Player Name: Anne Username: trustme_imthe Current/former characters: N/A
Sleeper Character: Aziraphale Username: tartanisstylish Canon: Good Omens Canon point: Five years post-canon; 1995 Age: Approx. 6,000. In the City, he would be considered 42. Appearance: Aziraphale's physical appearance is only described briefly in canon. He is described as having plump, "elegantly-manicured hands"; he wears a tie and what is implied to be a frumpy suit coat. He enjoys tartan. For the purposes of this section, I will infer that Aziraphale looks like an academic gone further to seed. He is a bit heavy but it doesn't occur to him to be self-conscious about it. He appears between 35 and 45 years old, although there is a quality of agelessness about him; he is of average height and has sandy brown hair and blue eyes. He does take care of his appearance, but in a very outdated manner, because along with the manicured nails he wears old ties and outdated suits. Sometimes he wears tweed, or glasses, although he doesn't need them. Canonically, something about his appearance and speech gives one the feeling that he's tremendously gay; this translates into slightly overdramatic hand and arm motions, precise diction, regular (occasionally scathing) use of endearments such as "my dear," and excellent posture.
Personality: Upon first acquaintance, Aziraphale appears virtuous to a fault. He is kind and unfailingly, sometimes cloyingly courteous; he's the type to walk old ladies across busy streets. While he worries constantly about what the Right Thing to Do is and is initially hesitant to question God's plan, he also cares deeply about everyone - individuals as well as humanity as a whole - significantly more than he cares about the heavenly cohort. He dedicated eleven years to a desperate scheme designed to preserve the world, and in the end he was willing to sacrifice himself for the sake of humanity.
Sometimes Aziraphale is not a very good angel. He has, in a way, become more human, but in doing so has given up a good bit of his heavenly perfection. He frequently displays greed and covetousness (although he would probably call it "indulgence"), particularly in the context of books (he wheedles his way out of actually selling a book from his shop for decades), wine (which he consumes in ridiculous amounts with Crowley), and good food (which, technically, he does not need to eat). And he can be selfish - the initial reason he has for wanting to stop Armageddon is that if Hell wins he'll be punished, and if Heaven wins he'll be bored.
He is frequently backhanded in his courtesy; when he is unhappy, particularly with Crowley, he is acidic in his sarcasm. He can also be self-absorbed and hyper-focused on his own thoughts and desires. When he gets drawn into himself in this way, he will often lose his ability to make efficient and coherent decisions; in other words, he dithers. He often relies on others, such as Crowley and Adam Young, to make decisions that he can react to, rather than taking initiative in dangerous situations. He is also what you might call stereotypically British: stuffy, bookish, and fond of tea and tweed. He tends toward the philosophical, especially when inebriated, and has begun to feel slightly safer going on about independence and free will and stuff. He still calls things ineffable, though, sometimes.
Perhaps his greatest failings, at least in Heaven's eyes, are his attachment to humanity and to Crowley. While he is slightly behind Crowley in the former, he does value humanity for the progress that they have made throughout history, their cleverness, and - by the conclusion of the novel - their ability to think for themselves. While his fear of heavenly retribution for interference in Armageddon never entirely subsides, he does realize that humanity is vastly superior to beings of angelic stock because humans have imagination, whether they use it for better or for worse. Further, without humanity he would be a vengeful angel rather than a compassionate one; he first displays empathy when Adam and Eve are driven out of Eden, when he gives them his flaming sword for warmth and protection.
Then, of course, there's Crowley. Crowley is supposed to be Aziraphale's enemy (because he's a demon) but he's actually more like a friend (because really, who else would they talk to if not each other?). They have known each other for millenia and rely on each other because they don't have anyone else. Even before they thwarted Armageddon, they spent far too much time together doing human things: dinner at the Ritz, feeding the ducks, and generally keeping good and evil in balance on Earth. Their Arrangement officially ensured that "while neither really won, also neither really lost," but had the side effect of exposing them to each other on a regular basis. After the quelling of Armageddon, they were even more isolated but for each other. As a result, Aziraphale relies on Crowley for companionship and considers him to be kinder and better than he admits to being, just as Crowley believes that Aziraphale is not quite as virtuous as he tries to act. He also expects Crowley to balance him out, both the good and the bad parts of him. Their relationship is relatively healthy, given its length and their isolation with each other, but although they are friendly and even domestic with each other, tension persists because of the fear that Heaven and Hell will come crashing down on their heads at any moment. Further, Aziraphale is so used to Crowley being in his life that he is likely to panic when he realizes that he is alone.
