2012 Valentine’s Day Sugar & Spice Fanwork Swap!

[lenna_nightrunner]

Greetings, Thedans!

Valentine’s Day is coming up, which means it’s time for our second annual Sugar & Spice fanwork swap event! We’d all like to thank everyone who participated last year—It was a huge success and a blast to be a part of. We’d love for you to join in again, and invite everyone who wasn’t around last year to participate. The more of us are involved, the better the event will be!

Here’s the deal, Q&A style:

What’s this whole thing all about anyway?
Sugar & Spice is a fanwork swap. That means that everyone who participates will either write a one-shot piece of fanfiction or create a piece of artwork for another community member, and will receive one in return.

But that sounds like a Secret Santa, and we just did one of those! How is this different?
Unlike a Secret Santa event, participants are paired up based on compatible interests (determined using the form below). This helps make sure that everyone gets to create something they want to create and receive something they want to receive. And there’s a voting component! Once everyone’s submissions have been posted and we all get a chance to read them, we’ll vote for our favorites in different categories and declare winners at the end of the event. Also, the fanworks are split into two categories: Sugar and Spice.

Wait, “Sugar” and “Spice”?
The two categories, Sugar and Spice, refer to fanwork ratings. Sugar is anything rated PG-13 or lower. There should be no nudity or sexual images (or copious amounts of gore) in a sugar piece. Spice is R and above. It can include explicit sex and/or violence. This system helps us accommodate everyone’s tastes.

So what’s up with this whole voting thing? How does it work? What do you win?
Everyone, including those who weren’t able to participate, will be able to vote for their favorite fanworks. Categories include the following: Best Sugar (first, second, and third place), Best Spice (first, second, and third place), and a few unannounced categories the mods may come up with later. As an example, last year’s mod categories were Most Unexpected Pairing and Best Last Line, but they may be different this year! Our Fearless Leader twist_shimmy has volunteered to create icons or banners of the winners’ choosing as prizes, and there may be others. Plus winning is GLORIOUS :D

What’s the timeline, huh?
Signups open right now, and close on Wednesday, January 18. You will receive the name of your fanwork recipient and the info they gave us by Sunday, January 22 at the latest. Submissions are due by Sunday, February 12. That means you’ll have a minimum of three weeks to complete and submit your fanwork. Then we’ll get everything formatted properly and post it on thedas_ficarchive on Tuesday, February 14! At that point we’ll announce the timeline for voting. Psyched yet?

How do I submit my totally amazing fanwork when it’s done?
E-mail your completed fic or art to lennanightrunner[at]gmail[dot]com. Please submit it as a .doc, .docx, .odt, or .txt file if it’s a fic or a .jpg or .gif if it’s an image (Talk to us if that’s a problem for some reason).

That sounds awesome, Lenna! How do I sign up?
To participate, please fill out the following form and post it as a comment here. I’ll post a comment with my information as an example.

I want to [write/draw].
I like [DAO/DA2/both games].
I want to create [sugar/spice/either].
I want to receive [sugar/spice/either].
I want to create [het/slash/femmeslash/any].
I want to receive [het/slash/femmeslash/any].
Three characters I like to write/draw are ____, ____, and _____.
Three characters I don’t like to write/draw are ____, ____, and _____.
Three characters I’d like in a fic/pic are ____, ____, and _____.
Three characters I wouldn’t like in a fic/pic are ____, ____, and _____.
Comments/Other info? ____.

**PLEASE NOTE** When listing your characters, keep in mind that: 
1) PCs count as characters, so you can specify, e.g. m!Mahariel, f!Surana, m!Hawke, etc. OR you can just put Mahariel, Surana, or Hawke if it's not a gender issue. This information will give you an opportunity to a) include or exclude certain origins, b) indicate whether you'd like PCs to be involved or not. However, please do not list a specific PC (e.g. Caerwyn) as a character.
2) Avoid obscure characters. You might be a huge Alfstanna fan or think a fic about Mouse would be awesome, but keep in mind that the lesser known a character is, the harder it will be for us to find someone to write that character.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me or amhran_comhrac. We’re very excited to be holding this swap again, and we hope you’ll join us!

Much love!
Lenna

P.S. If you want to know more or get a head start, check out last year’s submissions at thedas_ficarchive

Comments

[lenna_nightrunner]

I want to write.
I like both games.
I want to create either.
I want to receive either.
I want to create any.
I want to receive any.
Three characters I like to write/draw are Fenris, Zevran, and Leliana.
Three characters I don’t like to write/draw are Jowan, Merrill, and Oghren.
Three characters I’d like in a fic/pic are Fenris, Varric, and Alistair.
Three characters I wouldn’t like in a fic/pic are Jowan, Merrill, and Oghren.
Comments/Other info? This sounds totally awesome!

