FAQ

[blackemporiummod]

What's an AO3 gift exchange?

A gift exchange is where a group of authors and artists sign up to write and draw art for one another. Everyone that has signed up will create at least one fanwork and receive at least one fanwork.

 

So what's this exchange about?

This exchange is meant to celebrate all rare pairs in the Dragon Age fandom, whether the pairing is canon, non-canon, or "it happened once, in a dream, a very bizarre dream."

 

Well then, what's a rare pairing?

For the purpose of this exchange, a rare pair is a pairing with less than 300 completed works on AO3 -- with an exception for Rook; see below for more details! Pairings can also include threesomes/moresomes or non-romantic relationships.

For more details on how to nominate pairings, please see Nominations section of the Walkthrough.

 

I sent a message to a mod and they haven't responded yet!

Like participants, moderators volunteer to help run this exchange and may be tied up with family, work, other conflicts, or sleep (those pesky time zones!). Or we may be conferring on an answer to your question.

Please email the Gmail account blackemporiumexchange@gmail.com for best & fastest response. If you're concerned a question or message may have fallen through the cracks or you haven't gotten any response within 48 hours, you can send a follow-up email.

But please be patient with the mod team!

 

I've received a gift that contains one of my DNWs, what do I do?

Please message a mod ASAP. Do NOT contact the creator.

While we do our best when reviewing gifts, it's always possible for one of your DNWs to slip through -- we want the chance to correct it for you. We don't expect anyone to read or look at something that violates their DNWs. We just need recipients to contact us about problems and allow us to handle them.

 

I'm under 18, but I want to participate. Do I have to tell people my age?

Absolutely not. The only requirements are that you do NOT check the boxes in your sign up indicating interest in receiving and/or creating Mature- and Explicit-rated works, and you must only create General- and Teen-rated works. (See the AO3 ratings guide for what these terms mean.)

Please also write "No 'E' requests" in the "Notes to mods" field in your sign up offers. You don't need to say why, and you won't stand out as there are plenty of people at least 18 who prefer lower ratings and have previously written this note.

For the safety of all involved, we will never ask you to disclose your age or "investigate" you, but opting-into or creating Mature- and Explicit-rated works when you're under 18 is a serious offense. Should we be able to prove someone has broken this rule, they will be banned.

If you find out after assignments that your recipient is under the age of 18 but requested adult works, please contact us immediately.

 

I can't finish my assignment. Can I just... not post anything?

The purpose of a fic/art exchange is for everyone to have a present. If you know you cannot finish your assignment by the due date, it is imperative that you contact the mods as soon as possible. Defaults will be sent out to pinch hitters in order to ensure that recipients do not go giftless.

The collection won't open until everyone who signed up for that year has something.

 

Any advice for not de-anoning myself by accident?

Of course! Here are some simple examples for situations to look out for:

• Refrain from creating gifts that feature your own personal OC that you've shared before on AO3 or on Tumblr or in another server; you'll be surprised how many people will remember your OC and know the gift is by you.
• Be mindful of publicly talking about specific story or character elements. If you comment on the Discord server that you're writing a 4.3k fic about Varric being a beekeeper, it'll be easy to figure you out.
• If you just submitted a treat that knocked someone off the treatless, wait before saying so. Otherwise, that recipient can check the timestamp of their email alert and know it was you.
• If you use unique or have frequently used betas, consider not thanking them by name in the author notes section until after Creator Reveals.

 

 

So what's the exception for Rook?

The short version is: Rook ships have to be under 600 completed works, and even then, only some of the ships are considered ineligible. The longer explanation is here.

 

I have a question for my recipient, but I'm really worried that it might spoil the work if I ask.

That's okay! Share that concern with the moderator. We can send vague or "red herring" questions to keep people off the scent. Just talk to us and we'll help craft a question that gives you your answer while also maintaining the surprise of the gift.

We don't send messages/asks to your recipient without your knowledge or approval.

 

I need a beta, but I don't know how to get one without de-anoning myself. Help!

