goaroweek

[goaroweek]

✨ Good Omens Aro week Event ✨

The Good Omens fandom has been an aro/ace safe place for years. Over the time I've seen many beautiful creations by Good Omens fans about aromanticism and/or asexuality. And lucky you: next week is Aromantic spectrum awarness week! 💚🤍🩶🖤

From February 18th to 24th it will be the perfect time to celebrate aro voices in our fandom ✨

How can you participate?

You don't have to produce anything new (but if you do I'm looking respectfully 👀 ). The goal is to put foward what the aromantic and aroace side of the fandom already offers. There's a lot of ways you can do that:

share and reblog fanarts/comics/fanfics/cosplay/edits you liked

reblog meta and headcanons

share stories about what Good Omens means to you and your aromanticism

send some nice words to an aro fan creator

share link to aro Good Omens merch

Everything is welcome as long as it includes/focus on aromanticism and Good Omens.

You only have to tag this account (@goaroweek)! I'll reblog everything so everyone can find and enjoy GO aro content in one place.

Groundrules

Finally here's some groundrules just so we're clear:

No sharing AI generated content

No stealing and reposting other people's works, reblog and links will do just fine

No discourse and no badmouthing other headcanons

The goal is to spread aro positivity in this fandom. Let's be kind with each other 💚

If you have more questions you can look at the FAQ and send me asks 😊

[goaroweek]

For @goaroweek I want to highlight the incredible iconic PROLIFIC (geez mate save some space on the archive for the rest of us /aff) @edosianorchids901 !!!

They have dozens of wonderful fics highlighting aro-spec people and relationships (including QPR!!), particularly Aziraphale and Crowley (and also fics for the original Sherlock Holmes stories, which I recommend wholeheartedly). Seeing their fics pop up in my inbox every day is a joy and an honor, go check out their stuff if you haven’t yet! (Note that not ALL works are aro, and make sure to sort by & instead of slash)

https://archiveofourown.org/users/EdosianOrchids901/pseuds/EdosianOrchids901

[goaroweek]

Hello! I just want to say I really enjoyed this event, it led me to discover a few amazing fics and creators, and overall it was an amazing feeling to see this side being celebrated 💚 Thank you!

Hello! I'm very happy to hear you enjoyed this event. Thank you for your kind words 💚

[goaroweek]

Hi! We're reaching the end of the good omens aro week event.

This week has been intense in a good way. I really want to thanks everyone who liked, rebloged, commented, created and learned during this event. I'm so happy to be part of this amazing community 💚

This might be the end for now but I would love to repeat the event next year, with more preparations.

I'm also thinking about maybe doing other events on the same theme, adding a resources page, maybe a list of good omens aro merch or good omens merch owned by a-spec creators, ...

This blog isn't going anywhere and my asks and DM are always open if you want to talk about something 😊

[goaroweek]

something very aromantic coded in s2 of good omens is that crowley and aziraphale canonically take their cues of what a certain kind of relationship ought to look like from books and films. firstly, very relatable, I did much the same thing throughout my teens (and in some ways still do although I'm not trying to make myself "fit" by taking cues that I've been studying to be the correct way to do a relationship, I just enjoy performing them in the same way all life is performance when you're not-doing-body-and-relationship-to-other-bodies correctly inherently)

secondly, how it plays out in them messing unintentionally with nina and maggie. they don't understand the structure of nina's and maggie's whole thing as it applies to the reality of relationship structures in the world they're in; that nina is initially in a romantic relationship and wouldn't just jump from it -- no matter how bad -- straight into another one that was presented as "more" correct. because of course standing under an awning or dancing at a ball makes people "fall in love" (whatever that is) because... well, that's how it happens in the stories all the time, that's what these sorts of relationships are all about, "one fabulous kiss and we're good" -- it's a shock to crowley that he misread all the cues "you were crying and she was..." isn't that what this romance thing is that humans are always talking about????

thirdly it of course eventually circles around to be about what in the world their relationship is, but when they're trying to figure out what's going on between the two of them, there aren't any words that can neatly sum it up beyond "us" -- whatever it is, it's "us" against "them" (although aziraphale isn't quite ready for that) -- the them being heaven and hell of course, but to be honest, from an aro perspective, the "them" takes on certain human connotations to me as well, because it's all about how these two don't fit into structures and are punished for this not-fitting-in, and while they're not punished by the humans around them, they also aren't... human. they still operate somewhat from the outside of everyone else, even though aziraphale manages throughout history to create a fair few connections from the sounds of things

similarly to how they do it to nina and maggie, they try on these tropes with one another: aziraphale invites crowley to dance, crowley kisses aziraphale, and it doesn't fit quite right (the first because crowley is concerned with all the demons outside and so isn't paying as much attention to the dancing part of the whole thing, and the second because [insert another bunch of analysis here that's its own post]), but they've already been us the whole time. their attempts at explaining using alloromantic shorthand fall short, because they're hampered by needing to define themselves and their relationship with terminology that's suitably correct for whatever dominant structures they're in

