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2026 Rules and Schedule
Dec. 8th, 2025 03:44 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
flowing_riverTraumatic Experiences is a (psychological) trauma themed multifandom exchange that will be run on Ao3. Matching will be done on fandom, relationship/solo character, and freeform. You must be 18+ to participate and maintain anonymity until creator reveals.
Schedule:
Nominations: December 30 - January 6
Sign-Ups: January 6 - 16
Assignments Due: February 10
Work Reveals: February 17
Creator Reveals: February 24
All times will be 8PM PST
Email: traumaticexperiencesmod@gmail.com
Ao3 Collection | Tagset
You will be able to nominate up to 10 fandoms with up to 10 relationships or solo characters per fandom. You will also be able to nominate up to 10 freeforms.
Original Work, Crossovers, and Creator’s Choice of Fandom nominations are allowed. RPF (Real Person Fiction) is not allowed. Crossovers should be nominated under “Crossover Fandom” and each character should be disambiguated with the fandom name in parentheses.
Original Work nominations should be nominated under the “Original Work” fandom and gender preferences can be baked into the relationship/solo character tag (e.g. "Male Knight & Female Knight (OW)"). If you do not specify a gender (e.g. "Knight/Knight (OW)"), your creator can choose any gender(s) to fill the tag.
Creator’s Choice of Fandom nominations should be nominated under “Creator’s Choice of Fandom” and gender preferences can be baked into the relationship/solo character tag (e.g. "Creator's Choice of Female Character & Creator's Choice of Female Character (CCoF)"). If you do not specify a gender (e.g. "Creator's Choice of Parent & Creator's Choice of Child (CCoF)"), your creator can choose any gender(s) to fill the tag.
Please use the canonical fandom tag when nominating. If your fandom does not have a canonical tag, please use your best judgment in formatting it when nominating. View the franchise nomination guidelines here.
Make sure to use the characters’ full, capitalized names when nominating. All relationship/solo character nominations must be disambiguated with the fandom name in parentheses. Please make sure the disambiguation is clear and specific (e.g. “Pepper Potts/Tony Stark (Marvel)” would be unclear because the nomination could belong to many different fandoms. “Pepper Potts/Tony Stark (MCU)” would be much clearer). Incorrectly formatted nominations will be rejected.
Nominations Formats:
- Character A & Character B (Fandom)
- Character A & Character B & Character C (Fandom)
- Character A/Character B (Fandom)
- Character A/Character B/Character C (Fandom)
- Solo: Character A (Fandom)
Crossover Nomination Formats (under “Crossover Fandom”):
- Character A (Fandom A) & Character B (Fandom B)
- Character A (Fandom A) & Character B (Fandom B) & Character C (Fandom C)
- Character A (Fandom A)/Character B (Fandom B)
- Character A (Fandom A)/Character B (Fandom B)/Character C (Fandom C)
All nominated freeforms must be clearly related to the theme of the exchange. Something like "Stabbing" would not be accepted on it's own but "Character is Traumatized from Being Stabbed" would be accepted. "Domestic Fluff" would also not be accepted, but "Traumatized Character Receives Fluffy Comfort" would be accepted. Symptoms caused by trauma will also be accepted (e.g. "Trauma Flashbacks").
Freeforms that are completely unrelated to the exchange theme (e.g. "1st Person POV") will be rejected. Ao3 limits nominations to a maximum of 150 characters per slot. Nominated freeforms cannot be specific to a fandom.
Requests
During the sign-up period, you must request 1-10 fandoms with 1-10 relationships or solo characters per fandom. You must also request 3-20 freeforms per request. You will be allowed to request a fandom multiple times but this will not count as unique fandoms. You must request at least 3 unique fandoms for a guaranteed gift. Original Work requests will only count as 1 fandom. If you are unsure about whether a fandom counts as a unique fandom, feel free to comment on this post or email us.
All Do Not Wants (DNWs) must be in the optional details box to be enforceable. Any DNWs in a linked letter will not be enforced. All DNWs must be clearly labeled as “DNW(s)” or “Do Not Want(s)”. All DNWs must be reasonable, clear, and judgement-free. You cannot contradict your request with a DNW (e.g. DNWing whump after requesting a freeform about trauma from whump). Your DNWs cannot box in your creator (e.g. DNW everything except Holmes fainting). Any unreasonable/bad-faith DNW will not be enforced. If you don’t have any DNWs, feel free to mention that in your optional details!
You are allowed to add an optional letter to your request, but the letter must be complete and viewable by the time assignments go out. Your recipient will not be obligated to wait for your letter to be complete and viewable after they receive their assignment. Make sure the letter is easy to access as well (i.e. you do not have to make an account to view it and the formatting is easy to read on all devices).
You may sign up with up to two well behaved accounts, but you cannot be matchable to yourself. If you sign up with multiple accounts, you will have multiple assignments. Please keep that in mind if you decide to sign up with a second account. Any bad-faith sign ups with multiple accounts will result in your sign-up being deleted. You must be in good standing in my exchanges to sign up.
Offers
During the sign-up period, you must also offer 1-10 fandoms with 1-10 relationships or solo characters per fandom. You must also offer 3-20 freeforms per offer.
