Goreswap Exchange

24 Hour Warning

2026-04-12T02:46:53Z

Posted by: slashmarks

There are now just over 24 hours before assignments are due, on April 12 at 11:59 PM EDT! Remember, you can request an extension of up to one week by emailing me at shimmeringwords@gmail.com or messaging me on dreamwidth. Include your username and your recipient's username, and the amount of time you need.

Please also check that your work has been posted and is not saved as a draft. Drafts do not fulfill assignments!

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existing pinch hits #3, 5, 9; new pinch hit #12

2026-04-04T07:25:37Z

Posted by: slashmarks

The following pinch hits need creators and are now due a week after assignments, on April 19th at 11:59 PM EDT. Assignments must be at least 500 words or a sketch on unlined paper, and must include significant gore content. To claim a pinch hit, either comment on this post or email me at shimmeringwords@gmail.com including the assignment you want and your AO3 username. Comments are screened. If you post an anonymous comment, I can't reply to it.

( Pinch Hit #3: Art, Fic - 镇魂 | Guardian (TV 2018), 镇魂 | Guardian - priest )

( Pinch Hit #5: Fic - Night Prince - Jeaniene Frost, グノーシア | Gnosia (Visual Novel), Dracula Rising (Cartoon) )

( Pinch Hit #9: Fic - Anne Rice's Talamasca: The Secret Order (TV 2025), Interview with the Vampire (TV 2022), Loki (TV 2021), The Night Manager (TV 2016), D.Gray-man (Anime & Manga), Merlin (TV) )

( Pinch Hit #12: Fic - Elden Ring (Video Game), Bloodborne (Video Game), Dark Souls (Video Game), サイレント・ウィッチ沈黙の魔女の隠しごと - 依空まつり | Secrets of the Silent Witch - Isora Matsuri, Gachiakuta (Manga), 凸变英雄X | To Be Hero X (Cartoon), Elisabeth - Takarazuka Revue, Redtape Series - Rounderhouse, The Murderbot Diaries - Martha Wells, 괴담에 떨어져도 출근을 해야 하는구나 - 백덕수 | Even If I Fall Into a Ghost Story I Still Have to Go to Work - Baek Deoksoo )

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(Under) 2 Week Warning

2026-03-30T22:03:47Z

Posted by: slashmarks

This is a reminder that assignments are due in just under two weeks, on Sunday, April 12 at 11:59 PM EDT! If you need an extension of up to one week, contact me via PM or email me at shimmeringwords@gmail.com.

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Existing Pinch Hits #3, 5, 9; new pinch hit #11

2026-03-28T06:50:45Z

Posted by: slashmarks

( Outdated! )

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Existing Pinch Hits #1, 3, 5, 8-9; New Pinch Hit #10

2026-03-18T07:07:09Z

Posted by: slashmarks

( Outdated! )

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Existing Pinch Hits #1, 3, 5; New Pinch Hits #7-9

2026-03-04T08:53:14Z

Posted by: slashmarks

( Outdated! )

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Initial Pinch Hits #1-6

2026-02-27T10:52:16Z

Posted by: slashmarks

( Outdated! )

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Assignments Out!

2026-02-27T10:36:00Z

Posted by: slashmarks

Assignments are out! Have fun creating, everyone!

Assignments are due April 12th, at 11:59 PM EDT. They must be at least 500 words or a nice sketch on unlined paper, with significant gore content, and respect your recipient's reasonable DNWs. Remember to stay anonymous until creators are revealed on May 1st! Do not contact your recipient directly. If you need to ask a clarifying question, or have any other problems, please contact me at shimmeringwords@gmail.com, and I will pass the question on anonymously or otherwise assist you.

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Sign Ups Closed

2026-02-26T09:44:54Z

Posted by: slashmarks

Sign ups are now closed!

We had several participants who were unmatchable or otherwise had problems with their signs up which must be resolved. Please check the email associated with your AO3 account if your username begins with: ~~H, K, O, or S.~~ These participants have twenty-four hours to contact me before their sign ups are deleted.

Assignments will go out as soon as all problems are resolved, by some time on February 27. Thank you for participating!

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24 Hour Sign Up Warning

2026-02-25T04:57:19Z

Posted by: slashmarks

Sign ups are open for twenty-four more hours! View instructions here, and sign up here.

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Sign Ups Open!

2026-02-18T08:57:43Z

Posted by: slashmarks

Sign ups are now open! In order to sign up, go to the sign up form. For detailed instructions, keep reading.

( Requests )

( Offers )

When you have finished filling in your offers and requests, click submit. Occasionally there will be a problem, in which case the field which could not be submitted will have an error message next to it. Otherwise, at this point you may review the Requests Summary in order to see all requests. You may return to your sign up page to edit it at any point until sign ups close.

During sign ups, I am willing to add up to one fandom and three relationship nominations per participant. Please comment on this post or message/email me with the tags you would like added.

