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[homestuckpolyswap]

OH FUCK SHIT'S DUE!

If you don't have your fill in or an extension requested, PLEASE make sure to submit your assignment NO LATER THAN 11:59 PM EASTERN TIME TONIGHT (June 8th). If you need help, please contact us via Discord, email, or Tumblr messages.

You got this!

DEADLINE APPROACHING

To all of our participants, please note that the deadline to have your fill in is JUNE 8TH, 11:59 PM EASTERN TIME. If you need more time than that, you need to contact us for an extension no later than June 7th, 11:59 PM Eastern Time.

As of right now, Derse has 5 Complete Fills in, and Prospit has 3 Complete Fills! We're looking forward to seeing what you all make. Best of luck!

[homestuckpolyswap]

When does the treats collection open?

You can upload things to the treats collection, Polyswap Presents 2024, any time. We prepped it and opened access (so please tell us if there's an issue with submitting things to it) and it's ready to go.

The actual treats submitted to the collection will be revealed on June 23rd, and the treat creators will be revealed on June 25th!

We're really looking forward to seeing what people submit. Thanks for this question!

[homestuckpolyswap]

DEADLINE APPROACHING

To all of our participants, please note that the deadline to have your fill in is JUNE 8TH, 11:59 PM EASTERN TIME. If you need more time than that, you need to contact us for an extension no later than June 7th, 11:59 PM Eastern Time.

As of right now, Derse has 5 Complete Fills in, and Prospit has 3 Complete Fills! We're looking forward to seeing what you all make. Best of luck!

[homestuckpolyswap]

What happens if two people write something for the same prompt?

Holy shit, two cakes!

But seriously, it is not a big deal. In this mod’s 6 years of helping run Polyswap, it has happened a handful of times. Prompts are fun because they leave so much up to the creativity of the gifter that no two would be the same. Like two semi related species of wolves, or something similarly metaphorically appropriate.

Giftees love treats because it means someone liked their prompts enough to fill one even without it being assigned to them!

[homestuckpolyswap]

With ships, do all the character *have* to be dating each other? Are V-style polycules (where Person A and Person B are both dating Person C, but Person A and Person B are not dating each other) okay?

It depends! Some prompts may specify a direction for the relationship (e.g. the V-style polycule), whereas others are a bit more freeform. If you're ever worried about missing the mark, please contact the mods. We'll reach out to your gifter to confirm what they're okay with (maybe they intended A, B, and C to all date but they'd be okay with B and C both dating A, and not dating each other, but not A and C both dating B but not each other) and forward the information back to you.

[homestuckpolyswap]

Are we allowed to give our giftee extra fics outside of the fulfilled request?

Those go into the Treat Section, known as "Polyswap Presents"! We open this bad boy up when prompts are released (this happens on the default deadline), and you can submit the extra fics for your giftee there, once you're done with your main fill.

Loving the enthusiasm!

[homestuckpolyswap]

Can I sign up to be a pinch hitter while also being in the swap?

Absolutely 100%! The only rule is that you are not allowed to CLAIM any pinch hits until your fill is done, in, and approved. Usually the majority of our pinch hitters are very determined participants!

[homestuckpolyswap]

I might have just completely missed it, but where's the Discord link? :0

The link was sent out in the assignment notification attached to the assignment email from Ao3! If those tend to get directed to your spam folder, please check there.

Please also note that the link was spaced out when it was sent, to avoid it accidentally being deleted. If anyone has a problem accessing the link, contact us via email or tumblr and we'll message one to you! @ozuzo we've already sent you one in a message.

Also, TO ALL PINCH HITTERS—if you want a link to the discord, please request one when you sign up!

[homestuckpolyswap]

YOUR ASSIGNMENTS ARE OUT! HOLY FLIP!!! LET'S GOOOO!

Now, be sure to keep these details in mind:

your assignment is always available in your AO3-linked email,

mods are always happy to guide you through questions or matters of giftee squick,

all gifts must be complete before you hit The Big Fulfill Button,

tagging should be in accordance with THIS GUIDE LIST,

all assignments are DUE on June 8th.

