#asmb fest rules

[acespnminibang]

Note: If you’ve participated before, please review this information carefully as there have been some changes.

The basics

Thou shalt not be a jerk.

There are many variants of asexuality and all are welcome here.

You do not have to be asexual to participate in this bang. However, if you are not, you are expected to locate and utilize appropriate resources to ensure your work is sensitive to the asexual community.

Anyone over the age of 14 is welcome to join us, regardless of skill level or experience. If you are under 18, you may not write or claim fics rated higher than T.

Adults may indicate they do not wish to be paired with minors, and vice versa. This preference will be honored during claims.

You are expected to have regular access to the internet, a Discord account, and a publicly-accessible platform for sharing art or fic.

You are expected to communicate about fest affairs in a timely, respectful manner.

You may not share snippets, teasers, sketches, synopses, or any other fest material anywhere other than with your partner, your beta, or on the fest’s Discord server until the work’s posting date.

You are expected to submit your drafts and post your work by the scheduled deadlines.

If you need an extension on any deadline, or must drop out after claims, please notify me as soon as possible.

Failure to follow these rules (or the artist/author specific guidelines below) may result in being disqualified from future participation in the fest.

Author Expectations

You may write one fic for this fest, on your own or with a co-writer.

Fics must be a minimum of 5,000 words.

Fics must feature one or more SPN characters who are portrayed on the asexual spectrum.

Your fic does not have to focus on the character’s asexuality, but it must be clear that they are ace. If it isn't explicitly stated within the fic itself, their asexuality must be eminently evident through context clues, and the “asexual <character>” tag should be used when posting. (Click for some words about this from the original ASMB fest owner.)

As mentioned further up, the "asexual spectrum" includes many varieties of asexuality and you are welcome to write about any of them. If you would like to learn more, the Trevor Project has many resources on their page about asexuality, here. There's also this at-a-glance infographic here and a discussion of demisexuality and gray-sexuality here.

Fics must be new, standalone pieces, and must be posted in entirety on your posting date.

All pairings, ratings, and genres are allowed, with two caveats: 1) Explicit sexual content involving underage characters is not allowed. 2) RPF/RPS is allowed as long as it is not the focus of the fic (see the FAQ for more information). Explicit sexual content involving real people is not allowed.

Your fics must be beta-read before posting. Resources will be provided to assist you with this, but it is your responsibility to locate and work with a beta before your posting deadline.

Fics must be posted in a publicly accessible location. AO3 is preferred because then it can be added to the fest collection, but any website that can be linked to on Tumblr will do.

Art and You

You may not commission art for your fic.

You must embed your artist’s work in your fic, and link back to your artist’s preferred social media profile or website.

You may discuss ideas and preferences with your artist, but it is ultimately up to them what they create.

If your artist wishes to create a banner, it must be included in your promo post and embedded in your fic. If they do not wish to create one, I will provide you one; however, that one should only be included in your promo post.

Artist Expectations

By claiming a fic during the claims process, you agree to create at least one piece of unique, relevant art for that fic. The art you create could be a digital or traditional painting/drawing, a photo manipulation, or a fanvid. Section dividers and/or icons will not count toward this requirement, even if there are many of them. You may discuss ideas and preferences with your author, but what you create is ultimately up to you.

You may choose to make a banner/cover in addition to your primary image commitment. This image would be included in the promo post on Tumblr as well as embedded in the fic. If you would rather not make a banner, I will provide a simple pastel color block with the fic title for use in the promo post only.

Your submission should reflect a solid amount of time and effort taken, as well as attention to and care for the subject matter.

If you sign up as both an author and an artist, you may not illustrate your own fic.

You may illustrate more than one fic if you desire; you will be notified about additional rounds of claims as they occur.

Your art will be embedded in the fic it was created for, which means it must be hosted online. If you need help with this, please let me know.

When sharing your art, we ask that you include a link to the fic you made it for until the ASMB is officially done posting for the year.

Betaing and Pinch-hitting

Y’all are the real MVPs. <3

If you are interested in betaing or pinch-hitting, please fill out the registration form and select the option(s) you are interested in from the check list.

Registering as a beta or a pinch-hitter means you will be given the relevant roles on Discord and notified if opportunities arise. It is not a commitment to actually accept those opportunities.

If you accept a pinch-hit opportunity, you will be held to all relevant expectations for the role you took on. In some instances you will be granted a reasonable extension to scheduled deadlines.