Goreswap Exchange

Goreswap will run in 2025! The tentative schedule is:

Nominations: Jan 8-15
Sign ups: Open by Jan 17-24
Assignments out by: Jan 26
Assignments due: Mar 9
Work reveals: Mar 21
Creator reveals: Mar 28

In addition I have some announcements regarding the rules. These are not changes in the rules per se, but clarifications about questions I've received in the past, and some changes in enforcement:

1. Regarding RPF, and OW and fictional characters related to RPF works: real people famous for participation in the Nazi regime remain banned, as are fictionalized versions of real Nazis, as are Nazi OW nominations. Fictional Nazis may be banned at my discretion if I feel they are a violation of the above in spirit. HYDRA characters from the MCU are generally fine. Most living or recently living people primarily famous for committing atrocities are also banned, as are OW expies. In particular, Vladimir Putin is banned, as is any OW nomination I believe is meant to circumvent this rule. (The real serial killers rule remains as before, and has not generally required clarification.)

This rule is primarily enforced at the nomination stage due to the logistics of exchange matching, but I reserve the right to remove works circumventing the rule and ban their creators without recourse. (Please note that I am referring to cases which are, in my judgment, clearly meant to circumvent the rule. I am not going to ban you for a fic where Steve Rogers shoots Hitler.)

2. Regarding DNWs, transgender characters, and sexual orientation and gender identity: You are generally permitted to DNW altering canon characters' backstories, stories focusing or giving detail to certain topics, and particular sex acts, but not permitted to DNW minorities' existence within a story. You may DNW writing specific canon characters, or canon characters generally, as transgender if they are not already transgender in canon. You may DNW coming out scenes, introspection on gender identity or sexual orientation, explicit discussion of sexual orientation, anachronistic identity labels, conversations about gender identity, and similar. You may not DNW transgender characters or OCs in general. You may not DNW gay/bi/pan/etc characters. I am aware that many people DNW something in this spectrum because they do not want to read transgender characters engaging in specific sexual acts, due to dysphoria or otherwise, and I recommend that if this is the case, you DNW the act (e.g., "DNW: transgender characters engaged in PIV," "DNW: transmasculine characters bottoming for PIV," etc.)

I will not be giving participants in violation of this rule the option to leave the DNW up without enforcement; participants will be given the choice to edit their sign ups or have them removed from the exchange.

DNWs of "non-canon gender/sexuality headcanons" or "gender/sexuality headcanons" will conflict with many requests (for example, they would conflict with requesting a character in a same sex relationship if that character doesn't explicitly experience same sex attraction in canon) and will only apply to canon characters. As what constitutes a "headcanon" in the context of narrative fanfic (vs. fan discussion or meta) is ambiguous, I recommend you use something else more specific. If you don't want the characters to discuss their sexual orientations or gender identities explicitly, DNW that.

3. Regarding DNWs on the subject of characters' ethnic backgrounds: Similarly to above, you may DNW racebending or changing a character's ethnic background, race, or skin tone/physical description, but you may not DNW people of a given ethnicity or race in a story. Some characters, particularly existing within franchises, may have multiple backstories which give different ethnic backgrounds or appearances. It's fine to DNW a specific version's backstory; it is not fine to do so with offensive language. As above, if you violate this rule, I will require you to edit your sign up or have it removed from the exchange.

4. While I generally give people something of the benefit of the doubt, if I have evidence to believe you are likely to behave unreasonably, for example, your recent public behavior in other exchanges, I may ban you on this basis on my sole discretion. (If you're worrying this is about you, and you have not recently done something which would violate point one on this list, it probably isn't.)