THANK YOU to our lovely participants this year for our first ever Hot Bucky Summer! We've made badges as a little thank you for everyone that submitted a fic/tagged us on Tumblr.
We also had a handful that really went "y'know what, I'm gonna shoot for the stars!" and I am blown away by the efforts.
Our blog is all about events of all calibers, but with a special focus on smaller, stress-free, low commitment events (longer deadlines, extra support, more prompts, etc.) so we were blown away by the effort in trying to complete the entire event! As a little thank you, we've made an additional "Completionist" Badge, too!
PARTICIPANTS:
COMPELTIONISTS:
Our final masterlist will come in the next few days, stay tuned!
This marks the kickoff to HEA (Happily Ever After) Marvel’s Holiday Movie Challenge! If you don’t know us, we’re a group of crafty mods under the direction of our own personal Pepper Potts ( @betheflame ), so really, this is going to be great fun, and we hope that you’ll join us!
A brief intro to our event:
At no point do you need to sign up for this event. You are not beholden to post anything, even if you say that you will. This is a guiltless, fun event!
Pick a prompt, any prompt!
Interpret the prompt any which way you wish. We have prompt examples available for people to peruse on our blog and on our Discord, if you’re in need of a few examples.
Write (or art, podfic, or moodboard, etc.) any ship you want, even polyamorous relationships of any number or type (even if the prompts contain just two characters!).
Include additions from our badge list if you wish! They function like video game achievements (think World of Warcraft, or Xbox) and you will be rewarded with little achievement badges designed by the wonderful @kocuria that you can display anywhere you please.
The collection will open on November 1st and close on December 24th.
Around then we will provide a Google form to submit the badge info and other info for your fic.
BUT REMEMBER! All contributions to this event must have a Happily Ever After as per holiday movie standards (doesn’t mean there can’t be tons of angst and pain in the middle, though).
For any further info, please check out our Holiday Movie Challenge page, our Prompt and Badge page, our Frequently Asked Questions page, or ask us questions on Tumblr, Twitter, or on Discord! (Links on Tumblr.)
But that’s enough mod-splaining, let’s take a look under the cut at the prompts and badges that we’ve been eagerly waiting to share with you!
*We have included both (1) images to download and save as well as (2) text for those who prefer or need that medium! The images are at the bottom of this post.
Here’s a separate post with just the images.
Prompts
1. Character A is a big city lawyer who swore to never go back to their hometown. Suddenly, their grandfather dies and leaves them the family Christmas Tree farm. They’re determined to go back and shut down the farm. Character B runs the farm and is determined to save it.
2. After losing their job as an au pair in New York, Character A accepts a position as a nanny in the castle of a small European principality no one has ever heard of. Character B is a single parent & ruler of the country.
3. When architect and Christmas amateur Character A finds themselves hosting their family for Christmas, they recruit holiday coordinator Character B to bring holiday joy to their home.
4. A high-powered executive reconsiders their priorities when car trouble leads them to Christmas Valley, a town in love with Christmas.
5. Two new students at nearby university, Character A and Character B, meet the first day of classes and become study partners. A local bookstore becomes a close part of their lives as their relationship grows.
6. Character A - a famous author who writes about how to stay single - is forced to look after their niece and nephew over the holidays. With the help of their Christmas-loving neighbor, Character B, they learn to find love and the Christmas spirit.
7. A young royal (Character A) escapes their entourage to explore New York City over Christmas. They meet Character B who shows the beautiful stranger their side of the city.
8. As Christmas approaches, Character A (the Lizzie Bennet character), a New York event planner, is sent to a quaint, small town to organize their holiday festival. When they arrive, they find Character B (the Darcy character), a high-profile billionaire lacking in holiday spirit, in the process of selling the charming estate they hoped to use as a venue.
9. An anxious bride-to-be (Character A, “bride” is non-gender assigned) throws in with broken-hearted and cynical Character B and a happily married couple for an emergency ride to NYC from New England.
10. Character A has to go to their cousin’s holiday wedding that’s taking place a year to the day they were left at the altar. Unable to face going alone, they con Character B into going “just as friends.”
11. When a restless young married Character A is granted a wish by a Christmas Angel to be single again, they soon discover their new life isn't what they bargained for, and embark on a quest to win Character B back.
12. Character A and Character B have been archrivals ever since a memorable fight over a coveted Christmas recital solo in elementary school. Now adults, they work side-by-side at the same school where they still constantly compete over everything. As the holiday season approaches, the entire school is getting into the spirit with the annual fundraising festival, which will feature an exciting new event - a teacher Christmas Cookie Bake-Off, judged by a tough five-star chef.
