Tuesday: Book Titles

[nagi_schwarz]

Hello, everyone. I’m nagi_schwarz and your host for the week. Today's theme is book titles! Prompts can be titles of individual books (fiction or nonfiction alike), anthologies, or series, such as comic books or graphic novels or webtoons.

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 the fandom's full name
No spoilers in prompts for a month after airing, or use the spoiler cut option found here. Unfortunately, DW doesn’t have a cut tag, so use your best judgment when it comes to spoilers.
If your fill contains spoilers, warn and leave plenty of space, or use the above-mentioned spoiler cut.

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...
+ Any, Any, Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (Mark Haddon)
+ Any, Any, Quantum Theory: A Very Short Introduction (John Polkinghorne)
+ Any, Any, True Beauty (Yaongyi)

We are now using 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 2024 collection. See further notes on this new option here.

Not feeling any of today’s prompts? You can use LJ’s advanced search options to limit keyword results to only comments in this community. Fret not, DW members; we are working on a way to search through old entries for prompts for you! As of right now, the best way to search for a lonely prompt on DW is to search the community’s archive, which can be found [[HERE]].

While the use of LJ's advanced search and DW’s archive are options, bookmarking the links of prompts you like might work better for searching in the future.

As a friendly reminder about our schedule, Lonely Prompts and sharing completed fills are encouraged on Sundays, while new themes and prompts are posted on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Saturdays are a Free for All day. We'll share our posts on DW and LJ for everyone's convenience. Keep an eye out for notifications!

If you have a Dreamwidth account and would feel more comfortable participating there, please feel free to do so…and spread the word! comment_fic


tag=book titles

Comments

[nagi_schwarz]

Any, Any, Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (Mark Haddon)

Fill: Spooks (MI5)

[smallhobbit]

“It was very odd,” the CIA operative was saying to Adam Carter, “I was sure I saw a dog outside my apartment last night, two or three times, but it didn’t seem to be doing anything, just watching.”

“How peculiar,” Adam replied. “We’ve had no reports of a dog from the police, who as you know have been asked to keep an eye on the property following your ‘incident’. I can ask Ros or Jo whether they noticed anything when they were there.”

“Ask Ros what?” she said, entering the Grid at that moment.

“Did you notice a strange dog last night?”

“No. I didn’t see any strange dogs,” Ros replied. “Are you sure you saw a dog?”

“Oh, definitely. It was quite clear in the moonlight.”

[nagi_schwarz]

Any, Any, Quantum Theory: A Very Short Introduction (John Polkinghorne)

[nagi_schwarz]

Any, Any, True Beauty (Yaongyi)

[nagi_schwarz]

Any, any, The Academy’s Undercover Professor (Sayren and WAG)

Fill: Stargate Atlantis, OCs + Rodney McKay + Peter Kavanagh (outsider POV)

[brumeier]

Auditing the Class

[nagi_schwarz]

Any, any, Want to see my cat? (Samtae)

[brumeier]

Any, Any, No Flying in the House (Betty Brock)

Fill: Astro HP soulmate AU, Dongmin/Minhyuk + Jeonggeun + OCs

[nagi_schwarz]

“No flying in the house,” Jung Minah said, swatting a folded paper eagle out of midair without looking away from the rice cakes she was slicing.

The paper eagle — which had been enchanted by a single charm from Minhyuk and set loose by his younger brother, Jeonggeun — tumbled to the ground.

“Eomma,” Jeonggeun protested.

Madam Jung cast a spear-sharp look over her shoulder; Minhyuk had gotten his high cheekbones and dark eyes from her — and also his intense gaze. “You know the rules. All flying, broom or otherwise, happens outside. We have guests. Behave.”

Jeonggeun turned his sly glance on Dongmin, who was sitting at the table primly, hands on his lap.

“Dongminnie-hyung’s not really a guest. He’s just Minhyukie-hyung’s soulmate —”

His voice cut off abruptly, like a television suddenly set on mute, and he clutched his throat, eyes wide with indignation.

Park Hamin, Minhyuk’s father, swept into the kitchen with a flick of a paper charm that vanished in a crackling of magical flame. “No talking back to your mother. And Lee Dongmin is not just your hyung’s soulmate — he’s an honored guest, and your future brother-in-law. Now, apologize.”