[ashstoner_021]

I want to draw.
I like both games.
I want to create either (be warned my 'spice' will need practice)
I want to receive either.
I want to create any (slash will need practice, NEVER DONE BEFORE).
I want to receive het.
Three characters I like to write/draw are Alistair, Anders and Zevran
Three characters I don't like to write draw are... well I don't know the answer to this one, because if it's not for me then I guess I'm not picky! O.o
Three characters I'd like in a fic/pic are Alistair, Anders and f!Cousland/f!Hawke. (did I do that right? The last two are rather tied sooooo yeah)
Tree characters I wouldn't like in a fic/pic are Jowan, Sebastian, and Loghain.
Comments/Other info? Um... I had a blast with this last year, and am hoping to do so again! Whoever I get paired with, feel free to ask me stuffs, yes? <3

[lenna_nightrunner]

Hooray, Ash! I haven't even made this a sticky post yet (and by that, made amhran_comhrac make it a sticky post because I forgot how >.>) and you're all over it! <3

[thessalian]

I want to [write].
I like [both games].
I want to create [sugar].
I want to receive [sugar].
I want to create [any].
I want to receive [any].
Three characters I like to write are Zevran, Varric, and f!Mahariel.
Three characters I don’t like to write are Wynne, Loghain, and Leliana.
Three characters I’d like in a fic/pic are f!Mahariel, Zevran, and Fenris.
Three characters I wouldn’t like in a fic/pic are Loghain, Sebastian, and Wynne.
Comments/Other info? I honestly don't get Fenris/Anders slash (pleasedon'thitme)...

[1smut_princess]

Fenris/Anders - I think the logic might be that we despise what we want/wish we were, and possibly finding some sort of...peace...with a person who technically embodies all that you hate? I think? Or some serious love-hate or power struggle stuff (real scientific term 'stuff' is, huh?). I dunno...

[1smut_princess]

I want to write.
I like DAO.
I want to create either.
I want to receive either.
I want to create any.
I want to receive any.
Three characters I like to write are Zevran, Morrigan, Dogg
Three characters I don’t like to write/draw are Allistair, Wynne, Leliana
Three characters I’d like in a fic/pic are Zevran, fWarden, mMage
Three characters I wouldn’t like in a fic/pic are Jowan, Alistair, Wynne


What can I say - I'm a Zev/FWarden girl, but in the right circumstances Zev/MWarden is good...I tend to just want...well...Zev. Soo - hopefully someone can feed me Zevvy goodness...? Also, while I do sugar pretty easily, spice is where my brain tends to go when I write. So - I'm best suited to writin' spice, however I like receiving sugar or spice - my big off thing is angst... Or sad endings. Sad endings - make me hide beneath my silky blankie that I've had since I was 3months old and suck my thumb. Ask my husband - true story.

[lenna_nightrunner]

Duly noted! Excited to have you participate :D <3

[kelcat]

I want to: Write
I like: DAO
I want to create: Either
I want to receive: Either (preference for spice)
I want to create: slash
I want to receive: slash
Three characters I like to write are: Nathaniel, Awakening!Anders (pre Justice merge), Zevran
Three characters I don't like to write: Oghren, Sten, Morrigan
Three characters I'd like in a fic/pic are: Nathaniel, Anders, any human or elf M!Warden
Three characters I wouldn't like in a fic/pic are: Oghren, Sten, Leliana
Comments/Other info: I have a huge weakness for rare/unusual pairings, so feel free to get creative!

[amhran_comhrac]

I want to: write
I like: either game.
I want to create: spice (will do either, if more sugars are needed)
I want to receive: spice (same as above applies)
I want to create: het
I want to receive: het
Three characters I like to write: Anders (either itineration), Jowan, Zevran
Three characters I don’t like to write: Cousland, Fenris, Merrill
Three characters I would want to receive: Anders (either itineration), Jowan, Zevran
Three characters I don’t want to receive: Fenris, Merill, Cousland
Comments: I am willing to fill in blank spots in the matching for quite a few characters… and likely will since I’m one of the people who will be doing the matching. ;)

[msbarrows]

I want to write.
I like both games.
I want to create either.
I want to receive either (love spicy things, or sweet & spicy).
I want to create slash (though I can het if needed).
I want to receive slash.
Three characters I like to write/draw are Zevran, Alistair, Fenris.
Three characters I don’t like to write/draw are Oghren, Sten, DA2 canon Anders.
Three characters I’d like in a fic/pic are Zevran, Fenris, Sebastian.
Three characters I wouldn’t like in a fic/pic are Not Applicable
Comments/Other info?
Basically I most like writing and reading less common slash pairings; more unexplored room to romp around in! I'm happy with pretty much any slash pairing, as long as they're brought together in a way that makes some sort of logical sense and remains at least arguably in character (and I have multiple headcanons for most DA characters so my definition of "in character" is pretty broad).

