The Idea A fandom Secret Santa -- we give each other stories, artwork, essays. Very simple -- Email (gatchgift.ame@gmail.com) or PM me with what you want and what you can give. After I have everything, I'll match up what people want and what they can give, and give you your prompt and medium. Once you are done with your gift, send them to me. I'll post all submissions here for the receiver and everyone else to enjoy. After all gifts have been posted and enjoyed, and we've guessed who gave what, Givers will be allowed to reveal themselves. After they have had a few days to reveal, I'll post the master list of prompts and who did what. The Specifics 1. Anytime between now and October 1, 2017 email or PM me with the following. -- Choose two or three prompts+ -- a Medium or two* -- if choosing an fanfic or an essay, choose a team* -- What you can give** 2. By October 6, you will receive from me a gift request 3. Send me the completed gift by December 20.# (For those giving artwork, I have created a photobucket account for the Exchange. Email me and I will send you the user name and password and you can upload directly to the account any time and I can post it to the exchange.) 4. I'll post the gifts between December 20 and December 23. 5. People can reveal themselves to the recipients on December 27. 6. I'll post the master list between January 1 and 3, 2018; at that time givers can post their work elsewhere, such as Gatchfanfic or DeviantArt, etc. 7. 1200 word minimum for essays and stories (serial drabbles are okay, unless otherwise specified) No maximum, but please keep in mind that gifts should be complete. If a prompt inspires more, sequels would be enjoyed by all. The Rules If you want something, you have to give something. Please don't post or share^ the gifts with others or other sites until after the master list has been revealed on January 1, 2018 to give the recipients time to enjoy the work first. If you don't want smut or slash, or won't write/draw smut or slash, please say so. Also if you prefer this, just put it in your prompt. If you want to give multiple gifts, you can ask for multiple gifts. Send requests separately, otherwise they will look like additional prompt choices. Finally, a quick note about warnings and formatting. Please, if the gift you are giving needs to be in the Rubber Room, please let me know. Sometimes I have time to read through the gifts before posting, but not always. It is better to be safe than sorry. Also, please make sure your gift is formatted for gatchamania.net. This could be as simple as adding basic html tags for centering, bold, italic, etc, but also paragraph formatting. You must use double hard returns at the end of each paragraph so that the text does not look like one long block. Just because the text looks right in your program does not mean it will look write in the forum. This is especially true if you use docx with paragraph formatting or similar. If you are uncertain about whether your formatting is right, there are a few ways to test: take another text that you have written in the same format and post it in the test forum; you can also use a small block of the gift and test in the same way, but please delete when done. I know that formatting will take some of you a bit more time with your gifts, but it will save time for me when I am posting the gifts (on average, over the last few years I've had to reformat about 1/3 to 1/2 of the gifts so they are readable) and it will ensure that your formatting is correct. Thank you. * ** ^ + # * If you want an essay or choose Eagle Riders or GoS (for fanfic or essay), please select one prompt from another and/or for a second team. I will make every attempt to match people with their first choices, but will be limited by what people are able to give. **Prefered Medium -- Art, Fanfiction, Essay, Teams that you are most familiar with for Fanfictions or Essays ^Check with me before you send something to beta. I'd really like to try and post a beta list for those who need/want a beta, so if you want to participate, but don't really have the time to give, send me an email to volunteer to beta. Please note that if you want to beta, you must also respect the timeline and secrecy. If you know for a fact that your Beta does not participate, that is okay to just send to them. Two or three prompts are requested to give the author/artist a choice in case nothing sparks to mind. It does not mean that you will get all prompts or that the author/artist has to do all prompts. However, it has happened in the past that the prompts were so inspiring that some have responded to them all, and posted the others after the exchange. Some have even combined prompts, but again that is at the choice of the author/artist. #Christmas is on a Monday this year. So I have a mid-week due date. I'd like to have all stories posted by Friday so that everyone can enjoy their gifts and the long holiday weekend. Please, if something happens that prevents you from fulfilling this obligation, let me know as soon as possible. I won't be asking for a gift, but will be a back-up if anyone has something that interferes with this obligation. If anyone else wishes to help out in this manner, I'd be happy to accept that help, too. So please, if you have time to fill for missing gifts please let me know. Hope everyone has a much fun as we did in years past! Happy Holidays! ~~~~~~~~~ No, I did not forget! I've just been a bit busy ... Tomorrow I am taking time to breath and will post the specifics sometime early afternoon or sooner.

Yay!

No worries.

WooHoo!! Time to start thinking of some prompts then.

I can't think of any prompts, so I'll put my hand up to beta-read if anyone wants help with polishing the rough edges off any stories.

Oh wow...is it THAT time already?!? Man, I'm spending WAY too much time in hospitals and nursing homes.

