Friday: Lines From a Book

[mahmfic.livejournal.com]

Hello everyone. As you may know, I am mahmfic and today is my last day of pinch-hitting for the week. You guys have been fantastic!

I hope you have fun with today's theme Lines from a book. All prompts should be quotes from novels. Pick up the closest book to you and flip to a random page, Google your favorite novel and find some quotes from it, go to Goodreads.com, search for a book and find a quote that strikes you from the novel. Though not required, it would be nice to include the source of the quote you used in your prompt for others to see.

Have a great weekend!

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 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...
+ Doctor Who, 12th Doctor/Missy, "If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals." (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by JK Rowling)
+ Vikings (TV), Ragnar Lothbrok/Ahtelstan, "Is your modesty worth death?" (Irrevocable by Skye Callahan)
+ Cabin Pressure, Arthur/Any, "I love you above all things, even pie." (Fool by Christopher Moore)


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 2014 collection. See further notes on this new option here.


Not feeling any of today’s prompts? Check out the just created lonely prompt spreadsheet. For more recent prompts to write, you can also use LJ’s advanced search options to limit keyword results to only comments in this community.


tag=linesfromabook

Comments

[classics-lover.livejournal.com]

Iron Man Movieverse, any/any, "I thought they'd killed you. I lost my temper." (Immortals, Tamora Pierce)

Fill - Burn, Burn, the Fire 1/2(?)

[evil-little-dog.livejournal.com]

Tony wakes in the hospital this time. It's a novel experience, as he's pretty sure he'd been in some massive fight with...with...well, all right, so his mind is blank, but he remembers a fight, and lots of laser-y type things and the Hulk, and someone shouting his name as he was falling and...

And nothing. A big, fat goose egg. And as he blinks and looked around (carefully, because his skull feels like that big, fat goose egg, with the gosling trying to peck and kick it's way out), he's surprised to see no one here in the room. Well, no one he recognizes, as there's someone who looks an awful lot like 'protection' by the sheer amount of muscle fighting the confines of what looks like a very expensive suit, probably tailored to hide at least one gun. Tony decides Nastasha would probably approve before he tries to clear his throat (realizing that's a terrible idea when his throat protests enough to nearly send him back unconscious from the sheer pain).

"Sir," the man says, in a voice that reminds Tony of gravel in a cement mixer, "you're awake."

"Mm." A hum is a lot easier than words, but Tony's got a lot of words, and some of them have to escape. "Where am I? No, hospital. Ow. Where's...scratch that. No, wait. Where's Pepper?"

Because, Pepper. She'd been there, Tony remembers. She'd been there, and fighting because of the Extremis, and...and...

"Sir, let me get a doctor."

"Get Pepper," Tony orders and manages to contain his wince until after the man vanishes through the door.

The doctor is young, younger than Tony expects, and tiny compared to the guard. "Mr. Stark, so glad you're awake!" he chirps, and checks the chart. "That's very good."

Tony blinks, a little surprised. "Was there a chance I wouldn't wake up?"

The doctor stops and looks at him, his expression confused for a second, then it smooths out. "No, of course not!" His attempt at heartiness fails. "I'm Dr. Jones, I've been keeping an eye on you."

"You, him," Tony indicates his guard, "but I want to know, where is Pepper Potts? About three inches taller than you flat-footed, with strawberry blond hair, and likely to be sarcastic rather than worried unless she's really upset?"

Dr. Jones shifts from one foot to the other. "I'm afraid I can't - "

"Then find someone who can," Tony says. "Because I need to know she's all right."

Jones hesitates a second more, and Tony barks out, "Now!" That sends him scuttling out the door. Tony looks at his guard. "And you. Who sent you? Wait, I don't even have to guess, Rhodey, right?"

The guard is far more circumspect than the doctor, folding his hands behind his back, and staring straight ahead. Tony tries teasing more words out of him, but his throat's really hurting, so he finally lapses back into the bed, wishing he had his own.

After a while, the door bursts open. Tony doesn't hide his disappointment at seeing Rhodey, but at least he sees someone he knows. "Rhodey. Tell me what's going on, bud."

"Just got the word you're awake. You're awake." He grabs Tony's hand and squeezes it, hard enough it could hurt. "God, it's good to see you."

"Nn...yeah, well...what happened?"

"Oh, you and your superpowered friends saved the world, or at least New York. Again."

"And Pepper?"

Rhodey's smile dims a bit. "She, uh."

