swficathon | 2023 Schedule, Info & Rules (Reply)

The Sheppard/Weir Ficathon is a fanfic exchange focusing on John Sheppard and Elizabeth Weir from the TV show Stargate: Atlantis. Work minimum is 350 words. You must be 18+ to participate.

2023 Schedule
Sign ups Close: Sep 24, 11:59 PM EDT
Assignments Sent By: Sep 27, 11:59 PM EDT
Stories Due: Oct 19, 11:59 PM EDT
Collection Reveals: Oct 31, 11:59 PM EDT
Author Reveals: Nov 7, 11:59 PM EDT

All closing and reveal times are 11:59 PM EDT.

2023 AO3 Collection
2023 Requests Summary

If you have a question or a problem, please leave us a comment here on Dreamwidth or email us at swficathonmods at gmail. All comments are screened by default. Anonymous Dreamwidth comments are enabled. You may also send an ask to Sparktober on Tumblr if you'd like.

Your mods are havocthecat and anr.

Sign ups

You must be 18+ to sign up.

You must have an AO3 account to sign up. If you do not have one, please reach out to a mod and they will help source you an invite.

Only one sign up per person is allowed. No sock accounts (well behaved though they may generally be).

All stories must include the pairing Sheppard/Weir.

You can request 2-4 genres. A request is the type of Sheppard/Weir story you would like to receive. Your requests do not have to match your offers.

You can offer 2-4 genres. An offer is the type of Sheppard/Weir story you would like to write. Your offers do not have to match your requests.

Include anything you absolutely don't want to receive (Do Not Wants) in the Optional Details field in your AO3 sign up. In the event that a DNW is included in your story, only reasonable DNWs noted in your sign up will be enforced. (Please bear in mind that DNWs cannot be used to box your author into producing a very specific work.) DNWs should be clear, neutrally phrased, and -- where possible -- specific. DNWs can only be enforced if they appear in your sign up.

Any incompatible sign up's with "DNW: Sheppard/Weir ship fic" (or something similarly incompatible) will be deleted.

The optional details field can also be used to list prompts, likes, ratings, or anything else that might help your author write a story you will enjoy. Prompts are extremely useful for giving your assigned writer somewhere to start from. (Note: optional details are optional -- there is no guarantee you will receive a story that exactly matches one of your suggested prompts.)

Dear Author letters may be linked to in your sign up in order to give your author further details on your likes and dislikes. These are optional.

If you would like a gen or platonic Sheppard and Weir fic, please state this in your sign up's optional details. Gen/platonic fic is opt in only. (Note: as this is a ship ficathon, your author may not choose to write a gen or platonic fic even if you opt in.)

Mods reserve the right to delete sign ups from badly-behaved accounts, including sock accounts. Bad behaviour includes but is not limited to harassing or shaming other participants.

Genres (Examples - You may find additional genres in the tag set for the exchange)

Action/Adventure

Baby/kid fic

Canon divergence

Comedy

Crossover

Episode based

Fix-it fic

Fluff

Holiday themed

Horror

Hurt/Comfort

Mystery/Thriller

Romance

Smut

Matching

If you are unmatchable as an author (eg, no one is requesting any of the genres you are willing to write), the mods will contact you when sign ups close and ask you to add to your genres. If you do not reply within 24 hours, your sign up will be deleted.

If you are unmatchable as a recipient (eg, no one is offering any of the genres you are requesting), your requests will be posted to the Dreamwidth community for claiming as an initial pinch hit.

Assignments

Assignments are only guaranteed to match on one genre.

Minimum work requirements are one story of 350 words. The story must include the pairing Sheppard/Weir, respect your recipients DNW's, and fit within the genre of the request. We understand that genres have flexible and sometimes ambiguous boundaries, but please make a good faith attempt to write a story you believe your recipient would enjoy.

"AI" works produced using a large language model (such as ChatGPT) are prohibited.

Works should remain anonymous during the collection's anonymous period. Do not post your work elsewhere, link to it under your name, or put your name anywhere on the AO3 page (for example, linking your tumblr in the notes) until after authors have been revealed.

If you cannot finish your story, please default by going to your AO3 assignments page and clicking the "default" button on your assignment. You don't need to explain to the mods why you had to default. We know that life happens!

In order to post, go to your AO3 assignments page and click the "fulfill" button on your assignment. That will take you to a new-works form with the assignment and recipient already pre-filled. Alternatively, you can go to the collection page and click "Post to Collection" -- you will need to manually enter your recipient, but the collection will be pre-filled. Stories posted to the collection prior will be anonymous until author reveals.

Your request may go out for pinch hit if your author defaults or otherwise does not meet the fic deadline. Your request will not go out for pinch hit if the fic deadline has passed and you have not completed your own assignment (eg, you defaulted too).

Pinch Hits

All pinch hits will be posted to the Dreamwidth community and linked on the Sparktober tumblr.

Please reply to the pinch hit post on Dreamwidth to claim a pinch hit and include your AO3 username. If you need assistance, ask your mods

You can claim a pinch hit even if you aren't signed up for the ficathon, but you will need an AO3 account. If you are not signed up, you will not receive a story in return even if you do complete a pinch hit.

Treats

All requests can be seen by going to the collections "Requests Summary".

There are no work minimums for treats.

Treats may be posted to the collection without a recipient (as "gifts to the collection") as long as include the Sheppard/Weir pairing and fit one of the genres.

You can write a treat even if you aren't signed up for the ficathon, but you will need an AO3 account to post it to the collection. If you are not signed up, you will not receive a story in return even if you do write and post a treat.

If you do not want to receive a treat (non-assignment gift) you need to go to your AO3 preferences page and untick the box that says "Allow anyone to gift me works." If you prefer NOT to receive gifts besides your assignment, please put this in the optional details field of each request, the same place you put your DNWs. This prevents someone from making you a gift and then realizing they can't give it to you.

Reveals

At the story due date, any assignments which have not received a story will be defaulted and sent to pinch hit.

We will hold reveals until everyone who signed up for the ficathon and completed their assignment has received a story.

We will not hold reveals for persons who haven't received a story but who had to default themselves.

Bans

Mods reserve the right to ban participants in cases of:

Uploading placeholders instead of a completed story at deadline

Giving a gift calculated to upset or anger its recipient

Other forms of bad faith participation

Many thanks to various other exchanges for the Rules inspiration, including (but not limited to) Summer of Horror, Trick or Treat, Trauma and Space Swap.