fun fact! with enough deadline pressure you can write a 10k in 4 days

Holly Poly is, as the name implies, an exchange for polyamorous relationships. OT3s, OT4s, OT6s, orgies, open relationships, sedoretus, whatever strikes your fancy, as long as it involves three or more entities.

Participants are able to offer and request fanart, fanfiction, fanvids, podfic, fanmixes, gifsets and/or aesthetics/moodboards.

Dates: All times are 11:00am UTC, save for golive which will depend on when final pinch hits are posted. Apologies if the change of time causes any confusion; this change was necessary since the previous time used for deadlines did not work well for the mods' mix of timezones last year. We will make sure to update this post with links to countdown timers once they are applicable, so that people can check on those to see how long is left before the next deadline. 17-24 October: Nominations are open 31 October-11 November: Signups are open 17 November: Assignments will be sent out no later than this date. (And hopefully will go out much sooner.) 6 January: Default deadline (extended to 9pm UTC) - you can see a countdown timer at this link.  13 January: Fanworks are due - you can see a countdown timer at this link. 20 January: 27 January - The archive goes live (as soon as everyone has a gift). 27 January: 3 February - Creators revealed.

Important Links: AO3 | Dreamwidth | Tag Set | Twitter | Google Groups - Updates | Google Groups - Pinchhits

Oh, brightest sun (TRSB 2023)

A hommage to Gustav Klimt's The Kiss. Acrylic paint on canvas, with gold acrylic colour, 45x45cm. This scene had fascinated me ever since I read about it in the Nature of Middle-earth, and even more so when I became obsessed with Mîm as a character. While the ship of Mîmrod was born in a discord server I am in as a joke, that joke led to me originally drafting the sketch for this painting.

@goschatewabn has taken up this prompt- in a pinchhit no less - and has written, a beautiful, beautiful, fic that also absolutely tears my heart out. Find more info & the link to the fic below!

The elf shone more brilliantly than the purest gems they had unearthed, and his kind face crowned with a wreath of white lilac was like the first rays of dawn after a long night.

The gentle sun had risen in the east, and had brought spring into Nargothrond.

5180 Words

Rating: T Archive warnings: None Characters: Mîm, Finrod Felagund, the petty dwarves, various inhabitants of Nargothrond, dwarves of Nogrod https://archiveofourown.org/works/49927210/chapters/126046690

@tolkienrsb

Some fandom events you may want to check out

Color me optimistic but it's the new year, a lot of cool fandom events are happening and I'd like to share.

#AruaniWeek2024 is happening _right now_, but what about other events? Maybe of different typologies & with different schedules?

A couple of exchanges:

Candy Hearts Exchange: exchange focused on relationships (both romantic and platonic) for fics, art & podfics. Minimum words requirement: 300 words. Works due February 7.

Signups are happening now and there are many AoT ships to request/offer in the tagset.

Season of Drabbles Winter Round 2023/24: for drabbles (100 words) and variants (double and triple, sequences). We're at the nominations stage and again, many AoT characters to choose from (and you can nominate more!); signups open on January 7. Works due January 27.

I also already reblogged @febuwhump and @fluffbruary that have daily prompts for February for both whump and fluff.

(Also, always check fandomcalendar and pinchhits to find more events to participate to.)

A happy new year of fan creations to you all.

Signups for writers have now closed! If you would like to be a pinchhiter/ back up writer please send me a message.

We still have 1 artist spot available.

sorry for the delay - my ao3 is impernia. i'll get right on that pinchhit for you!

thank you!! <3 i can't explain how much i appreciate it

yoibb19 pinch-hitter sign-ups OPEN

howdy friends! it’s a-me, mac, bringing you the official pinch-hit sign-up information!

what is a reverse bang?

simply put, a bang is a type of fan challenge in which writers and artists work together to produce new collaborative content for the fandom. in a reverse bang, the artist signs up first and creates a sketch, and the writer claims the person they want to write for based on the sketch and summary the artists provide.

who can participate?

this event accepts writers, graphics-makers (including moodboards, icons, edits), cosplayers, comic artists, traditional artists, and illustrators. whether this is your first time participating in an event or you’re a fandom event veteran, it’s all fine as long as you’re interested in meeting new friends and providing new content for the fandom!

what are the responsibilities?

traditional/digital artists will create a minimum of two works. graphics and cosplayers will create a minimum of four works. writers will create a fic of a minimum of 5,000 words.

this applies to pinch-hitters as well, but minimums may be relaxed or negotiated depending on when you’re called on to help out. you may also be automatically eligible for an extension.

what is the claim process for pinch-hitters?

pinch-hitters, please take a look at the wip document.

you will be asked to claim a minimum of three pairing numbers and/or solo creators in the sign-up form. whether you are an artist or a writer (or both), the projects you choose signify who you are willing to step in for should someone drop out.

anyone claiming a solo project will automatically be called on to help out!

●  CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP ●

even if you cant participate, pls help spread the word!

#Pinchhit #ItoAngRadyoPatrol https://www.instagram.com/p/B2Hf8PJBDHt/?igshid=6uofzmaqzime

Hi, I was just wondering if you're not translating the SPL audio drama anymore? If you are, I don't mean to rush you or anything, was just curious. Happy New Year! :)

Happy New Year to you as well anon!

the answer is yes we're still on it, just holidays and busy for everyone orz you may see a release as soon as this weekend.

Speaking of which, I could use a pinch-hitter for the next ep after that on the actual subtitling. You'll need to know how to put subtitles on a video / make a video with an image and an audio file.

Get to know my WIP challenge

I was tagged by @londonfoginacup, @lululawrence and @crinkle-eyed-boo to do this, thank you so much! I love that I get tagged in these!!

What’s your fave thing about writing ur current wip?

so I have a few WIPs I’m working on at the moment. I have the summerexchange I’m pinchhitting for, and what I love about that is that I didn’t really feel up to writing very much lately, but I forced myself to take on this challenge, and I am actually massively enjoying the plot. The prompts were right up my alley and with the help from @lt2019 and Emmi I feel like I’ve got a really cute plot going!

As for the collab, I am just dead excited to work with @thedaggerrose and challenge myself, as I’ve never written with anyone before!

For my balloon fic I am just happy to write Ziam again

And finally, for my Steady Love WIP, my favorite thing is going back to my roots, which is angst! This fic is probably maybe definitely going to break hearts.

Have you got a name yet / what’s your process for finding one?

The summerexchange one has a title that I can’t reveal but that I absolutely love, because it fits so well. The collab has a work title that I really adore as well but that me and Caroline will share a bit closer to when we are ready to post it! It’s still in the super beginning stages so it’ll be a while.

The balloon fic is called ‘eyes up on the prize’ which is from one of Liam’s songs.

The Steady Love fic is called ‘there now, steady love, so few come and don’t go’ which I’m pretty sure is also from a song, which segues nicely into how I find titles for my fics. They’re pretty much all song lyrics all the time. I either google something that has to do with the plot, or I go through 1D lyrics to find something that fits.Typically it’s something that has the right feel for the fic, and sometimes I put a bunch of titles above the text and just suss out the right one that way.

Is there a scene you’re stuck on?

At the moment, not particularly. I’m focused for now on the fic for the summer exchange, so I kind of put the other ones to the side. I can’t write for a long time every day so I don’t really get stuck on parts, I just get stuck on my body refusing to cooperate while my brain is still ready to go!

Is there a scene you can’t wait to write?

Everything for the summerexchange but especially the first time Louis and Harry lay eyes on each other again. 

For the pygmalion AU, the moment Harry comes to life sounds like an amazing thing to write!

For the steady love fic, oh man. The first time Louis realizes Harry is about to die. And then when he realizes he is in love with him. Did I tell you yet that this fic is going to break hearts? Mine is included in that.

What’s your process when you get stuck? Are you rational or do you flip ur metaphorical writing desk and storm out?

Call in my angels, @londonfoginacup and @lt2019 who are absolute godsends and who always read my fic and get me back on track. I have a few more people who definitely always give good advice (my lovelies Ri, Caroline and @pocketsunshineharry) but Emmi and Pam especially have the magic touch. 

Because I don’t write more than 1-2k in one sitting I don’t really struggle with frustration as much. I typically start my sessions by rereading what I wrote last time, doing some light editing, and then (since recently) putting on some nice classical music to write to. I can’t listen to anything with lyrics while I write, but there’s a ton of nice study music videos on youtube that do the trick and get me focused. 

I also typically work with a layout for my fics (ADHD necessity lmao) and I have two giant blackboards in my room to write little things on. Sometimes I just do research if I don’t feel like writing, or when I’m stuck on details. I’ve only gotten really stuck writing TNFIF because it was honestly just too much to really get a grasp on, but as my other stories aren’t that big I’m usually okay to continue the next time I get a chance to write. And if not, I have a big folder of screenshots of comments and tags and happy notes that reassure me I am a good writer and I can do this. And my friends, who never fail to praise me far beyond what I deserve :D

This was so much fun, thank you guys for tagging me and thank you all for reading this long ass post. I tag @sweetstrawberryheadache and @somewhereisaplacethatziamknow and anyone else who hasn’t been tagged yet but would love to do this!

dumbasses on twitter wondering why torey didn’t pinchhit for andriese like what

Creator Reveals are done for 2023!

Hello everyone,

Creator names are now revealed for 2023!

We don't plan on closing the archive; feel free to post gifts or treats for prompts for this round anytime. Thank you everyone for participating! We'll have a follow-up post out soon for this. If there are any questions or comments, please feel free to let us know.

The archive will not be closed; you can feel free to post any additional gifts or treats whenever you like!

Collection: https://ao3.org/collections/holly_poly_2023 Tag Set: https://archiveofourown.org/tag_sets/17485 Tumblr: https://holly-poly.tumblr.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/holly_poly_ex Google Groups - Holly Poly Updates: https://groups.google.com/g/holly-poly-updates Google Groups - Holly Poly Pinchhits: https://groups.google.com/g/holly-poly-pinchhits

Character sheets and illustrations for @kieraelieson‘s @ts-storytime Big Bang story, Searching For Home! I’m very, very glad that I jumped in to pinchhit for her, because doing all this art has been an absolute blast. 

Click on those bad boys for full size and details.

[image description: Below cut, due to length.

The first three images are digital art  showing 'profiles' of the various characters - with one full-body illustration to the far left with their names next to them, and various smaller illustrations of them to the right.

First image:

1: 'Dee' - a medium-height man with shoulder-height wavy brown hair. His skin is light brown, and his ears are pointed. The right side of his face are covered in a dotted pattern, and he winks mysteriously at out at the viewer. He is wearing a long black cloak with bright golden highlights, and his arms are lightly crossed beneath it. Underneath it, he has a plain brown suit and long pants. He is barefoot.  Next, a shot of Dee from behind displays that his cloak has a long gap in the back. He is glancing over one shoulder at the viewer. Handwritten text next to this reads 'back of cloak is also open to make room for wings' An illustration of Dee facing away from the viewer, now with a set of large golden-yellow wings on full display. They're similar in shape to butterfly wings, with two distinct sections to both sides and ragged edges, like a goldfish's tail. Light orange patterns run through them like veins. They appear to glow, faintly. Above this is a small doodle of Dee flying with these wings, arms outstretched to either side. He is glowing brightly, and a dotted line trails out from behind him, marking where he's flown frown.

2: 'Virgil' - a short child with pale skin and messy dark hair. His arms are crossed protectively over his front, and he looks out with his eyebrows raised and his mouth slightly open. His shirt is grey and has many patches and tears on it, and his pants are a dark purple and in a similar state. His brown shoes are untied. Next to this, Virgil sits cross-legged on the ground, expression delighted as he pets and plays with a very large black fluffy spider with red eyes. A small purple heart hovers over his head. Virgil faces away, displaying a set of large wings that are attached to his back. His wings are similar to a monarch butterfly's, but purple and violet in coloring. The edges have bright white and purple spots on them, and the middle of both has intricate dotted patterns with teardrop-shaped black and white 'eye' markings on them. They are glowing faintly white. Above this, a sketchier drawing of Virgil attempting to fly with these wings. He has an expression of panic on his face, and is flailing his arms wildly. A handwritten note pointing to this illustration reads 'Too skinny, clothes are a bit too baggy + beat up.'

