Archive of Our Own

Spectre Requisitions is a special gift exchange, meant to foster growth in rare pairings in the fandom.

For the purposes of this gift exchange, a rare pairing is any pairing in the Mass Effect Trilogy or Mass Effect Andromeda that meets the following eligibility criteria:

- A pairing must have 200 or less works when viewed with completed works
OR
- A pairing may have over 200 works, but when viewed with both completed works and otp:true parameters, the amount of remaining works is both under 200 AND less than 1/3rd of the total number of works.

Pairings may be slash, femslash, het, threesomes, or moresomes. For the purposes of determining eligibility, Female Shepard/Ryder, Nonbinary Shepard/Ryder, and Male Shepard/Ryder are all considered different characters.

2021 Schedule
Nominations begin: January 11
Nominations end: January 18
Signup begins: January 19
Signup ends: February 1
Assignments: February 4 (at latest)
Assignments due: March 14
Assignment reveal: March 21
Creator reveal: March 28
FAQ

1. So what's this exchange about then?
 
This exchange is meant to celebrate all rare pairs in Mass Effect, whether the pairing is canon, non-canon, or sheer crack. We will also allow gen pairings, but they must be specified as such with a &. Relationship pairings should be specified with a / symbol. Gen pairings are held to the same rules as ship pairings.
 
2. Well then, what's a rare pairing?
 
For the purposes of this gift exchange, a rare pairing is any pairing in the Mass Effect series that:
- Has 200 or less completed works
OR
- Has over 200 works, but when viewed with both completed works and otp:true parameters, the amount of remaining works is both under 200 AND less than 1/3rd of the total number of works.

 
Pairings for both games can also include threesomes/moresomes.
 
3. So let's say I'm interested. What kind of commitment do I have to make if I want to participate?
 
All fanfics written for the exchange have to be a minimum of at least 1,000 words. There is no maximum word count. Fics cannot be part of a series -- they must be able to stand alone.
 
Art can be computer or hand drawn and must be complete. Manips are allowed, but must be a complete, unique work - ie, a posed, new work, not a screenshot with a filter on it. 
 
Both fanart and fanfics may be explicit works provided that they are tagged appropriately.
 
If you would like to create extra stories or pictures as treats, you are allowed to do so, but you are not obligated to. These are not subject to any word or artistic limit.

4. So how does this whole thing work exactly?

The exchange runs through several different parts:

4-1. Nominations
 
You can nominate up to 10 different pairings. The moderators will go through the pairings to check eligibility and ensure that they qualify.

Pairings may be slash, femslash, het, threesomes, or moresomes. For the purposes of nominations, Female Shepard/Ryder, Nonbinary Shepard/Ryder, and Male Shepard/Ryder are considered different characters. 

Once nominations are approved, we then proceed onto the next stage: Signups.

4-2. Signups

After nominations are complete, you will be allowed to fill out a form requested approved pairings that you would like to offer to produce works for and fill out approved pairings you want to request fic/art for. (They do not necessarily have to be the same!)

You must fill out at least five requests and three offers. You may only select each pairing once, but may give multiple ideas per pairing. 

For your sign-ups, please go into some detail about what you would like: give the creator of your work some different ideas about what they could make for you. Make sure you list things you definitively want and details you do not want.

Good things to list: general likes, rating restrictions, prompt ideas, squicks/don't wants, or anything else you’d like the writer to know.
 
Here's an example:

Aria T'Loak/Nyreen Kandros: I've always wondered what the relationship between Nyreen and Aria was like. Please keep it happy, or as happy as things can get on Omega -- no torture, no non-con, no death. Oh, and please no explicit sex scenes please.

After that, the mods will begin to match people up based on what they wanted to write and what others wanted to read.

4-3. Matching
 
After sign-ups are completed, the mods will begin to match people based on their interests. Your match will always include at least one option that you offered, but may include others you did not match on. You must write one story or make one picture for the person you are matched with.  
 
Once you are given an assignment, you may begin writing or creating your artwork.

4-4. Posting

All stories and artwork must be posted by the due date. You may continue to edit your story or artwork until the stories are revealed, but it is imperative that you have something complete submitted, i.e. a story with beginning, middle, or end, or a fanart that is complete, displays correctly, etc. You can always edit it afterwards, but we want a complete fic/art that your recipient could receive, even if it's not perfect. The archive does not open until everyone has a gift.

After everyone uploads their stories/artwork, the mods will then go through stories and art to make sure that they are not placeholders (eg garbage text, a graphic that says TBA, etc). You may post your story or art earlier without impunity, but if you can't make your work complete by the date of reveals, please contact the mods.
 
