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THE BLACK EMPORIUM EXCHANGE RETURNS FOR 2025!

Black Emporium is a rare pair exchange that encompasses everything Dragon Age – provided they have less than 300* completed works on Ao3. Whether you’ve been a fan since the beginning or got in to it via Veilguard– whether you write snappy dialogue or draw detailed scenery – we want YOU to participate!

*Except for Rook; see our post about how we're handling that!

2025 Schedule

All deadlines are as of 9 AM US Pacific / 12 PM US Eastern / 4 PM UTC+0.

  • Nominations: June 24 - July 1
  • Signups: July 1 - July 12
  • Assignments Go Out: When mods are done matching (probably sometime on July 13th)
  • Works Due: August 24
  • Works Revealed: August 31
  • Authors Revealed: September 7

Links

AO3:

Resources:

Fun Spreadsheets & Other Useful Tools:

Official Links:

Questions? Email us at blackemporiumexchange@gmail.com!

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We have some additional changes to announce for this year! The first two were driven by all the glorious new Veilguard content; the third is an Ao3-wide change.
  1. We will be allowing up to 40 nominations this year! That's right, you can have twice as many as previous years! Because of the way Ao3 works, you will have to use two different fandoms to get to your 40 nominations. The first fandom, as always, should be Dragon Age -- All Media Types. The second fandom should be Dragon Age (Video Games). Don't worry -- all the nominations will wind up under All Media Types like usual; and we'll be updating the spreadsheet as we approve, like usual!
  2. You may now have up to 40 requests and offers instead of 30.
  3. You may now have up to 150 text characters for your nominations! More space for all the glorious moresomes in the Dragon Age universe.

Also, if you haven't already, please go read our guidelines for how we are handling Rook.

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Hello nuglets! As you might already have heard, we need to have different rules for handling Rook nominations and requests than any other Dragon Age protagonist.

Prior to Veilguard being released, Ao3 announced a change in how they would tag video game protagonists. They would no longer support the layered canonical tags that we are used to for the Warden, Hawke, and the Inquisitor; instead, all varieties of Rook would simply be "Rook (Dragon Age)". Different tags to denote lineage and background would go under additional tags.

When you post on Ao3, none of the three main tagging fields (Relationships, Characters, Additional tags) are required. However, almost all people tag the relationship and/or the characters involved.

Because of that change, fanworks with Rook are not being tagged with enough detail for us to assess each Rook ship individually. Instead, we have had to make some generalizations based on what the mods and some helpers were able to discover about the most popular Rook ships; and trends for past PC/LI ships.
Eligibility )

Nominating )

Requesting )
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Due to Ao3 being down for this extended period of time, we are delaying author reveals by one day and may push back further if the site goes down again.
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That's right, you heard it here first. Or second, if you've checked your email and saw a notification about a shiny new gift(s). Or third, if you're part of the Discord and joined in on the celebratory messages. Or possibly even fourth, if you saw it on Tumblr.

Regardless, works are now live!


Read, kudo, comment galore! A week from now, September 8th, we will reveal creators. If you would still like to post a treat, you may do so at any time—just ping a mod after submitting to make sure we see it in the queue.

If there is a problem with your gift, do NOT message your creator or comment publicly on the work. Contact a mod asap at blackemporiumexchange@gmail.com so we can handle the issue and find a solution.
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Those of you who have participated before know that the treatless list is a staple of this exchange and we’re excited to have everyone chipping away at it again.

CLICK HERE FOR THE TREATLESS LIST<<


(If you forgot to indicate interest, or you believe your inclusion/exclusion on this list was a mistake, please contact the mods at blackemporiumexchange@gmail.com to fix.)


Quick guide under the cut:


As mentioned, a participant will only appear on this list if a) they have explicitly indicated interest in treats on their sign up and b) haven't received any treats (yet!).


When a participant receives a treat, they will disappear from this list.


