Yes, our anniversary event is over, but that means it’s November, and THAT means the holidays are upon us. So for the fifth year, we are excited to announce the Elysian Fields Secret Santa Fanwork Exchange!

That’s great! Except I have a question: What the heck is the Elysian Fields Secret Santa Fanwork Exchange?

Ahh, glad you asked, friend. The Elysian Fields Secret Santa Fanwork Exchange is our final event of the year. The how is simple: sign up to give a fanwork gift, and receive a fanwork gift!

If you’ve never taken part before, or if you need a reminder, here’s how it works: 

Everyone who signs up to participate will create one fanwork (a fic or a piece of art) and receive one fanwork. (You can opt out of giving and/or receiving art in the Google form if you’re only interested in giving and/or receiving written fic). Each fic MUST be a “one-shot” (a complete work, posted in full, within a single chapter). This means the word count MAX for written fic is 15,000. There is no word count minimum so long as you have satisfied at least one of your giftee's requests in the story.

So a one-and-done fic or piece of artwork that is complete at the time of posting?

Yes!

And fic can’t be more than 15k words?

Correct!

Though, please note that 15,000 words is defined as how our software tracks word counts. Unfortunately, predicting that is a bit nebulous as every writing program defines words differently. In fact, there’s a difference between our textbox counter and the official site word count because sometimes we just can’t have nice things. Suffice it to say, there may be word count discrepancies between Google Docs, MS Word, or other programs. Ultimately, it’s every participant’s job to make sure that your story fits. If your fic is approaching the limit, we recommend leaving ample time for edits to make sure you can post correctly and before the deadline.

So we know the word count max; what’s the word count minimum?

There is no word count minimum for this event. All we ask is that all works be created with care and fit with your giftee’s requests. Some people want a lot of words to do this, and others can make magic with just a few (or none, in the case of art!). We trust our members to be thoughtful when creating gifts for one another.

You mentioned artwork. What if I want to make sure I get a fic, not art?

You can opt-in/out of receiving art on the form.

Since this is a Christmas-themed event, does my gift need to be Christmas-themed?

Nope! But if your giftee requests a holiday-themed work, definitely consider it.

Do we get pretties?

Of course! What’s an EF event without pretties? And because we’ve streamlined crediting, ALL AWARDS ARE UP FOR GRABS. Author, artist, beta/sensitivity reader, and commenter. 

How do I get an author award?

Create a work for the event that is either entirely word-based (fic) or fits our narrative artwork definition.

Can I work with someone else on my event response?

We do not allow co-authored stories for this event, as it would make it too hard to match people. Artists can collaborate with an author by providing art for their story, however, as one way to receive the artist award.

How do I get an artist award?

Create a story banner for someone else’s Santa work, contribute artwork to a Santa work, or create artwork for your giftee.

How do I get a beta/sensitivity reader award?

Help a creator out by providing feedback on their work in progress. You can volunteer to beta or sensitivity read on our Discord server, or create a beta profile.

How do I get a commenter award?

Leave a minimum of 15 comments comprised of at least 15 words over the course of the event. These comments do not need to be on event submissions but can be left on any fanwork on the site.

I’ve signed up! What happens now?

Once you complete the form, the Mods will work together to make best case matches from all of the responses and then reach out to each participant with the penname and fanwork preferences of their giftee. Please remember that this gift-giving is confidential. Don’t share who you have for a giftee until you post your fic! 

Work together to keep the SECRET in SECRET SANTA.

Can anyone participate?

Unlike other EF events, we do have restrictions on participation.

Any member, whether they've previously written a fic on EF or not, is eligible to partake in this event––UNLESS you signed up for last year’s Secret Santa event and did not complete your fic or did not complete your fic by the deadline. Those members will have already been notified (at the end of last year’s event) and will not be eligible to participate this year, but may participate again in 2025.

Please note that bad behavior toward your gifter or giftee, regarding either the gift you receive or the gift you deliver, will result in a permanent ban from this event for all future years. We wish we didn’t have to say it, but we do.

We hate leaving anyone out, but since the spirit of this event is gift-giving and impacts other members, we take sign-ups very seriously. Everyone who decides to participate should both give AND RECEIVE a gift.

What if I sign up in good faith but something comes up?

We understand life happens. All participants who have yet to post their gifts will receive an email on or around December 15 to confirm their intent to complete. If you must drop out, please inform the Mods before this date. This will give our Rescue Writers/Artists time to swoop in.

Dropping out DOES mean you won’t be able to participate next year, but we’d rather know so we can make contingencies than have someone go giftless. If you do not communicate with us at all regarding dropping out, you will be banned from participating in all future Secret Santa exchanges.

