#penna-nomen

[reasonsforhope]

Things that make me hopeful:

1) My TBR list - there are so many great books and authors that I’ll never run out of reading material

2) Light rail will reach my neighborhood this year, making it much easier to get around without driving a car

3) People who run blogs about hope and good news! 🥰

Excellent!!! And thank you!!

Honestly the fact that there will always be more/new books to read and discover is so important

[thieves-never-say-die]

So glad to encounter another White Collar fan! I've enjoyed following your watch of the series and reliving memories from my first watch, and I'm intrigued about the fics you mentioned you're working on. Can you share a little about the fics?

I'm glad you're enjoying my watch! It's been a wild ride and I'm so happy I got around to finishing the show.

And I will take any excuse to talk about my fics SO there's a few that are just general Neal whump, one in specific that I'm still thinking about and haven't actually written anything for yet is for s5e4 Controlling Interest, because they really didn't do enough with Neal getting drugged twice in (I think) one day??? Insane that there were no side effects. Also I think it would be interesting to go into depth about what Neal tells Peter before Mozzie gets there, because we know he's talking about his childhood and they only give us like one line, but I'm kind of waiting to finish the series and see if they fill in any more gaps about his mom themselves before I go out and write that one (they have to tell us more about his mom. right? please someone tell me they give us more about his mom, we've gotten like two lines and they paint a very sad picture)

The other two are VERY angsty AU's. The first of which is 'what if Neal kills Keller in s3' (I think in ep 11? when El gets kidnapped?) because there is NO REASON for Neal to be good with guns. Why is he that good with guns. There is no precedent for Neal to be that good with guns. I just think it would be interesting (read: very sad) if Neal accidentally kills Keller while trying to protect Peter.

The second is at the end of s4 when Neal is trying to keep James around so Peter isn't charged with Pratt's murder, James shouts "don't make me do something I'll regret" which my brain immediately went "ok but what if he did something he'll regret". Which started off simple but has spiraled out into a much longer fic so that one's taking a while to write.

[toast-the-unknowing]

🎸 Bronan band AU

"Is Gansey still mainlining self-help books?"

Ronan makes a disgusted noise. Which could mean anything, from him. "No, it's all been boring history shit," he elaborates, since it lets him complain. "Didn't think anything could make me miss heartfelt interrogations about my anxious attachment style, but the fucking Spanish conquest of Navarre is getting me there."

"Oh, he's forcing you to pick between introspection or education? Poor baby." She's ready for it this time when he throws a pieces of bread at her and swats it away. "Really, you think he'd know by now that both of those are useless."

"You'd think."

Make Me Write meme

[lillytalons]

Passing along an interesting ask...

If you get this, answer with three random facts about yourself and send it to the last seven blogs in your notifications - anon or not, doesn’t matter. Let’s get to know the person behind the blog!

Ok 3 facts…

1. Archery is one of my hobbies, I prefer my traditional recurve bow but I’ve tried compound before and it is also fun

2. My front 2 teeth are fake and have been since like 3rd grade

3. I’m currently living in London but I’m from the US

[edupunkn00b]

From the WIP Procrastination asks:

🧭An alternative title to your/ one of your WIP(s)?

⚠️Which wip your most likely to finish or update next?

Oh, thank you for the lovely Asks! :D

Alternative Title

The original title for Where the Air is Sweet (a WIP that I thought would be finished by now, but life intervened) was going to be Tell Me How.

I will finish this WIP before I start the next Big Bang event. :D

Which WIP I'm Most Likely to Finish Next

That said, the next WIP that will be finished is Nothing to See Here. :D It's nearly ready and I'm so excited for it!

I'm realizing now it has some similar themes as Where the Air is Sweet but, um, well… anyway, how 'bout them Dolphins?

[whatsagirltoblogabout]

Oh gods I finished it. I caught up. There’s no more left. There’s just void where the Next Work button usually is. It kind of matches the slowly creeping void in my heart now that there’s no more words to read…

Me: I haven’t read a Caffrey Conversation fic in a while, maybe I’ll just dip my toe back in a little-

*6 fics later*

Sleep, you say? What’s that?

[suburbonlegends]

@penna-nomen I went a little sideways with this but I hope you still enjoy it!!

Mozzie walked into, frankly, a mess.

Neal was sitting at the dinning table, which really was a cheap card table, cutting up the blank papers they had been prepping for the next bonds.

“What the hell are you doing?” He asked, setting their take out and fresh bottle of wine on to the table. “Do you know how long-“

“They’re a disaster Moz. Completely unusable. The, the weight of the paper sucks, and it’s making the coloring bleed, like- look at this.” He slides one of the cut up squares over to Mozzie.

