yuletide is heeeeere!
dear yuletide santa/goat, (santoat? goanta?)
this letter is EPIC. (all-caps worth of epic.) too much information is better than a lack, or something, I hope. hopefully it's not obnoxious. I feel a little bit obnoxious writing so much about myself.
my last year's request letter is here if you'd like some additional information, but I have plundered from there to add to here.
background info: I'm smercy. I'm quite multi-fannish. I write and make graphics (mostly icons), and I'm teaching myself how to vid right this second. I like too many things to be able to list without serious page damage, (but the four fandoms that I've requested are a good sample of the small fandoms that I enjoy.) I tend to prefer rare fandoms. I'm a feminist and I'm queer.
if you want a sample of my writing, a good chunk of it (well, not a whole lot of recent stuff 'cause I fail at archiving) is at arenotvalid.
I love yuletide. I wrote 9 fics last year.
I adore female characters. in fact, I won't really watch tv if there isn't at least one really awesome female character in there, and usually I need more than one. I like boys too, but they're just not as important. I have a thing for ruthless and evil middle-aged women, especially the super-ruthless. it's a big thing. I also like characters who are sweet, especially when they don't have to be, and characters that are geeky. my ultimate character turnoff is smug self-righteousness.
the most important thing to keep in mind is that I do not want to read any kind of non-consent. I don't want dubious consent, I do not want any sort of drugging or alien pollen or even forceful coersion. if two (or three, or any large number of) people are going to get together and do anything more than kiss, I want it to be because each one of them wants the other one and they all want to do whatever it is that they're doing. that's really my only sticking point.
I'm not particularly into bodyswap, genderswap, mpreg, hurt/comfort or things involving urine and poop.
if I had to pick, I'd choose angst over fluff, just because I don't really like things that are treacley. I like humor, especially witty stuff with word-play and puns and sarcasm, but I don't really love crack. I mean, I'll read it every once and a while, but I don't really think that crack would fit any of my requests.
I like it when characters are awesome and competant. that's my favorite. if they're stealth awesome (like noser and iris) or if they're straight up scary badass (like patty) or really good at being friends with a robot (like savannah).
I don't really need a plotty fic, but I do like fics where the characters do something. not that it has to be anything more than going to the grocery store, I don't need explosions or anything, but I like conflict. in my heart, I love character-based fic the most. I love to read things about characters and motivations and feelings and things that clarify and offer insight and all that stuff. my favorite stories are always ones that start with the characters and build from there. also, I am a big fan of atmosphere and mood.
I'm very longwinded, and I realize that there is probably no way for all of this stuff to be gotten all at once. please don't stress. I'm easygoing. I just think that it's better to have an excess of details than to scramble around my weirdly occasional public entries trying to get a better idea of what I'd like.
I generally don't like second-person, and first-person is kind of iffy, but if you can pull any of those off, I'm all for it.
I like genfic the best, because it focuses more on the characters more than the relationships that they're in. (please disregard if writing for justin and iris) I'm just fine with het and slash, too. it doesn't bug me or anything. I prefer femmeslash to boyslash, especially because I find the mechanics of boyslash confusing with all of the dangly bits and weird angles, but I do like it occasionally. if you find it hot, it will probably translate really well. please don't feel the need to shoehorn anything.
I'm fine with all ratings, even explicit sex. but please don't feel like you have to write explicit sex, because forced porn when you're not feeling it is not actually that sexy and a whole lot of pain and stress that can easily be avoided.
I am a huge fan of twisty relationships, things that are messy and complicated and full of bits that don't run smoothly. I'm fascinated by the concept of devotion. I love robots. one of my favorite ever scifi tropes is when robots try to learn about humanity. I also really like the "five things" style, whether it's "five things that never happened" or "four things that shouldn't have happened but did and one thing that didn't happen but should've" or "five times that zombies saved the world". doesn't have to be five, either. that's just the common number.
and since my prompts are kind of weirdly not cohesive, I'll split them into two groups and elaborate some more.
the middleman and tscc (maybe)
if you want to write a happy sunshiney fic where skittles rain from the sky, I am all for it. I'd like some humor in there, preferably geek humor (twenty!), maybe a few references to zombies or pirates or astronauts or classic doctor who. the characters that I picked in these fandoms are really not the stars of the show, but generally off on the sidelines being secretly awesome. a spotlight on them would be my ideal, I think. that's not to say that there can't be an apocalypse and a huge chunk of the population dying, but I wouldn't like that any better than a story where people held hands and skipped down a grassy field to "you're my best friend".