Whatever charm Park Hamin had cast wordlessly must have ended quickly, for Jeonggeun heaved an aggrieved sigh and bowed to Dongmin with exaggerated formality. “Forgive me, hyungnim.”

“It’s fine,” Dongmin said awkwardly. “Um. Doryeonim.”

That was the correct title, right? Husband’s unmarried younger brother. Not that Minhyuk was his husband — not yet. Minhyuk still had to finish school, and then —

Minhyuk appeared in the kitchen. “Jeonggeun-ah, is everything all right? I felt the charm on that eagle go out.”

“Because your brother loosed it in the house,” Madam Jung said.

Minhyuk leveled a sharp look at Jeonggeun, just like the one his mother had shot at Jeonggeun a moment ago. “You were supposed to send it to Jinwoo-hyung. I just got a text message from Dongmin’s parents. They’ll be here soon.”

Dongmin reached for his phone. “You did? I didn’t get any message.”

“Your mom didn’t want to bother you, and besides, I had to help her with directions to get here. Cell phone service gets a bit strange once they cross the wards into the prefecture.” Minhyuk leaned in and pressed a kiss to Dongmin’s cheek. “In fact, now’s the perfect time for me to renew the technology charm on your phone.”

Jeonggeun made a great show of picking up the paper eagle, smoothing its creases, and then opening the kitchen window. Mr. Park cast the charm this time, and the crane took flight, winging out the window and across the yard and through the village to Jinwoo’s house. The Park family had an apartment in Jinju City proper, as Mr. Park’s parents were Muggles, but they lived in Seongsan Village, a magical enclave that was straight out of the Joseon era.

The paper eagle carried a message, inviting Jinwoo and his family — his mother was Minhyuk’s mother’s sister — to come meet Dongmin and his family and to celebrate Dongmin and Minhyuk’s soulmate bond. Jinwoo’s father, unlike Minhyuk’s, was also wizarding-born and hailed from another magical enclave outside of Ilsan. Dongmin’s entire family, however, was Muggle.

Minhyuk’s paternal grandparents were also making the journey from Jinju to meet Dongmin — and maybe to help smooth the way for Dongmin’s Muggle family and their integration into the magical world.

Flying paper animals would not be a smooth introduction for Dongmin’s parents. During his summers home, he never performed magic, as he wasn’t allowed to till he came of age by Korean magical tradition, which was nineteen, same as the Muggle tradition, so they had never really seen it, apart from his childhood bursts of magic that had frightened them. Getting sudden explosions of fire and broken mirrors and flashes of lightning under control had been the impetus to them agreeing to let Dongmin go away to a magical boarding school.

They’d expected him to come back to Seoul and attend university. The major universities had magical departments, so even if Dongmin did make it into one of the prestigious universities all Korean parents hoped their children would qualify for, he was totally unprepared to take on a career his parents would have preferred, like doctor or lawyer or teacher.

Dongmin cleared his throat. “What about your grandparents? When will they get here?”

Madam Jung pointed to the giant circular carving on the wall. “They’re in transit.”

And Dongmin realized — the carving was not just an ornate representation of Minhyuk’s family tree. It was some kind of — gauge, like a clock with dozens of hands, each engraved with a name and a miniature portrait. Instead of hours, there were statuses: Home, Traveling, School, Work, Out With Friends, and in very bold letters, In Danger.

Currently, Mother-in-law and Father-in-law were Traveling. So the clock belonged to Madam Jung and was set to her, so to speak.

A good number of the hands pointing to Home, though suddenly Nephew Jinwoo, Nephew Jinyoujng, Sister, and Brother-in-Law shifted from Home to Traveling.

Dongmin noticed, among the hands pointing to home, a hand that read Son-in-Law, and it had his face carved on it. Something warm blossomed in his chest.

Then he heard a musical tinkling of bells, and Jeonggeun cried, “Grandma and Grandpa are here!”
He hurried for the front door, and Dongmin heard a booming voice.

“Jeonggeun-ah! Look how much you’ve grown!”

“I’m taller than hyung already,” Jeonggeun crowed, and Minhyuk rolled his eyes.

