nowrunalong | General Exchange Letter

Dear Creator:

Thank you very much for making something for me! The following is a list of likes, some of which may be more relevant than others. If it's helpful to you, feel free to pick and choose any point(s) on the list to use as a prompt! I adore both fic and art equally, and almost always request both if I have the option to do so.

You can find me on Ao3 here:

nowrunalong

I hope you have a great time during this exchange! I'm so excited to see whatever it is you decide to make.

lyds / nowrunalong

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Contents:

DNWs
General likes
Art likes

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DNWs:

Noncon/rape (including any mention/discussion of rape whatsoever)
Graphic depictions of violence/gore (for characters with canonically violent stories, implied or non-graphic violence is fine)
Permanent death of my requested characters (for fics set in a timeline when one of my requested characters would canonically be dead, "she didn't die" AUs/resurrection-related AUs/canon divergences are all great)
Focus on death/grief/mourning
Focus on child abuse or domestic abuse narratives
Unhappy/hopeless endings
Infidelity (if you handwave/simply don't mention a canon ship, I'll assume they aren't together! Don't feel the need to tie yourself in knots over this one. I really just want to avoid in-text mentions of my requested characters presently being romantically committed to someone else.)
A/B/O
Telepathic bonds/soulbonds
De-powered heroes ("no powers" or "all human" AUs of sci-fi/fantasy canons)
Internalized homophobia and coming-out narratives (brief passing mentions are OK)
The word 'slut' in any context
Explicit sex (fade-to-black is OK)

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General Likes:

My absolute favourite thing to write/read is exploration of character dynamics between my faves - expanding on dynamics that exist in canon, pushing them past what we got to see in canon, speculating at dynamics that might exist between characters that never got to meet, wondering how certain dynamics might be different if x circumstances were changed, etc. In most cases I am happy to see the good, the bad, and the ugly of those dynamics - so long as the conclusion isn't completely heart-shattering! That is to say that while I have a lot of fluff likes listed here, I also adore drama and pining and emotional weirdness, so feel free to stab my heart with Feelings™ before giving my characters a happy or hopeful ending.

Canon-adjacent: missing scenes/off-screen adventures, canon-typical vibes, canon-typical shenanigans, canon divergences (including very dramatic divergences), different first meetings, post-canon
Dialogue: banter, real smooth flirting, real terrible flirting, affectionate teasing, snark, relationship development through conversation, characters having conversations they never got to have in canon, conversations in iconic canon settings (like the Bronze nightclub or Bruce’s Wayne’s glass lake house), conversations in bars/pubs, conversations in trains, talkative characters, quiet characters opening up, cursed to tell the truth, drunken confessions
Humour: funny characters being their delightful selves, fish out of water scenarios, well-timed jokes to lighten the mood, comedy, crack, crack treated seriously
Slice of life stuff: established relationship, domesticity, curtain fic, celebrations, coffee shop Not-An-AU, going out dancing, all-American dates, late night conversations, late night anything, movie nights, hanging out in the kitchen at 2AM ‘cause you can’t sleep, And They Were Roommates
Friendship: friends being as important as love interests, making time for friends, catching up with friends after time spent apart, heartfelt confessions, TRUST and LOYALTY, platonically loving someone with your whole entire heart
Friends to lovers (or friends-with-benefits to lovers, or casual dating to ‘actually we’re fully and completely committed to each other’ dating')
Getting together: including all friends to lovers goodness, first times, wooing a crush, getting together but involving an elaborate seduction plot... :D
Pining: mutual pining, one-sided pining that becomes mutual, pining because one thinks that the other is dating or sleeping with someone else and is therefore unavailable, pining for someone who thinks nothing of casually undressing in front of them, pining and accidentally revealing feelings while drunk/hurt, pining in a friends-with-benefits arrangement, SURPRISE PINING that hits you in the face when you least expect it, pining while in denial
Unconventional love confessions: weirdly-timed love confessions, so-quiet-they're-not-heard love confessions, love confessions through gestures/gifts, love confessions phrased in a way other than "I love you"
Comfort: cuddling and snuggling, graphic depictions of hugging, relaxing in bed, rainy days when you get to stay inside, snow days, back massages, hair stuff (hair brushing, hair braiding, helping to wash her hair when she’s injured, etc)
Food & drink: cooking together, comfort food/comfort cooking, learning to cook and somehow making life better in the process, going out to restaurants and ordering nice meals, spending time in settings in which food/drinks are integral (restaurants, diners, bars, etc), a character's choice of food/beverage revealing something about them, etc
Forced proximity: road trips, snowed in, cabin vacations, trapped together, in a haunted house together, stranded on a desert island, there was only one bed, etc
Other tropey stuff: fake/pretend relationships, body swaps, time loops, undercover as a couple (and/or undercover as anything that sounds interesting to you!), Great British Bake-Off AU/fusion, cheesy romance novel clichés & rom-com tropes, BECAUSE I LOVE YOU—oops I said that out loud, seemingly mundane AUs/settings like coffee/flower shops in which canon magicks/superpowers are still present
Miscellaneous strong-and-often-complicated feelings: trust, loyalty, protectiveness, hope/hopelessness, devotion, desperation, jealousy, resentment, frustration, anger
Fusions & Crossovers

