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What about the long answer?
Participants in this multi-fandom competition will be grouped into four teams that each write specific genres. As members of a genre-based team, participants of each team will select three K-pop groups they would like to write for, and can write for any of the three. Participants will be divided up by requested genre and then assigned to teams with an eye towards evenly distributing the writers for each K-pop group. This is so that each idol group receives equal representation and evens out reader-bias among all the teams. However, the teams need to have equal numbers, so if there are more requests for one genre, participants may be randomly assigned to another genre to make things even. Therefore, while we aim to accommodate genre preferences, participants should be willing to write any genre. Your team will be there to buoy your enthusiasm!
Speaking of teams, after assignments are sent, teams are free to interact and meet with each other through instant messaging, secret communities, locked twitters, discord, etc. in order to discuss tactics, support each other’s writing, and foster creative energies! A prompt list composed of K-Pop MVs and their song lyrics, along with supplementary picture and text prompts, will be sent to each team. Within each team, writers must decide amongst themselves who will be writing for which prompt.
(Fics must be inspired by the music video and/or song lyrics of your assigned prompt. Supplementary prompts will still be included, and we encourage you to use them, but they are just that: supplementary to the main prompt, which is your song.)
Once each prompt has been claimed, the writing begins! Team members will have until March 23th, 2025 to write at least 1000 words of fic based on the prompt assigned to them and centered around their chosen idol group.
A set of fics will be revealed anonymously every day of posting, with a fic from each team for the same prompt being revealed at the same time. At that point, the fate of the teams lies in the hands of the readers... who will vote for the winner.
What do we mean by 'genre'?
Traditionally, K-Pop Olymfics splits teams into two categories:
Canon/Alternate Reality/Future: for fics set in the idol-verse (aka reality). Fics can be set in the present canon of K-pop as we know it, in the imagined future of K-pop (that is not sci-fi in nature), or in an alternate reality based on our current one (e.g. a story ft. a member of a group being cut before debuting, a group's break-up never happened, an unpopular group became popular, etc). Most of the events in Canon/AR/Future fics, however, are expected to be based on fandom facts, or speculation with a clear basis in reality.
Alternate Universe: for fics set in any alternate universe that strikes the writer's fancy. These new settings and situations may be as ordinary (coffee shop, college, hospital) or as unusual (airship pirates, futuristic space explorers, fantasy heroes on an epic quest) as you want. In the AU universe, K-Pop as we know it does not exist; though idols and idol groups may exist, the story must be set outside idol group life, and the main characters cannot be part of K-pop as we know it.
What if I get assigned to the genre I didn't request?
Please don't panic! Remember that you aren't in this competition alone. You have your teammates and your team mod to back you up! They can share their enthusiasm for the assigned genre, brainstorm ideas with you, help you figure out an approach to the genre that works for you. Your teammates can encourage you to finish your fic, offer to beta what you've written, and even become friends. It can be an entirely rewarding experience even if you don't end up on the team you were initially hoping for, so don't despair!
What if I can't finish a fic for my assigned prompt?
We understand that life happens! But as this is a team competition, there needs to be an entry for each song for each team. This means that if someone drops, someone else will be assigned the prompt in their stead. Therefore it's polite to keep your team in the loop! Communicate with your team mod right away if you need to drop, so they can give as much time to the pinch-hitter as possible.
In the same vein, deadlines are pretty strict! We can't post ANY of the fics written for a prompt until ALL of them are turned in. If you realize you won't be finished on time, talk to your team mod about your options:
1. Receive an extension. To receive one, you must submit what you have — as much or as little as it may be — to the AO3 collection. This provides proof something exists, and serves as collateral. You may continue to update it up until the end of your extension, but whatever is on AO3 on the fic's posting date will be posted, finished or not.
2. Give the prompt to a pinch-hitter. If you haven't submitted a fic or been granted an extension by an assigned date, the prompt will automatically be given to a pinch-hitter. If no pinch-hitter can be found, or the pinch-hitter can't finish in time, the team will be disqualified for that round. That means no points can be earned! Of course unforeseen circumstances can arise, but do your best not to leave your team in the lurch.
What's all this about points?
We ask our readers, upon finishing the fic, to fill out the poll that will be linked at the end of the fic. We highly encourage that you give all fics a chance, but please do not automatically give a low rating to a fic that is about your least favorite character or most hated pairing, or automatically score a fic highly because it is the fic from your team. Rather, base your score on the following criteria:
Rate how much you enjoyed this fic (1-10)
Rate the interpretation of the prompt (1-5)
Rate how well they portrayed the genre and universe (1-5)
There's also a spot for you to add additional comments about the fic.
A perfect score would be 20 points. Points per fic will be averaged, and a winner will be declared for each round. The team that wins the most rounds at the end will be crowned champion.
What's the schedule for this round?
December 16, 2024 — Sign-ups open
Dec 31st, 2024 — Sign-ups close
January 4, 2025 — Team assignments sent
January 6, 2025 — Prompts list posted
January 6, 2025 — Writing period begins
February 8, 2025 — Check-in
March 23, 2025 — Writing period ends
March 31, 2025 — Posting begins
How do I sign up?
There will be a google form linked both here and on our Twitter once sign-ups open. We hope to see your name on our list!
