Also, a kind of pudding. A delicious pudding.
Welcome to Psych Out & About, a fiction and art crossover challenge for the hit USA program, Psych!
The show, which is hilarious and adorable, has just completed its first season, and scrunchy and I decided that the fun should not end there. There needs to be more love for this show! Shawn & Gus are not the sort to sit around on their laurels until the start of season two, you know! They need excitment! Intrigue! Romance? So why not send them off to visit your favorite fandom sorts? The worst that can happen is ADVENTURES!
Some examples, you say? Well, we had scrunchy wrangle her crack team of crossover monkeys (crossover team of crackmonkeys?) into the office this weekend to provide you with the following:
01. Casey McCall is in San Diego covering a late-season Chargers game. He meets Shawn and Gus in a bar, and rolls his eyes at Shawn's predictions for the upcoming bowl games. Two weeks later, shocked to find that the scribbled team names on the bar napkin match the winners down to the shocking victory of Backwater State over Backwater A&M in the Diet Cherry Vanilla Dr. Pepper Bowl, Casey tracks him down and has him (and Gus) flown out to New York. Shawn captivates the Sports Night family with his "powers" of prediction. Gus asks Danny if he's Casey's sidekick. Danny sulks for a month. Everyone learns an important lesson about brotherhood or love or racism or something.
02. After his book is published, Shawn is excited [Almost said 'psyched' - note to challenge writers: avoid that pun. - Scrunchy] to get an invite to The Colbert Report. Familiar with the show, Shawn decides to use his talents to stay one step ahead of Colbert's legendarily lightning quick brain and avoid getting "nailed" in the interview. He fails, of course, because it's Stephen motherf'ing Colbert. During the commercial break, Stephen has a grip beat Shawn with the boom mic for his insolence.
03. Somehow transported to the Pegasus Galaxy to assist the Atlantis expedition for ... some reason, Shawn and Gus find themselves standing at the periphery of the conference room as Dr. McKay explains his latest plan for defeating the Wraith: a new gas which - when inhaled - turns the ... breath-er completely docile and highly suggestible. Shawn raises his hand, then without being called on says "That plan ends badly." Rodney, annoyed, asks if Shawn's a geneticist? A chemist, perhaps? Or a scientist of any stripe at all. "No." Shawn smirks, "No, I've just seen television before, and I know someone accidentally drops a vial of that near a vent, and the next thing you know we spend a weekend lounging around the ... big room with the Stargate down there like it's some sort of outtake from Fellini's Caligula." Sheppard points at Shawn, then looks back at Rodney. "I like this guy," he says. Rodney seethes. Elizabeth suggests going forward with the plan anyway, because ... it's what she does.
And that's just the very beginning of where you can go with this! We've thought it out, we made a chart, and there are literally ... several possibilities!
So. Think you'd like to play? Awesome! Here's a few things you should know:
Okay, girls and boys, them's the basics. Now, go forth and write, or art, or... whatever it is you normally do on a weeknight. And even if you're not playing along, feel free to spread the Psych Out & About Challenge love to all corners of the universe, all times past and present! :D
The show, which is hilarious and adorable, has just completed its first season, and scrunchy and I decided that the fun should not end there. There needs to be more love for this show! Shawn & Gus are not the sort to sit around on their laurels until the start of season two, you know! They need excitment! Intrigue! Romance? So why not send them off to visit your favorite fandom sorts? The worst that can happen is ADVENTURES!
Some examples, you say? Well, we had scrunchy wrangle her crack team of crossover monkeys (crossover team of crackmonkeys?) into the office this weekend to provide you with the following:
01. Casey McCall is in San Diego covering a late-season Chargers game. He meets Shawn and Gus in a bar, and rolls his eyes at Shawn's predictions for the upcoming bowl games. Two weeks later, shocked to find that the scribbled team names on the bar napkin match the winners down to the shocking victory of Backwater State over Backwater A&M in the Diet Cherry Vanilla Dr. Pepper Bowl, Casey tracks him down and has him (and Gus) flown out to New York. Shawn captivates the Sports Night family with his "powers" of prediction. Gus asks Danny if he's Casey's sidekick. Danny sulks for a month. Everyone learns an important lesson about brotherhood or love or racism or something.
