Welcome!

Hello friends!

Have you ever read a fic that romantically paired two characters you couldn't imagine ever interacting, much less dating? And then were blown away by how well the author made it work? Well, that is crackships, baby! And that is what this contest will be about, until 2022 March 0317.

Of course, picking two random characters, declaring that they're in love for no discernible reason, and then calling it a day isn't quite what we are looking for!

Criteria!

Entries will be considered and rated based on a few metrics, including the creativity of every ship, how the ship itself is handled, and the dynamic and characterization.

Creativity of the Ship

For this contest, consider a crackship to be one a ship that is between two or more characters who do not naturally cross paths during the show, and are brought together in a way that feels natural with the characters (either currently or previously!) in a romantic relationship. Remember that this is a general guideline and fringe cases like, say, Pinkie Pie and Moondancer may violate this but still be accepted. If you aren't sure, please feel free to ask!

How the Ship is Handled

As stated, characters should have good chemistry with the other. The ship should be presented as a believable one!

Dynamic and Characterization

Do the canon characters act like the canon characters? If a background pony with little to no characterization is used in the show, how well-developed and rich is this background pony? Do they feel like an actual character or more of a prop? Each entry will be considered alongside the following factors. We're looking for the most creative and most dynamic ships!

Prizes!

Note that all prize amounts will be sent by PayPal. If you are unable to receive money by PayPal, I, Bicyclette, will try my very best to arrange an alternative that works for you, but please be aware that it may not work out.

Thanks to me, Bicyclette, we have a total prize pool of $250!

The top four winners will gain the following in American Dollars:

• First Place: $80
• Second Place: $55
• Third Place: $40
• Fourth Place: $25

In addition, each judge will bestow a Judge Prize of $10 on any entry of their choosing.

Judges!

• Bicyclette

  Author of: Limerence (Luna x Coco Pommel); Rooftop (Sunset Shimmer x Abacus Cinch)
  Fan of: How to Farm Rocks (in three easy steps) (Princess Cadance x Limestone Pie) by mushroompone, Catch Us If You Can (King Sombra x Troubleshoes) by Miller Minus

• The Red Parade

  Author of: transequestrianism (Sky Stinger x Sunburst); Forever Fell Short (Derpy x Lightning Dust); A Lesson in Romantics (Cheerilee x Mage Meadowbrook); No Heroes Allowed (Apple Fritter x Twilight Sparkle); A Study in Red (Flash Sentry x Spearhead)

• BaeroRemedy

  Author of: A Scratch On Shining Armor (Shining Armor x Vinyl Scratch)

• Nailah

  Is: a baticorn
  Obsessed with: pineapples and headpats
  Founder of: Reviewers' Mansion

• Snow Quill

  Author of: BERR-E (Tempest Shadow x Autumn Blaze); Putting Together The Puzzle Pieces (Cheerilee x Coloratura); The Thread That Binds Us (Coco Pommel x Moondancer)

Please keep in mind that judges are not allowed to preread, edit, or discuss any entries with the author before the contest results are released! In addition, judges are asked to withhold commenting on entries until after the release of contest results.

Community!

The group Original Pairings will be hosting the contest. Please join the group to have contest updates in your feed as well as to submit your entry into the contest folder, which is an official requirement. You are also welcome to join the Discord to talk with the judges and other writers!

Rules!

1. Stories can be of any genre, not necessarily "romance" stories, as long as they center around a ship. It must also be a ship, not a friend-ship!
2. Stories can be any rating or content, with the following restrictions: T-rated stories cannot have the Fetish tag, and M-rated stories cannot have the Fetish, Porn, or Sex tags. Sex and violence can be themes, but pornography, erotica, and gorefests are not allowed.
3. Stories based on Equestria Girls, Pony Life, and MLP:ANG (G5) are allowed.
4. AUs, crossovers, sequels, and side stories are allowed as long as they can be understood without having read their source material.
5. OCs and crossover characters are not allowed as a part of the ship, but you may use background ponies, keeping in mind the judging criteria above.
6. The deadline is 1900 03/0317/2022 UTC-5:00 (7:00PM of March 0317, 2022, EST). Stories must be published and completed, and placed in the Crackship Contest Submissions folder by this time in order to qualify. There will be no extensions or exceptions.
7. The one exception to the above is if a fic is stuck in the moderation queue (because you are a new writer, for example). In this case, you must PM me, Bicyclette, with a password before the contest deadline in order to qualify.
8. There is no minimum wordcount, but the maximum is 20kw. If you feel this is too restrictive, please contact me, Bicyclette, to discuss a possible exception.
9. Authors may submit only one entry into the contest, but in the case of people who write multiple fics, they may change their mind on which to submit up until the contest deadline.
10. Collaborations between authors are allowed, but count as the only eligible entry for all authors involved.
11. If you feel like your idea, despite technically meeting all these rules, might go against what we might reasonably expect from a good-faith entry, or if you have any questions or want to clarify anything, please don't be afraid to discuss it with me, Bicyclette! The last thing we want is for you to spend a lot of time working on an entry and then have it not qualify at the end. We understand there will always be corner cases to consider.
12. For legal and job reasons of myself, any submission under the same account as fics that would be illegal to publish in the nation of Australia (a certain subset of pornographic material) are disqualified. This is the only requirement based on factors outside of the actual submission itself.

