makobdayexchange

Happy Makoto’s Birthday, everyone!

Thanks to this year’s participants and our rockstar pinch hitters, all the birthday fanworks created for the exchange are now live on AO3!

So far we have 69 works of Makoto-centric art, comics, fic, and manips for you to enjoy. With a wide range of characters/pairings, genres, and ratings, there’s sure to be something for all Makoto fans! We hope you’ll come over when you have a chance and check it out.

And it’s not too late to join in on the fun! Party Favors, the free-for-all bonus round open to everyone (whether or not you were an original participant), is running now through November 24th.

Two notes for main round participants:

You are free to crosspost your work anywhere you like now! (Mention of the exchange and/or a link to the collection on AO3 would be much appreciated, so more people can enjoy all the excellent fanworks.)

Please be sure to leave kudos/comments for your gifter, even if you defaulted. Regardless of your situation, your gifter worked really hard for you and would love to hear from you!

No matter how you celebrate it, hope you have an amazing Makoto’s birthday. ♥♥♥

A reminder for those of you who are still polishing/revising/adding to your fills for the main round of the 2014 Makoto Birthday Exchange:

The hard deadline for the main round is midnight PT on November 16. That’s about 35 hours from now, at the time of posting. Please note that midnight is the start of the day, not the end (so realistically you have until end of day on the 15th).

To avoid any and all confusion, here’s a COUNTDOWN CLOCK.

Party Favors, the free-for-all bonus round, is open now through November 24th. Details are available here.

Good luck and have fun!

A heads up for those of you who are still polishing/revising/adding to your fills for the main round of the 2014 Makoto Birthday Exchange:

The hard deadline for the main round is midnight PT on November 16.

Please note that midnight is the start of the day, not the end (so realistically you have until end of day on the 15th).

This is the same as the pinch hit deadline.

To avoid time zone confusion, here's a COUNTDOWN CLOCK.

The deadline for Party Favors, the free-for-all bonus round, is November 24th. Details are available here.

Good luck and have fun!

The Tachibana Makoto Birthday Fanworks Exchange is pleased to announce Party Favors 2014—a bonus round to the main exchange, where everyone can fill whatever prompt(s) they like!

GENERAL INFO

Party Favors 2014 runs from now through the Monday after Makoto’s birthday, ending on November 24th [countdown clock].
Anyone who wants to can do a Party Favors fill, whether or not you signed up for the main exchange.
During the bonus round, all requests/prompts for this year’s exchange are visible on AO3.
- There is no claiming; if you want to do a fill for a request, go right ahead!
- Multiple fills are welcome.
Party Favors gifts should be posted to the 2014 Makoto Birthday Exchange collection on AO3.
- You will need an AO3 account for this. If you don’t have one, go here to request a free account.
Party Favors is open to art, comics, manips, and fic.
- There is no minimum requirement for these bonus gifts.
- Other than that, please follow the gift guidelines.

USEFUL LINKS

~~The available pinch hits have gone out to the PH mailing list—so if you signed up as a pinch hitter, please check your email! :D~~

All pinch hits have been claimed—thank you!

Here’s what’s coming up:

I’m checking all art fills to make sure the images appear. If your image link isn’t working, I’ll contact you at your AO3 email to try to help. (If you have placeholders but I can see them, I’m considering that fine for now.
There will be an upcoming announcement, probably on the weekend, about how Party Favors will work this year as well as information about the final editing deadline.

That’s it for now!

There will be a big post with a lot of information in the next day or so, once everything is settled with pinch hits, so please keep an eye out for that.

In the meantime, here’s a clarification on editing after the deadline:

Your finished, polished work should be up on AO3 by the time the collection goes live, which will happen when (1) everyone has a gift and (2) it is the 17th somewhere in the world.

Technically you’ll be able to edit after that and whenever you want, but that’s the point at which your recipient (and others) will be able to see/read the work.

The big info post will include a suggested editing deadline and countdown clocks, to avoid any time zone confusion.

Hi, everyone!

Just a quick note as the deadline approaches:

Please be patient with me. There’s only one mod for this exchange and I’m doing my best to keep up with everything. I may not be able to get to you right away, but I promise I’ll get there!

If something goes wrong. please do not panic. I promise we will work things out! :)

There are still two more works in the collection than there are filled assignments, so I’m wondering if someone has made extra gifts? Actually, everyone is going to have a chance to make extra gifts, and not just for their own assignment—more info to come after the deadline has passed and pinch hits have been sorted.

