![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
makobdayexchangeSign-ups for 2015 are closed.
This year we’re running the Makoto Birthday Fanworks Exchange as a traditional gift exchange. That means you’ll make your requests and offers on AO3, and the matching process will be automated by the system there. If you don’t have an AO3 account, please request one here.
Full instructions are at the link above. Some of the notes have been pulled out for clarification below. There’s a lot but please take a moment to read through them before filling out the form.
You may edit your request and offer details any time up until the close of sign ups.
REQUESTS: DETAILS & DEAR CREATOR LETTER (or, Optional Details Are Optional)
As with standard exchanges, the request details are optional for the author/artist. Your gifter is only required to do a fill of the type you specify, with the characters you list.
Having said that, most creators really want you to like your gift and will do their best for you–so it can be helpful to give them some room in the request details to come up with something you’ll both be happy with. :D
Suggested way to use these sections of the form:
Request Details: it is highly recommended that you include a list of general likes and dislikes in this section, as well as general prompt ideas. (If you wish, you may put everything in your "Dear Creator" letter.)More about the importance of general likes/dislikes, including examples, ishere.
“Dear Creator” letter: this is an opportunity to elaborate and expand on the Request Details, including specific ideas/prompts as well as more about what you like generally.
Note: We would like to stay out of any and all shipping wars. To that end, we ask that you kindly refrain from requests or fills that involve hate or harm for any canon character, including character bashing (but the kink meme is always open for all your needs!). Thank you for helping us keep fandom a happy place!
REQUESTS: RELATIONSHIPS
In your requests, the “Relationships” field is optional. Requests will be revealed after assignments are out, so anyone interested can do extra gifts. This field is only to make browsing the requests easier and more fun once that happens.
To clarify: matching will not take relationships into account but will be based on characters, so please be sure to list everyone you definitely want in each request under the Characters field.
What this means is that everyone is guaranteed to get a fanwork with both – or all, if more than two – of the characters specified in one of their requests, but not necessarily a fanwork with those characters in a romantic/sexual relationship.
I’m so sorry if this is confusing! Including the Relationships field was meant to be a nice bonus–and hopefully, if I can explain it well, it will be. Here are some examples to try to clear things up.
You want something with Makoto and Haru. You’d be happy if Nagisa and Rei are also there as boyfriends but they aren’t necessary.
Your signup would look like this:
Characters: Makoto, Haru
Relationships: Nagisa/Rei
If your gifter chooses to do this request, they will definitely do a fanwork with Makoto and Haru. They may or may not choose to include Nagisa and Rei as well.
EXAMPLE 2
You want something with Makoto, Haru, Rin, and Sousuke. You really like it when Makoto and Haru are a couple and so are Rin and Sousuke.
Your signup would look like this:
Characters: Makoto, Haru, Rin, Sousuke
Relationships: Haru/Makoto, Rin/Sousuke
If your gifter chooses to do this request, they will definitely do a fanwork with all four boys. It may be gen or it may be romance/sex. In the “Request Details” section as well as your “Dear Creator” letter, you can tell your gifter which characters you like together romantically/sexually and which you would rather not see together that way.
EXAMPLE 3
You want something with Makoto, Sousuke, and Seijuurou. When it comes to sex/romance, you like these three in any and all combinations.
Your signup would look like this:
Characters: Makoto, Sousuke, Seijuurou
Relationships: [the easy way: leave it blank] [the hard way: list every combination – Makoto/Sousuke, Makoto/Seijuurou, Sousuke/Seijuurou, Makoto/Sousuke/Seijuurou]
If your gifter chooses to do this request, they will definitely do a fanwork with all three boys. It may be gen or it may be romance/sex. In the “Request Details” section as well as your “Dear Creator” letter, you can tell your gifter you’re happy with any two or all three together romantically/sexually, just so long as all the boys feature in the fanwork.
EXAMPLE 4
You want something with Makoto, Haru, and Kisurmi. You like Haru and Kisumi as a couple but don’t like Makoto romantically/sexually with either one.
Your signup would look like this:
Characters: Makoto, Haru, Kisumi
Relationships: Haru/Kisumi
If your gifter chooses to do this request, they will definitely do a fanwork with all three boys. It may be gen or it may be romance/sex. In the “Request Details” section as well as your “Dear Creator” letter, you can tell your gifter that if they want to do romance/sex, you don’t ship Makoto with either of the others but you do ship Haru/Kisumi.
The examples could go on and on but hopefully this gives at least some idea of how to use the signup form.
OFFERS: CHARACTERS
All offers must involve Makoto as one of the main characters, so please be sure to select him. In addition, you may select up to 7 other characters for each offer (for a total of 8). You may also check the "Any" box, if you're open to doing a fill with any/many/all of the characters (and the event organizers will love you for it!).
For matching purposes, you must list a different set of characters for each offer (unless you check the "Any" box, which you may do more than once). They don't have to be romantic and may include Makoto with family/friends or by himself.
Your assignment will include a request with a subset of characters you have listed in one of your offers. It might be a perfect one-to-one match or it might involve only some of the characters you have listed. For example, if you offer Makoto, Haru, Rin, Sousuke, and Kisumi, you may be matched with any of the following requests:
- Makoto, Haru
- Makoto, Rin
- Makoto, Sousuke
- Makoto, Kisumi
- Makoto, Haru, Rin
- Makoto, Haru, Sousuke
- Makoto, Haru, Kisumi
- Makoto, Rin, Sousuke
- Makoto, Rin, Kisumi
- Makoto, Sousuke, Kisumi
- Makoto, Haru, Rin, Sousuke, Kisumi
So as long as you're comfortable with all of them in any combination, it's helpful to list more characters rather than fewer.
If you’re not sure how to fill out the form, please leave a comment here (not anonymously so I can respond to you; comments are screened) or email me (sallynotsally at gmail dot com) and I’ll do my best to help you figure out how to put what you want in the signup.