Dongmin started to rise. “Should I go greet them?” he asked.

But then Minhyuk’s grandmother said, “You’re growing too fast. Look how thin you are! Is your mother feeding you right?”

Fire flashed in Madam Jung’s eyes, but then Minhyuk’s father was headed out to the front room.

“Mom, Dad, come meet our future son-in-law,” he said.

Dongmin rose then, smoothing down his hanbok. It was the only nice one he owned, saved for special occasions like greeting his own grandparents on Hangawi and Seollal. Most Korean magical folk dressed in Joseon-era clothing as a matter of course.

Madam Jung had washed her hands and smoothed down her own hair and clothes — natural speed? Aided by magic? — by the time Minhyuk’s grandparents appeared in the kitchen.

“This must be him,” Minhyuk’s grandmother said, beaming.

Dongmin bowed. “Hello. I am Lee Dongmin.”

“Such a handsome young man is bound to our Minhyukie.” She patted his shoulder.

There was another magical chime from somewhere in the house — or maybe in the entire house — and Jinwoo and his family had arrived, and then Minhyuk’s mother’s parents arrived, and it was all bowing and rustling hanboks and introductions and old women patting Dongmin’s face.

And then there was another chime, and Jinwoo answered the door, and Dongmin heard his own father say,

“Hello. Is this Park Hamin’s home? We’re here to see our son, Lee Dongmin, and his soulmate, Park Minhyuk?”

Dongmin went to call out, but suddenly he heard his mother scream, and there was an explosion of flame and red feathers — and the Park family’s messenger bird, not an owl but a vermillion firebird, for which there was no non-magical equivalent breed, shot into the kitchen.

Madam Jung lifted her hand, ready with a paper charm. “I said no flying in the house!”

Jeonggeun caught Jujak and clutched the bundle of feathers to his chest. “He has Minhyuk and Dongmin’s final report cards, including their exam scores.”

Dongmin heard his father say, “I suppose this means we’re in the right place.”

Dongmin heard his mother say, in a tremulous voice, “Are we?”

Dongmin grabbed Minhyuk’s hand and led him out to the front room, where his parents were huddled by the front door, clutching each other.

“Mother, Father.” Dongmin bowed, and Minhyuk bowed with him. “This is my soulmate, Park Minhyuk.”

“Pleased to meet you,” Minhyuk said.

They both straightened up, and Dongmin looked at his parents, trying to read their expressions.

His parents straightened up and smoothed down their clothes. They’d also opted to wear hanboks. Minhyuk had probably warned them ahead of time.

“Welcome to our home,” Minhyuk’s father said.

A shout erupted from the kitchen. “Park Minhyuk! What’s this about a detention? You chose year six to land yourself in detention?”

Minhyuk’s eyes went wide. “Mom, I can explain!”

Only a tendril of silvery-blue magic exploded from the kitchen and yanked him through the doorway.

Dongmin’s parents gaped.

“I’ll bring some tea,” Minhyuk’s grandmother said, smiling. “What kind do you like? Chrysanthemum? Chamomile? Ginger honey?”

She produced a paper charm and placed it on a wooden tray, and teapots and cups blossomed into being, as if growing out of the tray itself.

Dongmin’s mother smiled gamely. “Chrysanthemum would be lovely.”

Dongmin’s father asked for some green tea. Then he cleared his throat. “I notice you don’t use a wand.”

“That’s very European,” Minhyuk’s grandmother said. “Which is what the boys have learned at their fancy school in Scotland. But at home, we are much more traditional.”

“Tradition is good,” Dongmin’s mother said weakly.

Minhyuk’s other grandmother patted her hand. “Welcome to the family.”

[brumeier]

Any, Any, The Dancing Floor (Elizabeth Peters)

Filled: Astro, unrequited Dongmin/Minhyuk, AO3-M for themes really

[nagi_schwarz]

The Dancing Floor

[brumeier]

Any, Any, Sons of the Wolf (Barbara Michaels)

Fill Hazbin Hotel

[cornerofmadness]

Title: The Heavy Chains Forged From Kinship

Summary: In spite of himself, Angel finds himself doing a favor for his big brother. It went as bad as he expected.

Find the story here.