The deadline for the 2014 Tachibana Makoto Birthday Exchange is approaching rapidly (works are due in a little under 12 hours, at the time of posting this).

To avoid time zone confusion, here is a countdown clock to the deadline:

COUNTDOWN CLOCK

So far over half of you have posted to AO3, which is great—congratulations!

To those still working on it, good luck! The rest of this post is for you.

USEFUL LINKS:

how to drop out (end of linked post)
how to post to AO3 (end of linked post)
how to post images on AO3
important into about posting multi-chapter works

SPECIAL NOTE:

You do not have to post a completely finished/polished version of your fill by the deadline. You can still edit your posted work during the pinch hit period. (Look for a post about the editing period after the deadline has passed, once I’ve had a chance to get a handle on how things stand with pinch hits.)

By pressing “Fulfill” and posting, you are promising that you have finished the best possible version of the gift you are giving, or that you will finish it by the pinch hit deadline.

Please think carefully before using this option. There are no extenuating circumstances or acceptable excuses once the deadline has passed. Be aware that if you suddenly become unable to finish after the deadline, you will be putting the pinch hitter and the exchange itself in a bad position.

Speaking of pinch hitters, it’s not too late to join us as one! You can learn more here.

Anyone who has not posted by the deadline will be defaulted and those assignments sent to the pinch hit list for claiming.

Go go go! :D

Hi, guys!

I’m concerned that a couple of you may be posting in a way that will end up defaulting you.

Currently, there are 23 works in the archive but only 21 assignments have been completed, according to AO3.

Unfortunately I can only see works from the “completed assignments” page, so I have no way of figuring out what the discrepancy is. My best guess is two participants have posted the first chapter of a multi-chapter work, which makes the assignment look incomplete.

If you are posting a multi-chapter work, please be sure that it appears as complete by the deadline!

In other words, if you have checked the box for “This work has multiple chapters” in the “Associations” section, be sure that you put the number of chapters you have actually posted.

You can always change the number in that box during editing, if you need/want to add another chapter.

I hope this makes sense and/or is helpful!

Fanworks for the 2014 Tachibana Makoto Birthday Exchange are due in a day and a half (a little over 36 hours, at the time of posting this). To avoid time zone confusion over the date, here is a countdown clock to the deadline:

~ CLICK HERE FOR THE COUNTDOWN CLOCK ~

So far nearly a third of all participants have posted to AO3, which is fantastic. Way to go! And to those still working on it:

(If you don’t remember him from last year’s event and/or understandably can’t recognize him, that’s Makoto… who still believes in everyone!)

If you need to drop out for any reason, please do it as soon as possible. That will give the pinch hitter who takes the assignment more time. (Before you decide to drop, please see the special note at the end of this post.)

Speaking of pinch hitters, it’s not too late to join us as one! You can learn more here.

USEFUL LINKS:

how to drop out (end of linked post)
how to post to AO3 (end of linked post)
how to post images on AO3

SPECIAL NOTE:

You do not have to post a completely finished/polished version of your fill by the deadline. You can still edit your posted work during the pinch hit period.

Please think of your recipient if you use this option. By posting, you are promising that you have finished the best possible version of the gift you are giving, or that you will finish it by the pinch hit deadline.

Anyone who has not posted by the deadline will be defaulted and those assignments sent to the pinch hit list for claiming.

Good luck!

1. Go to the page for the 2014 Tachibana Makoto Birthday Exchange (makobday2014):
http://archiveofourown.org/collections/makobday2014

2. Click the "Post to Collection" button.

3. This will take you to the Post New Work page, with the collection already filled out for you. In the "Associations" section, you will want to put the name of requester whose prompt you did. You can find it from the Requests Summary page, if you didn't write it down.

4. Fill out the rest of the fields as you normally would and hit the "Post" button at the bottom when you're done. (If you haven't used AO3 before, it's fairly intuitive--but feel free to contact me if you need help.)

If you're posting art, instructions on how to post images to AO3 are here.

Fanworks for the 2014 Tachibana Makoto Birthday Exchange are due in one week. To avoid time zone confusion over the date here is a countdown cock to the deadline:

COUNTDOWN CLOCK

We’ve already received several completed assignments—congratulations to those who have finished and good luck to everyone who is still working on it!

If you need to drop out for any reason, sooner is better than later as that will give the pinch hitter who takes the assignment more time.

