#threads ⋆˙ neal caffrey

[entriprises]

his finger wags, "no, no, i was never convicted of that. that was all alleged. i was only ever convicted of bond forgery."

@mcmorare scored a 4/10 on the entriprises muse quiz ii

[entriprises]

he likes watching her mind start to attempt at tackling this hypothetical. it’s fun for him to watch anyone do it. the insight into how they think his world works and the fact he usually gets to be the wiser answer keeper is an unparalleled source of smugness. “good point,” she doesn’t really need a distraction, there’s trickier and riskier ways without one, but he’s intrigued. “how would you take care of it? fire alarm? cause a scene?” they’re the usual ways, plain and simple and effective.

Put it that way, and she supposes there is some fun to it. Indulging in a bit of fantasy, like all those old paperback books that line secondhand stores with story after story of spies and crime solvers. "Well, I wouldn't do it right now, at this moment." She makes a small, general gesture around. "Too many people, too many cameras, too well lit. You would have to take care of that in some way first."

[lcstpaths]

❝ IT WAS A FLESH WOUND, ❞  which didn’t exactly make it better. she was pretty sure that pulling a trigger on the love of her life wasn’t exactly incorporated within the  to have and to hold  section of their vows.  ❝ yeah but...scars are sexy. ❞  she aimed for lightness, giving him a brief, bright, somewhat apologetic smile as she stepped closer.  ❝ and chicks dig scars. ❞  lifting her hands, caroline tentatively examined the wound, exhaling in a small bit of relief when she realized that the blood had mostly stopped. but he was right. they had to figure this out --- because shooting him? not exactly a pleasant experience. her hand shifted, cupping his cheek, thumb stroking apologetically over the cut of his cheekbone.  ❝ i mean we could...fake our own death? change names? move to the suburbs somewhere and get a dog? ❞

ONE OF HIS EYEBROWS QUIRKS UP AS HE LOOKS AT HER, though try as he might, there's a bit of a twitch at the corners of his lips. It's hard not to laugh, really, when she was trying to defend her actions by saying scars were sexy. Did it make sense? Maybe a bit - but they both knew that it didn't really change the facts of their situation. "Oh yeah? Do you dig scars?" One of his hands rests lightly on her waist, pulling her that bit closer as a long sigh falls from his lips. Leaning his head in, he ghosts his lips over hers before he bites the inside of his cheek. "What would we do with our new lives, hm? It's never gonna be that easy." Not without money. And yeah, he's been stockpiling in hidden accounts for years, all for the day they're going to escape this life, but he wants that to be a surprise. "We'd drive each other crazy in the suburbs. I'd start an HOA war with housewives down the street."

@seesgood continued from here.

[penna-nomen]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

thanks for the tag @a-noble-dragon

How many works do you have on ao3?

78

What’s your total ao3 word count?

934,082

What fandoms do you write for?

White Collar, The Good Place, Supernatural, Discworld, Doctor Who, Leverage, Psych, Murderbot Diaries, Jane Austen novels, and more

Top five fics by kudos:

1 Caffrey Conversation

2 Choirboy Caffrey

3 By the Book

4 Bouquet

5 Caffrey Envoy

Do you respond to comments?

I try to. I think I keep up on AO3, but the email issues on FF have been a trial.

What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Oh, that's tough. I don't tend to end with angst. I'd say probably:

The Late Ambassador Spock

Do you get hate on fics?

There have been a few negative comments, but I don't recall any that were outright hate

Do you write smut?

Nope

Wildest crossover:

There have been some interesting combinations when I've written crossovers for exchanges. One that jumps to mind is:

Universal Truths of Time Travel - A Doctor Who and Pride & Prejudice crossover

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

No, I don't think so

Have you ever had a fic translated?

Maybe? Someone reached out to ask permission and I agreed but they never got back to me with a link

Have you ever cowritten a fic before?

Sort of? I wrote an epilogue to one of Silbrith's stories:

Dawn of the Jackalopes

All time favorite ship?

Oh, that's tough. In terms of writing, my favorite romantic ship has been Neal Caffrey & Sara Ellis of White Collar, and my favorite friendship has been Neal & Peter. In terms of being the audience, I adore Murderbot and its friends, especially Murderbot and ART.

