Basics & Rules

Arlathan eXchange is a fanfic and fanart exchange hosted on AO3 focusing on Elvhen characters from Dragon Age. Participants sign up with their wants for a new fanart or fanfic gift, and offer to create a new piece for another fan in exchange. All pieces should have at least one elf character as a focus (either as the main character or the relationship to/with the character as a focus).

Pieces can be character studies (solo), gen fic (friendship, non-romance), or romantic/sexual in nature. Although pieces do not have to match to a recipient’s requests or prompts exactly, creators should strive to present their recipients with a gift they will enjoy while respecting any “do not wants”.

Arlathan eXchange is a The Hanged Man event.

Schedule

Note

The schedule displays in your local time!

• Nominations Open: Sunday, March 16, 2025 4:00 PM
• Nominations Close: Sunday, March 30, 2025 4:00 PM
• Sign-Ups Open: Sunday, March 30, 2025 4:00 PM
• Sign-Ups Close: Sunday, April 13, 2025 4:00 PM
• Assignments Out: Wednesday, April 16, 2025 12:00 AM (or earlier!)
• Works Due: Sunday, May 25, 2025 4:00 PM
• Works Revealed: Sunday, June 1, 2025 4:00 PM
• Creators Revealed: Sunday, June 8, 2025 4:00 PM

Rules

The Basics

1. All works in the exchange must be part of the Dragon Age fandom. Crossover works are not allowed.

2. All ratings and kinks/fetishes are allowed so long as they do not violate your requestor’s DNWs and they are tagged appropriately.

3. The exchange allows dark fic including works which deal with substance abuse and other potentially sensitive or triggering themes, so long as a main character is an elf. This means the exchange allows themes or works you may consider “problematic”. Please be sure to list anything you do not want to receive in your requests as a DNW. Please see FAQs: What are Do Not Wants?.

4. The exchange does not accept works featuring minor-aged characters (under 18) in sexual situations. However, we will accept non-sexual romantic works featuring characters aged 16+, and gen or solo fic featuring characters of all ages.

5. Please do not alter skintone drastically from canon. In short, no white washing. If you have questions please email moderators.

6. Please do not change the sexual orientation of canonically homosexual characters (for example, no pieces which depict Dorian with a female character or Sera with a male character) or make canonically trans characters cis. Other bisexual headcanons, trans/nb headcanons, and genderswap/sexswap works are okay.

The Works

7. By signing up you agree you will create one 1000 word fic or completed art piece (clean line art) for your assigned recipient by the end of the exchange. There is no maximum word count.

8. All works should:

   • be able to be posted on AO3
   • adhere to basic readability standards
   • feature a requested character or relationship
   • unless it is a DNW other characters and ships may also make an appearance or be mentioned, but the main focus of the piece should be at least one of your recipient’s requested characters or ships
   • strive to be a gift your recipient will enjoy

   This does not mean you must write a recipient’s prompt or request exactly, but it does mean you should attempt to create a work you truly believe they will enjoy while also avoiding any “do not wants”.

9. Stories and art should be created specifically for the exchange. However, they may be part of an ongoing series or collection you already have. For example, if someone requests Male Lavellan/Solas and you already have a series with these characters, you can make this a part of the same AU and add it to your own series/collection.

   All fics should be able to stand on their own, though, so please don’t create a piece which would require someone to have read your entire 150,000 word slowburn fic in order to follow it. Please be sure to add any series or collections which could identify you after creator reveals.

10. You may use your own OCs, default/generic OCs, or the requestor’s OCs to fulfill requests with original characters. Anyone requesting specifically their own OCs should have information available in their letter or available on social media so the gifter can find out more!

    A Note About OC Requests

    Please note that although you can request your own OC be used for a gift, you should not use a request with an original character to box a creator into creating only for your own OC. You may state that you only want your own OC for some ships; however, your requests must then contain at least one ship consisting of only canon characters or of ships where you are open to OCs other than your own.

    Requests for OC art should have more than one reference for the character’s face and body. Written descriptions are not enough for an OC art request!

11. Works should not consist primarily of AI generated content.

    On AI Generated Content

    Part of the fun (and the spirit) of fanworks exchanges is creating something for someone you know they will like - and hopefully, will love. We firmly believe using AI to generate the entirety of a gift goes against the creative gift-giving nature of exchanges.

    However, we do recognize and understand that computer learning models (recently, commonly called AI) have been used under other names for years to assist with generating creative works. While most of us understand intuitively that there is a difference between using assistive technology such as filters on a graphics program or grammarly for writing and feeding ChatGPT a prompt, we thought we’d outline in a little more detail what would be okay for the exchange and what wouldn’t.

    Allowed AI Use

    • generating a prompt you then write
    • generating an outline for a fic you write
    • filters and effects applied to your own artwork
    • assisted editing of your own fic or art (changing lighting, angle, perspective, grammar, rephrasing sentences, etc)

    Disallowed AI Uses

    • feeding an AI a prompt and asking it to generate the artwork or fic itself, even if you edit the fic or artwork further

    In general, using computer learning model tools to assist with something you are creating on your own is fine! Using them as a short-cut to completely skip the creative process is not.

    If you have any questions at all, please contact the mods!

Important

This collection does not accept previously published works, even after reveals, when open for treats.

More Details

12. You must comment on gifts you receive by Creator reveals, with a comment that’s at least one complete sentence. Leaving comments can be difficult, so gif responses and memes are okay, but if you use those, please also add a few words to thank your creator for their hard work!

    Note

    You are not required to comment on any treats you receive; however, if you cannot distinguish whether a gift you’ve received is a treat or your main gift, you should comment on both. It’s good etiquette to comment on all works received. Please see FAQs: Help! I didn’t get a comment! for more information on comments and commenting requirements.

13. Since Dragon Age is a rated mature video game, we assume most participants will be over the age of 18 and capable of handling the darker fantasy themes of the source materials. If you are under the age of 18 you may still participate but we ask you list “smut” or “sexual content” in their DNWs.

14. Communications: Communications with the mod team for specific issues, questions, or problems should occur through the mod email arlathanxchange@gmail.com or by using the forms found on this site. General questions/clarifications may also be asked in the Discord or sent via tumblr ask.

    Tip

    Since the primary method of communication with the mod team is email, please be sure that the email on your AO3 account is up-to-date and you still have access to it. Please also check this email frequently throughout the exchange!

15. These rules are non-exhaustive. While we have attempted to be thorough, it is impossible for us to address every potential issue or situation which could arise during the course of the event in single document. For more specific situations, questions, or issues, please see the FAQs or read through the tutorials. If you’re unable to find the information you’re looking for, please contact the mod team and we’ll be happy to help!

Problems & Troubleshooting

• Questions about OCs, DNWs, or prompts can be:

  • sent to your recipient’s tumblr ask box while on anon
  • directed to a close friend of your recipient
  • sent through moderators via email

  Danger

  Please be careful when directly contacting your recipient to keep your anonymity. If you have any doubts that you will be able to do this or are concerned they may sus you out, please have the moderators ask your questions instead!

• If you cannot complete your piece, contact the mod team ASAP for an extension or to default. Please see FAQs: I can’t complete my assignment. What do I do?

• If there is a conflict between participants or a problem with your assignments or gift, please email moderators immediately.