Speaking of pinch hitters, it’s not too late to join us as one! You can learn more here.

USEFUL LINKS

Reminder for everyone participating in this year’s Tachibana Makoto Birthday Exchange: fanworks are due in ten days, on November 5th.

COUNTDOWN CLOCK

We’ve already several completed assignments—congratulations to those who have finished and good luck to everyone who is still working on it!

If you need to drop out for any reason, sooner is better than later as that will give the pinch hitter who takes the assignment more time.

Speaking of pinch hitters, it’s not too late to join us as one! You can learn more here.

We’re also still open for betas. More info is at this post—and if you’re an exchange participant in need of a beta, have a look through the comments there to see if anyone can help you.

Basic instructions on posting and dropping out are at the end of the Assignment Guidelines.

For artists and anyone else posting images, there’s more info behind the cut, if you need it.

( posting images to AO3 )

Here are some basic text instructions:

1. Upload your image off-site.

AO3 does not have native image hosting yet, so the first thing you will need to do is upload the image elsewhere. You can use a free site like postimage.org, which allows adult content, or another one of your choice; or you can make a private post on a site like tumblr.

NOTE: If you use an account somewhere (like tumblr, livejournal, deviantart, etc.), be sure to to post privately. Works should not be posted publicly until after the collection is live on AO3.

2. Obtain the direct link or embed code.

Once you have the image uploaded, get the direct link. One way to do this is to use the “view image” option from the context/right-click menu.

Some image hosting sites will give you the option of an “embed code” or an “embed link” after you’ve uploaded the picture. You can also use this.

3. Posting on AO3.

Log into your AO3 account, go to your “Assignments” page (linked in the side menu of your dashboard), and find the Makoto Birthday Exchange.

Press “Fulfill”. This will take you to the page where you add your work. The collection and recipient fields will be filled out already. Fill out the other fields (self-explanatory; note that many of them are optional, so it’s up to you how much to include).

If you are using a direct link:

In the “Work Text” field, choose the “Rich Text” tab. Click the “insert/edit image” button (7th from the left). Paste the direct link in the pop up form.

If you are using an embed code:
In the “Work Text” field, choose the “HTML” option. Paste the embed code.

4. Confirming

Press “Preview” to make sure it looks the way you want it to. You can edit to make any changed you want.

When you’re happy with how it looks, press “Post”.

This is a reminder for everyone participating in this year’s Tachibana Makoto Birthday Exchange that fanworks are due in two weeks, on November 5th.

COUNTDOWN CLOCK

We’ve already received 7 completed assignments—congratulations to those who have finished and good luck to everyone who is still working on it!

Basic instructions on posting and dropping out are at the end of the Assignment Guidelines.

If you need to drop out for any reason, sooner is better than later as that will give the pinch hitter who takes the assignment more time.

Speaking of pinch hitters, it’s not too late to join us as one! You can learn more here.

We’re also still open for betas. More info is at this post—and if you’re an exchange participant in need of a beta, have a look through the comments there to see if anyone can help you.

If you have any questions not covered, let me know.

The 2014 Tachibana Makoto Birthday Fanworks Exchange is underway! We've received two amazing gifts so far and hope the rest of you are having fun with your assignments. :D

Here's the countdown to when works are due: countdown clock

If you missed sign ups but still want to join us, we're looking for pinch hitters and we'd love to have you!

PINCH HITTING MINI-FAQ

What is a pinch hitter?
When a participant drops out for whatever reason, a pinch hitter is someone who steps up and accepts the assignment in their place (sometimes on very short notice). Pinch hitters are absolutely essential to the success of any exchange.

How does pinch hitting work?
Unlike regular assignments, pinch hits are not automatically assigned. Whenever one comes up, it goes out for claiming to all potential pinch hitters on a mailing list. If you’re interested in taking the assignment, you reply to the email. If you're not interested, you don't have to do anything. Pinch hits are assigned on a first come, first served basis.

Do I have to be a participant in the exchange in order to be a pinch hitter?
Definitely not! We'll take anyone who's interested.

To learn more and/or to join the pinch hitter mailing list, please go here.

If assignments aren't your thing but NSFW prompts are, you might want to check out Tachibottom Festival 2K14 on tumblr! (Festival Schedule & FAQ)

[ @ao3 | @dw | @tumblr | email ]

Assignments for the 2014 Tachibana Makoto Birthday Fanworks Exchange have gone out. Please check the email you use for AO3 (you can also see your assignment from the “Assignments” link in the side menu of your AO3 account).

