We have six weeks left until assignments are due! I hope you're all having fun working out your clues for your cases. As for our pinch hits, we have four new requests joining our ranks!

Quick links: Rules and guidelines · 2026 Collection · Mod contact: gumshoeagency@gmail.com

This batch of pinch hits are due at the same time as our assignments on Friday 1 May at 11:59pm Eastern time. [ In your timezone + Countdown ]

Pinch hits must comply with the exchange's rules. Pinch hits must meet the minimum assignment requirements of a completed work of a minimum of 3,000 words for fanfiction, a minimum of 10 panels for a comic, or a recording of a completed fic of 3,000 words minimum with "casefic" as one of its tags. Works must include a fandom, character/ship and be of a medium that the recipient has requested, with the requested character(s) at the forefront participating in the investigation. You must have an AO3 account to participate.

We guarantee gifts for requests that feature a minimum of 3 unique fandoms.

Please take note of the mediums as some requests have a combination selected.

To claim, please either reply to this post or email gumshoeagency@gmail.com with your AO3 name and the pinch hit number you want to claim.

Comments are screened, so if you reply anonymously, please include an email in case I need to reach out to you. You will not be able to receive a reply from me if you comment anonymously on this post.

---

( PH 1 (Comic, Fanfic) - The Defenders (Marvel TV), Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (TV 2016), True Detective: Night Country (TV), Crossover Fandom (Knives Out/Murder She Wrote, Knives Out/Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency, Knives Out/Death in Paradise (UK TV 2011)</small> )

( PH 2 (Comic, Fanfic, Podfic) - DC's Arrowverse, Boardwalk Empire, Rounders (1998), Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy - John Le Carré )

[ PH 3: Includes canon consumption tips. ]
( PH 3 (Fanfic) - Death in Paradise (UK TV 2011), The Last Voyage of the Demeter (2023), Lewis (TV) )

( PH 4 (Fanfic) - Chalion Saga - Lois McMaster Bujold, Nancy Drew - Carolyn Keene, Nancy Drew/Hardy Boys Super Mysteries - Franklin W. Dixon & Carolyn Keene, G.I. Joe (Cartoon), Jem and the Holograms (Cartoon), Crossover Fandom (Babysitters Club [Martin]/Nancy Drew Hardy Boy Supermysteries, Babysitters Club [Martin]/Nancy Drew [Keene], Jim Cartoon/Nancy Drew Hardy Boys Supermysteries, Nancy Drew Harcy Boys Supermysteries/Jem and the Holograms Cartoon, Nancy Drew [Keene]/Hardy Boys [Dixon]), Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (TV), Perry Mason (TV 1957) )

[ PH 7: Includes canon consumption tips. ]
( PH 7 (Fanfic) - 神さまのいない日曜日 | Kamisama no Inai Nichiyoubi | Sunday Without God (Anime & Manga), Octopath Traveler II (Video Game), 少女たちの痕にくちづけを | Shoujo-tachi no Kizuato ni Kuchizuke wo | Kiss the Scars of the Girls (Manga), よるのないくに | Yoru no Nai Kuni | Nights of Azure (Video Games) )

( PH 8 (Comic, Fanfic) - Winx Club, W.I.T.C.H., Heart of the Woods (Visual Novel) )

( PH 9 (Fanfic) - Doctor Who (2005), Marvel 616, Legally Blonde - Hach/O'Keefe/Benjamin, Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Crossover Fandom, Crossover Fandom (The Pitt/Criminal Minds, ER/Criminal Minds, Knives Out/Yellowjackets, Now You See Me/Leverage) )

CLAIMED! ( PH 10 (Comic, Fanfic, Podfic) - Original Work, Twisted-Wonderland (Video Game), Katekyou Hitman Reborn! )

( PH 11 (Fanfic) - High Potential (TV), Dimension 20 (Web Series), Veronica Mars (TV) )

( PH 12 (Comic, Fanfic) - Buffyverse (TV), DC's Arrowverse, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (TV), Star Trek: The Original Series, Marvel Cinematic Universe )

CLAIMED! ( PH 13 (Comic, Fanfic) - 逆転裁判 | Gyakuten Saiban | Ace Attorney, グノーシア | Gnosia (Visual Novel), 原神 | Genshin Impact (Video Game) )

Thank you!

