I was talking about two characters as friends and not in a ship. Those of us who like gen can still get the dreaded nothing-happens genfic when it centers on worldbuilding rather than the characters we requested and how they interact together. There are a decent number of Yuletide participants who can't write character interactions despite signing up for a character-matching exchange!

I think those types should sign up for the Worldbuilding exchange rather than Yuletide. I would be happy if this development in Yuletide would mean giving it when it wasn't requested would get them in 'trouble' with the mods. If it doesn't, I don't see what giving them more freedom to miss the point of Yuletide-as-a-character-matching-exchange-for-small-fandoms is worth.