fisstech-and-succubi

[fisstech-and-succubi]

Hey everyone, sorry for being a day late on revealing the collection, here you go!

Thank you to everyone who participated, happy reading!

[fisstech-and-succubi]

This has probably been asked before, but can we include background relationships that don't include Eskel? I looked at my giftee's account to confirm their comfort level with the ship. I will still include the Eskel relationships they requested of course. The other ship would simply be a background detail.

Yes if it looks like your giftee is comfortable with that ship, but this is an event about Eskel and the primary focus of your work should be Eskel and whatever Eskel relationships your giftee requested. Thanks for asking!

[fisstech-and-succubi]

Are we allowed to write more than one? And is there a minimum/maximum wordcount?

There is a minimum wordcount of 1k. There is no maximum wordcount because apparently some people have trouble writing fics that are under 10k, which is a problem I wish that I had.

If you can complete more than one of your prompts in the 2-month time frame, go for it (again, this is a problem I wish that I had). But also, maybe you could consider letting me know if you think you would be available for pinch hitting instead of writing that second prompt.

Because for everybody who has looked at their emails, you will see that there is a "default" button, which is a way that you can let me know that "oh my cat, I'm overwhelmed and overcommitted and I don't think I'm going to be able to finish this prompt," and if I get a notification that someone has defaulted, then I can go looking for a pinch hitter who might be willing to fill that prompt so everybody gets a thing!

[fisstech-and-succubi]

Okay everybody! You should have received your email (either from me or from AO3, I'm not sure how it works) with your assignment! You will see three prompts/requests, at least one of which matches up with something you offered to write. You have until May 15 to submit your works!

If you have any questions you can continue to send them to me as asks, on or off anon. Can't wait to see what everybody writes!

[fisstech-and-succubi]

Okay, thank you so much everybody! I got lots of great signups and now signups should be closed. I am going to run the matching script tomorrow afternoon and then if it all works the way it is supposed to work, you should get an email tomorrow evening with your assignment.

[fisstech-and-succubi]

Does the matching script prioritize the most overlap possible when making a match or will it see a single tag of overlap and stop looking?

I honestly don't know, because the script is a feature that is provided by AO3 and I just check some boxes and it generates a signup form. Right now, I have 12 signups, which is probably just enough to run an exchange, but tbh I'm still kind of concerned that the script will have trouble finding enough tags of overlap to make any matches at all.

That said, as a writer when you receive your assignment, I would encourage you to please try to work in as many of the things your requester put in their request as possible and that make sense for your fic (unless those things are a squick/trigger/DNW for you in which case please don't write things that make you personally uncomfortable!)

Signups are still open for like 6 more hours (?)

[fisstech-and-succubi]

When our writer receives our prompts, will they be forced to publish to ao3 with all of the tags we put on our prompt or will they be uploading through a separate ao3 draft where they control all of their own tags? Sorry if this is a silly question.

This is not a silly question. The writer will be uploading through a separate ao3 draft where they control their own tags. Thanks for asking!

Signups are still open for like another 10 hours!

[fisstech-and-succubi]

Is it okay if our prompts are very detailed/specific? I don't expect the author to hit everything but I want to make sure I give enough details to help them get inspired while also making sure the fic goes in the direction I'm hoping it will.

Yes, you can give detailed information in the "description" box of each of your requests, and the person who you are matched with should definitely do their best to accommodate what you've written (they MUST accommodate any squicks/triggers/DNWs you've listed), but the matching script runs on the relationship tags, character tags, and additional tags that you've chosen, so you should try to make sure that all of the things that are really important to you to have included in your request are in the tags, rather than in the description. This will make sure that the script can match you with someone who has offered to write something that includes one or more of the tags that you've requested.

Signup form is here, still open for [checks watch] probably about 24 more hours!

[fisstech-and-succubi]

Everybody you still have like 36 hours to sign up for Fisstech & Succubi 2022! Signup form is here!

[fisstech-and-succubi]

is there a minimum/maximum for fics in this exchange? i only found the rules from 2021 saying the fics should be between 1k and 10k

Good question, anon, and there was no rule for it this year because I forgot! Last year, some people were begging me to remove the 10k word limit because apparently there are people out there who have difficulty keeping their fics under 10k (I'm jealous, personally I never have this problem except with school essays) so this year the rule is your fic must be at least 1k words.

