White Collar Single Sentence Challenge II is Now Opened

[elrhiarhodan]

Single Sentence Challenge Promptfest is BACK

Think you can’t write fanfic? Think again, because Sentence!Fest is a fun way to get your feet wet. Basically, the challenge is to tell a complete story using one sentence only.

Sounds easy, but perhaps it is not. How would you tell your story if you only had the space of one sentence? Would you use dialogue? Action? Emotion? Observation? Would it be haunting? Poetic? Sexy? Tragic?

The rules are simple: Tell a story using one sentence. It can be as long as you want it to be, but it must make sense (imaginary points will be deducted). It can be as short as you want it to be, but make those words count. Tell a story that will provoke the imagination of your readers – one they will demand to have the beginning, middle and end of from you – that is the ultimate goal. Here is an example:

Neal and Peter have the sex.

Here is a better one:

When Peter finally opened his eyes, it was to see his lover's rapt face as Neal rode him, the rising sun forming a perfect golden halo around his dark head; his savior, his angel.

Capice?

This particular ‘fest will operate like any other. Take a prompt, fill a prompt, leave a prompt. There are no limits – multiple folks can fill any and all prompts. Use them to craft a narrative if you like, but each entry must convey an entire scene within that narrative. All subject matter is fair game, so RPF/RPS is allowed. This fest is unlocked and opened to everyone who would like to write.

Cuz Sentencefest can be a little overwhelming, it will be co-moderated by myself, coffeethyme4me and rabidchild67 .

Prompts will be found in the first comments below - let the games begin.

Comments

For Coffeethyme4me - Peter and Elizabeth - A Light Snow

[elrhiarhodan]

Peter tucked her hand into the crook of his arm as the walked up the cemetery path; but she didn't care about the cold as she reached out and brushed the light coating of snow off the newly chiseled granite, tracing the letters of his name.

Re: For Coffeethyme4me - Peter and Elizabeth - A Light Snow

[ursula4x.livejournal.com]

Words that leave a chill over me.

Kate- Need to know

[veleda-k.livejournal.com]

"Please, just tell me where you hid everything," Kate says; but what she thinks is "Please, stop asking questions, because once you know too much, he'll never let you go, and the last thing I want is for you to turn out like me."

Re: Kate- Need to know

[attackfish.livejournal.com]

Oh man! I like this one. It says so much.

Neal/Alex -- Ghost: Getting Used to Being Dead Isn't Easy

[surreal-44.livejournal.com]

Continued from this series: Ghost: The Story Begins (http://elrhiarhodan.livejournal.com/218920.html?thread=6632232#t6632232)

It picks up where it left off. Eight more sentences of ghostly delight.

I. The first thing they realized was that it was hard to get anyone's attention, but it didn't take much for Satchmo to notice them, and the Burkes were bemused when Satchmo would wag and greet what appeared to be thin air.

II. It was even harder to pick up objects, and for a while, Neal and Alex were constantly sinking their hands through things instead of being able to lift them -- though oddly enough, they had no issues with floors.

III. Alex stole Peter's file; not on purpose, but accidentally, while practicing trying to hold onto objects, and she was amused and amazed when the folder became "ghostly" as well, and it took her a few hours before she could figure out how to make it solid once again -- Peter had his back turned, so he didn't see it reappear, but he was stymied when the folder he'd lost suddenly showed up, right where he'd just been working.

IV. Neal wasn't as good at picking up objects and making them vanish, but he could cool any liquid just by touching it -- he did it to Peter's shower, Elizabeth's bathwater (and Alex lectured him for hours on both occasions that they were guests, not stalkers), and he did it to Kimberly Rice's coffee at least once a week.

V. Mozzie's safehomes were fascinating, but he had one residence he stayed in more than the others, and it was the one everyone started visiting him at; Peter and Elizabeth spent at least one or two nights a week with Mozzie; Alex and Neal always came too, and they would move the salt shakers around, chill the wine to just the right temperature, and leaving lost items at the table (Jones's pen, Diana's scarf, Hughes's book) -- but they never moved anything of Mozzie's, because they wanted to visit, not drive their friend into insanity.