"Uh? I don't like the sound of that, Rhodes."

"She's...okay. Recovering."

"You're making that face. I don't like it when you make that face." Tony narrows his eyes. "I want to know about Pepper. I'll raise hell - you know I will - until I can talk to her."

Rhodey licked his lips, his eyes darting from side to side, like a rat in a trap. Tony starts to try to sit up, to hell with the pain, but Rhodey sighs. "She's recovering. Unconscious...she really...went nuts when you went down."

Every muscle - even the painful ones - went tense. "Unconscious? She's...Is she all right?"

"That Extremis thing." And Rhodey really didn't need to say anything else.

Tony fisted his free hand, banging it against the bed rail. "Damn. Damn." He takes a deep breath. “I still need to see her, Rhodey.”

[truthwritaslies.livejournal.com]

MCU, Natasha Romanov,

"A life that is, like any other, unlike any other.

And the simple truth is this: There was a girl, and her uncle sold her." (American Gods by Neil Gaiman)

[classics-lover.livejournal.com]

Author's choice, author's choice, “I am so clever that sometimes I don't understand a single word of what I am saying.”
― Oscar Wilde, The Happy Prince and Other Stories

Fill. The Martian (Book), Mark Watney, Chris Beck. Post-Canon.

[aivix.livejournal.com]

Mark was drunk.

Soused.

Absolutely, positively inebriated beyond the point of responsible.

“I'm so clever that sometimes I don't understand a single word of what I am saying.”

Chris laughed and pushed him down onto the hotel bed, “Whatever you say, King of Mars,” he said. “Make sure you don't tell that to any of the reporters tomorrow. Annie will have your head.”

“Annie loves me. I tell the media to fuck off,” Mark declared, throwing his arms up and punching the headboard without a flinch.

“I'm pretty sure you're mixing up love and hate, Watney.”

“Kind of the same thing, aren't they?”

“Sure. If you're into really aggressive sex. You want this comforter over you or should I leave it off so you can run to the head?”

“I haven't had aggressive sex in years. Well, any sex.”

“Yep. Mars is a bitch that way. Comforter, on or off?”

“Chris, did you get laid while I was on Mars?”

A snort from the doorway had Chris refusing to turn around: he knew the rest of the crew had followed him as he'd dragged Mark away from the bar. “Last time, comforter?”

“You got laid. Johanssen, you tapped that ass. I'm proud.”

She laughed as she told him, “I'm glad you approve.”

“All right, comforter off. Head's to your left, balcony is off to the right, though please don't fall over the railing and die. It'd be really stupid for us to bring you home from Mars, only to die at the fucking Pasadena Hilton. Now go to sleep.”

“Yes, sir, Dr. Bossy Beck.”

[classics-lover.livejournal.com]

Tortall, any, “Noble dragons don't have friends. The nearest they can get to the idea is an enemy who is still alive.”
― Terry Pratchett, Guards! Guards!

[scribblemyname]

Marvel Cinematic Universe, Clint Barton(/Natasha Romanoff) +/Bucky Barnes, You think I know anything about tears? Divergent, Veronica Roth

[(Anonymous)]

The Red Room didn't allow tears.

Not the kind that most people knew. There was no joy in the Red Room, so no one cried out of happiness. They did not even cry out of relief. They knew sorrow and sadness and pain, but they knew not to show it. Tears were weakness, and they were strong.

Later, tears were a weapon, a tool she learned to exploit. She used them in interrogations, in gaining access to what she wanted, but they were never real. She did not cry over what she had lost, what she had never had, never known, or did not remember. She did not cry unless she had use for her tears.

S.H.I.E.L.D. took her in, and they thought she would cry. With relief, with the memories, with what she had now, but she did not need the tears. She did not have to use them unless she was on a mission.

S.H.I.E.L.D. fell and her world crumbled, but she did not cry. She was Russian. She did not weep over the fall of regimes.

Then, when they were free and done and no longer spies, when they were safe, when the unexpected happened and Clint's blood was rushing past her fingers with no way to stop it, that was when she cried.

[truthwritaslies.livejournal.com]

Any, Any, "Getting an education was a bit like a communicable sexual disease. It made you unsuitable for a lot of jobs and then you had the urge to pass it on." (Hogfather by Terry Pratchett)

[truthwritaslies.livejournal.com]

Any, Any/+ any, “I did not know how to reach him, how to catch up with him... The land of tears is so mysterious.” (The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry)

fill (drabble)

[leni-ba.livejournal.com]

Veronica Mars

They have to get out of here. Now. Trina's appearance proves that Lianne is dead, and Logan's reaction will be explosive. Whatever he breaks, better that it happen out of public view.