The easiest way to see a participants full list of pairing requests is to click the "Expand Record" arrows in the upper left corner next to their username:


Screenshot of written instructions.

Be sure to check the type of treat people are interested in under the "Treat Types" column. Some people open to "Any" treat—that means any medium, and any number of recipients. But others have different boundaries and interest levels; be sure to double check!


If you want to search a pairing, or a particular character, click on the magnifying glass in the upper right corner of the window or press "CNTRL + F" and start typing. It will highlight all mentions of that character or relationship:



Have fun!

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Yes sweet nuglets, it’s that time of year again: Time to sign up for Black Emporium!

CLICK HERE TO SIGN-UP!

Helpful Links:

Rules & Assignment Requirements
|| Participation Walkthrough Guide || FAQ || Requests on Ao3 || Tagset || Nominations Spreadsheet || Request Database || Parent Collection (All Past Years)

Signups end: July 13th @ 9 AM US Pacific / 12 PM US Eastern / 4 PM UTC+0 || Countdown

Reminders

RULES & ASSIGNMENT REQUIREMENTS
: Please take the time to re-read our Rules and the requirements for assignments before signing up.

RATINGS: If you are interested in receiving or creating Mature/Explicit level works (see Ao3 rating(s)), you must "opt in" by checking the "E" box for both offers and requests. Please note you must be 18+ to offer/request/create Mature or Explicit level gifts. For a more detailed explanation, click here.

TREATS: If you are open to receiving treats, or a specific type of treat (single-recipient, multi-recipient, fanart, fanfic), you must "opt in" by saying so in the sign up description box. This field does not apply to your offers. For a more detailed explanation, click here.

For a how-to-guide of the whole exchange that includes all of the information in this post, please take a look at our Participation Walkthrough Guide and FAQ.

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Please edit your nominations and/or email mods at blackemporiumexchange@gmail.com ASAP as nominations phase close in two hours!

We require the gender and background of each player character (e.g. Warden & Inquisitor) as each is evaluated differently as far as its rarey-pairy ness. Please edit to specify backgrounds and gender of the below:
  • Anora Mac Tir/Female Warden
Which background? Please note Female Cousland has already been nominated and approved.
  • Female Inquisitor/Flemeth
Which background?
  • Flemeth/Female Warden (Dragon Age)
Which background?
  • Flemeth/Inquisitor (Dragon Age)
Which background and gender?

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  • Morrigan/Female Warden (Dragon Age)

We require the gender and background of the Warden as each is evaluated differently as far as its rarey-pairy ness. Please edit to specify background of the Warden (i.e. Aeducan, Amell, Brosca, Cousland, or Tabris — both Mahariel and Surana are already nominated!).

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We know some want to limit the things they learn about DA:V, while others want ALL THE THINGS!!!

To best support all types of participants, please be mindful to put details about DA:V only in your letter. This can include:

  • things said by developers on social media,
  • speculations built on top of news articles,
  • and even advance trailer/gameplay videos!

On the flip side, in your "note to mods" section of your sign up, please tell mods if you do not want to see any DA:V related prompts in your recip's requests.

There's also a #da-the-veilguard-discussion Discord channel to jump into discussion with other fans—or to mute!

We'll try our best to make this exchange as welcoming for as many people as possible, and will remind/check in with participants as soon as we can. But, since AO3 sign ups are public/searchable without prior mod approval, please also be careful about reading through all sign ups this year if spoilers are important to you.

If you have any questions, please email mods at blackemporiumexchange@gmail.com!

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Heads up that AO3 will be down for about 10 hours of maintenance on July 1st between 12am PT / 3am ET / 7:00 UTC and 10am PT / 1pm ET / 17:00 UTC, but there will still be time before and after that window to submit your noms!

But if you were counting on that time frame, please email mods at blackemporiumexchange@gmail.com with your nominations.

Otherwise, get ye to the tagset here!

