Tuesday: 100 Words on the 1940s

[brumeier.livejournal.com]

Hi! I’m brumeier, and this week we’re going to be filling decade-specific themes, using 100 words or any multiple of 100. Today’s theme is the 1940s. Your prompts and fills can be anything and everything related to life in the 40s, including decade-specific songs, events, and movie quotes!

Just a few rules:
No more than five prompts in a row.
No more than three prompts in the same fandom.
Use the character's full names and fandom's full name for ease adding to the Lonely Prompts spreadsheet.
No spoilers in prompts for a month after airing, or use the spoiler cut option found here.
If your fill contains spoilers, warn and leave plenty of space, or use the spoiler cut.
If there are possible triggers in your story, please warn for them in the subject line!

Prompts should be formatted as follows: [Use the character's full names and fandom's full name]
Fandom, Character +/ Character, Prompt

Some examples to get the ball rolling...

+ Stargate Multiverse, Any, “Look I probably should have told you this before but you see... well... insanity runs in my family... It practically gallops.” (Arsenic & Old Lace, 1944)

+ MI5|Spooks, Any, a serial radio show

+ Any, Any, meeting on the eve of the WWII

+ Marvel Cinematic Universe, Any,

I'll be seeing you
In every lovely summer's day
In everything that's light and gay
I'll always think of you that way
(Billie Holiday)

We use AO3 to bookmark filled prompts. If you fill a prompt and post it to AO3 please add it to the Bite Sized Bits of Fic from 2016 collection. See further notes on this new option here.

Not feeling any of today’s prompts? Check out Lonely Prompts Spreadsheet 1 (not very current), Lonely Prompts Spreadsheet 2, or the Calendar Archives, or for more recent prompts, you can use LJ's advanced search options to find prompts to request and/or fill.

While the Lonely Prompts Spreadsheets and LJ's advanced search options are available, bookmarking the links of prompts you like might work better for searching for in the future.

tag=100 words/1940s

Comments

[brumeier.livejournal.com]

Stargate Multiverse, Any, “Look I probably should have told you this before but you see... well... insanity runs in my family... It practically gallops.” (Arsenic & Old Lace, 1944)

[brumeier.livejournal.com]

MI5|Spooks, Any, a serial radio show

Fill: Adam & Lucas

[thesmallhobbit.livejournal.com]

Adam Carter came into the small room he was currently sharing with Lucas North and was about to speak to him when Lucas held up his hand to stop him speaking. Adam sat down on his bed and waited patiently.

A few minutes later familiar music came over the wireless set, and the announcer’s voice said, “Tune in next week for another thrilling instalment of The Inspector Durin Mysteries.”

Lucas switched the wireless off and said, “So, are we good to go?”

“Yes, we’re cleared for departure tomorrow morning. Giving plenty of time to get back for the next episode.”

[brumeier.livejournal.com]

Any, Any, meeting on the eve of the WWII

Fill 400: Astro, gen (WWII in Asia began in 1937, so...)

[nagi-schwarz.livejournal.com]

The man’s nametag reads Fujimiya Akira but Myungjun assured Bin a dozen times that he’s Korean.

“Is it true?” Bin asks.

The man glances up, then resumes inspecting the papers that Myungjun also assured Bin, two dozen times, will pass inspection.

Bin clears his throat. “What they’re saying. About taking girls to work in factories.”

The man flicks a glance at Sua, who’s standing half behind Bin’s shoulder. Eomma cried as she cut Sua’s hair. Bin was forced to stand in the corner and face the wall while Eomma and Grandma helped Sua bind her chest flat. Bin’s clothes are a little too big on her, but at least she’ll be warm. A newsboy cap shadows her features, and she has a bit of dirt smeared on her face for good measure.

“Girls aren’t going to factories.” The man nods and slides the identity and travel documents into a leather folio. They pass inspection.

Bin hands over the money. His family has gone hungry before. They will go hungry again if it means Sua will be safe. The man counts the money, lips moving silently, expression unreadable. He pockets it.

“It’s time to go.” He beckons to Sua.

She makes a small sound of distress. Bin turns to her and speaks softly in Korean.

“You’ll be safe. Myungjun-hyung promised.”

Bin used to despair of Sua’s crush on his older friend. Now he’s pathetically glad for it, because she brightens and nods and then skitters over to stand beside the other man.

Bin adds, “I love you.”