Signup form is here!

[fisstech-and-succubi]

What do we put for the relationship section if we do not want shipping in our fic request? We have to list 3 relationships but I would prefer the request I have in mind to not have any shipping.

Anon this is a really good question, thank you for asking! First, when you are filling in the relationship section, there were definitely some "&" relationships that were nominated during the tag nomination process, I know this because I nominated some of them myself. So if you are interested (for example) in a fic that features a friendship between Eskel and Geralt, or Eskel and Lambert, or a paternal relationship between Eskel and Vesemir, you could add relationship tags Eskel & Geralt, Eskel & Lambert, and Eskel & Vesemir. If you are searching through the nominated tags and you don't see exactly what you're looking for* then my recommendation is to pick the closest "/" relationship but specify in your description box that you only want a friendship. So if you are interested (for example) in a fic that features a friendship between Eskel and Jaskier, but you can't find a relationship Eskel & Jaskier, you could add relationship tag Eskel/Jaskier, and then add a note in your description box like "Please write Eskel & Jaskier instead of Eskel/Jaskier."

If you want to request something where Eskel is only having an adversarial relationship with any of the other characters in the fic, you could make a request something like this example: add relationship tags Eskel/Rock Troll, Eskel/Succubus, and Eskel/Dijkstra, then add a note in your description box like "please write Eskel as enemies with these characters with no shipping or sex."**

If you want to request something where Eskel is actually the only character in the story, you still have to put some things in your signup form in the character and relationship tags, but then you can add a note in your description box like "please write Eskel as the only character in the story."

And if you are the writer who receives any of these requests, you do have to respect the requests, just like you would respect any of the other squicks, triggers, or DNWs that are in the description box.

Signup form is here!

*Hint for next year: the tag nomination phase is for making sure that there are enough tags that you want to read when it comes to signup time, so if you want to read lots of "&" relationships you can make sure there are enough by nominating a whole bunch!

**I know some people are still finding it confusing that there are so many different characters and relationships but the idea is to choose a few different things you would be interested in reading/interested in writing, and then you will get matched on at least one of them. So in this example, the requester indicates they would be interested in reading about Eskel fighting a rock troll, Eskel fighting or having a battle of wits with a succubus, and Eskel fighting or having a battle of wits with Dijkstra. Then we can imagine that someone has made an offer to write about Eskel fighting or having a battle of wits with Philippa Eilhart, Eskel fighting or having a battle of wits with Cahir, and Eskel fighting or having a battle of wits with Dijkstra. The matching script sees Dijkstra in the requester's request and the offeror's offer, and matches them. Then, the offeror can see what else the requester asked for, and if they are inspired, they might also decide that they can add the rock troll and the succubus to the story, but they don't have to.

[fisstech-and-succubi]

Should we use the tags we put on our offers to cover the largest possible variety of what we will write to help the matching script work better, or should we make sure each offer has tags that make sense together? My understanding is that the offers we put don't matter beyond finding our match since after we match we will be focusing on our match's requests. Am I misunderstanding?

Hi Anon plus the other two anons who sent me asks today, thank you so much for your patience. I had to spend way more time knitting my taxes today than I anticipated, which is why I am answering these asks so late in the day.

I think that it's probably better to put a wide range of things you would be willing to write in your offers, to help the matching script work better. That way, at least one of the things you have offered to write will match something that someone has requested. Thanks!

Signup form is here!

[fisstech-and-succubi]

Do we provide prompts of any kind in the description section of our requests or is it only for listing squicks/triggers/DNWs?

What is the purpose of the description section on our offers? Is it to provide context for what we write and how and/or what we won't write?

When you are filling in the boxes on the request part of your signup form, add the characters, relationships, and other tags of something that you would want to read on AO3. In the description section you can provide any further prompts that you want, but the matching script doesn't use the description box, so you will have a better chance of getting matched with someone who has an offer that matches your request if you keep the things you are really really hoping for to the tags section of your request.

The description section is for listing your squicks, triggers, and other DNWs, because there isn't a way for filtering for those and I don't believe in running an event that puts blanket restrictions on types of content just because I personally think "oh my cat, why would anyone want to read that."