Matching will be done on a minimum of 1 fandom, relationship/solo character, and freeform. Please make sure you are matchable by the time sign-ups close. Unmatchables will be emailed and have 24 hours to respond before their sign up is deleted. Please verify the email on your ao3 account and make sure it is correct and active.
Assignment Requirements
Your assignment fill must be a fic with a minimum of 1000 words. You must include a requested fandom, relationship or solo character, and freeform. The fill cannot include any DNWs. The fill must also clearly feature trauma as a main theme.
Your fill must be newly created and complete fanwork. It must also stand alone and cannot be a part of an existing series of connected fanworks. If you are creating an Original Work fill, you cannot reuse character(s) you have featured in fanworks before. You cannot have multiple recipients for one fanwork.
AI generated fanworks of any kind are not allowed.
Defaulting
If you cannot complete your assignment, please default as soon as possible so that the request can be put out as a pinch hit. There will be no consequences for defaulting, but you will not go out as a pinch hit if you do not complete your assignment.
To default, go to your "Assignments" tab on your Ao3 dashboard and scroll to your assignment for this exchange. Click on "default" and confirm the default. Alternatively, you can go to the Ao3 collection for this exchange, click on the "My Assignments" tab, and click "default" from that page. You do not need to email the mods with a reason or explanation for defaulting.
Pinch Hits
Pinch Hits will be posted to Dreamwidth and fills must meet all assignment requirements. The exchange will not reveal until all Pinch Hits requesting at least 3 unique fandoms have been claimed and filled.
Treats
You do not have to be signed up to treat. Treats do not need to meet the minimum wordcount requirement but must meet all other assignment requirements.
Treats will be opt-out. If you do not wish to receive a treat, please mention that in your sign up. If you do wish to receive a treat, feel free to indicate that in your sign up and make sure your account settings are set to allow gifts. The Ao3 default for this setting is for gifts to not be allowed, so make sure to double check if the setting is enabled if you wish to receive treats.
Anonymous Period
During the creation period and anonymous period, do not publicly post or talk about the fanwork you are creating. Do not publicly post or talk about any fanworks you have posted to the collection during this period. Make sure you don’t include links to your social media accounts in your fanwork until the anonymous period is over.
Additionally, do not contact your recipient during the creation period. If you have any questions for your recipient (e.g. DNW clarifications), please email the mods with your query and we will forward the question to the recipient. Don't forget to include your Ao3 username and your recipient's Ao3 username in the email!
Gifts
If you receive a gift that does not meet the minimum assignment requirements, please reach out to the mods via email ASAP. Otherwise, please comment on your gift! We will not be checking for comments, but please show your appreciation for your gift.
Schedule:
Nominations: December 30 - January 6
Sign-Ups: January 6 - 16
Assignments Due: February 10
Work Reveals: February 17
Creator Reveals: February 24
All times will be 8PM PST
Email: traumaticexperiencesmod@gmail.com
Ao3 Collection | Tagset
Rules:
NominationsYou will be able to nominate up to 10 fandoms with up to 10 relationships or solo characters per fandom. You will also be able to nominate up to 10 freeforms.
Original Work, Crossovers, and Creator’s Choice of Fandom nominations are allowed. RPF (Real Person Fiction) is not allowed. Crossovers should be nominated under “Crossover Fandom” and each character should be disambiguated with the fandom name in parentheses.
Original Work nominations should be nominated under the “Original Work” fandom and gender preferences can be baked into the relationship/solo character tag (e.g. "Male Knight & Female Knight (OW)"). If you do not specify a gender (e.g. "Knight/Knight (OW)"), your creator can choose any gender(s) to fill the tag.
Creator’s Choice of Fandom nominations should be nominated under “Creator’s Choice of Fandom” and gender preferences can be baked into the relationship/solo character tag (e.g. "Creator's Choice of Female Character & Creator's Choice of Female Character (CCoF)"). If you do not specify a gender (e.g. "Creator's Choice of Parent & Creator's Choice of Child (CCoF)"), your creator can choose any gender(s) to fill the tag.
Please use the canonical fandom tag when nominating. If your fandom does not have a canonical tag, please use your best judgment in formatting it when nominating. View the franchise nomination guidelines here.
Make sure to use the characters’ full, capitalized names when nominating. All relationship/solo character nominations must be disambiguated with the fandom name in parentheses. Please make sure the disambiguation is clear and specific (e.g. “Pepper Potts/Tony Stark (Marvel)” would be unclear because the nomination could belong to many different fandoms. “Pepper Potts/Tony Stark (MCU)” would be much clearer). Incorrectly formatted nominations will be rejected.