Okay, the call for prompts is officially up! Looking back, I'm actually earlier this year than last. Ghost Owl, you have two weeks to think of something, if you want to write. If you'd rather beta, that is fine, too. If I get the prompts sorted early, I will send them early. Thank you!

Hola Ame, Yes! I was waiting for this and I'm definitely in! Will send you my prompts soon. As you know, I definitely need a beta. Thank you for organising it again!

Amethyst, I want to play, but I still have no power after hurricane Irma, so I can't get to the file on my computer where I've been jotting down ideas. It's been 5 days and I have no idea when they will get us going again (they claim 11:45pm Sunday, but I don't know and am not holding out hope). As soon as I can get power, I'll send my list along. I'm due to go out of the country the 23rd through the 30th (postponed from this past weekend due to the storm) so I'm cross you fingers that I can get to my computer during that time window.

Understandable. Keep me posted. I might be able to give you a day or two on the deadline. I've been through a few floods, but considering what you are going through, they are very small scale.

Thanks Ame! I sent you a PM -- looking forward to receiving the prompts!

While Gatchamania was down this weekend. I created a Facebook page for the exchange. I know that not every has a Facebook account, but seemed the easiest way to reach people when this place goes wonky. The name of the page is Gatch Gift Exchange. It is an open community. This is still the main place. Gifts will be posted here, but notifications will also be announced on Facebook. I will use pen names for notifications, but if anyone does not wish to have their name announce, I will respect that and just announce that another gift is up.

One more week for prompts.

Happy Friday! Happy Coffee Day! Prompts are due at the end of the weekend!

I can hardly wait!

Sent you an e-mail with mine. And you KNOW I'm more than happy to give and receive smut.

Today is the day! Get your prompts in by the end of today! If you want to be part of the exchange!

The call for prompts is now closed. I will send ou the prompts a bit later. You should have them by Friday if not sooner.

NNYYAAAAAAARRRRGH! The wait is killing me!

I know, I can't wait either!

The prompts have been sent out! Any questions, please email me, I'll get back to you within a few days.

Yup, got mine Ame! Oh this should be fun

Got mine!

Got mine, thanks!

I'm no longer screaming and writhing in pain over this! Thanks!

OMG! December already! I promise to be a bit more active here in the coming weeks as it gets closer to due dates and post dates. I feel I owe all of you an explanation for my long absences between exchanges. Many of you know I found this site as my father fought terminal lung cancer. This place was a refuge during his last few weeks and helped to keep me functioning in the months after his death. The last few years my mother's health has been in decline and the last year and a half or so, I've been stressed out trying to manage two households and be there for my kids as they reached the milestones that marked the end of their childhoods. This year my mother's health took a turn for the worse and was diagnosed with dementia consistent with Alzheimer's. Knowing she would only get worse, I gave her three choices: move into an assisted living facility, move in with me and we move farther north, move to Texas with my brother. She choose the last, so I had to manage the sale of her place, and over see her move as the only thing my brother wanted to do was pack up the trailer and go. I had to do all of this, without his help, around my daughter's high school graduation and taking her off to university, and trying to find out why my lymphnodes in my neck swelled up, my white blood cell count went up, but I had no fever or sign of infection. Having had a previous issue with my thyroid, my doctor sent me to an endocrinologist and a head and neck surgeon. Ultrasounds revealed thyroid nodules and bilateral swollen lymph nodes. The first three biopsies came back negative (fine needle on my thyroid and lymph node and a core needle on my my lymph node). My H&N surgeon gave me two options: repeat the biopsies or do a surgical biopsy. As we were getting ready to take my daughter to university, I choose to repeat the biopsy. As the surgeon felt we'd learn nothing new, he scheduled a surgical biopsy for early October. Within two weeks of that surgery, I had my second to remove my thyroid completely, remove lymphnodes on my left side and clean out additional material on the right where the first surgery was done. You should see my scar! It looks like I was on the wrong end of Jun's yo-yo. The surgical biopsy revealed thyroid cancer. I'm not sure why it didn't show up on any of the other's, but that is an issue for pathologists and researchers. Around all of this, I had to finish the sale of my mother's home and finish cleaning it out. The buyer changed her mind a half dozen times between mid-September and mid-October! I think the only reason she didn't she didn't change her mind again is we were set to close between my surgeries and in the middle of the massive firestorm that devasted nearby communities but left the area around my home and my mother's relatively unharmed. If she had back out at that time, she was warned, that I would not reinstate deal as I know she was getting a steal so we could be rid of it, and with so many nearby areas devasted, few would have blinked at my asking price which was a bit high for the place, but a bargain for the community. To finish things off, Mom handled the initial move okay, but the stress of it showed in the coming weeks as her dementia progressed rapidly. She passed at the end of October. My oldest, who is autistic and very attached to his grandmother, had an autistic meltdown a few days later that required hospitalization. I almost skipped the fun part ... Not! Radio Actve Iodine Ablation. I'm currently on day 38 of a low iodine diet. One of my H&N surgeons wanted me to be on it longer than the recommended two weeks. That part wasn't so bad, except I've been more or less hypothyroid the entire time and haven't lost any weight throughout the very strict diet. Trying to schedule the RAI was fun and ended choosing a less convenient facility to get the time and dates that I wanted. Even being hypothyroid hasn't been bad. I'm more sluggish in the mornings and have to push myself to get going. With the change in weather, I'm wearing more sweatshirts than normal. And I need to take more frequent breaks when I work. The worst part is the pain in my shoulders that required prescription pain relievers and muscle relaxers that barely helped. And now I'm radioactive and locked in my bedroom away from everyone. Listening to my dog whine half the night broke my heart. But I got a lower dose of irai than expected so that is a good thing. It doesn't change much, but slightly increases the chance I may need to do this again in 6 months to a year if my follow up scan shows more with the larger dose than with the small dose required for the initial scan. For the most part, November has been a month of healing, reorganization, and catching up on real life things long neglected. With December, I am looking forward to the holidays and this Gift Exchange a bit more than in previous years. I'm looking forward to next year being a year I can start writing again, and have a few other projects in the works that may or may not come to fruition, but even if not, just the planning and dreaming can be fun. Anyway, thank you for listening and begging such a great community.