Sua nods but doesn’t speak. Bin has a soft, light voice for a man his size. Sua’s voice is even lighter and will give her away.

The man turns to go, and Bin says, “What’s your name?” Real name goes unspoken.

The man bows - the Korean way - and says, “I’m Park Minhyuk.”

Akira. Bright. Minhyuk.

Bin nods and bows in return. “I’m Moon Bin.”

Minhyuk says, “I’ll make sure your younger brother joins your American relatives.”

It’s not an easy promise to make. Japan invaded China three years ago. Bin’s people have been cannon-fodder for much longer.

“I’ll see you again,” Bin promises his sister. It’s an even harder promise to make.

Sua nods and waves, and Minhyuk leads her to the other end of the dock, where the ship waits.

Bin slips into the darkness himself. Now to rescue his mother and grandmother.

[brumeier.livejournal.com]

Marvel Cinematic Universe, Any,

I'll be seeing you
In every lovely summer's day
In everything that's light and gay
I'll always think of you that way
(Billie Holiday)

FILL: Be Seeing You

[jennytork.livejournal.com]

The slow song plays into the silent room.

"I'll be seeing you
In every lovely summer's day
In everything that's light and gay
I'll always think of you that way"

It's silly.

He's been gone for years.

She'll never see him again.

"I'll be seeing you...."

A knock on her door.

Sighing, she opens it to the impossible.

He's there. He smiles.

She gapes.

He holds out a hand.

"Miss Carter -- I do believe you promised me a dance."

[brumeier.livejournal.com]

Prodigal Son, Malcolm Bright, Odd Man Out (1947)

[ami-ven.livejournal.com]

Hogan's Heroes, ensemble, the day Stalag 13 is liberated

[ami-ven.livejournal.com]

Doctor Who + MCU, Jack Harkness + Peggy Carter, (after Steve's plane goes in the ice) - Germany never knew what hit it

[brumeier.livejournal.com]

Hawaii Five-0, Steve McGarrett/Danny Williams, My Favorite Blonde (1942)

[brumeier.livejournal.com]

Sherlock, Any, The Naked and the Dead (Norman Mailer)

Fill: Sherlock & Greg Lestrade

[thesmallhobbit.livejournal.com]

The young woman was huddled in a sheet, at the furthest corner of the bed. Sherlock took one look at her and told Lestrade to let her go.

“She had nothing to do with this,” he said. “Find her some clothes and tell her to go home.”

“But…” Lestrade protested.

“Randall was shot from the doorway. She wouldn’t have seen a thing, the killer stood behind the door.”

Sherlock bent down to peer at the body. “This is what comes of trying to double cross Wyatt.”

“How?”

“The shoes, Lestrade, traces of the same paint we found in Wyatt’s warehouse.”

[brumeier.livejournal.com]

Trixie Belden Mysteries/The Three Investigators, Trixie Belden/Jupiter Jones, “Kiss me. Kiss me as if it were the last time.” (Casablanca)

[svgurl.livejournal.com]

MCU, Steve/Peggy, a stolen moment

[svgurl.livejournal.com]

any, any, I'll never smile again
Until I smile at you (Frank Sinatra- "I'll Never Smile Again")

Fill (500): Stargate Atlantis, John Sheppard/Lyle Holland + Nancy Sheppard

[brumeier.livejournal.com]

John was uncomfortable, even with the heavy dose of morphine that was moving through his veins. There was pain, muffled under the drugs, and John was a little afraid of it, afraid what would happen if the meds wore off.

“Hey, flyboy.”

There was the scrape of a chair across the floor and then a hand on John’s arm. It took a lot of effort to turn his head, but the smile was easy and genuine.

“Hey. Dutch.”

“Look at you, laying around like a penguin.”

“I’ll be up before you know it,” John said.

He and Dutch had come over together. They were best friends. More than, really, though they had to keep that on the Q.T. Funny that John had to come to a warzone to find the one person that made him happy. The world had turned on its head.

“You sure will,” Dutch said, and he had a funny look on his face. “But it won’t be here.”

John struggled to clear the cotton out of his head. “What?”

“You’re on the home front express, Shep.”

That couldn’t be right. It was just a little shrapnel, courtesy of a dogfight his last mission. He’d brought his boys and the B-52 back to base. He could still fly.

John struggled to sit up, and then lost his breath when a sharp pain speared through his side. Dutch scowled and pushed him gently back on the bed.