VI. He had the Burkes, the Harvard crew, June, and even his own family he'd run away from to visit, but Alex had almost no one left, and Neal worried about her, worried that she would just vanish or maybe just leave him, but as always, Alex seemed to just roll with the punches, and after several months of being dead, they had mastered the ability to open doors, create breezes, and throw objects around -- and immediately put those skills to good use.

VII. Keller was in hiding, but it was easy to track someone when you have no limitations on travel or monetary restrictions (or that annoying red tape Peter always worried about), and Neal spent several glorious weeks wrecking havoc (with plenty of help from Alex, of course) on Keller, until the man finally turned himself in.

VIII. Probably the best part of being ghostly was being able to influence people in subconscious ways; when Peter was stuck on a case, or distracted by grief, Neal could lean over and whisper a hint in his ear, and get Peter back on track, or when Elizabeth couldn't decide on decorations, Alex inspired her with a whole new design -- it was fun to pull strings, but Byron cautioned them to never take things too far, and that interfering with the living could cause all sorts of problems if you weren't careful.

Re: Neal/Alex -- Ghost: Getting Used to Being Dead Isn't Easy

[ursula4x.livejournal.com]

Brilliant!

Neal & Keller, spite

[daria234.livejournal.com]

*with blatant abuse of the very idea of "sentence"*

Years before Keller started kidnapping Neal's loved ones, he took something else from Neal, and back then, Neal thought it was impossible that he could ever do anything more purely motivated by spite; Neal's enemy went by another name then, but when he dug into Neal's past -- when he found what no one else could, that Neal Caffrey's real name was Matthew Keller -- he stole the name right from under him, committing crime after crime while wrapped in it, knowing that Neal would cringe every time he heard of another violent act, another stream of blood, spilled at the hands of the infamously brutal "Keller."

Re: Neal & Keller, spite

[sheenianni.livejournal.com]

Brilliant! I like this.

Keller & Neal - Spite (another end)

[daria234.livejournal.com]

Keller sees SWAT approaching the warehouse and he knows he's done, knows he has one last chance to ruin Neal (to make Neal) in every way that matters, so he offers Neal "proof" that he has killed Peter and then turns around, giving Neal an opening to strangle him with the chain on the cuffs that Neal has surely picked by now; Keller can't force his face to smile as he chokes out, but he knows that he'll be dead right in time for Peter to rush in and find that his boy Neal Caffrey has killed a man with little more than his bare hands; it will be good for Neal, Keller thinks right before it all goes, it's good that he's finally taught Neal to be a man.

Re: Keller & Neal - Spite (another end)

[doctor-fangeek.livejournal.com]

So elementally, masterfully Keller. And now I'm all sad and hurty.

El - Home Invasion

[daria234.livejournal.com]

When El was a teenager, she used to break into the homes of people she didn't like - school bullies, mean teachers, neighbors who yelled cruel things at their children or didn't take care of their pets -- just to move things around, maybe to eat a bowl of cereal and leave the dish in the sink, whatever it took to remind them that they weren't the boss of everything; she knew it did little to make them better, but it made her feel really good.

Re: El - Home Invasion

[ursula4x.livejournal.com]

I can believe El has secrets which include being her own version of a masked avenger.

El & Neal - point blank

[daria234.livejournal.com]

Even after everything, after Peter loses his career and his reputation and the respect of his boss and his team, Neal still thinks he can plead his case with Elizabeth, that she will be, once again, on his side when he asks Peter for yet another chance; she doesn't relish hurting him, but it has to be done: "Neal, I have never been on your side, I have always been on Peter's side, and in the past he needed me to help him open his heart to you, but now he needs my help to help him close it."

Re: El & Neal - point blank

[greyminerva]

Aaaah! The pain! *flails*
This is a real gutshot - slow, steady build-up and then the suckerpunch you should have seen coming.
You had it coming, Neal - but that doesn't mean it's not sad.

