Pondathon: Prologue – Join Us In Battle and Armour Up! [Sign-Up & Create Your Character]

New to the Pondathon’s story?
Read this prologue first or read the previous chapter.

Ever since the Pond friends discovered that a destructive evil was on its way to the Pond, the Pond friends had been working tirelessly to prepare for the battle ahead.

You’ve decided on the team you want to join, but you aren’t quite sure what to do with yourself.

Xiaolong has been doing her best to manage all the forest sprites seeking refuge at the Pond and making sure that the magic of the Pond can sustain everyone. Gen has been working hard to prepare potions and magical herbs, Cuddle has been cooking and providing food to all the friends and forest sprites, Sprout has been strategising with the forces of nature outside of the Pond, and Varian…

“Mind if I join you?”

Varian looks tired. Not only have they been stitching and sewing non-stop, you know that they have been using a lot of their magic to enchant the armour that they are making with protection and warding spells.

You tell them you don’t mind, and they sit down beside you. “I know the battle ahead will be perilous and scary,” they say. “But we have hope, now that you are here. And you will have us, your friends, beside you.”

With a flick of their wrist, Varian conjures something from the air. It looks like – battle armour?

“I made this for you,” they say. “It is enchanted with my best magic, and it will protect you. No matter where you will be, you will be protected from harm. I promise.”

Varian gets to their feet, and holds their hand out to you. “Let’s go, friend. Those who prepare are often victorious.”

Read the next chapter. →

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Friends of the Pond!

The days ahead are dire, but we are glad that you are here. It’s time to rally up and prepare for battle!

• The Pondathon is a co-operative and narrative-driven readathon where you read books and collect points to protect your friends from the encroaching darkness beyond the Pond.
• If you missed out on what the Pondathon is, you can read about when the evil was first discovered and information about the readathon at Pondathon: Prologue – Something’s Wrong…
• You can find the complete schedule for the readathon at Pondathon: Prologue – It’s Time to Fight and Protect.
• And you can find information about the teams that you can join at Pondathon: Prologue – We Need You and Your Magic; Choose a Team!

In this post, you can finally officially sign-up to participate in the Pondathon and create your character for the battle ahead!

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Sign-Ups

Signing up is critical to making a difference in the Pondathon. By signing up, all of your reading progress will be counted towards the total points collected by all participants in the readathon. (If you do not sign up and submit your progress, your points will not count towards the total!)

Sign-ups are open until the Pondathon closes on March 6th. Complete the form below to sign up for the Pondathon:

Sign-Up Form

Having trouble completing the form? Try signing-up here.

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Sign-Up Post Template!

Not compulsory, but highly recommended, is to create a sign-up post for the Pondathon! We have created a sign-up post and TBR template for you to use, which you can find here on Google Drive.

However, if you don’t have a book blog or would rather write your own post, make sure the following information is included:

• Information about the Pondathon
• Your character card (resources for character creation below!)
• What team you have joined (feel free to include a team banner!)
• Information about how your team works
• Your TBR
• Link back to (1) the information post and (2) this sign-up post

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Character creation

And now for the exciting part!

It’s important to look, dress, and fight the part. Create your Pond character using the resources below, fit them with armour that will give them (and you!) confidence and bring out your inner strength. You also get to create a Character Card as well.

Once you’re done, you’re fit and ready for battle! Be sure to share your Pondathon Character Card with the #Pondathon hashtag on social media and in your Pondathon sign-up/TBR posts!

Steps and guidelines on creating your character:

1. Open your favourite image editing software – or use Pixlr, which is an in-browser image editing tool.
2. Download the character creation resources from the Google Drive link below.
3. Start with a base – your own animal character! You are more than welcome to draw your own animal character, but please keep it child-friendly.
4. Choose a facial expression by adding eyes and a mouth! Express yourself!
5. Decorate your animal character with accessories! At the Pond, there is no such thing as ‘too many’ accessories. Though, if you want one or no accessory? We also love it.
6. Add your completed character on your Character Card – or use it anytime for the Pondathon!
7. If showcasing your Pondathon character, please always link back to either the Information Post or Sign-Up Post when possible.
8. Do not use your completed character for any purpose outside of the Pondathon readathon.

Character creation resources:

Find premade characters and character resources can be found here.

Tips:

• Don’t have Photoshop or an image editing tool? You can use Pixlr for free.
• Download all the animals, facial expressions, and accessories that you want, and then upload the resource through ‘the Add Image’ function on Pixlr. Be sure to ‘Add Current’ each time you upload an image to add a new layer.
• Utilise the layer function on right-hand size of Pixlr. This will allow you to put some objects behind or in front of others! (Layers on top are ‘in front’ while layers at the bottom are ‘behind’.)
• Feel free to change the colour (Adjust → Hue) of the accessory so that it fits your character!
• Feel free to resize accessories! However, we advise not changing the character animal base’s size – it has been designed to fit perfectly into your character card.
• When saving your image, make sure that the background is transparent!

Now, add it to a blank Character Card!

Here’s an example of a completed character card:

You can find the character card templates here.

Tips:

• The teal green colour used for your name is #21a087.
• The purple colour used for your character card information is #be7bcd.
• Download the font used in the character card: Bakso Sapi, which is 100% free to use and download.
• If you are unable to download and use the above font, use any font that is easy to read and preferably block letters (i.e., not cursive writing).
• Include three lines in your character information:
  • Your Pond character’s name (doesn’t have to be your own!), and their fantasy-esque title, e.g., Xiaolong, Keeper of the Pond; Gen, Tortoise Apothecarist; Varian, Toadshifter.
  • Your blog URL or main social media platform’s handle, e.g., ‘Twitter: @artfromafriend’
  • Include the team you have decided to join!
• Do not remove the eight purple circles at the bottom of the character card. Those are important to the readathon.

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Discord server

Also, don’t forget to join our Pondathon discord server!

Here, you can meet new friends and buddy-read companions, find fellow team members, and also work together to overcome some of the challenges ahead. Be sure to read and adhere to the server’s rules!

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Thank you for joining us in the battle ahead! Xiaolong and friends are looking forward to protecting the forest and our friends with you.

In three days, we will be sharing a ‘Tutorial/FAQ’ post where any questions you might have about the readathon will be answered. Worried that your question won’t be included? Feel free to leave a comment and ask away! We’ll make sure that your question is answered.

The Pondathon will officially begin on January 24th 2020. Be sure to follow CW on Twitter (@artfromafriend and @thequietpond) or follow The Quiet Pond so you stay in the loop with all the readathon updates, side quests, and important information! 

Until then, what can you do?

• Start preparing your TBR! There are no prompts in this readathon and what books you want to choose is entirely up to you. Choose a book, any book, and get ready!
• Share your TBR! The readathon officially starts on 24th of January, so in 6 days, so there is plenty of time for you to write up a TBR – whether by using our template, a Twitter thread (use the #Pondathon hashtag!), or whatever you like!
• Decided on a team? Are you #TeamXiaolong, #TeamVarian, or #TeamCuddle? Share on social media – and find other people on the same team as you!
• Create a dazzling character that makes you happy, plop it on a character card, and share it on social media using the #Pondathon hashtag (so others can find your character and appreciate their beauty)!