Archive of Our Own

Welcome to FFFX! The mod can be contacted at [email protected] or through http://modzilla.dreamwidth.org. See also the exchange community, http://fffx.dreamwidth.org.

This is a multifandom gift exchange open to writers who are willing to write 10,000+ words and artists who are willing to produce a long comic of 40+ panels or 10+ pages. Signed-up participants will create a gift for another person and receive a gift. Requests follow the ODAO (optional details are optional) model - prompts should work as inspiration rather than strict instruction, but creators must take care to avoid topics that a recipient lists as Do-Not-Wants (DNWs).

Participants must be interested in receiving gifts in at least 4 nominated fandoms, and must be able to create a gift for another person in the exchange.

Treats are also welcome, and pinch hitters (who take on extra assignments) are deeply appreciated. Comments are always loved.

Nominations

Before the sign-up period, nominations are used to create a set of fandoms, characters, and relationships that people can then request and offer when signing up. A new set will be created each year. See the 2021 tag set. You do not have to nominate in order to sign up, but it's the best way to make sure you can offer and request things you are interested in. You can nominate up to 5 different characters or relationships in up to 7 different fandoms. During sign-ups, you will be able to add to the tag set a small number of things you forgot. You can nominate two different types of relationship: platonic, shown by spaced ampersands ( & ) between character names, and romantic or sexual, shown by slashes (/) between character names. Please check the Dreamwidth community for guidelines about how to format your nominations.

Sign-ups

Signing up to this challenge requires filling out the sign-up form at this AO3 collection. You can fill out between 4 and 10 requests, putting one fandom in each, and between 3 and 10 offers, again putting one fandom in each. In each request and offer, you can specify 1-10 characters or relationships, and indicate if you're requesting or offering fic, comics, or both.

You can repeat fandoms in your offers and requests as long as you are requesting at least 4 fandoms.

Your gift(s) will contain one of the fandoms you requested, with one of the characters or relationships you requested (OR matching), in one of the media you requested.

Do not request a tag such as Character & Character and ask your creator to draw you a romantic relationship (the & means platonic). Don't say that you prefer fic for a request in which you've selected both comics and fic. If you have requested a tag, please be prepared to receive that tag. If, during sign-ups, you discover that a character or fandom you want is missing from the tag set, please contact the mod to add that for you.

If you want fic and would be interested in getting two 5,000+ words fics instead of one 10,000+ word fic, you can opt in to that by selecting the relevant Additional Tags in your sign-up. This will only happen if both you and your creator want to do that. Otherwise, all assigned stories should be over 10,000 words. Similarly, you can opt in to receive two comics of 5+ pages / 20+ panels each, instead of one comic that is at least 10 pages or 40 panels long.

In FFFX, you must enter information in the "Prompts & DNWs" boxes for your requests. If you don't like to give prompts, consider talking about what appeals to you about the canon; if you truly want your creator to go wild, say so. (But only if you really mean it! Not for the faint hearted.) Include Do-Not-Wants in the sign-up form if there is content that would ruin a gift for you.

You can also link a to a longer set of prompts and likes - a letter. However, please do not leave your letter unfinished. Letters that are locked or marked incomplete on 31 August (also the deadline for optional assignment swapping) will be removed from your sign-up.

The "Titles" are enabled on offers to allow you to use this field to write notes that only the mod can see. If you hope to match on a particular request or offer, or want to give an alternate contact detail, say so here.

There is a long period (at least five days) between sign-ups closing and assignments going out, so that anyone who wants to can contact the mod to adjust their sign-ups.

Assignments and Check-Ins

You will receive an assignment that lists all of one person's requests.

Please create a work for your recipient that matches the following tags from one of their requests: the fandom, a medium, and a character or relationship tag. Do not include Do-Not-Wants.

Assignment Swaps - In this exchange, you can exchange your original assignment for a different one. Contact the mod before 31 August with a list of your preferred alternative assignments. Priority will be given to people who want to pick up pinch hits. If your preference cannot be accommodated, you will need to keep your assignment or default. If you don't want to trade in your assignment, you don't have to do anything here. After 31 August but before January 1, you can still trade in your assignment, but only if you are willing to pick up a pinch hit instead.

Check-in Week will take place between 19 and 26 November. Defaulting before 19 November means you can sign up in future without needing to complete a gift. During check-in week, you are asked to comment on a post at the Dreamwidth community to confirm you still intend to complete your assignment(s). If you do not check in, you will be defaulted and your recipient(s) will be sent to pinch hit.

Your work must be posted before 11:59pm EDT on 22 January 2021. It must be a complete work when you post it, and so must any subsequent versions you upload. However, it's okay to polish and revise it between the deadline and works reveals.

Reveals

Works will go live on 26 February at 5pm EDT, without creator names attached. Creator names will be revealed on 12 March.

• This is an anonymous exchange - please do not discuss publicly what you are offering, what you are creating, or who you are creating for. It's OK to give details to a beta reader or writing/drawing partner.
• Do not sign up to a round with two or more accounts.
• Do not sign up if you are under 18 years of age.
• Works submitted to the collection must be complete, standalone, and meet a basic standard of spelling, grammar, accessibility, and formatting. Do not upload your assigned story or artwork until it is sufficient to fulfil minimum exchange requirements. Treats can be shorter than assignments, but must fulfil other criteria such as obeying Do-Not-Wants.
• Do not use prompts or DNWs to force your creator into creating a specific story or set of scenes ("railroading"). Try to use your prompts to inspire rather than to restrict your creator. Prompts must be based on the tags (art, fic, fandoms, specific characters and pairings) that you have selected for your requests.
• Create in good faith - avoid recipient DNWs and try to create something they will like.
• If you fail to check in during 19-26 November, default on your assignment after 19 November, or do not turn in a gift at the deadline, you may not sign up in future until you have completed a full-length work for a participant, or two half-length gifts (these can be for two different people). Gifts for pinch hitters count.
• If you default or do not turn your work in at deadline, it's still possible you will get a gift, but you are not guaranteed one.
• Comment on your gift(s); if you do not, you may not sign up in future. If you are unable to comment on a gift, please discuss the situation with the mod.
• Do not delete gifts.
• The mod reserves the right to ban participants for disruptive behavior not covered in these rules.