Is it that time already?

[thisbluespirit]

Nominations for yuletide have opened, as of yesterday! Having finally decided that I was going to nominate Survivors, Enemy at the Door and Shadow of the Tower, regardless of my small chances of getting fic for obscure 1970s shows, I am now wondering again. Maybe I should dump Survivors for an easy-to-pick-up fandom (like Midnight Is A Place), so I can offer my poor author a back door? Do I actually want either? Is it silly to nominate Shadow of the Tower? (But then, what I can't do is request 15th Historical RPF and ask people to write SotT interpretations, so I either go for it, or I don't.) Or what about Indigo - I did get a really marvellous fic for it during the commentfest, so I don't want to seem ungrateful, but it's not as if there couldn't be more...

*flounders happily*

*also resists completely hopeless temptation to nominate The Power Game* (But, hey, I could, even if it wouldn't get me anywhere, and isn't that part of the glory of the thing?)

In short, the highlight of my fannish year and the loveliest fic exchange I know of is almost upon us, and it's time for the fun and games, unexpected prompts and fandoms, and shared flailing over fandoms of one to begin. ♥ (Or, it's a million to one chance, but it's yuletide, and it might just work. And my other requests will be from other people's nominations and much more sensible and thus I will not be unmatchable.)

No, excuse me, I've got to go and ponder that third slot...

(How about everyone else? Playing? Not Playing? State of the nominations?)

Comments

[lferion]

I have no idea what I am going to nominate, but I like the idea of Midnight is a Place -- I could nominate it for you. Do you mean the book or the TV? I have the book & would love to get a copy of the show, if that's a doable thing.

What characters would you best like?

[thisbluespirit]

Oh, I mean the book! I have seen the show, but it's not as good (even with David Collings in it). I really don't know whether I will request it this time, although I am thinking about it, so only if you want to! Yuletide noms are too precious to waste if we're not going to use it. If I did, I'd be going for either post-book fic with the main characters, or backstory with Mr Oakapple (and Denzil). So it'd be Julian Oakapple, Lucas Bell, Anna-Marie Murgatroyd and Lady Murgatroyd (I think she's Eulalia, isn't she?) or Denzil Murgatroyd, whichever you'd rather. But I really am very undecided at the moment!

One of my other possibilities was nomming the main sequence itself, too, because I was having a re-read earlier in the year. (And I re-read Is for the first time, and if MiaP is in the same universe which it probably is(?), that left me wondering where the hell our MiaP characters have got to.) That and Louise Cooper's Indigo series. (For my requests so far, it's whatever I nominate + Ripper Street, and then I'm not sure about the other two, which is where MiaP would come in. But I could as easily go for Chalet School or S&S, if someone nominates S&S. The other two either are in, or are promised to be in.)

[justice-turtle.livejournal.com]

Not Playing, so far. Haven't run across any fandoms like last year's RIII madness that demand I nominate them, and I really hate having an assigned match to write for, so I'm staying out of the Yuletide game till Dear Writer letters start going up.

(Depending how school goes, I might stay out completely - both the classes I'm taking this semester are officially Writing Intensive. Like, they're labeled that on the choosing sheets and all. ;P)

[thisbluespirit]

Well, that's sensible enough. Your courses come first, and it's a been a while, so giving them all the attention they deserve is a smart move. ♥

I'm looking forward to Yuletide, though. There is nothing else quite like it, after all. :-)

[liadt]

Not playing being of inflexible brain and that's just getting my head around the rules! I've picked up some new authors to read off nom.s posts and there's the stealing the receipts out of everyone else's presents later:) Barring being eaten by hyenas I'll probably do the Halloween trick or treat meme again & fandom stocking though.

You might as well go for what you really want because if you don't ask you won't get anyway.

I could write you something with Don Henderson in, but it would involve exploding microwaves and not boardroom snark;p

[thisbluespirit]

Oh, yes, I know not everybody feels comfortable with exchanges! It took me a little while of lurking to join in any of them, and I am someone who enjoys gift exchanges with fic a lot. The Yuletide rules aren't really that complicated, though - it's mainly just all the eligibility stuff because of the fact that the number of potential fandoms is practically infinite. If you were ever so inclined, you wouldn't have to worry about that, because you'd be like me - only needing to wonder whether your fandom is too obscure!

Yes, my Don Henderson is actually Jack Watling because TV always likes to confuse everybody. :-)

[swordznsorcery.livejournal.com]

Not playing. Never do! Not sure I can be bothered even trying to figure out the impenetrable rules, and it all seems to be AO3 based anyway. I much prefer something like Fandom Stocking, where I can jump in as and when, and there's no reciprocal element. I have no interest in having somebody write something for me. I love your excitement though. It's made me smile during an otherwise frustrating afternoon! :)

[thisbluespirit]

Yes, if you don't like exchanges or fic being written for you (why would you not like getting nice fic??), it's definitely not for you! Most exchanges are AO3 based these days, because AO3 is fan-designed and set-up to handle them and takes work off the mods. (The rules aren't really that complicated, though! Just sign up requesting at least three fandoms from the list and offer at least four fandoms from the list, then write a fic of 1000+ words or default in a timely manner. It only looks that way because the complications come from eligibility because they're dealing with everything from cereal to TV to RPF to songs to blog posts. Which does make things potentially awkward, hence complicated eligibility things, but they don't affect people like me, because my stuff is unquestionably obscure anyway.) But, yes, some people don't do exchanges, and that's fair enough.