[brumeier]

Any, Any, The Voice on the Radio (Caroline B. Cooney)

[brumeier]

Any, Any, Life with the Afterlife (Amy Bruni)

[cornerofmadness]

any paranormal or magical fandom, any, These Haunted Hills (by Jana Denardo)

[cornerofmadness]

Buffy the Vampire Slayer, any, The Benevolent Society of Ill-Mannered Ladies (by Alison Goodman)

Total crack, with Faith/Willow pre-get-together obvious pining

[dariaw]

"I'm not going to be in a book club," Faith said.

"It's more of a wine club, but we all pretend to have read a book," Anya said. "What? I know things about book clubs, I watch TV."

"But it'll be nice to have something normal to do. Like a girl's night!" Dawn said. "We can call our club 'Superhero and friends book club, since you all have superpowers."

Buffy wrinkled her nose. "Let's call it 'Hot Girls, Thick Books.' No, that's weird. Maybe... 'Hot Book Summer.'"

Faith laughed,"Look, I 100% approve of trying to put 'hot' in the book club name. But I'm not a retired librarian with a house full of cats and an artisan tea hobby and so I'm not joining a book club."

Willow said, sighing in reverie. "Actually, retired librarians with a house full of cats tend to be pretty spectacular in bed."

Dawn and Buffy looked surprised, while Anya nodded in agreement.

Faith looked a little... jealous.

"How about something fancy?" Dawn said, to change the subject. "Like 'The Benevolent Society of Polite Ladies? Or Polite and Not-so-Polite Ladies, depending on what you deserve'?"

"The Benevolent Society of Hot Ill-Mannered Ladies?" Buffy suggested.

"That does sound like a club I'd join," Faith said, "Just without the books."

"Fine," Willow said sweetly, "You don't have to join. I have an idea for our first book, everyone else - it's a pageturner mystery but with a really explicit sex scene between the main heroines in every chapter, so I know it's not everyone's cup of tea."

"I don't mind tea," Anya said, and the others nodded.

"Fine," Faith said, "I'll join just because I like mysteries."

"Right," Buffy said, "I'm sure that's why."

Anya ignored that and said, "So my contribution will be to read ahead to know how the mystery is solved and then tell everyone so they know what ending is coming - that's helpful, right?"

They all paused, until Dawn said, "Don't worry, I'll explain it."

[cornerofmadness]

Prodigal Son, Malcolm Bright + any, Liar City (by Allie Therin)

[cornerofmadness]

Hazbin Hotel, Angel Dust +/Husk + any, Together We Rot (by Skyla Arndt)

[cornerofmadness]

Hazbin Hotel, Angel Dust + Arackniss + any, An Unforgiving Place (by Claire Kells)

[vonseal]

Any, Any, On Earth as It Is on Television (by Emily Jane)

Fill: Astro/Stargate Atlantis, Rocky + Teyla + Ronon

[nagi_schwarz]

“Rocky,” Teyla said, smiling pleasantly as he passed her table with his lunch tray in hand. “How was your first visit to Earth?”

Rocky paused and considered. Both Teyla and Ronon had been to Earth before, more than once. They’d even lived on Earth for a little bit while Atlantis had been stuck there.

“Life on Earth is as it is on television,” Rocky said.

Ronon grunted and raised his eyebrows.

Teyla gestured to the empty seat beside her. “Tell me more. I understand you visited your teammates’ homeland.”

Rocky sat obediently beside her. She and Ronon were both on AR-1, Atlantis’s flagship first contact team, serving alongside Colonel Sheppard, who was the military commander of the expedition, and Dr. McKay, who was the chief science officer. They were legends. They were always helpful when they sparred with him, and he respected him, but they hadn’t really had occasion to have a real conversation before.

They, like Rocky, were the only non-Earthers permanently with the Atlantis Expedition.

Rocky was the only one who wasn’t fully human.

But still, they shared certain things in common.

“Like on TV? The box?” Ronon asked.

He rarely saw the point in watching the box, rumor had it, whereas Teyla loved popcorn and had watched many a movie and football game just to eat popcorn.