Nominations Formats:
- Character A & Character B (Fandom)
- Character A & Character B & Character C (Fandom)
- Character A/Character B (Fandom)
- Character A/Character B/Character C (Fandom)
- Solo: Character A (Fandom)
Crossover Nomination Formats (under “Crossover Fandom”):
- Character A (Fandom A) & Character B (Fandom B)
- Character A (Fandom A) & Character B (Fandom B) & Character C (Fandom C)
- Character A (Fandom A)/Character B (Fandom B)
- Character A (Fandom A)/Character B (Fandom B)/Character C (Fandom C)
All nominated freeforms must be clearly related to the theme of the exchange. Something like "Stabbing" would not be accepted on it's own but "Character is Traumatized from Being Stabbed" would be accepted. "Domestic Fluff" would also not be accepted, but "Traumatized Character Receives Fluffy Comfort" would be accepted. Symptoms caused by trauma will also be accepted (e.g. "Trauma Flashbacks").
Freeforms that are completely unrelated to the exchange theme (e.g. "1st Person POV") will be rejected. Ao3 limits nominations to a maximum of 150 characters per slot. Nominated freeforms cannot be specific to a fandom.
Requests
During the sign-up period, you must request 1-10 fandoms with 1-10 relationships or solo characters per fandom. You must also request 3-20 freeforms per request. You will be allowed to request a fandom multiple times but this will not count as unique fandoms. You must request at least 3 unique fandoms for a guaranteed gift. Original Work requests will only count as 1 fandom. If you are unsure about whether a fandom counts as a unique fandom, feel free to comment on this post or email us.
All Do Not Wants (DNWs) must be in the optional details box to be enforceable. Any DNWs in a linked letter will not be enforced. All DNWs must be clearly labeled as “DNW(s)” or “Do Not Want(s)”. All DNWs must be reasonable, clear, and judgement-free. You cannot contradict your request with a DNW (e.g. DNWing whump after requesting a freeform about trauma from whump). Your DNWs cannot box in your creator (e.g. DNW everything except Holmes fainting). Any unreasonable/bad-faith DNW will not be enforced. If you don’t have any DNWs, feel free to mention that in your optional details!
You are allowed to add an optional letter to your request, but the letter must be complete and viewable by the time assignments go out. Your recipient will not be obligated to wait for your letter to be complete and viewable after they receive their assignment. Make sure the letter is easy to access as well (i.e. you do not have to make an account to view it and the formatting is easy to read on all devices).
You may sign up with up to two well behaved accounts, but you cannot be matchable to yourself. If you sign up with multiple accounts, you will have multiple assignments. Please keep that in mind if you decide to sign up with a second account. Any bad-faith sign ups with multiple accounts will result in your sign-up being deleted. You must be in good standing in my exchanges to sign up.
Offers
During the sign-up period, you must also offer 1-10 fandoms with 1-10 relationships or solo characters per fandom. You must also offer 3-20 freeforms per offer.
Matching will be done on a minimum of 1 fandom, relationship/solo character, and freeform. Please make sure you are matchable by the time sign-ups close. Unmatchables will be emailed and have 24 hours to respond before their sign up is deleted. Please verify the email on your ao3 account and make sure it is correct and active.
Assignment Requirements
Your assignment fill must be a fic with a minimum of 1000 words. You must include a requested fandom, relationship or solo character, and freeform. The fill cannot include any DNWs. The fill must also clearly feature trauma as a main theme.
Your fill must be newly created and complete fanwork. It must also stand alone and cannot be a part of an existing series of connected fanworks. If you are creating an Original Work fill, you cannot reuse character(s) you have featured in fanworks before. You cannot have multiple recipients for one fanwork.
AI generated fanworks of any kind are not allowed.
Defaulting
If you cannot complete your assignment, please default as soon as possible so that the request can be put out as a pinch hit. There will be no consequences for defaulting, but you will not go out as a pinch hit if you do not complete your assignment.
To default, go to your "Assignments" tab on your Ao3 dashboard and scroll to your assignment for this exchange. Click on "default" and confirm the default. Alternatively, you can go to the Ao3 collection for this exchange, click on the "My Assignments" tab, and click "default" from that page. You do not need to email the mods with a reason or explanation for defaulting.
Pinch Hits
Pinch Hits will be posted to Dreamwidth and fills must meet all assignment requirements. The exchange will not reveal until all Pinch Hits requesting at least 3 unique fandoms have been claimed and filled.
Treats
You do not have to be signed up to treat. Treats do not need to meet the minimum wordcount requirement but must meet all other assignment requirements.
Treats will be opt-out. If you do not wish to receive a treat, please mention that in your sign up. If you do wish to receive a treat, feel free to indicate that in your sign up and make sure your account settings are set to allow gifts. The Ao3 default for this setting is for gifts to not be allowed, so make sure to double check if the setting is enabled if you wish to receive treats.
Anonymous Period
During the creation period and anonymous period, do not publicly post or talk about the fanwork you are creating. Do not publicly post or talk about any fanworks you have posted to the collection during this period. Make sure you don’t include links to your social media accounts in your fanwork until the anonymous period is over.
Additionally, do not contact your recipient during the creation period. If you have any questions for your recipient (e.g. DNW clarifications), please email the mods with your query and we will forward the question to the recipient. Don't forget to include your Ao3 username and your recipient's Ao3 username in the email!
Gifts
If you receive a gift that does not meet the minimum assignment requirements, please reach out to the mods via email ASAP. Otherwise, please comment on your gift! We will not be checking for comments, but please show your appreciation for your gift.