#exchange rules

As it is hosted on Sunset, Sunset's content policies apply: 

All members of Sunset must be 18+.

All works posted to Sunset must be F/F, NB/F, or NB/NB.

Gender/cisswaps of M/F, M/M, or M/NB are permitted, please use the freeform tag "Canon Gender Swap" and tag the character in the tagset with F!Character name.

No explicit RPF (real person fiction) about real people, alive or not, under the age of 18 at present or in the work; or any visual artistic depictions of characters under the age of 14 that appear hyperrealistic or could be mistaken as real.

We also have some further rules:

No AI-generated content.

All gifts must be of a quality that would make you happy to receive the gift. 

Fic minimum: 300 words

Art must be polished.

Vids must be a minimum length of 30 seconds with no gaps.

Any other format you can think of is permitted as long as you would be satisfied with it as a gift!

Please don't talk about the specifics of your assignment in public until works are revealed. We'd like it to be a surprise for everyone.

Gifts must be complete and can't be part of a previously posted series.

Be respectful. Please realize that everyone has different likes/interests/squicks.

By signing up, you are planning to create something for someone else - please try to ensure you have the time/energy/resources to do so before signing up, as it makes it harder when people drop out. That being said, if you discover after signing up that you can't finish in time, please use the Default button on your Assignment to withdraw as soon as possible.

If you have never signed up for an exchange before, there are some useful resources on the Femslash Exchange Dreamwidth and in the AO3 FAQs (just substitute "Sunset" for "AO3" and drop any questions on this post).

Nominations

Before signups, during the nomination period, you can nominate fandoms and relationships that you would like included in the exchange at the tag set. Each person can nominate up to 5 fandoms, with up to 3 relationships in each fandom. Please only nominate fandoms/relationships that you plan to offer or request.

We are not including Original Work or Creators' Choice of Fandom tags to keep it simple (we are running our first exchange!).

Original Female or Non-binary Characters can be nominated with an existing character.

Crossovers are permitted, please nominate under Crossover Fandom.

Sign ups

You may request 3-5 fandoms with up to 5 relationships each (these must be unique fandoms). 

You must offer 5-8 fandoms with up to 10 relationships in each (these must be unique fandoms), or choose to offer "Any" relationship in the tagset within a particular fandom.

You will be matched on at least one fandom and relationship. If you do not have at least one potential match, you will be asked to change or add offers to your sign-up.

You can fill in the sign-up form with prompts, likes/dislikes, rating restrictions/requests, and Do Not Wants (DNWs), as well as linking to an external letter if you like. 

If you are prompting, keep in mind that fic prompts don't always translate to art/vids/etc.! 

Do Not Wants must be respected by your creator if included in your sign-up, but these cannot be used to lock your creator into one type of creation. Do Not Wants are things you do not want to see in your gift, for example a kink that squicks you, a theme or topic that you dislike, a TV show you don’t want to be mentioned, etc. 

More information about letter-writing.

Please operate in the spirit of trying to make something your recip will like rather than rules lawyering DNWs.

Pinch Hits

In the event we have issues matching someone, they will go out as a pinch hit right away via a post on this Dreamwidth (which is shared to our Tumblr), so that someone else can create for them. Similarly, if someone defaults, their recip will go to pinch hits so someone else can create for them. If you default and are defaulted on in turn, you are not guaranteed a gift. 

We will make sure everyone has a gift before reveals.

Editing is allowed before work reveals, but the work must be in a reveals ready state at all times (including a working title, no missing chapters, or [missing scene] notes.) 

If you are having difficulty defaulting via your assignment page please contact us by commenting on this post (comments screened). 

Treats

Treats of any length and medium may be posted to the collection at any time! Treats are welcome to be added to the collection without a recipient if they fit the theme. 

If you wish to receive treats, you need to turn these on by going to Preferences as they are turned off by default when you create an account. 

