DisabilityEx

DisabilityEx is a disability themed multifandom exchange that will be run on Ao3. All forms of disability are welcome (physical disability, chronic illness, mental health issues, neurodiversity etc). Matching will be done on fandom, character/relationship, and freeform (additional tag). You must be 18+ to participate and maintain anonymity[link] until creator reveals.

Schedule:
Nominations: August 28 - September 7
Sign-Ups: September 9 - September 21
Assignments Due: October 20
Work Reveals: November 3
Creator Reveals: November 10
All times will be 8PM PST

Email: disabilityexmod@gmail.com
Ao3 Collection | Tagset

Rules:

Nominations
You will be able to nominate up to 10 fandoms with up to 15 characters and/or relationships (in the relationship field) per fandom. You will also be able to nominate 10 freeforms. Please double check the tagset before submitting your nominations to make sure your nominations are not already in the tagset.

Each relationship tag must specify which character(s) you would like portrayed as disabled using "(Disabled Character A)" or "(Disabled Character A & Character B)" at the end of the tag. If you would like all of the characters in the tag to be portrayed as disabled, you should add "(All Disabled)" at the end of the tag. You can also leave it up for your creator to choose which character(s) from the tag to be portrayed as disabled using "(Any Disabled)" at the end of the tag. Individual character nominations are allowed and should be nominated with the prefix "Solo:". Make sure to include "Disabled" before the character's name for clarity purposes (i.e. "Solo: Disabled Character A (Fandom)").

Nominations with "Reader" as a character will not be accepted for this exchange. Nominations with "Any Character" (e.g. "Any Jedi"), "Any Group A Member" (e.g. "Any Avengers Team Member"), or other similar nominations will not be accepted for this exchange. Group nominations (i.e. "Group: Group A (Fandom)", "Character B & Group A (Fandom)", "Character B & Any Group A Member (Fandom)" etc.) will not be accepted for this exchange.

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 tag (e.g. "Male Knight & Female Knight (OW) (Disabled Male Knight)"). If you do not specify a gender (e.g. "Knight/Knight (OW) (Disabled Knight)"), 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 tag (e.g. "Creator's Choice of Female Character & Creator's Choice of Female Character (CCoF) (Disabled Female Character)"). If you do not specify a gender (e.g. "Creator's Choice of Parent & Creator's Choice of Child (CCoF) (Disabled Parent)"), 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. If your fandom falls under an All Media Type (AMT) tag, you can nominate the specific fandom you would like to request/offer. You can also nominate using AMT fandom tags and we will evaluate them on a case-by-case basis. Please only use AMT fandom tags if you are okay receiving any canon that falls under the tag or for crossovers between canons under the AMT tag (disambiguating each character with the specific fandom you want to see them from).

Make sure to use the characters' full, capitalized names in alphabetical order when nominating. Make sure to also capitalize the end of the tag where you specify who is disabled. Mixed nominations (i.e. relationship tags with both & and / in them) should be formatted as "Character A/Character B & Character C (Fandom) (Disabled Character A)".

All character and relationship nominations must be disambiguated with the fandom name or a recognizable abbreviation in parentheses. Please make sure the disambiguation is clear and specific. Additionally, make sure to match the disambiguation to the specific fandom the relationship tag is nominated under, especially if there are multiple fandoms containing your characters (e.g. If you are nominating under "Marvel Cinematic Universe", "Pepper Potts/Tony Stark (Marvel) (Disabled Tony Stark)" would be unclear because the nomination could belong to other fandoms that don't fall under that fandom tag. "Pepper Potts/Tony Stark (MCU) (Disabled Tony Stark)" would be much clearer).

Incorrectly formatted nominations will be rejected.

