Don't Stop Coal Now!

[coalcube]

Tonight I'm gonna have myself a real coal time
I feel alive
And the exchange I'll turn it inside out, yeah
I'm floating around in agony
So, (don't stop me now)
(Don't stop me)
'Cause I'm having a coal time, having a coal time~


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Comments

Re: Dear Authors

[(Anonymous)]

You can’t request OCs in Yuletide. You can want them all you want, but optional details remain optional.

Re: Dear Authors

[(Anonymous)]

They didn't request OCs. They requested worldbuilding.

Re: Dear Authors

[(Anonymous)]

da

That's the point, though. The character study of a canon character can be worldbuilding. It's impossible to tell if that's the case without reading the fic. But it's easy to see why a "the canon characters' story is already told and that I want new stories about other people" letter would put someone off who offered worldbuilding but has no intention to write OCs (be it because they won't or they can't). OP can be disappointed by the ODAO, but it's not against the rules.

Re: Dear Authors

[(Anonymous)]

CYRT: It's not hard to write about a canon character that focuses on worldbuilding without it becoming a character study. Don't offer worldbuilding if you don't want to write that.

Re: Dear Authors

[(Anonymous)]

AYRT

I don't think "character study" and "worldbuilding" are necessarily mutually exclusive. Like I said, we don't know how much worldbuilding is in the fic.

Re: Dear Authors

[(Anonymous)]

If there's no worldbuilding and it's supposed to be worldbuilding, then that's just the same as if your requested character doesn't show up. Mods said they wouldn't judge the quality of worldbuilding, but if there's none at all that's not a question of quality.

Re: Dear Authors

[(Anonymous)]

AYRT

I agree with this, I just think it's impossible to tell from OP's complaint whether there's worldbuilding in it. They sound like they're just annoyed that it focuses on a canon character instead of OCs, and that's a fair thing to be annoyed about but not against the rules unless there actually is no worldbuilding in the fic.

Re: Dear Authors

[(Anonymous)]

To me they sound like they're annoyed it's a character study. It's probably just fairly generic Yuletide character-thinking-to-themselves fic.

Re: Dear Authors

[(Anonymous)]

I might be misinterpreting, but if I saw a prompt like that, I'd assume they meant the main characters' stories were told, and that they wanted worldbuilding around background characters, not OCs. One of the typical kinds of worldbuilding is to ignore what Hamlet's doing and go check on Rozencrantz and Guildinstern instead.

Also, the author must have signed up to write worldbuilding, or they wouldn't have been matched. If you offer worldbuilding, yes you are offering to write minor characters or OCs. Unless they're an idiot who misused "any" thinking "who would ask for worldbuilding? I'll be fine!"

Re: Dear Authors

[(Anonymous)]

If you offer worldbuilding, yes you are offering to write minor characters or OCs.

What? No. You can still write worldbuilding about the protagonists!

Re: Dear Authors

[(Anonymous)]

You can, but if you offer worldbuilding assuming that the request will only be about MCs, then you're going to be disappointed. Like all the people who offer a ship thinking that their recip will only ever request fluffy shipfic and not angst or something.

Re: Dear Authors

[(Anonymous)]

ayrt

And just like fluff vs. angst, your request to have the worldbuilding focus on the MC vs. on OCs is a matter of optional details and can be ignored.

Re: Dear Authors

[(Anonymous)]

That's a good comparison, actually. You aren't guaranteed angsty fic, and you're not guaranteed worldbuilding fic about OCs. Your preferences are just that: preferences.

Re: Dear Authors

[(Anonymous)]

What? That's not true at all. I got worldbuilding fic with the main character as the POV character and it was great! Even if the main characters story is completely told with nothing about them or their past left to explore, you can still get worldbuilding about something else (setting, culture, other characters, etc) via the eyes of the main character.

Re: Dear Authors

[(Anonymous)]

You can, but if you offer worldbuilding assuming that the request will only be about MCs, then you're going to be disappointed. Like all the people who offer a ship thinking that their recip will only ever request fluffy shipfic and not angst or something.

Re: Dear Authors

[(Anonymous)]

There are only like five comments in this part of the conversation, you don't have to copypaste the same reply to multiple people.

Re: Dear Authors

[(Anonymous)]

+1

That they got two replies and copy pasted the exact same thing to both replies speaks volumes.

Re: Dear Authors

[(Anonymous)]

One volume for each comment? :P

Re: Dear Authors

[(Anonymous)]

You said "If you offer worldbuilding, yes you are offering to write minor characters or OCs. Unless they're an idiot who misused "any" thinking "who would ask for worldbuilding? I'll be fine!"

They offered "Worldbuilding" not "Minor Characters or OCs", and they aren't being an idiot or misusing "any" by writing worldbuilding that involves the main characters.

Re: Dear Authors

[(Anonymous)]

+1 There's no reason why "worldbuilding" would have to include minor characters or OCs at all, much less be focused on them.