damages and carnivale
these fandoms are a bit harder to write happy fluffy fic in, and in fact, I feel like that would be less appropriate for the sources. I would just like to take this section to say that so long as the crowes and patty retain their awesomeness, that there is no raping (brother justin is kind of dicey, but not onscreen, if you get my drift) or character assassination or having them all get killed off at the end, I am willing to go as dark and twisted as you want. or, it could just have creepy undertones. feel free to put the tscc folk in here, too, since it is an apocalypse and all.
THE PART WHERE I GET SPECIFIC ABOUT EACH REQUEST!
(original details in italics.)
THE MIDDLEMAN - Noser.
I love Noser, and there is practically no fic about him. So ideally, I would love a fic in which he stars. It would be extra awesome if he could do something heroic, or team up with the Middleman and Wendy to fight evil, or if he and Lacey fought evil, or if he bashed in zombie heads with his guitar. (He probably wouldn't do that. He's too zen.) References to stump the band and his concept album would be great. I'm cool with gen, het and slash. Ideally, I'd like to see him team up with the great milk-lover himself, but I do love the girls of this show the very best. If they got a side plot with Roxy, that'd be cool, or if Ida tagged along, or anything remotely like that. I just would like to make sure that there are girls doing awesome things in this fic too. And if you can throw in a reference to "Father Pip", I will be your best friend. I do not want non-con or dub-con under any circumstances.
so, I love noser. he's so zen, and cool, and like the world's best guard dog that doesn't guard anything but steals lots of coffee. but the show didn't give him a lot of opportunty to show his secret badassery. I'm cool with any weird idea, no matter how outlandish, but I think I would like it best if he got a teammate or some teammates and if he's not with wendy and lacey, some kind of explanation of what those two are off doing/protesting/saving. bonus points for guitar skills. and also, I love every single character on this show. every single one. so if it's noser and roxy wasserman, I'd be overjoyed. or noser and ida. or noser and lacey and sensei ping. I don't particularly ship anybody, but if you are an intense mm/ww or mm/lacey or ww/lacy or any kind of other shipper, I'm cool with having a background vibe. oh, and bonus points if noser gets to use his awesome guitar skills, or guitar hero is somehow involved.
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CARNIVALE - Justin Crowe/Iris Crowe
I would like any sort of fic where Justin and Iris are doing things. Pretty much anything, not that they have a wide range of usual activities or anything. If you can have them get on a rocket and visit the moon and have that work, I'm all for it. I would just really like some sort of exploration of their relationship. (pre-series, any time during the show, or post-series is fine with me.) And I would like a romantic/sexual/twisted component in there, because I feel like that's an integral part of the relationship. But I'm incredibly easy to please on this one, just have them together and doing something and I'm happy. I do not want non-con or dub-con under any circumstances.
justin/iris is my favorite ship. in fact, I don't really ship. I have three favorite couples, and two of them were ineligible. I definte shipping as being upset with the idea that one partner could have a better relationship with somebody else. and here's the thing, I'm full-on in canon belief that the literal god literally made iris for justin to have. I think that all of the facets of their relationship are fascinating, from the way that they think of other people as their playthings, to iris's intense protectiveness over justin, to the way that justin literally cannot stop looking at her. I love it all. I would not like a fic chronicling their breakup, and I wouldn't really like a further exploration of justin's season 2 second evil puberty where he decided to rebel by treating his sister like crap. anything else is cool. if you don't see the romantic undertones (and I don't know how you couldn't, but that's just me being a rabid shipper) having them do something as kids would be fine. my ideal story would be something about a reconciliation post-series, but I'm seriously so easy to please on this. I would die of happiness if the fic was about how justin liked iris's hair.