Second image:

1: 'Logan' - a tall thin man in a long black trenchcoat with silver buttons. Underneath, a dark blue shirt with ruffles and a pair of full-length brown pants with a silver belt. He has light skin and brown hair parted neatly over his left ear. He's wearing square spectacles and raising one hand in greeting, with the other tucked behind his back. Next to this, Logan is giving a Patton  (see next character description)  a ride on his shoulders. He's holding firmly onto Patton's  legs, and smiling up at him. Patton's  eyes are closed in contentment and his arms are folded on top of Logan's head. There is a swirl of dark blue in the background of this. A handwritten note next to this indicates that 'this is the right way to carry a child.' Logan, no longer his his long coat, has fallen asleep next to a pile of books. He rests his head in the crook of one arm, with a cartoonish 'Z' in a bubble above his head. Logan, in motion as he sprints towards some unknown destination. His eyes are wide and his coat swirls dramatically around him. A circle of dark color encircles his head. Two small sketches of Logan carrying Patton. In the first, he has Patton tucked inelegantly under one arm, like you might carry a football. Both of them seem unconcerned, and Patton is smiling. In the second, Logan lifts Patton  up, holding him under the armpits with a blank expression. Patton flails his hands happily, grinning. The handwritten text next to this notes that 'These are probably not good ways to carry a child'.

2: 'Patton': a short chubby child with a bright grin and square glasses. His skin is a darker brown than Dee's, but still fairly light. His hair is curly and dark-gold, and he's wearing a light grey coat with lighter grey fluffy bits at the neck, sleeves, and bottoms. His jeans are cyan and fall just below his knees. He wears brown boots and a light-blue shirt underneath the coat. Patton in profile from the chest up, facing right. He isn't wearing his coat, and he's still grinning. A note pointing to his glasses reads 'Doesn't actually need glasses! They're frames. He wears them so he can look like Logan' Patton, waist-deep in water, with his coat pulled up around his head. His eyes aren't visible but he's still smiling. His hands are extended outwards, like he's venturing further into the water. He's surrounded by specks of light. Two doodles of a baby seal, whose fluffy fur and coloring greatly resembles Patton's coat. There are spots of gold the same shade as Patton's hair on its back.. The first shows the seal lying on its side and looking left, flippers pulled close to its chest and water droplets exploding out around it. A label declares it '(FLUFFY)'. In the next, the seal pup is splashing downwards into water, bubbles spiraling out around it.

Third image: 1: 'Remy' - a medium-height man with brown skin, wearing sunglasses (from behind which yellow eyes are faintly visible) and a necklace with a yellow pendant. Short orange horns extend from his dark brown hair. He's grinning crookedly and flashing a peace sign at the viewer. He wears an unbuttoned black jacket with a ragged hem and a dark shirt visible underneath it, and black sweatpants with dark brown boots. He balances his weight on one foot, tipping the other back. A handwritten note pointing to him reads 'hides horns under hair, hides yellow eyes behind dark glasses'. An illustration of Remy's dragon form - a tall black dragon with the same coloring as Remy's jacket, and massive dark wings that are extended above him. His tail is long and ends with a puff of wavy brown  fluff. A note pointing to it reads 'swishy soft tail'. He has the same orange horns as humanoid-Remy does, except longer and curved backwards, and glowing yellow eyes. His neck is curved and bent downwards as he looks at a pink sketch of a fat man with wings, who is there to provide size reference. The man barely comes up to the base of his neck. An illustration of Remy in flight with Emile riding him (see next description for details). Remy's massive wings extended out to catch the wind, and his limbs and tail  are bent as though he's turning in midair. He glances up at Emile, on his back. Emile is grinning, his own wings open to catch the wind, and is holding tightly to Remy's neck.

2: 'Emile' - a fat medium-height man with light brown skin and light brown hair streaked through his pink. He has square-ish spectacles and a half-smile on his face. He wears a light pink-grey sweater patterned with salmon stripes, and a pair of light blue jeans. His shoes are brown. He also has a pair of large wings extending from his back. They're dark brown at the top but the color transitions from there into a lighter brown, into even lighter brown, and from there into cream. Emile faces away from the camera, his wings fully extended behind him. From here, we can see that they resemble a falcon's wings, and that the dark brown is more prevalent on the back of them. A note pointing to this explains that they're 'Slightly too small to properly fly with - better for gliding'. An illustration of Emile in flight. His wings are extended to catch the air and are not rendered in very much detail. His arms are raise and one foot is extended, as if he's coming in to land. Behind him is a blue sky and faint wispy clouds.

The fourth image shows all of the full-body portraits from the previous images positioned next to each other to show their heights in relation to each other. In order from tallest to shortest, this is Logan, Remy, Emile, Dee, Virgil, and Patton. Behind them is a light pink-to-blue gradient, with lines extending from the top of their heads to emphasize their heights. They are standing on a nondescript grey rectangle.

The last three images are watercolor A4 portraits featuring the character designs from the previous images.