I want to make sure everyone gets a gift, regardless. How can I help? / You mentioned Rescue Writers/Artists. What are those?

Rescue writers/artists are members who sign up to help out just in case someone is unable to complete their work. If someone drops out, we may reach out to see if you can help make sure their giftee doesn’t go empty-handed.

What if I am paired with the same person as last year/year’s past?

Hopefully, this won’t be an issue; we will do everything possible to avoid pairing repeats. That said, it might be that your best match is someone you were previously paired with. People who were previously paired were paired because their wants-to-receives and willing-to-creates were in harmony. If that hasn’t changed, then it could be you are again the ideal creator/recipient for someone you were paired with in the past.

Anything else?

Just one thing. Please thank your gifter when they publish the gift they make for you. Sometimes we get gifts that don’t live up to our expectations, but they were still made with enthusiasm, love, and a love of our community.

We take this very seriously. Bad behavior toward your gifter or giftee, in regards to either the gift you receive or the gift you deliver, will result in a permanent ban from this event for all future years. If there is an issue, let the Mods know.

Okay, so what are the dates?

Important Dates:

• November 4-17: Signup to participate in the 2024 Elysian Fields Secret Santa Fanwork Exchange 
• November 22-23: Assignments Distributed
• December 1: Posting begins!
• December 15: Your drop-out deadline
• December 31, 11:59 pm, site time: All gifts must be posted. 

No late sign-ups or publishing will be allowed.* Leaving a participant giftless will make Spuffy deeply sad, and we can’t have that. It will also result in ineligibility from participating in Secret Santa for at least one year. (A one-year ban if you don’t post but at least tell us, or a lifetime ban from participating if we never hear from you.)

 

*If you miss the deadline to post, please still send your gift, just be aware that it won’t officially count toward the event. And—we cannot stress this enough—keep the mods informed about your gift.

Any questions? Email us or comment below!

And in case you missed it: HERE'S WHERE YOU SIGN UP FOR THE 2024 ELYSIAN FIELDS SECRET SANTA FANWORK EXCHANGE

--Holly and the Mods on November 04, 2024 07:08pm 0 Comments

It’s the news post you’ve all been waiting for! Ellie is here on behalf of the Mod Team to answer all of your burning questions about next month’s event. First things first:

What was the theme again?

BETRAYAL! (Not poodles. Probably.)

Elysian Fields is turning eighteen, and so, the inspiration for the theme comes from Buffy’s own harrowing eighteenth birthday, when she is betrayed by Giles and the Council alike. 

That said, your fic/art DOES NOT have to be based around that same episode. So long as it’s a Spuffy work with betrayal as a theme, you’re good. This does not mean it specifically has to be Buffy or Spike who is the subject or perpetrator of the betrayal! You could go for a spin on canon with Amy betraying Willow, Willow betraying Tara, or something completely AU like Xander being betrayed by the cheese guy from Restless. Your use of the theme can be as small or as large as you want. So long as it's obvious enough for the readers to go "Oh, I see what you did there!" then your fic qualifies for this challenge. Whichever path you choose to take, we'd love to see what you come up with.

How and when do I post my story?

Starting as soon as the clock ticks over into October 1st (site time, which is Eastern US time—it's listed under the ShoutBox), you'll see a checkbox on the page where you add a new story. It’ll look like so:

Reminder: Your work DOES NOT need to be complete prior to posting. In fact, it doesn't even need to be completed during the event month. So, any creators stressing about the timeline, you can relax because you have the whole month to BEGIN posting your work.

Also: the betrayal does not have to happen in the first chapter, or any chapters that are posted during October. The only requirement is that betrayal is featured in your work at some point.

How do I find Challenge Stories?

Want to keep up with the fun? All betrayal works will have a little knife icon in the byline, as seen in the example below:

And you can find all of the betrayal works as they are added by visiting the Event Page.

What should my work include?

So long as your work features Spuffy, a betrayal, and doesn’t break any of EF’s rules or Terms of Service, you’re golden. You could make art, write a comic, edit a fan-vid, or write an epic novel. The world is your oyster poodle! 

Written works must be at least 100 words long, but there is no word count limit for artwork-only pieces or narrative artwork (i.e. works that consist of both words and pictures, such as a comic).

Please remember that EF has a strict no-AI policy.

What happens if I don’t post my work within the time window?

If you don’t post the first installment of your work during October (per site time), it can’t and won’t be considered part of the October event, sorry.

Do I need to post the entire work before the end of October?

Again, no. You just need to have posted at least one chapter before site time ticks over to November (per site time).

What about beta readers and sensitivity readers?

