Although I wrote for a non-Western source (Trese, a Filipino comic book series), I didn't tag my fic "Dark Agenda" or "chromatic characters" for various reasons. I did finally decide to go back post-reveal and tag it "chromatic source."
Dark Agenda - I didn't actually feel that I was participating in this challenge. I had no "dark agenda" while writing; to paraphrase from isis above, I wrote in a source that I love, and it just happens to be chromatic. Additionally, I wasn't reaching outside the box, in fact, I was reaching inside the box for the very first time by writing a piece set in my own time and place. It was an absolutely exhilarating experience to 'reach inside the box' like that--I included a joke that would only make sense to a Filipino who went to school in the late 1990s, and my recipient loved it. On one level, this is my personal Yuletide experience. On another level, it illustrates something I've found a bit odd about the Dark Agenda challenge from the beginning--it seems focused on encouraging people to write outside their own culture (on one of the original posts: My personal hierarchy is -- First, write for a language and culture other than your own) and less on encouraging chromatic fic authors to write in their own cultures instead of or in addition to writing for Western media. This really struck me from the beginning, possibly because the discourse where I am (Filipino university) is all about Filipinos throwing off the 'colonial mentality' and encouraging nationalism and appreciation of our own culture. (I am perfectly happy for people to write well-researched stories in cultures not their own; the "only X people can write stories about X people" line of thinking is ridiculously restrictive. It's just that the prioritization of people writing outside their own culture is bit opposite of what I normally expect, that's all.)
Chromatic character - technically true for all the characters, but I feel none of the main characters would self-identify as chromatic. (I imagine them giving me weird looks for even bringing up the issue, then getting back to the practical business of kicking butt.) Additionally, I don't normally self-identify as chromatic (long story) and I didn't want to make assumptions about whether my recipient would identify as chromatic, so in a fic that was basically between me, her, and the characters, a "chromatic character" tag didn't really seem to have a place.
Chromatic source - I finally decided that this was the tag that fit best, since the source is very Filipino. Although it's written in English, it's so utterly full of Filipino touches (settings, magic, characters, everything), and it was pure glee to inject that Filipinoness into my own fic. A DVD commentary version is in the works with all the things that went into this, because practically every paragraph was deliberately crafted with Filipino culture in mind.
However! After going on and on about how my Yuletide fic didn't quite fit Dark Agenda, I will say that I'm very much planning to write some NYR stories in non-Western, non-Filipino sources. I think the Dark Agenda challenge this year raised awareness, and I do think that I'm more likely to write NYRs that fit Dark Agenda now than I would be if this challenge had never existed. So, I am glad for Dark Agenda's existence this year, and I hope it will continue next year.
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Dark Agenda - I didn't actually feel that I was participating in this challenge. I had no "dark agenda" while writing; to paraphrase from
On one level, this is my personal Yuletide experience. On another level, it illustrates something I've found a bit odd about the Dark Agenda challenge from the beginning--it seems focused on encouraging people to write outside their own culture (on one of the original posts: My personal hierarchy is -- First, write for a language and culture other than your own) and less on encouraging chromatic fic authors to write in their own cultures instead of or in addition to writing for Western media. This really struck me from the beginning, possibly because the discourse where I am (Filipino university) is all about Filipinos throwing off the 'colonial mentality' and encouraging nationalism and appreciation of our own culture. (I am perfectly happy for people to write well-researched stories in cultures not their own; the "only X people can write stories about X people" line of thinking is ridiculously restrictive. It's just that the prioritization of people writing outside their own culture is bit opposite of what I normally expect, that's all.)
Chromatic character - technically true for all the characters, but I feel none of the main characters would self-identify as chromatic. (I imagine them giving me weird looks for even bringing up the issue, then getting back to the practical business of kicking butt.) Additionally, I don't normally self-identify as chromatic (long story) and I didn't want to make assumptions about whether my recipient would identify as chromatic, so in a fic that was basically between me, her, and the characters, a "chromatic character" tag didn't really seem to have a place.
Chromatic source - I finally decided that this was the tag that fit best, since the source is very Filipino. Although it's written in English, it's so utterly full of Filipino touches (settings, magic, characters, everything), and it was pure glee to inject that Filipinoness into my own fic. A DVD commentary version is in the works with all the things that went into this, because practically every paragraph was deliberately crafted with Filipino culture in mind.
However!
After going on and on about how my Yuletide fic didn't quite fit Dark Agenda, I will say that I'm very much planning to write some NYR stories in non-Western, non-Filipino sources. I think the Dark Agenda challenge this year raised awareness, and I do think that I'm more likely to write NYRs that fit Dark Agenda now than I would be if this challenge had never existed. So, I am glad for Dark Agenda's existence this year, and I hope it will continue next year.