02. After his book is published, Shawn is excited [Almost said 'psyched' - note to challenge writers: avoid that pun. - Scrunchy] to get an invite to The Colbert Report. Familiar with the show, Shawn decides to use his talents to stay one step ahead of Colbert's legendarily lightning quick brain and avoid getting "nailed" in the interview. He fails, of course, because it's Stephen motherf'ing Colbert. During the commercial break, Stephen has a grip beat Shawn with the boom mic for his insolence.
03. Somehow transported to the Pegasus Galaxy to assist the Atlantis expedition for ... some reason, Shawn and Gus find themselves standing at the periphery of the conference room as Dr. McKay explains his latest plan for defeating the Wraith: a new gas which - when inhaled - turns the ... breath-er completely docile and highly suggestible. Shawn raises his hand, then without being called on says "That plan ends badly." Rodney, annoyed, asks if Shawn's a geneticist? A chemist, perhaps? Or a scientist of any stripe at all. "No." Shawn smirks, "No, I've just seen television before, and I know someone accidentally drops a vial of that near a vent, and the next thing you know we spend a weekend lounging around the ... big room with the Stargate down there like it's some sort of outtake from Fellini's Caligula." Sheppard points at Shawn, then looks back at Rodney. "I like this guy," he says. Rodney seethes. Elizabeth suggests going forward with the plan anyway, because ... it's what she does.
And that's just the very beginning of where you can go with this! We've thought it out, we made a chart, and there are literally ... several possibilities!
So. Think you'd like to play? Awesome! Here's a few things you should know:
- Which fandoms are welcome? Can I bring other characters into the Psych universe instead of the other way 'round?
Excellent question! You may use any combination of universes/characters with any fandom you like, fictional or otherwise, as long as it's a fandom (meaning no original fic), and your story involves only the fictional characters from Psych. In other words, no go on the stories starring James Roday or Dulé Hill, the actors.
- You only use Shawn & Gus in your examples. What about [insert character here]? S/he is my FAVORITE!!
Take a breath. You are free to use ANY of the characters on Psych; so, if you're itching to write that House/Lassiter magnum opus you've been noodling all year, now's your chance!
- Do I need to sign up for this challenge?
Not really? This isn't a ficathon, and as there are no real prompts outside of crossing two (or more) universes, if you fail to finish your story or art, you're only letting yourself--and your potential readers/viewers--down. However, if you are planning to join us, please leave a comment here so we can get an accurate idea of who's cool and who's not.
- What's the deadline for this business?
The deadline is June 30th, 2007, because we feel that deadlines keep people from being lazy and shiftless. Plus, that's just in time for the new season to start in July! Yay!
- Tell the truth: what's the least amount of work I can get away with here?
Stories should be at least 300 words, minimum; artwork should be at least 300x300px, and icons should be in batches of no less than ten. There is no maximum, though, so knock yourselves out!
- What sort of art are you looking for?
We're entirely open to all sorts of artistic endeavors: original art, photomanips, icons, music vids, needlepoint, mashed potato sculpture [Close Encounters of the Corbin Berson Kind? - Scrunchy], whatever! As long as it was made specifically for this challenge, we'll take it!
- Does it have to be funny? I'm not that good at "funny".
Absolutely not! While the show itself is known for its humor, mystery-solving and pop culture references, we'll gladly accept whatever you feel like creating. Comedy, angst, action-adventure, porn, AU, whatever. [Sorry, though, I can't guarantee I'll read your Lassie porn. Another thing I never thought I'd say. Thanks, fandom! - slodwick]
- I'm all done! When/where should I post my finished story/art/vid?
Hooray! Whenever you've finished your entry, feel free to post it wherever you like (on your own journal, website, whatevs). We do ask that you leave a post in the community, though, so the rest of us can enjoy it!
When posting, please use the following format:
Title:
Author/Artist:
Crossover Fandom:
Rating:
Spoilers (if any):
Notes:
If you are posting art and feel compelled to include a teaser image, it can be no larger than 150x150px, or no more than three icons.
- Oh, no! I still have questions! WHAT DO I DO??
Be cool, sodapop. Just leave a comment here, and one of your delightful mods will get back to you as soon as she can!
Okay, girls and boys, them's the basics. Now, go forth and write, or art, or... whatever it is you normally do on a weeknight. And even if you're not playing along, feel free to spread the Psych Out & About Challenge love to all corners of the universe, all times past and present! :D