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TERMINATOR: THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES - John Henry & Savannah Weaver
Savannah and John Henry are pretty much the cutest thing ever, and I would love to have any kind of fic about them, whether it be fluff of angsty. Ideally, they would both be adorable friends, but I am not looking for any kind of romantic attachment. I'm okay with anything set during the show, post-show, or any kind of alternate future or present. Bonus points if Savannah gets to be really really smart. I wouldn't mind explosions, duckies, duets, John Henry randomly yelling "twenty!", angst, character death, and references to the stupid movie that the dude Cromartie stole his face from was in. Other characters being involved is totally cool with me, any and all, I can't think of one that I wouldn't like hanging with John Henry and Savannah. gen, het and slash are all fine. I do not want non-con or dub-con under any circumstances.
I can't think of a whole lot to elaborate on with this. except that I am a firm believer that savannah is going to grow up to be a genius, since both of her parents made a computer tech company that was so good that it was infiltrated by a robot. also, during the scene where the teacher thought that john henry was an internet stalker perv, you might have noticed that while the rest of the class was doing the "learn a word" program, savannah had secretly installed instant messaging and was secretly messaging and using big words and using google-fu to teach john henry songs. girl is smart. it would be cool if you wanted to have ellison and sarah any combination of those two raising savannah in the future, or an au with just the two of them, or any kind of wonky timeline stuff. and I'm cool with all kinds of apocalyptic angst, so long as those two stay friends the whole time.
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DAMAGES - Patty Hewes
I love Patty. Patty is like, my superhero. If you could have her doing something superheroic, I'd love it. If you had her smack a bitch in the face with the corpse of a puppy, I would love it. I love her ruthlessness the best. So I'm not looking for a fluffy, shmoopy fic where she buys flowers or takes a bubble bath or cries about her feelings into a soft pillow. I want her to be doing something awesome, and it doesn't have to be complicated lawyery stuff that requires a ton of research. I probably would not like a fic that painted her as an outright saint or villain, but I'm good with almost any shade of in-between. I am most interested in her relationship with her husband. I also love the relationships with Ellen, her son, Tom, Fiske, other lawyers, Frobisher, and Malcolm. gen, het and slash are all fine. I do not want non-con or dub-con under any circumstances.
the biggest element of why I watch damages and love damages and rec it to all of my friends is the fundamental principle of, "patty always wins." she does. she ALWAYS wins. she wins the war. the show isn't about patty getting knocked off a pedestal, or about the horrible evil woman terrorizing the sweet new lawyer. the show is about a brilliant, ruthless woman who always wins, and the depths that she will sink to in order to get what she needs. it's much more interesting that way. and patty is so manipulative. I could see post season 2 patty borrowing tom's baby to meet with michael so that he got the subconscious impression that she had replaced him. I personally don't think that season two was the end of patty/mr. patty, but I'm not firmly attached to this. basically, so long as patty is winning, I'm happy.
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and finally, one of the things that helped me most in writing my last year's yuletide fic was that at the end of my recipient's yuletide letter, she made a list of objects and random things that she loved, especially in literature. so I will attempt to do this for you! (these things will probably not all fit together, so don't stress about including all or any.) and I am aware of how pretentious this seems, I promise that I'm usually more laid-back.
likes: orange soda, the sound that speakers make when they crackle and hiss, flickering neon lights, thin old paper, the time of night when the sun has just gone and the air is starting to cool but it's still bright enough to see, the scores to old black and white movies, when the shuffle on my ipod is psychic, little kittens making funny expressions, the sound of breathing, smudged lipstick, people pretending to be zombies without wearing any zombie makeup, hand-spun yarn, white pizza, visible brushstrokes on paintings, the smell of sour grapes, well-used quilts, things that shouldn't be colored mauve but are anyways, snuggling, the sound of very sharp scissors being opened and then closed, jones green apple soda, shoeboxes full of trinkets, jewel tones, when my heartbeat rises up and I can feel it in my ears, empty open mailboxes, synth wails, ironic t-shirts, old empty movie theaters, the whole-body feeling I get when I'm shivering with cold and step into a really hot shower, poppies, irises, and pansies.
PLEASE DO NOT ATTEMPT TO PUT ALL OF THESE IN A FIC.
and actually finally: if there is a conflict between what you think would make the story really awesome and not knowing if I would like it, please pick the story. there's no way for me state everything that I like, and the best fics are ones that hold organic to the story. if I said I wanted a scene where somebody gets smashed over the head with a guitar, but you don't think you can fit it in, please don't shove it in. stick to what works for the story and I'll love it, I promise.