If you need a little help in fine-tuning your gift, this is the post to find the Watson to your Holmes (or the Holmes to your Watson—who wouldn't want to be Lucy Liu?)!

Those interested in providing support can pin their details to our metaphorical noticeboard. Support can include brainstorming, offering critique, canon-checking, fact-checking, tips on structure, language issues, looking for specialised knowledge of various kinds, sense checking that something makes sense, visual effects for comics, audio effects for podfic, and some casefic solving.

Participants and non-participants are welcome to volunteer to beta for the 2026 round.

Quick links: Tagset · AO3 app · Sign-up summary of requested fandoms

I've provided an optional template to fill out below, which you're welcome to add and subtract details from:

AO3 name:
Best contact method(s): Please only include details that you are happy to have public.

Fandoms:

Specific topics of expertise:

Mediums: We allow comics, fic, and podfic in this exchange, so please specify which medium(s) you're comfortable working with.

What can you beta?: This is a good opportunity to include content (smut, graphic violence, etc.), length (the minimum is 3k for fic, 10 panels for comics, and various lengths of time for podfic).

What will you not beta?:

Preferred file formats: Would you prefer to beta in Google docs or PDFs? How would you like audio files to be sent, if you have any preference?

Availability: This is a good place to mention if you're okay with being contacted five days out from the assignment deadline, your turnaround times, i.e. will it take you a week to review? Is it dependent on the size?

<strong>AO3 name:</strong> <strong>Best contact method(s):</strong> <strong>Fandoms:</strong> <strong>Specific topics of expertise:</strong> <strong>Mediums:</strong> <strong>What can you beta?:</strong> <strong>What will you not beta?:</strong> <strong>Preferred file formats:</strong> <strong>Availability:</strong>

If you're interested in contacting someone offering to beta, please do so at their contact methods to preserve anonymity. Please email gumshoeagency@gmail.com if you need to get in touch with me to ask any questions.

I stole the base of this from fffx and yuletide ♥.

You guys did the unthinkable… We have no unmatchables!

Check your cubby holes, letter boxes, under your doormats, your pockets and wherever else you happen to receive your mail because… your assignment is here!

Please contact me if:

• Your assignment does not match your offers. Please email gumshoeagency@gmail.com with your AO3 name, your recipient's AO3 name, and a description of the issue so I can sort this out for you. Please do this ASAP.


• You have questions for your recipient! Please email gumshoeagency@gmail.com with your AO3 name, your recipient's AO3 name, and your question. If you'd like to send dummy questions through because you want your gift to be a surprise, please feel free to do this.

Assignments are due on Friday 1 May at 11:59PM EDT. [ In your timezone + Countdown ]

Please ensure you post to our AO3 collection and that your work has a recipient!

A few reminders:

• If you need a refresher, please review the rules/guidelines. I recommend reviewing about assignments, our medium requirements, posting, extensions, and defaulting. If you're interested in treating, please review the treating section of our guidelines for minimum requirements.


• Please unlock and complete letters by Monday 9 February so your creator and anyone looking to treat you can access your additional information. I will not be deleting letters from sign-ups or emailing participants about these.


• Please do not include any self-deprecating comments in your author's note and any identifying information, such as social media links. I will not be accepting works into the collection that contain any of these. Be proud of your work! Such notes negatively impact the recipient's experience and set a tone for the work that is not true!
  
  You can add your social media links once the exchange is over! (I highly encourage you to do this! Just don't do it now.)


• The collection is moderated. I cannot access drafts, so please be sure to press "submit" when your work is completed.
  
  I will review these to ensure that they match the request and meet the bare minimum requirements (i.e. completed work, no copy/pastes of the same word over and over, etc.). If you find your work is sitting in the moderation queue for more than three days, please email me your AO3 name and the title of your work so I can check to see if I have simply misread it as a draft.
  
  Once your work has been accepted, you are welcome to continue editing it until the assignment deadline. I will only be accepting works that are completed, so please do not mistake this to mean that you can submit a half-created piece of work. It needs to be complete and able to go live at any moment!
  