Mozzie can’t see anything, other than some microdots of seepage. “What are you talking about, these would’ve been fine-“

“Fine doesn’t cut it. They have to be perfect and these papers are far fucking from it.” Neal picks up his exacto knife and resumes cutting the papers.

They’ve been running for three days, and are currently hiding out in a cheap apartment in San Francisco, and clearly the toll was starting to wear on Neal. Mozzie needed to remind himself that, despite his proficiency for crime, Neal wasn’t used to the lifestyle yet.

Mozzie had rented the place for two weeks, but they needed to turn in the bonds in two days. “Kid, listen-“

“I’m not a kid.” Neal huffs, glaring at Mozzie through his eyelashes in a way that makes him, in fact, look startlingly young.

“Neal,” he amends, “we have thirty-six hours to turn these in, after that the banks will be closed for the holidays and we’re screwed. If we want to take advantage of the holiday season, we need to-“

“I’ll have them Mozzie, okay! I will! Just not with this paper!”

“Okay, okay.” Mozzie sighed. One of his greatest skills as a conman was knowing when he was talking to a brick wall. “I’ll find new paper tomorrow. Right now you’re going to eat and go to bed.”

Neal snorted and grabbed one of the cut square he made, running his fingers over it. “When did you suddenly become my dad?”

“When did you start swearing and calling me Mozzie instead of Moz?”

Neal’s expression faltered and he sat back in his seat, backing down from the tension and anger that had started to brew in him.

They weren’t friends, exactly. They were…codependent. Neal had the looks and the charm but lacked in experience, and Mozzie had experience but…They weren’t friends. As soon as Neal learned everything Mozzie could teach him, he’d set off and start running the gambit on his own.

So, in an effort to savor the profits while he could, Mozzie plated the food and poured the wine and brought it over. In the time he was gone, Neal turned the quarter finished bond forgery into a small paper crane and was working on a second one. His movements were sure and confident, and soon the second bird earned its place.

“You do origami a lot?” Mozzie asked.

Neal shrugged, quickly taking a bite before he started on a third. “Used to. I learned that…yknow, about the belief that a thousand could grant wishes. And we had… once my mom bought a bunch of wrapping paper from some kids raising money for a fundraiser. It was- whatever. We had a bunch of it and no use for it, so.” He finished the bird and flicked it, watching it slide to Mozzie’s side of the table.

“Did you ever make a thousand?”

“I made two thousand before we ran out. Hung a bunch of them from my ceiling. The wrapping paper was all glittery, kind of looked like constellations at night.” Neal hummed a little, eyes far away as he recalls wishing on stars he crafted himself. “It was…nice actually. Even if they didn’t work.”

Mozzie tapped his wine glass a few times in consideration. “Maybe, maybe not,” he picked up his glass and held it towards Neal. “Might just not have had a…wide enough scope of what a wish coming true looked like. Maybe just need to adjust your scope.”

Neal grinned at him then, a small light returning his tired eyes, and picked up his wine glass to tap against Mozzie’s. “To wishes coming true?”

“To wishes coming true!”

It wasn’t that night, but Neal did get some real sleep for the first time in days. It wasn’t the next day, but Mozzie did manage to get the better papers. It wasn’t in two weeks, when they pocketed the cash, and it wasn’t in a year, when they were living the good life.

It was six years later, in a Brooklyn home, with the worst company Mozzie could ever imagine enjoy keeping, that a folded crane slid across the dining table toward him.

Neal smiled and winked, flicking a second paper crane between his fingers and making it disappear before he turned his attention back towards the story Elizabeth was enthusiastically telling. A rush of understanding passed through Mozzie at the look of contentment on Neal’s face and the relaxation in his posture, clearly happy in the loving environment they had found themselves in despite the circumstances.

To wishes coming true indeed.

[ssk374]

When you have time for another Neal mood board prompt, I'd love one themed around music -- those moments of singing, dancing with June, the episode where he went on that massive spending spree with Sara and he's strumming a gold guitar...

Posting this after an embarrassing 7 months 😭😭😭

✨🌸Here's a Musical Moodboard of June (Diahann Carroll), Neal (Matt Bomer) and June's wonderful APT🌸✨

Also they have such a gorgeous voice!!! @penna-nomen Buddy, thank you so so much for this prompt <3

I hope you like this <3

[silelda]

Favorite TV Shows 🍿

Thanks for tagging me @penna-nomen

without naming them, put gifs of 10 of your favorite TV shows

I'm not sure all of them count as tv shows but they are series online. In no particular order...

