I was so pleased to have the chance to write for one of my favourite fandom folks again! Thanks for your patience and for sharing headcanons about our weirdly obsessed blorbos, @woahpip - it sounds like the holiday season was somewhat trying for both of us, but I hope you enjoyed the Solstice Swap and I wish you all the best in 2026 🎉
our hands hurt from healing [2400 words, E]
Jyn took one more step forward and for the first time in six months, he was close enough to touch—so close she could feel the heat of his body radiating through the frigid air.
You've probably noticed that I didn't manage to get the HeiHua Exchange up and running this year, and wasn't able to get Gen and Small-Med organised last year, which brings me to something I've been pondering for a bit.
As you're probably aware (or can tell), running fanwork exchanges takes a lot of effort - as does participating in them! We have 5 regular(ish) traditional format exchanges a year in the DMBJ fandom, 4 of which are run by me, and it's... a lot! And I know it's a lot for all the creators in the fandom, too, especially the ones who try to participate in all of them. (Leaving LNY Exchange aside, given the difference in format and timing to the way the other five are run)
So of the four I run, I'm planning to cut them back to three a year instead, and would like input from all of you on what your preferred look for this would be.
For reference, the exchanges in order of typical engagement are:
Most engagement: Rarepair
Second most engagement: Small-Medium Ships
Third most engagement: Gen
Least engagement: HeiHua
Preferred new schedule of exchanges
Keep Rarepair and Gen, combine Small-Med and Heihua
Keep Rarepair and Small-Med, alternate Gen and Heihua
Keep Rarepair and Gen, alternate Small-Med and Heihua
Keep Rarepair and Heihua, alternate Gen and Small-Med
Keep Small-Med and Gen, alternate Rarepair and Heihua
Keep Small-Med and Heihua, alternate Rarepair and Gen
Keep Gen and Heihua, alternate Rarepair and Small-Med
My gifts for @black-emporium-exchange this year were:
Less Like You (12k, gen), a really poignant examination of Morrigan's relationship with Flemeth & Mythal in fragments over Morrigan's life,
and With these hands (2k, T), a lovely Isabela/Shathann story that fills in both some possible missing scenes from DA2 and background for Veilguard really nicely.
Hi and welcome to the Pingxie Exchange: a fic & art exchange about the Wu Xie/Zhang Qiling pairing!
In this exchange, participants will be anonymously matched to create gifts for one another during a five week creation period. The gifts will be revealed on August 17th: the day Wu Xie welcomed Xiaoge back after his 10-year-long absence behind the Bronze Gate.
This exchange is open to all the DMBJ canons (adaptations featuring Wu Xie or Xiaoge and the original novels). It will take place on AO3, so you need an AO3 account to participate–if you don’t have one, you can request it here; if there isn’t enough time, no worries - contact the mods at [email protected], on DreamWidth, or on tumblr, and we can send you an invitation!
Please read this post carefully before signing up.
Schedule
Sign-ups open: June 18th
Sign-ups end: June 28th 11:59 PM Anywhere On Earth (what time is it for me?)
Matching: June 29th - July 5th
Assignments out: no later than 6th July
Assignments due: August 10th 11:59 PM Anywhere On Earth (what time is it for me?)
Gift reveals: August 17th
Creator reveals and treats deadline: August 24th
Guidelines
This is a ship exchange: as such, all the works created for this event must be focused on Wu Xie/Zhang Qiling. Works with threesomes/moresomes or other pairings involving Wu Xie and/or Zhang Qiling are not appropriate for this exchange, but background ships of other characters are fine!
You will be expected to create a gift matching your recipient’s request. Filling any specifying prompts is not obligatory, but try to create something you honestly think your recipient will enjoy!
You must not include anything stated as “do not want” in your recipient’s sign-up.
The minimum requirements for the gifts are 300 words for fic or one sketch on unlined paper for art (traditional or digital; no manips).