If you don’t see anything in the next few hours, please get in touch with your AO3 name and I’ll try resending it

You should have received an assignment from your “prefer” list. Please check and make sure that’s the case; if not, email me as soon as possible. (If the link is directing you to a mail client you don’t use, that’s an issue with your browser settings. You can hover over the link to see the email address and copy it.)

Please note that changes in assignments are not possible at this point. If you received an incorrect assignment (not if you changed your mind but if it’s something not from your matching request lists), that assignment will go to the pinch hitter list. You will also be added to the list so you have an opportunity to do a fill if one comes up that matches your interests.

Let’s hope no one is in that situation, though!

Information about fill guidelines, how to post, and how to drop out can be found here.

To avoid confusion about when assignments are due, here’s a countdown clock to the deadline.

Pinch Hit Assignments must be posted to AO3 by end of day Pacific Time on November 15, 2014.
(Party Favors gifts may be posted through November 24th. If you are doing a Party Favors fill, please skip to "General Requirements" below.)

countdown clock to Pinch Hit deadline

You are only required to do one of the requests in your assignment in order to complete the assignment.

You are welcome to do more than one request or multiple fills for the same request, if you have time and interest (optional; not required). :)

::General Requirements::

Special note: please do not talk publicly about what you're working on until after works are live on AO3! Some of the fun is the element of surprise, after all (finding out who created something for you and which of your requests they chose to do). :D

These guidelines apply to all fills, regardless of type.

original work previously unpublished
finished/polished quality
standalone (not part of a larger work or series)
complete (no “chapter 1” or “tbc”— the whole story should be told)
English language only (or, in the case of art/comics/manips, no words)

::Requirements by type::

Art

minimum of 600px per dimension; no maximum (NOTE: no minimum for Party Favors fills)
traditional and digital media
color or b&w
still/static or animated/moving image

Comics

minimum of 3 panels; no maximum (NOTE: no minimum for Party Favors fills)
color or b&w

Fic

minimum of 1000 words; no maximum (NOTE: no minimum for Party Favors fills)

Manips

minimum of 3 panels; no maximum (NOTE: no minimum for Party Favors fills)
must use screencaps or other official art (no fanart)
still/static or animated/moving images
accompanying text/ficlet is optional (not required)

::Posting Your Fill / Dropping Out::

Log in to AO3 and go to your Assignments page. Find the assignment marked "2014 Tachibana Makoto Birthday Exchange." There will be two buttons:

To post your fill, click "Fulfill." This will take you to the page where you can post your work, with the challenge and your recipient's name already filled in.
To post a Party Favors gift to the collection, go here for instructions with screencaps.
To drop out, click "Default." The event coordinator will get a message and send the assignment to a pinch hitter.

If you have any questions or concerns, please leave a comment here or send an email.

Thank you and happy creating!

Thank you for your interest in being a pinch hitter for the 2014 Tachibana Makoto Birthday Exchange! Here's some info for you:

What is a pinch hitter?
When a participant drops out for whatever reason, a pinch hitter is someone who steps up and accepts the assignment in their place (sometimes on very short notice). Pinch hitters are absolutely essential to the success of any exchange.

How does pinch hitting work?
Unlike regular assignments, pinch hits are not automatically assigned. Whenever one comes up, it goes out for claiming to all potential pinch hitters on a mailing list. If you’re interested in taking the assignment, you reply to the email. If you're not interested, you don't have to do anything. Pinch hits are assigned on a first come, first served basis.

Do I have to be a participant in the exchange in order to be a pinch hitter?
Definitely not! We'll take anyone who's interested.

So then, how can I join the pinch hitter mailing list?
Leave a comment here with your name and a reliable email address you check regularly.

Do I need an account anywhere in particular to participate?
Yes—the exchange is running through AO3 this year so, in order to accept a pinch hit assignment you will need an AO3 account. If you don't have one, you can go here to request a free account.

And how much do you love me for signing up to be a pinch hitter?
A lot. So flippin' much, you don't even know!

Just in case you missed it above: to sign up as a pinch hitter, please leave a comment here (all comments are screened) with the following:

your name
a reliable email address you check regularly

Thank you! ♥

By popular request, this year we're experimenting with having a dedicated pool of beta readers. You are more than welcome to use your own beta, of course! This is just for those want one but aren't sure how to find one on their own or otherwise feel more comfortable doing it this way.

