I did promise to bring CR Aspec Fest back, and now that @cr-summer-wildflowers is over, I feel refreshed and ready to run this again!
But! I have two questions to pose to everyone about how this is going to run:
When? (this'll be asked in the next post, because of the poll limit) - the creation period could either be in September, October, or we wait until February (2027) again.
2. What should it look like? the two options are:
- Same as last year - themed weeks (week 1 - aro-spec / week 2 - ace-spec / week 3 - unconventional relationships / week 4 - free week). Make whatever you like according to those themes. Participate as much or as little as you like.
- A prompt meme through AO3 - leave prompts for others to fill, and choose to fulfil any prompts for others (eg. you might leave "demiromantic Jester + romance novels" as a prompt, and make something for the prompt of "Occtis struggles with his lack of sex drive" for someone else). Leave & fulfil as many prompts as you like. Still open to any kind of fanworks, not just fanfic.
I personally like the idea of doing a prompt meme, since making things for other people is a great source of inspiration (and a kick up the butt for the deadline!), but I want to know what you think!
The Critical Role Aspec Fest is a month-long fanwork fest (with a prompt for each week) celebrating aromantic-spectrum and asexual-spectrum experiences!
WEEK 4 (Feb 22nd-28th): Free week! Whatever your heart desires.
FAQs
(if something isn't answered here, please feel free to send an ask or message!)
Can I make something about a character being demisexual or demiromantic or (insert other label)? Can I make something about a character who's straight?
Absolutely - please do! Aspec is a very broad umbrella term, and this event is all about celebrating a variety of experiences that aren't well-represented in media. If it feels right to you, go for it. I'm not going to exclude any works from the fest just because they aren't relatable to me.
What types of fanworks can I make for the fest?
Anything! Be that fanfiction, fanart, meta, gifsets, edits etc. - everything is welcome! If you're writing fanfiction, you're encouraged to post to the AO3 collection here.
Which Critical Role characters can I make fanworks about?
Do I have to make a fanwork for every week to take part?
Nope! The more the merrier, but we're doing this for fun, not to stress!
Anyone in anything they've streamed - so the main campaigns, EXUs, Candela Obscura, Daggerheart or other oneshots!
Do I need to be aspec to join?
Definitely not, as long as you're coming in with the mindset of being respectful of our experiences. For one, I'm aromantic but not ace-spec - so making works about ace-spec experiences is naturally going to be more difficult for me, but entirely doable with a little bit of research! I think it's a great way to learn about others.
Why February? Why a whole month?
Yes, there are plenty of aspec weeks hosted in other fandoms, which are great and the inspiration for this event! But personally, I am both slow and busy, so making just one thing per week is much more achievable for me. I chose February because Aromantic Awareness Week is the week after Valentine's day, and this fest was originally going to take place during that time. I'm also unaware of any other fandom events happening in February (although please let me know otherwise, just for my own interest!). The fact that February splits so nicely into 4 whole weeks is an added bonus!
Edit: There is another CR fandom event this month - @vexlethuary!
Would you like people to share around the existence of this fest?
(Okay, maybe this one's a bit of a cheat.) Yes please! Even if you don't plan on taking part, getting eyes on the existence of this event would be wonderful. This is the first fandom event I've ever hosted, and I don't have a huge platform among fic writers, who are likely the largest contingent of nerds (lovingly) who'd be interested in taking part in an event like this.
Other Rules
Please don't bash any ships or headcanons you don't like! Part of the fun of fandom is seeing the broad range of possible interpretations, and I'd always rather foster a sense of community rather than opposition.
Suggestive, NSFW and whump content is fully allowed, but must be tagged correctly for whatever platform you're posting on. When reblogging suggestive or NSFW content, I'll use the tag #CRAspecFestNSFW, so filter that if you'd like.
Fanworks should be focused on aspec experiences or characters, but other topics or characters can totally be included, and these experiences don't have to be super clear or well-labelled in-text (gods know that real-life experiences are often opaque and confusing) - it's your intention that matters. This is up to your discretion, really. As with the rule of thumb for AO3 tagging - if someone was viewing this for aspec content, would they be disappointed? If so, you can always rework it, or post it outside of this fest.