Neal/El - Peter directs (sort of)

[daria234.livejournal.com]

El fucked Keller to get out of there alive, and Peter understood that, and he also understood why El couldn't talk to him about it, why Peter couldn't understand what it was like, not really; he understood that it wasn't either of their fault that the silence hung between them, thick and heavy, coating their failed attempts at affection in awkward regret; he understood why El had to spend nights drinking coffee and talking with Caffrey, who has also had to give his body to keep alive (Peter doesn't know how many times, or if it was also for Keller -- Neal tells him even less than El does); Peter understood that it was wrong to feel jealous that El now seemed to find comfort in a hug from Neal, relaxing into his arms like he was safe; eventually he told that if it would help her heal, he wouldn't stand in the way if she wanted to sleep with Neal; she answered, eyes sad and heavy, "Thanks, hon," and he realized, with some reluctance, that he was right about what she needed.

Re: Neal/El - Peter directs (sort of)

[ursula4x.livejournal.com]

Oh, my, that is a grim take on that prompt. It makes me want more.

Peter/Neal -- hurt me the way you want

[daria234.livejournal.com]

Neal had asked for it, had asked Peter to do something - anything - more intense than they ever had, to play hard enough to take Neal to a different place, to make him scared enough to beg and scream and try to run so Peter could force him to stay; his exact words were, "I want you to break me, Peter, please, I need you to try, really try to break me," and reluctantly Peter agreed; Neal spent all day dreaming of whips and canes and brands and enormous toys, and so when it started, he felt the thrill of anticipation, his breath quickening as Peter grabbed his hair and slowly bent him over the table, as Peter leaned in close, his breath hot on Neal's ear; Neal struggled, then, trying to get away, when he realized what Peter was planning to do to him, and it was real fear, it was terrifying, but Peter gripped tighter, held him there by his hair and his tied arms and the force of his body on Neal's, as Neal tried to squirm out of his grip; Neal cried and begged, but Peter kept on whispering in Neal's ears, giving voice to every thing they had long been scared to say out loud, every reason they doubted each other, every cruel truth they had the tact not to say, every way they blamed each other, and especially - and most painfully - everything that Peter had pretended not to know about Neal so Neal could feel sheltered, could feel protected from Peter's gaze; Peter held him there until he was done, ignoring Neal's tears, his begging, his fighting to get away, and when it was over, he held Neal tight as he whimpered, naked in Peter's arms, hoping he hadn't gone too far.

Re: Peter/Neal -- hurt me the way you want

[greyminerva]

Fan-fucking-tastic.
Breathtaking.
Amazing.

This is just what I like, Neal begging for it, Peter trying to give it to him; what he NEEDS, not what he WANTS or THINKS he needs.
This was a whole bucketload of hurt, and I'm ready for some serious comfort now. ;)

June - icicles

[daria234.livejournal.com]

June finds an odd satisfaction in knocking the icicles off her terrace, watching the spears shoot downward and burst into sparkling bits; it makes her feel like she's chatting with winter, and they're both feeling pleasantly sharp of tongue.

Re: June - icicles

[greyminerva]

Beautiful verbal picture.

Neal -- Deadline

[sheenianni.livejournal.com]

Despite his past, Neal knows enough about deadlines, or “expiration dates”, as Mozzie sometimes calls them; there was a deadline to the Adler con, there was an expiration day to Nick’s relationship with Kate, there was a deadline to catching the bad guys the first and even the second time when Peter got him out of prison, but somehow, Neal has always managed to work even with those in mind; today, Neal feels like he can’t breathe, and he wonders whether there is an expiration date to his friendship with Peter as well – and that’s even before he finds the key and the note on his table.

Re: Neal -- Deadline

[ursula4x.livejournal.com]

I hope there isn't an expiration date on his friendship with Peter.

June -- Free fall

[sheenianni.livejournal.com]

June has always known Neal Caffrey was something; but when she reads about his swan dive out of the judge’s chambers, she both laughs and tears, being reminded of the first time she met Byron, right after he jumped two floors and fallen maybe ten meters away from her and then ended up hiding behind the bar in her little shop and changing into his other set of clothes while the cops outside searched the area; she also hopes that just like Byron, Neal will come home safely again, and soon.

Re: June -- Free fall

[ursula4x.livejournal.com]

Go, June. I love the way you write her.

All In

[ursula4x.livejournal.com]

Neal's smile was warmer and more genuine that Moz had ever seen it as he walked away with Peter and El; it reminded Moz of playing hide and seek at the orphanage...ally ally in free, the kids would shout and Moz would still be hiding, never beaten, but no one cared to find him...no one.