Rocky nodded. “Yes. It was just like Nurse Ko’s K-dramas. We went to the noraebang and jjimjilbang. We ate ramyeon and carp bread and tteokbokki from street stalls. We saw the palace and museums in the city. I even got to dress up in their traditional robes and take pictures. I think Myungjun has all the photos.”

“Did you enjoy it?” Teyla asked.

Rocky nodded. “Binnie’s family was very nice. His mother makes delicious food. It was hot and humid, but when it rained Binnie had an umbrella for me, just like on a K-drama. He didn’t lace my shoes, though. I can do that myself.”

Teyla smiled. “Perhaps I shall ask Nurse Ko if I may borrow one of her much-loved K-dramas.”

“Was it weird?” Ronon asked. “No Wraith.”

Rocky said, “It was nice. Pretending to be a human Earther is hard, though. Everyone just — knows. Songs, and books, and TV shows, and movies. And not just all the ones in Korean. So many of the ones in English too.”

“They are fortunate to have the time to build such a rich and vivid and varied culture, free of the scourge of the Wraith,” Teyla said. “We are grateful to be able to share our cultures.”

Ronon grunted and shrugged.

Rocky said, “They have so many flowers I’ve never seen before. And so many colors. I want to try some of those colors for my hair sometime.” He kept his voice low.

At that, Ronon said, “Sateda has beautiful painting inks in tones I’ve never seen anywhere else, not on Atlantis or Earth.”

Rocky heard the wistfulness in Ronon’s tone, though he supposed few others would understand it for what it was. Rocky, too, had been a Runner, fleeing the Wraith. Ronon had been turned into a Runner by the Wraith against his wall, implanted with a tracker and forced to let the Wraith chase him for sport.

They never caught him, and if they caught up to him, none of them survived the encounter.

Rocky’s people had turned him into a Runner deliberately, so he would keep the Wraith away from his home planet, which was home to a race that the Wraith would consider a superfood.

But Rocky knew the stress and peril of running all the same — and the longing for the home left behind. Now that he was no longer a Runner, he could never return home, and he wouldn’t — not till the Wraith had been subdued or eliminated entirely from the Galaxy and his seed-siblings could be safe in the golden warmth of Aroha’s sun.

Rocky said, “If you wish, sometime, I can attempt to recreate those shades and hues in my hair.”

Ronon stared at him, nodded briefly, and resumed his meal.

Teyla said, “What else did you see on Earth?”

Rocky considered what Teyla would be interested in. “We went to a playground. People often go to those at night, in K-dramas, to contemplate their lives or have serious conversations, as they are a communal gathering place. But during the day, they are reserved for small children to play, and for the elderly to exercise. Torren would very much enjoy one, I think.”

Teyla lit up. “Ah, yes, with the swings and slides and climbing walls and bars. We visited one on the mainland.”

Rocky said, “Myungjun brought some traditional robes for Torren to wear, and for you as well.”

Teyla smiled. “That is very kind of him.”

Rocky added, “Act surprised when he gives them to you.”

Ronon snorted.

Teyla inclined her head graciously. “Of course.”

“Sanha has a toy for Torren as well. A drone.”

Ronon frowned. “Like the unmanned aerial assault gliders?”

“Like McKay’s remote control car, except it flies and lights up,” Rocky said.

At that, Ronon looked interested.

“They have tactical value, can be fitted with cameras for surveillance,” Rocky said. “Also a whole bunch of them can be used to make glowing pictures in the sky.”

Ronon looked even more interested.

Teyla said, “I will have Torren compose an appropriate note of gratitude.”

Torren and the other Athosian children were skilled in writing Athosian and English.

Rocky said, “I can help him write it in Korean.”

“I would appreciate that.” Teyla smiled at him.

Ronon said, “How was the food?”

“Spicy,” Rocky said. “So spicy. Dongmin nearly cried.”

“Dongmin is native to Korea, is he not?” Teyla asked.

Ronon looked intrigued. “How spicy?”

Rocky said, “I brought back some chili powder and chili sauce. We can ask Major Lorne to use it on some beef one night.”

Ronon said, “We should.”

Rocky smiled.

Ronon said, “Are the women in Korea as pretty as they look in Nurse Ko’s K-dramas?”

Teyla raised her eyebrows at him. “I did not realize you had seen any of her dramas.”

