Archive of Our Own

Scrub In is the Holby City/Casualty fandoms' equivalent of a Big Bang challenge. It's aim is to promote fan collaborations and unite the fandoms in a creative way.

There's a lot of talent to be shared! You can take part as an Artist or Writer, or if you prefer not to create anything then you can sign-up as a Cheerleader. Find more info in our FAQ.

Fans not taking part can still enjoy the fanworks once they're revealed at the end of Scrub In!

What is Scrub In?
Scrub In is the Holby/Casualty fandom equivalent of a Big Bang challenge, which aims to unite fans and encourage creative collaborations.

What ways are there for me to take part?
There are 3 roles to choose from:

Writer - will write a fanfiction with a minimum of 10,000 words based off a prompt or wild card.
Artist - will be partnered with a Writer and will create a fanart piece that supports the fanfic’s storyline.
Cheerleader - will be partnered with an Artist or Writer and will support them, offering motivation, encouragement and inspiration to help get the piece finished by the deadline. This role is great for fans that don’t want to create a fanwork but still want to participate.
Please look at the more specific information for each role below.

What sort of art can an Artist create?
Artists can create any of the following: digital art, traditional art, comic strips, edits/manips, picture collages, music, and fanvideos. Let us know if you have any other ideas!

How many fanworks can I submit?
As many as you like, so long as they are complete by the submission deadline (20th August). There will be chance to specify how many fics/fanarts you wish to create on your sign-up form.

How do I take part?
You can only officially take part by completing our sign-up form. This will remain open until Friday 1st June.

(Please note that Artists/Writers can sign-up to be a Cheerleader as well, you just have to complete the form again and select the ‘Cheerleader’ option on the first page.)

When will the Scrub In take place?
Scrub In 2018 officially began when the sign-up form was released, although Writers won’t receive the prompts until the week after sign-ups close. The first date of fanwork reveals is Monday 31st August, so Scrub In will officially end when the last fanwork has been revealed in September. Please check our Schedule for more information.

Why are there deadlines? It sounds scary.
There’s no need to panic! Deadlines are there so that we can ensure all participants are keeping ontrack for their fanworks to be revealed. Check deadline dates on our Schedule page.
Whilst there won’t be any ‘consequences’ if you’re behind, we will not accept any submissions after 20th August. If you think this will be an issue for you, please message us privately. We obviously want to avoid participants dropping out, as it’ll be unfair on their Scrub In partners.

Can I submit an old fanwork?
We don’t accept fanworks that have been made public before we’ve revealed them in September. So you can submit old fanworks as long as they’ve not been posted elsewhere before. This means that new pieces cannot be posted online either. Once we’ve revealed your piece in September, then you CAN upload it on other sites/accounts!

What rating do the fanworks have to be?
They can be any rating (general audience, teen and up, mature, or explicit) so long as they come with suitable warnings. This stands for fanfiction and fanart.

How will the Scrub In work?
This is the most important part.
Once you’ve signed up for your role (using our online form) you’ll officially be taking part. We’ll reveal the writing prompts over a few days and then Writers can begin writing their fanfiction. There will be a deadline for Writers to send us a reliable overview of their fanfiction (approx. 200 words), and whilst fanfictions don’t need to be complete by then, the overviews will need to cover the storyline from start to finish. These overviews will be made anonymous (to make it fair) and sent to Artists, where they will choose 3 that inspire them. We will then try to pair Artists with one of their chosen fanfictions and they can begin creating their fanart. You will have the opportunity to communicate with your Artist/Writer partner, but that can be done privately with any contact information you’re happy to share (you will have stated what contact information we can give your partner in your sign-up form). During the creative process, you also have the option of being supported by a Cheerleader! Writers and Artists will then have time to complete their fanworks before submitting them by Monday 20th August. We will begin revealing these fanworks, 2 a day, starting on Friday 31st August until all fanworks have been unveiled. Participants will post their fanworks in a Scrub In collection on Archive of Our Own (we’ll allocate publishing dates to each participant nearer the time) and we will share the links on our Tumblr and Twitter pages.

Information for Writers
Writers will need to write a fanfiction of at least 10,000 words (there’s no maximum word limit and can be multichapter or a oneshot) based off one of our prompts or the wild card; the prompts will be fairly general and the wild card allows you to use your own ideas. You’ll be working towards the deadline of Sunday 15th July, but your fanfiction does NOT have to be complete by this date. This is the day that we will need to receive your fanfic overview of 200 words (maximum). Please make sure these overviews describe the whole of your storyline, even if you haven’t written certain parts yet, as Artists will need a plot to base their fanart on. We also ask that you include a rating/warning with your overview if the content you’re writing is mature or explicit. The Artists will go through a process and then you’ll be partnered up. You can share your fanfic drafts with the Artist to help them ‘build a picture’ and collaborate together to create your linked fanworks.

Please check our Schedule page for more deadline info.

Information for Artists
Artists, feel free to relax until we send you fanfic overviews on Monday 16th July. You’ll then have the chance to read them and choose 3 that inspire you to create fanart. We’ll do our best to partner you with one of them. Once you receive the Writer you’ll be partnered with, you can begin your art! Your Writer may be able to share a draft of their fanfiction to help you and it could be really useful to discuss your ideas with them so that you get the most out of your collaboration.

Please check our Schedule page for more deadline info.

Information for Cheerleaders
Cheerleaders will be offering support and encouragement to participants throughout the creative process. You’ll have the option to cheerlead for more than one participant and all partners will be randomly allocated. This role is great for fans that want to get involved but don’t wish to create a fanwork, it’s also open to those that have signed up to be a Writer/Artist. Cheerleaders will be partnered up with Writers once sign-ups are closed, and with Artists once they’ve received their Writer partners.

It would be helpful if you checked our Schedule page so you can encourage participants to meet deadlines.

How can I contact you?
Tumblr: @HCHScrubIn
Twitter: @HCHScrubIn
Email: [email protected]

1. Fics/Fanart containing Mature or Explicit content must have appropriate warnings attached.
2. No hate or hurtful comments (directed at your Scrub In partners or in the review section of participating works). You may offer constructive criticism, but why not add a compliment at the same time?
3. You cannot submit previously posted fanworks - if it's already online, do not submit it!
4. In order to take part, you must have signed-up using our online form.
5. Be creative and have fun!