AND THANK YOU SO MUCH.
this letter is EPIC. (all-caps worth of epic.) too much information is better than a lack, or something, I hope. hopefully it's not obnoxious. I feel a little bit obnoxious writing so much about myself.
my last year's request letter is here if you'd like some additional information, but I have plundered from there to add to here.
background info: I'm smercy. I'm quite multi-fannish. I write and make graphics (mostly icons), and I'm teaching myself how to vid right this second. I like too many things to be able to list without serious page damage, (but the four fandoms that I've requested are a good sample of the small fandoms that I enjoy.) I tend to prefer rare fandoms. I'm a feminist and I'm queer.
if you want a sample of my writing, a good chunk of it (well, not a whole lot of recent stuff 'cause I fail at archiving) is at arenotvalid.
I love yuletide. I wrote 9 fics last year.
I adore female characters. in fact, I won't really watch tv if there isn't at least one really awesome female character in there, and usually I need more than one. I like boys too, but they're just not as important. I have a thing for ruthless and evil middle-aged women, especially the super-ruthless. it's a big thing. I also like characters who are sweet, especially when they don't have to be, and characters that are geeky. my ultimate character turnoff is smug self-righteousness.
the most important thing to keep in mind is that I do not want to read any kind of non-consent. I don't want dubious consent, I do not want any sort of drugging or alien pollen or even forceful coersion. if two (or three, or any large number of) people are going to get together and do anything more than kiss, I want it to be because each one of them wants the other one and they all want to do whatever it is that they're doing. that's really my only sticking point.
I'm not particularly into bodyswap, genderswap, mpreg, hurt/comfort or things involving urine and poop.
if I had to pick, I'd choose angst over fluff, just because I don't really like things that are treacley. I like humor, especially witty stuff with word-play and puns and sarcasm, but I don't really love crack. I mean, I'll read it every once and a while, but I don't really think that crack would fit any of my requests.
I like it when characters are awesome and competant. that's my favorite. if they're stealth awesome (like noser and iris) or if they're straight up scary badass (like patty) or really good at being friends with a robot (like savannah).
I don't really need a plotty fic, but I do like fics where the characters do something. not that it has to be anything more than going to the grocery store, I don't need explosions or anything, but I like conflict. in my heart, I love character-based fic the most. I love to read things about characters and motivations and feelings and things that clarify and offer insight and all that stuff. my favorite stories are always ones that start with the characters and build from there. also, I am a big fan of atmosphere and mood.
I'm very longwinded, and I realize that there is probably no way for all of this stuff to be gotten all at once. please don't stress. I'm easygoing. I just think that it's better to have an excess of details than to scramble around my weirdly occasional public entries trying to get a better idea of what I'd like.
I generally don't like second-person, and first-person is kind of iffy, but if you can pull any of those off, I'm all for it.
I like genfic the best, because it focuses more on the characters more than the relationships that they're in. (please disregard if writing for justin and iris) I'm just fine with het and slash, too. it doesn't bug me or anything. I prefer femmeslash to boyslash, especially because I find the mechanics of boyslash confusing with all of the dangly bits and weird angles, but I do like it occasionally. if you find it hot, it will probably translate really well. please don't feel the need to shoehorn anything.
I'm fine with all ratings, even explicit sex. but please don't feel like you have to write explicit sex, because forced porn when you're not feeling it is not actually that sexy and a whole lot of pain and stress that can easily be avoided.
I am a huge fan of twisty relationships, things that are messy and complicated and full of bits that don't run smoothly. I'm fascinated by the concept of devotion. I love robots. one of my favorite ever scifi tropes is when robots try to learn about humanity. I also really like the "five things" style, whether it's "five things that never happened" or "four things that shouldn't have happened but did and one thing that didn't happen but should've" or "five times that zombies saved the world". doesn't have to be five, either. that's just the common number.
and since my prompts are kind of weirdly not cohesive, I'll split them into two groups and elaborate some more.
the middleman and tscc (maybe)
if you want to write a happy sunshiney fic where skittles rain from the sky, I am all for it. I'd like some humor in there, preferably geek humor (twenty!), maybe a few references to zombies or pirates or astronauts or classic doctor who. the characters that I picked in these fandoms are really not the stars of the show, but generally off on the sidelines being secretly awesome. a spotlight on them would be my ideal, I think. that's not to say that there can't be an apocalypse and a huge chunk of the population dying, but I wouldn't like that any better than a story where people held hands and skipped down a grassy field to "you're my best friend".