fourthly, the fact that their cues for what their relationship needs to be shouldn't even really be coming from movies/books and humanity in the first place, it should be coming from gabriel and beelzebub. gabriel and beelzebub don't even try all of that "this is what romance is," they don't call one another romantic or kiss or even say words like partner, they're not interested in doing human-based customs or "fitting in." their language for one another is based around that song, and that's as much defining as it needs. whatever aziraphale and crowley are to one another is equally all their own thing, but aziraphale and crowley struggle with definitions constantly. they don't fit into heaven, they don't fit into hell, and humanity -- while more the place they've adopted for all its wild wonders -- isn't quite right either, because they're still being put in a box

it was fun to look out for as I was rewatching, because the way they interacted with alloromanticism really did read like two people who have exactly zero idea of how this applies irl, but that's okay, the fiction's got it handled, all they have to do is copy-paste = result, but then the stuff that actually is the romance in those texts becomes a series of contextless tropes, kind of like how amatonormativity often has those exact same tropes recycled in story after story that can't figure out why it worked the first time but not the next hundred times, except in this story it's on purpose. one fabulous kiss did not in fact solve things at all (nor was it fabulous)

[goaroweek]

Continuing Aro Week with another prompt from the Ace Omens Discord server! "No labels necessary" @goaroweek

Unlabeled T, 910 words

Human like to label everything. Aziraphale and Crowley enjoy mystifying the locals about the nature of their relationship.

Read on AO3

[goaroweek]

Happy Aromantic Week!! 💚🤍🖤 Go check out the aro goodness at @goaroweek woohoo!

[goaroweek]

"Give me a sword," saith the angel of the Lord, "that I may guard this gate."

@goaroweek

[goaroweek]

This is not Heaven on Earth, this is merely a cottage, wide gardens (oft screamed at) and an apple tree, soft with blossom

@goaroweek

[goaroweek]

No Labels Necessary

The fourth Ace Omens aro week prompt. I am very fond of this ficlet.

~

I am an angel, you are a demon. We’re hereditary enemies!

It was all true, of course. Angel, demon. Enemies. Had been true since the Fall happened and time began. It was hardly even insulting, most of the time. Aziraphale didn’t mean it that way. Crowley certainly didn’t, when he brought up that inescapable dichotomy. Most of the time, at least.

They’d had some fights over the years.

But sometimes Crowley wondered if they really had to keep reminding themselves of it. It had been six thousand years, after all. Was that really the label that fit them these days?

Was there any label that fit them at all?

Aziraphale looked surprised when he brought it up, and Crowley nearly retracted the entire statement. But he screwed up his courage. “Isn’t it just, y’know, outdated?”

“Outdated?” Aziraphale still looked puzzled.

“We’ve known each other a long time,” Crowley persisted. “Seems like something must have changed.”

An uncomfortable understanding bloomed in Aziraphale’s eyes. “Oh. Oh I see.”

“Doesn’t really fit anymore, right?”

“Are you suggesting there is…something else you think fits better?” Aziraphale asked. He sounded almost wary.

Crowley was briefly taken aback. Something else? Like what?

“Huh?” he asked eloquently. 

“Another way to describe…us.” Aziraphale still looked uncomfortable. “Crowley, I’m sure you know as well as I-”

“No!” Crowley blurted with a sudden rush of understanding. “It’s not- I didn’t mean-”

“It’s all right if you did, of course,” Aziraphale said hastily. “It’s just I don’t think I feel that way about- I mean of course I enjoy our- well let’s just say that-”

“No need!” Crowley interrupted. “No need to say or, uh, feel. That. I didn’t really think about that. At all. Um.”

Aziraphale blinked at him. “Then what did you mean?”

“I dunno. Exactly what I said, I guess. Enemies just doesn’t really do it anymore. I think.”

“But do you have an alternative?”

Crowley swallowed, feeling suddenly defeated. “I guess not. I didn’t really- I guess I didn’t consider that we might…” “Might?” Aziraphale prompted after a moment.

“Didn’t really consider that we might need one,” Crowley admitted, and felt the disappointment settle in his stomach.

Across from him, Aziraphale said, “Oh.”

“Sorry,” Crowley said. “Don’t worry about it. Anyway. Did you…see the new city ordinance the council put out yesterday?”

“What if we don’t have one?” Aziraphale asked softly.

“What, the ordinance?”

“No,” Aziraphale said in the tones of one who is understanding something for the first time. “An explanation. A label.”

Crowley stared at him.

“They’re not really necessary anyway, are they? We don’t…we don’t have to be something.” Aziraphale looked back at him. “Do we?”

