#exchanges

I like this idea.

Unfortunately, the man who made this one had to take it down b/c it kept getting vandalized.

mikebennettart instagram

DO SOME EXCHANGES!

I'm talking specifically about multi-fandom exchanges, here. Single-fandom or single-ship exchanges can be fun, but they normally happen once or twice a year (unless you do a lot of different ones for different fandoms/ships...) Multi-fandom exchange communities are so active these days that any day of the week you can find an exchange to join in. Flash exchanges, themed exchanges, big annual events, exchanges with small minimums (300 words or even less) or large minimums (10k or more), exchanges where you create in different mediums (art, podfic, crafts).

Problems that multifandom exchanges can help with:

"I feel like I'm posting into a void, no one comments or pays attention to my fic." In exchanges, you are creating a work for someone! That someone, at minimum, should read your work and comment on it. Many exchanges have a specific rule that they have to comment, but even if there isn't a rule, it's strongly expected that they'll comment. (Of course it can happen that they don't, but the norm is heavily in favour of commenting.) Moreover, participants in exchanges will often look through other works in that event, recommend works to check out, etc. Especially if it's a collection of works that revolve around a specific theme, they might read fandom-blind or things that they wouldn't normally check out.

"I can't find other people who share my interests - I like rare pairs, small fandoms, or other non-mainstream interests." Guess what, there are exchanges and events for all of those things! And doing exchanges is a great way to lure people into your specific small fandom or rare pair! Matching with someone who wants a fic for your favourite minor character or niche trope is an amazing feeling, and can be the first step towards making a new friend. And it's also a way for you to learn about other fandoms, maybe pick up some new interests!

"I feel insecure about my writing skills." See point 1 above - you're making a gift for someone! Just as the expectation when someone gifts you a handmade gift is to thank them sincerely for their effort, the norm when someone writes a fic for you is enthusiastic thanks because they made you a gift. People are often just thrilled to have another fic for their favourite ship/fandom/character, let alone one that was made with their specific likes in mind. If you read through the collection for events, you'll see that there are a wide range of skills, and that's fine!

"I feel nervous about liking something controversial or unpopular or that is considered 'problematic', what if people are mean to me?" This is where I think multifandom exchange space in particular is GREAT. The overall culture is very strongly 'old fandom', your kink is not my kink and that's ok. If someone doesn't like your ship or your prompt, that's their problem, and they are still expected to be polite in communal spaces and follow the rules. You will find exchanges themed around kink, including highly specific/niche kinks. Every single archive warning has an event or several geared just towards creating that content. You will see people asking for exactly what they want and what they don't want, without embarrassment and without experiencing harassment. It's a wonderful environment for unlearning shame, if that's something you deal with.

So, you might say, how do I find out about these events? How do I actually join them?

You can join a discord server. The two I would recommend most highly are Exchanges After Dark, which is an 18+ multifandom exchange server and a hub for many events, and the Yuletide discord, which is not only for Yuletide (a huge annual small fandom exchange) but has channels for a lot of other events as well. (If you see this post after those links have expired, feel free to message me and ask for a link.) These are the main ways I find out about events, but they can be large and busy - mute channels you aren't interested in with impunity. Lurk if you wish, just see how the spaces work, or ask questions (but be prepared to get a dozen different answers).

If you really aren't into discord, you can follow this Dreamwidth community: https://fandomcalendar.dreamwidth.org/ - many events advertise there, so you can keep an eye on it and see what interests you, and follow the links back to their specific communities or spaces for more info.

You can look on AO3 under Browse -> Collections, and then select Multifandom, Open, Gift Exchange from the sidebar filters like this. This is probably the least efficient way, since you'll have to wade through many, many collections, but you might find interesting stuff there that isn't otherwise going to come to your notice.

At this point in my life, I feel like exchanges are my fandom, moreso than any specific show or book or movie. Because no matter what I'm currently interested in, I can explore it through exchanges, and probably find other people who like it too, or get other people interested in it. I can have an active community and a social space that is enjoyable and fun and makes me feel connected to other fans.

Made for a Twst Valentines flash exchange :)

Idia learned metalcraft and Made Azul's engagement ring himself. It's a high karat gold, with 3 opal magestones set into it. It's also got really tiny tech that they can configure to whatever Azul might want

SIGN UP HERE!

With 30 sign-ups so far, 2026 officially has the most participants of any Wildflowers Exchange yet!

And we've still got another 24 hours to left to sign up!

Sign-ups for Critical Role Summer Wildflowers 2026 will be closing on Saturday, 30th May at 11:59 PM EDT/Sunday, 31st 3:59 AM UTC! Make sure you have submitted your requests and offers before then!