“Knock that off before you tear yourself back open.” Dutch arranged the blanket to hide that he was holding John’s hand. “You’re lucky to be alive.”

John didn’t feel lucky, if it meant going home. His wife Nancy waited there, diligently keeping the home fires burning while she helped the Red Cross and participated in rubber drives and wrote John a letter a week, without fail.

Dear, sweet Nancy, who could never understand who John really was.

“I can’t go,” John insisted. “I’m your good luck charm, remember?”

Dutch had dubbed him that early on, when John and his crew survived mission after mission, regardless of the odds stacked against them. Even with engine failure. Even with John torn up by shrapnel.

“I’ll be okay,” Dutch said, and he smiled a sad smile. “So will you. That’s what really matters.”

He didn’t make any promises, and John knew better than to ask.

It wasn’t much of a goodbye, but it was the only one they got to have. Dutch had a mission to fly, and John had to catch the next transport bound for the States.

Being home was strange. Being home with Nancy was stranger still, and she didn’t seem to know what to do with him beyond caring for his wounds and making sure he ate.

“You’re not the same,” she said once, after she’d had a little too much to drink. “You don’t smile anymore.”

The day the letter came, sent on by one of Dutch’s friends as his dying request, John felt like he’d never smile again.

[sherlockian-syn.livejournal.com]

Hawaii Five-0, Steve McGarrett/Danny Williams, visiting the Pearl Harbor National Memorial

[svgurl.livejournal.com]

any, any, And that’s where the whole trouble is. We’re too much alike to understand each other because we don’t even understand our own selves. (A Tree Grows in Brooklyn- Betty Smith)

[sherlockian-syn.livejournal.com]

Marvel Cinematic Universe, Steve Rogers +/ Bucky Barnes, listening to the radio and hearing news about the war

Fill -- Brooklyn, 7 December 1941 (way more than 100 words)

[vanillafluffy.livejournal.com]

When Steve returns from early Mass, Bucky is awake and bustling around the kitchen. Steve hangs up his overcoat and sniffs appreciatively at the sweet scent of ham frying. That’s a big treat for them.

“Just wait til you see what I’ve got,” his pal says, pushing the contents around the skillet with a fork. “They gave me a whole bag of leftovers after the party. We’re gonna be eating good for days.”

“Yeah? Like what?” Steve crosses the living room and starts investigating the bleak kitchen.

Bucky opens the door of the icebox, revealing the rest of the ham. The bone juts out of a pink and brown lump that’s at least a pound and a half of meat. Steve almost drools. Ham and eggs. Ham sandwiches. Ham and cheese, maybe, if they can afford cheese. And when the ham is done, there’s still the bone to make soup with.

“That’s not all!” Bucky transfers the ham to a plate. “They gave all us waiters new shirts--nice shirts! And food--I mean, they fed us before the guests got there.”

“Probably wouldn’t look good if the waiters were eating all the hors d’ouevers,” Steve points out.

“Most places would can us on the spot for that. Anyway, I hung around afterward, offered to help clean up…the guy in charge was swell, he bagged up a bunch of stuff, said there was no point letting it go to waste. I guess rich people don’t go for leftovers--”

“Must be nice.”

“So, we got the ham--” He opens a cupboard door. “--half a cherry pie, a bunch of little dinner rolls, a jar of pickled onions and olives from the bar, and fruit!”

Steve stares as Bucky sets their mixing bowl on the counter. “Are those oranges?” he asks in disbelief.

“Four oranges, eight apples and two lemons.”

“Looks like Christmas came early this year!” Steve laughs joyfully, and Bucky grins back.

“We’ll have our own Christmas party,” Bucky suggests, breaking the eggs into the pan with a splash of milk. “Turn on the radio, Stevie. Can’t have a party without music.”

The old Bakelite set is playing something lively by Cab Calloway. Steve lays out day-old newspaper on the table in lieu of a tablecloth and Bucky dishes up breakfast.

It’s late morning. Breakfasting at this hour feels decadent, somehow. Plus, they’ve got days worth of food, food they didn’t have to spend money on! And since it’s December, there are sure to be more parties for Bucky to work at, which should mean more money than usual, and maybe even more ‘leftovers’. It’s a happy prospect.