Our stance on plagiarism and AI 

We do not accept nor condone the use of plagiarism, including the use of AI, whether in writing or art. If you are caught using either, you will be disqualified from the current event and barred entry for the other events the Mr. Sadman team puts forward.

General Rules and Informations

Being part of the Mr. Sadman discord is mandatory - meaning this event is open to server members only. Of course, that doesn’t mean you on tumblr cannot participate, just that you need to join the server before the event starts. There will be event related channels and roles available to ensure communication between the mod team and participants runs smoothly. Discord will remain the only method of communication used during the event.

Our sign-ups will be on AO3 only; you will be asked to submit your gift on AO3 regardless of its type to ensure that all assignations are met. That said, if your AO3 handle differs from your Discord handle, please tell us your Discord Username/ID in your sign-up form. 

If you are under the age of 18, you will not be able to create explicit content for the event. Just to reiterate, Mr. Sadman is a 16+ server.

The Mr. Sadman Modteam is a firm believer of “ship and let ship” as well as the kinktomato (https://fanlore.org/wiki/Kinktomato). In accordance with the Server’s existing rules, we will not tolerate any discrimination and harassment in any forms whatsoever. This includes: queerphobia, homophobia, racism, content policing, hate speech, doxxing, shaming, etc, as well as hostility towards organisers and fellow participants. 

It is also mandatory to keep your work and giftee’s identity a secret - this is to ensure that everyone gets the surprise on reveal day. Would you like to have your gifts spoiled ahead of time? Most don’t, so be considerate as it goes against the spirit of the event.

By signing-up to this event, you agree to respect all server and event rules. This includes communication with moderators that might happen outside of server bounds. 

What is a gift exchange?

What is a gift exchange? It’s in the name! This is an event where the exchange of gifts (fic, art, etc.) is central! You will be paired with another participant to make a gift for them based on their sign-up! In turn, you will receive a gift from another participant based on yours!

Are there any minimum requirements? The minimum is 1k words for written pieces, one 500px by 500px piece for art pieces, a minimum of 2mins for digital pieces and audio submissions need to be edited to a near-professional level of quality.

[If your art doesn’t fit within these parameters, please make a note of it in your sign-up and a mod will get in touch with you to reach an agreement]

What kind of art can I make? Anything from traditional or digital drawing, to photomanips, fanvids, podfics, songwriting, book binding and more! We only ask you to put some effort into it! 

A few exceptions include: playlists, icons and banners. These, while being a nice and fun bonus for your giftee, cannot be counted as your primary piece!

What can I write/request? Anything goes! Romantic, platonic, threesomes, foursomes, polycules, you name it! The only thing we ask you to not write/request is xReader/xOC content, as well as anything depicting real life’s children (such as the actors’).

Can I co-write with a friend? If you decide to co-write with a friend, you will have to submit only one sign-up form and will receive only one gift in return. More co-authors doesn’t mean more gifts.

Can I already be paired with someone? No, we do not accept preliminary pairings for this event. 

What if I can’t meet a deadline? Please make sure to inform a mod as soon as you know! Accommodations might be worked out depending on the situation. We simply ask you to be considerate to your fellow participants, it is unfair to them for you to back out as they had already started working on their pieces!

Event Schedule 

Sign-ups : March 31st to April 7th Assignations : April 15th Due date : May 5th Reveal : May 11th

FAQs & TLDR: 

When is the event ? Our Exchange sign-ups are running from March 31st to April 7th, with the due date set for May 5th!

Do I need to be a part of the server to participate? Yes! Our Spring Exchange is open to all server members! This is also to facilitate contact between the mod team and the participants of the event. Please note that sign-ups will be held on AO3 only.

Are there any content type restrictions ? We accept works of various mediums - writing, art, photo edits, podfics, video edits, etc. - , whether they are SFW, NSFW and/or triggering. The only exceptions are playlists, icons and banners, which are not accepted.

