lastminutesub | Rules & FAQ's

Rules

1. Produce a fanwork that meets the minimum length requirements:

For fic:

at least 1,000 words
a complete, stand-alone story

For art:

cleaned lineart that isn’t a set of details (example)
some shading or coloring, not on lined paper

2. Fanworks should feature all of the recipient’s requested characters from one of their requests, unless the recipient says otherwise.

Players and managers should be the main focus of the work. Partners, wives, girlfriends, family members, and children may appear, but should not be central to the work.

For explicit works (prompted and filled), everyone featured must be aged 16+. This includes scenarios set in the past or in which players/managers are deaged. Ageing up real people to meet this minimum is not allowed. If your work features 16 and 17 year olds, please use the Underage archive warning tag when posting to AO3.

3. Respect Do Not Wants.

Optional details are optional, but please do not include anything your recipient specifically lists as a DNW.

4. All works must be complete by the time of reveals. Participants whose works are still placeholders once revealed must speak with the mods before signing up for future rounds of the exchange or risk being banned.

5. As of Last Minute Sub 2017, commenting on your gift is now mandatory. If you do not comment on your gift, you will not be eligible to participate in future Last Minute Subs without first discussing with the mods.

6. As of Last Minute Sub 2018, nominations for reader stand-in characters will not be accepted. Please ensure all your fandom and character nominations fit the guidelines below. Additionally, if any sign-ups contain requests for reader fic or imagines, we will ask the participant to remove those requests.

FAQ’s

Who’s eligible to be nominated?

Everyone! Men, women, current players, former players, managers, etc. can all be nominated. We need nominations just to get a pool of characters for people to choose from when they sign up.

Football RPF related fandoms like Samsung Galaxy 11 “Football Will Save the Planet” commercials, Manuel Neuer for Coke Zero commercials, Men in Blazers podcast, The Football Ramble podcast, and TV shows like Club de Cuervos are also eligible. If you have questions about related fandoms, please feel free to ask us!

You can view the tag set of nominated fandoms and characters here.

Do I have to submit nominations to participate?

Nope! You can totally just start at signups and skip nominations if you prefer. Although if there’s a particular player or manager you want to request, it’s a good idea to nominate them because there’s no guarantee someone else will.

If I nominate a manager or players, do I have to sign up?

Well, we’d love it if you did sign up, but there’s no requirement to if you just want to nominate.

Can I edit my signup after I submit it?

Yes! You will have until the end of the signup period to make any changes, but once signups close they’re final. You can access your signup summary from your AO3 author’s page or through the Last Minute Sub Collection page.

I missed signups, can I still write a treat?

Certainly! You can see what’s been requested either through the Request Summary, which will be available by Aug. 27th, or the Letters Post. To submit a treat to the collection, head to the collection’s homepage, click the “Post Work to Collection” button in the upper right-hand corner, and fill in the usual details (including the recipient!)

The character I really, really want to request/offer isn’t in the tag set. Can I still request them?

Unfortunately not. If no one nominated the player, manager, etc. they are not eligible to be requested in this round.

You may still include them in your optional prompts where appropriate, but optional details are optional and your author would be under no pressure to include them in your gift.

Do I have to write a letter?

Not at all! There’s definitely enough space in the AO3 sign up to list DNWs and any prompts you’d like to see. If you enjoy writing exchange letters, please go right ahead :)

How is matching done?

Matching will be done on characters and be “AND” matching. Which means for an offer to match a request, the offer must include at least all the characters in the request (but may have more).

Because we’re nominating and matching based on characters and not relationships for Last Minute Sub, there’s no guarantee of receiving shippy fic or art even if you requested two characters together. But go ahead and request the characters you ship and give prompts for what you want to see, there’s a lot of artists and writers ready and willing to try and make something you’ll love!

What happens if I have to default?

Before the default deadline: Nothing.

If you do need to default, please do so as soon as possible by going to your assignments’ page and hitting the Default button.

If you have to default after the default deadline and the author writing for you subsequently defaults on their fic, your request will not be sent to the pinch hit list. Otherwise put, if you default after the default deadline, you are no longer guaranteed a gift. We want to make defaulting as easy as possible if you have to do it, so please keep the default deadline in mind.

In the future, mods may implement consequences for serial defaulters.

What happens if I’m defaulted on?

Any recipient whose creator defaults will have their request summary sent out to the Pinch Hitter list and a new creator will be assigned to them, caveat above. This way nobody walks away without a gift!

How do I sign up for the Pinch Hitter list?

Submit the Pinch Hitter form or email the mods at lastminutesubmods@gmail.com with “Request to be added to Pinch Hitter list” in the subject and your AO3 name.

Anyone can join the Pinch Hit list, even if you aren’t signed up for the exchange, and there is no commitment to being on the list.

Do I need to have a beta?

It’s not required, but highly encouraged! If you need help finding a beta, contact the mods and they will help find someone for you.

How do I sign up for the Beta Reader list?

Fill out the Beta Reader form or email the mods at lastminutesubmods@gmail.com with “Request to be added to Beta Reader list” in the subject and your AO3 name.

Anyone can join the Beta Reader list, even if you aren’t signed up for the exchange, and there is no commitment to being on the list.

Can a work for this fest also be used to fulfill another fest assignment?

Only if the other fest does not specify a recipient other than your assigned Last Minute Sub recipient.

Can I archive-locked fic my work?

Yup!