For previous participants, remember that goreswap has a mandatory commenting rule! This is a good time to check that you have commented on your gifts from last round. I will do a randomized check at some point during sign ups.

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Tagset Queries & Cleanup

2026-02-16T08:26:25Z

Posted by: slashmarks

Nominations are now closed, and I have finished going through the tagset. I have queries for a limited number of nominations, listed below. After twenty-four hours, I will either correct or reject them as noted below. Please also let me know if I have changed your tag in a way you feel changes its meaning (and which is not covered by the nominations post or rules).

( Buckshot Roulette )

( Doctor Who 2005 )

( Iron Lung (2026) )

( Kraven the Hunter (2024) )

( Doctor Who )

Aside from that, tag cleanup is ongoing! You can help me by commenting if you spot any mistakes, duplicate tags, or tags in your fandom that shouldn't be.

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48 Hour Warning on Nominations

2026-02-14T04:25:42Z

Posted by: slashmarks

Just a heads up that nominations are open for roughly forty-eight more hours! You can find instructions for nominations here.

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Nominations Open!

2026-02-01T04:44:52Z

Posted by: slashmarks

Nominations are now open! You can find the tagset here, and instructions below.

Nominating is how the fandoms, relationships and characters you can offer and request in the exchange are chosen. You can nominate up to ten fandoms, and up to twenty relationships per fandom by filling out the form here (or click 'nominate' at the top right of the tagset). All eligible, correctly formatted nominations will be approved.

Formatting Guidelines:

If your fandom has an existing AO3 tag, please enter that tag. If not, make up a tag that matches AO3's formatting. See below for instructions for specific franchises.

Individual character nominations should be nominated in the form "Char: X." These nominations are for works featuring at least the requested character, not necessarily that character alone. Romantic and sexual relationships should be nominated in the form X/Y. Platonic relationships should be nominated in the form X & Y. You may also nominate larger groups, such as X/Y & A/B for a work which features all four characters together in two relationships, A & B & C for all three characters featured in platonic relationships, X/Y/Z for a threesome, etc.

Original characters may be nominated, by themselves or in relationships with canon characters. All details that aren't included in the tag are up to the creator's discretion. For example, Harry Potter/Original Female Slytherin would require a work featuring Harry Potter in a romantic or sexual relationship with a female Slytherin OC, whereas Harry Potter/Original Slytherin would allow the creator to choose the original character's gender. Creator's Choice of Fandom and Original Work relationships should also include all important details in the tag.

Please do not nominate ambiguous groups such as "Harry Potter & Slytherins." Instead, you may nominate "Harry Potter & Any Slytherin," or "Harry Potter & Any Slytherin(s)." This is to avoid ambiguity as to which specific characters must be included. I will generally correct this type of nomination without querying.

Crossover pairings should be nominated in the formatting X (Fandom)/Y (Fandom). Disambiguation (putting the fandom after the character names) is optional for other fandoms.

Eligibility Guidelines

In general, all fandoms are eligible (but see the main rules post for RPF-related exceptions). You may nominate fanworks if the creator gives permission for transformative/recursive works. Please send me either a link to a public statement or evidence of a nonpublic one before or when you nominate fanworks.

Without getting into existential issues, characters should unambiguously be some combination of alive, self-aware, and/or distinct individuals in canon. Animals, ghosts, and eldritch abominations are eligible, but non-sentient settings and objects generally aren’t. Specific “versions” of characters are eligible only if they are so distinct as to be a different character (e.g., Wishverse!Buffy is a separate character with a different backstory and personality. Vampire!Willow is likewise a demonic entity and comes from a divergent timeline. Evil!Willow is not eligible as a separate character, as she is her usual self from the main timeline of the show in the midst of an emotional crisis.) AU versions of characters which do not exist in canon, such as genderbend AUs which are not canon, should be included in your optional details rather than nominations.

Franchise Guidelines:

Star Wars should be nominated by the specific Star Wars property or trilogy, e.g., Star Wars Prequel Trilogy - Anakin Skywalker/Obi-Wan Kenobi or Star Wars Legends: New Jedi Order - Char: Ben Solo. I will query Star Wars nominations which do not give a specific property, and either make my best guess or reject at the end of the nominations period if I don't receive an answer.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, and any related fandoms should be nominated under Buffyverse.

MCU movies should be nominated under MCU. TV shows should be nominated by the specific show.

Fire Emblem games should be separated into individual games.

Doctor Who should be nominated under the specific series or property.

Zelda fandom should be split up by specific property.

If you have preferences for how an additional franchise fandom is nominated, please comment!

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2026 Rules and Schedule

2026-01-30T07:53:49Z

Posted by: slashmarks

2026 Schedule:

Nominations: February 1-15
Sign Ups: February 18-25
Assignments out by: February 27
Assignments due: April 12
Work Reveals: April 24
Creator Reveals: May 1

All deadlines are 11:59 PM EST/EDT.

