HeyManatee Writes

People are warned to be wary and watch out around the canals, lest one of the witch's snakes infests you with their poisons or possesses you.

Villagers carry woven charms that look like spider webs to ward off the witch's snakes: the webs are meant to (symbolically) catch and tangle the evil creatures, thereby protecting the person.

(aiming to make this rustic but timeless, and 50/50 on if magic is really real or not)

The village isn't really keen on his work, the priests call it blasphemous, so no one really goes out of their way to do more than give him a single warning about staying away from the murky waters.

This, of course, makes him a perfect target.

The next morning, Eddie feels sick and feverish, but he pushes thru it. He works the best he can, hearing stories and taking notes, and winds up at the bar as soon as it opens; by the end of the night, he's stumbling and hearing voices whispering, but he thinks it's too much alcohol.

By the second morning, it's clear that there's something wrong with him, but no one will let him come near, warding him off with their tokens. Finally, the village doctor agrees to take a look, but soon, the doctor calls for one of the priests, who insist that he must leave before he brings worse misfortune on himself and the whole village.

Mary Jane is a priestess with limited magics.

MJ is her body guard-in-training, and she's being taught by Gwen, who is a former mercenary, highly-prized as both a fighter and protector.

The 3 Peters are all acolytes, gathered from different villages who are training under Mary Jane after displaying some form of magic when protecting their homes from other elemental witches and/or monsters

Ned is a cook/ camp guide

Harry is the prince of the land. He presides over everything from the nearest town (3x the size of the village Eddie was in) and has summoned Mary Jane and her acolytes from the Spider Sanctum in order to deal with the swamp witch, after his own wizard was injured in an attack by Curt's minions when traveling between villages.

This year's addition to the chain is the only bit of writing I've ever actually managed for it:

(Eddie’s first sighting of the The Curt’odile)

Something something Eddie realizes that Curt has poor eyesight, finds broken shards of crystals and figures out that he set his serpent servants to capture someone to read his book of spells for him. Tries to make a deal about getting him ground-glass lenses (made from pure sand fused in furnaces by skilled workers) in exchange for his freedom.

[ID: Text in the center says Polyam Shipping Day, 14th of every month, June 2026 - Hand Holding. Below Polyam Shipping, and to the left of Day, is a red infinity sign that finishes in a heart on top. Surrounding the text are rows of stylized hearts in the colors of both versions of the polyam pride flag (black, red, bright blue, light green, dark green, light blue, navy). /end ID]

June 14th 2026 is our 56th Polyam Shipping Day!

For this month, our optional prompt is 🤝Hand Holding 🧑‍🤝‍🧑

There are many reasons for hand holding, both romantic and platonic. It could be affectionate or supportive. A light tentative hold, a caressing touch, a grounding comfortable gesture or a tight grip of desperation or pain. A hold pulling someone up from certain death or away from other danger, or tugging towards something good, onwards to adventure! How do the characters feel about hand holding; do they assume a certain meaning that could lead to misunderstandings? Is it something negotiated or an important relationship signifier? If it's a first step on a date or with a crush, who initiates and how do they decide to take that risk? This is also perfect for the 'X has two hands' meme/trope.

As per usual, you’re welcome to create for any of our previous prompts as well!

–

We’ll be tracking #PolyamShippingDay, and keeping an eye out for any @polyamships mentions too. We will reblog any polyam-positive fanworks featuring polyamorous ships of any configuration/type from any fandom. All ratings are welcome but anything nsfw/triggery should be warned for and behind a read more, as should very long tumblr fic.

You can also submit works directly to the blog or send us asks to let us know to check your blog for a post. If you’re posting on AO3, our collection name is ‘PolyamShippingDay‘ and you can post to the collection here. Only fanworks submitted/@ us on tumblr or in the official AO3 collection, or fanworks posted to our Dreamwidth community, are guaranteed to be included in our roundup. Please also let us know what prompt you created for, if any - people are always welcome to create for past prompts instead.

We have a Discord - invite here - if you want a place to chat about your ships or what you’re creating for them. We also have a Bluesky account if you would like to post any works there (although we cannot guarantee they’ll be on the tumblr roundup, we’ll definitely share them on the Bluesky account.)

[Image description: A polyam flag with the words “four or more bingo” on it. End description.]

2026 Four or More Bingo

AO3 COLLECTION

Guess who's back, back again???