Where should I post my work ? Your work should be posted to AO3 to ensure that all assignations have been completed. 

Is this event only for Dreamling? Absolutely not! Whether your pairing is platonic, romantic, neither, both, we want it all!! There is space on the sign-up form for multiple requests, in case you have more than one favoured pairing!

Are polyamorous ships accepted ? Yes!!

Are xReader / xOC works accepted? Not this time around!

I need help, how do I reach a mod?

Do all gifts have to be fics? Yes, this is a fic exchange! There is a 500 word minimum. If you wish to include fan art, a fan mix, or an edit with a fic of at least 500 words, you are welcome to do so.

Is there a word max? We suggest 5,000 words as a max, but aren’t strict about it. Please be mindful, however, that long fics can be a major time commitment for a recipient and sometimes even a challenge to read (especially since English is not the first language of all participants).

How does this whole process work? Do I post my fic on my blog or what? We’re doing our exchanges through Archive of Our Own (AO3) now. You’ll need both a Tumblr blog and an AO3 account to participate. (If you don’t have one of those, contact one of the mods; we’ll walk you through getting set up with what you need.) You’ll sign up sharing what you’d like to / be willing to write, and what you might be willing to receive from your assigned writer, including prompts, tropes, preferred fandoms (aka Original Trilogy, Sequel Trilogy, Legends, etc), and Do Not Wants. We’ll use those signups to match you up with someone for whom you’ll write, and someone who will write for you. After that, you will get your assignment: your recipient and the fandoms, tropes, prompts, and Do Not Wants they put in their sign-up form.

Once your fic is ready to go, you’ll use your AO3 assignment link to submit your fic to the exchange. Submitting your assignment will add it to the collection for the exchange. On the fic reveal day, the fic collection will be revealed (without author names) and we’ll post a link on this blog. You’ll be able to see the gift that was written for you and have fun trying to guess who wrote what. On the author reveal day, the fic collection will be updated to reveal author names, and we’ll again post a link on the blog. Then you’ll have the opportunity to thank your writer, leave them a nice comment, and promote their fic (and the one you wrote, too) on your blog so we can share the joy.

Can I post my fic whenever it's ready, then? You can submit your fic through the assignment link on AO3 (“fulfill assignment”)whenever it's ready, yes. We usually open the collection for the exchange a few weeks before fics are due. You cannot post your fic on Tumblr, FanFictionNet or any other sites until authors are revealed, though. However, please keep in mind that, once your fic is revealed, it will show up with the date you submitted it on, not the date it was revealed on. So if you submit your fic early, say early January, by the time it's visible it might be buried under newer fics in the search. You can choose the "Set a different publication date" option to avoid this issue.

I want to participate, but I only write AUs/OT/Disney canon/Legends… Please join us! All writers are welcome, and we believe all writers have that special recipient just waiting for them. Our sign-ups are designed to facilitate this, and the mods have been known to employ a little magic in their exchange pairings. ;)

I usually write with a friend. Can we sign up together? While we hope both you and your friend will consider participating, exchange pairings are intended to be individual. Grouping people as writers and recipients is hard enough as it is! It would also not be fair to the rest of participants who signed up individually. So, if you’re interested, we’d ask you both to sign up on your own—and you can always work with a cheerleader or a beta reader if you want (ask us if you need us to find you one!).

How will my Exchange Writer know what I like to read? How will the mods know I want to write what my recipient likes to read? All on the sign-up through AO3. You’ll pick tags, ratings, fandoms, etc that you’re willing to write for, and ones you’re happy to receive, as well as things you definitely don’t want to write or don’t want to read. You’ll share these preference through the Request (what you’d like to read) and Offer (what you’d like to write) sections of the AO3 signup form. You’ll be able to choose up to four fandoms, 10 additional tags, and whatever ratings you are comfortable with. We probably can’t match every tag or fandom in your signup – we can only guarantee matches on one fandom, two additional tags from our collection tagset, and one rating - but the more details you provide in your “Likes, Do Not Wants, and Prompts” and you “Would love to write & Will not write” sections, the easier it will be to make a great match with your writer and your giftee.

