#threads ⋆˙ neal caffrey

[entriprises]

NEAL CAFFREY, THE DINNER TABLE. oil on canvas, 1896-1987, 100 x 131 cm.

ANDIE , @lvebug: “how do you feel about dinner parties?” 

“dinner parties?” she’s got his attention, easily now as he looks down at her with a wide grin. if andie’s asking, she certainly has something in mind, he knows as much about her now. she’s fairly transparent. “i love a good dinner party.”

[entriprises]

he can’t help it — she says they’re too cliche and he can’t help but want to spin some elaborately cliche narrative about how he’d pull it all off. he could show off. he could tell her that she’s wrong and that none of it is necessary to worry about but she’s just partially dissed the classic ways and he wants to toy with her. “gotta have lasers. lasers, a blow torch, probably need a saw.”

off to the races with his mind, “a disguise of course. a nice pair of glasses is always a good start and for some a mustache is a great addition.” he points over to a security camera, turning, leaning back on his elbows against the display case, “the lasers will help you burn a hole right into the tech of those old school things and it’s really kid stuff.” behind both of their backs, his hand creeps and slides and he manages to pick up and deposit two of the diamonds from the tray into his suit pocket. “blow torch for getting through the vault, saw for the walls, all in a days work.” he clasps his hands over his chest, looking over towards her.

"Hm..." Fire alarm or causing some sort of scene could work, but they seem like things out of a movie. Surely she can to better than that. "Not those. Too cliche. Plus, that doesn't take care of lights or security cameras." If it was a mission, she could use her SHIELD connections to take care of that, but considering they're talking about thievery, that doesn't apply. She'll have to keep thinking. "How would you do it?"

[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]

“it’s been a while since i’ve been home here.” neal plucks a plush toy off the floor, it rattling as he raises it with a grin. “not satchmo’s i take it?”

still, the burke home has retained everything he loved about it. the paint on the walls is the same, as is the dining table, though neal runs his hand over the wood just to be sure it feels the same too. it does.

“i thought about you guys every day. i wondered what it would’ve been like if i stuck around here, just stayed in new york.” he knows it’s not an apology, it doesn’t even come close to the whole of what he feels he owes peter, and el, for yet another con. but he couldn’t take the risk. not when it would’ve meant a much worse, more dangerous reality for the rest of them. he knows that, even if he spent so many nights wondering about a different series of events. it had to be the way that it was. it was a final atonement, the ultimate sacrifice, leaving behind all that he had. it feels overwhelming to be surrounded by it all again. 

send me a number from 1-100 for a starter based on that song or send a 🎁 for me to shuffle ‧₊˚ @strangewonderful sent #98 for peter & neal -- i am not who i was by chance peña 

[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.

[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 👊😉?!

[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!

[lcstpaths]

neal caffrey   ,   canon-ish

[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."

[highness-in-the-sky]

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

[leverage-ot3]

look I just think it’d be funny if there was a reddit thread or discord for leverage international members

some highlights I think would happen:

nate ‘AITA when…’ and immediately everyone goes YES

na byeol, parker, and neal caffrey debating the best rigs and cords

eliot sharing recipes and swapping them with international members for variety

specifically experimenting with jokbal for roy

breanna and eui sung exchanging memes

sophie and soo kyung sending fashion ideas and good deals (not that they need them. they’re loaded.)

hardison also participates in that thread because he will always love a good disguise

neal also participates. his menswear outfits are the most tasteful and suave

hardison and eui sung talking code and how they love their partners

hardison hyping eui sung up to accept that na byeol and roy actually love him and want to be with him because he knows what it’s like to hardcore pine

breanna spams their chat with pictures of roy’s dog. she’s working on wearing them down so they can adopt one too

IT CAN BE OUR MASCOT!!!

harry gets grifting tips from various members. everyone remembers what it’s like to be new and they think this funky little lawyer dude is neat so they give him advice

just a grifting tips thread. how to get your mark disinterested in you in five steps or less. how to seduce a person in three easy steps. how to make the perfect handoff: a guide

security system and lock picking thread that parker mods. EVERY thief fawns over everything she says because she’s parker

hitter thread where they talk about best improvised weapons (eliot dominates) and different fighting techniques

sobering thread about the most corrupt cases they’ve handled

thread where they all realize thievery and polyamory are surprisingly common (leverage ot3, con ot3, white collar ot3, etc)

which is then flooded with polyamory memes

RATE! THAT! DISGUISE! aka a thread where they tease each other over the silliest and over the top aliases and outfits they craft