Re: All In

[attackfish.livejournal.com]

*wraps arms around him*

Neal/El opening up

[ursula4x.livejournal.com]

If they ever lost him, El wanted to remember Neal like this...slightly mussed, hair spilling over his forehead, teeth white as he grinned...Neal was happy as the children for whom they would soon open the doors to Santa's workshop to receive more than gifts...a brief trip to imagination and promises of love before they returned to the hard world outside.

Forging Bonds

[ursula4x.livejournal.com]

It said something about Peter that the first thing he forged when he finally found the hobby that his doctor told him he needed was a delicate gold anklet to replace the electronic one that Neal no longer was required to wear....El saw her initials entwined with Peter's in the pattern, but she suspected that Peter needed to own them both rather than share his claim on Neal.

Neal/Alex -- Ghost: Saving Agent Burke

[surreal-44.livejournal.com]

Continued from this series: Neal/Alex -- Getting Used to Being Dead Isn't Easy (http://elrhiarhodan.livejournal.com/218920.html?thread=6753320#t6753320)

Eight more sentences for the adventures of ghost!Neal and ghost!Alex


I. A year had passed since their deaths; their friends still grieved, but things were getting back to normal for them, and then a new, dangerous criminal surfaced, and he had his sights set on one target -- Peter Burke, and suddenly being ghosts was more about business than pleasure.

II. The man didn't scare easily, and it was harder to manipulate him; Byron had mentioned that some people were more sensitive to ghosts and could see them, while others could somehow just block them out, and obviously Joe Deering was one of those people, and it wasn't until he had Peter cornered that Neal and Alex were finally spotted by Peter.

III. Deering had a gun trained on Peter, backup was locked out of the old factory, a clever trap by a criminal bent on revenge, and Peter was already bleeding from a gunshot wound to the shoulder when Neal and Alex finally figured out where they were.

IV. When Deering pulled the trigger again, Alex flung herself in front of the bullet and when it "hit" her, she turned it ghostly so that it passed right through Peter, while Neal froze the water in a puddle Deering walked through to cause the man to slip and fall.

V. "Neal?" Peter asked cautiously, as if he couldn't believe what he saw, and then he looked over and noticed Alex was there as well....he let out a startled yelp, and then he paused, and asked, "Wait, you're the one who turns my showers cold?"

VI. "In the flesh...sort of, and you finally see me, and the first thing you ask about is your showers?" Neal demanded, but he was grinning with relief while Alex trod over to Deering and made his gun vanish before she whacked him in the head with a metal bar, and then she looked over at Neal and said, "I told you to stop messing with his showers, Neal, what is he going to think?".

VII. Once Deering was no longer a threat, Peter slumped down on the cold floor of the abandoned factory and closed his eyes, his brain beginning to fade out even as he tried to sort out whether that was really Neal calling his name or if he was imagining the cold pressing against the terrible heat of the bullet wound...when he woke up, Diana was kneeling over him, Jones was calling for an ambulance, and Neal and Alex were out of sight, leaving him to wonder if he'd seen them, or if they'd just been a hallucination.

VIII. A week later, Peter was still at home, with plenty of questions about what had happened, and no answers, and then he glanced up just in time to see Satchmo trot over to thin air, tail wagging, and Peter smiled.

Re: Neal/Alex -- Ghost: Saving Agent Burke

[ursula4x.livejournal.com]

That is lovely...a perfect end to this story.

Blossom-Satchmo

[ursula4x.livejournal.com]

In the summer, the blossoms that fell in the yard were soft and smelled like Momma El; in the winter, Satchmo was puzzled when the flowers from the sky were cold and wet...they vanished when they hit his black nose.

Re: Blossom-Satchmo

[surreal-44.livejournal.com]

That is so precious. <3 Satchmo

Home Invasion-Satchmo

[ursula4x.livejournal.com]

Like Uncle Neal, Satchmo could not resist the lure of the open gate....like Daddy Peter, Satchmo had to do the right thing when he found the tiny kitten crying in the snow....he carried it home and deposited his own mini home invasion in Momma El's lap.

