Oh, Carylers. Let’s be honest: it’s been a rough season for all of us. The waters are stormy, the tempest is raging and it is officially time to break out the emergency measures for another hiatus from hell.

It’s time for the NINE LIVES 3RD ANNUAL SUMMER SURVIVAL SERIES!

Indulge me for a moment and allow me to explain the backstory: we started the Summer Survival Series in our first year. FM cooked up the name about midway through the hiatus between Seasons 4-5 and it has come to encompass any and all challenges that Nine Lives’ hosts in between seasons of The Walking Dead. The past 2 years, there was a general plan but lots of room for improvisation and changing things around - it was a little planning, more than a little improv and a general “hey, why not?’ attitude, but it worked for us.

And then Season 6 happened, and the (Un)Holy Trinity of Fairies Masquerade, Ikkleosu and subversivegrrl decided it was time to go hardcore. Seriously hardcore. This year, for the first time, the Nine Lives admins have planned the entire Summer Survival Series from start to finish. Every major event from April to August has been laid out. We culled from our own previous challenge list, new ideas and suggestions from members of the Nine Lives family and have cooked up the ultimate challenge series for Caryl fans everywhere.

Before we reveal this summer’s lineup, there’s something else we need to talk about. It’s part of the reason we decided to announce the full series lineup in advance - maximum planning and preparation time. For the first time in our history, we will be expanding certain challenges to include not just fan fiction, but fan art, graphics, and fan videos.

Yup, you read that right. We told you: Seriously. Hardcore.

So, without further adieu, we present the lineup for the 3rd Annual Summer Survival Series:

APRIL 2016 - Smutfest 2
Challenge Dates: April 11-24
Open to: Fan Fiction, Fan Art, Graphics
WARNING: All challenge submissions will be rated M (Mature) and E (Explicit)
It’s back! By incredibly popular demand (no joke, it’s the single most requested challenge prompt we get) we’re kicking things off and hoping to flood the Caryl fandom with some much needed down and dirty sexy times. Sweet, loving and tender; nervous, gentle and awkward; fast, hard and angry - however you want to see our favorite characters get it on, this is your moment.

MAY 2016 - “Caryl-fying” Season 6
Challenge Dates: TBA
Open to: Fan Fiction
Season 6 gave us a lot of Carol and a lot of Daryl, but not a whole lot of them together. Given how much we got from interviews, behind the scenes talk and more about how Carol and Daryl care about each other, think about each other, blah blah blah, not having them onscreen together seemed weird. It’s a Season 6 rewrite challenge! Challengers will pick from a list of scenes that featured only either Carol or Daryl and then show what happens when you add the other half of our dynamic duo into the scene. What happens? Caryl magic happens.

JUNE 2016 - First Kiss
Challenge Dates: TBA
Open to: Fan Fiction, Fan Art, Graphics
You think the “first kiss” trope has been overdone? Think again. This challenge will run on the premise that every episode with a Caryl scene could have been the moment of their first kiss.

JULY 2016 - Thy Kingdom Come…
Challenge Dates: TBA - pending release date for Season 7 trailer
Open to: Fan Fiction, Fan Art, Graphics, Fan Videos
WARNING: This challenge will include heavy potential spoilers for anyone not familiar with the TWD graphic novels
Based on our knowledge of the graphic novels and specifically who Carol and Morgan met in the Season 6 finale, we have a pretty good idea of what lies in store in the coming seasons. This is our first look ahead to Season 7 and what could be…

AUGUST 2016 - Missing Moments
Challenge Dates: TBA
Open to: Fanfiction, Fan Art, Graphics
The showrunners have admitted that we miss a lot of the in-between moments between characters. So much of what makes our heroes Team Family happens offscreen… dammit. Well, this is where we intend to fix that by focusing on moments we know have happened but never got to see unfold on our screens. 

**Specific details and dates for each challenge will be released over the coming weeks here on the archive and through our social media accounts.** 

There you have it, my ducklings. That’s our summer in a nutshell! We’re kicking things off on April 10 with Smutfest 2, but stay tuned as we roll out more for our crazy summer of fun!

Stay cool, friends, and as always: Caryl on!