Archive of Our Own

Welcome to dS Seekrit Santa 2021!

This is a seasonal fannish exchange: write a story or make some art or a vid, and get some art or a vid or a story in return.

Here's how it works:
You sign up, specifying what kind of art, vid or story you want -- and what kinds of gifts you'll create!
After sign-ups close, the Database matches what people want to receive, with what people are willing to create. Then mods send all participants an email with their assignment.
Make your gift by the deadline, and...
On Christmas Day, the collection opens for viewing, and everyone has presents to open!
No one knows who made their gift: at first, all authors/creators are anonymous. Enjoying your gift, and have fun speculating who did what, and reccing dSSS fanworks.
On New Years Day, the Seekrit gift creators are revealed!

Important:
This is an exchange: it is very important to post your gift contribution ON TIME!
It's SEEKRIT (anonymous)! Please do not talk about what you made before the Big Reveal on New Years' Day, on any social media! You don't want to spoil the surprise!

Before you sign up for dSSS here, consider other challenges to which you're committed for the holiday season. Make sure you have time to devote to creating your gift for the dS Seekrit Santa exchange!

Please remember that your assignment is a holiday gift for a fellow fan. Treat their request the way you'd like someone else to treat yours. Make the best work that you can, and meet the deadline!

Once you sign up for due South Seekrit Santa, you have committed to make a gift for your matched recipient. You are obligated to finish it on time: please budget your time accordingly!

How do I sign up?
Go to the sidebar and click on the 'Signup Form' link. Fill out the form. Note: You must be logged in to your AO3 account first!

There's also an excellent tutorial on signing up to a gift exchange.

But I'm not an AO3 member?
No problem. Email us at [email protected] and we'll rustle up an invite for you.

How do I stay in touch?
You can email [email protected] with any questions.

The mods will post reminders and other important notices in the due South Seekrit Santa Discussion Dreamwidth community. Please friend or watch it so you know what's going on!

What type of fanwork(s) can I request/offer?
You can request and offer any combination of stories, fanart (digital manips, drawings, paintings, icon sets, wallpapers, etc.), and fanvids.

What if I want a fanwork about, or involving a one-off or minor character?
If there's no option for your preferred character available select 'Other(s)' from the list of characters, and then include the name of the character(s) in the 'Request Details' box.

What if my preferred pairing/threesome/moresome isn't on the list?
You can select the closest pairing and add a modifier in your Dear Santa letter, or list the entire pairing/threesome/moresome in your Dear Santa letter.

What about 'Dear Santa' letters?
Mods will post a master Dear Santa letters post in the due South Seekrit Santa Discussion Dreamwidth, where you can link to or paste your letter in the comments. You can also paste the link into your signup.
If you want to give your Seekrit Santa some direction by including a theme, a plot, location, bits of dialogue, etc., you may. HOWEVER, your Seekrit Santa is not required to fulfill these optional suggestions -- ONLY character and gift format requests.

How do I post my story?
Log into your AO3 account.
Navigate to the "dSSS 2021" dashboard (or click the "My Signups" link in the sidebar).
Click on "Post to Collection."
In the "Associations" section, type "due South" in the "Post to Collections/Challenges" box and select "due South Seekrit Santa 2021."
Enter your recipient's name in the "Recipients" box. Then post your work as per usual.
Instructions will also be posted on the due South Seekrit Santa Discussion community nearer to the deadline.

You can follow this nifty tutorial. If you have any questions or hassles, contact the mods at [email protected].

How do I post art or a vid?
Because AO3 can't anonymously host these types of fanworks at the moment, we will host them on the dSSS cloud space. More instructions will be posted on the due South Seekrit Santa Discussion Dreamwidth comm closer to posting date.

I don't have a beta/can't find a beta.
There will be a beta-call post on the due South Seekrit Santa Discussion Dreamwidth comm after sign-ups close. Keep an eye out for it! If you don't see anyone sign up to beta, give it a few days. If you still can't find a beta after a week or so, please contact [email protected].

What do I do if I can't finish my assignment in time?
PLEASE contact the mods (at [email protected]) AS FAR AHEAD OF THE DEADLINE AS POSSIBLE, so that we can assign a pinch-hitter. We want everyone to have a present to open on Christmas morning!