But only Logan's composure breaks down.

Too soon he is gasping and sobbing, his whole body folding down. Veronica stands by helplessly, watching. How would she reach him, anyway? He needs someone who cares.

An awkward pat, that's all she gives him.

He takes it as an invitation to cling to her, and cling hard.

Soon she'd holding him tight, and perhaps she does care. Just a little.

[daria234.livejournal.com]

Mcu, Steve/Bucky, your form is like honey, desire is poured upon your lovely face

[leni-ba.livejournal.com]

any. any/any. (He) had indeed been harboring certain thoughts about (her); not just harboring them, in fact, but dry-docking them, refitting them, giving them a good coat of paint and scraping the barnacles off their bottom. (Good Omens, by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman)

[leni-ba.livejournal.com]

any. any. "If you decide to marry my sister-" she said. (her sister) choked on a biscuit. "-then you have my approval." (He) choked on air. "But if you don't," she continued, smiling shyly, "then I'd be much obliged if you'd wait for me." (The Duke and I - Bridgerton Series - by Julia Quinn)

[leni-ba.livejournal.com]

any. any. If I'd really wanted him to quit flirting with me, I should have smiles and smirked and batted my eyelashes at him. Obviously, a woman snarling at him was something he enjoyed. (Bone Crossed, by Patricia Briggs)

[leni-ba.livejournal.com]

any. any. Post-traumatic shock, phooey. Seemed to me the trauma was trotting right along with me, like a dog on a leash with its owner. I was the dog. (Sunshine, by Robin McKinley)

[leni-ba.livejournal.com]

any. any/any. "I may court catastrophe, but I married you." (Dark Road to Darjeeling, by Deanna Raybourn)

[edris-royal.livejournal.com]

Anterograde Tomorrow (Novel from The Kaisoo fandom) “So I wanted to play a hero. Let myself be forgotten, to save you from all the yesterdays and leave you with all the tomorrows but… then I heard that I had pneumonia. It wasn’t six months. I had four weeks.

Maybe three. And I cracked. Being stuck with the yesterdays while you moved on without me suddenly wasn’t all that appealing anymore and—really, I’m sorry.

I lied. I’m not a hero. Just a coward.” ~ Jongin

[bk_forever]

any, any, "For a man who just got laid by one of the Chosen People, you don't look too happy." John Connolly, The Wrath of Angels.

fill (drabble)

[leni-ba.livejournal.com]

Buffy the Vampire slayer

Robin scowled when he noticed the vampire sitting on the comfiest couch of the common room. Spike looked up at his entrance, and seemed ready to dismiss him when he suddenly broke into a mischievous smile. "For someone who just got laid by a Slayer, you don't look too happy."

He was starting to hate having no privacy, especially when a semi-permanent resident had supernatural senses.

"Trouble in paradise? Or, not enough trouble, perhaps?" Spike said, hitting too close to the problem. And he knew it too. "Been there, done that. Word of advice? Enjoy the ride while you can."

[bk_forever]

any, any, "She's so far out of my league that we're not even playing the same sport. But she's lovely." John Connolly, Hells Bells: Samuel Johnson Vs. the Devil round II

Fill: Here's to Second Chances (The Last Ship, Mike Slattery/Rachel Scott)

[helsinkibaby.livejournal.com]

The world may have changed while the Nathan James was sailing the Arctic seas but Mike finds it comforting that some things haven't. Mainly that his father somehow managed to survive, that the family farm is still there and most importantly, the family still is still there. 

It took a long time for him to come home here but when he sits on the front porch, Pop by his side, a Dixie cup of moonshine in his hand, he knows it was worth the wait. 

Pop catches him up on all the local news he missed, which mostly amounts to who lived and who died. Same goes for the family news and they both well up when the talk turns to Mike's son. "Hell of a thing," his dad says, "that an old dog like me makes it through and a baby like that doesn't get a chance."

They don't mention Mike's wife, soon to be ex, both knowing the marriage had been far from perfect even before the disease taking their boy and his absence during it put the final nail in the coffin. Mike is surprised, though, when his dad, three cups in and that shit is strong,  turns to him and says, "So... tell me about your new girl."

