Kind of Picky
1 - Shawn/Carlton fics where Shawn doesn't have any experience with men. No never before mentioned boyfriends, no drunken blowjobs in a bar, no past experience in a gay S&M club. He doesn't necessarily have to be nervous about it but it's definitely a factor.
2 - Fics where Henry has to own up to his rather shitty parenting techniques - where he acknowledges or is forced to acknowledge that his desire to make Shawn into the perfect detective is the very thing that kept him from becoming one and only made Shawn resent authority. Henry isn't some abusive asshole but there's definitely a way to train your gifted child to be observant that doesn't involve trying to take away anything that brings them joy.
3 - Fics where Gus is in danger and Shawn doesn't get all wangsty about it and instead gets straight down to business. Maybe Lassiter and O'Hara are surprised at how serious he is or Henry is completely understanding and knows better than to get in his son's way. Or fics where Shawn and Gus' deep connection gets one or both of them out of a dangerous situation because they understand each other. (i.e. Shawn's been kidnapped and is for whatever reason able to put out ads in the classifieds in a code that only Gus understands; or Gus gets lost in the woods and Shawn is able to track him because he knows how Gus works and what he would do... stuff like that.)
4 - Real Psychic Shawn. Either he's always had psychic powers and keeps them a secret (Henry and Gus can either know the truth or they think he's just hyper-observant) or he gets them during a case or random event and has to learn about them. Preferably something that's not super angst driven/too introspective.
5 - BAMF!Shawn. Fics where Shawn is just operating on another level than the others, ahead of the game, and doesn't need to be rescued or have a rather obvious clue pointed out to them by Henry. Outsider POVs (Carlton, Gus, Juliet, Buzz, Random Barista Who Witnessed A Kidnapping) are a big plus, because they don't have the full picture and it doesn't make sense to them that Shawn left the crime scene to buy donuts and came back with the knowledge that the victim was a loan shark.
Any combination of these also works. No rape/sexual assault of any kind. Background or no Shules. No secret kids.
2 - Fics where Henry has to own up to his rather shitty parenting techniques - where he acknowledges or is forced to acknowledge that his desire to make Shawn into the perfect detective is the very thing that kept him from becoming one and only made Shawn resent authority. Henry isn't some abusive asshole but there's definitely a way to train your gifted child to be observant that doesn't involve trying to take away anything that brings them joy.
3 - Fics where Gus is in danger and Shawn doesn't get all wangsty about it and instead gets straight down to business. Maybe Lassiter and O'Hara are surprised at how serious he is or Henry is completely understanding and knows better than to get in his son's way. Or fics where Shawn and Gus' deep connection gets one or both of them out of a dangerous situation because they understand each other. (i.e. Shawn's been kidnapped and is for whatever reason able to put out ads in the classifieds in a code that only Gus understands; or Gus gets lost in the woods and Shawn is able to track him because he knows how Gus works and what he would do... stuff like that.)
4 - Real Psychic Shawn. Either he's always had psychic powers and keeps them a secret (Henry and Gus can either know the truth or they think he's just hyper-observant) or he gets them during a case or random event and has to learn about them. Preferably something that's not super angst driven/too introspective.
5 - BAMF!Shawn. Fics where Shawn is just operating on another level than the others, ahead of the game, and doesn't need to be rescued or have a rather obvious clue pointed out to them by Henry. Outsider POVs (Carlton, Gus, Juliet, Buzz, Random Barista Who Witnessed A Kidnapping) are a big plus, because they don't have the full picture and it doesn't make sense to them that Shawn left the crime scene to buy donuts and came back with the knowledge that the victim was a loan shark.
Any combination of these also works. No rape/sexual assault of any kind. Background or no Shules. No secret kids.