Sometimes a story is just so distinctive, it's impossible to ask for a beta without giving too much away. If that's the case, or even if you just don't want to risk your recipient unknowingly volunteering, contact the mods with the relevant details of your story. We'll post to the Discord on your behalf, then connect you and any volunteers.

Details to include when you contact the mods:

• What part of Dragon Age canon (e.g., Dragon Age Origins, Tevinter Nights, Multiplayer Game, etc.)
• What sort of beta you're looking for (e.g., spelling/grammar, character voice, plot holes, heat check on sex scenes, etc.)
• If requesting a beta for character voice, the character you want feedback on
• Your AO3 username (and preferably the AO3 username of your recipient, though we can look it up if necessary)
• Approximate word count to be beta'd (e.g., less than 3,000 words, between 5,000 and 10,000 words, etc)
• The rating of the story or scene to be beta'd
• Any major archive warnings you would include when posting
• Any other information that might affect someone's ability to beta the story.

 

I'm not sure I can commit to the full challenge, but I'd like to write/draw something. Is there anything I can do?

Yes! You can participate by...

• Claiming pinch hits to write fics or draw art on behalf of people who default.
• Volunteering as a beta reader/artist beta to help others refine their gifts.
• Creating treats just 'cuz you wanted to do something nice!

 

A friend of mine is participating in the exchange, and I want to create a treat for them. The ship is in this year's tagset and I know my friend loves it, but they didn't include it in their requests. Can I create the treat anyway?

Gifts, including treats, must match the requests of the recipient.

However, with a mod's foreknowledge, we can ask the recipient if they're open to receiving a treat for a specific eligible pairing they didn't officially request. If the recipient gives their thumbs up to a mod, we'll go ahead and approve the treat into the collection.

When in doubt, ask a mod! We're here to help.

 

So, what's this "Treatless List" I keep hearing about?

Black Emporium has a long, positive history of creating treats!

Every year, a list is published with people who are "treatless" -- a list of people who have indicated interest in receiving a treat but have not yet received one.

As a collective exchange challenge, some participants attempt to "clear" the treatless list by gifting at least one treat to everyone who expressed interest in one. No one is expected to participate in this optional challenge, but it's a fun way to challenge yourself to create something out of your wheelhouse.

When the Treatless List goes live varies from year-to-year, but at the latest it will be published right after the Assignment Due Date has passed.

 

My recipient didn't request a specific eligible rare pair, can I still include it as a side or background pairing?

Sure, as long as it really is a side or background pairing. The central pairing in a fic must be an eligible pairing the recipient has requested in their sign up.

If you're unsure, or would like to subtly gauge your recipient's interest, contact a mod and we'll help get you the answers you're looking for.

 

Can I include side or background pairings that are considered "not rare" in my fic?

Yes, but...

This is an exchange for rare pairs. Please keep to the spirit of the exchange by creating "rare" content; the rare pairing of the fanwork should be the main, central component of your work.

 

I posted a work to the collection, but it hasn't appeared in the collection yet. Is there a problem?

Not necessarily! Our mods are hardworking, but they also have busy lives and might not share your same time zone. You can check your email attached to your AO3 account just in case the mods have a question or there's an issue.

Be patient; we'll review and approve the work as soon as we're able.

 

It's almost Work Reveals and I don't see anything yet in my "Gifts" page on AO3. Am I not receiving something?

Don't fret! Everyone who signs up for the exchange will receive at least one complete, bespoke gift by Work Reveals.

We budget in a week buffer between Assignments Due and Work Reveals in order to accommodate extensions and pinch hits, which may not be publicly announced. Contact a mod privately if you're concerned, but please refrain from publicly calling attention to the situation (we don't want anyone to feel uncomfortable that they needed an extension).

But in a "Worst Case Scenario" where your gift won't be completed by Work Reveals, we will just delay the Reveals. So again -- there is no reason to panic! You will receive a gift at the same time as everyone else.

