Coalifying Rounds

[heavensqueen]

Sign-ups Sunday Oct 1 - Monday Oct 9
Assignments out by Sunday Oct 15
Default deadline Monday Dec 11
Assignment deadline Monday Dec 18

Letter Posts:
https://yuletide.livejournal.com/1304730.html

https://yuletide.dreamwidth.org/94925.html

Comments

Bemoan your coal last year!

[(Anonymous)]

Unload your disappointment here.

Re: Bemoan your coal last year!

[(Anonymous)]

I got a pretty meh story last year, so I left a nice enough comment and haven't reread it since. Just went back to look, though, and two other people have commented since last Yuletide pointing out inconsistencies in the story and suggesting plot hole fixes.... guess I wasn't the only one to find it a bit meh??

LETTERS

[(Anonymous)]

What's in your bookmarks?

Re: LETTERS

[(Anonymous)]

Links to actual letter posts:

https://yuletide.livejournal.com/1304730.html
https://yuletide.dreamwidth.org/94925.html

Wrapping Paper Challenge

[(Anonymous)]

https://yuletide.dreamwidth.org/94538.html
https://yuletide.livejournal.com/1304943.html

Anything caught your eye yet, artists of Coal?

Re: Wrapping Paper Challenge

[(Anonymous)]

Yep! I'm going to be treating at least one person on that post. ;)

Signups begin tomorrow!!

[(Anonymous)]

Are you ready?

Re: Signups begin tomorrow!!

[(Anonymous)]

No, aven't even started with my letter yet.

What would stop you from treating a letter?

[(Anonymous)]

Say you have the time, inclination, and inspiration to go on a treating spree. What could someone say in their letter that would make you not want to treat them?

Re: What would stop you from treating a letter?

[(Anonymous)]

Anything bashing, even if I agree with it, even if it's not about the fandom we matched on. If you can't make it through your letter without going negative, I'm not going to have much faith that you don't have a hundred unspoken DNWs that you'll get pissy about.

Your favorite Yuletide gift of all time

[(Anonymous)]

Main gift or treat, that fic you hold dearest in your heart

Re: Your favorite Yuletide gift of all time

[(Anonymous)]

That 16K plotty shipfic I got one year that took into consideration all my likes and DNWs! Almost makes up for every year I've gotten 1000 words of a rewritten canon scene. -_-

Just a little reminder

[(Anonymous)]

Naomi Novik is astolat

Re: Just a little reminder

[(Anonymous)]

lol

Letters app

[(Anonymous)]

Post requests, bug fixes and corrections here and I'll get to them

https://tagset2017.firebaseapp.com/

/coadie

Re: Letters app

[(Anonymous)]

It would be neat if you'd got a total count of letters (mostly because I'm curious to know how many of us actually do letters compared to signups) - and/or maybe a last updated date

Prompts that grab

[(Anonymous)]

I always worry that my prompts aren't inspiring enough, and aren't the kind that grab someone and give them an immediate need to write something. Can coalies copy-paste examples from real letters (not just a link to a letter overall) of prompts that do this for them? Even if I don't know the fandom, maybe I can still get a sense of what works about it. Prompts that don't work at all are also helpful, to know what not to do.

Re: Prompts that grab

[(Anonymous)]

It's all rather individual, but here's some prompts that've grabbed me from exchanges past:

https://karanguni.dreamwidth.org/167237.html

(The entire Vorkosigan wall-of-text, but mostly this part:) Tell me about Simon's personal relationship with Aral and how that shifts to accommodate Jole. Is Simon ever cruel to Jole? Simon's a lonely man who's given up most of his personal life, and he has to contend with a much-junior officer who, from certain angles, seems to get everything right. I'll posit that Aral treats Jole with dignity; from that angle, Simon has to deal with an entity who doesn't fit into the convenient category of "Countess", "mistress", or "fling." I'd love to see your take on whether Simon is jealous – or maybe envious is the better word. And if he is, of whom? Is he ever bitter? Aral canonically has very different attitudes towards different officers of his: after all, some (cough) he allows to be thrown into dungeons as a learning moment even as he gives them his son for awkward safe-keeping, while others (double cough) he shoots off on a ladder-climbing career that ends in a hilariously convenient posting as the Admiral of Sergyar.

https://measured-words.dreamwidth.org/83576.html

This song is from the Mozart Rock Opera - it's sung by Salieri, and is basically about his bitter jealousy. I just really love the concept here, of assassination through music. You could take it literally, and have some kind of murderous bard or musical ritualist, or metaphorically and have it be about using music to destroy someone by creating satirical or slanderous songs to destroy their character. I think the attitude of the singer - the sense of self loathing and the embracing of defeat - is an interesting element to work with as well. Despite the murderous intent, it is really a very defeatist and despairing attitude, and I would love a story about how that all comes together.