I have a vision: a world where we can read about polycules and complicated relationships with four or more people until our eyes hurt and our hearts can't take it anymore. Last year, our collection reached 100 works! Can we do better this time around? (I sure hope I do, on 2025 I didn't even finish my own card lol)

Let me introduce: the 2026 Four or More Bingo!

This is a low-stakes, personal challenge. There's no penalty for not finishing or running late.

Cards will be given from now to December 31st. Fills can be posted starting June 1st to AO3, DW or tumblr forever.

GUIDELINES

Any medium! Any rating! As long as your work focuses on a relationship with 4 or more people, it's allowed!

All works must be your own and not previously posted. AI generated works will be deleted from the collections.

You may combine these with other events, as long as the other event allows it (examples are @polyamships polyartober, lyricaltitles challenges, etc). Yes, that means you can combine this with our 2026 Pride Event as well!

Small fandoms welcome!

Don't forget to comply with the community guidelines.

MEDIUM SPECIFIC GUIDELINES

Minimum wordcount for fics is 100 words. There is no maximum

Minimum for art is a sketch on unlined paper (figure sticks allowed!). There is no limit to the quality or effort you want to put in your fills.

Minimum for moodboards is a 3x3 grid (9 images individually or edited in one image). Maximum is given by the place where you decide to post. On tumblr, the maximum is 20 images, but on AO3, you're free!

Minimum for podfic is a 100-word fic. There is no restriction on maximum length or sound effects.

Minimum for fanvids is 30 seconds. There is no maximum.

Other mediums don't have a minimum. Do you want to make an in-universe magazine for your ship? A cross stitch pattern? A sculpture? Go ahead and do it! I look forward to all the things you can create.

PROMPTS, FAQ, and more below the cut

Welcome, welcome! It is that time again! We are coming back with a vengeance for 2026.

Four or More 2026 Pride Event

AO3 collection

This is a limited time Ficathon where the only requirement is to have your work be Pride-themed.

What’s Pride-themed? Anything from actually loudly attending Pride to quiet coming outs to family. Celebrating mixed orientation relationships or watching people’s sexual orientations and genders change and evolve within the polycule. Gender fuckery in the sheets or in the streets. 

We will not be policing works for one definition of Pride

Our Four or More Bingo will be officially launched on June 1st, but you can combine this event with the Four or More Bingo (or any other event that allows it) for an extra challenge.

This event will run exclusively from June 1st to June 30th.

This is a low-stakes, personal challenge. There's no penalty for not finishing, you just won’t make it to the Pride collection.

GUIDELINES

Any medium! Any rating! As long as your work focuses on a relationship with 4 or more people, it's allowed!

All works must be your own and not previously posted. AI generated works will be deleted from the collections.

You may combine these with other events, as long as the other event allows it (examples are @polyamships polyamshippingday, lyricaltitles challenges, etc)

Small fandoms welcome!

Don't forget to comply with the community guidelines.

MEDIUM SPECIFIC GUIDELINES

Minimum wordcount for fics is 100 words. There is no maximum

Minimum for art is a sketch on unlined paper (figure sticks allowed!). There is no limit to the quality or effort you want to put in your fills.

Minimum for moodboards is a 3x3 grid (9 images individually or edited in one image). Maximum is given by the place where you decide to post. On tumblr, the maximum is 20 images, but on AO3, you're free!

Minimum for podfic is a 100-word fic. There is no restriction on maximum length or sound effects.

Minimum for fanvids is 30 seconds. There is no maximum.

Other mediums don't have a minimum. Do you want to make an in-universe magazine for your ship? A cross stich pattern? A sculpture? Go ahead and do it! I look forward to all the things you can create.

FAQ below the cut

The time has come for you to put that polycule or complicated relationship with 4 or more people in situations! Remember that the only requirement is to have your work be Pride-themed.

Day 1: only one bed/ Metamours - could be a continuation of last year's day 5, told from Venom's POV as the humans finally get some rest after Peter's fever breaks.

Day 2: supernatural creatures/ in the kitchen/ rain - could be a continuation of last year's day 2, picking up with Peter and Veddie helping Curt soothe Val.

Day 3: sharing clothes - could be a follow up to last year's day 1, maybe with Eddie sharing not just his hoodie, but also why it's so important to him, with Peter

People are warned to be wary and watch out around the canals, lest one of the witch's snakes infests you with their poisons or possesses you.