We love beta and sensitivity readers and have a shiny Beta award they can win! Use EF’s credit system to mark their contribution or else they won’t get the award—and they deserve all the accolades for their hard work!

Can I work with someone else on my event response?

Sure! The more the merrier! Whether it’s writers working as coauthors, artists creating a collaborative work together, or an artist and a writer teaming up as a duo (or a moresome!) as deadly as Spuffy, we welcome collaborations for this event.

How do I get the art award?

You can get the art award by creating a banner (for yourself or someone else) or by posting a work that fits within our Artwork or Narrative Artwork categories. We’ve seen images, manips, gifs, videos, fan vids, comics, playlists, and more get posted, and can’t wait to see what y’all will come up with next!

If someone has created art for your work, make sure you credit them using EF’s credit system—otherwise we won’t know to give them an award! And DON’T FORGET to credit yourself as artist if you created your own banner or other artwork.

Are there rules for banner creation?

Banners should be no more than 920x300 pixels and include a variation of the text ‘Designed/Created/Written for the Elysian Fields Betrayal Event’ somewhere on them. Example:

Now that I have a gorgeous banner/other artwork, how do I add it to my work?

To add the banner to your story, you can upload the banner to your account in “Your Images” under “Account Info.” Banner images must be a gif, jpg, jpeg, or png file type, and under 1 MB in file size. Banners should be no more than 920x300 pixels. Images posted within chapters can be up to 1500x1500 px. (Note: make sure you add images to the chapter itself; any images in the Chapter Notes or End Notes won’t be added to ePubs when people download them!) You can also host your banner on an image sharing site or your own site, especially if the file size is too big for us to host on our site.

You then enter the URL from Elysian Fields or the image sharing site in the Banner URL field on the Add Story page, or click the Insert/Edit Image icon in the toolbar for the Story Text box.

NOTE: The URL you add MUST be end in the image file extension (.gif, .jpg, .jpeg, or .png) or else the URL will not be saved. Make sure there are no spaces after the final character in the file extension. If you are having issues with a specific image sharing site, please reach out to us via email or try asking for help in our Discord server.

You said we could add videos? How do I do that?

You will need to get the embed link from YouTube, Vimeo, or another site (which can be a little tricky on mobile, but not impossible—google for directions if you can’t do this on desktop) and insert the html into the Source Code. You can access this by clicking the Source Code button in the toolbar. Reach out via email or Discord if you’re having any issues with embedding videos.

Is there an event skin?

Yes. The October event skin is now live if you want to make it your default. Scroll down to the skins on the main page or in the footer and select the one labeled “betrayal” to switch. If you want to keep it, make sure you change the selection on your preferences page. (Otherwise it will change back to your saved skin the next time you access the site.)

And if you haven't seen it yet, the skin looks like this:

The banner was made by our very own HappyWhenItRains.

Will you be featuring regular works while the event is going on?

Instead of our normal mod-selected featured works, we will be highlighting fanworks posted in past years in honor of our October anniversary. Starting on the first of the month, each day will highlight a random assortment of works posted during the matching year of the archive (for example, on October 1st, we will feature works from 2006, our first year; on October 2nd, we will feature works from 2007, our second year; and so on). On day eighteen, we will change to feature fics that are part of this event.

The October Event challenges authors and artists. What about the readers? Won’t you think of the readers?

Obviously, readers deserve all the love. If you write at least 18 comments in October that contain at least 18 words (for any works here on EF, not just the challenge ones), you'll meet the requirements of the commenter challenge and earn a Commenter award! There will be a link to the comment challenge leaderboard on the homepage under the Members of the Month along with the All Star Commenter list.

Show me the awards!

This event’s shinies have been lovingly made by HappyWhenItRains. Lookit!

I’m So Excited!

We are too!

Do we really have to include poodles in our works?

No. Probably.

Anything else?

If there are any additional questions, please comment on this post or email us at elysianfieldsarchive@gmail.com. And get ready for some amazing new stories!

--EllieRose101 and the Mods on September 25, 2024 12:57pm 3 Comments

Hello, wonderful EF community. As you might be aware, we are close to announcing the theme of our 18th-anniversary celebration event. Eighteen years, y’all! This community is almost old enough to vote! Or to be drafted! Or to vote not to be drafted!

But before we get to celebrating, there is something the Mods wanted to address.

