#I hate bearded “manly” Aziraphale with a passion

[highseas-swede]

...I seriously cannot stress how much I hate tags like "Give us BAMF Aziraphale" because it seems to imply that he's not badass.

He IS. Tell me how well most people could endure 6000 years of consistent, persistent demoralization, harassment and shitty treatment without snapping?

Do you know how HARD it is to be kind when you've been put through a system that actively discourages kindness and softness, a system that tries to beat it out of you - not physically, but still. The fact that Aziraphale got through all of that and is not just still kind, but still has the capacity to be kind to the very people who hurt him, is fucking remarkable.

Aziraphale is badass. Period. Full Stop.

It's well past time that we stopped equating physical and fighting prowess as a measure of badassery. Just about anyone can exercise and get strong enough to fight someone. Just about anyone could possibly get weapons training. Neither of these things is half as brave as putting yourself in front of a crowd of people and holding off 70 demons with just conviction and a candleholder because it's the RIGHT THING TO DO.

EDIT: I had to add this while I was thinking of it.

I feel like people are buying into Heaven's version of badassery. Angels were made to FIGHT. To fight the last big battle against demons and Hell.

Aziraphale is a deviation because he DOES NOT WANT THAT. He doesn't want to fight a war that will hurt billions and destroy the world. His defining moment in Season 1 is when he stands in the face of the quartermaster and refuses to fight the way they want him to. Instead of a weapon, he chooses to find another way.

If anything, I would think it's leading to the idea that Aziraphale feels he must fight, that he has no choice, and then, when it comes right down to it, finding another way. A kinder way. A BETTER way.

By the standards of Heaven, Aziraphale picking up his sword and fighting would be Normal. Him refusing and finding another way is what makes him Unique. THAT'S what makes him badass.

#Aziraphale is already a BAMF #miss me with these takes about how Aziraphale needs to toughen up #aziraphale #good omens #good omens meta #bamf aziraphale #I hate that tag #I hate it because it's only ever used for “Aziraphale beats people up with a sword” and never used for Aziraphale as he is #...also on a personal note #I hate bearded “manly” Aziraphale with a passion #why do people just want to make him more masculine? #Seriously wtf #Masculinity and badassery do not go hand in hand that's a very toxic masculinity rooted idea right there. #the one exception I would see is if they channeled Mrs Robinson a bit and kept the femme quality that makes him so delightful. #i mean obviously do what you want in fandom but people have literally been asking Neil to give Aziraphale a beard #Neil's response was that he wasn't going to do something because fandom asked for it but it's so rude to try and force it