All stories will be revealed on the works revealed date. At this point, your story will be public. You must have your final draft up by this time.

5. For nominations, can I request my own Shepard/Ryder?

For the purposes of wrangling fics and art, no fics/art featuring customized Shepards or Ryder as the main pairing will be accepted -- e.g. Mary Shepard/Barla Von will be considered and evaluated the same as Female Shepard/Barla Von.

However, if you want, you can add in a detail in your request describing your Mary Shepard for your writer/artist. That way, the person who is assigned to you could work in those details if they wished to. 

6. Since Male Shepard and Female Shepard are considered different characters, can I request pairings where one version of the pairing is over the limit? For example, can I request Male Shepard/Garrus Vakarian, even if Female Shepard/Garrus Vakarian is over the limit?

Yes.

7. I got my assignment and uh, I can't write this.

If you have a serious issue with your assignment, contact the mods. We do our best to match everyone well, but we're aware that a) we can make mistakes and b) sometimes there are conflicts that are impossible to predict. Contact us, and we'll find a way to deal with it together - confidentiality guaranteed. 

8. Uh...crap. So it looks like I bit off more than I can chew. Uh... can I just... not post anything?

The purpose of a creative works 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. This way we can assign a pitch hitter who CAN give your recip a present even if you can't. 

Pinch hits will be advertised on the main Tumblr/DW in order to ensure that recipients do not go giftless. The archive won't open until everyone has something. 

9. 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 could claim a pinch-hit if the spirit moved you, and write fics or draw art for that. You may also write/draw treats for whoever you want. :)

10. What's a treat?

A treat is a work composed for someone other than your assigned recipient. Treats should follow that person's squicks/triggers (things that the person doesn't want/would be upsetting for them) and pairings, but do not necessarily otherwise have to fill their prompts. Treats also do not have to fall under the assignment restrictions - there is no limit on words or art for treats. 

11. What's a letter? I keep seeing a field for it on the sign-up?
 
A letter is something you can write on your journal to give your anonymous author/artist some more information on what you'd like to see. It's optional, but it can help someone design a gift to match your tastes! For examples, you can look in our letters post on Dreamwidth for a previous year.

12. Can I give a gift to multiple people?

We ask that for assignments (the person you are assigned to write for), you ONLY gift your gift to the recipient, regardless of how many people you feel might enjoy it. The point of a gift in an exchange such is this is it is meant to be given to ONE person.

However, we do allow people to add multiple people to their treats. We ask, however, if you do this to:
a) Only tag people whose ideas you have used - eg if you took two Grunt/Liara prompts from two different people (let's say Persona A's request for "Liara teaches Grunt to knit Hanar sweaters" with Person B's request for "Grunt and Liara accidentally start a fashion trend for Hanar Sweaters in Noveria"), then by all means tag them both.
b) Only tag people who are participating in the exchange, and only people who have specifically asked for what you are giving.

1. Be respectful of all members of the community. Please realized that everyone has different likes and dislikes, and that these may vary. Remember that everyone here is a person who is putting time and effort into making you or someone else something to enjoy. 

2. Submissions may be any rating. You must tag your fics appropriately, especially if they contain elements such as underage content or noncon. Canon deaths do not need to be tagged major character death. If you feel adding a warning would spoil a major element of your story, you should utilize Choose Not to Warn. 

3. Submissions can be gen, slash, het, femslash, or any combination of the aforementioned. All submissions must be posted on AO3. Please note that submissions that feature threesomes wherein two thirds of the threesome are a popular group (for example: Garrus/F!Shepard/Tali) will be reviewed to ensure that the fic or artwork contains the full threesome acting as a threesome. What this means is, say, a fic wherein Tali gives Shepard advice about talking to Garrus about her feelings but is otherwise not in the fic would get returned to the author with a note to please add more content for Tali.
4. Betas are highly encouraged. If you need help finding a beta, please ask us for help. If your story contains excessive spelling, punctuation, and grammar errors, it will be rejected and you will need to resubmit it with the errors corrected.

5. This is an anonymous exchange. Please do not post your story (or about your story, eg don't post "Making an assignment for @Username - can't believe I pulled them!")  anywhere else or reveal it until authors have been revealed. Please do not reveal your recipient. Post-reveals, you are welcome to repost your story wherever you like. We do ask you do not "Archive Lock" your stories during the anonymous period; you are, however, free to do so at the end of the anonymous period, before reveals. 

6. Stories/art should be created specifically for this challenge. Stories/art cannot have been previously posted somewhere. Stories/art cannot be part of a previously posted series. Stories/art must be stand-alone and compete upon their time of posting.