Sutcliff Swap Frequently Asked Questions

[riventhorn]

 

If you have any further questions that are not addressed here, please email or message a mod or leave a comment and we will answer!

Eligibility and Participation

Q. I'd like to participate, but I've only read one or two Sutcliff books. Can I still sign up?

A. Sure! We will do our best to match all signups.  If you can still come up with three different character requests (e.g. Eagle of the Ninth, 1. Marcus/Esca, 2. Marcus/Cottia, 3. Guern), matching should be pretty easy.

If you can't come up with three different character requests, let us know and we'll see what we can do. We would rather people sign up than not sign up, and since we're matching by hand there's a fair bit we can do to accommodate.

There are also several Sutcliff short stories which are quick reads. Contact a mod if you're not sure where to find them.

Q. I'd like to participate, but I only really like writing/drawing [slash/gen/het]. Can I still sign up?

A. Sure! Since we match creators and recipients manually, we do our best to match according to preferences, so people receive assignments they're comfortable with. We usually have a mixture of gen, het, polyamory, and m/m slash. If we run into any matching problems, we will communicate further with you about what you are able to offer to try to resolve the issue. We would like as many people to participate as possible!

Q. I defaulted last year. Can I still participate this year?

A. Yes, but you may have to write a treat or complete your assignment from last year to be eligible. 

Q. Is Eagle of the Ninth eligible as a fandom?

A. Yes, the book Eagle of the Ninth is eligible, although adaptations such as the 2011 movie are not. We have chosen to include it because most existing fic and art is based primarily on the movie, plus the movie does not include many of the interesting secondary characters. In addition, activity in wider Eagle/Eagle of the Ninth fandom has died down, so we see no reason to exclude EOT9 from Swap eligibility at this point.

Requests

Q. I'm requesting three/four different fandoms. Should I just list all the characters I like for each fandom?

A. In your sign-up, please only list a few characters you'd like to see in a story together, as this makes matching easier. If you would be happy with stories or art about different characters as well, you can mention this in your optional details.

If you would be happy with a story about any character from the source, you can request "any," but please be aware that this may include minor characters.

Fanwork Content

Q. I know this is a canon-setting only exchange, but can I include supernatural or magical elements in my fanwork?

A. Yes, if they are something that would be recognizable to the characters. For example, ghosts, gods, and mythological elements are fine (and encouraged!). Transplanting modern concepts of vampires or zombies into a Roman British setting would be outside the scope of this exchange.

Q. What about alternate universes?

A. Alternate universe stories which retain the canon setting but alter events or character roles are fine. For example, writing an AU where a character doesn't die, but instead survives and has more adventures is fine. Please save the modern and science fiction AUs for other venues.

Q. Do I have to imitate Sutcliff's writing style if I am writing a story?

A. No, of course not! While some people in book fandoms try to imitate the original author's writing style, others do not. We encourage writing in whatever style you are comfortable with.

Treats

Q. Are you allowing treats? What if some people receive more than one fanwork and others don't?

A. Yes. While this means that some recipients may receive more gifts, this is already a possibility in the event of a defaulter finishing a work, an assigned creator creating multiple works, or treats for pinch hitters, and of course some creators will greatly exceed the minimum wordcount or art requirements while others will not. We like to hope that in a rare fandom exchange like this, everyone wins when there are more wonderful works to enjoy, and that everyone appreciates the care that went into their gifts.

However, we absolutely don't want people to feel pressured to produce extra treats. We recognize that Sutcliff canons are often challenging and fanworks can take extra effort for research and betaing, so we hope no one will feel they have to do more than their assignment if they're not comfortable doing so.

Comments

[chantefable]

VALE!

I just happen to have a question about vampires in Roman Britain. Obviously, the southeastern folkloric euro-vampire we know and fear today is one thing, but vampire-like creatures/demons/spirits were featured in Greek, Roman, Mesopotamian and Hebrew tales.

Do we take it as:
1) Vlad, your average time-travelling Balkan vampire, has shenanigans in Roman Britain, meddling in Brigantes politics and leading a blood-thirsty anti-Roman revolt = NO
2) A centurion in the Eastern provinces has an unfortunate run-in with a corporeal revenant avenging blood-guilt = YES
3) Caledonia is full of human tribes, but also supernatural, like baobhan sith (vampire/fairy/succubus Scottish Highland creatures) who ally themselves against Rome and attack the wall = YES

*cough* asking for a friend *cough*

[riventhorn]

I agree that numbers 2 and 3 would be perfectly acceptable. I think I would also allow #1 because it would be in a canon setting, even though it incorporated a non-canon character. As I read the guidelines (which I copy and pasted, did not write myself), the point is to keep things in the canon era. So you couldn't transport Marcus to 19th century Europe, say. Or make him a lawyer in a modern AU.

[chantefable]

Thank you! I'd been sitting on a "Roman vampire shenanigans" request for two years, so naturally I had to verify whether my hopes had to be dashed. Am vastly reassured. :)

And - this is paranoia at this point - do you think one would treat The Man Who Died At Sea as RPF? I recently came across some information that showed that my reading/interpretation of this story is completely inaccurate: I thought it was just supernatural fiction-short story-male narrator talking about his seer mother and her semi-adventure on a ship. Apparently, this was Rosemary Sutcliff writing about her own mother who had Second Sight (?!). I wonder how it blurred the lines. Because I am definitely for completely fictionalised Seer character rather than amping up the research of Sutcliff family history. And I was more interested in exploring the options of relationships among the supporting cast. I'm now ambivalent about requesting it.

[riventhorn]

Interesting--I'd never heard that before either.

I think in your Dear Creator Letter (as I don't think there's room on the sign-up form), you should just explain that you don't want it treated as RPF, even though that's a possible interpretation.

[ursula]

How will one sign up to pinch hit?

[riventhorn]

You'll be able to use the general sign up form. If you want to participate in the exchange and are also willing to pinch hit, there is a check box for that. If you don't want to participate in the exchange but want to be available for pinch hitting, you can put "n/a" in the requests sections and then fill out the part about what canons you're willing to write for, etc., and mark that you can be contacted for pinch hitting.

[isis]

Building on what riventhorn said: the way we have handled pinch hits in the past is by contacting people directly to ask if they'd be willing to take on a particular assignment. So if you want to pinch hit but not have an assignment, please do fill out the sign-up as described.