FAQ

SIGN UP FOR THE DESTIEL HARLEQUIN CHALLENGE HERE.

How do I sign up?
Fill out this form:

May I sign up as both author and artist?
Absolutely! You may claim only one summary as each, however. And yes, you may totes illustrate your own fic!

Do authors and artists have to work together if they claim the same summary?
Nope! This is an open challenge, so you’re not required to work with a partner, nor will we be assigning you partners. A summary may have only an artist claim or only an author claim. If a summary is claimed by both, it is up to the author and the artist to decide if they wish to collaborate. We do ask that you let the mods know if you’re collabing, though!

Will there be a Discord Chat?
Yes! We have a Discord Chat that will grow along with the challenge. Once you’re registered, you will receive an email with confirmation of registration as well as a link to the chat, so come on and join us there to yell about writing, arting, and all the struggles therein! If you are unfamiliar with Discord and/or need help signing up or using the chat rooms, please contact the mods and we’ll support you.

How can I get to know participating artists better to find someone who wants to collaborate?
We will announce our creator line-up once claims are over - if your claimed summary has been claimed by an author/artist, you may then send a message to them and ask if they’d like to collab with you. Please keep in mind that it is their choice - do not harass someone if they are not interested! We also recommend getting a Discord account, as it is easier to find someone to collab with on the chat servers. Your welcome email will come with a Discord Invite you can use to join the server.

What happens if I can’t post within the posting period?
Since this is open posting, we are open to negotiation! Please get in touch with the mods, we’re here to work something out with you!

Do I have to be an LJ/Tumblr/Pillowfort/Discord/AO3/Dreamwidth/Wattpad member to do the challenge?
Anyone registered will be able to make claims and you’re free to post your work wherever you want to. We do ask that you cross-post to our AO3 collection, so that we can make sure it’s easily accessible to everyone. This goes for both fic and art, particularly with how unstable Tumblr hosting has been lately. If you do not have an AO3 account and would like an invite, e-mail us, the mods have a few to spare.

Do I need to use a beta reader?
Although we strongly encourage the use of a beta reader (seriously, even the best of authors need them and they can be of tremendous value!), it is not required. If you need help finding a beta, we can facilitate that, so get in touch with us by e-mail or on Discord.

How will fic promotion work? How will banner creation work?
The Destiel Harlequin Tumblr will post promotions for everyone who completes the Final Check In, and we will create banners for participants. If you’d like to make a banner to promote your story at the time that you post, you are welcome to do so. We ask that all masterposts be e-mailed to the moderators at destielharlequin@gmail.com.

Are there consequences if I make a claim but fail to post?
Unfortunately, yes. Remember that if you claim a summary but then subsequently drop out, you’ve denied other people the option to work on that summary. While this is a low-stakes challenge, we also want it to be fair for all participants, and fun for everyone. As such we ask that you sign up only if you truly think you’ll be able to complete a project, and not just because it “looks fun.”

If you need to drop out anytime before the final check in and you let the mods know, there are no consequences.

If you need to drop out after the final check in - and therefore after we have promo'ed your work on the assumption that you will be posting - and you let the mods know, you will be prohibited from participating in the next challenge, but will be welcome back after that.

If you drop out after making significant progress on your fic or artwork, and would like to post it subsequent to when the challenge ends, you are allowed to do so, and to mention the challenge, but we will not add such works to the challenge collection nor will we promote them.

If you drop out without contacting the mods (“ghost”) you will be banned for one year.

If you violate the rules of the Discord server, harass other participants, kink shame, ship shame, or otherwise act like an asshole, you will be permanently banned from participating in the Destiel Harlequin Challenge.

However, with all that said, we recognize that there's a pandemic ravaging the whole world, so please get in touch with us at any time you want to drop or are overwhelmed! We are open to discussion (we want this to be a stress FREE challenge :P), as long as you communicate with us regarding any issues or emergencies.

My favorite summary got claimed by someone else! What can I do?
If you are an artist, and a writer has claimed this summary, or vice-versa, you could approach them to see if they’d be interested in collaborating! Otherwise, unfortunately, because claims are first come, first serve, there is not much we can do about this. This is to keep things fair in the spirit of the challenge. Read through the Summaries document well in advance, and be well-prepared for Claims round so you do get the one you’d like!

I fell in love with a summary that I didn’t claim, and I’d like to go off and do my own thing and write it or create art for it separate from the challenge. Is that okay?
You are, of course, free to create a work a the summary other than your own if you want to - we can’t do much to stop you - but you will be posting the piece unaffiliated with our challenge and we will not be promoting your fic. Please be aware, however, that if the summary is unclaimed, we will be re-using it for upcoming rounds; if the summary is claimed, someone else may post a fic/art. If we find out that there has been harassment or inappropriate behavior linked with this, we will ban you.

I found an amaze-balls summary, can I send it to you for inclusion in subsequent Destiel Harlequin Challenges?
We appreciate it very much, but unfortunately, we do not consider summaries that have been sent in. Because this challenge is low-stakes, a huge part of the mod-work is hunting down and collecting summaries, and we’d like to keep that going in the spirit of the challenge! However, we do know a bunch of awesome prompts blogs where you could potentially send these summary/recs to - DM us for further details!

What is open-posting?
Unlike other traditional Big Bangs, participants will not be allotted a specific date on which you must post. Instead, there will be a window of two weeks during which you may post your creation. You are not liable to a specific date, so long as you post anytime during this open-window. Please note that you may not serialize your fic during the open-posting time; while you can choose your own posting-date, you must upload the fic/art in its entirety in the interest of keeping it fair for all participants.

Where did this idea come from?
Way back in 2007, @estrella30 ignited ran a very successful (mostly wincest-oriented) SPN Harlequin Challenge on Livejournal. In 2017, randomdestielfangirl, caslikescoffeeandfreckles, wanderingcas, and destielonfire decided to make a Destiel version. The results were fantastic, and the beloved challenge returned with new mods in 2019! We are: profound-boning (Sarah), dusky-rambles (Dusky), and unforth (Claire).

Questions/concerns?
Email us at Mailto:destielharlequin@gmail.com destielharlequin@gmail.com, hit us up on Discord (tag @mod in the Destiel Harlequin Challenge server, or you can DM any of us - profound-boning#5007, a_dusky_gold#0580, and unforth#6748), or send us a message on Tumblr, @destielharlequin!