/A.
SAMPLES
LOG.
Sample Link 1,
Sample Link 2.
NETWORK.
Sample Link
NAME. Xy
TZ. EST/DST
AGE. 29
CONTACT. @assemble.plurk, lehnsherr#2773, pm, telegram, kulning
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