  Please ensure you do not accidentally delete half your assignment as I may not be able to catch this at the time of reveals. (Save a copy of your assignment somewhere!)


• You are allowed to gift to the collection a work that fits a fandom and relationship that was nominated but not requested. (If you are aware of my AO3, please do not add me as a recipient to it.) Please make sure to leave a comment in your author's note that this is a gift for the collection so I know not to email you asking if you forgot to add your recipient. (Once accepted, feel free to remove your author's note.)


• We have an extension deadline, which is Friday 15 May at 11:59pm EDT. This is the only extension that will be given. (Extenuating circumstances are excepted. Pinch hits taken after this deadline may receive an extension depending on where we are at in the last phase.)


• We have a deadline for non-guaranteed requests to add fandoms to meet the 3 unique fandoms minimum requirements, which is Friday 15 May at 11:59pm EDT. I will not be accepting any additions to requests after this date. Please only reach out if you are a pinch hit.


• If you are a pinch hit and you find that you have remained unclaimed for a few weeks, you are more than welcome to email me at gumshoeagency@gmail.com with additional requests. I will update your sign-up when I am about to post pinch hits, so please be aware you may end up claimed before then! (It's happened!)
  
  I ask that the Casefic Exchange community remains positive about pinch hits; being a pinch hit is a great opportunity to be selected by a sleuth who didn't have time to sign up for the round, but still wishes to craft you a deliciously creative case to solve!


• Please whitelist gumshoeagency@gmail.com as my emails are finding themselves getting cosy in some junk folders! If your creator has a question, you'll definitely want to answer!

What's coming up next:

• Initial pinch hits will be posted in 24-48 hours.


• A beta post.


• A pinch hitter's treats post.

Thank you again to everyone for being so enthusiastic about the exchange! Have fun being devious! 🩷

- Commissioner Clawseau

With sign-ups underway, it's time to start talking about our canons! Check out our delicious tagset for this year's nominations!

If you nominated a rare/small canon you're interested in requesting and/or offering, please feel free to create a fandom promo post in the comments below to see if the canon's themes or story is something that may interest others.

Please include the canon and its medium in the subject line, i.e. "Rivers of London - Ben Aaronovich (Books)", "The Thin Man (Movie)", etc., for ease of organisation.

Please try to avoid linking images. Feel free to chat about the canons if something catches your eye and you'd like to know more! (Please try to stay anonymous regarding what you may be trying to match to in our sign-ups.)

Here are some things you can cover in your post, but you're more than welcome to pick and choose and add additional information:

Title: Please put the canon title in the post as well.

Media: Is it a book, game, comic, movie, television series, recursive work, etc.?

Approximate length: Reading Length is a great resource for books and How Long to Beat is a great resource for video games.

Where is it found?: Please only provide links to legal sources. Is it free or must it be purchased?

Elevator pitch of what it's about: If you have to describe it in the time it takes to travel in an elevator, how would you?

Content warnings: You won't be able to warn for everything that may trigger someone, so please consider what the main trigger warnings would be and know that you won't be able to warn for everything.

What do you love about it?:

What kind of themes would you request for it?: Are you looking for a murder mystery? Heist? Medical drama investigation? Spies? This question does not mean you will request it; it's meant to help others know how it fits in the theme and what kind of creative works it may inspire.

You can copy/paste from here:

<strong>Title:</strong> <strong>Media:</strong> <strong>Approximate length:</strong> <strong>Where is it found?:</strong> <strong>Elevator pitch of what it's about:</strong> <strong>Content warnings:</strong> <strong>What do you love about it?:</strong> <strong>What kind of themes would you request for it?:</strong>

And nominations are closed! Thank you to everyone who nominated, transferred nominations, and picked up errors (some my own)!

This is the only time that we'll have to review the tagset and fix any errors. Please let me know if you see any typos, wandering tags, duplicate fandoms or tags, and anything else that's a bit fishy.

*

Our final nomination queries for this round:

All Media Types + Related Fandoms
Can the nominator(s) please clarify the specific canon they're after? We do not accept "All Media Types" and "Related Fandoms" without a case being made.