[scarylady]

Big thanks to Kelcat, who made my entry easy. I just copied and pasted hers and changed a few little things :)

I want to: Write
I like: DAO
I want to create: Either
I want to receive: Either (preference for spice)
I want to create: slash
I want to receive: slash
Three characters I like to write are: Alistair, Zevran, Nathaniel
Three characters I don't like to write: Oghren, Morrigan, Wynne
Three characters I'd like in a fic/pic are: Alistair, Zevran, Nathaniel (with each other or any M!Warden)
Three characters I wouldn't like in a fic/pic are: Oghren, Morrigan, Wynne
Comments/Other info: If you are spicing it up then I'm no-holds-barred. But you knew that right? I'm not exactly famed for my taste in vanilla...

[kelcat]

Great minds think alike ;D

[the_morningstar616]

I want to: Write
I like: both games
I want to create: Either
Iwant to receive: Either (slightly prefer spice)
I want to create: slash or f/f
I want to receive: slash or f/f
Three characters I like to write are: Zevran, Fenris, Isabela
Three characters I don't like to write: Oghren, Morrigan, Wynne
Three characters I'd like in a fic/pic are: Anders, Zevran, Fenris,
Three characters I wouldn't like in a fic/pic are: Oghren, Morrigan, Wynne
Other info: I like almost all slash pairings and most f/f ones.
This is my first attempt at this, I'm excited :-)

[le_monde]

I want to write.
I like DAO.
I want to create either.
I want to receive either.
I want to create het.
I want to receive het.
Three characters I like to write are M/F Warden, Sten, and Zevran.
Three characters I don’t like to write/draw are Jowan, Velanna, and Nathaniel.
Three characters I’d like in a fic/pic are M/F Warden, Sigrun, and Zevran.
Three characters I wouldn’t like in a fic/pic are Jowan, Velanna, and Anora.

Comments/Other info?
I enjoy writing and reading nearly anyone who can be run in the core groups from DAO or Awakenings. I like something to puzzle out as far as how the world works. If I write smut, it must be natural and consensual - can't write smut for smut's sake. Angst is fine to receive or to write because when I figure something out there's ramifications. I like AU and plot twists.

(*oh gods! I just got hit with the biggest plot story thingie, scampering off to throw something on paper before I forget it....*)

[ashfae]

More plot story thingies? I don't believe you sleep ever! =)

The stats thus far

[amhran_comhrac]

So far, Zevran is the most popular character... by far! Literally every single one of us who have replied so far have said they would like to get a Zev story, write a Zev story, or both.
Second place is a tie between Anders and Alistair. No surprise there!


Oghren is the least popular, with Wynne and Jowan tied just behind him. (aww, I still love you, Jow Jow!)

We have had ten people sign up so far, and there are... tick tick tick... five more days to join in.

(also, if you get notification that I've replied to your post, and find it screened, just ignore that. It's only so I can keep track of what is on the Big Spreadsheet for matching everyone up. Since I LOVE A GOOD SPREADSHEET.)

[feckless_muse]

I want to [write].
I like [both games].
I want to create [either].
I want to receive [either].
I want to create [het/slash].
I want to receive [slash].
Three characters I like to write are Cullen (Am I allowed to say Cullen?), Zevran, and Nathaniel. (Though Fenris, and Hawk are also up there on the list)
Three characters I don’t like to write/draw are Sebastian, Oghren, and Loghain.
Three characters I’d like in a fic/pic are Cullen, Awakenings!Anders, and Fenris. (Or Zev, or Nate... I'm a floozy I know!)
Three characters I wouldn’t like in a fic/pic are Sebastian, Loghain, and Oghren.
Comments/Other info? Free ALL the Mages! Eh, I'm kinda pro mage... locking people up without trial from childhood is a bit of a squick so I'm not very good at writing hardcore pro Templar pieces. Aside from that, I'm easy *wanders off snickering maniacally*

Note: My waffle here may mess with the sanctity of the Spreadsheet... if so feel free to shoehorn my answers in as you see fit oh might and awesome Mods!!! :D

[amhran_comhrac]

You can list whoever you want. But, since no one else has said Cullen, the odds of being matched with another Cullen fan is absolutely 0 at this point. Might change, though, since we do have five days left in the signup period.

It isn't that we're limiting what you can put down, it's just that we have to match everyone up, and ideally someone would get a partner whose "want" list matches with their own "like to write" list.