Clarifying Constructive Criticism

We have always been a pro-constructive criticism community in the right circumstances; we have not, however, always been good about defining constructive criticism or empowering our creators to establish safe boundaries. This is something we have corrected this year, with a new definition available on our TOS page. It reads as follows (emphasis added):

[…] constructive criticism is permitted if expressly stated by the creator. Constructive criticism is defined as specific feedback with actionable advice. It should be delivered carefully and neutrally and focus on the art itself rather than criticizing the creator, their voice, or their creative choices. Differences of opinion, including but not limited to differences in characterization, word choice, plotting, or authorial style, are not considered constructive criticism. The Mods reserve the right to act on behalf of creators who receive unwelcome communications, public or private, that cause them distress. We encourage growth as authors and artists, but disrespecting our creators or their work will simply not be tolerated.

In addition to this, constructive criticism, at its heart, is respectful of the creator’s goals and delivered to help them better achieve those goals, which may not align with your desires for the work. It also requires a lot of trust between the creator and the critic; the creator must know and trust that the criticism exists to service their vision of the art.

We say this because we have noticed an increase in comments that we believe are designed to act as constructive criticism but do not meet the requirements defined above. That is partly on us. It is also partly because of the culture of expecting people to accept constructive criticism, particularly unsolicited constructive criticism, with grace and humility. It is also due in part to a common misconception that constructive criticism is simply voicing a contrary opinion.

Elysian Fields is reaching our 18th anniversary by nurturing an environment where we are protective of all our members, which we enforce through our strict content warnings policy and by advocating for creators when they receive disheartening comments. Many of these comments are written with good intentions; in fact, very few are not. Others may contain phrases that the commenter believes are innocuous (eg. “I don’t normally like baby fics because…”) that can actually be discouraging, as they typically include editorialization on a trope or theme the creator is clearly invested in.

How Fanworks Differ from Published Works

The stories, art, and other content provided by our creators are a gift. These creations represent our members’ time as well as emotional and creative labor, all to produce something they have crafted and shared for free, that we in turn get to enjoy for free. There is no distance between creator and audience in fan spaces the way there is in other media. We are peers within the same community and here because we want to be.

It is the difference between attending a potluck and going out to a restaurant.

Potluck contributions are made out of love with the sole intent of pleasing other people. It would not be appropriate to walk up to another potluck attendee and tell them that they have provided a subpar casserole. That is not the point of the potluck, which is to engage in a shared experience. Potlucks are things people attend because they want to; they are just as much about nurturing community and building friendships and connections as the food itself.

A restaurant, on the other hand, is something selected by a customer, paid for, and consumed with a level of expectation of quality and service. Even if everyone else loves that restaurant, it is perfectly acceptable to leave a subpar review citing the reasons why the dining experience didn’t meet your standards. The review is less for the restaurant itself and more for future diners. The restaurant owner might see it, might engage, might even take your advice into account, but the review ultimately exists to help other hungry patrons make a decision about where to spend their money.

In their personal lives, professional chefs might attend a potluck. Even under these circumstances, it is not acceptable to tell them their dish was missing an ingredient, that there was too much salt, that you wish they’d made a dessert instead of a salad, or any other piece of unsolicited criticism that essentially comes down to “I don’t like what you brought.” The chef still elected to invest their time, talent, and creativity to bring that dish to the potluck. Unsatisfied customers are par for the course at work, but the potluck isn’t work. It’s play. It’s a space where they are relaxed and sharing something with a chosen community. They shouldn’t have to worry about dissatisfied customers when they contribute something simply out of the satisfaction of seeing it enjoyed.

Protecting Our Creators

Ultimately, this all comes down to providing a safe space for our creators to share their work. The comments left on creators’ work have enormous power—they can lift people up on days when they need it, yet a critical comment can be crushing on days when escape is more crucial than ever. On truly bad days, it might be what provokes a creator to withdraw from the community entirely, up to and including removing their work.

The EF Mods know, understand, and appreciate that reporting comments is not something done lightly. Our members are very protective of each other, and many are reluctant to report upsetting comments out of fear of getting someone in trouble, even at their own expense. No one wants to be the reason disciplinary action is taken against another member. It’s not something the Mods undertake lightly, either, and we start interactions with a conversation with the member. Disciplinary action is the last resort after all other avenues have been exhausted.

So please, if you receive or come across a comment or interaction, on your work or someone else’s, that makes you uncomfortable, reach out to us via email, PM, Discord, or by using the report button on the site. (All reports remain confidential.) While many of us are chronically online, the Mods don’t have the capacity to review every comment left on every work. We rely on you to tell us what we don’t know so you can help us protect the community creators.

A Personal Story

Taking a moment to speak as Holly rather than on behalf of EF; in 2019, before I rejoined the EF Mod Team, I received a comment on a fic that was inappropriate by EF standards. One of the Mods reached out to ask if I wanted to report the comment, and I said no. I was only thinking about how the comment, inappropriate or not, hadn’t really bothered me; I was not thinking about how a comment like that could impact another creator. How receiving a comment like that might lead to someone deleting their stories and removing themselves from fandom.

