#aawfc 2018

This is a tradition that started as part of Asexual Awareness Week back in 2014 that I’d like to see continue. Back in 2014 there were only a handful of canonical asexual characters, and none of them were in mainstream media. In the past four years we’ve seen that number grow, and characters enter more mainstream comics, books, and shows! By no means is asexual representation plentiful, but it is getting better. With that in mind this year I would like to continue to celebrate canonically asexual spectrum characters, as well as generating more content for asexual spectrum headcanons.

You’re welcome to respond to these prompts in any way you’d like, art, fic, edits, meta, etc. Feel free to interpret these prompts loosely and adapt this as you please. As in past years, the tag is #AAWFC

Sunday October 21st:  Post about canonically asexual spectrum characters, and/or what you would like to see in future asexual representation.

Monday October 22nd: For canonical or headcanoned asexual spectrum characters, what relationship do they have with their identity? Are they out and proud? How did they discover their identity?

Tuesday October 23rd: Post about characters that you headcanon as asexual.

Wednesday October 24th:  For canonical or headcanoned asexual spectrum characters, how does their identity affect their life and relationships?

Thursday October 25th: Post about characters that you headcanon as demisexual or grey-asexual.

Friday October 26th:  For canonical or headcanoned asexual spectrum characters, how do their other identities interact with their asexual spectrum identity? (i.e. romantic orientation, race, culture, gender, religion, etc.)

Saturday October 27th: Post about a romantic or queerplatonic/quasiplatonic relationship in fiction that you see as having one or more asexual spectrum partner(s).

@physicsandfandoms has done the official ace-based Prompts for AAWFC 2018 this year, which I’m so glad to see up again! Because this year I wanted to provide something else.

I’ve done a lot of headcanon’ing and writing for AAWFC and AsAWFC in the past few years, and the prompts to simply dive into various headcanons are great... but not super exciting after writing so much for the same basic prompts for a few years. So this year I wanted to provide some prompts where I hope people will take their ace headcanons or fave canon aces and feel inspired to write or draw more about these characters based on these prompts! So!

Asexual Awareness Week 2018 is October 21 - 27!

Responses can be canon, headcanon, a simple statement, fanfic, fanart, aesthetic/moodboards, photomanips, playlists, meta/analysis (if so inspired by these...), gifsets, quotes, etc.! Any kind of fan produced content that you believe fits within these prompts is welcome! Let’s generate as much content as we can!

Below, I’ve provided a variety of genres, settings, conflicts, words, etc. that you can use together or individually, drawing from whatever category you feel like. If any of the prompts or sets of prompts inspires you to create based off them, then great! Just make sure they spotlight ace characters (canon or headcanon) in media!

As always the tag is “#AAWFC”.

Sunday October 21st

Genres: General; Humor; Drama; Realism Settings: A church; gas station bathroom; a car shop Conflicts: Someone needs help... and someone else doesn’t want to give it; discovering magic powers that must be kept secret; petty theft Words/Objects: Blueberries; heavy golden crown; sparks; odiferous socks; bibliophile Idiom: A hot potato; on the ball Colors: Royal blue; pale green; pinkish red Sounds: A symphony of croaking frogs; someone who won’t stop whistling Scents: Peppermint; daisies; rotting meat Statement: ‘There are few things worse in life than people who cut in line.’ Quote: “I don’t think that’s what that’s meant for...”

Monday October 22nd

Genres: Horror; Western; Expressionism Settings: An abandoned cemetery; a stranger’s bedroom; convenience store Conflicts: Drunken bar fight; honor must be restored; a lost pet Words/Objects: Pulchritudinous; watery eyes of an intelligent familiar; pirate hat; fragrant tea; scratchy beard Idiom: Barking up the wrong tree; whole nine yards Colors: Yellow; bright purple; silver Sounds: Car alarm; the scratching of racoons that cannot be seen Scents: Lemon; roses; boiled eggs Statement: ‘The hat didn’t seem particularly ominous.’ Quote: “Close, but no.”

Tuesday October 23rd

Genres: Angst; Fluff; Modernism; Contemporary Settings: A vast desert; a forest dense with moss and fog; mattress store Conflicts: Soulmate AU but there’s a twist to the relationship (ie, could be platonic, queerplatonic, romantic only, sexual only, etc.) that makes the soulmates not realize they are soulmates right away; a kidnapping; family estrangement Words/Objects: Duplicitous; an upside down mug; spilled cake; anthill; rusty sword Idiom: Actions speak louder than words; barking up the wrong tree Colors: Neon orange; brown; cobalt blue Sounds: Lip smacking; whispers on the wind Scents: Cloves; cinnamon; sweaty feet Statement: ‘It was too bad they were in the situation they were, rather than getting a hot rock massage.’ Quote: “This means everything to me.”

Wednesday October 24th

Genres: AU; What If; Abstract Settings: A deep stone well; the sky; an underwater fortress Conflicts: Chosen one for some quest they have no interest in or don’t believe in; crisis of faith; a shocking confession Words/Objects: Serendipitous; an empty cauldron; a glowing crystal; bookmark; oversized turkey legs Idiom: Blessing in disguise; don’t put your eggs in one basket Colors: Black; turquoise; river rock red Sounds: Thunderous applause; water slapping rock Scents: Salty ocean; oregano; cow farm Statement: ‘It would have been a surprising turn of events if [they] were someone else, and this sort of thing didn’t regularly happen to [them].’ Quote: “OH SHIT!”

Thursday October 25th

Genres: Romance; Action; Graffiti  Settings: A beach during sunset; a ghost town; dimly lit restaurant Conflicts: Difficult spell ingredients must be gathered; late to work; the world seems to want them to go out but they just want to stay in and relax Words/Objects: Mustard; too many candles to count; small locket; tablecloth; potion bottles Idiom: Drastic times call for drastic measures; once in a blue moon Colors: Dark grey; white; blue-green Sounds: Nails on a chalkboard; two coconut halves knocking together Scents: Cologne; vanilla; fresh tuna Statement: ‘It was obvious to everyone else.’ Quote: “How long?”

Friday October 26th

Genres: Satire; Surrealism; Fauvism Settings: Radio station; lively jungle; a museum that just opened Conflicts: A duel must be fought; how to make friends in a new location; car broke down Words/Objects: Punitive; a box of wrenches; combo lock; stack of silvery pizza pans; beard wax Idiom: Cut the mustard; every cloud has a silver lining Colors: Shiny pink; pearly white; darkest purple Sounds: Fingers drumming on a table; dull hum of cicadas  Scents: Fresh melon; dry dog food; beer Statement: ‘Taller than a giraffe, it was not even the oddest sighting that week.’ Quote: “I don’t need you to understand right now.”

Saturday October 27th

Genres: Mystery; Sci-Fi/Fantasy; Pointillism  Settings: Pool after closing; field full of crop circles; corn maze Conflicts: Moral opposition; a murder; someone unmotivated needs to be motivated Words/Objects: Belt buckle; overflowing basket of grapes; triskaidekaphobia; seemingly empty beehives; crayons Idiom: It takes two to tango; curiosity killed the cat Colors: Dull orange; blood red; pale yellow Sounds: Cuckoo clock chime; the groan of shifting rocks  Scents: Fresh laundry; basil; slightly used shoes Statement: ‘It was either a clue... or it wasn’t.’ Quote: “Clear as mud, that is.”

Apparently @esperata has started an AO3 collection for AAFC18 fics, if you want to have yours added there!