After the matching is done, all the requests will be made visible to everyone to allow for treating! There are no minimum requirements for treats (but remember to mind your recipient’s do not wants!). You can also create manips and fanvids for treats.
Please note: Now that AO3 has changed the way that gifting works on the archive, if you wish to be eligible for treats, you need to select the option “Allow anyone to gift me works” under the “Collections, Challenges and Gifts” section of your AO3 preferences. You must also indicate that you are open to treats in your exchange sign-up.
This is an anonymous exchange: refrain from discussing your assignment in public. After the works are revealed, there will be a one week anon period when the creators remain anonymous before the creator reveals.
If at any point you need to drop out, just click on the “default” button on your AO3 assignment page (https: //archiveofourown. org/users/YOURNAME/assignments); we’ll find a pinch hitter to create a gift for your recipient instead. If you need an extension to finish your gift, contact the mods before the deadline.
After the reveals, comment on your gift.
Most importantly: be excellent to each other!
Further details below the cut...
Sign-Up information
Sign-ups will take place on AO3 here, starting on June 18th. There, you can fill out details about your request and offer. You can edit your sign-up at any time until the sign-ups close.
When signing up, you will be able to choose fandom and genre tags, as well as specify any additional details.
You will have to select the DMBJ canon you’re interested in creating and receiving a gift in:
Novels: The Grave Robbers’ Chronicles
TV: The Lost Tomb 1
TV: The Lost Tomb 2 - Explore with the Note
TV: The Lost Tomb 2.5 - Heavenly Palace on the Clouds
TV: Ultimate Note
TV: Tomb of the Sea/Sha Hai
TV: The Lost Tomb Reboot/Reunion: The Sound of Providence
Movies: Time Raiders (note: this is a rare canon, so please choose at least one other canon)
This does not mean that you’re limited to requesting or creating a work during the canon timelines for those series/books. It’s just to mark which canons you’re familiar with to allow for easier matching: some participants might have a preference for a particular canon era, some might not be familiar with all the versions. You still have to choose your preferred canon eras even if you want to create or receive an AU.
You will also have to specify genres you’re interested in:
Action/Adventure
Angst
AU
Canon Compliant
Canon Divergent
Dark
Domesticity
Fluff
Humour/Crack
Hurt/Comfort
PWP (only select this if you’re 18+)
Request
In this section, you describe the gift you would like to receive.
Fandom - you have to choose at least one. If you’re willing to receive a gift in any canon era, you can just click “Any”!
Genre - you have to choose at least three tags.
Optional Details - here’s where you can go into more detail about your perfect pingxie gift! You can include:
Fic or Art: If you have a preference of which type of gift you will receive, please say so in your optional details.
General Likes: your creator may, but doesn’t have to, include them. This isn’t a place for detailed prompts, just general themes you enjoy, like getting together or established relationship.
DNW (Do Not Wants): things that your creator must not include - squicks, triggers, things that you simply don’t like. Remember that you don’t owe anyone an explanation about why something is a DNW, and that DNW are not meant to be taken personally. Just list the things you don’t like, “DNW: X, Y.”
Prompts/specific ideas: if you have any prompts, you can also put them here! You can be as general or as detailed as you’d like, but remember that while your creator will try to make the best gift for you, filling a specific prompt is not obligatory. You can include a crossover prompt (with other DMBJ verse or other canons), but make sure it’s not the only prompt you have.
If you chose novels as one of your fandoms, you can use this field to list the ones you’re familiar with. If you’re interested in receiving a Buried Tree Devil - Book 3 Donghua gift, you can also mention it here.
Optional Tags: You may use the optional tags to share more about your preferences, if you like.
The requests will be made publicly visible after matching is done, so that others will be able to create treats (additional gifts) based on them!
Here’s an example request. (You don’t have to include prompts at all, though remember to include at least some likes to give your creator an idea of what you’d like to receive! This is just an example.)
Offer
Fandom - you have to choose at least one. If you can create works for any canon era, you can choose “Any”!
Genre - you have to choose at least three.