AO3 Collection

Tagset

( Nominations )

( Sign Ups )

( Matching )

( Assignments )

( Other )

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2026 Schedule Announcement

2025-12-30T07:04:33Z

Posted by: slashmarks

The 2026 round of goreswap will run slightly later than usual, per the following dates:

Nominations: February 1-15
Sign ups: (open by) February 18-25
Assignments out by: February 27
Works due: ~~April 10~~ April 12
Works revealed: ~~April 19~~ April 24
Creators revealed: ~~April 26~~ May 1

ETA (Jan 30): I made a small mistake with the last few items and have corrected them.

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Creator Reveals

2025-03-29T04:01:20Z

Posted by: slashmarks

Creators are revealed, and with that, goreswap 2025 is concluded! Thank you, everyone, for another great round!

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Emergency Pinch Hit - Post Reveals

2025-03-22T17:57:02Z

Posted by: slashmarks

The following emergency pinch hit is due ASAP - please include your estimated completion date when replying. Assignments must be at least 500 words or a sketch on unlined paper, and must include significant gore content. To claim an assignment, please comment on this post or email me at shimmeringwords@gmail.com with the assignment you want and your AO3 name. Comments are screened. If you post an anonymous comment, I won't be able to reply to it.

~~( Pinch Hit #15: Fic - Original Work, The Last of Us (TV), Bloodborne (Video Game), Wiedźmin | The Witcher - All Media Types, Ginger Snaps (Movies) )~~

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Work Reveals!

2025-03-22T04:01:49Z

Posted by: slashmarks

Works are revealed! Go and browse the collection!

Creators, please remain anonymous until creator reveals in one week. Everyone, remember that commenting on your gifts before signing up for the next round is mandatory, unless you have received a DNW/incomplete work, something else that resulted in a pinch hit, or otherwise confirmed an exception with me.

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All Pinch Hits Claimed

2025-03-20T03:12:43Z

Posted by: slashmarks

All pinch hits are claimed, and we are on track to open on time on Friday, March 21 at 11:59 PM EDT. Thank you, everyone who turned in a work, claimed a pinch hit or defaulted in a timely way!

This is a good time to take a look at your work and make sure that you have completed any edits, removed any editing marks or placeholder text, uploaded the correct draft or image file, etc. Please do not apologize for or insult your work in your author's notes. Thank you for participating!

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returning pinch hit #3; new pinch hit #14

2025-03-17T04:05:49Z

Posted by: slashmarks

The following post-deadline pinch hits are due on March 20, at 11:59 PM EDT. Assignments must be at least 500 words or a sketch on unlined paper, and must include significant gore content. To claim an assignment, please comment on this post or email me at shimmeringwords@gmail.com with the assignment you want and your AO3 name. Comments are screened. If you post an anonymous comment, I won't be able to reply to it.

Note (3/17): Pinch Hit #3 has been updated to add art to all requests.

~~( Pinch Hit #3: Art, Fic - 镇魂 | Guardian (TV 2018), 镇魂 | Guardian - priest, The Walking Dead (TV), Bunny - Mona Awad, Yellowjackets (TV) )~~

~~( Pinch Hit #14: Fic, Art - The Old Guard (Movie 2020), Baldur's Gate (Video Games), Simon Feximal Series - K. J. Charles )~~

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Returning Pinch Hit #3

2025-03-15T03:50:57Z

Posted by: slashmarks

( Outdated! )

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Deadline Passed

2025-03-10T19:47:03Z

Posted by: slashmarks

The deadline is passed! There are currently no post-deadline pinch hits. A number of extensions have been granted, so don't panic if you don't have a gift, and stay tuned for future pinch hits. Thank you to everyone who turned in their work or asked for an extension on time!

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(Under) 24 Hours Warning

2025-03-09T06:33:43Z

Posted by: slashmarks

Works are due tonight, at 11:59 PM EDT. Note that daylight savings begins today in this time zone, so the conversion may not be what you expect - check the timer!

If you need an extension, please contact me either via dreamwidth PM or email at shimmeringwords@gmail.com. Extensions of up to one week will be granted with no excuse as long as you contact me before I default you. Good luck finishing your works!

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new pinch hit #13

2025-03-06T05:13:47Z

Posted by: slashmarks

The following pinch hit is due in one week, on March 13 at 11:59 PM EDT. Assignments must be at least 500 words or a sketch on unlined paper, and must include significant gore content. To claim an assignment, please comment on this post or email me at shimmeringwords@gmail.com with the assignment you want and your AO3 name. Comments are screened. If you post an anonymous comment, I won't be able to reply to it.

~~( Pinch Hit #13: Fic - Sleep Token (Band), Devil May Cry (Gameverse), The Locked Tomb Series | Gideon the Ninth Series - Tamsyn Muir )~~

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