The Eighth Annual Interdimensional Haixing-Dixing 520 Day Reverse Exchange

[trobadora]

520 Day Reverse Exchange General Concept

As the name says, this is a reverse exchange, also known as a Choose Your Writer/Artist/Fanwork Creator exchange. Instead of making your request and that request being assigned to a writer/artist/fanwork creator, here:

1. You sign up with the kinds of things you enjoy creating - media, ships, tropes, etc.


2. You choose three writers/artists/fanwork creators based on anonymised ads, and you make a request of each of them based on what they enjoy creating and what you want to receive.


3. You are assigned one request to create for, based on your offers.


4. You receive a gift from one of the creators you chose.

The 520 Day Reverse Exchange covers the Guardian drama, the novel, and real person fanworks about the actors. You can offer and/or request fanfic, fanart, icons, vids, podfic, meta, a remix of an existing fanwork, or fanart for an existing fanwork. Or any combination of the above! If there are other media you'd like to offer, please discuss with the mods by commenting on this post.
(Note that meta will need to be sufficiently transformative to meet AO3's rules, i.e. not simply a collection of canon facts.)

Hopefully this means you get an assignment that fits you like a glove, and just the gift fanwork you're looking for!

Participants who are under 18 must request and offer works rated General or Teen And Up only.

STEP ONE: Sign up with your offers

To sign up, comment on the sign-up post with your completed offer form by 11:59pm UTC on Friday 27 March 2026. (What time is that for me?) You'll find a template (and guidelines to help you fill it out) in the post. You must say something relevant for each point; feel free to give as much info as you like.

Note: All comments to the sign-up post are screened so only mods (china_shop and trobadora) can see them. If we need to ask you any questions about your sign-up, we'll reply to your comment or email you.

Mods will turn your sign-up form into an anonymous participant ad for you as a writer/artist/fanwork creator.

STEP TWO: Choose three writers/artists/fanwork creators

The anonymous participant ads will be posted on Saturday 28 March. Participants must choose 3 ads from the list to make requests from, using the requests form. You'll find a template and guidelines in the Requests post. (Please note that specific scenarios/prompts, while welcome, are optional for creators.)

Each ad will be removed from the list when 3 requests have been received for that writer/artist/fanwork creator, so be ready to jump in and claim the ones you want!

All requests must be made by 11:59pm UTC on Friday 3 April. (What time is that for me?) Then the mods will assign one of your chosen writers/artists/creators to create your gift in line with your request.

You'll receive your assignment by Wednesday 8 April at the latest.

STEP THREE: Fill your assignment

Minimum requirements:

• Fanfic, meta and other written fanworks -- at least 300 words


• Art (drawing/painting) -- a sketch (if analogue, not on lined paper), at least 500x500 pixels


• Art (graphic) -- an edited/manipulated digital image, at least 500x500 pixels


• Vids -- at least 30 seconds long


• Icons -- at least 3 icons


• Podfic -- at least 3 minutes long

Post your completed assignment to the AO3 collection by 13th May 2026. (What time is that for me?) The collection will go live on 520 Day (20th May 2026). There is no anonymous period.

Notes:

• All entries must be posted to AO3, so you'll need an AO3 account to participate. If you don't have an account yet, you can request one on AO3 or comment here to ask the mods for an invite.
  
  If you are unfamiliar with exchanges on AO3, please let us know (with an email address) so we can give you some more information.


• AO3 accounts can be set not to allow gifts, and this is the default setting for new accounts. (Find the setting here: Profile > Set My Preferences > Collections, Challenges and Gifts > "Allow anyone to gift me works".) Since we hand-match assignments based on your requests, AO3 treats all 520 Day fanworks the same as ordinary non-exchange gifts. If your AO3 account is set not to allow gifts, and you don't want to change it, you're still welcome to participate: your creator will give your gift to the 520_Day_Reverse_Exchange account, and we'll email you the notification.

You may post your assignment elsewhere after 520 Day, but not before.

STEP FOUR: Enjoy your gift

Enjoy the gift your creator has made for you, and comment to say thank you.
Note: Thank-you comments are required - if you don't comment, you may not sign up for future rounds. If you are unable to comment on a gift, please discuss the situation with the mods.

Schedule

• Sign-ups part 1 - offers: Sunday 15 March - Friday 27 March
• Sign-ups part 2 - requests: Saturday 28 March - Friday 3 April
• Matching: Saturday 4 April - Tuesday 7 April
• Assignments out: Wednesday 8 April at the latest
• Deadline: Wednesday 13 May
• Work reveals: Wednesday 20 May (there is no anon period)

Promotion

We'd love it if you promoted this exchange elsewhere on Dreamwidth or on Twitter, Bluesky, Tumblr, Discord, or wherever! We'll add a Tumblr URL for reblogging and a promo graphic here once sign-ups open.


Any questions? We're here to answer them. Ask in the comments to this post!