Were I to do it again, I would absolutely have reported the comment. Most often, the sort of comments that cause creators to remove themselves from our space are not one-offs. Incidents that go unreported are likely to recur with varying consequences. Losing creators is painful for everyone and something we strive to avoid, especially if the cause is preventable. It isn’t always, and we understand and respect that. But when it is? Guys, that sucks.

So as we enter our eighteenth year and prepare to kick off our anniversary celebration, we ask that you help us, best you can, protect the creators that make this place possible by following potluck etiquette, embracing the purpose behind constructive criticism, respecting when a creator has not asked for constructive criticism, and reporting comments that you find troubling.

Thank you all so much, and stay tuned for the October Anniversary Event Announcement, coming soon to an archive near you.

--Holly and the Mods on August 16, 2024 09:43pm 5 Comments

Welcome to Week 4 of the Elysian Fields Mystery Month Event!

That means we’re past the Scream Tunnel and close to our own Elysian Fields version of Heartbreak Hill. Don’t forget to fuel up, drink plenty of water, and keep those typing fingers nimble as you face that last hill.

Reminders!

• This is THE LAST PROMPT to be released!
• The fifth and final prompt is Happily Ever After/Happy For Now.
• Your fic MUST CONCLUDE with five chapters.
• The end-notes for each chapter MUST INCLUDE the prompt(s) that were answered in the chapter and an excerpt of the prompt being fulfilled.
• Fics that do not update within the specified timeframe will be removed from the event. This means you have until 11:59 pm EDT on July 21 to add Chapter 3.
• You have until 11:59 pm EDT on July 28 to add Chapter 4.
• You have until 11:59 pm EDT on August 4 to add your fifth and FINAL chapter (and don’t forget to check “complete” on that fic).
• The commenter award must be completed by 11:59 pm EDT on August 4.
• All beta and artist credits must be finalized by 11:59 pm EDT on August 4 (are you sensing a theme?).

You can check out all our Mystery Month fics on our Event Page.

Okay, now without further ado, here are the prompts you’ve been waiting for! (What, no drumroll?)

WEEK 4 PROMPTS

• include a riddle (as suggested by squiddz)
• Glitter!!! (as suggested by tragic)
• Last night, I dreamt (as suggested by Bee_davie)

POSTING WINDOW FOR CHAPTER 4

• Start: July 22 @ 12:00 am EDT
• End: July 28 @ 11:59 pm EDT

PROMPT 5 ANNOUNCED

• Already done! YOUR FIFTH AND FINAL PROMPT IS Happily Ever After/Happy For Now

POSTING WINDOW FOR CHAPTER 5

• Start: July 28 @ 12:00 am EDT
• End: August 4 @ 11:59 pm EDT

As always, if you have any questions, you can comment below or reach out to us at elysianfieldsarchive@gmail.com.

The finish line is in sight—you’ve got this!

--cawthraven and the Mods on July 18, 2024 11:17pm 1 Comment

Welcome to Week 2 of the Elysian Fields Mystery Event!

Our Mystery Event is well underway! And authors, you still have until 11:59 pm EDT on July 7 to get your fics in if you want to join in the fun. Once the clock strikes midnight, the checkbox to add your fic to the event will be gone.

Curious to see how the prompts are being addressed? Check out the fics on our Event Page.

But we know what you’re really here for, so we won’t take up any more of your time.

WEEK 2 PROMPTS

• Spike eats a blooming onion (as suggested by Maxine Eden)
• Motorcycle ride (as suggested by Kliomuse)
• Midnight snacks (as suggested by Avery)

REMINDERS

Your fic has a HARD goal of 5 chapters. If you want to write more, great! But that’s sequel fodder, since more chapters should not be added to this fic (even after the event ends). If you want to write less, we get it, but that will likewise disqualify you from the event.

Each chapter MUST be posted within the allotted time window for that chapter to qualify for the event.

Each chapter MUST include that week’s prompt. (This one seems obvious, but better safe than sorry.)

Each chapter MUST be tagged with the prompt and the fulfilling line/paragraph/passage in your chapter End Notes by the time the posting window closes for that prompt (see the example on the Prompt 1 post if you have questions). We will begin checking and disqualifying fics starting Monday, July 8th. If you haven’t added the prompt information to your End Notes yet for Chapter 1, you have until 11:59 pm Eastern Daylight Time (you can check the time on the site under the Shoutbox) on July 7.

No NEW fics for the event will be accepted after July 7.

