Spectre Requisitions

Click here to see how much time you’ve got left!

If you’re having trouble making that deadline, please let us know ASAP and we can try to figure out a solution. You can send an ask to this Dreamwidth or reply in the comments below (they are screened) or email specreqs@gmail.com, or ping either Ace or Keita in the Discord.

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Assignments are out!

Please check your AO3 assignments page or the email you have associated with Ao3 and see who you were assigned to! There were NO initial pinch hits this year. If any pinch hitters are required, we will advertise when they become available both on our tumblr and DW comms.

We have done our best to try to ensure that everyone has a good match, but if there is an issue with yours, please contact us. We will handle things discretely and privately.  

Since assignments have gone out, there are a couple things we’d like  all authors and artists out there to keep in mind:

• You are only committing to writing or drawing one thing for your assigned recipient. That means, of the 5+ ideas they have offered, you are committing to writing one. If they asked for two pairings in the same line, you’re obligated to write only one of the two (your choice). Can you do more? Absolutely. Are you obligated to? Absolutely not.
• Please remember that the spirit of this exchange is all rare pairs, all the time. Do not use the exchange to try to write/draw a mega-popular pairing, with a less-popular pairing in the background. We do not allow backdoor mega-pairings to dominate works in this exchange.
• Please do not post your fic or art on Tumblr/DeviantArt/etc until the exchange has been revealed. It is imperative that everyone gets their gifts at the same time.
• Please don’t contact your recipient directly. If you have questions you want to ask them, please contact us! We are happy to be intermediaries for you!
• If you are writing a story/drawing a picture that features elements Ao3 has default warnings for, such as underage/non-con/etc, remember to tag your stories for such elements to advertise it to those that want to see it and to respect those that don’t. If you do not wish to do this or feel like you can’t tag a fic or artwork without spoiling the nature of a twist you’d prefer remain unspoiled, please use the “Choose Not to Warn” option so viewers can make the choice themselves whether or not they want to take a chance on seeing potentially upsetting content.
• You are obligated to respect your recipient’s DNW/squicks, but optional details are otherwise that - optional.
• Please be careful to not reveal who your recipient is. Posting “I’m so excited about my assignment!” is fine; posting “I’m so excited about writing Thane/Garrus for my best friend @participant!” is not.

If you have any questions or comments, be sure to let us know!

SIGN-UPS ARE OPEN!

Sign-ups for the Spectre Requisitions exchange will be possible from January 20 to February 2nd. You must fill out at least five unique requests and three unique offers (requests and offers do not necessarily have to be the same!). Anytime someone offers something, we will update the “Offers Present?” tab on the nominations spreadsheet with an [x] when it is offered.

You may also choose ‘Any Pairings’ and ask or volunteer to write any of the pairings of the nominations list.

NOW THAT SAID: SIGN UP! SIGN UP! SIGN-UP! CLICK HERE TO SIGN-UP!

You can go back and edit your Sign Up Form up until 
February 2nd

@ 06:00PM EST.

A BIG WARNING ABOUT USING ‘ANY PAIRINGS’: Any pairing means exactly that, that you are willing to get or create fanworks for any pairing. We cannot control what characters or prompts are in an “Any Pairings” request. Thus, it should not be used for a request like “Any Garrus Vakarian fic”.  “Any pairing” requests should only be requested for when you really want to see a certain trope or kink  (and don’t care which characters are used) and should only be offered if you want the sheer challenge of a pure mystery! The only thing we will allow you to limit it by is the category of relationship, eg Gen, F/F, M/M or F/M. Anything else put into the box will be ignored so chose this option CAREFULLY.

If you would like to participate but do not have an AO3 account, please send us a message and we will get you an invitation.

One Important Warning About DNW: Please add your DNW (Do Not Wants) to your sign-ups. We cannot enforce DNWs that are only in letters!

How Do I Sign Up? Instructions beneath the cut:

1) Go to the Sign Up Form at AO3 while you are logged in (or go to the Spectre Requisitions Collection for this year and click “Sign Up”) 

2) Click the checkmark on “Mass Effect - All Media Types” for the fandom!

3) Start writing the name of your favorite character/pairing from the nominations. Don’t forget to check the spreadsheet if you need inspiration!

3) The box should start to autofill as you type; if it doesn’t, simply enter things as they are in the tagset. Select your pairing of choice. You can have one or two pairings per request, and may have ten requests total. This gives you a total of 20 potential pairings to request at maximum, and the minimum is 5 requests and 3 offers. 

This is what it looks like with one relationship filled in:

Note that the box is still active and allows you to fill more in. If you are planning on requesting only the minimum, please only fill one in per box. 