Other Contests

If this contest is not enough for you, try:

• Reactception's Sunset Shimmer x Trixie Lulamoon Contest, ending on 2022 Jan 30

That's it!

Good luck!

7627221

and are brought together in a way that feels natural with the characters (either currently or previously!) in a romantic relationship

So one of the rules for the contest is that the characters presented had to have either previously been in or are currently in a relationship?

7627221
I appreciate you always putting the Sunset x EG villains group competition in the other competitions at the end of your’s. (P.S. yes I am everywhere on the site!)

Also I have an idea for who to ship for this….

7627221
Oh boy, I might actually do this one. This is my bread and butter; I shipped Rarity with a flying purple hippo once. Also Flurry Heart and the Storm King.

I don't see it:

7627239
of course! just trying to spotlight other competitions as well
7627296
pog af
7627431
the spirit of the contest is that it's written and published during the contest window (or else it wouldn't have a start date), but the idea can certainly be older

How random would you consider Trixie x Sombra?

7628710
that is definitely a crackshippy crackship

7629261 Awesome.

One thing I wanted to clarify is that I know we aren't supposed to use OCs for the ship, but what about side characters/background characters? Is it acceptable to use them for those roles?

7629477
OCs can be used in any role for the story, just not as part of the central ship, hope that answers your question!

7627467

but the idea can certainly be older

Does that mean the story could have been posted before the contest?

7629730
no, it definitely has to be posted within the contest dates

Incredibly tempted to use this contest as an excuse to write more Sombra/Starlight. Alternatively, I could come up with something new, but I always want an excuse to do more with those two.

Alternatively alternatively, I could stop entering contests because every single oneshot on my page was written for a contest, writing is hard.

7629769
if it weren't for contests i would not have half the stories i am publishing this year! and yes, writing is hard, but Sombra x Starlight is a great crackship

7629493 I think so. Now for the sex tag, is it acceptable if it is used simply for suggestive content?

7632627
anything that's allowed under T-rated with the Sex tag is fine!

7632630 Yay!

Wahoo! My hat is officially thrown into the ring.

7634444 Awesome!

Would Guard Spearhead and Princess Celestia or Luna count? Or even a young Spearhead and young Cadance?

7645144 I think it might be a bit crackshippy having Celestia and Spearhead together (maybe). Not too sure about Cadence though.

7646182
OK. I just realized that Dixie (Discord/Trixie) could work. So, for the stories, it's one submission per person, right?

7646194 I believe so, but I don't know. The OP would have a better idea.

So there might be 2 Trixie stories in this contest. Lol.

7646195
LOL, I think I'll pick my Trixie one for that reason.

7645144
yes!
7646194
yep! you could always write more than one story, and choose which one to make your entry

7650627
Oh cool, thanks! And I love your profile pic!

7651510
i mean, yours is way better!

7651511
Aw, thanks! :3

I'm done with the story, now I'm just working with my prereader/proofreader on it and then it'll be ready.

7652143
I like your gorgony concept and stories!

7627221
So it’s not to late to entree even if I only have a week to put something together? ^^’

7657686 I guess it got extended so if you have something in mind, then go for it.

Well, it certainly looks like Trixie and Sombra are getting some love.

AH! My story is not uploading to the group for some reason! Hold on!

OOF, that took like, 15 minutes for the story to upload itself, so I could not add it to the contest folder. Here's the story to check out anyway: https://www.fimfiction.net/story/513658/illusionary-romance

Oh, yay, the story is in yay! Hope you guys like it!