Fifth image: Virgil and Dee, both with their wings out, are in the middle of a lush green forest, surrounded by oversized flowers and blades of glass. The gnarled brown wood of various trees frames the scene. Dee is standing barefoot in the grass, facing sideways with his glowing golden wings extended behind him. He's smiling up at Virgil, with an encouraging hand extended upwards and the other holding onto Virgil's own hands. Virgil is giggling and hovering in midair, wings fluttering and legs slightly askew as he tries to work out how to fly. They're illuminated by a beam of sunlight from above. A spider appoximately the size of a small perches on the wood in the left foreground, watching them.

Sixth image: Logan walks through a rushing deep blue river that comes up to mid-calf height. His long coat swishes around him and he is glancing back with a worried expression on his face at Patton, who he's carrying on his back. Patton's arms are wrapped around Logan's chest and his legs are behind supported by Logan's hands. He's wearing his grey coat and flasses and appears to be asleep. Puffs of white mist swirl near Logan's head. Behind them both, a black-and-blue night sky is patterend with many, many white stars, some of which are connected in constellation patterns. The moon is bright white in the sky, a half-crescent that illuminates both Logan and Patton from behind.

Seventh image: Remy, in his humanoid form, kneels  behind Emile on a bright yellow beach. Remy peers over his sunglasses, looking concerned, as he touches Emile's wings gently - they're tattered and ragged with blood covering them in messy splotches. Emile is sitting with his hands pressed into the sand, glancing back at Remy with a sheepish smile. In front of them, the ocean is visible with bright blue waves foaming white. Behind them, there are many rocks in red, pink, orange and yellow gradients. The sky above is blue with fluffy white clouds, and the sun shines down brightly on the scene.]

ATLA SECRET SANTA SCHEDULE

SIGN UPS - august 15th to august 25th

WISHLISTS - wishlists distributed september 15th to 17th

GIFTS DUE - december 7th

PINCHHITS DUE - december 18th

PUBLISHING DATE - december 25th

look at our info page for more details!! 

-mod sunny

hi! this is a little specific but do you guys have any more andreil coming out fics that feature the minyard-josten rivalry?

yeah! if you’re looking for generally the minyard-josten rivalry you can find our tag for that here and here are a couple that involve coming out -ari

Space In-Between by kitausu (M | 8,066 | 4/4)

Neil and Andrew are outed by the press, except it doesn't really matter or change a thing. - (Or, snippets of Andrew and Neil's life in between Exy, and PR, and having to talk to other people who exist in the world).

In Which Neil Josten is a PR Nightmare by CoverYourEyes (T | Incomplete | 15/?)

Eve was not the best person in the world. Sometimes she didn’t hold the elevator open when she saw people rushing to catch it from the other side of the lobby. Cutting the line at Starbucks was a semi-regular action.

But Eve did not deserve to be Neil fucking Josten's publicist.

**********

Or, the one where Neil does what he wants, picks fights with reporters, discovers Twitter, breaks the internet, and really shouldn't be allowed out of his house.

Andrew does nothing to discourage him.

rottweiler smile by RhymeReason (T | 1,410 | 1/1)

It went like this.

(A pinchhit for the AFTG Winter Exchange!)

/SLAM DUNKS MY FINAL ZINE PIECE INTO THE GOOGLE DRIVE

Zines are rly enjoyable to participate in, but MAN I am ready to take a break from them and be done with finished illustrations for a while. 

I think I do well when I have structure + a project to focus on, and it’s inspiring for me to create for others, but too much of either kinda starts to hang over my head and mess w/ me and my sense of focus/time. (It’s hard to explain lmao, but it’s def a brain thing vs. an actual 'hours spent working’ one.) 

It was interesting to compare/contrast working on a zine for a fandom I’m “in” (tts) vs. one I’m not (avatar). The latter is def less personable and feels a bit more business-like?

I also learned from this exp that rigid check-in schedules (ex. sketch by this date, lines by this date) rly cramp my style b/c that’s not how I work, but for some zines I think that just goes w/ the territory, RIP. 

THAT SAID, I still really want to participate in a scenic pkmn zine- I either missed the application period or wasn’t accepted for all the ones I’ve seen so far. 

So I’m on the look out there, AND I signed on as a potential backup artist for a diff zine (only b/c I also missed the apps for that one, so I volunteered to pinchhit to try wiggling my way in after the fact).