And here’s what it looks like with two tags filled in:

Now, the box is gone, and you've maxed out this request set. Note that when you’re doing multiple pairings, you’ll have to put your prompts/likes/DNWs for both pairings in the same box. Don’t hesitate to reach out if you’ve got more questions!

4) Decide whether you would like to potentially receive fanart or fanfic, or both. Check the applicable box(es) or select “any” for both. 

5) Give your author some idea of what you want to see in the description box.

Good things to list: general likes, rating restrictions, prompt ideas, squicks/triggers/do-not-wants, or anything else you’d like the writer to know. Make sure you list things you definitively do not want. Authors and artists are absolutely forbidden to ignore squicks and triggers. Otherwise, the only guideline of your prompt authors/artists is unequivocally beholden to is the requested pairing, though they are encouraged to take your preferences into consideration.

6) Repeat between 5-10 times, as you like!

8) You may write a letter that goes more in-depth and post it to your Tumblr, DreamWidth, public google doc, or another platform, and then fill in the URL in the letterbox.

9) Fill out your offers. You must fill out at least three unique pairings you would be okay with writing and can choose one or two pairings to fill in per request. If you have any comments for the moderators, please put them in the “Notes for Mods” section. This should be used for people you don’t want to match with, subjects you feel you can’t/won’t draw/write, or other information that you think may be helpful for matching you with a good assignment. 

A BIG WARNING ABOUT USING ‘ANY PAIRINGS’: You may choose to offer ANY, but this means you could be matched to ANYONE who has signed up for the exchange. Do NOT pick Any Pairings if you are not up for a challenge! The only thing we will allow you to limit it by is a category of relationship, eg Gen, F/F, M/M or M/F. Anything else cannot be controlled so chose this CAREFULLY.

10) Click submit! And welcome to the Mass Effect Rare Pair Exchange!

 Please change these nominations to be more specific. Failure to change these nominations by the final day of nominations (January 19) will result in them being declined!

Avitus Rix & Ryder – Please clarify which Ryder are you requesting: Female Ryder | Sara, Male Ryder | Scott, Ellen, or Alec

Illusive Man | Jack Harper/Shepard - Please clarify whether you want Male Shepard or Female Shepard.

Kai Leng/Shepard Clone - Please clarify whether you want Male Shepard or Female Shepard.

Miranda Lawson/Original Character(s) - Please clarify which kind of original character is desired, eg Miranda Lawson/Five Batarian Soldiers, Miranda Lawson/Female Alliance Recruit, etc.

Miranda Lawson/Miranda Lawson's Rogueishly Handsome Trans Clone - Please specify which gender the clone is.

As a clarification note for trans characters, please nominate trans characters under the gender identity that is preferred by/for the character (ex: for a trans! female Shepard that was assigned male at birth but is/identifies as female, please use "Female Shepard"). To ensure the character is seen as trans, please write in optional details that you would prefer to see this character as trans and DNW: non-trans/cis interpretations of [Character]. We do not use the "Trans [Character]" label firstly because we do not believe a trans character should be segregated from other characters of their chosen gender, and secondly because this allows a wider potential range of possible trans characters - by leaving it in optional details, any character can be seen as trans.

The Spectre Requisitions Rare Pair Exchange

is here!  We’re a rare pair exchange that’s open for the Mass Effect Trilogy and Mass Effect Andromeda. We exchange fanfiction and fanart, and we welcome fans both new and old!

Nominations begin: January 12
Nominations end: January 19
Signup begins: January 20
Signup ends: February 2
Assignments: February 5 (at latest)
Assignments due: March 15
Assignment reveal: March 22
Author reveal: April 5th

We’re baaack! Esteemed creators, Spectre Requisitions is returning for another year of rare pair goodness! Mark the dates on your calendar and get those thinking caps on for nominations! 

The Archive is Open!

We will also be doing Comment bingo cards again this year! If you want one, let us know by commenting below (comment screening is turned on)!

What’s a Commenting Bingo Card? 

Commenting cards are 5x5  bingo card with a free space in the middle. The free space is meant for whatever sort of rubric you want to set; “fic that was given to me” “ a fic with Tali” etc; the rest are different criteria based on the works in the collection. 

Your challenge is to read and comment on as many as you can to fill up the card, make other rare pair writers happy, and have the Space Hampster smile upon you. 

This year, comment cards come in two forms: safe for work and not-safe-for-work; you may ask for a card made up of one type of prompt, the other, or both. You can see all prompts here, and can opt out of 5 prompts out of each table. (EG, if you only do a SFW or a NSFW-only card, you can opt out of 5; if you do a SFW AND NSFW combo card, you can opt out of 10). 

If you get a bingo, report back, and we will make you a silly graphic and talk up your contributions after the anon period ends!