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Art likes:

I love art. All types! All styles! I don’t want to rule anything out here, because really, if it’s art of my faves, I’ll be thrilled to put it in front of my eyeballs. Because of that, I’ve elected not to list any stylistic likes here - rather, this is simply a list of visual elements/subjects/themes that always delight me when I see them. Please feel free to use any one of these as a prompt for any of my applicable relationships - or feel free to disregard them if there’s something else your heart is calling out for you to draw. I’m pretty easy-going here. :D

Any of the above likes, but applied to art!
Kisses: hesitant kisses, passionate kisses in the rain, neck or shoulder or collarbone kisses, thigh kisses, half-naked kisses, any kisses!
Outfits and fashion and hairstyles: iconic looks, outfit swaps, ugly sweaters, fun patterns, dumb T-shirts, lovingly rendered canon hairstyles, characters trying new hairstyles, on a beach vacation in their swimwear of choice, wearing lingerie (ladies only for this one, please!), dressing up, annnnd on that note…
Formalwear: women in fancy dresses or fancy suits, men in fancy suits, SUITS, accessorizing (with jewelry, watches, bags, a sword or a switchblade, look, whatever seems apropos or just kinda hot, I’m here for it)
Weapons and armour: incorporation of canon weapons like Buffy’s scythe, AUs where characters are equipped with weapons and/or armour (knight AUs, pirate AUs, Star Wars AUs, etc), the general badassery of women with SWORDS, I dig it all.
Hobbies: characters and their canon hobbies, characters and any hobby you think would be fun to give them (archery? painting? playing the guitar?)
Soft cozy stuff: cuddling in bed, holding hands, A falling asleep against B and B looking at them fondly, kissing by candlelight, drinking tea for warmth and comfort
Weather: rain, snow, weather that makes you stay inside
Interiors: cozy bedrooms, houseplants, kitchens, bars/restaurants/pubs/clubs, incorporation of lights (lava lamps! neon lights! little fairy lights! chandeliers! lights of all kinds!), doors and windows as compositional elements, iconic canon settings
Scenery: cities, beaches, deserts, roadside attractions and signage (motel signs and the like), iconic canon settings
Objects: flowers, magic-related items (spell ingredients, crystals, candles, cards, etc), any kind of everyday object my requested characters might have lying around/in their possession
Symbolism: tarot cards, playing cards, incorporating significant objects or outfits or colours etc, applying popular symbolism/imagery to my requested characters
Pastiche: make your favourite painting into a fanart? (example suggestions: Nighthawks but it’s Pop’s Chocklit Shoppe, The Kiss but make it ship art, The Happy Donor but it’s the Kent farm viewed through Superman’s silhouette, vintage pinup posters but with my faves, etc! I love lots of types of art - feel free to get weird with it!)
Circles (is it normal to have a favourite shape? whatever, circles are mine!): circular imagery like round windows or rings or crystal balls, circles as a compositional element, art cropped to a circle, idk, circles! Tossing it out there as a thing I enjoy.
Contrast of all kinds, be it stylistic or content-related: light/dark, lined/lineless, saturated/desaturated, purple/yellow, night/day, summer/winter, sun/moon, angel/devil, to give a few examples!

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Fusions & Crossovers:

I am separating out this like only because it gets a little long and hard to read otherwise. I am always game for fusions and AUs inspired by other canons if that's something you like to make! Straight-up crossovers are fun, too. Here are some canons that I am interested in for this type of fic/art:

Doctor Who: all of time and space! (faves include Rose, Martha, Donna, Clara, Lucie, Romana II)
Buffyverse: vampires and demons and witches and slayers! (faves include Buffy, Anya, Cordelia, Dawn, Faith, Willow, Tara, Kendra, Nadira from the Angel & Faith comics)
DC Extended Universe: superheroes! (faves include everyone in the Justice League, Lois, Martha Kent)
DC Animated Universe: superheroes again! (faves include everyone in the Justice League {the original 7}, Lois, the Kent fam, Dick Grayson)
Schitt's Creek: small town shenanigans!
New Girl: roommates!
Elementary: detectives!
Tales from the Borderlands: space western!
Lost Girl: fae!
D.E.B.S. (2005): spies!
Star Wars and The Mandalorian: spaaaace!