Chronicles of Narnia - All Media Types
Aslan & Caspian (Narnia)
Aslan & Eustace Scrubb
Aslan & Lucy Pevensie
Aslan & Susan Pevensie
Caspian & Edmund Pevensie
Edmund Pevensie & Lucy Pevensie & Peter Pevensie & Susan Pevensie
Edmund Pevensie & Peter Pevensie
Edmund Pevensie & Susan Pevensie

Are you wanting the books, TV Show, musical, or films? Rejected as I haven't heard from the nominator.

Les Misérables - All Media Types
Enjolras/Grantaire (Les Misérables)
Grantaire & Jean Prouvaire

Are you wanting the movie, novel, or musical? Rejected as I haven't heard from the nominator.

The Lord of the Rings - All Media Types
Gríma Wormtongue/Théodred (LOTR)

Are you after the novels or movies? Sorted!

Transformers - All Media Types
Any Decepticon Character
Drift | Deadlock/Perceptor
Impactor/Springer (Transformers)
Megatron/Rodimus | Rodimus Prime
Optimus Prime/Ratchet
Ratchet/First Aid
Rung & Whirl (Transformers)

Are you after the Michael Bay or animated movies, video games, or novels? Rejected as I haven't heard from the nominator.

These nominations will be rejected if I do not hear back from the nominator(s) in 12 hours. [ In your timezone. ] (Yes, it's meant to be in Sydney time!)

Thank you!

Hello detectives! There is a scheduled AO3 maintenance that will go into effect and will apparently last for 15 hours, which will impact nominations as AO3 will be down during this period. Please view their "What time is it for me?" so you can plan your nominations accordingly. As we may miss a day to nominate, I've chosen to extend nominations to Saturday 24 January. [ In your timezone + Countdown ]

*

Please review our nomination guidelines before nominating. There's an opportunity to transfer accepted tags from the 2025 tagset to the 2026 tagset.

I'm seeking clarifications on the following nominations. If I could hear back about these, that would be appreciated so we can keep our nomination approvals moving.

All Media Types + Related Fandoms
Can the nominator(s) please amend their nominations? We do not accept "All Media Types" and "Related Fandoms" without a case being made.

Transformers - All Media Types
Any Decepticon Character
Drift | Deadlock/Perceptor
Impactor/Springer (Transformers)
Megatron/Rodimus | Rodimus Prime
Optimus Prime/Ratchet
Ratchet/First Aid
Rung & Whirl (Transformers)

Can the nominator please renominate this under the desired series? Are you after the Michael Bay or animated movies? The video games? Books?

Crossover Fandom

Crossover Fandom
Avengers Team Members (Marvel) & Loki (Loki TV)
Avengers Team Members (Marvel) & Mobius M. Mobius (Loki TV)
Loki & Sylvie (Loki TV) & Thor (Marvel)

Can the nominator please update their disambiguations for the Marvel portion of these nominations? The disambiguation is too vague. Is it MCU? Marvel 616? Sorted!

Crossover Fandom
Phryne Fisher (Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries) & Jane Marple (Agatha Christie)
Phryne Fisher (Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries)/Lucifer Morningstar (Lucifer TV)

Can the nominator please specify which version of Jane Marple and Phryne Fisher they would like? It seems the character of Jane appears in books, TV and anime, and Phryne in books and TV. If you're happy to receive any version, please let me know and I will accept these as is. Sorted!

天官赐福 - 墨香铜臭 | Tiān Guān Cì Fú - Mòxiāng Tóngxiù
Xie Lian (TGCF) & Wei Wuxian (MDZS)

I'm canon blind to the canons in the disambiguations. Can the nominator, or someone familiar, please confirm if this should be nominated under "Crossover Fandom"? The disambiguations imply it should be. Can the nominator please renominate this under "Crossover Fandom" so it can be accepted?

