The Armed Bastards Exchange - A Martian Holiday 2008
Put your hands up! This is The Armed Bastards Exchange - A Martian Holiday.
This exchange is all about sharing ficlets and icons with fellow Life on Mars fans in a setting which is supposed to induce as little stress as possible. Because nothing says "armed bastards" quite like giving and receiving gifts.
Roll out your party sevens and get on your cuban heels, it's a Christmas Blitz.
Ficlets and icons do not have to be holiday themed - but they can be, of course, if you want.
Sign-ups are open until November 16th.
STEP ONE: Join CID
Sign-ups are open from now until Sunday November 16th. To sign up, simply COMMENT below with the following info:
What I can do: write/make icons
Characters/Pairings: Sam/Annie, Sam/Gene, Sam/Mobile Phone, Any, etc - We are open to all pairings and characters. (Fics will be clearly labelled.)
What I can't do: Please make this relatively simple eg. slash, het, kink, etc.
If you want to write multiple snippets (max 3), or make multiple icon sets (max 3), please include this info for all snippets and sets. You cannot sign up for 3 snippets and 3 icon sets - there is a 'maximum of 3' rule applied to all - so you might nominate 1 ficlet and 2 icon sets or vice versa.
Example of sign-up;
What I can do: Write!
Characters/Pairings: Sam-centric gen, preferably White Cortina/G
What I can't do: Cannot write any sciencey time travel stuff.
If you've been longing to write that Litton/Phyllis fic - say you're willing to write it. Someone out there might just be longing to read it. If you say you're willing to write anything, people will hold you to your word.
OR
What I can do: Make icons!
Characters/Pairings: Any!
What I can't do: Cannot make text-icons, have tried and failed.
Comments on this post are screened.
STEP TWO: Get your badge number(s).
When sign-ups close (November 16th), I'll collate them all into a NEW post, with each sign-up anonymous but numbered. Then I'll make a screened reply to your sign-up comment, telling you your number (or numbers, if you signed up to write multiple ficlets or icon sets).
STEP THREE: Assigning Cases
The new post will be an ANONYMOUS NUMBERED LIST of everyone's sign-up info. You will pick a number (not your own!) to be the person who writes/makes icons for you. You'll comment to that post with the number of your choice and an appropriate prompt: a pairing and a SINGLE LINE of dialogue for ficlets; OR a simple character request and/or wording for icons. If there is something you absolutely do not want in your ficlet or icon set - say so here.
Example of choice -
16. Ficlet. Sam-centric gen. Preferably White Cortina/G. Cannot write any sciencey time travel stuff.
"Every man should marry. After all, happiness is not the only thing in life."
Please no scenes with the Sockpuppet
OR
12. Icon set. Any. Cannot make text-icons, have tried and failed.
A set of icons with Ray looking pretty, please?
If you volunteered to write more than one ficlet or icon set, you get to choose as many to receive as you signed up to write! (if you say you are writing 3 ficlets, you can request 3 icon sets and vice versa - you can also choose any combination of which - 2 ficlets and 1 icon set, etc.)
Numbers will be struck off the list as they're claimed.
Comments on this post will NOT be screened.
STEP FOUR: Your Assignment
You'll be able to see the prompt comments, so you can check for yourself if you like. However, when all the sign-ups have been snagged and given prompts, I'll reply to your ORIGINAL sign-up comment with your prompt and the name of the person who requested it, just for confirmation. These comments will be screened, too, so it all stays secret. Let's keep this a surprise!
THE LAW OF THE LAND aka The Rules:
You have UNTIL DECEMBER 8TH to write the ficlet (300+ish words, don't stress out about it, think of it like comment fic) or make the icons (sets of 6 or so: your recipient can pick one or two to be exclusively for them, if they wish, and the rest will be shareable).
Once again: The minimum word length for ficlets should be around 300 words. Do not stress. This is fun! The holidays are stressful enough. Plus, this is Life on Mars, it shouldn't be... oh, right... Sam doesn't need another angst-laden deadline and neither do you. Just have a good time.
If you can't complete your assignment, PLEASE let me know, so I can throw your prompt up for grabs (yes, we're doing it differently this year; no specific pinch-hitters.)
POSTING:
On Monday December 8th, we all post our icon sets and ficlets to the martianholiday community and The Armed Bastards Exchange will be on its way! Read, download, upload, comment and enjoy! Further instructions shall be issued on the posting format.
If you have any questions, feel free to email me at lozenger8 at gmail dot com.