Mike doesn't ask how he knew; Pop had always had a sixth sense for things like that. "She's something, Pop," he says. "She's a scientist..."

"I've seen the news, boy." His dad's tone is somewhere between amused and impatient. "Tell me about her."

He thinks about all the times he saw her on the Nathan James, before and after they became them, thinks about her tenacity in the struggle for the vaccine, her bravery in going over to the Russian ship, the set of her jaw as she battled to save the world. 

"She's smart as a whip... stubborn as Mama ever was. Won't take second best and she ain't shy 'bout letting you know it either. Knows what's right... knows how she's going to get it." He takes a sip of his drink, shakes his head as he pictures her out of the lab, hair loose, lips and eyes smiling. "She's not so hard to look at either."

Pop gives him a hard look, eyebrow raised and this look is all amusement.  "Sounds like you're punching above your weight there."

Mike doesn't deny it. "Hell, Pop, she's so far out of my league that we're not even playing the same sport. But she's lovely." He hears the word from the lips, snorts with sudden laughter. "She must be some sort of somethin', making a good ol' boy use a word like lovely and mean it." He downs another sip. "Either that or this is really good stuff."

"Maybe both." Pop holds up his drink in salute. "Here's to second chances, son... and to taking them when we get them."

Mike doesn't hesitate. "I'll drink to that."

[likewinning.livejournal.com]

BtVS, Buffy Summers, "What is hardest to accept most about the passage of time is that those who once mattered most to us are wrapped up in parentheses." (The Cider House Rules)

[likewinning.livejournal.com]

MCU, Bucky Barnes, "But there were other times, other days, most days really, when the thoughts did not line up. Days when he chased the various memories and impulses as they veered and scattered away from him, hiding in the thicket of his mind." (The Wild Things)

[evil-little-dog.livejournal.com]

Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Buffy Summers+any (/Angel), "You haven't been dead yet. You don't know how peaceful it can be." (Douglas Clegg, Neverland)

fill (drabble)

[leni-ba.livejournal.com]

Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Boston'verse)

"I will not be stopped!" the man yelled, twisting against Angel. "The hellspawn must be hunted!"

"You're no hunter," Buffy spat. "You're just a murderer."

"What will you do to me, demon whore? I'm not afraid to die!"

She let the insult slide, though a pained gasp said that Angel wasn't as forgiving. "Oh, you haven't been dead yet, or you'd know how peaceful that can be. No. You're the idiot who went after half-breeds with perfectly legal identifications. You're getting a life sentence, buddy. And if you ever break out," Buffy added seriously, "I'll set the widows after you."

[evil-little-dog.livejournal.com]

Fullmetal Alchemist, Any+Edward Elric(/Winry Rockbell), “Have you ever been in love? Horrible isn't it? It makes you so vulnerable. It opens your chest and it opens up your heart and it means that someone can get inside you and mess you up.” (Neal Gaiman, The Sandman)

[evil-little-dog.livejournal.com]

Doctor Who, Any Doctor+any Companion, "You can strike your own time, and start the count anywhere. When you understand that — then any time at all will be the right time for you.” (Peter Beagle, The Last Unicorn)

[evil-little-dog.livejournal.com]

MCU, Tony Stark+James Rhodes (or /Pepper Potts), "I'm not strange, weird, off, nor crazy, my reality is just different from yours.” (Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland/Through the Looking Glass)

[likewinning.livejournal.com]

any, any, the bullet we're running from / is almost never the one that hits us. (Sharp Teeth by Toby Barlow)

fill (drabble)

[leni-ba.livejournal.com]

Firefly

She told him, "Are you crazy? How can you think of marriage? How can you think of marrying me?"

("How can I not?" he said.)

And she told him, "Haven't you seen what I do around here? Any moment, any mistake, and it'll be a bullet through my heart."

("You're too good for that," he said.)

And she told him, "Are you sure? I cannot promise forever."

("Just promise that you'll take care.")

And she promised.

Now Zöe looks around their room - her room, after Miranda - and wonders why she never thought to make him promise not to die instead.

[likewinning.livejournal.com]

any, any, It's as if he has finally knocked at the right door. Cinderella answers, and the shoe fits, but he's in the wrong fairytale. His prince is supposed to wake up a sleeping beauty, not fit shoes on a waking one. (Yo! by Julia Alvarez)

[likewinning.livejournal.com]

DCU, Tim Drake(/+any) or any, Now that you don't have to be perfect, you can be good. (John Steinbeck, East of Eden)