Re: Home Invasion-Satchmo

[surreal-44.livejournal.com]

This is darling. Satchmo is such a cutie, and awww, kitten!

I bet the Burkes couldn't bear to turn the little one away. Heeeee. Softies.

Mozzie – dreams

[ursula4x.livejournal.com]

The third time that Mozzie had the dream where a room full of gold turned molten, crept up his paralyzed legs until it burned into his mouth and smothered him; he finally got the message and gave up the treasure.

Re: Mozzie – dreams

[veleda-k.livejournal.com]

Heh, he catches on eventually.

Nice work, I really like the imagery.

Prisoner's Dilemma

[ursula4x.livejournal.com]

"Forgive me," Neal had said, "I'll do anything," but had he meant this exquisite suffering, night after night, Peter's brutal thrusts and El's soft seductions...never allowed to come.

Mozzie- Forging bonds

[veleda-k.livejournal.com]

When Neal calls, voice choked with relief, to say "She's safe," thoughts of his own private island fade from Mozzie's head to be replaced by other images--Elizabeth laughing (with him, never at him); Neal and Peter, their heads bent over some problem before Neal looks up and says, "Moz, we could use you expertise," while Peter pretends to be annoyed--and, feeling strangely warm, Mozzie wonders if this is what Neal's been trying to tell him all along.



Dare

Re: Mozzie- Forging bonds

[surreal-44.livejournal.com]

\o/ Wonderful!

Neal - Under the Radar

[doctor-fangeek.livejournal.com]

With Agent Burke getting a bit too close for comfort, Neal knows that he should be laying low, trying to fly under the radar, but he’s taken the time to learn so much about his pursuer – an unhealthy amount, Moz would say, in fact has said – and he finds that he can’t resist, either calling the man (on his personal cell phone, of course) to congratulate him on his near miss, or sending the beautiful Mrs. Burke flowers to apologize for dragging her husband across the country on the eve of their anniversary.


Authors Note (warning for shameless self-promotion): While this sentence totally stands alone, it's actually a reference to a story I wrote called, "Five Times Peter Burke Didn't Arrest Neal Caffrey," which can be found here:

http://doctor-fangeek.livejournal.com/2154.html#cutid1

And I now return you to your regularly scheduled sentence!fic. :-)

Re: Neal - Under the Radar

[ursula4x.livejournal.com]

I know and love that story.

Neal -- The portrait

[sheenianni.livejournal.com]

When Mozzie tells him, Neal’s first thought is that now Peter can catch him, and he concentrates solely on rectifying that problem; yet when he comes home later and sees the empty easel there, he thinks about “Morning in Mortmartre”, “Girl with the daisies”, “Swallows on their way to Egypt” and even that cursed Chrysler painting; he angrily knocks down the easel and wonders, what gave Mozzie the right to destroy two years of his work?

Re: Neal -- The portrait

[attackfish.livejournal.com]

That's got to hurt. I wish I could see this one expanded.

Neal - Vital Signs, Bad Judgment

[doctor-fangeek.livejournal.com]

As Neal lays on the gurney trying not to think about the pain in his leg while the EMT takes his vitals, it occurs to him that perhaps he hadn’t used the best judgment, goading their suspect in an attempt to draw his attention, but the op was going south, fast, and the guy had been this close to shooting Peter; and besides, it was worth it, Neal thinks, as he sees Elizabeth get out of the nondescript black sedan that’s just pulled up to the scene and rush over to pull her husband into a tight embrace.

Re: Neal - Vital Signs, Bad Judgment

[ursula4x.livejournal.com]

I like hero Neal.

Satchmo -- Hard Sell

[surreal-44.livejournal.com]

Elizabeth had been quite firm that she did not want any pets -- she and Peter were both career-driven people, and a pet would only tie them down, (not to mention the expense, and the shedding...) but as she gazed into both sets of wide brown eyes, she felt her resolve melting away, and she patted the tiny puppy in Peter's arms, "Fine, but only if I get to name him," she agreed with a smile.

Re: Satchmo -- Hard Sell

[doctor-fangeek.livejournal.com]

Awwwww. How can she not be taken in by puppy!Satchmo (who just about stole "Forging Bonds" in his 20 seconds of screen time).