Recursive fandom missing permission statement proof

Rigel Black Chronicles - murkybluematter (DFE)
Arcturus Rigel "Archie" Black/Hermione Granger (Rigel Black Chronicles)
Draco Malfoy & Pansy Parkinson & Blaise Zabini (Rigel Black Chronicles)
Lionel "Leo" Hurst/Harriet Potter | Rigel Black (Rigel Black Chronicles)
Solo: Aldon Rosier (Rigel Black Chronicles)
Solo: Harriet Potter | Rigel Black (Rigel Black Chronicles)

Can the nominator please provide proof of the permission statement for this work? I approved these and cannot find any evidence that the nominator has provided a permission statement for this work. Our nomination guidelines state that recursive works need permission evidence provided by the nominator. If it's not given by the end of the nomination period, I will remove these tags from the tagset.

Please read up on the nomination guidelines for recursive nominations and be sure to provide evidence! Sorted!

Other

Lucifer (TV) — Does it belong in DC's Arrowverse?

For those familiar with Lucifer (TV), do you think this show should be considered under the DC Arrowverse umbrella? I'm only familiar with Lucifer's involvement in the Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover event and the ramifications of that. I'm happy to keep it separate, but I wanted to check in with nominators/interested parties to see if it should go under our DCTV umbrella. Sorted! Keeping it separate. :)

There are queries from the first nominations post that I'd appreciate the nominator's input on.

Please let me know on any nominations post if you see any duplicates or errors (like typos!) in the tagset. We've had some wandering tags a few detectives have successfully captured (thank you!). Happy nominating!

WE'RE BACK, BUSYBODIES!

I hope you're all ready to start recruiting your sidekicks because nominations are open! But, before I link to where you can nominate, there is one big difference from last year… I'm allowing detectives to transfer accepted nominations from last year's tagset. Please read the guidelines in that section before requesting a transfer.

Nominations are open! They will close on Friday 23 January Saturday 24 January*. [ In your timezone + Countdown ]

*AO3 has scheduled maintenance that will impact nominations.

Please submit your nominations here.

Please read the guidelines before nominating, and keep an eye on the comm in case clarification is needed from you before a nomination is accepted.

Nomination guidelines

• You can nominate up to 10 fandoms with 10 relationships (this includes characters, relationships, and groups) each.


• All nominations must be disambiguated with the name of the canon after the ship/group/character, e.g., "Veronica Mars/Logan Echolls (VMars)", "Solo: Joe Goldberg (You TV)", "Solo: The Crows (Six of Crows Series)", "Fred Jones & Daphne Blake & Velma Dinkley & Shaggy Rogers & Scooby-Doo (Scooby-Doo Cartoon)".


• Please avoid nominating "All Media Types" and "& Related Fandoms".


• Crossovers belong under "Crossover Fandom".


• Please ensure you properly capitalise your tags, otherwise we will either fix them or reject them.


• Please remember that you do not have to nominate canons that are investigative in nature. We will accept any canon! The work created for the request needs to involve an investigation, so please nominate what you're eager to receive and/or offer.


• Please remove diacritics (or accent letters) from nominations to help us avoid having accidental duplications. We won't be querying or changing these, but it's a preference to make it easier to search for tags if we need to move or edit them.

Disambiguations

Disambiguations help us identify which canon a character, relationship, or group belongs to, and are mandatory as part of your nominations. These assist us greatly in the backend, and also allow requesters and creators to know which version of a character is nominated, especially for large fandoms with various mediums or character versions.

You are welcome to abbreviate the fandom name when nominating your characters/relationships/groups to save space, although please make the abbreviation distinct for someone who is canon blind, i.e. for The Hunger Games, you could use "THG - Collins" and "THG Movies". If your tag goes wandering, we want to be able to put it back in its rightful place.

Examples of disambiguation are below (the disambiguation is bolded):

• Logan Echolls/Veronica Mars (VMars)


• Solo: Finnick Odair (THG - Collins)


• The Crows (SoC Series) in Ocean's 11 (Ocean's 11)


• Misty Quigley (Yellowjackets) & Elmo (Sesame Street)


• Detective investigating murder or disappearance & Fake medium & Crime suspects (OW)

Fandoms

We have no restrictions on rarity or media on fandoms. You are more than welcome to nominate a very popular fandom or very rare fandom.