More information on how to sign up here!

Join the Discord server here!

Coast Guard members were given the opportunity to line the commander-in-chief's pockets directly by purchasing his branded alcohol.

Nov. 10, 2025, 7:09 AM EST

By Hayes Brown, MSNBC Opinion Writer/Editor

President Donald Trump has spent much of his second term so far doing, well, exactly the sorts of things he would be doing if he weren’t president. He’s been busy renovating the White House to more closely resemble his gilded temple to opulence at Mar-a-Lago. He’s been hawking wares with his name slapped on them to anyone willing to open their wallet. And at least one branch of the military has been given the chance to give back to their commander in chief directly.

Hiya! This July, I and 279 other people will be playing a fanworks exchange game called Battleships! While sign-ups are closed, prompts are still open and will be throughout the game (which starts on July 12 and will probably go until near the end of the month). Battleships is basically played like the Battleships board game, but to call squares, you have to make fanworks first, and each fanwork has to be a gift for someone's prompt - so having prompts to work with is a super important part of the game. And you might get a fic, art, or podfic in response to your prompt!

You can go to the prompt form here to get started! If you want more instructions on filling it out, I've included an explanation below.

How to leave a prompt:

The full prompting rules are here, but here's a simplified version: First of all, you need an AO3 account, and your account needs to be set to receive gifts, or else nobody can give you a response to a prompt! Receiving gifts is disabled by default for newer accounts. Go to your preferences (you can find it from your dashboard or by selecting 'Hi, [your username]') and check that the 'Allow anyone to gift me works' setting at the bottom is checked.

At the prompt form, if you want to add more than one prompt, you can click the 'add another request?' button at the bottom to add up to 50. You can edit the prompts afterward (although you shouldn't make big changes mid-game) or remove them or add more whenever you want.

The fandom has to be one that has already been nominated by someone for the game - you can search for fandoms by typing in the box and clicking if you fandom shows up, but the search boxes can be a little glitchy, so you can also check the set of nominated fandoms (alphabetical here, or by medium here).

Then you select whether you want to ask for fic, art, and/or podfic.

The relationships box is used for both relationships and single characters (and sometimes objects, places, or ideas like worldbuilding). A tag like 1: Character means you are asking for a work centered on that character; this can be filled with a gen work, or a work with any relationship featuring the character, unless you add relationships or something like 'no romantic relationships' to your do not want list (see below). A tag like Character/Character means who are asking for work with a romantic and/or sexual relationship between the characters. A tag like Character & Character means you are asking for a work with a platonic relationship between the characters. Relationships also have to already be nominated; you can search with the box, but this one is also a bit glitchy sometimes, so you can also look for your fandom in the big list of nominated fandoms and relationships and click the arrow next to it to see what has already been nominated.

The additional tags and the optional tags field are basically the same thing, but the additional tags box has a limit of 20, and any after that go in the optional tags box. You have to request at least one additional tag from the list of additional tags, but you can request as many as you want. Be warned that the additional tags box can search the Battleship tags, but if you want to include more in the optional tags box, you have to copy and paste from the tag list. (Putting anything in either tags box except the tags from the Battleship tags list will get your prompt deleted by the mods!) If you want to add a lot of tags, there's a tickybox sheet that can help.

A fill for a prompt has to contain at least one relationship (or character) you requested and at least one additional tag you requested in a medium you requested. You can make more than one prompt for the same fandom if you want to ask for different relationships in different mediums or different additional tags for different relationships.

In the optional details box, you need to include at least a little bit of info for a potential creator. You can write about what you like in the prompted medium in general or any ideas for more specific prompts you have, like tropes, scenes, or AUs. You also need to either clearly list your do not wants (DNWs) or say that you don't have any. DNWs are things that you don't want to receive for any reason (you don't need to explain why), and creators are not allowed to include them when fulfilling a prompt. They should be stated neutrally, and you should try to make them clear and easy to understand. (For example: 'DNW: explicit sex, A/B' is good, while 'DNW: gross stuff' doesn't clearly state what it encompasses, and 'DNW that disgusting ship A/B' is not neutral.)

The archive warnings box allows you to indicate that you are interested in receiving works with those archive warnings. Not selecting them does not mean a fill can't include them (unless you add them to your DNWs) and selecting them doesn't mean that a fill must include them (unless you say 'DNW No Archive Warnings Apply').

Don't check 'Semi-anonymous Prompt?'. Battleship uses the gift functionality of AO3, so a creator can't gift a prompt fill to an unknown person.