 

I posted my assignment, but my recipient hasn't left kudos or a comment. Did I do something wrong?

Sometimes shit life happens during Reveals -- your recipient might be busy, in a different time zone, dealing with an emergency, missing a notification from AO3, or taking extra time to craft a detailed "OMGGG!!" response. Be patient; sometimes the best comments come later!

We encourage everyone in the exchange to comment on any gifts they receive. At the end of the exchange, we may gently reach out to quiet recipients to make sure they saw that they received a gift. But we cannot force anyone to comment, either.

 

Who are the volunteers behind this exchange, and what do they do?

Our moderator team runs the exchange, are able to speak with authority, make decisions, and handle any/all intracommunity questions or concerns.

Assistants aid the moderators when it comes to things like approvals, spreadsheets, and general behind-the-scenes help.

And then there's our lovely Discord advisors, who are participants with over two years' experience in this exchange and can help with Ao3/exchange questions on Discord when mods may be busy with other matters. If you are interested in becoming an advisor, please reach out!

 

Speaking of Discord, I see people with different roles; what's that all about?

The Discord has several roles.

There are two roles that cannot be auto-selected from the #roles-roles-roles channel:

• Moderators: People involved in running the exchange who have some moderation powers on Discord.
• Advisors: People involved in prior rounds of the exchange who are able to answer questions quickly. Since not all moderators are online all the time, advisors help fill in the gaps in the Q and A channel. They do not have any moderation powers for the Discord.

 

Optional & self-selectable roles in the roles channel include:

• NSFW channel opt-in: You must be 18+ years old to choose this option; it grants access to the NSFW channel for all NSFW discussion
• Writing sprints opt-in: Allows you to be alerted to any writing sprints that occur
• Artist opt-in: Allows you to gain access to the artists' channel
• Pronoun roles: Allows you tell others what your pronouns are
• Color roles: Allows you to pick out a color for your username to be displayed as

 

I still have questions. Who should I ask?

Questions should be emailed to blackemporiumexchange@gmail.com.

 

Frequently Used Terms

• Assignments - after signing up, each participant in the exchange will be assigned to a specific recipient to create a gift for them; that's your "assignment"
• Assignment Requirements - the criteria that must be met in order for a work to be considered "complete" and officially fulfill your assignment
• Beta - someone who provides notes or feedback on your work; as in a "beta tester" or copyeditor
• Creator - an individual who is creating a fanwork in the exchange, official assignment or treat
• Creator Reveals - when gifts switch from being from "Anonymous" to having creators' handles revealed
• Default / Defaulting - when a participant has to drop out of creating officially for the exchange
• Do Not Wants / DNWs - something you do not want to read/see in the gift given to you, and will be enforced by mods; see FAQ for more
• Eligible / Ineligible Pairings - an eligible pairing is a pairing that meets guidelines (such as must have under 300 complete works; see FAQ for more) and has been approved by a mod. An ineligible pairing is any pairing that has not met guidelines and/or has not been nominated this cycle
• Letter - generally a completely optional, longer version of a sign up description field, and might include more details, or pictures that are hard to paste into the description box
• Nominations - the time period where anyone can nominate pairings to be deemed "eligible" in this year's exchange
• Pinch Hits / Pinch Hitter - when someone defaults, a pinch hitter is the individual who will step in to fulfill the assignment
• Ratings - the rating levels on AO3 that span from General to Teen to Mature to Explicit; see the official AO3 tutorial on the different rating levels
• Recipient - an individual who is receiving a fanwork, official assignment or treat, as a part of the exchange
• Sign Ups - the time period where participants sign up to official participate in the exchange
• Tagset - this years nominated & eligible pairings that participants can choose from when requesting/offering
• Treats - a fanwork posted to the exchange that did not fulfill an official assignment; see FAQ for more
• Work Reveals - when gifts switch from being hidden to being revealed; until Creator Reveals, the works will all be listed as from "Anonymous"
• (Fan)works - a blanket term to mean both fanfic and fanart

 

back to top