History: As an angel, Aziraphale was presented with a choice: to obey God, or to Fall. While his specific answer was unfortunately not documented for posterity, he did end up on the side of Heaven and was given the glorious task of standing outside the Eastern Gate of Eden with a flaming sword. He could have done a better job of guarding Eden, honestly, because eventually he was joined by the Serpent of Eden - Crawly - who had just tempted Eve to Fall. After awkwardly half-admitting doubt in their leadership, they parted ways - for a bit.
Because as it turned out, both of them ended up on Earth in human form as field agents, meant to subtly manipulate the actions of humans to ensure their eventual place in Heaven (Aziraphale) or damn their souls to Hell for eternity (Crowley). They were also meant to work in competition with each other, trying to get the most soul points, as it were. But as it turned out, several millenia of this became intensely boring and they worked out an Arrangement in which they worked just hard enough to make it seem to their superiors that they were wrestling with a dangerous and highly capable enemy. With their free time, they were able to be social - mostly with each other.
Fast-forward through centuries (some boring, some far too interesting) to the 20th, and Aziraphale was running a little bookshop from which he rarely sold an actual book, drinking fine wine, and generally enjoying life, or whatever you'd call it. Then Crowley got news of the impending Apocalypse - to be brought about by the Antichrist - and persuaded Aziraphale that wouldn't that just be terrible, to be there when Heaven and Hell destroyed every beautiful thing that humanity had created (and every terrible thing, too)? Crowley had always been good at tempting, and Aziraphale had really agreed with him from the get-go anyway, so they hatched a plan: to find the child and give it equal influence of good and evil. As godfathers. Sort of.
An idea that might work in theory, but in practice it would have been helpful if Crowley had had the right child in mind. In fact, they lost the Antichrist. So while they spent eleven years trying to raise this perfectly ordinary child not to be the Destroyer of Worlds, the actual Antichrist, Adam Young, was running around free of any influence whatsoever. He grew up to be very, very human. However, when Crowley and Aziraphale found out that they'd misplaced Adam, they completely panicked and separated in an attempt to track him down.
As Armageddon began to rain down on them, Aziraphale contacted Heaven to say no, look, it's fine, we don't have to go through with all this, we know who the Antichrist is! - only to realize he'd missed the point when his superiors told him, well, obviously. But we're still going to destroy everything. After an inconvenient discorporation, Aziraphale's consciousness latched onto a medium named Madame Tracy, whom he persuaded to take him to the nuclear facility where an overwhelmed Adam was about to end the world. Upon arriving at the center of the storm, meeting an overwrought Crowley, and regaining his body, Aziraphale prepared to fight the forces of Heaven and Hell with a tire iron when Adam decided - no, these options aren't acceptable. And stops everything.
The world was different after what nearly was Armageddon, and after everything Crowley and Aziraphale decided to get out of London for a bit. They set up shop in a cottage in the South Downs,[1] which is nice and normal and ordinary. They were best friends and only halfway terrified of being shot down from on high (or low).
And then Aziraphale woke up.
Powers/skills: As an angel, Aziraphale was near-omnipotent, with power over life and death, the human soul, and creation and destruction of physical matter. In the context of the game, he will have the following powers.
Extreme persuasiveness, especially in the context of moral situations. Example: A character is deciding whether or not to steal something; Aziraphale would attempt to essentially guilt them out of doing it. [OOC this will only work in person and with characters he has had previous interactions with, never strangers. Permissions would be required, and the effectiveness would be decided based on a dice roll: 1-2 = no effect beyond that of a normal conversation; 3-4 = slight persuasion, characters more likely to do what Aziraphale suggests, but they would be aware of his influence; 5-6 = characters very likely to do what Aziraphale suggests and with limited knowledge of his influence over them.]
Constructive/destructive powers. Aziraphale would gradually reclaim the ability to create or destroy inanimate objects. Both creation and destruction would take a physical toll, leaving him exhausted. For creation/destruction of items permanently, they must be the size of a breadbox or smaller; for creation/destruction of larger items, after two hours everything would revert back to his previous state. Initially, Aziraphale will only be able to access this power when under duress and will have to practice with it in order to control it effectively.
Unusually high alcohol tolerance; he can drink twice the amount that the average man of his build, so that his liver doesn't crap out.
[1] Referenced here and in a con interview that I think's been removed from YouTube. It's sort of like canon?
aziraphale | good omens | 1/?
Name: Anne
Username:
Current/former characters: N/A
Sleeper
Character: Aziraphale
Username:
Canon: Good Omens
Canon point: Five years post-canon; 1995
Age: Approx. 6,000. In the City, he would be considered 42.
Appearance: Aziraphale's physical appearance is only described briefly in canon. He is described as having plump, "elegantly-manicured hands"; he wears a tie and what is implied to be a frumpy suit coat. He enjoys tartan. For the purposes of this section, I will infer that Aziraphale looks like an academic gone further to seed. He is a bit heavy but it doesn't occur to him to be self-conscious about it. He appears between 35 and 45 years old, although there is a quality of agelessness about him; he is of average height and has sandy brown hair and blue eyes. He does take care of his appearance, but in a very outdated manner, because along with the manicured nails he wears old ties and outdated suits. Sometimes he wears tweed, or glasses, although he doesn't need them. Canonically, something about his appearance and speech gives one the feeling that he's tremendously gay; this translates into slightly overdramatic hand and arm motions, precise diction, regular (occasionally scathing) use of endearments such as "my dear," and excellent posture.
Personality: Upon first acquaintance, Aziraphale appears virtuous to a fault. He is kind and unfailingly, sometimes cloyingly courteous; he's the type to walk old ladies across busy streets. While he worries constantly about what the Right Thing to Do is and is initially hesitant to question God's plan, he also cares deeply about everyone - individuals as well as humanity as a whole - significantly more than he cares about the heavenly cohort. He dedicated eleven years to a desperate scheme designed to preserve the world, and in the end he was willing to sacrifice himself for the sake of humanity.
Sometimes Aziraphale is not a very good angel. He has, in a way, become more human, but in doing so has given up a good bit of his heavenly perfection. He frequently displays greed and covetousness (although he would probably call it "indulgence"), particularly in the context of books (he wheedles his way out of actually selling a book from his shop for decades), wine (which he consumes in ridiculous amounts with Crowley), and good food (which, technically, he does not need to eat). And he can be selfish - the initial reason he has for wanting to stop Armageddon is that if Hell wins he'll be punished, and if Heaven wins he'll be bored.
He is frequently backhanded in his courtesy; when he is unhappy, particularly with Crowley, he is acidic in his sarcasm. He can also be self-absorbed and hyper-focused on his own thoughts and desires. When he gets drawn into himself in this way, he will often lose his ability to make efficient and coherent decisions; in other words, he dithers. He often relies on others, such as Crowley and Adam Young, to make decisions that he can react to, rather than taking initiative in dangerous situations. He is also what you might call stereotypically British: stuffy, bookish, and fond of tea and tweed. He tends toward the philosophical, especially when inebriated, and has begun to feel slightly safer going on about independence and free will and stuff. He still calls things ineffable, though, sometimes.
Perhaps his greatest failings, at least in Heaven's eyes, are his attachment to humanity and to Crowley. While he is slightly behind Crowley in the former, he does value humanity for the progress that they have made throughout history, their cleverness, and - by the conclusion of the novel - their ability to think for themselves. While his fear of heavenly retribution for interference in Armageddon never entirely subsides, he does realize that humanity is vastly superior to beings of angelic stock because humans have imagination, whether they use it for better or for worse. Further, without humanity he would be a vengeful angel rather than a compassionate one; he first displays empathy when Adam and Eve are driven out of Eden, when he gives them his flaming sword for warmth and protection.
