an assortment of themes
What are we doing this year, Karu?
What we do every year: try to take over the world!
(Maybe I'm showing my age here with that reference.)
This year will be a theme challenge! Because I feel like that's fun and something slightly different than all of the various word prompt challenges.
What is that? Is it like a prompt challenge?
Sort of. I guess. Instead of having to pick and choose prompts that to some are a bit too "rigid" and "structured" for their tastes, you can choose a theme! Or multiple themes. All the themes. The point is to have fun whilst celebrating Pride, so if you want to write under just one theme, you've got it! You want two themes? That's perfectly fine! Three? You got it.
So what are the themes?
Note that these aren't 100 percent final yet. More may be added, some might be changed depending. This is just a little sampler.
1.) "We will not be erased" - celebrating sexual and gender identity. no matter how many laws politicians try to enact, it's not going to silence or erase who and what we are.
2.) Journeys - the story of a character (or characters) realising, "Okay, I'm LGBTQ, now what?" Stories of coming out, stories about finding out they're trans, stories about how figuring out their sexual or gender identity... Things like that.
3.) Love & Relationships - pretty much what it says on the tin. A relationship is considered queer if you have at least one queer person involved. Someone is still bisexual even if they're in a straight-passing relationship. Celebrate all the types of queer love, including queerplatonic relationships!
If there's a theme you'd like to see, let me know!
Is this open to fanfiction and fanart or just fanfiction?
Both. A picture can tell an entire story just as much as a one shot can.
What ratings are allowed?
General Audiences (G) thru Mature (M). You can still have your smut, just make sure it aligns with a Mature rating. Since AO3 treats "unrated" works as unmarked explicit works, your work must have a rating. (When it doubt, go up a rating.) AO3 has a rundown of their ratings in their Terms of Service: https://archiveofourown.org/tos#IV.K.
Can it be a multichaptered work, or does it have to be one shots?
Whatever your heart desires. If you can capture the theme in one work, great. If you want multiple one shots, that's fine too. And if you want to write a 100,000 word magnum opus, so be it. I leave the length and word counts up to you, the author.
Can I have multiple art pieces or just one big one?
Whatever you want. One piece, a comic, multiple comics, multiple pieces... It's all up to you!
Can I post throughout June or am I limited to specific days?
You can post throughout the month of June. I'll make a separate post as we get closer to June on posting guidelines (what tag(s) to use, collections, etc).
Will there be a creation period or do I have to start right on June 1st?
You can start as soon as the final list of themes goes up if you want, just remember that posting doesn't begin until 1 June.
If you have a question I haven't answered here, hit me up via ask or Discord (sushi spacetato#7035).
-- Mod Karu
Things aren't finalised yet, but progress is being made on this year's Let's Paint After Colony Rainbow!