https://irusu.dreamwidth.org/2817.html

What I love about this song is the sense of deep (geologic) time, contrasted with single moments in one person's life. ("a billion words ago," "a thousand generations," vs. "a second of reflection," "a single spark of passion, "a moment in a lifetime") The "camera" of the song is pulled way back, to encompass myriads ("The countless lonely voices / Like whispers in the dark"), then zooms in to focus on one person ("A moment in a lifetime / Is all it takes to break him"), and brings everything back around in a circle, the (metaphorical or literal as you take it) ships of the title lost in time, but then called back home to the present. ("A billion words ago / They sang a song of leaving / An echo from the chorus / Will call them back again"). And then that cycle is distilled back down to one moment, on the cusp of change, at the end of the song ("Tonight we light the fires / We call our ships to port / Tonight we walk on water / And tomorrow we'll be gone") as the present cycles into the past.

https://weakinteraction.dreamwidth.org/6409.html

Another either-they-can-redeem-each-other-or-fall-together ship; there may be a theme here ... Anything at all around Visas's constant refrain of "My life is yours" would be interesting. As would Visas dealing with her past: we see her doing this somewhat on the Ravager, but seeing her with Exile after that would be interesting, or going back to Katarr. Deeper exploration of the Force Sight thing than happens in the game would also be great (interesting art-wise, too). In a similar vein, Visas's ability to detect Exile is effectively a gameplay mechanic (getting halfway up or down the karma meter, or reaching Lvl 15), but what is it equivalent to in-universe?

https://weakinteraction.dreamwidth.org/4640.html

Pattern Jugglers -- what is going on with them? How much do they "know" about what's going on? (My headcanon is that the Pattern Jugglers were deliberately created as a way of preserving at least something from the civilisations marked for destruction; what I'm never sure about is whether they were created by the same people as the Inhibitors, or their opponents. But there are obvious ties to the Dawn War tag here if you want to go down that road.) For art, some sort of abstract representation of what it's like to have your brain picked apart and rearranged would be amazing, but so would a scene of one of their planets, with or without someone swimming.

http://lalalalalawhy.livejournal.com/858.html

So. How do we do it? Is it folk lore? Is it a song sung through the ages? Did… did we make those glowing cats? Do future humans run across an alien landscape of spikes jutting threateningly into the sky?

Build the future in the year 12016. What’s it like then? Here’s a wikipedia article on the Timeline of human prehistory: 10,000 years ago, the Quaternary extinction event was just barely concluding, which means there were still megafauna like woolly rhinoceroses, Irish elk, mammoths, and saber-toothed cats running around. In other words, it looked very different from the world we now know. Take that and flip it: what’s the fauna like in 10,000 years? What are cities like? Did we go solarpunk? Solve for energy? Is the earth the center of a galactic empire? Or are we dealing with a post-apocalypse? What of the current era survives? And, back to the canon, do we fail in the effort to label the toxic waste and people keep getting sick? Hopeful future or dark future are both totally okay.

What are you doing differently this year?

[(Anonymous)]

Not asking for the fandom you always ask for? Starting on treats before you usually do? Asking for m/f/m when all yur other requests were f/m/f?

Re: What are you doing differently this year?

[(Anonymous)]

I usually only offer the minimum # of fandoms to write. This year I'm committing to offering ten! And I'm not going to fret about it once I sign up. Let the Yuletide chips fall where they may.

Fandoms I can write m/m for

[(Anonymous)]

Coal, I'm getting sick of writing gen. What are some fandoms that are unlikely to get gen requests? I like books mostly, TV shows and movies are OK if they're on US Netflix or Amazon Prime. (I could maybe take a five-minute fandom if it was in my genres.) Preferred genres are fantasy or historical fiction.

Re: Fandoms I can write m/m for

[(Anonymous)]

If it's a movie, and only two guys are nominated, it's probably a safe bet. Especially if it's something rare, where only one person will be requesting it.

I'd gladly try to give some recs, but I have no idea what's available on those two American streaming services.

Themed list of action movies

[(Anonymous)]

I did this last year, and figured I might as well do it again! Below is a list of all action movies nominated for Yuletide 2017. (With the caveat that I might've missed some or included some by accident. Please don't hesitate to add to the list, in the case of the former!)

2 Guns (2013)
Air Force One (1997)
American Assassin (2017)
Attack the Block (2011)
Baahubali (Movies)
Banlieue 13 (Movies)
Bastille Day (2016)
Blade (Movie Series)
Blitz (2011)
Bloodsport (1988)
Conan the Barbarian (1980s Movies)
Crows Zero (Movies)
Daybreakers (2009)
Death Race 2050 (2017)
Demolition Man (1993)
Die Hard (Movies)
天將雄師 | Dragon Blade (2015)
Dredd (2012)
Drive Angry (2011)
Eastern Promises (2007)
Escape Plan (2013)
Frequency (2000)
Gridlocked (Movie)
Heat (1995)
내부자들 | Inside Men (2015)
John Wick (Movies)
Le Pacte des Loups | Brotherhood of the Wolf (2001)
Logan (2017 Movie)
大武生 | My Kingdom (2011)
Ninja Assassin (2009)
Nobunaga Concerto (TV & Movie)
Northmen: A Viking Saga (2014)
畫皮 | Painted Skin (Movies)
Point Break (1991)
Rapid Fire (1992)
RED (Movies)
Return of the Gunfighter (1967)
S.W.A.T. (2003)
Safe House (2012)
Shanghai Noon (Movies)
Tango & Cash (1989)
Terminator (Movies 1984-2009)
Terminator Genisys
Дуэлянт | The Duelist (2016)
The Expendables (Movies)
The Guns of Navarone (1961)
The Nice Guys (2016)
The November Man (2014)
The Vikings (1958)
激戰 | Unbeatable (2013)
Welcome to the Punch (2013)
White House Down (2013)