So, for instance, if you’re only interested in reading fics that are set during or around the Original Trilogy canon, you’d select the Star Wars Original Trilogy fandom for your Request, and similarly for your Offer if that’s what you prefer to write. If you love the OT but enjoy throwing some Extended Universe (aka Legends) characters or situations in there, you could select Star Wars Original Trilogy AND Star War Legends. If you only like to write fluff, you can add “Fluff” (and other tags that appeal to you) as one of your tags in the Offer section. If you’re cool writing in the Sequel Trilogy era but you don’t want to write anything where a character dies, you can include the Sequel Trilogy as a fandom in your Offer but include “major character death” as one of the things you Will Not Write.

You will also be asked to give your writer three prompts to inspire them as they’re writing. These prompts could be situations (”Han Solo loves baths”), lines of dialogue (”I thought you’d never ask”), song lyrics or lines of poetry, or general themes or ideas you think fit well with Han and Leia and would like to read about. Providing three prompts is required for your signup.

Also, once you’re matched, we encourage you to communicate (anonymously, using the Tumblr ask function) with your recipient and your writer, so that’s a good time to chat, ask questions, get feedback on story ideas, etc.

What if there are some things - characters, pairings, squicks, plot points or tropes (like sexual assault or character death), even ‘verses- that I don’t want to read? There’s a place for that in the sign-up form – we want to know about your Do Not Wants specifically. This information will be shared with your writer, who will know to avoid them. The more detail you provide, the better.

Do I have to include prompts? What if I’m good with reading whatever? We don’t have a ton of requirements in the exchange, but we do require that you include at least three prompts in your signup form. Including a prompt is really helpful and kind to your writer—especially people who may not know you well, or who may be newer to fic writing. Sometimes even the most experienced writers just don’t know where to start, and a prompt really helps keep them from getting lost. Feel free to clarify if you’re not particularly attached to your prompt, and/or if you really, really would particularly love a certain prompt written. We do ask all readers to be flexible and understand that the writer may just not be inspired by a given prompt and may write something else! Again, you and your reader/writer can also communicate via anons, so you can also clarify this sort of thing there.

How will the mods pair me with a reader who will like what I want to write? We’ll match you up based on the fandoms, tags, ratings, likes, and will not writes you included in your signup. Plus magic. There’s definitely magic involved. Or the Force?

Is AI generated fic allowed? NO. We do not allow the use of any kind of AI in your work.

Do you guys have a masterlist of everyone who is participating? We don’t necessarily share that out with folks, but there is a way on AO3 to see who has signed up for the exchange. We do encourage participants to tag #hanleiacelebration on any posts they make about the exchange--including anon asks from their writers--so that everyone can join in the fun of guessing who might be writing for whom. (No need to @ us on these posts though- that’s too much for the mods to wade through!) 

AAAHHH! It’s almost the deadline for submission already? Sign-ups were just yesterday, right? NOOOOO I’m not done! Can I get an extension? Please talk to the mods immediately if you’re having trouble getting done in time. We are going to check in with everyone about halfway through the writing time for the exchange, and that’s a great time to let us know if you’re struggling to finish, or if we can help you out by matching you with a beta reader or just a fic cheerleader. If it’s almost the deadline, again, contact us right away. We may be able to give you a short extension (we’re talking days, not weeks), but the sooner we know, the better we can help.

We also know that sometimes life happens and while you had every good intention of writing a fic, you’re not going to make it. The sooner you let us know, the sooner we can get your giftee a pinch-hitter to write their gift. And if you started a fic but didn’t finish in time and had to drop out, we hope you’ll still consider sharing your finished fic with the HanLeia fandom.