Optional Tags: You may use the optional tags to share more about your preferences, if you like.
Optional Details - in this field, you can tell us more about the kind of works you like to create, for example if you really prefer established relationship, feel best with certain kinds of AUs, or like writing darkfic. You can also tell us if you have a preference of which type of gift you will create (fic or art). We’ll take all of these optional details into account when matching!
If you chose novels as one of your fandoms, you can use this field to list the ones you’re familiar with. If you’re interested in creating a Buried Tree Devil - Book 3 Donghua gift, you can also mention it here.
In the optional details of your offer, you can also name one person you don’t want to be matched to, for example your regular beta, and we will do our best to avoid matching you!
Optional Tags: You may use the optional tags to share more about your preferences, if you like.
The offers will only ever be visible to the mods; never to anyone else.
Here’s an example offer.
Your assignment
You will be matched to create a gift for someone who requested at least one of the fandoms that you offer, with as many similar genres/likes as possible. This exchange will be hand-matched, with the possible use of AO3’s matching algorithm to first generate the potential matches.
If you have any issues when you receive your assignment (you have a question about it or think there’s an issue with it), contact the mods as soon as possible. Do not contact your recipient on your own.
You will have to create a gift for your recipient, fulfilling the minimum requirements, and avoiding any stated “do not wants”. Filling exact prompts is optional, but try to create something matching your recipient’s likes that they will enjoy!
You will have to post your gift to the exchange AO3 collection before the due date (August 10th), using the “gift this work to” option to give it to your recipient. Your work will remain in the collection only visible to you and the mods until the reveals happen. Remember to tag your work appropriately or use the “chose not to warn” warning.
Treating
Treats are additional gifts for the participants! To allow for treating, the requests will be made visible when matching is done. You can create treats at any time until the creator reveals! There are no minimum requirements for treats, and in addition to fic and art, manips and fanvids are also allowed. As with assignments, you have to respect the recipient’s Do Not Want, and while the optional details are optional, try to create something fitting the listed likes. One treat can only be gifted to one person.
Please note: Now that AO3 has changed the way that gifting works on the archive, if you wish to be eligible for treats, you need to select the option “Allow anyone to gift me works” under the “Collections, Challenges and Gifts” section of your AO3 preferences. You must also indicate that you are open to treats in your exchange sign-up.
Pinch Hits
In case someone needs to drop out, we will look for a pinch hitter to complete their assignment. Pinch hits will be posted to the DreamWidth community and advertised on tumblr.
Extensions
If you think you can finish your assignment, but you need a day or two more, you can always ask the mods for an extension!
Other important information
Make sure to check the email you use on AO3 frequently during the exchange, as it will be the primary means of communication. We might contact you if there is an issue with your sign-up or if your gift creator has a question for you.
If you’d rather we contact you on your twitter or tumblr, please leave your handle in the offer section of your sign-up.
Follow us on DreamWidth and/or on tumblr to avoid missing an announcement or a deadline!
If you have any questions at all, don’t hesitate to contact the mods at [email protected], on DreamWidth (anonymous comments are allowed), or on tumblr.
A very large thank you to laireshi for writing the rules and guidelines being used for this exchange. They are presented here with minor changes.
Happy New Year! Quick heads-up that the submission deadline is Jan. 7th 23:59 PST👌(You can still edit it before the revealing date)
you can submit your assignment either by tumblr's submission feature or by posting it to the collection on AO3 :)
if you want any writing sprint partners (I'm still working on my assignment lol), need an extension or you have to default or whatever, please contact me at sv.winter.exchange.2k18★gmail.com (please change the ★ into @)🙌
Once a quarter, we will hold a rarepair exchange in which participants will receive a fanwork for a rarepair of their choice and in return will create a fanwork for another participant’s rarepair.
We define rarepair fanworks as those which do not feature any romantic or sexual merthur and which only feature platonic merthur as a background or secondary pairing.