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Nominations for the Black Emporium are live until July 3rd! Reach out and tell someone (namely: us) about your favorite rare-pairs (namely: any pairing under 300 complete fics on Ao3). You have twenty nominations to use. Pairings can be twosomes / threesomes / moresomes / etc. We believe in sharing the love.

How do you, in fact, become a true Fereldan buckaroo by nominating a rare pair or 20?

Go to the Dragon Age Rare Pair Tag Set and click Nominate (you have to be signed into Ao3 for the button to appear). For inspiration or to check if someone had the same idea as you, we have a Searchable Nominations Spreadsheet that we manually update.

For more information on this stage of the exchange and how best to format your nominations, please see below the cut.
Full Participation Walkthrough Guide || FAQ
Read more... )
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Thank you to those who fulfilled assignments, those who stepped up to pinch hit, those who created treats, and especially to those who were able to leave feedback on various works in the exchange.

If you haven’t yet, please visit the collection and leave some kudos/comments for our writers and artists.

We have always been impressed by how giving this community is; this year has been no exception! Thank you for warming the cockles of Xenon the Antiquarian’s heart — and believe us, that’s hard to do.

If you would like, please feel free to advertise your works on your social media accounts, redate works to today’s date on AO3, and/or make rec lists of works in the exchange you’ve enjoyed!

We hope to see you again next year!
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That's right, you heard it here first. Or second, if you've checked your email and saw a notification about a shiny new gift(s). Or third, if you're part of the Discord and joined in on the celebratory messages. Or possibly even fourth, if you saw it on Tumblr.

Regardless, works are now live!

Click here to start reading the 2023 Black Emporium Exchange Collection

Read, kudo, comment galore! A week from now, September 10th, we will reveal creators. If you would still like to post a treat, you may do so at any time—just ping a mod after submitting to make sure we see it in the queue.

If there is a problem with your gift, do NOT message your creator or comment publicly on the work. Contact a mod asap at blackemporiumexchange@gmail.com so we can handle the issue and find a solution.


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 This pinch has been claimed!

Please send a private message to this Tumblr account or send an email to blackemporiumexchange@gmail.com to claim. Since we're close to the deadline, this pinch hit will be due on September 1st at 9 AM PST.

Link to firebase: https://autoao3app.firebaseapp.com/#/BlackEmporium2023/user/kal_sharok

Read more... )

Letter

Request 1

Relationship(s): Jowan & Female Surana (Dragon Age); Leliana/Female Surana (Dragon Age); Morrigan & Female Surana (Dragon Age) Rating: up to Teen Type: Fanart Prompt:

miss surana hours!! i would be absolutely OVER THE MOON if you used my saulė (you can find her in the letter!) for either of these, but i welcome your own female elven mages as well. TREATS: open to both art and written drabbles! multi-recipient (sfw!!) is also fine DNW: sexual, gory and otherwise traumatic content (as indicated by the unticked E rating box); major character death, generic player characters, crossovers with other media, major canon divergence & au's not set in thedas leliana/female surana: i get very emotional thinking about them. there’s this very bittersweet sense of unity in being robbed of something together — leliana of a life she knew, at the hands of a woman she trusted, and surana of a life she would’ve known were she not an elf AND a mage — and recovering what was lost through one another. i also love the precognitive element to it (leliana’s vision of her at the warden’s side) and how devoted to e/o they both are. prompts: divine leliana (softened), forehead kisses, homecomings, rose gardens morrigan/female surana two formidable women, not quite human by thedosian standards. shamelessly inspired by morrigan’s “of all things i could have imagined, the very last would have been that i would find in you a friend, perhaps even a sister.” morrigan’s somewhat troubled affection-navigating skills meet surana’s saint-like patience. prompts: sisterhood, turning men into toads together, cheek kisses, lessons in shapeshifting, shiny trinkets jowan & female surana circle mischief! i see their friendship as something that began rather out of need than out of choice — since choices within kinloch hold are quite limited — a pretence of mutual care-freedom until it actually became it. i’d love to see something playfully-wholesome or outright silly. prompts: circle life, daydreaming, silver linings, shenanigans, spells gone wrong

