— What Has Been Documented

• Ivan is an angel and as far as his nature goes he is most like the angel Michael from Christian theology, although this blog has very little to do with religion.

Appearance

He is somewhere between six feet four inches (193 cm) to six feet six inches (198 cm) in height. He has broad shoulders and a long torso, and his legs are proportionate. This may seem overly large to many, but it does serve a purpose; he is a soldier/mercenary, and it gives him not only an advantage over smaller opponents, but an intimidating air as well. Also, angels tend to be slightly larger than humans, and the average height for a female is about six feet (182 cm). Aside from that, he mostly retains the bodily appearance of a large, stocky man, with blunt but generally attractive features, such as a thick Roman nose, full lips, and violet-tinged eyes. (i.e. Russia). From his back sprout two large white-colored wings, which are about sixteen feet wingtip to wingtip, and have extra joints in the upper portion which allow him to fold them around his shoulders and retract them slightly (not fully into his back, but rather in a layering system, much like a cat’s claw) when he is not flying so they do not pose a problem by brushing the ground or making it uncomfortable to sit down. His neck and body have numerous scars, (after a few millenniums of battle they tend to accumulate) some of which lack nerve endings, and some which have extra and are sensitive to the touch. There are less on his lower chest and stomach, but they increase in size and frequency as they approach his neck, where he has particularly large ones. The other largest, and most recent, are on his back around the upper curve of where his wing connects into his back, from “them” trying to pull off his wings and render him powerless.

General Angel Information

Angels cannot die in any way other than by the weapons created by heaven, so regular bullets/knives/etc will only slow them down, and injuries incurred from such weapons can be regenerated, or in some cases (like an amputated limb) just reattached. Also, they have to be directly stabbed, generally in the chest area, as decapitation/bleeding out/hanging/etc. does not work. When they do die, they usually explode, or incinerate, depending on the class and age of the angel. They have no afterlife, and whether or not they have a “soul” is debated. Ivan is not afraid of death, but he does fear that he will regret the things he has done or has not yet had a chance to do.

Miscellaneous Physical Information

It is very hard for an angel to fly, theoretically speaking, but the species is well adapted. They have a blood type that is very similar to human fetal hemoglobin, which is highly receptive to oxygen, and their only modification on that is it also releases said oxygen to their muscles very quickly. Because of this, he doesn’t really have a higher metabolic rate or heart rate, and his lungs and heart are a size that could be considered “average” for a being his size. Similarly, he doesn’t go into carbon dioxide deficiency any easier than a fit human would, so he doesn’t have breathing or fainting trouble. There is speculation that angels have some air absorption through areas of their skin, but no conclusive research has been made. 

A lot of calories and fats are also required to keep an angel in the air, and as a result that is almost birdlike in nature, angels have a high affinity for sweet and fatty foods. Sodas, cake, and hard candy are particular favorites of his, and even when such food isn’t  available he eats like a horse to make up for it. 

Weaknesses

Despite being an angel, he does have several painful weaknesses, such as he absolutely cannot mortally wound humans without there being a call for them to be struck down. Also, if his wings are securely bound, he is mostly immobile and powerless Third, he must always answer to the Horn of Gabriel, and do as it’s possessor wishes. Human diseases generally do not affect angels, but there are a few things that he likes to avoid as far as angel/demon illnesses go. 

Relationships/Sexuality

Angels don’t have a strict sense of gender in an XX or XY chromosome sense. Most of them “appear” as males or females based on what they feel the most comfortable with or enjoy the most. Ivan obviously prefers his male body, but he could inhabit a female one if he wishes (note: he does “wear” a human body, but it was “created” rather than having ever been someone else’s).Angels are somewhat hermaphroditic creatures, but have the ability to be one or the other at will. (This springs from the fact that every time I tried looking it up, most sources said they have no gender or no set gender) “He” can actually become a woman, or a man with breasts, or a woman with a penis, or whatever have you. He can even be entirely androgynous with no sexual organs whatsoever. It’s really all his personal choice, but he will change to suit the preference of a friend, or the situation. It really doesn’t bother him one way or the other, but he mostly prefers to stay male as he identifies mainly as that gender. Due to this, he could probably be classified as “pansexual”, since gender means next to nothing to him. It’s just part of a person, and they get to choose what it is. He has been celibate for at least one thousand years, and his two relationships prior to that were both heterosexual, one a longer relationship with a female angel that died, and the other a brief and sexual relationship with one of his fellow soldiers. However, he does not mind homosexual relationships in the slightest, and enters relationships based on availability and emotional attraction. (for instance, if he was in a place where there weren’t any women and he formed an emotional attachment to another man who reciprocated his feelings, he would enter a relationship with them without a fuss). It just doesn’t seem practical to most angels to have a strict sense of hetero/homosexuality, as they are pretty gender-fluid beings and since they die so rarely, their population doesn’t need to be increased. Which is lucky, really, because it is hard for angels to  successfully procreate.

Why does he speak English?

Before coming to earth, since it was his mission to gather information, he took sort of…an involuntary preparatory class on all the thing he would need to know, including the language. While he is still learning many things, he was able to get by in the world of earth without too much trouble. His only other language is Enochian, the language of the angels.

Miscellaneous 

Animals and people are drawn to him, and he has the power to both speed up growing processes, stop them, and/or reverse them. (i.e. he can make a flower grow out of the ground or a person’s hair become shorter.) The harder or more inclusive the process, the longer it takes and the more tired he becomes. He’s not a skilled healer, but he is often asked to, and can provide basic medical and field care.

He can wield the weapons of heaven and does so when battling angels, fallen angels, or demons, but often prefers to use hand-to-hand combat when smiting someone. Having been in the army and been a gladiator-like prizefighter before, he certainly knows what he’s doing, and is fairly hard to best. One of his main weapons is a one-handed sword known as “The Frost”, which he carries strapped to his back, underneath his coat. It is an angel-make weapon, and thus can slay most things, but he won’t use it unless it’s necessary. 

Children like Ivan, but he’s generally puzzled by them.

He’s extremely literal and blunt. Figures of speech or slang might confuse him or fly over his head, and so sometimes he gets lost in conversation. If he likes someone or dislikes them, he’ll say so straightaway and not sugarcoat it at all. Angels don’t really have any double entendre, innuendo, figures of speech or the like, so he just never learned them and takes everything at face value half the time. Sometimes he will get a “coming-on” of sorts, but most of the time it goes over his head. Ivan likely won’t recognize that someone is hitting on him unless they outright say it. He is learning the meaning of sarcasm, and will try to use it, but it is often unrecognizable as he is very bad at it. 

Ivan is a big proponent of cleanliness being close to godliness, and doesn’t like to get dirty, physically or in a metaphorical sense.

It’s physically impossible for him to lie, but he can either simply not say the truth by not speaking, or say theoretical possibilities, no matter how slim a chance there is of their occurrence.