Steve/Tony Horror Fest FAQ

[stevetonyhorrorwolf]

Please read the event guidelines before reading this FAQ. This FAQ is split into general questions and questions about treat bags and the communal feast.

🧛‍♂️ GENERAL 🧛‍♂️

What counts as horror?

A work of horror should evoke a sense of fear, shock, disgust, dread, etc. from its audience. Different people find different things scary, creepy, shocking, or repulsive so the manner in which you pursue that response and the lengths you should go are up to you. Genre blends like comedy horror are allowed as well, but the horror elements should be actively present.

Do I have to sign up to participate?
The only time you have to sign up is if you want to receive gifts for the treat bag event.  

What if I have to drop out or can't make the deadline?
You don't have to sign up to give gifts so if none of the treat bags or communal feast prompts catch your eye, you can simply walk away. If you do work on something and you're having trouble finishing it, you don't have to worry. You're welcome to submit your work after the deadline if you need more time although that means that you won't be included in the reveals on Halloween (if you have a multi-chaptered fic, feel free to post it as a WIP before the deadline and continue to work on it after reveals!). If you don't think you can finish the work at all or you're not interested in working on it anymore, you can stop whenever you want. You're not obligated to share your work and there's no penalty.

What if I don't make fanworks? Can I still participate?
Yes! You can sign up for a treat bag and/or fill treat bags with non-fanwork goodies or supportive messages and compliments. You can also submit prompts for the communal feast event.

Are there really no minimum work requirements? Conversely, are there limits?
There are no minimum requirements or maximum limits. If you want to do a short haiku or a quick sketch, that's fine. Or if you want to write a 100k epic or record an hour-long podfic, you can do that too. 

Does that apply to how many fills I can do?
Yes. It's okay to fill only one treat bag/prompt, or you can fill that treat bag/prompt multiple times. You can even fill every single treat bag and communal feast prompt or combine various prompts into one mega monster of a fanwork if you're ambitious.

Do gifts have to be shippy?
No, platonic and pre-slash works are welcome as long as the focus is on Steve and Tony. 

Do Steve and Tony have to be together or end up together?
No, all relationship permutations—gen, pre-slash, unrequited or requited love, mutual or one-sided pining, established relationship, breakups, etc.—are accepted. However, if Steve and/or Tony are in a relationship at the end of the work, it must be with each other and no one else is in the relationship with them.

Is it okay if there are other relationships featured in the work?
Yes, as long as the work is primarily focused on Steve and Tony.

Can I team up with someone to co-create a gift?
Absolutely.

How secret do I have to be about my gift? I'm dying to talk about it.
You can mention that you're taking part in the Horror Fest, but please don't publicly tell people what you're working on or share your work or parts of your work until after reveals. It keeps things fun! 

What if I need help brainstorming or editing?
You can ask for help via DMs or other forms of private communication. Just make sure that person is aware that the work is supposed to be anonymous until reveals.

Can I post the gift on other sites besides Dreamwidth and AO3?
Yes, but please do so after reveals. If it's on Tumblr, make sure to @stevetonyhorrorfest or tag #stevetonyhorrorfest or #stonyhorrorfest and I'll reblog it. For Twitter, please @stonyhorrorfest and I'll retweet the gift.

I'm posting my work on AO3 and I don't want my work to slip under the radar because it hasn't been revealed yet. What should I do?
AO3 feeds post/send notifications when an unrevealed work is posted, not when it's revealed. To get around this, I'll make a master post on here and Tumblr with all the works once reveals happen.

I also recommend updating the publication date on your work after reveals so that the work shows up at the top of search results and tags. To do this, click the "edit" button on your work, go to the "Associations" section, and check the "Set a different publication date" box. You can then set it to the current day. Once reveals happen, you can post about your work on Tumblr, Twitter, Discord, etc. as well.

🍭 TREAT BAGS 🍭

RECEIVING TREATS

How do I get a treat bag?
Sign up here. 

If I sign up to receive treats, do I have to fill other people's treat bags?
No. It's nice if you do, but you're not required to. Remember, you can give non-fannish gifts and nice messages too.

Do I need a Dreamwidth account to sign up?
No.

I'm worried about not getting any treats. 
Don't fret! As we get closer to the end of the fill period, I'll make a post about needy treat bags. 

Do non-fandom (other fandoms or non-fanworks) requests have to be horror-related?
No, this is the one exception to the horror rule. Hey, maybe you need to look at pics of cute puppies to calm down after reading a frightening fic!

Can I state that I don't want a particular rating? I know the treat bag event is 18+, but I'm not interested in getting sexual content.
Yes. You can put that in your DNW (do not want) section.

Can I ask for specific universes? I'm not familiar with some of them.
Yes. 

Can I request to receive only one fanwork type?
No. If there are certain fanwork types that you prefer, you can state them, but you must state at least two or more types if you do. Keep in mind that the more fanwork types you're open to, the more likely it will be that your treat bag will be filled.

What if I'm open to all fanwork types?
You can say you're open to everything! You can also choose not to mention any preferences; in that case, the assumption will be that you're open to all fanworks.

Can I specify that I want a certain fanwork type for a prompt?
No. Again, this is to help you get your treat bag filled.

What kind of prompts are acceptable?
You can be as general or as specific as you want, whether you just want to list some tropes you like or you have detailed prompts. A good rule of thumb is to do a mix of both as some people work better with one over the other. You can give written prompts as well as links to images, other text (e.g., poetry, articles, quotes, essays), music, and videos.