It's lovely - I've had such amazing fics written for me in it, and the whole collection is always wonderful, full of utter gems, and big enough to get lost in for days. Someone even wrote me James Maxwell doing his hand-holding thing one year. So, I'm enthusiastic, yes. How could I not be? ;-p

[pedanther]

The time and brainpower to ponder options is currently needed elsewhere, and my active involvement this year will depend on whether they become available again before the relevant deadlines pass.

Last year, I made time to get involved because I had one particular thing I wanted to see fic for and the first year after it was released seemed like my best chance of getting some, but I don't have anything like that in mind for this year, so if I don't get it together in time I'll just let it go.

(The thing I really want to see fic for this year is Counterfeit Monkey, but I don't think waiting a year will make any significant difference to the chances of such fic actually being written, and anyway I feel like I should probably finish the canon before I go asking people for more.)

[thisbluespirit]

Aw, well, yes, that's all perfectly reasonable. I hope you do get the time and the inclination - I seem to remember you writing awesome fic last year. But, yes, you've got to want things and be on board for yuletide, no use pretending otherwise. *nods*

[livii.livejournal.com]

I nominated and am 95% sure I will play. Nominated Edge of Tomorrow because I am still obsessed with it, the Walking Dead comics, and Biggles for an old favourite. :) I would like to Yuletide this year! Just not 100% committed yet. :)

[thisbluespirit]

\o/ Hurrah! And, well, yes, 100% commitment at this stage is asking a lot. It is Yuletide; you never know what might happen. I'm just having last minute "do I really want to nominate this?" issues, so I must think some more. About things I love. So hard. :-D

[livii.livejournal.com]

Haha, yes, it's such a hardship to contemplate these things! I suppose I could check the discussion post to see if mine have been nominated or what yet, but don't have time for that this year. I did have to debate with myself whether to put Biggles, Worrals, or Cherry Ames as my third nomination. Hopefully someone else will put them up! I would make those my three nominations, but they are just so small. The other two are widely seen or read but are thoroughly under-ficced, so still a big bonus to me if I get fic, and easier on writers/matching. But really I just want to write something. :) I wrote an Archie Comics fic several years ago that I still get kudos on every few days or week, so, been feeling the Yuletide love!

[thisbluespirit]

Aw, cool! :-)

[a-phoenixdragon.livejournal.com]

I hear of Yuletide every year and never join up. Usually by the time it rolls around I already have too much on my plate, lol!! But I definitely look forward to the fun my friends have and seeing the results at the end. They are always delightful!

*HUGS*

[thisbluespirit]

Oh, Yuletide-by-proxy is definitely fun, too, and none of the stress! And we can all benefit from the fic. :-)

[brutti-ma-buoni.livejournal.com]

I've nominated! Not 100% sure I'm going into the main round this year but I'll always pick up late pinch hits when the mods are desperate (...four, was it, last year? Or five?). I'm torn between three big fandoms, full of challenges, and my little fandoms are genuinely so obscure I reckon nobody will write them...

[thisbluespirit]

\o/ Wow, that's a lot of pinch-hitting! And, lol, I bet my obscure fandoms are more obscure than yours! ;-p

(hmm, not a competitive sport, obscurity, is it? Or at least, not usually.)

[brutti-ma-buoni.livejournal.com]

Only for Yuletide. "I put something on the noms discussion post and no one had ever heard of it. Or could google it." *snoot* (Me, last year, pretty much: Carol Wensby-Scott's Lion of Alnwick trilogy, which was in my library in paperback and hardback in c1990, and I read to death, assumed it was a staple. *tumbleweed* Not sure I have the heart to request it again this year.)

Pinch hitting is such fun, but last year was ridiculous - I had a couple of fairly last-minute days off before Christmas to use up leave, no special plans and presents done, howling storm outside... Perfect Yuletide writing time.

[thisbluespirit]

It sounds vaguely familiar to me, but then I was also haunting libraries in the 90s. I'm sort of dithering between various rather obscure 70s TV shows and a probably equally obscure 90s series of fantasy novels. But my other requests will totally be more realistic.

I think the thing is with Yuletide, you never know - sometimes people see things one year, then pick them up in the meantime & hope the original requester comes back. Or just different people join in. I know I'm likely to get *crickets* as a response to mine to match your *tumbleweed* , but maybe, just maybe - there are one or two people out there, so... Who knows? If it's what you really want, one really obscure nomination isn't going to do any harm especially if you request it.

Pinch hitting is such fun, but last year was ridiculous - I had a couple of fairly last-minute days off before Christmas to use up leave, no special plans and presents done, howling storm outside... Perfect Yuletide writing time.

That does sound cool. It was a dark and stormy Yuletide? ;-) It's still some seriously impressive pinch-hitting, though!