Can I sign up to be a pinch-hitter?
Keep an eye out for our "request for pinch-hitters" post in the due South Seekrit Santa Discussion Dreamwidth community, which comes later, closer to the deadline.

Your gift MUST include at least one of your recipient's requested characters or relationships.^1

Stories must be at least 1,000 words in length according to AO3's word count.

Gift fic must be beta-ed.^2 Betas should get an already-spellchecked first draft to beta.^3

Vids must be at least 1.5 minutes long^4.

Art must be equal in time and effort to a well-crafted 1,000 word story.^4

Fanworks do not need to be holiday-themed!^5

Assignments are confidential until creators' names are revealed on New Year's Day!^6

Your Gift Wish List:
Specify one to three requests of your Santa, each one specifying a different character(s) and relationship(s) you want.If requesting art or vids, include AT LEAST ONE story request because writers far outnumber visual artists. We want to ensure that you have a non-art option, in case no one matches to your request for art or vids.

What You Are Willing To Create:
Tell us all the characters, relationships, and categories (femslash, gen, het, slash, etc) you are willing to write, draw, vid, etc.
If you say "ANY," we will take you at your word!

These requirements ensure that every participant receives a high quality gift!
If submitted fanwork doesn't meet the rules, dSSS mods may require that it be corrected or sections be rewritten, or it may be removed from the challenge.

Deadlines:
Signup Deadline is Friday, October 15th, 2021 at 11:59pm Central Time. (Plus or minus a day in case of any technical issues.) Sign-ups close at that time, so be sure you've made all necessary changes/additions to your requests!

We will send out all assignments Monday, October 18th, 2021. (Plus or minus a day in case of any technical issues.)

Giftwork Deadline is Friday December 17th, 2021 at 11:59pm Central Time. All works must be posted by this time. If you realize you CANNOT finish your assignment by the deadline, let us know as far ahead of time as you can—that way we can find a pinch hitter for you.

^1 If you matched on a character but not on a relationship, check your recipient's Dear Santa letter to see with which matched-on main character you can create a gift they will enjoy.

^2 dSSS traditionally has high standards. Gifts are expected to be beta-ed -- even visual fanworks -- to ensure that everyone receives the highest quality gift. Spellcheck has been around for 48 years, and autocorrect was created in the early 90s -- so use them! Remember: even Spellcheck and Autocorrect can't catch everything. That's where your beta comes in.

^3 Make it as easy as possible for your beta to beta your fic. Betas may minimally correct spelling and grammar (often called SPaG) that Spellcheck/Autocorrect didn't catch... Or they may delve more deeply, to check characterization, plot, and continuity. But they shouldn't have to correct multiple misspellings in a sentence, paragraph or page. Check the beta-ing abilities listed in each beta's sign-up post on the due South Seekrit Santa Discussion Dreamwidth community, so you both know what to expect.

^4 Visual art is harder to quantify, but, for example: if you make icons, the minimum is a set of ten -- instead of one complex icon or ten unenhanced crops. If you draw a sketch, it should be reasonably detailed. Art betas may only look for problems with composition of images or vid-editing issues, or may go so far as to critique theme and plot. Of course with visual fanworks, this can be quite subjective -- thus it will work best if your beta has a thorough knowledge of due South.

^5 In dSSS we only use the term "Santa" in its most generic sense of "Gift bearer." Your recipient's Dear Santa letter may even specify no holiday themes (!).

^6 Please don't discuss your assignment in your LJ, Dreamwidth, Tumblr, etc! Please don't reveal details that might identify you as the creator. And please don't discuss your assignment at all with other dS Seekrit Santa participants. Remember, this exchange is SEEKRIT! Please keep your work a surprise for your recipient! But this may make finding a beta a little trickier than usual.

In a perfect world, your beta isn't a dS Seekrit Santa participant. But if you can't find a beta outside the dSSS participant group, the basic rule is that your gift recipient should never be your dSSS gift beta! Please refer to the Call for Betas post at the due South Seekrit Santa Discussion Dreamwidth community/">due South Seekrit Santa Discussion community if you need help finding a beta, or if you can volunteer to help others.

HAVE FUN!!!!!