#wrote this while recovering from having my wisdom teeth out so if it's gibberish then i can't tell

[ineffable-baker-street]

there is nothing i love more than considering the fact that aziraphale created the concept of war and violence on earth, because he refused to be an angel. he gave away his flaming sword and just like that the first humans had the first weapon.

in the garden of eden, aziraphale believed himself to be good and righteous and a proper angel, but then he does something decidedly not angelic. he helps a human, purely because those individuals were in danger, and he didn't want them to be hurt. he did not consider the great repercussions of centuries of war and death, because humans don't consider the greater good if an individual life that they care for is at risk. and then suddenly there's a wily serpent next to him, pointing out just how un-angelic he had been, but praising him for it at the same time.

that was the first day that aziraphale learned that if he were to be an angel he would have to make choices that would harm individuals, in order to maintain the moral high ground, and to continue to weave a righteous ineffable plan. because if it had been any other angel stood on that wall, they would not even have considered giving a weapon to a human, the great consequences would be too severe and in their minds the ineffable plan would not approve. but adam and eve would have left the garden and promptly been eaten and the ineffable plan would not have continued as it was destined to. because if it could potentially cause themselves harm, an angel will never do something against the great plan, because we all know what happens if an angel asks too many questions, let alone makes too many mistakes.

a human however, makes situational choices, and tries to do whatever will have the most beneficial outcome. this is aziraphale's first human act, and he will make many more in the years to come. but... only because crawley told him that it was not angelic. crawley laughed and looked delighted with just how "not good" aziraphale had just been, despite reassuring him that an angel cant do the wrong thing. but there's subtext there, and they both know that he's a demon, he lies, and suddenly it becomes clear that if a supposed demon could approve of his choice, but aziraphale, a supposed angel, had also thought he made the right decision, then perhaps everything isn't so black and white after all. because to care for the earth, as a human does, and as crowley and aziraphale do, is to search through the shades of grey until you find just the right one.

and so aziraphale gives away his sword, and thus creates weapons of violence, and eventually millions die to those weapons, but it doesn't matter, because the first humans survived, and aziraphale was not only the creator of war, but also the protector of life.