[flowsoffire.livejournal.com]

Oh, I didn't know about yuletide :) Sounds cool…

[thisbluespirit]

It is! :-)

It's a big annual exchange for rare fandoms. It's been going for over ten years, so it's quite the thing. (The full collection on AO3 has 5000+ rare fandoms with 23000+ fics.) I found out about it in about 2008 and stalked in, and wrote fics for the New Year's Resolution challenge (all the leftover requests are up for grabs all year till the new exchange opens), & basically had fun by proxy until I worked up the courage to take the plunge. It's only good for people who like at least some rare fandoms, though, obviously. And exchanges! But I think it takes the prize for providing fics in fandoms you never knew you wanted each year, though, & so it's awesome fun all round.

[flowsoffire.livejournal.com]

Yes, it sounds brilliant :) I don't think I know many very rare fandoms though (and I'll likely to focusing on other fics and hopefully NaNo…). Have fun! :)

[thisbluespirit]

Thank you! Good luck with NaNo as well!

[flowsoffire.livejournal.com]

Thanks! Just need to find an idea, eh ;)

[elen_nare]

Yuletide! :D

I'm definitely playing, and nominating Upstairs Downstairs and vexed, I'm just still going back and forth on my third nomination. Because I did get a lovely Hilda & Nell fic in fic_corner, but there's always room for more, and other people might nominate it, but they might not, or not nominate those two (there are eleventy-billion characters to choose from after all!). Then Asimov's Robots does usually get nominated, and Susan Calvin stands a fair chance of being in the group, but I haven't seen it in any forms yet; and the Something Bad music video might, because I'm 99% sure the tumblr post I first heard about it from had a comment to that effect, but... who knows? And finally there's "The Whispering Mountain" which apparently I am the only person in the universe to have read.

Argh, I don't know. I might end up going with Chalet School just because I know I can write that, too - in the people who've commented at least I haven't seen many of my go-to offers, which is kind of worrying. Of course not everyone comments on those posts, but... argh. I'll probably wait until the weekend and see how it's looking then?

[thisbluespirit]

\o/

I know what you mean - it's difficult! I'm really dithering on my last choice now, too. :-)

I also must check out fic_corner - I was just too unwell over the past few weeks to play or even to read the fic, but I should definitely look at a Hilda & Nell fic!

And you're not the only person who's read The Whispering Mountain at all. There are always Aiken fans in Yuletide, of which I am one. If I'd done fic_corner, I'd have requested the main Wolves sequence, of which The Whispering Mountain is actually a part (though it's sometimes counted as separate, because it's mostly different characters). For some reason, I'd never read it till this summer, but I have now! I've been feeling v Aiken-ish lately and Midnight Is A Place which I mentioned is another side-step from the main sequence, although more separate (it'd not definite it is the same universe & if it is it's only linked by a setting and not characters). I requested it for fic-corner last year and several people offered it, even though I never get much response when I talk about it. If I'd taken part this year, I'd have nommed the main sequence and requested fic for the other Owen Hughes (your Owen Hughes's father) with Dido.

(I love how random The Wolves of Willoughby Chase Sequence is - it doesn't really have a proper official title, or it'[s had several different ones, it follows different characters all over the place and there are two books that may or may not be part of the sequence.)

I think you're probably right about Robots and Susan Calvin, though. I should think that'll pop up on the spreadsheet soon. The posts for discussion seem to have been a bit quieter this year, I don't know why.

[elen_nare]

I'll save you the searching for the Hilda&Nell one: http://archiveofourown.org/works/2109462 :)

See, I've never read the rest of the Wolves series! My library only had The Whispering Mountain, so I had no idea until I went googling that the series existed. I haven't read it yet, but I've just been adding the Kindle versions to my Luzme wishlist. I'm iffy about nominating it, though, because I don't actually own the book, and I'm not confident I could write it. Eeek, decisions!

The LJ posts have been quiet... has dreamwidth been quiet too? Maybe there'll be a weekend rush...

[thisbluespirit]

Thanks! I found it yesterday anyway, but links are always good. :-)

Hmm, I suppose it depends how much you want it - that's the important thing with nominations anyway. You can nominate anything you want, but you can never make anyone request it. And on the reverse side, I could offer it for one & I'm certain I wouldn't be alone, so the question is only whether or not you want it - which, lol, is a difficult question! Yuletide dilemmas!!

The series is rather a random one. If you loved The Whispering Mountain, The Stolen Lake and The Cuckoo Tree are probably the two that tie in most closely to that and were written around the same time, so unlike the rather younger Wolves, they have a similar feel. Midnight Is A Place, as you can tell, I adore, though whether or not it actually is definitely part of the sequence/universe is not clear. But if you liked TWM, Joan Aiken is an interesting author & Dido in particular is such a great character.

I think they only have Dreamwdith for the admin comm, the yuletide comm on Dreamwidth isn't a mirror, it's all unofficial and rarely updated. I mean to go back over that spreadsheet & have a think. (Though, on the positive side, one fandom I want is in, three times over, and some interesting things I wouldn't mind writing/could request are already there.)

:-)