You have had a rough time of it lately, and you have my utmost sympathy. I hope you can now see a light at the end of this very long tunnel and 2018 is much easier on you and your family.

Picture me giving you a huge (but gentle) hug, Amethyst!

Thank you! KT, that light at the end of the tunnel is burning bright! I just hope it is not my reflection from glowing in the dark.

Let's hope that 2018 is a bettter year for you, Amethyst. I won't offer you any silly platitudes like, "The Lord only sends us as much as we can cope with," because that's blatantly bullshit. Any cancer journey is tough for everyone. So is dealing with a relative with dementia and so is dealing with a child on the autism spectrum. I can't imagine how hard it is to deal with all three at once. That you're still standing and compos mentis at this point is testament to your strength and fortitude. I will offer you one piece of advice, gleaned from experience: don't be too strong. Give yourself permission to cry when it's safe to do so, and let yourself be supported. If you stay too strong for too long, you run the risk of forgetting how not to be. All the best.

Thanks Ghost! I've cried a few times, but I've found keeping busy, but not too busy has been the most cathartic. My kitchen is in better shape than it was when this all started, but I still have a bit of work on it. I'm working on my long neglected writing nook and sewing areas this weekend while I need to stay away from people. I've had a few days where I do nothing, and took an short weekend to see my daughter, and a few days to help out a friend. It is nice to be able to say, okay that's enough the rest can wait for tomorrow, though I find myself starting to set goals like this, this and this to finish today and accomplish them. Before my surgeries, I was lucky accomplish one "this" so I'm happy when I get two or all three done, and don't get discouraged when that last one was one too many. Today is my writing nook (bookshelf and desk) I've got one more shelf to do and I'm looking at the top shelf and thinking, that one can wait until I have help or am a bit stronger. I'm looking at my desk thinking, organize the books on the desk and the rest is a task for tomorrow where I planned to do my sewing area. With a few small exceptions, the worst part of mt sewing area is overflow from my desk.

You know, when I posted about what happened with me, I didn't mean to inspire a competition! I'm so sorry you've been dealing with all of this, and am glad to hear that you're coming out the other side. Welcome back.

I'm so sorry you have had such a shitty few months!! I hope that it all starts to look up for you and that 2018 is much better for you!

Originally posted by ChrisW You know, when I posted about what happened with me, I didn't mean to inspire a competition! I'm so sorry you've been dealing with all of this, and am glad to hear that you're coming out the other side. Welcome back.

I'm so sorry! Now I feel a bit guilty about not keeping up with everyone else, and should find time to go back and read some of those. I posted above because in the past, I'd find time to check in, and more so during this time, but this year, I had to make the time to look in for prompts, and felt all of you deserved an explanation. However, that does sound like a fun challenge: take the busiest, most depressing or challenging time in your life and turn it into Gatch story. Maddie, thank you! Things are already looking up. I wrote six pages between Friday evening and Saturday afternoon. It is more than in the last few years and it felt good. Granted it was non-fiction and in letter form, but six months ago even finding the time to get one letter written let alone two would have been impossible. One letter was a summary of a friendship for a friend dealing with an abusive ex, and sperm donor trying to take away her daughter. The shorter one was for her too, but that was more specific dealing explicitly with custody. So I have more time to help. I'm sure after I get my own home organized from the neglect of running two households, all have even more time and creative juices will hopefully start to flow again!