NPT: @fluxxdog; @tychos-huzband; @geastherat; @watermelonolemretaw; @saltofmercury

[silbrith]

For Dragon Lovers

National Appreciate a Dragon Day on January 16 is for the dragon lovers of the world. Count me as one of them! I've written about dragons in three of my fanfic series—Six-Crossed Knot, Tales from the Library, and Arkham Files—and even managed to sneak them into Caffrey Conversation. My preference is for lovable dragons with plenty of personality. I have no interest in reading about such magnificent creatures being killed. You won't be surprised that The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman and All Souls Trilogy by Deborah Harkness rank high in my story recommendations. True, the dragon in All Souls Trilogy is actually a firedrake, but that's close enough.

Other recs:

Tales from Verania (5-book series) by T.J. Klune

Guards! Guards! (Discworld) by Terry Pratchett

Champion of the Scarlet Wolf (2-book series) by Ginn Hale

Dragon's Egg Blue by @penna-nomen. In my post about werewolves, I'd already recommended this gem of a Discworld fanfic. It's a must-read for dragon lovers too!

Smaug in The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien gets an honorable mention since he has personality in spades. I do wish he'd turned over a new leaf. Couldn't Gandalf have gotten to him before he became such a destroyer?

Who are your favorite dragons?

A special shout-out to @penna-nomen on her birthday! May all the dragons in your life be as adorable as Bonnie!

[enolaholmes18]

From the Writer Goals asks:

💥Is there a chapter, scene, or WIP you're most excited to write? Share a snippet or tell us about it!

Thanks @penna-nomen !

💥Is there a chapter, scene, or WIP you're most excited to write? Share a snippet or tell us about it!

Well for sure I'm determined to get the next installment of my White Collar x Star Trek au out this year. I managed to finish the first draft literally on Dec 31 😂. So now, I'm on the second draft/editing phase. I'm hoping to enlist my bestie, who's starting her star trek journey right now heheheh, to help in the reworking process.

I can feel that it's almost there. I have all the elements and story beats. I just need to find a way to string it all together in a way that makes sense. And hopefully stick the landing🙏. (there's one moment in particular I'm anxious to get right or else I'll have to cut it😅.)

I feel bad that I've been taking so long to finish this, so have another sneak peak:

“It’s a recreation of the Blue Note Jazz Club, a little place in Harlem where the one and only June Ellington and her husband Byron performed nightly in the 1950s. A lovely couple, but just wait until you hear June sing. She’ll knock your socks off.”

At that, a woman in a sparkly fashionable dress walked across the stage while a cast of holo-projectioned audience members clambered for applause. A disembodied voice introduced her.

“Ladies and gentlemen, for tonight’s viewing pleasure–the wonderful, the astounding, the sensational–June Ellington!”

June blew a kiss to the crowd and took hold of the microphone. “I’m happy to be here tonight to perform for you lovely people. Are you ready to have some fun?”

The crowd went wild in response.

“Then, I’m going to need the help of my dashing husband, Byron!”

More applause rang out as a dapper man in a pinstripe suit joined June on stage. He kissed June’s hand and waved at the crowd before taking his seat at the piano. The rest of the band followed suit and began to play the opening song.

[thieves-never-say-die]

Leveragetober prompt: Crossover

Have fun with it!

Thanks for the prompt! Posted here on ao3, it's a Leverage/White Collar crossover (obviously lmao)

[toast-the-unknowing]

For the fic writer asks:

12. a trope you’re really into right now

For writing, I would say fusions? I have an ongoing project that's a TV show fusion and I was reminded recently of an old idea I had had for a video game fusion; I actually resurrected that to poke at it and see if that might make a good new project, but I never finished the video game in question and when I tried to read a plot synopsis to find out how it ended my brain started leaking out my ears. JRPGs get real weird sometimes, who knew.

For reading, I have read a few fics lately that are missing scene or missing perspective, and really enjoyed them? I was on a Tortall kick for a while and read a lot of "what was going on with character X during book Y" type things. I recommend in the perfection of conduct and virtues for The Immortals/Protector of the Small girlies. (I think I'm currently a dirtbag who hasn't left a comment on that one so also dropping it here to remind myself to go back and do that.)

fic writer asks

[thesymphonytrue]

WIP Wednesday err.. Sunday

Thank you @penna-nomen for the tag!

SOOO I have an idea for Mozzie Mania...although I will admit my creative spirit has been low lately. I don't know how to fix it. My desire to write, sing, or create any kind of art is gone right now and it feels like a heavy weight is on my chest and like I want to rip my insides out. I hate it so much 😭 I feel like I'm just being absorbed into the books I'm reading and any unique creative energy I used to have is nonexistent.