damages and carnivale
these fandoms are a bit harder to write happy fluffy fic in, and in fact, I feel like that would be less appropriate for the sources. I would just like to take this section to say that so long as the crowes and patty retain their awesomeness, that there is no raping (brother justin is kind of dicey, but not onscreen, if you get my drift) or character assassination or having them all get killed off at the end, I am willing to go as dark and twisted as you want. or, it could just have creepy undertones. feel free to put the tscc folk in here, too, since it is an apocalypse and all.
THE PART WHERE I GET SPECIFIC ABOUT EACH REQUEST!
(original details in italics.)
THE MIDDLEMAN - Noser.
I love Noser, and there is practically no fic about him. So ideally, I would love a fic in which he stars. It would be extra awesome if he could do something heroic, or team up with the Middleman and Wendy to fight evil, or if he and Lacey fought evil, or if he bashed in zombie heads with his guitar. (He probably wouldn't do that. He's too zen.) References to stump the band and his concept album would be great. I'm cool with gen, het and slash. Ideally, I'd like to see him team up with the great milk-lover himself, but I do love the girls of this show the very best. If they got a side plot with Roxy, that'd be cool, or if Ida tagged along, or anything remotely like that. I just would like to make sure that there are girls doing awesome things in this fic too. And if you can throw in a reference to "Father Pip", I will be your best friend. I do not want non-con or dub-con under any circumstances.
so, I love noser. he's so zen, and cool, and like the world's best guard dog that doesn't guard anything but steals lots of coffee. but the show didn't give him a lot of opportunty to show his secret badassery. I'm cool with any weird idea, no matter how outlandish, but I think I would like it best if he got a teammate or some teammates and if he's not with wendy and lacey, some kind of explanation of what those two are off doing/protesting/saving. bonus points for guitar skills. and also, I love every single character on this show. every single one. so if it's noser and roxy wasserman, I'd be overjoyed. or noser and ida. or noser and lacey and sensei ping. I don't particularly ship anybody, but if you are an intense mm/ww or mm/lacey or ww/lacy or any kind of other shipper, I'm cool with having a background vibe. oh, and bonus points if noser gets to use his awesome guitar skills, or guitar hero is somehow involved.
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CARNIVALE - Justin Crowe/Iris Crowe
I would like any sort of fic where Justin and Iris are doing things. Pretty much anything, not that they have a wide range of usual activities or anything. If you can have them get on a rocket and visit the moon and have that work, I'm all for it. I would just really like some sort of exploration of their relationship. (pre-series, any time during the show, or post-series is fine with me.) And I would like a romantic/sexual/twisted component in there, because I feel like that's an integral part of the relationship. But I'm incredibly easy to please on this one, just have them together and doing something and I'm happy. I do not want non-con or dub-con under any circumstances.
justin/iris is my favorite ship. in fact, I don't really ship. I have three favorite couples, and two of them were ineligible. I definte shipping as being upset with the idea that one partner could have a better relationship with somebody else. and here's the thing, I'm full-on in canon belief that the literal god literally made iris for justin to have. I think that all of the facets of their relationship are fascinating, from the way that they think of other people as their playthings, to iris's intense protectiveness over justin, to the way that justin literally cannot stop looking at her. I love it all. I would not like a fic chronicling their breakup, and I wouldn't really like a further exploration of justin's season 2 second evil puberty where he decided to rebel by treating his sister like crap. anything else is cool. if you don't see the romantic undertones (and I don't know how you couldn't, but that's just me being a rabid shipper) having them do something as kids would be fine. my ideal story would be something about a reconciliation post-series, but I'm seriously so easy to please on this. I would die of happiness if the fic was about how justin liked iris's hair.