What types of fanworks are eligible? fic, art, graphics, edits, playlists, anything you can think of is all fair game. Please note: you can only request specific pairings, you cannot request the type of fanwork in the sign-ups.
First, please join our community and help the matching process by commenting on this post with:
a list of ships you ship and/or are willing to create for
any ships you will not create for
any characters you particularly enjoy creating fanworks for
any other things you prefer or won’t create for, e.g. poly, femslash, incest, etc
your ao3 pseud, if you have one
this information will then be added to the masterpost.
How to sign-up:
This is easy. You can request 2, 3 or 4 pairings for each round. When the sign-up sheet is posted, simply reply to or reblog it and state the pairings you wish to request.
You cannot sign up for a round if you have not yet fulfilled your assignment for the previous round.
After match assignments are posted:
This is not an anonymous exchange, so it might be nice to contact your recipient and discuss the pairings in further detail, find out why they ship it, etc., and any preferences they may have on details of the fanworks. Recipients, please note that the final details are at the discretion of the creator.
You can post your work as soon as it’s finished, or you can wait until closer to the deadline. That’s entirely up to you. Whatever form your work takes, please post in on ao3. If you do not have an account there, contact us and we’ll get you an invite. If you wish for a link to your fanwork to be on this blog, when posting a link to tumblr please tag both your recipient, and @merlin-rarepair-swap
An ao3 collection will be created for each round and a link will be included on the sign-up and match assignment posts. If your recipient has an ao3 account, please add it as a gift to them.
If your work is going to be a multi-chaptered fic, you must have posted at least chapter 1 by the deadline.
If you cannot complete your assignment by the deadline:
Sometimes unforeseen problems occur, and life generally gets in the way. If you need to default or you will be posting late, that’s okay, just be sure to notify us as soon as possible.
Extended deadline: if your work is not ready by the hard deadline (the 15th of the next sign-up month) then your extended deadline will be the deadline of the subsequent round. For example, if you can’t complete your round 5 work by the round 5 deadline, then your extended deadline will be the round 6 deadline and you cannot sign up for round 6.
Default: if you know you will not be able to complete your work by the following deadline, or you do not wish to extend the deadline, then you can default, and the request will then be opened up to be fulfilled by a pinch-hitter. (if you later manage to complete a work that was pinch-hit, please still feel free to submit it under the original request)
Timescales will be as follows:
sign-ups will run from the 20th to the 29th of the designated month and the match assignments will be posted on the first day of the following month. You will then have 2 to 2.5 months to complete your fanwork. This is demonstrated below and will continue to follow this pattern.
Autumn 2018 - Round 1:
sign-ups will begin on 20th September 2018
sign-ups will close on 29th September 2018
match assignments will be posted on the 1st October 2018
soft deadline will be 30th November 2018
hard deadline will be 15th December 2018
Winter 2018/19 - Round 2:
sign-ups will begin on 20th December 2018
sign-ups will close on 29th December 2018
match assignments will be posted on 2nd January 2019
soft deadline will be 28th February 2019
hard deadline will be 15th March 2019
Spring 2019 - Round 3:
sign-ups will begin on 20th March 2019
sign-ups will close on 29th March 2019
match assignments will be posted on 1st April 2019
soft deadline will be 31st May 2019
hard deadline will be 15th June 2019
Summer 2019 - Round 4:
sign-ups will begin on 20th June 2019
sign-ups will close on 29th June 2019
match assignments will be posted on 1st July 2019
soft deadline will be 31st August 2019
hard deadline will be 15th September 2019
Lastly: Thanks must go to Llin and Art, mods of the star trek rarepair swap, for letting me copy a chunk of the format of the exchange.
Cassian's been shipped off to a quiet backwater moon to finish recuperating from his Scarif injuries. He's not sure why Jyn insisted on coming too, and he doesn't know exactly what they are to each other - except important.
Thanks for your patience, @youareiron-andyouarestrong! (Hosting family over the holidays took away a lot more of my writing time than expected.) I hope you had a wonderful RCSS exchange and that the New Year brings you all good things.