Crowley cleared his throat. “I-” he tried. “I’d kind of thought…maybe not?”

He watched the gears turn in Aziraphale’s head.

Finally Aziraphale said, “I think you’re right.”

The ball of disappointment in Crowley’s stomach evaporated like air going out of a balloon.

“Oh,” he said. “Okay. Yes. Great. Well.”

Aziraphale turned a beautiful smile on him. “It’s not really necessary, is it. Any of it.” He hummed. “I rather like that, I think.”

“Yeah,” Crowley said, the lightness in his chest feeling positively buoyant. “I like it too.”

[goaroweek]

An AU in which Gabriel and Beelzebub are the earthly representatives for heaven and hell instead of Aziraphale and Crowley. Over the millennia, they wile and thwart and compete in a complicated game of their own devising. Eventually, they discover that they have a lot in common.

Series rating: T

Works: 6/6

Total wordcount: 105,063

Another series self-promo for the end of aro week! This series focuses on the development of a platonic relationship between this AU's Gabriel and Beelzebub. Some later works in the series, namely "A Critique of Abstract Minimalism" and "Green Stripes," explicitly discuss Gabriel's aromanticism (and are fairly short, if you're looking for aro fic but aren't up for reading the entire series).

(Keep in mind that this was written long before season 2. I'm not interested in comparing this to their canon relationship.)

(Breakdown of individual fics under the cut)

Ineffable Rivalry (rated G, 37K words, 15 chapters)

Gabriel, the guardian of the Eastern Gate, and Beelzebub, the fly of Eden, get off on exactly the wrong foot when they meet in the garden, kicking off a six-thousand-year competition of thwarting and counter-thwarting. Hijinks ensue.

Choose your Faces Wisely (rated T, 56K words, 17 chapters)

After Gabriel and Beelzebub thwart Armageddon, Aziraphale and Crowley team up to get them off the hook, and realize that they both much prefer Earth to their home offices. Crowley hatches a scheme that will let him stay there for good, and give Beelzebub a chance at their dream job. It's win-win. Nothing can go wrong. Everything goes wrong.

Animal Hamlet (rated G, 5K words, 1 chapter)

Being asked on a date by Aziraphale is the best thing that has ever happened to Crowley. It's also completely terrifying.

A Critique of Abstract Minimalism (rated G, 3.6K words, 1 chapter)

Valentine’s Day is an awkward time for Gabriel, since he’s never felt that kind of love and recently found out that isn’t true of all angels. He wasn’t planning to leave his apartment today, until his mortal-enemy-turned-friend Beelzebub convinced him to go make fun of abstract art with them. Now he’s stuck explaining the exact thing he was trying to avoid thinking about.

Green Stripes (rated G, 1.5K words, 1 chapter)

After they save the world from Armageddon, Gabriel and Beelzebub attend their first pride parade, and talk about the queerness of their identities.

In Another Life (rated G, 1.6K, 2 chapters)

Crowley wakes from a vivid dream about another life, in which he and Aziraphale have known each other for six thousand years.

[goaroweek]

Cuddles, Handholding, and other gestures of affection

Ficlet for the third aro week prompt.

~

The clock ticked. Somewhere off in the house, water was dripping in time with it, a syncopated beat that would have been a start to a song if anyone had been listening to it.

But there were only two beings in the house, and they were not listening. They were, in fact, fast asleep. Both of them, despite the sun shining its way through the curtains and into their faces. Despite the day passing by outside.

Crowley’s shoulder was tucked firmly into Aziraphale’s side, head pillowed on the angel’s stomach. Aziraphale was half laying on the sofa, cheek resting on his arm, knees curled up against his chest. The fingers of his second hand were loosely entwined with Crowley’s, resting on the sofa between them.

The rhythmic water drips paused, and Crowley shifted as if disturbed by the change in sound, beginning to pull away.

Aziraphale’s fingers tightened at the movement, grasping as if to keep Crowley where he was.

Crowley subsided, and as he melted back into the angel’s side, Aziraphale shifted until he too was lying on the sofa, tucked behind and around Crowley, head resting on the demon’s waist.

The clock ticked.

After a few moments, the water began to drip again.

[goaroweek]

Today's suggestion for Aro Awareness Week-

It's Not Too Bad When You Get Used To It, by IneffableDoll

https://archiveofourown.org/works/52127296/chapters/131843263

Fantastic take on the bodyswap-not-gone-to-plan, and the two of them trying to find a new rhythm Post-Armageddon't. Reading this one at the moment, and really enjoying it 😃

[goaroweek]

Queerplatonic

For the Ace Omens aro week prompts (this is the Tuesday one, but I'm behind).

~

“I found something,” Aziraphale said by way of greeting.

“Nice to see you too, angel,” Crowley said amusedly. “What did you find?”