POSTING WINDOW FOR CHAPTER 2

• Start: July 8 @ 12:00 am EDT
• End: July 14 @ 11:59 pm EDT

PROMPT 3 ANNOUNCED

• July 12

As always, if you have any questions, you can comment below or reach out to us at elysianfieldsarchive@gmail.com.

Happy writing, all!

--Holly and the Mods on July 05, 2024 12:00am 0 Comments

Mystery Month is less than two weeks away. Are you excited? We sure are! We have prompts in the triple digits and gotta say, we love the way you guys think.

ABOUT THOSE PROMPTS: You have until Friday, June 21 at 11:59PM site time to get in your prompts for Mystery Month! The Mods will then begin the process of categorizing the prompts in preparation for the launch on June 28th! You may submit as many prompts as you like. Don’t worry about duplicates! We’ll handle everything on our end.

SUBMIT YOUR PROMPTS HERE!

Have no idea what we’re talking about? Click here to catch up!

--Holly and the Mods on June 17, 2024 08:17pm 0 Comments

The Mod Team would like to thank everyone who took part in April Challenge Month.

The site saw the addition of 58 new fanworks for the event, including 2 that were exclusively artwork and 3 that wove a narrative and artwork together. The works created and shared for the event were made up of 183 chapters, consisting of 505,242 words, and written by 45 authors.

Also, 27 artists and 36 beta and sensitivity readers got an award, while 58 members completed the commenter challenge, with 1,236 comments left on event pieces during April, not to mention 2,571 likes!

All awards are now issued, but if you are missing one, or something seems not quite right, please drop us a line at elysianfieldsarchive@gmail.com

If you have yet to check out any of the brand-new challenge works, you can find them all linked here. 

Until next time, happy reading!

--EllieRose101 and the Mods on May 06, 2024 03:55pm 0 Comments

This is the final reminder for everyone who has posted (or is still planning to post) for our April event: please use the new crediting system on the upload page. And triple check that you have got the username(s) of your betas, sensitivity readers, and/or artists spelled correctly, including punctuation where relevant. This greatly helps the Mod Team and means everyone will be able to get the awards they’ve earned faster going forward.

--EllieRose101 and the Mods on April 29, 2024 06:04pm 0 Comments

Hi,

In response to suggestions and questions from some of our members, we are adding three new warnings to the archive, for Voyeurism, Sexual Violence, and Torture (Implied). These warnings, like our other warnings, will be mandatory on new content published on the site. We encourage authors and artists to edit their existing works as needed to accommodate these new warnings, especially for works that are in progress. Please email us at elysianfieldsarchive@gmail.com if you have any questions regarding these warnings or any others; we are happy to answer questions, clarify language, and review content to see if a warning is appropriate.

Readers are also encouraged to email us if they are reading a story that is missing warnings it should have. We will confirm and work with authors to get the warnings added to fanworks so that we can all use the system to curate our experiences appropriately.

The new warnings have been added to the stories page and you will see them when you go to add a new story or edit an existing one. The definitions, which are also included below, have also been added to the Fic Tag Definitions page.

• Voyeurism: contains depictions of character(s) being observed without their knowledge or consent, by another character(s), often but not always in sexual situations or situations that can be considered titillating, such as states of undress
• Sexual Violence: a sexual act committed or attempted by another person using a variety of tactics, where the victim does not or cannot freely give consent or does not or cannot freely refuse. Sexual violence can occur in person, online, or through technology, such as posting or sharing sexual pictures of someone without their consent, or non-consensual sexting, and can include unwanted sexual contact or unwanted sexual experiences that do not include contact. This warning should be used when forms of sexual violence not covered by another warning is present in a work.
• Torture (Implied): alludes or infers torture of a character. Torture can be emotional/psychological or physical, and is defined as assault on a character’s mind/mental well-being or body. While torture and abuse can overlap, for the purposes of tagging your work, they are differentiated in that abuse is sustained over time while torture occurs over a shorter timespan.

In addition, we have edited several of our existing warnings to further clarify when to use specific warnings. These new definitions have been added to the Fic Tag Definitions page, and are included below for your reference.