Nominations Formats:
- Character A & Character B (Fandom) (Disabled Character B)
- Character A/Character B (Fandom) (Any Disabled)
- Character A & Character B (Fandom) (All Disabled)
- Character A/Character B/Character C (Fandom) (Disabled Character A & Character C)
- Character A/Character B & Character C (Fandom) (Disabled Character B)
- Solo: Disabled Character A (Fandom)

Crossover Nomination Formats (under “Crossover Fandom”):
- Character A (Fandom A) & Character B (Fandom B) (Disabled Character B)
- Character A (Fandom A) & Character B (Fandom B) & Character C (Fandom C) (Disabled Character A & Character B)
- Character A (Fandom A)/Character B (Fandom B) (All Disabled)
- Character A (Fandom A)/Character B (Fandom B)/Character C (Fandom C) (Any Disabled)

Click to expand for more specific formatting examples and formatting examples with character names

Formatting Examples with Character Names:
- Aziraphale & Crowley (GO Book) (Disabled Crowley)
- Sherlock Holmes & John Watson (Study in Emerald) (Any Disabled)
- Harry Potter/Ginny Weasley (HP - Rowling) (All Disabled)
- Sherlock Holmes & Mrs. Hudson & John Watson (SH - Granada) (Disabled Sherlock Holmes)
- James T. Kirk/Leonard "Bones" McCoy/Spock (Star Trek TOS) (Disabled McCoy & Spock)
- Casper Darling & Helen Marshall & Zachariah Trench (Control) (Any Disabled)
- Castiel/Dean Winchester/Sam Winchester (Supernatural) (All Disabled)
- Raul Passos/Giovanna Taveres & Max Payne (Max Payne) (Disabled Max Payne)
- Luke Skywalker (SW OT)/Steve Rogers (MCU) (Disabled Steve Rogers)
- Solo: Disabled Tony Stark (Iron Man Movies)


These are all the potential formats for relationship nominations. You can choose specific character(s) to be portrayed as disabled, leave it up to your creator to choose a character to portray as disabled, or ask for all the characters to be portrayed as disabled.

- Character A/Character B (Fandom) (Disabled Character A)
- Character A/Character B (Fandom) (Any Disabled)
- Character A/Character B (Fandom) (All Disabled)
- Character A & Character B (Fandom) (Disabled Character B)
- Character A & Character B (Fandom) (Any Disabled)
- Character A & Character B (Fandom) (All Disabled)
- Character A/Character B/Character C (Fandom) (Disabled Character B)
- Character A/Character B/Character C (Fandom) (Disabled Character A & Character C)
- Character A/Character B/Character C (Fandom) (Any Disabled)
- Character A/Character B/Character C (Fandom) (All Disabled)
- Character A & Character B & Character C (Fandom) (Disabled Character A)
- Character A & Character B & Character C (Fandom) (Disabled Character B & Character C)
- Character A & Character B & Character C (Fandom) (Any Disabled)
- Character A & Character B & Character C (Fandom) (All Disabled)
- Character A/Character B & Character C (Fandom) (Disabled Character A)
- Character A/Character B & Character C (Fandom) (Disabled Character A & Character C)
- Character A/Character B & Character C (Fandom) (Any Disabled)
- Character A/Character B & Character C (Fandom) (All Disabled)
- Solo: Disabled Character A (Fandom)

For Crossovers (Under "Crossover Fandom"):
- Character A (Fandom A)/Character B (Fandom B) (Disabled Character A)
- Character A (Fandom A)/Character B (Fandom B) (Any Disabled)
- Character A (Fandom A)/Character B (Fandom B) (All Disabled)
- Character A (Fandom A) & Character B (Fandom B) (Disabled Character B)
- Character A (Fandom A) & Character B (Fandom B) (Any Disabled)
- Character A (Fandom A) & Character B (Fandom B) (All Disabled)
- Character A (Fandom A)/Character B (Fandom B)/Character C (Fandom C) (Disabled Character A)
- Character A (Fandom A)/Character B (Fandom B)/Character C (Fandom C) (Disabled Character B & Character C)
- Character A (Fandom A)/Character B (Fandom B)/Character C (Fandom C) (Any Disabled)
- Character A (Fandom A)/Character B (Fandom B)/Character C (Fandom C) (All Disabled)
- Character A (Fandom A) & Character B (Fandom B) & Character C (Fandom C) (Disabled Character C)
- Character A (Fandom A) & Character B (Fandom B) & Character C (Fandom C) (Disabled Character A & Character B)
- Character A (Fandom A) & Character B (Fandom B) & Character C (Fandom C) (Any Disabled)
- Character A (Fandom A) & Character B (Fandom B) & Character C (Fandom C) (All Disabled)
- Character A (Fandom A)/Character B (Fandom B) & Character C (Fandom C) (Disabled Character A)
- Character A (Fandom A)/Character B (Fandom B) & Character C (Fandom C) (Disabled Character A & Character C)
- Character A (Fandom A)/Character B (Fandom B) & Character C (Fandom C) (Any Disabled)
- Character A (Fandom A)/Character B (Fandom B) & Character C (Fandom C) (All Disabled)