Please consider adding alt text to any images you post - here's a useful guide if you're not sure what to write.
This account will be reblogging every fanwork made for the fest - just remember to tag us, and use the #CRAspecFest tag! If you don't have a tumblr account and want a post about your work to be included, send a message.
There'll be more posts on this account with ideas for how to approach the prompts, plus reminders at the start of each week, tagged #CRAspecFestPosts. All submission reblogs will be tagged #CRAspecFestWorks (and #CRAspecFestNSFW if applicable).
which type of aspec representation gets you the most excited?
asexual
demisexual / other ace-spec
aromantic
demiromantic / other aro-spec
aroace / some other combination
bald / nuance / other (please tell us in the tags!!)
Voting ended onJan 19, 2025
The Critical Role Aspec Fest starts in two weeks! A fandom fest focused on making fanworks about aspec experiences - starting on Feb 1st with week 1: aro-spec
Join us in making fanworks focused around aromantic-spectrum and asexual-spectrum experiences!
The goal is to create a fanwork according to this week's prompt (aro-spec) by this time next Saturday! (although late submissions are still welcome)
When you have a fanwork you're ready to share, use the #CRAspecFest tag, and tag this account in your post so I can reblog it! (Or, if you don't have an account you wish to share it with, just send an ask and we can make a fresh post just for you!)
What are some ideas for this week's prompt?
aromantic, demi/grey-romantic identities; traditionally romantic actions outside of romantic contexts; cultural expectations around relationships or marriage; platonic intimacy
If you follow this account, you can filter the #CRAspecFestNSFW tag to avoid seeing any suggestive or NSFW content as I reblog works.
Can you remind me of the rules?
Yes! Keep reading!
What types of fanworks can I make for the fest?
Anything! Be that fanfiction, fanart, meta, gifsets, edits etc. - everything is welcome! If you're writing fanfiction, you're encouraged to add it to the AO3 collection here, alongside posting on Tumblr.
Do I have to make a work for every week to take part?
Nope! The more the merrier, but we're doing this for fun, not to stress!
Can I make something about a character being demiromantic or (insert other label)? Can I make something about a character who's straight?
Absolutely - please do! Aspec is a very broad umbrella term, and this event is all about celebrating a variety of experiences that aren't well-represented in media. If it feels right to you, go for it. I'm not going to exclude any works from the fest just because they aren't relatable to me.
Which Critical Role characters can I make fanworks about?
Anyone in anything they've streamed - so the main campaigns, EXUs, Candela Obscura, Daggerheart or other oneshots!
Do I need to be aspec to join?
Definitely not, as long as you're coming in with the mindset of being respectful of our experiences.
Fanworks should be focused on aspec experiences or characters, but other topics or characters can totally be included, and these experiences don't have to be super clear or well-labelled in-text (gods know that real-life experiences are often opaque and confusing) - it's your intention that matters. This is up to your discretion, really. As with the rule of thumb for AO3 tagging - if someone was viewing this for aspec content, would they be disappointed? If so, you can always rework it, or post it outside of this fest.
Suggestive, NSFW and whump content is fully allowed, but must be tagged correctly for whatever platform you're posting on. When reblogging suggestive or NSFW content, I'll use the tag #CRAspecFestNSFW, so filter that if you'd like.
Don't bash any ships or headcanons you don't like!
Please consider adding alt text to any images you post - here's a useful guide if you're not sure what to write.
To all my wonderful participants: I hope you're just as hyped as I am! Seeing all the interest in this event has really warmed my heart 💚💜 My question to you is: do you have any plans for what fanworks you want to create?
Thank you so much to everyone who participated, spread the word or gave love to all our wonderful submissions!
This has truly been wonderful <3
We had a wild 26 works submitted! That's way more than I was expecting! Campaign two characters were the favourites by far - with 17 works about them, compared to 3 each for campaigns one and three, and 3 more that were fun and difficult to categorise (and isn't that wonderfully in the spirit of the thing?)
And if you still haven't finished works you wanted to submit for the fest - worry not! This account will still be here to reblog them :) The world always needs more wonderful aspec rep!
