Aziraphale’s Lyre Cufflinks

I decided to sculpt them from scratch, rather than 3d print them. I used Milliput, because it dries rock hard, can be carved and sanded easily when it does, and… I had a bunch since I used it for the pocket watch fob. 😅

Then I made molds and casted them in resin. My first attempt I tried Rub n Buff, but it wasn’t gold enough, so I did gold leaf instead. Then I attached them to blank cufflink backs.

The first thing I made was Aziraphale’s shirt, so I ended up having to replace the cuffs to accommodate them. I guess my eyes kept focusing on his vest, so I kept missing the fact he had cufflinks and French cuffs. 🙃

Aziraphale’s Pocket Watch Chain

There are a number of key aspects to Aziraphale’s pocket watch chain, which I wanted to ensure I replicated for my costume.

First, his chain is comprised of three different chains: fob, main, and watch. Second, there is a more aged appearance to the gold, when compared to the bright gold of the fob. I took this to be because he polishes the fob (and likely the watch), but not the chain. The color difference is a lot more obvious in person than my photos, but it is a nice, subtle difference.

Here is the breakdown of my costume process:

Fob

The fob chain was the hardest to try and replicate. If I can find a better alternative, I’ll replace it in the future, but as it was I worked with what I had. The main feature was the ribbed links, one of which is skipped. I found silver, ribbed spacer beads as the closest way to replicate this. I would have used smaller, thicker jump rings for the alternating links, but they didn’t fit in the tight hole of the spacer bead. The ribs are the most important aspect, so I had to make that sacrifice. The color of the different pieces didn’t matter, as the entire chain was going to receive antique gold Rub N Buff anyway. I used a random necklace bar closure as the piece that slips in the buttonhole.

Main

This was the part that kept messing with my eyes. At first, it appeared to be that the chain changed halfway from the woven links to a simple chain. After examining the way the light glared off the links in certain ways, and how my replication moved, I accepted it to be the woven chain the entire way to the watch chain. I took a photo into Procreate and traced the links to get a better idea of how they are woven together (this can be seen in the first photo collage of this post), then took apart a chain and relinked it to match. A round of Rub N Buff to match the fob chain, and it was done.

Watch

The watch chain itself was simple, but the problem was the watch. We never get a good look at his watch. We see watches on his desk in S1, but the chains on them don’t match what he wears. He takes his watch out of his pocket very briefly in S2, but he has it cupped in his hand and turns quickly, so we never see it clearly. That meant I had to take some creative liberties.

I researched different pocket watches through history, and decided to go for one of the ornate fronts. The watch I started with was a cheap, broken Harry Potter watch. I sculpted a replica of the angel on his fob on it, then sanded it down so most of the detail was gone and worn away, so it looks like he’s been taking it in and out of a pocket for 200 years.

For the interior, I printed out a watch face I liked to cover the Deathly Hallows face. I removed the second hand, because they were a relatively new addition in the late 18th century, so I figured Aziraphale would be slow on the uptake of new technology. I set the time to 9:13 as a nod to the GO canon of 9:13 am being when the universe was created. I also printed out, on photo paper, the da Vinci sketch of Crowley we see on Aziraphale’s desk in the Lockdown special. I cut it to fit and, after a run through the washing machine gave the photo a roughed up the edges without disintegrating it, I placed it inside as a sweet little extra. The whole watch received a Rub N Buff treatment (gold leaf for most of it, but antique gold for under the photo, because it seemed like an area that wouldn’t get cleaned regularly).

Once everything was assembled, the chaos coalesced to look like a decent replica. I may redo the watch at some point, and obviously will be on the look out for a proper fob chain replacement, but I’m happy with the overall look.

Aziraphale’s Sins

I saw someone on Reddit say Aziraphale uses the seven deadly sins as a checklist, and I couldn’t help but reflect on it.

In season one, we see very clear pride (in his clothing and his books), gluttony, and greed.

In season two, we get even more gluttony (the source of it, in fact), a fair helping of sloth, envy (he shows this at what he thinks is Crowley’s freedom as a demon regarding Job), and greed again (he’s now officially stopped even pretending he’s going to sell his books. Plus he threw a whole ball, making humans do things against what they originally wanted, to have an intimate night with his kinda-sorta boyfriend).

We see bits of lust and wrath leaking out in season two, so it stands to reason these will be at the forefront of season three, if the theory tracks.

Aziraphale’s Medallion Construction

Since apparently I couldn’t make any part of this costume simple, I documented the steps I took to make an accurate replica of Aziraphale’s fob.

I started with a 3D print, having to try a number of different orientations to get the most detail, as I have a STL printer, not a resin printer. For anyone interested, I used an Ender 3 v2 printer with Polymaker CosPLA Version B filament.

I didn’t like how simple the file I used was, so I cut the sides, re-sculpted the scrolls, built up the details on the angel, and filled in the layer lines. For sculpting, I used Milliput 2-part putty. For the layer lines, I used AK Hard modeling white putty.

Then it was sand, sand, sand, until I felt comfortable making a mold and casting it in resin. I put a thick jump ring in the resin, as I felt the loop would be the most likely place to break, and wanted extra support.