The concept of The Armed Bastards Exchange is modelled on out_of_con_txt. I make no claims as to coming up with the idea independently.
This exchange is all about sharing ficlets and icons with fellow Life on Mars fans in a setting which is supposed to induce as little stress as possible. Because nothing says "armed bastards" quite like giving and receiving gifts.
Roll out your party sevens and get on your cuban heels, it's a Christmas Blitz.
Ficlets and icons do not have to be holiday themed - but they can be, of course, if you want.
Sign-ups are open until November 16th.
STEP ONE: Join CID
Sign-ups are open from now until Sunday November 16th. To sign up, simply COMMENT below with the following info:
What I can do: write/make icons
Characters/Pairings: Sam/Annie, Sam/Gene, Sam/Mobile Phone, Any, etc - We are open to all pairings and characters. (Fics will be clearly labelled.)
What I can't do: Please make this relatively simple eg. slash, het, kink, etc.
If you want to write multiple snippets (max 3), or make multiple icon sets (max 3), please include this info for all snippets and sets. You cannot sign up for 3 snippets and 3 icon sets - there is a 'maximum of 3' rule applied to all - so you might nominate 1 ficlet and 2 icon sets or vice versa.
Example of sign-up;
What I can do: Write!
Characters/Pairings: Sam-centric gen, preferably White Cortina/G
What I can't do: Cannot write any sciencey time travel stuff.
If you've been longing to write that Litton/Phyllis fic - say you're willing to write it. Someone out there might just be longing to read it. If you say you're willing to write anything, people will hold you to your word.
OR
What I can do: Make icons!
Characters/Pairings: Any!
What I can't do: Cannot make text-icons, have tried and failed.
Comments on this post are screened.
STEP TWO: Get your badge number(s).
When sign-ups close (November 16th), I'll collate them all into a NEW post, with each sign-up anonymous but numbered. Then I'll make a screened reply to your sign-up comment, telling you your number (or numbers, if you signed up to write multiple ficlets or icon sets).
STEP THREE: Assigning Cases
The new post will be an ANONYMOUS NUMBERED LIST of everyone's sign-up info. You will pick a number (not your own!) to be the person who writes/makes icons for you. You'll comment to that post with the number of your choice and an appropriate prompt: a pairing and a SINGLE LINE of dialogue for ficlets; OR a simple character request and/or wording for icons. If there is something you absolutely do not want in your ficlet or icon set - say so here.
Example of choice -
16. Ficlet. Sam-centric gen. Preferably White Cortina/G. Cannot write any sciencey time travel stuff.
"Every man should marry. After all, happiness is not the only thing in life."
Please no scenes with the Sockpuppet
OR
12. Icon set. Any. Cannot make text-icons, have tried and failed.
A set of icons with Ray looking pretty, please?
If you volunteered to write more than one ficlet or icon set, you get to choose as many to receive as you signed up to write! (if you say you are writing 3 ficlets, you can request 3 icon sets and vice versa - you can also choose any combination of which - 2 ficlets and 1 icon set, etc.)
Numbers will be struck off the list as they're claimed.
Comments on this post will NOT be screened.
STEP FOUR: Your Assignment
You'll be able to see the prompt comments, so you can check for yourself if you like. However, when all the sign-ups have been snagged and given prompts, I'll reply to your ORIGINAL sign-up comment with your prompt and the name of the person who requested it, just for confirmation. These comments will be screened, too, so it all stays secret. Let's keep this a surprise!
THE LAW OF THE LAND aka The Rules:
You have UNTIL DECEMBER 8TH to write the ficlet (300+ish words, don't stress out about it, think of it like comment fic) or make the icons (sets of 6 or so: your recipient can pick one or two to be exclusively for them, if they wish, and the rest will be shareable).
Once again: The minimum word length for ficlets should be around 300 words. Do not stress. This is fun! The holidays are stressful enough. Plus, this is Life on Mars, it shouldn't be... oh, right... Sam doesn't need another angst-laden deadline and neither do you. Just have a good time.
If you can't complete your assignment, PLEASE let me know, so I can throw your prompt up for grabs (yes, we're doing it differently this year; no specific pinch-hitters.)
POSTING:
On Monday December 8th, we all post our icon sets and ficlets to the martianholiday community and The Armed Bastards Exchange will be on its way! Read, download, upload, comment and enjoy! Further instructions shall be issued on the posting format.
If you have any questions, feel free to email me at lozenger8 at gmail dot com.
The concept of The Armed Bastards Exchange is modelled on out_of_con_txt. I make no claims as to coming up with the idea independently.