For more specific canon types:

• RPF: RPF is permitted. Non-famous family members and under 18s are not eligible. We will not be allowing nominations for world leaders and reserve the right to reject any RPF nomination that we feel will cause distress to our participants.


• Original characters in non-original canons: You may nominate Canon Character/Original Character(s) and Canon Character & Original Character(s). You are welcome to be as specific or as broad as you wish, e.g. "Veronica Mars/Original Female Character (VMars)" or "Abed Nadir & Original Male Character (Community)".
  
  We highly encourage you to ensure your nomination specifies the gender of the OC unless you're interested in receiving a fanwork with any gender, i.e., "Misty Quigley & Original Character (Yellowjackets)" is broad and unspecific, and means your creator will be allowed to define the gender of the OC. If you are interested in a specific gender for the OC, please nominate this specifically, i.e. "Misty Quigley & Original Female Character (Yellowjackets)".
  
  We will not accept participants who try to box their creator into a specific type of relationship using their optional details in their sign-up. Please keep that in mind while nominating.


• Original Works: These must be nominated under "Original Work" in the format "Character Type/Character Type", "Character Type & Character Type" and "Solo: Character Type", e.g. "Female Detective/Male Criminal Mastermind (OW)", "Female Pirate Captain & Male Privateer (OW)", "Solo: Female Archeologist (OW)", etc.
  
  We encourage you to be specific regarding gender and what you're after. Please try not to be overly specific—our tags have character limitations, and we also will not allow boxing in creators.


• Recursive: These fandoms will be allowed as long as the nominators provide evidence that the creator has given permission for recursive works. This should be submitted either via email at gumshoeagency@gmail.com or on this post. Recursive nominations that fail to provide this proof will be rejected. Please ensure you include "DFE" ("Disambiguated for Exchanges") in the disambiguation.


• Crossovers: Crossovers are permitted. These should be nominated under "Crossover Fandom" with the fandom name for each character in brackets, e.g. "Taissa Turner (Yellowjackets) & Michelle Jones (MCU)" or "Solo: Elmo (Sesame Street) in Home Alone (Movies)".


• Threesomes/moresomes: These types of relationships are permitted, whether they are romantic or platonic. (Romantic is to be signified with an "/" and platonic with "&".) If you are nominating characters that do not exist in the same canon, please ensure you do so under "Crossover Fandom".


• Canon/Reader: We do not allow Reader/Canon Character to be nominated in any form.


• Creator's Choice of Fandom: We do not accept any CCOF for this exchange.

Nominating specific fandoms

• Assassin's Creed: Please nominate Assassin's Creed under "Assassin's Creed - All Media Types".


• Buffy: The Vampire Slayer and Angel: The Series: Please nominate these under "Buffyverse (TV)".


• DC's Arrowverse: Please nominate characters from Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl, Legends of Tomorrow, Batwoman, Superman & Lois, and Black Lightning under "DC's Arrowverse".


• DC Comics: Please nominate all DC comics under "DCU (Comics)", but please disambiguate which version of the character you want in parentheses if that information is important to you.


• DC Extended Universe: Please nominate all DCEU movies under "DC Extended Universe".


• Dimension 20: Please nominate all campaigns under "Dimension 20 (Web Series)".


• Dragon Age:
  
  • Nominate all video games under "Dragon Age (Video Games)".
  
  
  • Nominate all comics under "Dragon Age (Comics)".
  
  
  • Nominate all books under "Dragon Age - Various Authors".
  
  
  • Nominate all tabletop RPG under "Dragon Age (Tabletop RPG)".


• Final Fantasy VII Remake: Please nominate this under "Compilation of Final Fantasy VII".


• Marvel Cinematic Universe:
  
  • Please nominate all MCU movies under "Marvel Cinematic Universe".
  
  
  • Please nominate all Netflix Marvel TV shows under "The Defenders (Marvel TV)". This includes Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Iron First, Daredevil, and The Defenders.
  
  
  • Please nominate the MCU television shows separately from the MCU. These should appear as separate entities within the tagset, i.e., "WandaVision", "Ms Marvel", "Loki", "Falcon and the Winter Soldier", "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.", etc.
  