13. Character A inherited a toy factory. The town needs the factory to stay open, but they have no interest in being tied to their hometown. Especially when they find out that Character B - who broke their heart in high school - is the town’s mayor.
14. A WWII era nurse (Character A) is transported in time to 2019 and meets Character B who helps them discover the bonds of family and that the true meaning of Christmas is timeless.
15. Stranded at an airport at Christmastime, Character A accepts a ride from Character B, who has just rented the last car in town.
Badges
Length
500
1k
5k
10k
15k
20k+
Ships
We’ll be custom-making the badges for whatever ship you choose to bring to the table! (Just keep in mind our limits: no underage, no non-con, no nazis.) Popular ship or rarepair+, this group of multishipping mods would love to see whatever you choose to write!
General fic elements
Baking/Cooking
Needing a passport
Non-abled character
Neuro-diverse character
Passes the Bechdel Test
Set outside the United States
Addresses a legitimate societal ill/charity/cause
Character learns a craft as a coping mechanism
Someone eats popcorn in a dramatic scene
Mention or include a Hallmark store or movie
Character is tracing their genealogy
Character writes fanfiction
Character learns a new skill
NSFW
A/B/O
Sentinels & Guides
Soulmate-Identifying Marks
Historical AU: Scottish or Irish clans
Historical AU: Ancient Rome or Greece
Historical AU: Regency or Victorian
Historical AU: American West
Inclusion of animal other than a dog, cat, or horse
‘It Takes a Village’ (town or community helps them hook up)
Use of holiday other than Christmas - including non-winter holidays
One sentence or more spoken in a language other than Russian
Discussion on classic literature and/or classic rock ‘n’ roll
Write a pairing you’ve never written before
Holiday Movie and general tropes
Inversion/Subversion of any trope
Main character has a cuddly dog
Presence of a small town festival
'And they were roommates!'
Fake Relationship
Only One Bed
Snowball fight
Ice skating or Ice hockey
Interrupted first kiss
Stories from childhood
Sassy/nosy best friend
Conniving co-worker
Kid as matchmaker
Single parent
Holiday specific
Yule log
Playing Dreidel
Holiday movie pick: Die Hard
Use of the phrase “Santa! I know him!”
Home Alone style shenanigans, serious or not
Trying to balance an egg on the Solstice
A non-Jewish character mixes up Passover and Hanukkah
Writing format/style
Outsider POV
First Person POV
Text Message/Chat Room
3+ perspectives in one story
Dialogue Only
Epistolary
Avengers stereotypes/fanon
Thor is foreign
Bots as children
Tony has insomnia
Tony Is Worthy (of Mjolnir)
Tony as a non-Iron Man mechanic
Ceiling vent Clint Barton
Budapest Explanation
Natasha is a scary spy/likes sneaking
Super-Nanny Phil Coulson
Peter Parker being a klutz
Peter and Shuri team up on Tony
Bruce has anger management problems
Avengers Movie Night
Darcy uses her taser
Bucky speaks Russian
Steve and/or Bucky need to play catch up on modern and pop culture
Side Character speaking role (any apply): Dr. Doom, Reed Richards, Galactus, Ghost Rider, Frank Castle, any Inhuman, any Runaway, Sif or one of the Warriors Three, Frigga, Amora or Lorelei
Set in a Marvel canon universe (even if not canon-compliant), for example: 1872, Noir
Mod Requests
Supernatural creatures
Gender swapped MC
Someone wears a tiara
Someone wears a kimono
Long-distance relationship
Snuggling to keep warm
1940s AU
Disclaimer: The above plot summaries in the prompt list belong to numerous movies in the Hallmark catalogue. We do not claim to own them, and are not making any money off of this, nor are we being paid by Hallmark to run this event.
Additionally, as of December 14th, 2019, we are no longer associating with Hallmark even in name, due to their poor choice to cave to pressure and remove an advertisement of a gentle, loving same-sex kiss occurring at their own wedding. We cannot and will not abide that.
Heya! Last week we received a request for the movies our prompts are based on. Here they are, along with a few additional great movies to check out.
Reminder: Your fics can use any holiday, any time of the year, secular or any religion you choose, for this event! Just because Hallmark is obsessed with Christmas doesn’t mean we want you to be! :)
Our prompt list
#2 is several of them, but A Crown for Christmas is a good example
#3 is Christmas Made to Order
#4 is Love You Like Christmas
#6 is Christmas Next Door
#7 is Once Upon a Holiday
#8 is Christmas at Pemberly Manor
#9 is A Christmas Detour
#11 is A Dream of Christmas
#12 is A Cookie Cutter Christmas
If there's not a title for a number, mod Pepper combined a bunch together.
Other recs and prompts flagged for next year's event:
