tow the line and play their game

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A Z I R A P H A L E
PRINCIPALITY - ANGEL OF THE EASTERN GATE

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.
– good omens (novel)

BASICS

race. angel. looks human enough.
gender. none. presents as male.
pronouns. he/him.

age. +6000 years. appears in his 50s.
birthdate. unknown.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS

visual appearance. 50ish year old white male with pale blond curls, an upturned nose and cherubic face. clean shaven.
height. based on pb, around 5'10".
build. soft.
eyes. unknown, possibly hazel or blue.
hair. pale blond.
fashion. dresses a little old-fashioned and usually in pale colors of blues, browns, and creams. likely wearing a tartan bowtie.
demeanor. extraordinarily "British" in mannerisms: polite, a bit prissy, sassy, and snobbish in his own way. prone to anxiety.
audio sample. speaks with a British accent, fairly standard received pronunciation.

canon. good omens (tv series)
pb. michael sheen.
---
sexuality. none. unless he makes an effort.

Comments

[1] The Angel of the Eastern Gate of Eden

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Therefore the LORD God expelled the man from the Garden of Eden so he would work the ground from which he had been taken. After he had expelled the man, the LORD God placed winged angels at the eastern end of the Garden of Eden, along with a fiery whirling sword, to prevent access to the tree of life.

–Genesis 3: 23-24

Aziraphale's first job on Earth is as guard of the Eastern Gate of the Garden of Eden. It is here that he gives the flaming sword to Adam when he and Eve are expelled, and it is here that he meets the demon Crowley, then known as Crawly.

He is depicted much later as always appearing under the E of the cardinal points of the compass rose of his bookshop's rotunda.

[2] [3] Physical Attributes

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[2] He appears human in most aspects--wingless unless otherwise noted, no halo. However, he is sexless unless by choice and is not required to eat or even breathe, though he does both of those, again, by choice.

[3] Presented here for reference purposes to compare to other roleplay characters. Michael Sheen is listed as 5'10"
For canon comparison's sake:
- Crowley/David Tennant is 6'1", as is Gabriel/John Hamm
- Madame Tracy/Miranda Richardson is 5'5"

[Footnote Unnumbered]

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Why all the Queen?

You'll notice as many posts on Aziraphale's journal as I can manage are titled/cut-texted/current-music'd with Queen songs.

Crowley was currently doing 110 mph somewhere east of Slough. Nothing about him looked particularly demonic, at least by classical standards. No horns, no wings. Admittedly he was listening to a Best of Queen tape, but no conclusions should be drawn from this because all tapes left in a car for more than a fortnight metamorphose into Best of Queen albums.

Per a Q&A or interview with author Neil Gaiman, the Queen thing came up as a joke between him and co-author Terry Pratchett. The idea that any cassette tape (in the TV series it becomes CDs) left in a car too long somehow turns into Best of Queen instead of whatever it was before.

Clearly Aziraphale's been in the Bentley too long himself.

[Footnote Unnumbered] Footnotes

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Footnotes are used probably somewhat less frequently in Good Omens than in other Terry Pratchett works, but they're there, and I happen to enjoy a good footnote myself.