  
• Marvel Comics: Please nominate these under their appropriate Marvel universe, i.e. "Marvel 616", "Marvel Ultimate", etc. We won't accept "Marvel Comics" as a fandom.


• Naruto (Anime & Manga), Boruto (Anime & Manga), and Dreaming of Sunshine: Please nominate these separately. Dreaming of Sunshine should be nominated as "Dreaming of Sunshine - SilverQueen (DFE)". If your nomination involves one or more Dreaming of Sunshine characters and one or more Naruto/Boruto characters, nominate this under "Crossover Fandom" with the proper disambiguations.


• Star Trek: Please nominate these via their separate shows and the Alternate Original Series, such as "Star Trek: Alternate Original Series ", "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine", "Star Trek: Discovery", "Star Trek: Enterprise", "Star Trek: Picard", "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds", "Star Trek: The Next Generation", etc. Crossovers between these shows must be nominated under "Crossover Fandom" and correctly disambiguated,


• Star Wars:
  
  • Star Wars movies: Please nominate under the appropriate movie, i.e. "Star Wars: Original Trilogy", "Star Wars: Sequel Trilogy", "Star Wars: Prequel Trilogy".
  
  
  • Star Wars TV shows: Please nominate under the appropriate television shoe, i.e. "Star Wars: Rogue One". We will allow "Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types" to be nominated.
  
  
  • Star Wars books: Please nominate under either "Star Wars: Legends Books" (Old EU) or "Star Wars: Extended Universe Books" (new/current books).
  
  
  • Star Wars comics, video games, etc.,: Nominate what's normal in the fandom or by individual title. If you're unsure, comment below and we can figure out how to proceed.
  
  
  • Star Wars in-universe crossovers: Please ensure any Star Wars crossovers are nominated under "Star Wars - All Media Types", i.e. "Leia Organa (Star Wars: Original Trilogy) & Ahsoka Tano (Star Wars: The Clone Wars)". Please ensure you disambiguate which version of the character you want.
  
  
• The Witcher: Please nominate via media, i.e. "The Witcher Series - Andrzej Sapkowski", "The Witcher (TV)", and "The Witcher (Video Games)".


• X-Men Movies: Please nominate either "X-Men (Movieverse) (OTM)" for Original Timeline Movies and "X-Men (Movieverse) (ATM)" for Alternate Timeline Movies.

Tag formats

We accept:

• "/" nominations signifying romantic and/or sexual relationships, i.e. "Logan Echolls/Veronica Mars (VMars)".


• "&" nominations signifying platonic and gen relationships, i.e. "Logan Echolls & Veronica Mars (VMars)".


• "Solo:" nominations will work in two ways: (1) signifying a single character to be the main focus of the fanwork, i.e. "Solo: Veronica Mars (VMars)" and (2) signifying a group, such as "Solo: The Muppets (Sesame Street)", where one or more Muppets will be the central focus of the work as chosen by the creator.


• "Solo: Character (Fandom A) in Fandom B" and "Solo: Relationship (Fandom A) in Fandom B" — This signifies a crossover where the nominated character (or relationship) from Fandom A is visiting or already exists in the world of Fandom B. Please disambiguate Fandom B if there are multiple versions of this fandom available.


• You may nominate tags in the format of "Character A/Character B & Character C" to request two characters in a romantic/sexual relationship having a platonic interaction with a third character. Please ensure you disambiguate correctly.

Tag examples:

• Daphne Blake/Fred Jones (Scooby Doo Cartoon) — The fanwork you will receive will be primarily about this romantic/sexual relationship interacting with the exchange's theme.


• Daphne Blake & Fred Jones (Scooby Doo Cartoon) — The fanwork you will receive will be primarily about characters interacting as friends, neighbours, family, acquaintances, enemies, etc. in a platonic/non-sexual way with the exchange's theme.


• Solo: Velma Dinkley (Scooby Doo Cartoon) — The fanwork you will receive will be about/centred around Velma Dinkley, but other characters can appear while interacting with the exchange's theme.. She will be the primary character interacting with the exchange's theme within the work.


• Solo: Mystery Inc. (Scooby Doo Cartoon) — The fanwork you will receive will be about/centred around one of any member of Mystery Inc. but, can potentially be more than one. They will interact with the exchange's theme.