What’s a wip you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

Once I started outlining something I called Operation Athena, which was a retelling of one of my Caffrey Conversation stories from the POV of the women. It sounds fun, but I don't know when I'd find the time to write it.

What are your writing strengths?

Why do I go blank on this type of question? I remember getting positive comments about the way the plot threads intertwine and reappear in the Caffrey Conversation series, so let's go with that

What are your writing weaknesses?

At the moment, it's staying focused long enough to make progress.

Thoughts on dialogue in another language?

Once in a fandom charity auction I won the services of someone who speaks French, and that resulted in lines in French in By the Book. Otherwise I'm always too worried about making mistakes.

First fandom you wrote in?

The first one I wrote down was a birthday present for a friend based on the musical Annie. The first I published was in White Collar.

Favorite fic you’ve written?

Oh, how do I chose? Caffrey Conversation is dear to my heart as the first one I published.

Open tag to my fic writing friends! I'd love to see your answers

[gean-grey-blog]

@thesymphonytrue

Sorry it took me a while, I was having a TIME with health and family shit

7. Post a snippet from a wip

This is the opening to my current longfic project. It's the first post series fic I've written, because...I've never watched S6😂 I had just gone back to finish college after dropping out for a year and I knew I couldn't watch it without getting sucked in and losing half my time to fandom. By the time I finished the semester I knew what the ending was and I just...decided to not go through that 😅. I've also never seen the ending to M*A*S*H even though it's literally formative American cultural media because I knew bad shit happened and wanted to remember the series as a place I could visit not a story that ended.

Opening to the untiled fic currently named "yurt" in my Google docs:

There was a knock on the door of the yurt. Elizabeth looked up, from cooking. She crossed the small space, and peered through the edge of the shade in front of the window. She opened the door.

Neal Caffrey stood in front of her. Alive, in snow pants, boots, and a parka. He was still shivering.

She let him inside. He scuffed his boots off on the mat, the dry snow crunching, and came in. Elizabeth helped him unzip his coat with his fingers half frozen.

“You found us okay?”

Neal nodded, shrugging the coat off and turning to hang it on the little rack by the door, and answered with his teeth chattering, “it took longer than I wanted to get through the border, I'm sorry."

Elizabeth nodded, “it’s okay. I’m just glad you’re here.”

Neal shrugged, “running when you have amazing, happy things lined up is one thing. Abandoning you and Peter, when he’s…that’s something else.”

Elizabeth’s face softened. She nodded, and hugged him tightly. He hugged her back, melting into it. He must have missed them as much as they missed him.

36. What fic are you proudest of?

My first one. It was terrible. It was posted in the comments section on a live journal prompt thread. There was next to no punctuation. I spelled the main character's name wrong multiple times...that name being House, which as the chatacter once pointed out, is also a noun 😅

But I hadn't written anything but school assignments, ever. I have dysgraphia and can't write well by hand, it was the 90's and it took a long time to identify that and by that time I thought I hated writing, full stop. That fic was the first time I wrote for myself. It was the beginning of having a way to process my shit, and express myself, and connect with people

78. What motivates you during the writing process?

Writing is how I self soothe, process my shit, give myself hope, distract myself when I feel physically like garbage, which is a lot. It's also something I can do when I can't even sit up, I just have to be able to poke a phone screen, so it's the one hobby that has remained basically unchanged as I've struggled with health and mobility issues.

[entriprises]

NEAL CAFFREY, SHOES. oil on canvas, 1888, 18 x 21.75 in.

NIMROD , @swordstolen liked for a starter

“i’m not accusing you of anything, but if the shoe fits…” his whole posture straightens, “well, it’s less of a belief in your guilt and more of a fact.” his hand extends out, palm open and waiting. 

[purplehairedwonder]

Fic Stats Game: One Shots

After the original Fic Stats Game was almost entirely multi-chaptered fics, @chromatic-lamina tagged me for a version for one shots!

Rules:

Give us the links to your one shot fics with the most hits, most kudos, most comments, most bookmarks, most words, and least words (does that count for one shots? Guess so).

