Oh, yes, that makes sense. You know, I did think about that, because I am also a pretty gen writer (or at least, very much not a porn writer), and for a lot of people that's the default assumption, that you're requesting specific pairings, for purposes of smut. And with Yuletide matching being so character-driven, that probably also lends itself inevitably to thinking in terms of pairings, too.

I got SO lucky this time, matched on someone I actually share two fandoms with, two things I totally love and that are full of wide-open options to play with. But, yeah, I don't know what I'd do if I matched with someone who wanted Explicit Fic Only. Huh.

(I know, such a wealth of 221BBT, eeeeeee!)