#and then Marcella shows up and. stresses him tf out. bc Theo is mopey but Marcella is actually taking action

[cowboybrunch]

Saaaav <3 I do not know if this is considered an STS question I just have a mighty need for more Az lore. Like what did he do to get stuck with babysitting duty? Did he want the job bc he still has a burning need to be a father, or was that an unexpected perk of a punishment assignment?

jamie hi!! <3

oooh you have no idea what you just unlocked >:) to get into Az's motivations, we need to bust open some Mortae lore. because this guy is old. like, old old. like, the second Mortae that was ever created old.

Morrigan is referred to as the First (Mortae) but that's not really true because she's not technically a Mortae, she's Death. so who was the first? Uriel! (we learn more about the mess that was his death + resurrection in act 3 but yea, he's been around for a while which is why he's Morrigan's right-hand man)

Az was resurrected shortly after, and for a long time, he was hopping around with Uriel. they were new, they were testing the limits of their immortality and what Morrigan would let them get away with, they were the only two of their kind. in the early years, they had little purpose besides finding souls to slurp on and not upsetting Death (which was pretty easy because at this point, nobody was opposing her)

he wasn't exaggerating in Judas Wept when he introduced himself to Theodore as "a friend of [his] mother." he and Uriel are probably the closest thing that Morrigan has to friends. even tho Az isn't directly working for her anymore, he's been loyal for long enough that he remains one of her most trusted allies.

SO. back to the actual question you asked lol. when Theo was being held captive at the end of Judas Wept, Az spent weeks with Morrigan convincing her to let him give it a shot, let him look after her son, he'll set the boy right, etc. he absolutely wanted the job. and yeah part of it was because he wants to be a father, but he also saw that Theodore was suffering and knew that he was maybe the only person that could remove him from the situation and offer him something better.

because unlike Uriel, Az still holds on to some of his humanity (see: the painting of his wife which was created with materials that only existed long after her death. see: the preoccupation with rituals like having dinner together every night)

Az doesn't remember his real name. he doesn't even remember what he looked like when he was alive. but he does remember how to care for others, which is arguably the most human trait of all

and he's successful enough at keeping Theo in one spot and out of trouble (a herculean task) that he becomes a daycare for errant Mortae that don't respond to violent punishment (hi Marcella)

the caveat is that he's still bound to obey Morrigan (and somehow get her wet rat of a son to obey her, too) so he's forced into some decisions that make Theodore vewy angwy

thank u for letting me ramble about this man!!! i hope u have the best day <3