Most Hits: "Ghosts That We Knew," a White Collar/Chuck crossover where Neal Caffrey and Bryce Larkin are the same person, with 5,858 hits. I wrote that in 2012, wow. Second place goes to "A Far Better Thing," a Seblaine one-shot from my Glee fandom days, with 3,886 hits.

Most Kudos: "Bent But Not Broken," a One Piece one-shot in which Luffy finds Law tending to his injuries after he escaped Hawkins with 479 kudos. Second place is "I Want Your Laughter (Like the Flower I Was Waiting For)", another One Piece fic with Luffy trying to make Law laugh more often and falling in love along the way. It has 451 kudos.

Most Comment Threads: "Aftermath," my first post-chapter 1081 fic, has 21 comment threads. Second place is "The Heart Is a Thing to Be Broken," in which the Straw Hats learn about the events of chapter 1081, with 17 comment threads.

Most Bookmarks: "Bent But Not Broken" is first with 120 bookmarks and "Ghosts That We Knew," is second with 109.

Most Words: "Let It Break," a Supernatural fic that takes place after episode 6.21 and whumps Sam pretty hard, has 7,435 words. Second place is "Where My Demons Hide," a Glee fic dealing with the dynamic between Blaine, Kurt, and Sebastian post-Klaine breakup, with 6,527 words.

Fewest Words: My shortest fic is “See,” a tag for Glee episode 6.01 with 290 words; second shortest is “The Point of a Submarine,” a One Piece prompt fic about the Polar Tang, with 362 words.

Tagging anyone who wants to play--especially if I tagged you the first time but you had one-shots go unnoticed.

[randomestfandoms-ocs]

White Collar OC Ideas

I’ll make a proper masterlist once I actually finish naming them and shit but!!

1. Connor Nelson in Sweetest Con; Neal Caffey ship; Neal’s ex con partner who split when Kate came into the picture, visited Neal frequently in prison and they reconnect when Neal gets out of prison

2. Unnamed OC; Neal Caffrey ship ( probably ); June’s goddaughter whose parents used to work with Byron, OC moved in with June after Byron died and the two are very close

3. Unnamed OC; Peter���s younger sister who he currently has custody of ( fc is tentative, I have one other option that I’m still sort of considering )

4. Unnamed OC; Elizabeth’s younger sister who’s living with them as she finishes university and finds a job in the city

5. Unnamed OC; Neal’s younger sister who ends up moving in with him after he moves in with June, despite his best efforts, Peter can’t get her to leave

6. Unnamed OC in Cowboy Like Me; Neal’s old partner in crime, they were arrested at the same time and talk Peter into taking them both on as CIs

7. Unnamed OC; Neal’s old accomplice who got arrested but was let out on good behaviour because she could only be proven to be an accomplice, insists that she wants nothing to do with Neal or their old life but can’t stay away

8. Unnamed OC in Mastermind; an old partner of Neal’s who never got caught and managed to stay off of Peter’s radar, she and Neal reunite when one of his investigations crosses paths with one of her jobs

9. Unnamed OC; rich brat who Neal once tried to con but instead became friends with, her family has ties to a lot of crime families ( particularly but not exclusively russian ) and corrupt officials which makes her Neal’s go-to when he needs an easy in for any event

10. Unnamed OC; FBI agent who previously worked in intelligence, Peter personally requests her help during Bad Judgement or Threads and so she transfers

11. Unnamed OC; FBI agent who was personally recruited by Peter to the White Collar division due to her exceptional scores at Quantico, where she and Diana were best friends

12. Unnamed OC; FBI agent who works in intelligence or cyber in the same HQ as the white collar team, they team up often

13. Unnamed OC; Private Investigator who frequently crosses paths with the White Collar team and ends up working with them

14. Unnamed OC; Neal’s twin sister who is also a con artist but nothing has been able to be officially pinned on her

15. Unnamed OC, casting TBD ( narrowed down to three options with one tentative preference ), arrested just after she turned 18, Peter strikes a deal for her to be let out on probation, he has her shadowing Neal because he hopes that Neal could actually be a positive influence, it has mixed results

[qwanderer]

Sometimes I'm just sitting there thinking about how Neal Caffrey has a friend with a beautiful Manhattan penthouse he can borrow for jobs and Alec Hardison has a brilliant forger friend who can't leave the states and I go

Yes. They are friends.