Request 3

Relationship(s): Female Brosca/Sigrun (Dragon Age); Female Cadash/Dagna (Dragon Age) Rating: up to Teen Type: Fanart Prompt:

dwarf lovers hours!! would love if you included my own ocs (you can find them in the letter!) in either of these, but i welcome all fellow broscas/cadashes. TREATS: open to both art and written drabbles! multi-recipient (sfw!!) is also fine DNW: sexual, gory and otherwise traumatic content (as indicated by the unticked E rating box); major character death, generic player characters, crossovers with other media, major canon divergence & au's not set in thedas female brosca/sigrun there’s something about outcast narratives i find simply irresistible. i feel they both have this penchant for tiptoeing death, trying to see how far they’ll manage to get and finding reassurance (and further footing) in each other’s embrace. prompts: bandages, candlelight, consolation, danse macabre, sharpening weapons female cadash/dagna utter havoc — now fun-sized! tempest!cadash highly preferred since i feel very strongly about two alchemist-adjacents being better than a single one (dagna being more on the conceptual side and cadash always happy to oblige when it comes to testing hypotheses). looking for something humorous and wholesome, with a touch of mischief. prompts: concoctions, mad science, tooth-rotting fluff

Request 4

Relationship(s): Female Lavellan & Male Lavellan (Dragon Age); Female Lavellan & Original Dalish Character; Female Mahariel/Merrill (Dragon Age) Rating: up to Teen Type: Fanart Prompt:

dalish hours!! would love if you included my own ocs (you can find them in the letter!) in either of these, but i welcome your elves as well. im also open to seeing interactions between my ocs and your ocs for the platonic ones!! i don't mind multi-inq au for those TREATS: open to both art and written drabbles! multi-recipient (sfw!!) is also fine DNW: sexual, gory and otherwise traumatic content (as indicated by the unticked E rating box); major character death, generic player characters, crossovers with other media, major canon divergence & au's not set in thedas female mahariel/merrill i’ve been told this one doesn't have fanworks in the exchange yet! as much as i enjoy the tragic elements embedded in a tamlen romance, i’ve grown incredibly fond of romances that have this radically optimistic, even in another time / someone will remember us (forgive me for butchering sappho’s verses there) quality to them. and there’s no better suited for that than merrill <3 i’d love to see them reunited after the blight (kirkwall does hide many a surprise after all). as far as im concerned, you can’t go wrong with flowers! female lavellan & male lavellan siblings and every endearing quibble that goes with having one. ultimately, a slice-of-dalish-life prompt (i highly encourage silliness). alternatively, unexpected meetings anywhere post-skyhold — both older and younger siblings are welcomed as they’re both interesting dynamics. i won’t however refuse a possible clan-mate interaction between your lavellan and my lavellan either! female lavellan & original dalish character i tend to put a lot of folkloric elements in my elf-design and i’ve always wondered how other people do it! the original character can have any role within clan lavellan (hahren, weaponsmith, halla-tender, apprentice etc. etc) or a different one (possibly in an arlathven setting, logic-wise but not necessary) or none at all (a dalish ambassador within the inquisition perhaps?) i would love if the character were female as well (i half-forgot to type it in during nominations). again, feel free to mix and match between your ocs and mine if you’d like too!