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TERMINATOR: THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES - John Henry & Savannah Weaver
Savannah and John Henry are pretty much the cutest thing ever, and I would love to have any kind of fic about them, whether it be fluff of angsty. Ideally, they would both be adorable friends, but I am not looking for any kind of romantic attachment. I'm okay with anything set during the show, post-show, or any kind of alternate future or present. Bonus points if Savannah gets to be really really smart. I wouldn't mind explosions, duckies, duets, John Henry randomly yelling "twenty!", angst, character death, and references to the stupid movie that the dude Cromartie stole his face from was in. Other characters being involved is totally cool with me, any and all, I can't think of one that I wouldn't like hanging with John Henry and Savannah. gen, het and slash are all fine. I do not want non-con or dub-con under any circumstances.
I can't think of a whole lot to elaborate on with this. except that I am a firm believer that savannah is going to grow up to be a genius, since both of her parents made a computer tech company that was so good that it was infiltrated by a robot. also, during the scene where the teacher thought that john henry was an internet stalker perv, you might have noticed that while the rest of the class was doing the "learn a word" program, savannah had secretly installed instant messaging and was secretly messaging and using big words and using google-fu to teach john henry songs. girl is smart. it would be cool if you wanted to have ellison and sarah any combination of those two raising savannah in the future, or an au with just the two of them, or any kind of wonky timeline stuff. and I'm cool with all kinds of apocalyptic angst, so long as those two stay friends the whole time.
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DAMAGES - Patty Hewes
I love Patty. Patty is like, my superhero. If you could have her doing something superheroic, I'd love it. If you had her smack a bitch in the face with the corpse of a puppy, I would love it. I love her ruthlessness the best. So I'm not looking for a fluffy, shmoopy fic where she buys flowers or takes a bubble bath or cries about her feelings into a soft pillow. I want her to be doing something awesome, and it doesn't have to be complicated lawyery stuff that requires a ton of research. I probably would not like a fic that painted her as an outright saint or villain, but I'm good with almost any shade of in-between. I am most interested in her relationship with her husband. I also love the relationships with Ellen, her son, Tom, Fiske, other lawyers, Frobisher, and Malcolm. gen, het and slash are all fine. I do not want non-con or dub-con under any circumstances.
the biggest element of why I watch damages and love damages and rec it to all of my friends is the fundamental principle of, "patty always wins." she does. she ALWAYS wins. she wins the war. the show isn't about patty getting knocked off a pedestal, or about the horrible evil woman terrorizing the sweet new lawyer. the show is about a brilliant, ruthless woman who always wins, and the depths that she will sink to in order to get what she needs. it's much more interesting that way. and patty is so manipulative. I could see post season 2 patty borrowing tom's baby to meet with michael so that he got the subconscious impression that she had replaced him. I personally don't think that season two was the end of patty/mr. patty, but I'm not firmly attached to this. basically, so long as patty is winning, I'm happy.
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and finally, one of the things that helped me most in writing my last year's yuletide fic was that at the end of my recipient's yuletide letter, she made a list of objects and random things that she loved, especially in literature. so I will attempt to do this for you! (these things will probably not all fit together, so don't stress about including all or any.) and I am aware of how pretentious this seems, I promise that I'm usually more laid-back.
likes: orange soda, the sound that speakers make when they crackle and hiss, flickering neon lights, thin old paper, the time of night when the sun has just gone and the air is starting to cool but it's still bright enough to see, the scores to old black and white movies, when the shuffle on my ipod is psychic, little kittens making funny expressions, the sound of breathing, smudged lipstick, people pretending to be zombies without wearing any zombie makeup, hand-spun yarn, white pizza, visible brushstrokes on paintings, the smell of sour grapes, well-used quilts, things that shouldn't be colored mauve but are anyways, snuggling, the sound of very sharp scissors being opened and then closed, jones green apple soda, shoeboxes full of trinkets, jewel tones, when my heartbeat rises up and I can feel it in my ears, empty open mailboxes, synth wails, ironic t-shirts, old empty movie theaters, the whole-body feeling I get when I'm shivering with cold and step into a really hot shower, poppies, irises, and pansies.
PLEASE DO NOT ATTEMPT TO PUT ALL OF THESE IN A FIC.
and actually finally: if there is a conflict between what you think would make the story really awesome and not knowing if I would like it, please pick the story. there's no way for me state everything that I like, and the best fics are ones that hold organic to the story. if I said I wanted a scene where somebody gets smashed over the head with a guitar, but you don't think you can fit it in, please don't shove it in. stick to what works for the story and I'll love it, I promise.
AND THANK YOU SO MUCH.