When you are filling in the boxes on the offer part of your signup form, add the characters, relationships, and other tags of something you would be willing to write on AO3. There isn't a description box in the offer section. You're in charge of what you do and don't write. The way that the matching script works, once you receive your assignment, it will contain at least one tag that you signed up to write. The more requests and offers that people make, and the more people that sign up, the better compatibility we are likely to have in this section, but let's say that when you receive your assignment, you get tags "Winter at Kaer Morhen; Characters Playing Animal Crossing*; A Cat Bit My Finger," and when you look at it you think "oh, EW, there's no way I want to include "A Cat Bit My Finger" in my fic." You don't have to! The tags in the request are just suggestions and as long as you include one of them, you're doing good. It's nice if you can fit more of the tags in than fewer of them, but if some of them are just a narrative nope for you, or even if you are just trying really hard but can't figure out a way to fit them all in, it's all good.

The reason the signup form makes you do at least three requests and at least three offers is so that you have options and so that the matching script has options when I go to run it. The more options we have, the more likely it is that everybody will get matched with somebody who wants to create something that the other person wants to read and vice versa.

Sign up here until March 15!

*Animal Crossing anon I swear I am not making fun of you, this is the best and softest prompt I have ever seen and if nobody writes it I will cry

[fisstech-and-succubi]

I'm so glad you're running this again. And I want to sign up, I really do. I saw the post about only a handful have and fwiw...

That sign up is _daunting_. I've tried 3 or 4 times and after awhile my brain screams, cries and I give up.

I have the mental capacity of a squirrel right now due to IRL things, and I'm neurotypical on top of it. That thing is a mountain to climb. It doesn't really work great on desktop, I can't imagine attempting it on mobile.

I will get there, but yeah, lack of sign ups may not be lack of interest, just _that form_ :(

I wish I had a solution to offer, because I know you're running this solo and that cannot be easy, and I very appreciate it 💜

Thanks for the feedback! I know the form is very confusing! For those who remember last year, I ran into considerable technical difficulties trying to run the matching by hand, and so this year I have taken the advice of people who are more experienced in running and participating in fandom exchanges than me. This is the very same interface that is used for long-running and popular fandom exchanges like Yuletide, so please give it a try even if you find it intimidating (I find it intimidating!)

Signup form is here (but like most things AO3, it really doesn't work the greatest on mobile tbh)

[fisstech-and-succubi]

If there aren't enough writers for Netflix, or enough stories for game Eskel, will writers be asked/made to write for Netflix canon or is it 100% choice?

I will be honest that right now there are only seven people signed up in total, which is IMHO not enough people to run the exchange, so if you want to be able to write/receive stories for your canon of choice, your best bet is to spread the word far and wide that more participants are needed for all Witcher canons.

Participants can sign up here until March 15.

[fisstech-and-succubi]

The celebration is for Netflix Eskel too, right?

Yes! We love ALL Eskels here! Much as I can't wait to see what people come up with for the tropes we all know and love for Game Eskel and Book Eskel, I also can't wait to see what people come up with for all the brand new possibilities that were opened up when we got Netflix Eskel! The way to specify which one you are requesting/offering is by using the "fandom" checkbox in the signup form. There is one associated with each request and each offer you make, so you can even mix and match.

Keep those signups coming in!

[fisstech-and-succubi]

hello! i tried signing up but the drop down list is only giving me eskel from the witcher netflix? is that the only eskel available to us? i'm a little confused

Since this is an exchange that is about Eskel, I designed the signup form so that you would not have to include Eskel as a character when you sign up. The character box is for listing three other characters you would like to feature in addition to Eskel.

Everyone who is offering a work has to include Eskel in their work, and everyone who is requesting a work will receive Eskel in their work. So the way to specify what kind of Eskel you want is by clicking the "fandom" checkbox on the signup sheet. If you only want Game Eskel, you would click on the "Wiedźmin | The Witcher (Video Game)" checkbox. If you only want Netflix Eskel, you would click on the "The Witcher (TV)" checkbox. If you don't care what kind of Eskel you get, as long as you get one, you can either check all three boxes, or you can check the "Any Fandom" checkbox. You can request/offer different fandoms in your different requests and offers, because you get 3-5 of each.

If you want to be extra clear in your request that you only want Game Eskel, you can use the description box to specify that (as well as listing out any other squicks, triggers, and DNWs that you would like your writer to avoid).