The eggs are fluffy and the ham is tender. They split a roll to wipe their plates clean with. Steve feels full, a rare sense of satisfaction. He’s staring at his empty plate, having pleasant fantasies about fruit and pie and more of the delightful ham, when “In the Mood” screeches to a halt.

“We’re sorry to interrupt your listening pleasure--” The announcer’s voice is shaking. It almost sounds like he’s crying. “--with this urgent news. There has been an attack on the American fleet at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Details are still coming to us, but it seems that several ships have been sunk…God bless America.”

The mike goes dead…that was definitely a sob. The music comes back on a moment later. Not Glenn Miller--something more classical and somber with a slow drumbeat in the background.

Steve and Bucky stare at each other. “What do you think is going to happen now?”

“I wish I knew. But I guess we’ll find out soon enough.” Bucky glares the radio as if he thinks it’s going to start spewing more bad news at any moment.

The convivial atmosphere of their extravagant meal is gone. The answer to Steve’s question comes soon enough: America is going to war. The Christmas season is no longer joyful as news and rumors alike circulate. Clearly, changes are in the wind.

For the rest of his life, Steve Rogers will never taste ham and eggs without remembering the morning when everything changed.

…

[svgurl.livejournal.com]

any, any, “I loved you when I saw you today and I loved you always but I never saw you before.” (For Whom the Bell Tolls- Ernest Hemingway)

[sherlockian-syn.livejournal.com]

Sherlock, Sherlock Holmes +/ any, stolen World War II memorabilia

Fill:

[thesmallhobbit.livejournal.com]

“But Mr Holmes, I don’t understand. Why would anyone steal my father’s medals? They’re not valuable; he only had the 1939 to 1945 War Medal and the Atlantic Star.”

“The Atlantic Star?” Sherlock said sharply.

“Yes. But there must be hundreds around, it was awarded to almost all those who served in the navy.”

“Except you’re the third person called Hargreaves to have had an Atlantic Star stolen.” Sherlock paused, then called, “John, come on! We need to visit the auction house.”

With a quick, “Thank you, Mr Hargreaves, you’ve been very helpful,” John hurried out after the departing Sherlock.

[sherlockian-syn.livejournal.com]

Stargate Atlantis, John Sheppard/Rodney McKay, John has chosen The Maltese Falcon for movie night

[sherlockian-syn.livejournal.com]

Any K-pop/K-drama, any m/m, To Have and Have Not (1944)

[brumeier.livejournal.com]

Stargate Atlantis, John Sheppard/Rodney McKay, they were both present at the Trinity test (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trinity_(nuclear_test))

[brumeier.livejournal.com]

Any, Any, “You’ve got an old-fashioned idea divorce is something that lasts forever, ‘til death do us part.” (His Girl Friday)

[svgurl.livejournal.com]

any, any, “I don't want realism. I want magic!” (A Streetcar Named Desire- Tennessee Williams)

Fill (700): Trixie Belden Mysteries/Three Investigators, Trixie Belden/Jupiter Jones + Pete Crenshaw

[brumeier.livejournal.com]

Hollywood, 1940-something

“Cut!”

Trixie blew out a frustrated breath. Mitch hadn’t let them get through a whole scene yet, and the day was half over. If she didn’t get something to eat soon, she was going to faint dead away right in front of the cameras.

“Trixie, sweetheart. What’s the problem?”

“You said to play it in a way I could relate to,” Trixie explained. She tried not to lose her temper, but it had been a long day. “It doesn’t make sense for Louise to throw herself at Lennie’s feet and lay there sobbing as he walks away.”

“She’s sad,” Mitch said. “Really, really sad.”

“Yes, I know. But every other time she’s on screen, we’ve shown what a strong and capable woman she is. She wouldn’t just crumble like that. It’s not realistic.”

“I don’t want realism! I want magic!”

“And I want a sandwich.”

Trixie walked away before she said something regrettable. Pete almost immediately fell into step with her.

“You’re right. That scene is a stinker.”

“Can’t you talk to him?” Trixie asked, looking up at Pete. “He listens to you.”

Pete was Mitch’s right-hand man, one step up from a union PA. If someone gave him half a chance, he’d be directing his own movies. Pete had a great eye for setting a scene.

“I’ll see what I can do. Let’s get you that sandwich.”

Trixie didn’t care about the shooting schedule. She and Pete went to the commissary for lunch. She didn’t each much. Fresh-faced young actresses were supposed to have trim figures, and some of the directors Trixie worked with could be cruel about weight gain.

