Pre-Arrangement query

[quantum_witch]

I've been wondering this for quite some time...

Is there actually anywhere in canon that specifically says Aziraphale and Crowley fought in a physical manner before the Arrangement? Yes, they were Enemies, but did they have knock-down-drag-outs? So far, I cannot find anywhere this is written, nor even inferred. Is this only fanon?

If someone has a

Comments

[lydia_petze]

That doesn't sound like either of their styles to me, but it's been so long since I read the canon I can't really say.

[quantum_witch]

That's what I feel too. I keep reading fics where they're fighting to the death, but I can't find anything in canon to support such behaviour.

[musegaarid]

Well, I can't imagine why Aziraphale would have a flaming sword if not to use it against demons. He can hardly go around killing humans with it and if he just wanted to hold something impressive, why a sword? Why not a flaming staff

[sanomi]

Actually, doesn't it say something about it in the book? While Aziraphale is sharing Madam Tracy's body and trying to convince Shadwell to kill the Antichrist. I'm pretty sure it says that the most he'd ever done to banish a demon was to hint strongly that it was getting late, and hadn't he better be going? And Crowley apparently always took the hint.

I've lent out my copy of the book, so I can't look it up to find the page number at the moment.

[vermin_disciple]

I was thinking the same thing. It's on page 272 in the US Ace paperback:

"Not much more," said Aziraphale, who had never done other to get rid of demons than to hint to them very strongly that he, Aziraphale, had some work to be getting on with and wasn't it getting late? And Crowley had always got the hint.

[quantum_witch]

Good point, indeed. It says more directly than anything vaguely implied otherwise, that they really haven't spent much time fighting. I like it :)

[vulgarweed]

I think it's total fanon, but it's fun fanon. I've used it before and no doubt will again. :)

[rasetsunyo]

Sure, it's fanon. And I too noticed the passage sanomi and vermin_disciple pointed out, which does seeom rather conclusive. It makes me sad, because I'm rather fond of the idea of them fighting pre-Arrangement.

But I always found it strange that they took five thousand years to come to an Arrangement, especially since they seemed to be on good terms in the Garden. So what happened in the five non-Arrangement millenia? There was a line that went something like... it'd get done anyway, and being sensible about things freed up time for hobbies or some such thing (sorry i'm in dorm now and my copy's at home). That seems to imply that there was a time when they didn't have time for hobbies because they were too busy thwarting one another. Maybe it didn't involve physical fighting, but then maybe it did.