Hi Ame... It must have been a complete whirlwind to try and get through it all ans stay sane. I hope you are able to take a deep breath and sleep. You must be in desperate need of self-care time. I have a few unexpected RL things happen after accepting the gift exchange that have limited my writing time for it. But I like to meet a deadline and will have a story!!

Oh, don't feel bad Ame. There's no need to go back and read mine! Like I said ... not a competition. And that does sound like a good challenge!

Lots and lots of hugs Ame! I won't use any platitudes either, just... very sorry about the tough time you're going through and glad that there seems to be some light at the end of the tunnel. Hopefully 2018 will treat you better... you are in my thoughts...

Ame, I sent you my fic today. Hope you are feeling better

Thanks, DT! Just a quick reminder, gifts are due in just over a week. If anyone needs a few extra days (quick glance at Ebony) just let me know, I plan early due dates to accommodate the unexpected and late arrivals just because of real life. One big request: before sending off the gifts, please due a quick double check that they are properly formatted to be cut and pasted straight into the Gatchamania boxes and have proper HTML tags if desired. Doc docx from word usually work best. PDF, txt, and rtf don't work as well and leave me with a lot of formatting to do. I can open pages documents, but am unsure how well they work. Thank you everyone! I can't wait to see all the gifts this year!

Hi Ame... I'm still working on mine. Unexpected events in RL life like unplanned pregnancy ( 12 weeks along now.) Hindered my usual evening writing time. Afternoon sickness and excessive tiredness. ( mid 40s... so I had obsertician outlining scary risks... 1:19 my age isnt even on their list as numbers get smaller.... still waiting on the results of Tri 21, 18, 13 chromosome tests. Its a newer test they use more now. So far its all going well... ultrasound yesterday didn't pick anything out of place. Phew... So that means Ebony will have team in June 2018... 5 kids!! But studies are done! I'll have to call on someone for at least a quick last minute proofing... if not... please forgive me... usually it would have ready for a polish.

That's amazing! Just let me know if you need an extra day or two, and that goes for anyone else who just needs the time.

Congratulations on the new baby, Ebony, it's wonderful news Ame, still working on mine, but I hope to be ready by the deadline.

Wow Ebony! Congratulations on the new bub!!! Amethyst - I may need a few extra days. Work has been absolutely insane and I am just flaking out when I get home and on the weekends! I am working on it though.

Ame, I'm trying to get mine to you before the last possible second (for once!), but I'm glad to know there's a little wiggle room! Ebony -- Wow! Congrats! Would you mind PMing me your address? I'd like to start on a gift for the little bundle as soon as I finish my Gift Exchange submission.

Congratulations on your surprise baby, Ebony. Hope everything goes smoothly for you and your family.

Wow Ebony! Time to start making some little team gear?

My dear Ame, I'm so sorry to hear about everything you had to cope with lately. It's so difficult when we are facing some challenges, but it's really a great burden when our loved ones are affected. All we need to do it's to have faith and trust that soon everything will turn up for the best. It's just a chapter in your life, not the hole story. Keep well, don't lose hope and from my side of the world, receive lots and lots of hugs! I'm sure next year will bring nice surprises and they are coming your way!

My dear Ebony, I'm so happy with the news! This is just a great surprise. Thank you for sharing with us these awesome news. Congratulations and I'm looking forward to see our youngest Gatchaman member (who knows, maybe he or she will be a great fan) Receive lots of hugs from me PS For sure your story will be awesome

Kids love Gatchaman especially Cassie and Georgiana. ( yes Georgiana's name came from Jane Austin.) Thanks for the congratulations. I'm putting further post-grad study on hold for a year. I'm qualified now in my profession so I'm registering with appropriate associations, also With encouragement and recommendations from respected psychologists. ( Humbling really, one is also a doctor and also a teacher, she was invited to be a speaker at my graduation.) A new baby... well I'll have to work that one out too. I never neglect kids though to have a career. They can see that, and how important deadlines are... speaking of deadlines!!! Going back to gift echange work NOW!!

Ebonyswanne: I'm glad they're working with you for an interm solution, post-grad and work-wise!

Ebony many many congrats!!!

Just a reminder, a Gifts are due. I know it is a busy time, and the site has been wonky, if your gift will be later than Friday, please email or message me so that I know. Thank you to everyone who has helped with this. I'll start putting the gifts up this afternoon.

Yay! And hope the site stays up long enough for us to read them

Hey, Ame, could you PM me your email address? I'm not sure if the one I have is still current. Thanks.

I already emailed it Did you recieve it???