Happy Polyshipping!

[homestuckpolyswap]

Is it okay if we specify that we don't want any of the characters to be trans in our nsfw requests?

To answer the question: yes, you are permitted to specify headcanons you'd like to avoid. Polyswap operates on the basis that a "no" is a complete sentence, further clarification be damned.

However, if you are requesting no trans headcanons [or similar things] in more detail, please use proper inclusive language and avoid -phobic remarks. Just the facts, or the DNWs / squicks, please! [Should you run into any issues in future sign-ups, just contact us at HSPOLYSHIPSWAP on GMAIL for assistance.]

Apologies for the delay! You know how hectic it gets, wrangling Polyswap ferret-mods.

[homestuckpolyswap]

After a slight delay to give every last person who wants in just the in they need, our sign-ups have officially closed! That means our wonderful mod team will be:

double-checking every sign-up application follows our rules,

correcting language to be more clear on squicks,

requesting clarity on prompt intent,

and the mighty task of MATCHING.

All participants will receive their assignments by email on MAY 4TH.

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You all may have noticed that signups are still open. Per tradition, and our adoration of all things polyamory...we are extending signups!!! You will now have until Friday, April 26th to get your signup in. If you've been looking for a reason to join, here it is!

2024 SCHEDULE

Hello, Polyswappers! We are happy to announce the official 2024 Polyswap schedule below.

APRIL 7th: SIGN-UPS OPEN APRIL 23rd: SIGN-UPS CLOSE MAY 4th: ASSIGNMENTS GIVEN MAY 28th: DEFAULT DEADLINE JUNE 8th: ASSIGNMENTS DUE JUNE 15th: COLLECTION OPEN JUNE 22nd: GIFTER REVEALS JUNE 23rd: TREAT REVEALS

[A handy graphic will be posted tomorrow along with a reminder of some general rules and sign-up suggestions.]

The full scope of the Polyswap event is about 77 days, but you will only have about 35 days to complete your gift assignment. Plan accordingly!

[homestuckpolyswap]

2024 SCHEDULE

Hello, Polyswappers! We are happy to announce the official 2024 Polyswap schedule below.

APRIL 7th: SIGN-UPS OPEN APRIL 23rd: SIGN-UPS CLOSE MAY 4th: ASSIGNMENTS GIVEN MAY 28th: DEFAULT DEADLINE JUNE 8th: ASSIGNMENTS DUE JUNE 15th: COLLECTION OPEN JUNE 22nd: GIFTER REVEALS JUNE 23rd: TREAT REVEALS

[A handy graphic will be posted tomorrow along with a reminder of some general rules and sign-up suggestions.]

The full scope of the Polyswap event is about 77 days, but you will only have about 35 days to complete your gift assignment. Plan accordingly!

[homestuckpolyswap]

Extensions & How They Work

Life gets in the way of a good creation sometimes, and that's okay! Despite best laid plans, calendar reminders, or a very helpful roommate... Polyswap is ultimately for fun and that means it can take a backseat to more important things.

No shame there! At Polyswap HQ, the noodle-y ferrets masquerading as moderators completely understand all the fickle things. A sudden illness, overtime at work, or your cat walking across your tablet in just the right way to delete hours of progress.

The Solution? Extensions! An "add-on" to the initial Polyswap deadline.

This year, all gifts are due on JUNE 8th. Failing to get your gift submitted to AO3 before that deadline is an automatic default, or removal from the assignment. But wait! You were almost done, really! You only had a few more words, a couple more lines, that final note of the secret chord that David played!

By communicating with the moderation team promptly, using our Official Discord Server or the HSPOLYSHIPSWAP email, you can secure an extra day or two BEYOND JUNE 8th in order to complete your fill.

However, these are not automatic! They are granted on a case-by-case basis, depending on your level of progress and how rapidly you contact the moderators for help.