Request 5

Relationship(s): Female Cousland/Anora Mac Tir; Josephine Montilyet/Female Trevelyan Rating: up to Teen Type: Fanart Prompt:

female knights and their miladies hours!! would love if you included my own ocs (you can find them in the letter!) in either of these, but i welcome (preferably) warrior!couslands/trevelyans of your own (i'd be absolutely delighted if they were butches too but it's another personal preference). TREATS: open to both art and written drabbles! multi-recipient (sfw!!) is also fine DNW: sexual, gory and otherwise traumatic content (as indicated by the unticked E rating box); major character death, generic player characters, crossovers with other media, major canon divergence & au's not set in thedas female cousland/anora court drama ensues! the idea of a cousland who’s been enamoured of anora since childhood and slowly worked towards winning her favour (since anora was promised to cailan very young iirc) honestly lives rent-free within my mind. im partial to a queen consort cousland for queen regnant anora (to much of fereldean nobles’ dismay), but im also open to the idea of cousland remaining a warden. prompts: ceremonial armour, coronation, tournaments extra DNW: mistress plots with anora married to alistair or anyone else female trevelyan/josephine ah, the fairytale couple <3 a seemingly unbeatable force of a trevelyan… stopped dead in her tracks over the matters of the heart. it would be nice to see josie taking some initiative too, she’s antivan after all. by all means, unleash the fluff! prompts: courting, chivalry, gentle giants
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As we start entering crunch (little under two weeks until the assignment deadline), a reminder that we have a host of eager-to-beta folk happy to polish off your works.
 
To see who they are, go to the #beta-board-2023 in the Black Emporium Discord Server. (Link to join.)
To get a beta, there are three ways to do so:
  1. Review the participants who have already volunteered to beta. Their introduction posts in the #beta-board-2023 channel are pinned. Contact the individual(s) who seem best suited for your needs.
  2. Post the pertinent details of your work (such as word count, category, rating, sensitive content warnings) into the #beta-board-2023 channel. Volunteers will reply or DM you.
  3. Send the pertinent details of your work to a mod, and we'll anonymously post in the channel and connect you with any beta volunteers. This is a good choice if your work is unique in some way and you're concerned asking for help will de-anon you.
Betas are here to help with brainstorming, lore checks, and/or spelling & grammar. Our volunteer betas are an incredible part of this community — don't be shy to take advantage of this resource!
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Those of you who have participated before know that the treatless list is a staple of this exchange and we’re excited to have everyone chipping away at it again.

We're doing something a little different this year! Only participants who have indicated interest in treats in their sign up requests can receive them this year and are included in the treatless list.

If you forgot to indicate interest, or you believe your inclusion/exclusion on this list was a mistake, please contact the mods at blackemporiumexchange@gmail.com.

Quick Guide
When a participant receives a treat, they will disappear from this list.

The easiest way to see a participants full list of pairing requests is to click the "Expand Record" arrows in the upper left corner next to their username:

 

If you want to search a pairing, or a particular character, click on the magnifying class in the upper right corner of the window or press "CNTRL + F" and start typing. It will highlight all mentions of that character or relationship:

 

Have fun!


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Please send a private message to this Dreamwidth account or send an email to blackemporiumexchange@gmail.com to claim. This pinch hit will be due at the same time as the regular assignments, August 27th at 9 AM PST.

Link to Firebase:
https://autoao3app.firebaseapp.com/#/BlackEmporium2023/user/thereinafter
Read more... )
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ASSIGNMENTS ARE OUT!

Woohoo, time for creating! If you signed up but haven't received an assignment via the email you use for AO3, please email the mods at blackemporiumexchange@gmail.com.

Helpful Links:

Rules & Assignment Requirements || Participation Walkthrough Guide || FAQ || Requests on Ao3 || Tagset || Nominations Spreadsheet || Request Database || Parent Collection (All Past Years)

Assignments Due: August 27, 2023 @ 9 AM US Pacific / 12 PM US Eastern / 4 PM UTC+0 || Countdown

For a how-to-guide of the whole exchange that includes all of the information in this post, please take a look at our Participation Walkthrough Guide and FAQ.

A STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE TO CREATING & POSTING UNDER THE CUT:

Read more... )
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Now that sign ups are over, we're working hard to match everyone up. 
 
Stay tuned for more about your assignments over the next couple days, and we hope you’re excited – we’re excited! It’s an exciting time! 

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