[penna-nomen]

For the WIP procrastination emoji ask game:

🍄 , 🤔, ❤️

🍄Describe your wip/one of your wips in the format of “___ + ___ =___”

White Collar + Fairy Tale Setting = Peter the noble knight to the rescue in The Fairest of Them All

🤔What’s a story you’d love to write but haven’t even started yet?

I have in mind a White Collar/Caffrey Conversation story inspired by Ocean's 8 where the women take the lead in a sting against the bad guy of WC episode Threads. I'm referring to this story as Fashion Caper.

and...

I have in mind a story about Neal hosting a big Thanksgiving bash and going overboard in his planning and asking Peter for help. I'm referring to this story as Overcomplications. That's a tip of the hat to a fun little story titled Complications by @silbrith

and...

Since in Fashion Caper I should make some reference to what the men are up to, I'm seriously considering mashing both of these into a single story.

Thanks for the kudos & asks @bluebellsinburbank!

[mcmusing]

From Season 1 Episode 2 Threads.

Please note that Peter is allowed to place a paternal arm around Neal all the time but Neal is forbidden from playfully batting at him. **Forbidden**, ya got that 👊😉?!

[lcstpaths]

YEAH, HE KNOWS. But knowing something and accepting it are two different things, and he still struggles to wrap his head around the concept of having her in his corner. Sure, he's always had Mozzie, but... Criminal friends are different from normal ones. Maybe Mozzie is his friend more than a criminal friend, but it doesn't really change things in his mind. "You sure that's a commitment you're willing to offer? I'll probably get you into trouble," he mutters finally, because he knows that the threat of hard time is only one wrong move away from his existence.

"You know i know better than most how it is to be alone." Zoe reminded. She had been an only child raised by an abusive mother, taking off to live on her own from the age of thirteen. "You build up the walls and your brain stays in flight or fight mode. Its trauma but im also learning, its okay to not be alone sometimes." She said gently and offered a small smile. "Im here for you. Whether you like it or not but i am. Whatever you need anytime. I support you."

[lcstpaths]

neal caffrey   ,   canon-ish

[entriprises]

NEAL CAFFREY, THE PUBLIC GARDEN AT PONTOISE. oil on canvas, 1874, 23 x 28 in.

mellie , @foxtaeil: “is this business or pleasure?” 

he keeps a slow pace, both to match hers and to take in the whole of the rose garden— the grass lawns are about the only place neal is allowed to step foot in where it concerns the white house. “it can’t be both?” grinning, “i have to admit, i didn’t expect you to agree to meet with me or rather…” his head gestures towards one of the many secret service agents standing by, “i didn’t expect to get past those guys, much less onto these grounds.”

[highness-in-the-sky]

caffrey

[astrancva]

Convincing Peter that he needed to travel to Ohio had taken a great deal. It meant revealing more about his past than he really wanted to. In the end, he agreed. On the condition that he go along to babysit. Neal hated the idea. He hated anyone knowing all the things he worked so hard to keep hidden. But he trusted Peter more than many people outside the tight circle he worked to maintain.

Now, here he was, in the formal sitting room in his childhood home. His mother bellowing at the help. Just like old times. At least the twins were in school, keeping them out of this mess for now.

"Looks to me like you're just making the same mistakes all over again. Except this time, you might end up burying one of your grandkids."

@astrancva is getting a starter from my guest muse cause well angst...

With a dismissive shake of her head, Eleanor turned from her oldest child back towards the kitchen, calling for the housekeeper. Honestly, they just got lazier and lazier. When she offered someone (even one of her children) tea and/or coffee, she expected it to be presented to them shortly after...was that too much to ask?

"I certainly see now where she gets her...dramatics...from. Sitting here acting like your father and I did something wrong in raising those children so that they won't repeat your mistakes..." Like getting his high school girlfriend pregnant. Or ending up in a federal prison.