Aziraphale

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Aziraphale is a fictional angel in the novel Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman. He was supposedly the angel of the flaming sword who guarded the Garden of Eden before Adam and Eve were cast out (Genesis 3:24), but he had to give up this task as he gave his flaming sword to the humans out of pity.

In the book it is said, "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 tree full of monkeys on nitrous oxide."

Concerning the character's name, Pratchett says "It was made up, but from real ingredients". Aziraphale's name is an anglicisation of Aziraphael, and from the Hebrew elements we can glean that his name means "God heals my Strength." He is a Principality, possibly demoted from the rank of Cherub for 'misplacing military technology'.

He went on to become Heaven's agent on Earth, under the guise of running a second-hand bookshop in Soho. He collects prophecies, especially apocalyptic ones, although he's aware of the steps that have been taken to ensure none of them are accurate. Misprinted Bible editions are also a passion of his, and his collection includes among others the Wicked Bible (Thou shalt commit adultery) and the Buggre alle this Bible in which he himself contributed a small addendum to the book of Genesis (The name derives from an outburst by the typesetter in an unrelated part of the book). Finally, he has a penchant for Oscar Wilde first editions. Aziraphale seems to do everything he can to discourage possible customers; he doesn't mark prices on the books, for example, and keeps quite irregular opening hours.

He has a strong friendship with his opposite number, the demon Anthony Crowley, who was the original Serpent of Eden. The two often meet up to compare notes, much like Cold War agents who find they have "more in common with their immediate opponents than their distant superiors" as it says in the book. Somewhere around year 1000 they came to an Arrangement, according to which they would occasionally work together or do some of each other's work, because "it'd get done anyway, and being sensible about it gave everyone more free time and cut down on expenses". They meet for somewhat regular dinners at the Ritz, feeding ducks at St. James' park, or simply enjoying some wine together, and seem to know each other very well.

Crowley refers to Aziraphale as "angel", which, while certainly not an imaginative nickname in this situation, causes some confusion in the book. Anathema Device, a girl whose bike Crowley runs over, notices Crowley referring to Aziraphale as 'angel' and mistakes them for a gay couple.

There are indeed several theories that suggest that the relationship of Aziraphale and Crowley runs deeper than mere companionship. In the book itself they are pictured as being rather close, or at least they know each other very thoroughly. Near to the end of the book, while they are dining at the Ritz again, it is told that "for the first time ever, a nightingale sang in Berkeley Square." This can be taken as a reference to a love song by Eric Maschwitz, "A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square". The song describes two people falling in love, and the end of the first verse says, "There were angels dining at the Ritz / And a nightingale sang in Berk'ley Square."

Also, Neil Gaiman mentioned in his blog that Aziraphale and Crowley are currently living in the South Downs. When he was asked in a book signing just what the two were doing there, he told that Aziraphale and Crowley were 'sharing a cottage'. It also got mentioned that Aziraphale watched porn, taking notes -- this quite suggests a certain kind of a relationship.