• Abuse: contains the physical, mental, or sexual abuse of a character. While torture and abuse can overlap, for the purposes of tagging your work, they are differentiated in that abuse is sustained over time while torture occurs over a shorter timespan.
• Attempted Rape: includes the attempted sexual assault of a character(s). Rape is defined as sex between two characters where the victim does not or cannot freely give consent or does not or cannot freely refuse.
• Rape (Actual): includes graphic depictions of rape. Rape is defined as sex between two characters where the victim does not or cannot freely give consent or does not or cannot freely refuse.
• Rape (Implied): alludes or infers to a rape of a character. Rape is defined as sex between two characters where the victim does not or cannot freely give consent or does not or cannot freely refuse.
• Sexual Situations: includes or alludes to consensual sexual activity
• Torture (Emotional/Psychological): includes assault on a character’s mind/mental well-being. While torture and abuse can overlap, for the purposes of tagging your work, they are differentiated in that abuse is sustained over time while torture occurs over a shorter timespan.
• Torture (Physical): includes assault on a character’s body, including physical violence and sexual violence. While torture and abuse can overlap, for the purposes of tagging your work, they are differentiated in that abuse is sustained over time while torture occurs over a shorter timespan.

As a reminder, warning tags must be included for each fanwork when they apply, and all works rated R and above must have warnings (since it’s the kind of content we add warnings for that raises the rating). All warnings must be added as soon as the creator is aware that they will be needed. When adding a new warning to a work in progress, please add an author note explaining that you have added the warning and give a brief explanation why (you don’t have to include spoilers!) to help readers understand the changes.

Thanks all and again, we’re happy to answer any questions you may have via email or in the comments.

--cawthraven and the Mods on April 13, 2024 11:34am 1 Comment

Hi, EF! We’re excited to announce some brand-new features for the site. As of this writing, we’ve incorporated crediting systems for artists as well as beta and sensitivity readers for our members to better acknowledge all the hard work that goes into creating fanworks.

When a creator posts a fanwork to the site, there is now an option to select the names of any beta readers, sensitivity readers, or artists—whether they are Elysian Fields members or not—who have contributed to the work. For artists, this can be someone who makes banner art, story art such as illustrations, or both. You can credit yourself as an artist, as well.

In order to credit members, start typing their name into the input box (pictured below) until the name you want appears, then click it to add it. (And repeat for additional crediting!) For non-members, type their name(s) exactly as you wish to credit them. In both cases, you can credit multiple persons.

Once you’ve added appropriate credits to your work, they will display wherever members see your story on the site.

We're planning additional improvements to this feature over the next few weeks. If you have any comments, suggestions for improvement, or bug reports, please send them to us at elysianfieldsarchive@gmail.com or leave a comment on this news post.

--cawthraven, DarkVoid116, and the Mods on March 24, 2024 09:54pm 11 Comments

Our Monster Mash event has ended and I’m here with the stats! 

EF had a total of twenty-four works created specifically for this event, which consisted of:

• Four artwork-only submissions 
• One submission that combined a written narrative with artwork
• Nineteen stories 

These were made via a collaboration of:

• 20 Authors
• 16 Artists (including banner artists)
• 16 Betas and Sensitivity Readers 

Between them, participating authors posted 140,033 words for the event across 44 chapters. A total of 203 members left comments or likes throughout the three-day commenting portion of the event, 120 members commented on or liked event stories specifically, and 32 commenters met the requirements for an award. The combined total of comments for the event is 476, and the new stories generated for this event received a total of 676 likes. 

If you’ve yet to check out any of the brand-new challenge fics, you can find them all here.

Many, many thanks to everyone who took part, in whatever way you contributed. All participating authors, beta and sensitivity readers, artists, and commenters should now have the relevant awards on their profiles. If you seem to be missing one, or anything else seems not quite right, please drop us a line at elysianfieldsarchive@gmail.com.

--EllieRose101 and the Mods on March 15, 2024 02:23pm 2 Comments

Hi everyone! This has been a long time coming, but we’ve fixed our email issues so that we no longer have to worry about a limit on how many emails we send a day. With that in mind, we will be restoring the Daily Digest emails.

Please make sure you have a valid email address listed before you sign up for emails! This means check the email you have on file with the site for typos and make sure the inbox isn’t full.

What’s the Daily Digest? The Daily Digest is a daily email sent to the account you have on file that rounds up every news post and every new and updated fic from the day before right in your inbox.

That sounds cool! How do I sign up for it? If you’re not currently signed up for the Daily Digest and want to be, you can go to Account Info > Edit Preferences to enable the Digest under “Email Settings/Alerts.” Check the box for the digest and hit Submit at the bottom of the form.

What are these other checkboxes here for? These control the other kinds of emails you can get from the site. You can sign up to get notifications when a favorite author posts a new story or a favorite story gets a new chapter, get an email when an author responds to a comment you left them, or when someone comments on one of your stories.

That sounds neat, but I want to get fewer emails/I don’t want to get these notifications anymore. How do I turn emails off? You can turn emails off in Account Info > Edit Preferences. Just make sure all the boxes for email alerts are unchecked. Please note: this does not affect private message notifications or password reset emails.

