fic* in a box!

This page has directions for OW tags, WB tags, and some mediums that we'll need extra information or have specific guidelines for!

All requested medium information should be posted in the top author's note, except for sourced images which can go in either author's note. You can remove everything but image sources from the note shortly before reveals if desired, but please don't do so until we give the all clear in an announcement.

If there's any situation that you think we may need more information, the top author's note is a great place to put it! This could include everything from medium information that we may not have thought to ask for to clarification about to a relationship or fandom tag if how you're tagging it differs from the tagset tag in a way you're worried might be confusing to someone not in the fandom. As stated above, we'll make an all clear announcement before reveals specifically about top author's notes, so before that point it's a great place to communicate with the mods directly on the work itself.

For the ones where we ask you to self report amounts, we will still check to make sure it seems about right.

If your recip asks for something that means you aren't hitting a required tag, please explain that in your top author's note! Note that simply opting into a medium doesn't release you from the tag.

Posting Anything Without An AO3 Assignment

• Post directly to the collection by going to the profile (https://archiveofourown.org/collections/Fic_In_A_Box_2024/profile), clicking 'Post to Collection', and manually adding your recipient on the 'Gift this work to' line.

Original Works

• If you're creating for an Original Works tag, you must tag or state in the author's note what Original Works tag you are filling.

Specific Worldbuilding Tags

• If you're creating for a Worldbuilding tag other than WB: Any, you must tag or state in the author's note what Worldbuilding tag you are filling.

Mixed Media

• If you are mixing multiple medium tags and/or fic within the same work, put what mediums and the amounts per medium if relevant.

Multiple Works in the Same Work on AO3

• Multiple Works should only be posted in the same work if they are directly connected. Please use your best judgement on what counts as connected enough. Multiple written works should only be posted together if they are part of the same narrative.
• If you have multiple fics/other in the same work, please put a list of the works including wordcount and medium in the top author's note of the first chapter.
• Do not gift anything to multiple recips.

Works that include Photos/Manips

• Photos and manips will not count towards your wordcount except for mediums that specifically include them, but can be used as supplementary material to enhance the main submission of other mediums.
• All media (including photos) must be created by the person posting the work, be part of a collaboration we were informed of, be from the official canon, be properly credited images used with permission, or be properly credited CC licensed images. You should credit these in one of the author's notes on your work.

Any submission that includes CC images, images from your canon, or art you did not draw yourself

• Please source any not-made-by-you images that you use (these won't count towards minimums but can be used as supplementary media).

Spoken Audio formats

• For audio works based on pre-existing text (eg, podfic of the recip's fic) or a text you have written yourself, please provide a link to the source.

Images containing words that are counted for wordcount

• If you've posted an image containing words that count for wordcount and haven't posted a text-only version of those words to go with it, please provide the wordcount.

Poetry

• Please state in your author's note or a tag what style of poem you wrote.

Music that follows poetry rules

• Please either provide lyrics or let us know in the author's note how many lines you used and/or what style of poetry

Twine

• Put in your author's note the wordcount of the fic you wrote. (We will still eyeball this to make sure it seems right)

AO3 Based Fanfic Exchange

• You will have to post something to fulfill the assignment on the back end and provide a jumping-off point for your recip; if you're uncertain what you should/can post while complying with the AO3 ToS, please feel free to drop us a line!
• Report wordcount for anything written.
• Please note that if there are any gifts made for the fake exchange, they will only count towards your wordcount if they also fill a recip's request by themselves.
• If there are any gifts on AO3 that need to be revealed, you'll need to either briefly make one of the FIAB mods a mod of the account to reveal it concurrently (we can remove ourselves immediately afterwards to preserve the fourth wall) or give us the password to the mod account.You can DM us password information instead of putting it in the top of your AO3 gift work if you would prefer.

Creators Choice of 3+ In-Universe Mediums Per Work

• If filling this tag, you need 3 different In-Universe mediums within the same work.
• If your recip also requested individual In-Universe medium tags, then you can still post single fills for those tags without having to follow this tag.
• If filling the "That Fit The Canon Setting" variation of this tag it has to be something that makes sense In-Universe without an AU.

Recursive Works

• Recursive works should only be posted for works which have given permission. If your recip requests recursive of their own work this counts as permission, but if they request recursive of gifts of other works please make sure the original creator has given permission for recursive.
• Your work still must fill your recip's requested relationship tags (unless your recip has opted out of that). The work you are recursing does not need to originally hit those tags.
• If the work you're recursing is on AO3 please use the Inspired By function to link to it. If not please link to it directly from the top Author's note.