Please keep in mind: we are doing our best to give participants plenty of time to get their gifts together. This is an extremely busy time of year. Your recipient is relying on you. Please choose your projects based on what is realistic for you to accomplish in the time that you have. Overestimate the amount of time you will need, and still build in a few extra days as a cushion. 

Keep in mind too that you can’t measure the quality of a fic by length. Short gifts are often much beloved. 

If you’re having issues pacing yourself appropriately or knowing how much you can handle, find a fanfic friend to talk to about it or hit up a mod. 

I’d like someone to check my work for grammar/spelling/word use before I post it. Contact the mods! We can find you a beta reader. We’ll be doing a call for folks willing to be beta readers or pinch hitters — if you’re interested in helping out with either of those, contact the mods when that call goes out.

I am under 18, but I’m not a kid! Why can’t I receive/write smut for my gift? Under U.S. law (where several of the mods are from), it is illegal for adults to provide minors (those under 18) with pornographic materials (and smut counts). It is also illegal for minors to send pornographic materials (smut still counts) to adults. Facilitating the exchange of smut between two minors is also almost certainly a no-no for adults under U.S. law.

Debating these laws isn’t relevant here—the fact is that we have to abide by them, or we put ourselves at risk.

If you are a minor, we support and respect you, but know that the NSFW content here is not and cannot be created for you. 

If you participate in our exchanges, we trust you to be responsible and safe consumers. (Just as we trust our participants to tag appropriately.) If you're under 18, please DO NOT request smut or works of explicit nature. If you are a minor and we find that you requested something explicit (or that you lied about your age), this will result in your being banned from future exchanges. Please just be honest and respect the rules.

So if I’m under 18 and I read smut anyway…? Or write smut in my personal time…? The mods are all happy consumers and sometimes creators of smut—but we’re all over 18 and we don’t knowingly share smut or NSFW content with people who are under 18. We’re not here to judge, but we have to abide by the rules, many of which are in place to ensure that people under 18 can enjoy fandom spaces safely.

My recipient a) loves my NOTP, b) hates my other OTPs, c) promotes a genre of writing I hate, d) hates another genre of writing I do, and/or e) disagrees with me about some fundamental piece of Star Wars canon or fanon. :( How can I possibly write for them?

By putting words on a page! 

We also recommend using Tumblr’s built-in Filtering option (under your Account Settings) to blacklist specific tags and content you don’t want to see posts for when you check their blog.

We’re all here for Han and Leia, and to share stories about Han and Leia with each other. You don’t have to be your recipient’s follower or friend (although if you do make friends through this, that’s great); you just have to write them a story. They get a nice story, and you get to say you have created something—something that will always have your name on it, something that you too can enjoy, and something that you can share with many people for years to come.

No, you don’t understand—my recipient likes [insert ship you hate/ship you consider immoral and/or illegal/other dealbreaker here]! We’re assuming your dealbreaker ship isn’t Han and Leia, or you wouldn’t have signed up. And you wouldn’t get matched together if you didn’t have at least one fandom and some tags that matched up. So you have something in common, at least; focus on that, if you can. Presumably you listed things you wouldn’t write in your Do Not Wants; you don’t need to write those. But shipping the “right” pairings isn’t a fair criterion for inclusion in the exchange, and the mods cannot spend their time ensuring only people who like the same stuff (outside of what they’re willing to write/read for the exchange) are paired with each other. So if you’re struggling with your match, try to look at it as an interesting writing challenge to take on.

If you are having significant struggles with this, please talk to a mod—but know that changes are only likely to be made in extreme cases.

I am blocked by my recipient. Eek! Please come talk to one of the mods ASAP.

I’m thinking about contacting the mods about something, but I’m not sure I should? Or that it’s something big enough to bother them with. Contact the mods! We exist to serve you! We love to help! Contacting us early can also prevent bigger problems down the road.