“I just wish I could make one picture where my character’s happiness wasn’t hung on the male lead.”

“You’ll get better parts,” Pete promised. “Once you’ve had a little more exposure, the sky’s the limit for you.”

Trixie sighed. “I wish you were a civilian. It would be easy for a girl to fall for you.”

Pete blushed, and changed the subject. Trixie had suspicions about him, but she wasn’t one to judge. Anyone as sweet as him deserved to be happy.

“They still haven’t found who’s behind the prop thefts,” Pete said conspiratorially. “I hear the head honcho is bringing in outside help.”

Burt Lorber was the head of Terrell Studios, and not a guy to be crossed. If his private security wasn’t cutting the mustard, things really must be serious. If Trixie had any free time, she’d have helped out. Solving mysteries had been her thing as a kid.

Fully fortified, Trixie went back to the studio and Pete went in search of the script writer to talk about Trixie’s take on her character.

Mitch was in a heated argument with Kurt, the actor playing Lennie, so she grabbed a seat behind the cameras and waited patiently. Less than a minute later a complete stranger dropped into the chair beside hers.

“Is he always like this?” the guy asked.

Trixie gave him a side-eyed look, noting absently that he was good-looking, if you liked hair with a natural wave and a strong chin. He couldn’t have been much older than she was, though guessing people’s ages in Hollywood was a fool’s game.

“This is a closed set,” she replied.

The guy held up a lanyard that he hadn’t bothered putting around his neck. “Mr. Lorber gave me a free pass.”

He wasn’t press. As much as Lorber liked to wine and dine them, they weren’t allowed unsupervised access. So, this guy was either a relative, or –

“You’re here to stop the prop thefts,” Trixie said. “Aren’t you a little young for a detective?”

“I wasn’t aware of an obligatory age for deducing the truth about people.”

He sounded like her brother Mart. He liked using big words too.

“Jupe! Hey, I see you met Trixie.” Pete was suddenly standing between their chairs, a hand on the guy’s shoulder. “This is my old pal, Jupiter Jones. I didn’t know you were on the case.”

“I am, and I better get to it.”

As Jupiter walked away, Pete leaned close to Trixie’s ear. “He’s a civilian.”

A handsome civilian who solved mysteries? Trixie’s day was looking up.

[nagi-schwarz.livejournal.com]

Marvel Cinematic Universe, Tony Stark, “I am become death, the destroyer of worlds” (from the Bhagavad Gita, quoted by Oppenheimer at the Trinity Test)

Fill (300): MCU/SGA, Tony Stark + Rodney McKay

[brumeier.livejournal.com]

The light was blinding in its initial intensity, searing, without any build-up or warning. They all shielded their eyes, but Tony couldn’t look away. As the initial intensity dropped, the light became yellow, red, and finally a pure, deep purple before turning to smoky white. It rose into the sky like a toadstool engulfed in flame, miles high at its peak.

The roar of the shockwave was delayed, but the heat wasn’t. Even at the distance base camp was from the test site, it felt like being in an oven. They’d been prepared for a yield of between five and ten kilotons, but Tony watched and did calculations in his head, and knew they’d gotten much more than that.

It was a miraculous feat of science and engineering, unlike any the world had ever seen. Or might ever see again.

As the light faded and the dust started to clear, most of the assembled crowd of military, scientists, and specially selected VIPs cheered and danced and congratulated themselves on a job well done.

Tony didn’t feel like celebrating.

“Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds,” he said to himself.

“Do you have to be so morbid?” Dr. McKay snapped.

He wasn’t celebrating either, his normally twisted mouth pressed into a thin, white line.

“Tell me I’m wrong,” Tony challenged. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw the flare of the mushroom cloud.

“It’s necessary. We don’t have to like it, but we need it.”

Tony understood the rationale. Germany was likely putting together massive weapons of their own, and the Allies needed an edge. That didn’t make it any less palatable, having a hand in creating something so unbelievably destructive.

“We won’t have to use it,” McKay said. “The threat will be enough.”

“I hope you’re right.”

[nagi-schwarz.livejournal.com]

Stargate Multiverse, any, Swinging on a Star (Bing Crosby, 1944)

[nagi-schwarz.livejournal.com]

The Untamed, Wei Wuxian, I Don’t Want to Set the World on Fire (The Ink Spots, 1941)