• Fred Jones & Daphne Blake & Velma Dinkley & Shaggy Rogers & Scooby-Doo (Scooby-Doo) — The fanwork you will receive will be about/centred around the nominated Mystery Inc. members, who interact platonically with one another with the exchange's theme.


• Solo: Scooby Doo (Scooby Doo Cartoon) in Sesame Street — The fanwork will be a crossover about/centred around Scooby Doo visiting or already existing within the world of Sesame Street and interact with the exchange's theme. This will be nominated under "Crossover Fandom".


• Elmo (Sesame Street) & Mystery Inc. (Scooby Doo Cartoon) — The fanwork you will receive will be a crossover work in which Elmo and one or more of the members of Mystery Inc. meet or have some kind of pre-existing platonic relationship and interact with the exchange's theme. This will be nominated under "Crossover Fandom".


• Daphne Blake/Fred Jones (Scooby Doo cartoon) & Elmo (Sesame Street) — The fanwork you will receive will be a crossover work in which Fred and Daphne have a romantic/sexual relationship and platonically interact with Elmo with the exchange's theme. This will be nominated under "Crossover Fandom".

Group nominations

• "Solo: Group" tags mean "one or more of this group" whether or not they have "any" in front of them.


• If you request an ambiguous group, i.e. "Solo: The Avengers", we will assume any possible member(s) of that group fulfil the request. If you want specific members, please nominate them in the "Character A & Character B & Character C" format. (Please select the characters you absolutely want.)


• You may request "Any" of a character type, e.g., "Mikhaila Ilyushin/Any Female Talos I Employee". Please make sure any important information is within the Any character tag.


• Where there is ambiguity created by a nomination, we will likely side with the creator. If you want to ensure you get specific characters, then nominate them by name. If you request "Veronica Mars (VMars) & The Avengers (MCU)" and include in your DNWs that you do not want Bruce Banner, this may not be enforced.

Transfer 2025 nominations over

One of our fellow detectives asked about this as an option for 2026's round, which I thought was a great idea! I apologise to anyone this may blindside, as I hadn't considered it and didn't build it into the schedule.

I'm allowing transfers from last year's tagset into 2026's tagset. This means these nominations will not count toward a nomination slot. I will batch load these into the 2026 tagset, provided the request follows the guidelines below.

• Each person can only request a maximum of 10 fandoms to be transferred.


• Anonymous comments must sign their comments with their AO3 usernames.


• If you do not provide the information in the format specified, I will not be transferring your selected tags over.


• Please reply to this post with your fandom and the tags you want transferred. Please format it as follows: Fandom,Relationship,Relationship,Relationship, with each fandom on a new line. Please do not change these tags and do not add spaces. The tags must be exactly as they appear in the 2025 tagset.


• If you can title your comment's subject with "Transfer", that will be very helpful for me! This isn't mandatory, and I will process these transfers even without a subject line. (Please don't stress if you forget!)


• Transfers must be requested on this post only. If they are asked on any other post, I will ignore them.

Please be patient with me as this is my first time offering this.

Questions

You're welcome to drop any questions below or email gumshoeagency@gmail.com.

If you see any errors in the tagset, please point them out, preferably on nomination-related posts, so they can be amended before sign-ups open.

*

Thanks very much to the ficinabox mods for letting me steal some of their nomination guidelines. 🩷

Detectives, investigators, citizen detectives, and nosy busybodies (and to anyone we left out)—please ensure you familiarise yourself with the rules and guidelines for participation.

Please feel free to leave any and all questions in the comments (anonymous commenting is on) or email gumshoeagency@gmail.com. Please include your AO3 username when you email. (If you email us, please allow 2 business days for a response before following up.) We will not be responding to Discord messages.

( House Rules )

( What Counts? )

( Nominations )

( Sign-Ups )

( Assignments )

( Assignments: About Mediums )

( Posting )

( Extensions )

( Defaulting )

( Pinch Hits )

( Treats )

( Commenting )

Thank you for your interest. We hope you have fun participating in the exchange, even if that's browsing the works once we're open!