I then sanded the resin cast some more to smooth the edges and back, then used gold leaf Rub N Buff to color it.

I’m pretty happy with the final result. I know there were simpler ways to go, but I’m glad I stuck it out on this route.

I have an entire post to make for the chain, as I essentially built it from scratch, so that will come later.

To anybody who arrived here from Neil Gaiman, I want to share the level of insanity I’ve been going through for this costume. I’ve decided I can’t buy fabric in the right color, so I’ll be removing the color from a fabric that I like the pattern and feel of, and re-dying it. This is the current state of trying to color match for dye:

I’ve also been dissecting every photo I can find to replicate his unusual chain for his watch. I’ve come to the conclusion there’s actually three to four different chains, so I’ve been taking apart links on a chain and relinking them in the correct grouping… (no photo yet; waiting on a few materials for it).

I’ll probably be posting cosplay updates on this blog as they happen. I want to provide help to any other future Aziraphale’s who want it. I am also making my husband an intensely accurate Crowley costume, if anybody is interested in updates for that, as well.

I will say, I’m not a professional seamstress/cosplayer. I’ve won three craftsmanship awards in the past (best novice at a tiny convention, and two second place journeyman at a mid-sized one), but that’s the extent of it. I’m also a stay-at-home mom, so I try and do my costumes on a budget. I do splurge when there is absolutely no alternative (the vest fabric is the most I’ve ever spent on fabric, but it had to be done for the devore).

Thank you to anyone who wants to join me on my ultimate brain rot therapy.

I really adore the GO frame projects…

Let There Be Frames and Every Frame Matters are so beautiful that I wanted to give making a frame a try myself. I paused Before the Beginning in a random spot and gave it a try.

It’s not exact, but it was fun experiment. I want to try doing more while I wait expectantly for the next project to drop. I’ll admit I’m jealous of those who got to participate. ❤️❤️ Keep up the good work.

Loving 1941 Date Night Crowley recently. The whole ensemble just works for him. Really waiting for chapter three of 1941 in season three.

I’m terrified I’m going to mess up the sketch when I paint him. 😭

Wish me luck…

Meowley: My scratcher is not yellow. It’s never been yellow. It’s not going to start being yellow now. Change it back!

Mewziraphale: But it’s pretty…

FYI, you can get a cat scratcher that looks like a Bentley on Chewy. 🙃

Why making Aziraphale and Crowley mortal would be more cruel than ending their story with S2

Ever since Michael Sheen replied to a tweet regarding them turning mortal, I’ve seen an uptick in people talking about the theory that that is how their story ends. Perhaps it’s because I just had a death in the family, but the idea of it made me horribly emotional. I managed to outline the reasons why, and wanted to share my thoughts.

1. It undermines Crowley not wanting to become an angel for Aziraphale

It was a huge character growth moment for Crowley, who has been treating Aziraphale gently their entire lives on Earth, to refuse to become an angel to stay with him. To go from refusing to change for him, to changing to a mortal so they can be together, negates this powerful decision. It also feeds into Aziraphale’s idea that they can’t be together as an angel and a demon, which means it would negate any character growth he needs to go through to be able to earn Crowley’s love.

2. Gabriel and Beelzebub were able to be together as an angel and a demon

While Gabriel was willing to change to be with Beelzebub in Hell, at the end they didn’t need to. They could go off together as they were. Why do our heroes, who have experienced so much, need to be humans to be together?

3. They would never be able to go to Alpha Centauri together

While they could technically go before changing, it wouldn’t have the same impact, knowing they could never go again. They met in the stars that Crowley made. To say they can never see them as anything other than fancy wallpaper, for the rest of their mortal lives, simply hurts.

4. They would barely have time together

If they became mortal as we know them, they would have maybe 30 years together. In which time, one would have to watch the other whither and die and be left alone. Then what happens? Do they return to Heaven and Hell? Are they simply dead and gone? Are they reincarnated and meet each other over and over for eternity?

While the latter may seem romantic, it’s simply just as tragic as the other options. They wouldn’t be them. They wouldn’t know the depth of their love, and their story would still end in death, every time. It would be Romeo and Juliet: a tragic and painful romance, that always ends in tragedy and pain.

5. Aziraphale would lose a part of Crowley he loves

Perhaps this isn’t such a big deal, but Aziraphale loves Crowley’s eyes. The color, the expressiveness… he constantly loses himself in them. Obviously, these would be gone, should they become mortal. This may seem like a positive, since Crowley would no longer have to hide behind his sunglasses, but it is yet again a case of changing who he is to be with Aziraphale.

Everyone is entitled to their opinions, of course, but I had to get these thoughts out of my mind, which is already dealing with mourning family. If season 3 aired today, and ended with them being mortal, I don’t think I could handle it. Mortality is too tragic to be thrust upon these beautiful characters.

I had no choice. It had to be done.

Gabriel and Beelzebub

After what he did in season one, it’s amazing to say you can end season two liking Gabriel, but that’s what great writing can do. I hope we see these two again in season three.

Good Omens, but make it cats. It’s 1941, and Aziraphale got his dance with the thin dark duke.

Cat Gabriel… or is it Jim, short for James?

Good Omens, but make it cats. I’m not used to using gouache, but I was so happy with these guys.