“A word.” Aziraphale was flipping through a notebook now, filled with line after line of his neat, even handwriting. “It rang a bell for me.”

“Ah, dictionary angel strikes again.” Crowley slid his sunglasses off and perched on the arm of the sofa. “New book?”

“No, actually.” Aziraphale traced his finger down a page. “I have been finding there is rather a lot of interesting material on the Internet these days, and this one…ah! Here it is.” He held the book out to Crowley, finger pointing helpfully to a point about two thirds of the way down.

Crowley tipped the book so the light caught it better. “Queerplatonic, huh?”

“Yes, that one.”

Crowley read on, taking in the origin, definition, descriptions, all carefully compiled in one succinct paragraph. He looked up.

Aziraphale was watching him with a sort of guarded vulnerability that indicated this was very important indeed.

Crowley looked back down, found the section, and read it again. Slowly.

“I see what you mean,” he said when he finished.

“Do you?”

“Yeah.” Crowley closed the book carefully. “It’s us, isn’t it.”

“Well.” Aziraphale sounded a bit breathless. “I rather thought so. When I found it. It’s a very new word, there’s simply no record of it before a few months ago. But there’s a- a group of humans that seem to really like it.”

“Do you really like it, angel?”

Aziraphale glanced at the notebook, still held carefully in Crowley’s hand. “Yes.”

Crowley felt himself smile, something deep inside clicking into place as he thought back over those words on the page. 

“Me too,” he said.

[goaroweek]

Best Friends

The Ace Omens discord put together prompts for aro week. This is my fic for the first one, "Best Friends".

“Why did you do that?” Aziraphale asked as they walked away from the restaurant together.

“Why’d I do what?”

“Get the bill. It was my turn to pay.”

“Oh,” Crowley said. “Was it? I must’ve forgotten.”

“You never forget anything,” Aziraphale said, but his tone was no longer confused. It was understanding.

~

“Why did you do that?” Crowley blurted out, then wished he hadn’t. It wasn’t too late for Aziraphale to throw him right back into the line of fire, after all.

“Why-” Aziraphale seemed perplexed for a moment. “Well. I am an angel. I can’t exactly let any fool get himself shot unnecessarily.”

“It’s a war, angel,” Crowley said, with less sarcasm than he had tried for.

“Oh is it?” Aziraphale replied, and his tone was positively dripping with the sarcasm Crowley’s had lacked. “I hadn’t noticed. Come here, you’re bleeding.”

“Only a little,” Crowley said, but he obliged.

~

“Why did you do that?” Aziraphale demanded, his eyes sparkling with suppressed mirth.

“Chaos,” Crowley answered. “Obviously.”

“Oh yes, chaos,” Aziraphale agreed. “That’s why you did it in front of the children who desperately needed some amusement.”

“Yep,” Crowley said. “Corrupting the youth.”

“Giving them a laugh, more like.”

“Mhm,” Crowley agreed, but it wasn’t the children’s laughing faces he was looking at. It was the sparkle in Aziraphale’s eyes.

~

“Why did you do that?” Crowley asked, baffled.

“Do what?”

“Make the text on that menu so much bigger.”

“Oh, that.” Aziraphale laughed, a bit awkwardly. “The design was all wrong. The text was too small for the card.”

From his brief stint in graphic design, Crowley was fairly sure the text had been a perfectly approved size for the card. But still, the change had made it so much easier for him to read that it really wasn’t worth arguing.

~

“Why- why did you do that?” Aziraphale asked blearily.

“Put away your books?”

“Yes.” Aziraphale yawned. “You think my organization is fussy.”

“And so it is,” Crowley agreed.

“Well then?”

Crowley shrugged. “Those kids earlier messed it all up. Couldn’t let that slide.”

“You like chaos.”

“Yes, well.” Crowley peered at the books. “You like order. That’s enough.”

“Enough to fix the books?”

“Mhm. And-”

“And?”

“And you’re my best friend.” Crowley turned his gaze down to Aziraphale’s softly smiling face. “Best friends deserve their books organized, angel.”

[goaroweek]

Sharing a fic for GO Aro Awareness Week, here's a favourite writer (who will get other recs this week), @ineffable-kelpie :

https://archiveofourown.org/works/36448213

A Demon's Guide to Love and Curses

A really inventive take on a fairytale concept, "Crowley has been cursed by a witch, cut off from his powers, and trapped in serpent form. Only a True Love’s Kiss can restore him to his former self. There’s just one problem: demons can’t fall in love."

This fic manages to find a way around the obvious solution while still being a fun story about our two favourite supernatural entities spending time together.

[goaroweek]

PLATONIC INTERPRETATIONS OF CHARACTER DYNAMICS ARENT ANY LESS VALID THAN ROMANTIC ONES PELASEE