Listing a super obscure character*, only means the odds of getting a match becomes much slimmer, and we mods may have to go back and ask someone for backup choices if your likes don't jive with what anyone else puts down.

*FWIW, I don't think Cullen would be considered obscure, I'm actually surprised no one has listed him yet. And, you also listed a lot of characters that have been named multiple times, so at the absolute least, we can match you with one of those.

[ashfae]

I want to write.
I like both games (but slight preference for DA2).
I want to create either.
I want to receive either.
I want to create het.
I want to receive het.
Three characters I like to write are f!Hawke, Anders, and Alistair.
Three characters I don’t like to write are Sebastian, Wynne, and Morrigan.
Three characters I’d like in a fic/pic are Anders, f!Hawke, and Zevran.
Three characters I wouldn’t like in a fic/pic are Morrigan, Wynne, and Sebastian.

(I have a few slash/femmeflash pairings I adore writing and reading but specifying which would make this all too complicated, I suspect. Alas!)

[lenna_nightrunner]

Nonsense! Specify away! We can't guarantee that anything will come of it, but we can certainly make a note. Who knows--Maybe the info will be a good match for someone :)

Miri1984

[miri1984]

I want to WRITE.
I like BOTH GAMES, BUT I PREFER TO WRITE DA2.
I want to create EITHER.
I want to receive SUGAR PLEASE!.
I want to create LEANING TOWARDS HET, BUT I WILL WRITE ANY SHOULD IT BE REQUIRED.
I want to receive ANY.
Three characters I like to write/draw are ANDERS, FENRIS, and ISABELA.
Three characters I don’t like to write/draw are SEBASTIAN, AVELINE, and LOGHAIN.
Three characters I’d like in a fic/pic are ANDERS, KARL, and ISABELA.
Three characters I wouldn’t like in a fic/pic are LOGHAIN, SEBASTIAN, and ALISTAIR.
Comments/Other info? While I have specified characters I like they should be taken individually rather than together - for example I like Anders AND Fenris, but I'm not a massive fan of Fenders. The exception for this is Anders/Karl. I'm a total sucker for Anders/Karl, to write OR receive.

[ouyangdan]

I want to write/draw. Will do either.
I like both games.
I want to create either (will only draw sugar, though).
I want to receive either.
I want to create het/femmeslash.
I want to receive het/femmeslash.
Three characters I like to write/draw are Finn, Cousland, and Carver (this is not a limit, I would be willing to work with others, since I tend to write plenty of characters, including Alistair and Velanna).
Three characters I don’t like to write/draw are Loghain, Sten, and Brosca (Only because I don't feel I can do them justice).
Three characters I’d like in a fic/pic are Warden!Carver, Finn, and f!Cousland (but not Cousland/Finn, it breaks my brain! Also: again, not a limit, these are just characters I tend to write frequently).
Three characters I wouldn’t like in a fic/pic are Loghain, Sten, and Zevran.
Comments/Other info? I'm really fairly flexible on characters. I'm not limited to writing/drawing these characters, and I certainly am not opposed to receiving people other than I listed. Please, no non-con/dub-con/incest. Just not my thing. I also don't think it is any secret that I am a sucker for f!Cousland/Warden!Carver. Just thought I'd drop that there.

[mooreeffoc]

(Eep - hope I got in on time!)

I want to write.
I like both games.
I want to create either.
I want to receive either.
I want to create any.
I want to receive any.
Three characters I like to write/draw are Loghain, Morrigan, and Fenris.
Three characters I don’t like to write/draw are Oghren, Nathaniel, and Cousland.
Three characters I’d like in a fic/pic are Aveline, Isabela, and Sigrun.
Three characters I wouldn’t like in a fic/pic are Oghren, Nathaniel, and Cousland.
Comments/Other info? I'm flexible with regard to characters - it was almost impossible for me to come up with a "don't want to write/draw" list. Anything goes!

[amhran_comhrac]

You're on time!

[drakontion]

How did I miss this originally?

I want to write.
I like both games.
I want to create either.
I want to receive either.
I want to create any.
I want to receive any.
Three characters I like to write/draw are Alistair, Anders, and female PC of any description.
Three characters I don’t like to write/draw are Leliana, Nathaniel, and Merrill.
Three characters I’d like in a fic/pic are Alistair, Anders, and Aveline.
Three characters I wouldn’t like in a fic/pic are Wynne, Merrill and Leliana.
Comments/Other info? Ummm. I've been lurking only for a while. It'll be good to get back into things... Otherwise, I'm pretty easy with regards to writing/receiving, my only squicks are anything Merrill, and Fenders. I'll give most anything a jolly good bash :P