What if I don't have any dislikes or DNWs?
While DNWs are optional, listing some will be tremendously helpful to treat fillers who want to make you happy and avoid anything you don't want. Maybe you're squicked out by gore. Maybe you have a deep-seated fear of clowns, and clown content is not something you can consume. Maybe you're sick of the news and you don't want something about politicians even if you're not squicked or triggered by them necessarily. This is particularly important considering this is a horror fest, and you don't need to give any explanations for your DNWs. Simply saying "gore" in your DNWs is enough, for instance. 

Do you have example sign-ups?
There is an example sign-up in the sign-up post. If you need more examples, the POTS Stony Stocking and yougavemeastocking sign-ups, while not horror-focused, are great resources if this is your first time doing a fandom stocking-like event.

I forgot to add something important or need to clarify something I wrote in my treat bag post.
While I recommend thinking things over and reading your submission carefully before you send it in, this can happen. Please only do this if the edit is important (i.e., incorrect username or contact info, strong DNWs that you forgot to add) as I'm only one person and editing multiple treat bags or a treat bag multiple times can be time-consuming. Email stevetonyhorrorfest@gmail.com or send an ask/DM via Tumblr or DM via Twitter. If you edit your post after treat bags go live, please be aware that there is a chance that people may not see the change before they make their treat and you may get treats that don't take that edit into account.

How can I say thank you to people who filled my treat bag?
You can reply to the comments in your post even if you don't have a Dreamwidth account. If the treat fillers are on other platforms that you're on, you can reach out to them there too. A simple thank you goes a long way to show that you appreciate that they thought of you and wanted to gift you something.

GIVING TREATS

Do I have to sign up to fill treat bags?
No.

Do I need a Dreamwidth account to comment on someone's treat bag with my fill?
No.

How many people can fill a treat bag?
There's no limit.

Is it okay if I only give a non-fanwork or non-Steve/Tony-related gift?
Yes. Not everyone creates content, but you're still part of the fandom. As for non-Steve/Tony gifts, as long as it's something that the recipient asks for, you're solid. Sometimes inspiration strikes in an unexpected way! You can also leave comments on a recipient's fanworks (e.g., a fic they posted on AO3) if they create content themselves. While that might not be anonymous, everyone loves getting responses when they put something out into the world. 

If the recipient is a fanwork creator, can I make a gift based on something they've made?
If they stated that they're open to that in their treat bag or they have a statement about transformative works that allows for the fanwork type you have in mind, of course. If you can't find that info, see the next question.

What if I need to ask the gift recipient a question?
If they're on Tumblr and have anon asks enabled, you can ask them that way without revealing your identity. If not, email stevetonyhorrorfest@gmail.com or send an ask/DM via Tumblr or DM via Twitter, and I'll ask the recipient on your behalf so you can stay anonymous.

Do I have to post the work on AO3?
No, but you can if you want to. Please follow the rules in the treat bag overview.

I need to edit or delete a treat bag comment.
While I recommend thinking things over and reading your submission carefully before you post the comment, this can happen. Luckily, comments will be screened until reveals happen so email stevetonyhorrorfest@gmail.com or send an ask/DM via Tumblr or DM via Twitter for help. 

🎃 COMMUNAL FEAST 🎃

SUBMITTING PROMPTS

Where do I submit prompts?
Here.

Can I request a specific fanwork type for a prompt? 
Yes, but participants aren't required to follow the prompt so if your prompt is filled, the work may end up being a different fanwork type.

Can I submit a prompt that I used for another event or fandom?
Yes, as long as there are no rules against doing so for that event/fandom.

I made a mistake on a prompt I submitted. How do I fix it?
Please read your prompt carefully before submitting it. If there's a big mistake, you can submit a correct version of the prompt as a new prompt. Let me know when you do and I'll delete the outdated version.

Can I publicly talk about prompts I submitted?
Yes. However, if you're filling a prompt, please don't talk about your fill until after reveals.

Do you have any example prompts?
Yes. Here you go!

Universe: 616
Prompt Description: After the Avengers visit an abandoned coal mine in the Appalachian Mountains, a malignant otherworldly creature plants itself inside Tony, unbeknownst to the entire team. Tony begins to act strangely, but the creature's a sneaky thing, craftily studying Tony to mirror him perfectly. Tony begins to get more tired and sick but chalks it up to exhaustion as does everyone else. No one notices until he's nearly too far gone.

Universe: AU
Prompt Description: Liminal space photoset - https://itsmelmood.tumblr.com/post/616127980566167552/liminal-spaces-are-transitional-or-transformative

Universe: Other: Crossover (616/MCU)
Prompt Description: "bury a friend" - Billie Eilish. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUHC9tYz8ik 
 

FILLING PROMPTS

I want to fill a prompt, but I don't have an AO3 account. How do I get one?
You can request an AO3 invite here. It can take a while to get the invite, so I suggest requesting it now even if you're not sure whether you're going to fill any prompts yet. 

How closely do I have to adhere to the prompt?
It's up to you. Your fill can be very faithful to the prompt or very loosely related so long as it's horror and it centers on Steve and Tony.

Can I publicly talk about prompts I'm making fills for?
Please refrain from doing so. That way, it'll be a surprise when gift reveals happen!