Re: Themed list of action movies

[(Anonymous)]

HOW DID I NOT NOTICE DRIVE ANGRY IN THE TAGSET THANK YOU NONNY

Requests You Want to See

[(Anonymous)]

Fandoms you're curious to see letters for!

Re: Requests You Want to See

[(Anonymous)]

Untherius should count as a fandom. I want to know what he's into this year so I can protect myself.

Letter Recs

[(Anonymous)]

O Coalies, O Coalies, please rec me letters asking for X.

Re: Letter Recs - non-fluffy m/f

[(Anonymous)]

Angst or enemies-to-lovers or unrequited or Crueltide or whatever, I'm looking for het requests that aren't domestic HEA!

[(Anonymous)]

From the land of discordia:

Morbane
btw
we changed the offers so you can offer up to 12 chars per offer instead of up to 8

[(Anonymous)]

*shrugs* I usually don't offer many because I like to play it safe.

Early treat starters, fess up

[(Anonymous)]

I'm already picking at a treat because I have kind of an elaborate idea for one. Anyone else in the overeager camp?

Re: Early treat starters, fess up

[(Anonymous)]

*raises hand* There's not even a letter up for the fandom yet, but I've got SUCH a good idea, I can't not write it!

*drums fingers*

[(Anonymous)]

Signups supposedly opening right about now...

Sign-ups open!

[(Anonymous)]

http://archiveofourown.org/collections/yuletide2017/signups/new

Re: Sign-ups open!

[(Anonymous)]

Woo!

Honestly I love the time schedule now. 9AM UTC is perfect for me at +10, that makes it 7 in the evening, I can eat dinner and sit down for whatever it happening. TY Morbane. <3

Signup Summary Talk

[(Anonymous)]

We have more than a week of fretting to look forward to! Get out your tensions and express your joys here.

Re: Signup Summary Talk

[(Anonymous)]

I'm requesting something completely new and different to me because I saw at least three coalies talking about wanting to write it, and I'm being very chill and zen about not checking the offers summary because it's only the first few hours of the very first day, but. Come on, coalies. Don't let me down.

[(Anonymous)]

Is Dreamwidth acting up for anyone else? Trying to read letters and 2/3 seem to work but a bunch are giving me "web page not available" or a redirect error.

[(Anonymous)]

Flatmeme a bit and you'll see people talking about it.

Anyway, DW has been having some issues for quite a while now. No idea when it'll be fixed. Check out the LJ letters while you wait?

Christmas/holiday prompts

[(Anonymous)]

Has anyone seen any requests that ask for Christmas or/and holiday fics?

Re: Christmas/holiday prompts

[(Anonymous)]

https://kissoffools.dreamwidth.org/4171.html

This one mentions in their general likes that they would love fic with a Christmas or Hanukkah (for one of their canons) background!

Rec me vanilla sex?

[(Anonymous)]

I've been reading and writing so much kinkalicious sex lately that I feel like I've forgotten what a good vanilla sex scene even looks like. So rec me stuff? PWP or a smoking hot scene buried in a longer fic, either is fine, so long as you link me to the right part of the fic- I don't want to have to search through somebody's 280,000 word magnum opus to find the scene you mean.

inb4 "but what counts as vanilla"- use your judgment, coalie. Otherwise we're gonna fall down a rabbit hole of arguing about kink.

Re: Rec me vanilla sex?

[(Anonymous)]

This fic has a lot of sex scenes, m/f and m/m. I think they're hot!

http://archiveofourown.org/works/6894127

Gripes and Brats

[(Anonymous)]

Vent your spleen here.

Re: Gripes and Brats

[(Anonymous)]

I'm not asking for much of any of the things people typically look for letters for (tropes, some ship dynamics), so probably no one is going to rec my letter. :(

Not that this matters, because I've never gotten treats any of the times my letter has been recced for something, and I made my requests based on what I really want. I'm still irrationally disappointed.

Coalifying Rounds?

[(Anonymous)]

I just realised I have no idea what the post title refers to. Am I missing something obvious?

Re: Coalifying Rounds?

[(Anonymous)]

Pun on qualifying rounds, I think. Like for a tournament.

Who's offering different fandoms to their requests?

[(Anonymous)]

Or all the same? Or a mix of both? How do you usually find what works for you, coalies?

Re: Who's offering different fandoms to their requests?

[(Anonymous)]

I usually don't have overlaps because I live in fear of writing for someone who also turns out to be my writer. Or even just writing in the same fandom that I get a gift in and thus being in direct "competition" with my writer.

I don't know.