Then, of course, there's Crowley. Crowley is supposed to be Aziraphale's enemy (because he's a demon) but he's actually more like a friend (because really, who else would they talk to if not each other?). They have known each other for millenia and rely on each other because they don't have anyone else. Even before they thwarted Armageddon, they spent far too much time together doing human things: dinner at the Ritz, feeding the ducks, and generally keeping good and evil in balance on Earth. Their Arrangement officially ensured that "while neither really won, also neither really lost," but had the side effect of exposing them to each other on a regular basis. After the quelling of Armageddon, they were even more isolated but for each other. As a result, Aziraphale relies on Crowley for companionship and considers him to be kinder and better than he admits to being, just as Crowley believes that Aziraphale is not quite as virtuous as he tries to act. He also expects Crowley to balance him out, both the good and the bad parts of him. Their relationship is relatively healthy, given its length and their isolation with each other, but although they are friendly and even domestic with each other, tension persists because of the fear that Heaven and Hell will come crashing down on their heads at any moment. Further, Aziraphale is so used to Crowley being in his life that he is likely to panic when he realizes that he is alone.
History: As an angel, Aziraphale was presented with a choice: to obey God, or to Fall. While his specific answer was unfortunately not documented for posterity, he did end up on the side of Heaven and was given the glorious task of standing outside the Eastern Gate of Eden with a flaming sword. He could have done a better job of guarding Eden, honestly, because eventually he was joined by the Serpent of Eden - Crawly - who had just tempted Eve to Fall. After awkwardly half-admitting doubt in their leadership, they parted ways - for a bit.
Because as it turned out, both of them ended up on Earth in human form as field agents, meant to subtly manipulate the actions of humans to ensure their eventual place in Heaven (Aziraphale) or damn their souls to Hell for eternity (Crowley). They were also meant to work in competition with each other, trying to get the most soul points, as it were. But as it turned out, several millenia of this became intensely boring and they worked out an Arrangement in which they worked just hard enough to make it seem to their superiors that they were wrestling with a dangerous and highly capable enemy. With their free time, they were able to be social - mostly with each other.
Fast-forward through centuries (some boring, some far too interesting) to the 20th, and Aziraphale was running a little bookshop from which he rarely sold an actual book, drinking fine wine, and generally enjoying life, or whatever you'd call it. Then Crowley got news of the impending Apocalypse - to be brought about by the Antichrist - and persuaded Aziraphale that wouldn't that just be terrible, to be there when Heaven and Hell destroyed every beautiful thing that humanity had created (and every terrible thing, too)? Crowley had always been good at tempting, and Aziraphale had really agreed with him from the get-go anyway, so they hatched a plan: to find the child and give it equal influence of good and evil. As godfathers. Sort of.
An idea that might work in theory, but in practice it would have been helpful if Crowley had had the right child in mind. In fact, they lost the Antichrist. So while they spent eleven years trying to raise this perfectly ordinary child not to be the Destroyer of Worlds, the actual Antichrist, Adam Young, was running around free of any influence whatsoever. He grew up to be very, very human. However, when Crowley and Aziraphale found out that they'd misplaced Adam, they completely panicked and separated in an attempt to track him down.
As Armageddon began to rain down on them, Aziraphale contacted Heaven to say no, look, it's fine, we don't have to go through with all this, we know who the Antichrist is! - only to realize he'd missed the point when his superiors told him, well, obviously. But we're still going to destroy everything. After an inconvenient discorporation, Aziraphale's consciousness latched onto a medium named Madame Tracy, whom he persuaded to take him to the nuclear facility where an overwhelmed Adam was about to end the world. Upon arriving at the center of the storm, meeting an overwrought Crowley, and regaining his body, Aziraphale prepared to fight the forces of Heaven and Hell with a tire iron when Adam decided - no, these options aren't acceptable. And stops everything.
The world was different after what nearly was Armageddon, and after everything Crowley and Aziraphale decided to get out of London for a bit. They set up shop in a cottage in the South Downs,[1] which is nice and normal and ordinary. They were best friends and only halfway terrified of being shot down from on high (or low).
And then Aziraphale woke up.
Powers/skills: As an angel, Aziraphale was near-omnipotent, with power over life and death, the human soul, and creation and destruction of physical matter. In the context of the game, he will have the following powers.
[1] Referenced here and in a con interview that I think's been removed from YouTube. It's sort of like canon?