If instead of a gem, or even a flower, we should cast the gift of a loving thought into the heart of a friend, that would be giving as the angels give.

Would you rather have the generalized feeling that someone is thinking of you (sooooomewheeere oooout theeere...) or would you like to know, off the bat, who your swapper is?

I'm not going to be too demanding on my heartwarmer. Whatever she (or he? did we get any dudes this round?) feels comfortable with is totally fine.

Also, you ladies and gents are speaking of rare things, if you could have one rare scent, what would it be?

Antique Lace, probably. I was given a tester of it in a swap with a lovely, wonderful forumite, and fell deeply in love. I'm also incredibly curious about Skadi, but I've never tested or sniffed it. Also, Ozymandias! Come back soon, please …

Do you like graphic novels, and if so, what kinds?

Comics and I have a complicated history. There was a period of about ten years where I really thought I wanted to write and draw comics. I still do, but I honestly don't think I have the work ethic to be a webcomic creator, and I also wouldn't want to give up creative control enough to go work for one of this big houses. I read a lot of manga as a teenager, but I've only kept hold of a couple of series: Clover, by CLAMP, Paradise Kiss by Ai Yazawa, and Sailor Moon (plus Supers, Stars, etc). I'm given to understand there's a new translation of Sailor Moon being published now that's more accurate, but I haven't looked at it much. As for western comics I scarcely know where to start. I've read some of the seminal storytelling works (Watchmen, The Sandman) but I haven't read a lot of superhero comics. I am always willing to read anything Neil Gaiman's had a hand in, and I really enjoyed Red Son even though I'm not a Supes fan. Batman was my favorite superhero as a kid, but these days it's Captain America on the strength of Jim Steranko's work on a few issues, plus the Marvel Cinematic Universe flick a couple years ago about Cap. It was so earnest and optimistic. I kind of love it.

Is there anything in the new Coraline update that you are wanting to try? Or even the past Lupers?

I joined a decant circle and got the stuff I'm most curious about (The Cat), but I'm also interested in Coraline Jones and Miss Forcible after some speculation on the latter, and me kicking myself for not realizing "dried grass" might be "hay" in the former. D'oh! I also got a half-bottle of Ambergris but suspect this may not be enough. Peony Moon doesn't tickle me but I keep waffling about a shirt to go with the OLOP tee I plan on getting … but Puddin' said he was going to be putting more tees on Etsy soon so I may wait for that.

What fandoms, if any, do you have? TV shows, comics/books, movies, specific characters, that kind of thing?

I mentioned in my questionnaire that I'm a My Little Pony fan, but I don't really consider myself a "brony" … mostly because I have certain issues with parts of the fandom. I suspect I'm being a little disingenuous, since I've written short essays about themes portrayed by one of the show's writer's across episodes, and I've designed no fewer than ten pony OCs for myself and various friends, but, y'know, there it is. Also, I have a favorite pony, which is Luna, so there's that.

I'm much more likely, however, to admit that I'm a Warhammer 40K fan. My boyfriend got me into the lore when we started dating a few years ago, and these days I know more about the state of the game and upcoming book releases than he does. My favorite writer for a long time was Dan Abnett — though I've never read any of his Gaunt's Ghosts series; seventeen books and climbing is pretty daunting — but he's been edged out as of this winter by the new hotness, John French. This is mostly on the strength of French's novel debut, Ahriman: Exile, which even mentioning makes me want to go and reread. I've read a few of French's short pieces scattered in the Horus Heresy collections, but he has a novella in Fateweaver I have not clapped eyes on.

I do have a favorite primarch, and that's Rogal Dorn; the Imperial Fists are also my favorite loyal chapter. My favorite traitor legion is the Thousand Sons. I don't go in much for the xenos … the Eldar especially bore me to tears.

Oh, I also play World of Warcraft on an RP server and spend an inordinate chunk of brainpower thinking about my characters, so that's a thing, too. Then again, that's selfish fandom: I feel like the writing in WOW was never incredibly strong, but has gotten noticeably weaker over time. My boyfriend recently quit the game due to a lot of frustration about how they were handling certain events in lore, along with the heavy luck basis for advancement in a few key areas this last patch — he plays, or played, a warlock, and he wanted to do the special warlock-only quest for spell customization, but could never get the item that started the chain to drop. He also wasn't getting any tailoring patterns to make gear that was useful to him, so his progress felt a little throttled.

All of which is a sidebar to kind of say the last time he and I got in a shouting match, someone eventually walked in and asked why we were yelling, and the answer was "Because we both agree that Blizzard can't write, but can't agree on how!" And then we all laughed and the situation — not that serious to begin with — was defused. =P I still really enjoy WOW from a gameplay aspect and from an RP one because even though the large-scale story is dumb, the smaller ones we eke out are still compelling.

I have a new question! What of the new pickman gallery scents are you interested in?

Pickmans, Pickmans … I really sort of want to try My Mom With the Sun in Her Hands, Rapunzel in Ballpoint, Self Portrait with Puffy Stickers, Summoning Stone Play Structure, and [Redacted] Dragon. Decants will probably be fine, since I'm not sure how any of them will behave! The Dragon seems like he's destined for a scent locket with all that spice.

What's your favorite kind of cookie?

As a lot of food/beer critics are fond of saying, "the one in front of me." I've never met a chocolate chip cookie I disliked, but I'm also fond of oatmeal raisin. This last Christmas I made cookies for a friend that may have been the most over-the-top thing I've ever baked: a cardamom/chai infused snickerdoodle with coconut white chocolate chunks and macadamia. How's that for gilding the lily! He loved them, though.

Do you like nail polish? If so what colors?

I don't really do nail polish, though I kind of want to. For some reason I really want a metallic bronze, even though I just know it's all wrong for the season. Ditto gunmetal. ;D

What about bath products?

I shower a lot more than I bathe, but I will use bath oils as moisturizer or for their intended purpose now and then. I actually haven't tried some of the big names around here (Villainess, Lush, etc) and would be amenable to some new soaps …

Let's talk about handmade things: knits, books, jewelry, food, art, tchochkes.. what sort of 'just for You' items are you interested in receiving? Or, are you not really a handmade kind of person?

If you want to make me something, I'll love it! I have a pair of fingerless gloves from a circular swap I love, along with a scarf my witch made me one year that I definitely cherish, but it's getting on to summer in the Northern hemisphere, so I'm not sure what call i'll have to wear knits from now on. Jewelry, food, books, etc I will eat up, whether metaphorically or literally.

What are you yearning for from the C2E2 and/or Bats Day pre-date?

Bat's day, bat's day … Greater Horseshoe Bat sounds so very me.

As for C2E2, Little Egypt also sounds about my speed.

What kind of music do you like to listen to? Would you want your heartwarmer to make you a mix CD? For any specific purpose?

My tastes are somewhat varied, from David Bowie and Nine Inch Nails to King Crimson to Johnny Cash to Godspeed You! Black Emperor to The Aquabats. Lady Gaga is my guilty pleasure. I love getting mix CDs (or grooveshark playlists, etc) because I find some cool bands that way. I also would like some darkly atmospheric music with no English-language vocals (French/Italian/Latin would be ideal if any) that I can use as "mood music" for my Dark Heresy game. Large swaths of the playlist for that right now are NIN instrumentals and Eric Brosius compositions for System Shock, with special guest appearance by the Shepard–Risset glissando from Godspeed You! Black Emperor's "The Dead Flag Blues" and excerpts from Claude Vivier's "Orion."

Also, Holst's Planets are actually plot-important in a way, so if you have particularly interesting recordings of those, I'm all about it.