Villagers carry woven charms that look like spider webs to ward off the witch's snakes: the webs are meant to (symbolically) catch and tangle the evil creatures, thereby protecting the person.

(aiming to make this rustic but timeless, and 50/50 on if magic is really real or not)

The village isn't really keen on his work, the priests call it blasphemous, so no one really goes out of their way to do more than give him a single warning about staying away from the murky waters.

This, of course, makes him a perfect target.

The next morning, Eddie feels sick and feverish, but he pushes thru it. He works the best he can, hearing stories and taking notes, and winds up at the bar as soon as it opens; by the end of the night, he's stumbling and hearing voices whispering, but he thinks it's too much alcohol.

By the second morning, it's clear that there's something wrong with him, but no one will let him come near, warding him off with their tokens. Finally, the village doctor agrees to take a look, but soon, the doctor calls for one of the priests, who insist that he must leave before he brings worse misfortune on himself and the whole village.

Mary Jane is a priestess with limited magics.

MJ is her body guard-in-training, and she's being taught by Gwen, who is a former mercenary, highly-prized as both a fighter and protector.

The 3 Peters are all acolytes, gathered from different villages who are training under Mary Jane after displaying some form of magic when protecting their homes from other elemental witches and/or monsters

Ned is a cook/ camp guide

Harry is the prince of the land. He presides over everything from the nearest town (3x the size of the village Eddie was in) and has summoned Mary Jane and her acolytes from the Spider Sanctum in order to deal with the swamp witch, after his own wizard was injured in an attack by Curt's minions when traveling between villages.

This year's addition to the chain is the only bit of writing I've ever actually managed for it:

(Eddie’s first sighting of the The Curt’odile)

Venom: You are doing such a great job! The best version of this job done, ever, by anyone. You have this, Pal! Champion level of doing this job? This guy, right here. Ladies, do not worry: he has got it. Such a good job!

Welcome, welcome! It is that time again! We are coming back with a vengeance for 2026.

Four or More 2026 Pride Event

AO3 collection

This is a limited time Ficathon where the only requirement is to have your work be Pride-themed.

What’s Pride-themed? Anything from actually loudly attending Pride to quiet coming outs to family. Celebrating mixed orientation relationships or watching people’s sexual orientations and genders change and evolve within the polycule. Gender fuckery in the sheets or in the streets. 

We will not be policing works for one definition of Pride

Our Four or More Bingo will be officially launched on June 1st, but you can combine this event with the Four or More Bingo (or any other event that allows it) for an extra challenge.

This event will run exclusively from June 1st to June 30th.

This is a low-stakes, personal challenge. There's no penalty for not finishing, you just won’t make it to the Pride collection.

GUIDELINES

Any medium! Any rating! As long as your work focuses on a relationship with 4 or more people, it's allowed!

All works must be your own and not previously posted. AI generated works will be deleted from the collections.

You may combine these with other events, as long as the other event allows it (examples are @polyamships polyamshippingday, lyricaltitles challenges, etc)

Small fandoms welcome!

Don't forget to comply with the community guidelines.

MEDIUM SPECIFIC GUIDELINES

Minimum wordcount for fics is 100 words. There is no maximum

Minimum for art is a sketch on unlined paper (figure sticks allowed!). There is no limit to the quality or effort you want to put in your fills.

Minimum for moodboards is a 3x3 grid (9 images individually or edited in one image). Maximum is given by the place where you decide to post. On tumblr, the maximum is 20 images, but on AO3, you're free!

Minimum for podfic is a 100-word fic. There is no restriction on maximum length or sound effects.

Minimum for fanvids is 30 seconds. There is no maximum.

Other mediums don't have a minimum. Do you want to make an in-universe magazine for your ship? A cross stich pattern? A sculpture? Go ahead and do it! I look forward to all the things you can create.

FAQ below the cut

Venom: I do not like it when your brain is like this

Eddie, *long deep sigh*: yeah, me neither, bud

Venom: You are doing great! You are doing a very awesome job! The best job anyone has done at this. I am so proud of you, Eddie!

Eddie: Thanks pal

Eddie, thinking: he's lying, but I appreciate it

Venom: ...I am not lying

Eddie: No, I know, but you only said all that cuz I asked you to.

Eddie, thinking: he doesn't really mean any of it

Venom, feeling offended: I mean *all* of it. I would not say it if I did not think it was true.

Eddie, thinking: stop listening to my thought--