Archive of Our Own

Fat Bear Week is an annual tournament hosted by Katmai Conservancy where the public votes online for the bear they think best exemplifies fatness in Brooks Falls brown bears. Fat Bear Flash is a flash exchange taking place over that same week where we make fic and art about our favorite fat bears.

Schedule

• September 18: Nominations and signups open
• September 22: Nominations and Signups Close at midnight UTC
• September 23: Assignments Sent by 1 AM UTC (roughly an hour after signups close)
• September 29: Works due at midnight UTC and revealed immediately
• October 3: Creators revealed at midnight UTC

Minimums:

• Fic: a complete fic of at least 300 words
• Art: a clean sketch on blank paper or digital equivalent

Single-fandom/single-character signups are allowed, but please note that gifts are not guaranteed for this flash exchange!

Wait, like bears the gay guys or bears the animal or bear-shifters or— ?
Yes. Any or all of the above.

So who's eligible to be nominated?
Any character who:
1) is a fat bear in some way, or
2) you would like to see as a fat bear in some way.

Can I request the actual bears of Fat Bear Week?
Yes! You'll find them under the fandom Katmai National Park Bearcams.

Nominations

For this flash exchange, you will be able to nominate 10 fandoms and 10 characters per fandom. Only single character nominations will be accepted. All Media Types fandoms are allowed for this exchange. For all nominations, please disambiguate your characters in a way that clearly points to the fandom you want them under.

By nominating/requesting a character, you are asking for works about them as a bear. For characters who are not canonically bears, you may optionally provide some indication of the way you would like them bearified. You may be as detailed as you like in your type of bearification. Canonical bear characters may also be bearified into a different type of bear. Non-bear characters nominated without bearification details will be left to creator's choice of bear.

Example Nominations:
- human bear!Bucky Barnes (MCU)
- panda!Jiang Yanli (MDZS - MXTX)
- bear shifter!Sherlock Holmes (ACD Holmes)
- Leia Organa (SW OT) <- will be bearified at creator's discretion
- Winnie-the-Pooh (WtP Disney) <- is canonically a bear
- human bear!Baloo (Jungle Book Disney)

Original Characters may be nominated under the Original Work fandom, for example:
- Gay Bear Who is Also a Bear Shifter (OW)
- Woman Who Turns Into a Bear Every Winter (OW)

RPF nominations are allowed for individuals who are over 18 and famous in their own right. Mod reserves the right to reject nazis and individuals similarly in bad taste.

The Katmai bears should be nominated under Katmai National Park Bearcams. 🐻
(Despite how ao3 currently syns the fandom, Katmai Bear nominations are not subject to the over 18 rule.)

Signups & Matching

Requests
You may make between 1 and 10 requests. Each request is for a single fandom, and you may request 1 to 20 characters within that fandom. You may repeat fandoms across multiple requests, though it is recommended to choose multiple characters/fandoms across different requests to make matching more likely and give your creator flexibility.

The "DNW and Optional Details" box is where you can offer your creator information about likes, preferred ships, and prompt ideas, as well as listing the things you do not want. You must put something in the "DNW and Optional Details" box, even if it is only "I have no DNW." DNW must be present in this box to be enforced.

DNWs should be specific and non-judgemental and may not box your creator into a single concept or specific medium. Creators with questions about their recipient's DNW are welcome to email the mod to request clarification.

Optional Tags may be included to give your creator inspiration and ideas.

Offers
You may make between 1 and 10 offers. Each offer is for a single fandom, and you may offer 1 to 20 characters within that fandom. You may repeat fandoms across multiple offers, though once again, it is recommended to choose multiple characters/fandoms to make matching more likely.

Matching
Matching for this exchange will be on one fandom + one character.

Matching will begin immediately upon the close of signups, and unmatchable signups will be deleted. Please make sure your offers are matchable to at least one request before signups close!

Assignments, Treats & Pinch Hits

Assignment Requirements
Participants will create either a complete fic of at least 300 words or an artwork that is at minimum a clean sketch on a blank background. Your work must focus on at least one requested character as a bear, avoid your recipient's DNWs, and be a good-faith effort to create something your recipient will like.

Treats
Treats are delightful and very welcome! Treats are not required to meet the exchange minimums, but must still respect the DNW of the person you are gifting and be about a requested bear character. If you would like to make a fat bear treat that does not match any particular request, you are welcome to submit it to the collection without a recipient.

Participants may opt in to treats in mediums other than fic and art in their signup.

Pinch Hits
If a creator defaults before the deadline, their recipient will be posted as a pinch hit in EAD and anywhere else Westie thinks someone might claim it. Participants who have not received a gift when the collection opens will be posted as post-deadline pinch hits in the same manner.