If you have any questions or issues (about email or anything else) please reach out to us at elysianfieldsarchive@gmail.com so we can help get it sorted out for you.

--cawthraven and the Mods on February 29, 2024 11:06pm 2 Comments

Hi all!

We’ve been working on an update to our beta profiles and beta search to include sensitivity readers.

If the term is new to you, a sensitivity reader is a specialized type of beta reader who holds a lived experience or marginalized identity that the author does not, but that the author intends to portray within their fic.

Sensitivity readers can help authors write in ways that are more authentic and representative of the experiences of others. With that in mind, we’ve added a section to the beta profile that allows members to opt in as a sensitivity reader and indicate the kinds of topics and themes they can help review. We’ve revised our guidelines on working with beta readers. Among other changes, the guidelines now specifically feature tips on working with sensitivity readers, including when you might want to reach out to one.

A number of pages have changed to support this. First up is the Edit Beta and Sensitivity Reader Profile, which you can find in Account Info. You can opt in or out of beta reading and sensitivity reading here.

Unlike our beta strengths section, we have included a text box for sensitivity reading strengths, since there are a range of topics that someone might be suited to sensitivity read for, and all of them require nuanced discussion.

These beta profiles are available on our Betas page (see the menu for the link; it’s under “Members” on mobile).

You can browse all of the profiles from here, or you can search for a beta or sensitivity reader who is currently accepting new stories through our Beta and Sensitivity Reader Search. (We're currently working out a few kinks with search, so please let us know if you have any issues with it!)

This will let you find the beta and sensitivity readers best suited to help you.

We’d like to thank Dynamite for suggesting this addition to the site, which we feel will help our writers, as well as trevino, who was instrumental in helping us craft a definition for sensitivity readers and in revising the guidelines.

--cawthraven, Darkvoid116, and the Mods on February 17, 2024 03:00pm 3 Comments

Hello EF!

The Mod team has hit you with a lot of information recently, and we’re about to pile on more, for which we apologize but hey, it’s all good stuff.

Those of you who were active last year might recall that we retired a number of skins, including some that dated back to EF’s launch in 2006. These skins were replaced with a selection of new skins created with the support of some of the amazing artists that comprise our current membership.

While perfectly functional, there were a few glitches in the new skins resulting from inherited issues from older programming and the shift in border size for desktop users. Lucky for us, these kinks were ironed out in mid-2023 by cawthraven with the creation of the Drabblemania skin. One of our goals was to implement the improvements to all the 2022-era skins before the end of the year. As of today, that has been done. Members who are using a skin developed in 2022 might notice small changes upon flushing your cache, but the result should be an improved user experience.

We have likewise added five new skins: two by cd85, and three by bewildered, one of which showcases the logo we had commissioned earlier this year, and another that uses the same main color scheme of the retired skin not without a fight* by popular request. These banners have also been added to the rotating banner for our 1,000 authors celebration.

The new skins are:

• a little romance (artwork by cd85)
• celestial (artwork by bewildered)
• date night (artwork by cd85)
• elysian (artwork by bewildered)
• his hero (artwork by bewildered)*

Thank you to our artists who keep Elysian Fields beautiful with your artwork. We are so lucky to have such amazing talent within our community.

--Holly and the Mods on January 05, 2024 12:36pm 11 Comments

Hey, Spuffy fans! We have some brand new awards to announce for the new year.

Here at Elysian Fields, we’re always thinking of new ways to get all of our members involved in the community. During our Event Months, we give out Commenter Awards to members who fulfill specific requirements. You may have noticed that, when there isn’t an event, there is a page for All Star Commenters linked in the Members of the Month section. Anyone who leaves at least 15 comments of 5 or more words in a month qualifies for this status.

To that end, we're introducing two new commenting awards, both designed by the talented cd85.

The first, the Star Commenter, will be awarded to any member who is an All Star Commenter in at least six of a year’s twelve months.

The second, the Superstar Commenter, requires that a member reach All Star commenter status in all twelve months.

If you qualify for the Superstar Commenter, you’ll also receive the Star Commenter award as well.

During event months, you will still only need 15 comments with 5 or more words for the month to count toward these awards, even if, for example, the April Challenge Month Commenter Award requires 15 comments with 15 or more words.

Starting January 1, 2024, a page tracking progress toward these awards will be linked in the Members of the Month section of the homepage. You can see the page here with 2023 stats. They will be refreshed for 2024 on January 1.

That’s all for now. Please let us know if you have any questions about how these awards work.

--Dark and the Mods on December 29, 2023 10:11pm 7 Comments