All nominated freeforms must be explicitly related to the theme of the exchange. Freeforms about completely curing disability are out of the scope of this exchange and will not be accepted. Freeforms that are completely unrelated to the exchange theme (e.g. "Horses") will be rejected. Submitted nominations may be edited or queried by the mods for clarity. Ao3 limits nominations to a maximum length of 150 characters per slot. Nominated freeforms cannot be specific to a fandom.

You can nominate scenarios, specific types of disability, or symptoms caused by disability.

Scenarios should be nominated with the prefix "Scenario -". Nominated scenarios should explicitly be about disability. You can nominate scenarios about disability in general or scenarios involving specific disabilities.

Disabilities should be nominated with the prefix "Disability -". You can nominate general types of disability or specific disabilities. Please spell out the name of the disability rather than nominating only an abbreviation of a disability. You can optionally add an abbreviation in parenthesis at the end of the freeform along with the spelled out name of the disability.

Symptoms should be nominated with the prefix "Symptom -". You can specify what disability is causing the symptom or nominate symptoms on their own (leaving it up to the creator to decide the cause of them).

Freeform Examples:
- Scenario - Adjusting to Disability
- Scenario - Disabled Character Uses Mobility Aids Due to Chronic Pain
- Disability - Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS)
- Disability - Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
- Disability - Chronic Illness
- Symptom - Dizziness
- Symptom - Migraines
- Symptom - Nightmares from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
- Symptom - Pain from Arthritis


Requests
During the sign-up period, you must request 1-10 fandoms with 1-20 characters/relationships per fandom. You must also request 3-20 freeforms (additional tags) per request. As your creator is only required to create for 1 character/relationship tag and 1 freeform in an individual request, please only request a freeform if you would like receiving it on its own for any of your requested character/relationship tags. You can request a fandom multiple times to request specific freeforms for specific character/relationship tags.

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 with distinct lore for a guaranteed gift. Original Work requests will only count as 1 fandom. Crossovers will only count as 1 unique fandom if the crossover fandoms being requested are not requested on their own. If you are unsure about whether a fandom counts as a unique fandom, feel free to comment on this post or email us.

You will be able to add in your likes, prompts, thoughts, etc. in the optional details box in your sign-up. If you do not have any optional details, you can say so in that field. Your creator is encouraged to include your likes/prompts etc. in your gift if possible, but not required to.

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 should not explain the reason(s) why you have DNW'd something (e.g. instead of "DNW: Vomiting because it grosses me out, Death (it's one of my triggers), Sickfic (I just don't like it)", you should simply list your DNWs as "DNW: Vomiting, Death, Sickfic").

You cannot contradict your request with a DNW (e.g. DNW Disability). Your DNWs cannot box in your creator (e.g. DNW everything except Holmes fainting). If you are requesting Creator's Choice of Fandom, you can DNW up to 3 fandoms. If you are requesting an All Media Types (AMT) fandom tag, you cannot DNW entire canons that fall under the AMT fandom tag. Any unreasonable/bad-faith DNWs 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 creator 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, the formatting is easy to read on both mobile and desktop view, and the fonts and colors are easy to read/look at).

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 1-20 characters/relationships per fandom. You must also offer 3-20 freeforms (additional tags) per offer.

Matching will be done on a minimum of 1 fandom, 1 character/relationship, and 1 freeform (additional tag). 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 fanfic in English with a minimum of 1000 words. Your fill must include and focus on a requested fandom, character/relationship, and freeform. The requested character/relationship must be the main character/relationship of the work. All characters within a requested relationship should be “on screen” (i.e. the characters should take an active role in the work and interact with each other). The fill cannot include any DNWs.

The fill must also clearly feature disability as a main theme. The requested disabled character(s) must be portrayed as disabled in the fill. Fills focused on completely curing disability are outside the scope of this exchange and not allowed.

Your fill must be a 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 should not 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[link]. 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[link].

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[link], 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.