Ronon shrugged. “Passed by once or twice on movie nights.”

Rocky said, “They’re average, like most people. Everyone is prettier on TV. Binnie’s sister is really pretty, though.”

At that, Ronon winced, and Teyla bit back a smile.

“I still like Binnie better,” Rocky said.

“Sometime,” Ronon said, “I’ll have to teach you about the Guy Code. It’s a universal human thing, no matter what planet you’re on.”

Rocky nodded. “Yes, please teach me.”

“Rule number one: you can never bag a friend’s sister.”

Rocky corrected himself. “I am not interested in Binnie’s sister at all.”

Ronon clapped him on the shoulder.

Rocky resumed eating his meal. He hoped that the next time he went back to Earth, it was just him and Bin.

[vonseal]

Any, Any, Utopia Avenue (by David Michell)

[hexmix]

Any, Any, Kiss of the Spider Woman (by Manuel Puig)

[hexmix]

Any, Any, Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World (by Murakami Haruki)

[hexmix]

Any, Any, The Secret Life of Puppets (by Victoria Nelson)

Fill: FFVIII, Zell + Seifer,

[nagi_schwarz]

“So, now you know.” Seifer’s green eyes gleamed with amusement.

He spread his hands wide — as wide as he could with the shackles clanking around his wrists, at any rate.

“The secret life of puppets. Fascinating, isn’t it?”

Zell, on the other side of the cell bars, didn’t know what to say. His memories from the orphanage weren’t nearly as complete as Irvine’s or Selphie’s, but certainly more complete than Squall’s or Quistis’s, as he hadn’t used Guardian Forces nearly as much.

“You weren’t a puppet,” Zell said, hesitant. Seifer had chosen to be the Sorceress’s Knight. Volunteered. He’d always been obsessed with glory and fame and respect, had —

“It was Matron.” The gleam in Seifer’s eyes turned fever-bright.

Zell only partially understood what that meant. He remembered the orphanage pretty well — but he, like Irvine, had also been adopted young, and whatever love or loyalty he’d had for Matron had, rightfully so, been transferred to Ma Dincht.

She was his mother. He loved her.

If she had been the sorceress and come seeking a knight, would Zell have been able to say no?
But then Seifer shook his head as if to clear it. “Whatever.”

“That’s Squall’s line, isn’t it?”

Seifer snorted. “As if. He doesn’t own that word.”

Zell didn’t want to argue. He didn’t think it was right that Seifer was in this cell, but he didn’t have the power to set Seifer free, not directly. He cleared his throat and forced himself to uncurl his fists. “You remember the orphanage really well, right? Because you didn’t have to junction to use magic.”

Seifer had had the sorceress instead.

If having a Guardian Force riding passenger in his mind was weird to Zell, how weird — or worse — would it be to have the sorceress, someone who not only was malevolent but also knew all the shadows of his childhood, weaknesses and fears that he’d forgotten but were there just under his skin, ready for the twisting?

“You slept with a stuffed moogle for forever. It was embarrassing as hell,” Seifer said.

Zell felt his cheeks heat, but he refused to rise to the bait. “Were we friends? At all? Ever?”

Seifer looked away. Then he cleared his throat and said, “Why do you want to know?”

Because if Zell could appeal to whatever latent memories Squall had, well, he still wouldn’t be nearly as manipulative as a mind-reading sorceress.

“Just curious. You don’t have anything better to do.”

Seifer looked away again, the lift of his chin deliberate and obstinate.

Zell said, “I’ll bring you a hotdog.”

Seifer’s rumbling stomach answered for him.

Zell grinned, and then he raised his voice. “Guards! Get me a couple of hotdogs. With the works.”

[templefugate]

DC, Barbara Gordon, The Bookshop Murder (Merryn Allingham)

[templefugate]

Any, any, Urge to Kill (John Lutz)

[templefugate]

The X-Files, Dana Scully & Fox Mulder, The Museum of Extraordinary Things (Alice Hoffman)

[dariaw]

The Originals, any unrelated m/m (crossover with TVD or Teen Wolf fine if wanted), A Midsummer Night's Dream

[dariaw]

The Good Place, Chidi /or& Jason, Emotional Intelligence