Asking for an extension on a gift that you haven't started yet is not fair to your giftee, who would be receiving a rushed creative project.

Waiting until midnight of Deadline Day is also unfair to moderators, who really should be sleeping at that hour. Sometimes, it is better to default and instead submit your gift to our supplementary treat collection.

Concerned that you might not be able to complete your fill on time regardless? Even with extensions? You can also contact the moderators to enforce a "secret" "new" deadline earlier than JUNE 8th! Then you'll be crunching through the project paralysis way before the numbers matter.

[homestuckpolyswap]

Polyswappers, beware!

Sometimes we get really excited the beta reader who caught all the typos in our gloriously gifted fanwork. We might even be tempted to shout that beta reader out in the author's note on AO3, by name or by link, but whoa! Hang on!

That's a breach of Polyswap Anonymity!!!

Any information that could reveal your identity before gifter reveals on JUNE 22nd is a no-go. A massive part of the fun inherent to this event is hiding in plain sight, letting your giftee get excited, and having a great MASK OFF MOMENT when the time comes.

But it's only a beta, right? Well, any friend of yours is bound to lead back to you if your giftee is a sleuth... and most of them are! It's also why we don't allow wordcount bragging, WIP screenshots of artwork, or "I'm done!" messages in our official Discord Server.

Save that beta shoutout for AFTER the gifter reveals, and then laud all the praise you like! [Once anonymity is lifted, you can also edit your author's note however you please.]

If you do want to get really excited, brag about your beta reader, or enlist a hypesquad? Just request a private channel chat with our wonderful moderators on Discord! A participant link to the Official Polyswap Server will be sent out when sign-ups end.

[homestuckpolyswap]

Hello! I just completed my signup for Derse. How does one get an invite to the discord server?

Thank you for signing up! The Official Polyswap Discord Server will become available on or around May 4th, when assignments are sent out by email. This is our personal reminder to ensure your AO3 account is connected to a working email address, or you may miss out on your participant link. [And your giftee's prompts!]

You may be wondering why, and the short answer is: anonymity. It's much harder to manage the server if people who aren't participating in some capacity have joined up; even more difficult to keep potential sleuths from figuring out who their gifter is.

If you have any further questions, you can reach out here or email us at HSPOLYSHIPSWAP via GMAIL.

[homestuckpolyswap]

Polyswap Rule Reminder!

Here's a handy tip [and elaboration] on one of our RULES:

SWAP SPECIFIC RULE #9: The goal is a minimum one prompt you can fill. We will try to give you your best match, but it’s not always possible.

Well, what does this mean exactly?

In Polyswap, the moderators hand-match you to a giftee that has as many similarities to your offer as possible. We do this because AO3 is a wonderful, hard-working website with a complicated matching system! It has blind spots, thus is unable to account for anything beyond raw numbers.

Maybe you've offered to make something for all the characters they tagged, have a penchant for the same AUs, and really like to push yourself to make dynamic scenes with vibrant visuals.

There's just one problem...

You don't like SolFef or EriFef! Nothing against them, really, but you don't like the idea of shipping those characters. In fact, you mentioned that you probably wouldn't create a fanwork with that ship in your offer? Hey, what gives??? You did everything right!

Here's the rub. While the moderators do their very best, we have to find someone for everyone. Nobody can go ungifted, after all. As long as your offer fits one prompt— in this case, that may mean you wanted a ship with Karkat & Dave and a nebulous third —we've done the very best match we can.

Yes, we really do try to give you the perfect match, but if not enough like-minded shippers join the event, we run into little snags. Just like this one!

You can actually help us circumvent these issues by: adding six prompts to give more diversity, and including very very very different suggestions in each prompt to maximize getting an awesome gift. More options means less "hey, what gives!" for everyone.

Still not clear on what's happening with all this "matching" and other jargon? You can email further questions to HSPOLYSHIPSWAP on GMAIL dot COM.