BUT ANYWAY in an effort to spark that again (and since I haven't worked on my Mozzie story) here is another little excerpt from my "Old Man AU" (lol aka Peter and Neal as senior citizens):

Sandra was tired. Two coffees in, her eyes were not staying open any better than they were an hour ago. And it was only nine am. She blinked and pushed the stapler a little further away from her computer. It hadn’t been her life’s dream to be a receptionist at the Catskills Memory Care, but here she was. Despite the atmosphere of death and smell of old people, the visitors normally were kind (if there were any) and the pay was good. 

The buzzer rang, notifying Sandra that there was a visitor. Her eyes brightened and hope filled her chest. Which lucky patient was getting an extra dose of love today? Smiling, she smoothed her pants as she stood. 

However, when she glanced down and looked at the video monitor to see just who had rung the bell, she pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes. 

Mr. Caffrey, she thought as a headache began to form behind her temples. 

Rolling her eyes, she pressed the button to unlock the front doors and Neal Caffrey strode in. He walked with confidence and if it wasn’t for his gray hair and fine lines, he would have seemed ageless. She’d seen pictures of Neal as a younger man and, well, Sandra had to admit, he was just about the most handsome human she’d ever laid eyes on. 

Nonetheless, his youthful spirit trapped in an old body still somehow managed to make Sandra’s life more difficult. Neal was always sneaking in items that were not allowed: things like strong-smelling paint sets, fancy wine, or once she caught him with FBI-grade handcuffs. 

“Eccentric old man,” she muttered to herself, shaking her head as Neal leaned onto the check-in desk. 

“Goodmorning, Sandra!” Neal said chipperly, blue eyes sparkling. 

Sandra could see how women (and probably men) fell to Neal’s feet in his prime. The man was even charming at seventy. 

“Hello, Mr. Caffrey,” she said, looking up the family-approval phone number linked to the patient Neal Caffrey always came in to visit. 

“Ah it’s Neal,” Neal said, smiling warmly, “Certainly we are on first name terms at this point?” 

Sandra couldn't help but smile. 

“Alright, Neal,” she said folding her hands, “I still have to call the family member on file and let them know you are visiting, given your history…”

“Oh come on, you know he doesn’t like to be bothered. I will be in and out in five minutes. Just have a little…” he hesitated… “gift. He doesn’t even have to be awake to–”

Sandra’s smile dropped. 

“The last time I let you in without calling, you gave him a beer and you were drinking wine and we have a no-alcohol policy here.” 

She picked up the phone and dialed. 

“Hello?” a man’s voice answered.

“Hi Mr. Burke, I have a Neal Caffrey here to visit your father. Do you approve?” 

The line was silent for a moment.

“Can I talk to him?” Mr. Burke said.

“Your father?” 

“No, Unc—" he cleared his throat, " To Neal, please?”

Sandra looked at Neal and narrowed her eyes, “Sure sweetheart.”

She passed the phone to Neal. 

“Hey there! Just bringing in a little something for–” Neal started, then frowned.

Sandra wished she could hear what was on the other line.

“Today’s going to be a good day, I can feel it—” Neal said and then paused to listen, “Okay I promise, buddy. No breaking the rules.” 

He hung up. 

Sandra sighed and waved to the door. 

“Go right a head, you know where he is. Mind you, he’s been worse lately. I doubt you’ll get any words out of him at all.” 

[aragarna]

Rate my faves!

Challenge: make a poll of your five fave characters of all time, then tag five people to do the same.

Tagged by @professorlehnsherr-almashy. Thank you Professor!

Yes, I'm perfectly aware that makes 6, but I didn't have the heart to discard any of them. They all need to be there.

tagging @penna-nomen @thesymphonytrue @ascreamintothevoid-blog @amalthea9 @critterkeeper01

[lillytalons]

People I'd like to get to know better

Tagged by @blackkat, thanks!

Last Song: Never Ending Song by Conan Gray

Fav color: sunflower yellow

Last book: technically All Systems Red by Martha Wells but it was a reread, so the last new book I read was Wind and Truth by Brandon Sanderson

Last movie: I watched Argylle last night, it was, something lol

Last tv show: Currently rewatching Ted Lasso, also watching High Potential which is fun

Sweet/spicy/savory: Savory/salty like all the time, but I also have a solid sweet tooth. (Dark chocolate with salt is my weakness)

Relationship status: single

Last thing googled: who Daniel Day-Lewis is/what he looks like

Looking forward to: Oddly enough, I’m job hunting a lot right now and I’m really looking forward to getting a job and everything with that (steady paychecks, moving to a new place, buying new books, etc.)

Current obsession: I’m bouncing around a lot right now, getting back into some old fandoms, but I guess I would say the Cosmere, Wind and Truth messed me up and I need more. 

no pressure tags: @penna-nomen @willshaper @zibus @a-total-and-complete-nerd

and anyone who wants to do it!