A couple of notes on who can use this post:

You do have to be a participant in the Makoto Birthday Exchange to ask for a beta.
You do NOT have to be a participant in the Makoto Birthday Exchange to be a beta for someone. :D

The success of this experiment is entirely up to all of you. If you can't find a beta here, making a post on other site (fandom tagged or to a fandom comm) will usually do the trick.

If you are looking for a beta, please post this information in a comment below:

*In the subject line, please put: I need a beta!
Name:
Contact:
Type of beta you're looking for: (e.g. technical for grammar/spelling, someone to bounce ideas off of, etc.)
Characters/Pairings involved:
Approximate length:
Rating:
Anything else you think is important:

(Try not to give too much away, in case your recipient happens to see your comment.)

If you want to volunteer as a potential beta, please post this information in a comment below:

*In the subject line, please put: I want to be a beta!
Name:
Contact:
Type(s) of beta work you can do: (grammar/spelling, notes on narrative structure, willing to bounce ideas, general cheerleading, etc.)
Characters/Pairings you're interested in or willing to read:
Maximum rating you're willing to read:
Anything else you think is important:

Thank you and good luck!

Welcome to the Matching Requests/Assignment Claiming Post for the 2014 Tachibana Makoto Birthday Fanworks Exchange!

Matching Requests for 2014 are now closed.

( Matching Requests - Instructions, FAQ, & Form )
~~MATCHING REQUESTS MINI-FAQ~~

1. Do I have to do this part?

Yes, this is an official part of the sign up. If you don't complete this step, we don't have any way of knowing what you would and would not be willing to do, so unfortunately we will have to drop you from the exchange.

2. For the list of prompts we want to take (the “prefer to take” list), is it possible to state a preference level with them? For instance, a list of prompts we especially want to do and a second list of prompts we would still be interested in taking but not as interested as the first group?

~~Yes! You can divide your list into “most preferred” and “next preferred” tiers, with a list within each tier; the combined total just has to meet or exceed the minimum number.~~

~~Whether or not you choose to use tiers, you can also rank-order your list (with your first choice at the front/top of the list).~~

~~3. Can I just tell you what I do and don’t like in general?~~

Short answer: No. Please do not do this.

Long answer: Well, that would have been one way to go—but it would have relied on some mindreading and guesswork on my part. I thought it would give a happier outcome if everyone got to see the exact, specific prompts and make decisions based on the details, since I’m pretty sure you all know yourselves better than I do. :D

To that end, please list participant names in your reply; please do not make generalizations of the kinds of things you do or don’t like. (Experience tells me we’ll all be happier this way; in the past, I’ve done what I thought was a perfect match based on the info and generalizations, only to have the participant drop out because they hated the assignment. orz)

~~4. Am I guaranteed my top choice or something from my "Prefer To Take" list?~~

I will do the best I can to give you something off your "prefer" list. If I can't, I will contact you through AO3 to work something out. I've never had to do this but, just in case, I don't want to make promises I may not be able to deliver on. Your understanding is greatly appreciated!

5. I don't understand what to do.

Ah, very sorry about that! Just ~~shoot me an email~~ and I'll walk you through it.

Additional questions are being answered and clarifications are being made ~~here~~ as they come up.

Thanks, everyone! Have fun looking through our awesome prompts. :D

Tachibana Makoto Birthday Fanworks Exchange

in celebration of our favorite Iwatobi backstroker

Home

2014 Makoto Birthday Exchange: We’re Live!

Deadline Fast Approaching

2014 Main Round Editing Deadline

2014 Party Favors Bonus Round!

Pinch Hits

A Note on Post-deadline Editing

(no subject)

2014 Makoto Birthday Exchange - Last Deadline Reminder!

Important Note About Posting Multichapter Works

2014 Makoto Birthday Exchange: Deadline Reminder

how to post to the makoto birthday exchange collection on AO3

Deadline Reminder

Deadline Reminder + Posting Images to AO3

2014 Makoto Birthday Exchange - Deadline Reminder

2014 Makoto Birthday Exchange: Pinch Hitters Wanted + Another Birthday Event

2014 Makoto Birthday Exchange: Assignments Sent!

2014 Makoto Birthday Exchange: Assignment Guidelines

2014 Makoto Birthday Exchange: Pinch Hitter Signups

2014 Makoto Birthday Exchange: Be a Beta/Find a Beta

2014 Makoto Birthday Exchange: Matching (NOW CLOSED)