The Retelling Of Timeless Season 2 In The Story: Zajednički By @insane-sociopath Is Absolutely Brilliant

The Timeless story A Shot of Remembrance by @doctorliamsr explores a conversation between Flynn & Karl during season 1. It is rich, interesting & well-worth reading.

The light banter between friends with hints of their deep & shared friendship the way it happens between old friends combined with Karl calling Flynn out on his crush on Preston is nice. The way Karl grieves Lorena & Iris himself and not on behalf of Flynn is real. The conversation flows naturally.

There are so few stories that feature Flynn's crew on their own: Karl, Stiv and even Anthony had their own reasons for throwing their lots in with Flynn and I'd love to see that explored a lot more.

The Hanukkah gift, the implications of it for Castle Varlar - the ethical dilemma that that episode posts ("You think I sleep at night?" - it never truly gets resolved in canon those choices made in the early season 1 episodes), and the honoring & acknowledgment that it represents here is wonderful.

Well worth reading & if anyone knows more stories like this that explore the relationships and conversations between Flynn, Karl, Stiv or Anthony - send them my way please!

When I finished watching White Collar, I dove straight into the rabbithole that is A03 & fanfiction, and I was fortunate enough to stumble on this gem.

In Your Wildest Dreams by sahiya

This was what grief did to you, Sara knew. It played tricks on your mind. But if it wasn’t Neal, then who could it be? Who else would send her an anonymous packet detailing all the ways someone could knock over the Louvre?

This story picks up the threads the series leaves open & weaves them together beautifully. It opens with Neal in Paris casing the Louvre because he's bored out of his mind as a gentleman of leasure & he's starkly lonely even when he recognises the unavoidability of it all. Sara receives a mysterious package on her home address and Sterling-Bosch assigns her to track down the sender.

There's a realness to this story & I was struck by how in-character it felt. It's introspective and evocative. Our beloved characters do not shy away from their emotions and hard conversations, and they display a maturity that is wonderful to read.

The story feels poignant, melancholic & yet wonderfully fresh. It's my new favourite headcanon of what happened after the series ended.

(And I absolutely love the magic that is Archive of Our Own that allows me to find these stories years later. I remember the time before AO3 was imagined and still remember stories that I can never read again. The Archive is marvelous and I am grateful I found it especially during these trying times.)

This year, I rediscovered the absolute joys of reading fanfiction. Exploring characters I love in so many different stories and combinations and settings. It is helping me process this year and rediscover things I find important. Fiction has always meant a lot to me, and I'm feeling the urge to be creative again myself.

So, I decided to start engaging in fandom again by sketchnoting my reactions to some of my favourite stories. (At least for as long as it is fun).

My first sketchnote is in honour of the marvelous @sallyexactly whose Timeless stories I've fallen in love with. The Only Way Out - which I first read over Easter and I now lost count on the rereads - is my favourite headcanon for how the series ended.

But the very first story I read by Sally was The Road Ode. It even inspired me to take a mini roadtrip myself this year (in Europe with very few coronacases & lots of measures).

So, without further ado:

NaNoWriMo - My Cartoon of the Day - Day 26: Visualize Your Story

Have you made any fanart yet? Drawings of what your characters look like? Maps of where they live? Favourite childhood memories that bring joy when they resurface in a moment of struggle? We are all inherently creative and I love how NaNo encourages us to embrace it in the broad sense of the world. Whether you make art by drawing, by writing, crochet or sculpting or something else entirely, we are all artists together.

Day 26: Visualize Your Story

When you are stuck on storytelling, it can help to draw a map. Where are your characters now? Where would they like to go? What obstacles do they face in their paths and what shortcuts are available to them? Like your NaNo writing: your drawings don’t need to be pretty or polished - a first sketch, like a first draft, just needs to exist.

If your characters are fighting you: challenge them to draw the way out themselves! Have them sketch their heist or adventure. Allow them to get nice and messy with paint to express themselves or perhaps lament that they stopped drawing past childhood and wish they could embrace their inner artists again. Have them pick up a pencil and explore the absolute FUN that embracing creativity brings and renew it in yourself. For we are in final days of this creative madness. And we are still here! We can do this. Put your pencil to paper and create!

NaNoWriMo - My Cartoon of the Day - Day 27: Make a Nice Meal

Eating is an activity we do multiple times a day (I hope!). It's part of our everyday lives. When is the last time you carefully crafted a meal, sat down with friends and focused on what you were eating? Feel the crunch of fresh vegetables in your mouth, be comforted by the warmth of a cup of tea and smelled freshly baked bread? Creativity thrives on careful attention and nourishment: a focused attention of the mundane & finding the extraordinary within it.

Day 27: Make a Nice Meal

Have your characters made marshmallows on a fire? Sat down together and actually fed themselves? Enjoyed meal in a fancy restaurant or made a home-made meal for loved ones? Eating is part of our every day lives - how much is it part of theirs in your story? Enjoy! Let's keep writing and find the joy in the moment.

Today's reread is Blood Sins - A #FlynnFriday Imagines Series by @doctorliamsr, @timelesshonesttrailer & @ununpredictableme. A Vampire AU focused on Lucy, Garcia, Lorena, Rufus & Jiya.

I love reading stories about Lucy & Garcia as well as stories about Lorena & Garcia - so when it's the three of them together - it's absolutely marvelous. There is such respect, love & caring in this relationship here that it is wonderous. The Vampire AU aspect is nicely done and the mystery intrigues me: what happened? What is going on with Nicolas sort-of-aging-but-not-really? What will Karl's research into Lucy & Rufus turn up? When can we meet Iris? (pretty please *puppy eyes*?) Why are they suddenly after Lucy so desperately? How will Lorena, Garcia, Lucy, Jiya & Rufus handle the continued attacks & fight back against Rittenhouse?

Lucy gushing over history is always fun. Rufus being a brilliant researcher & scientist is always brilliant! Jiya being powerful, lovely & accepting no nonsense. Lorena & Garcia honouring & encouraging Lucy's setting of boundaries & having her choose actively - I am here for all of it.

NaNoWriMo - My Cartoon of the Day - Day 16: ML Appreciation Day

It's Municipal Liaison Appreciation Day! Time to show some heartfelt appreciation to all our wonderful volunteers who facilitate our NaNo communities. Everyone who organizes Write-Ins, who hosts and moderates a forum or server, sends carepackages and encouragements: thank you! What I love about NaNo is the self-challenge and the call to creativity, as well as the feeling of community: how all of us are writing our own stories on our own and yet together.

Day 16: ML Appreciation Day

Who would you like to show special appreciation to today? Send some virtual flowers? A surprise plotbunny? A lovable raptor? A nice message filled with kind words?

Lost Friends by DoctorLia

@doctorliamsr asked me for a prompt to write a Timeless story the day after I had a conversation with @ununpredictableme regarding Anthony and his role. We'd watched Space Race and that episode really brings home how active Anthony is in planning & executing the missions.

I find his character, his choices and his morality fascinating. His relationship with Rufus is intriguing to watch: there is history and trust there, and Rufus continues to want to listen & understand how this man he thought he knew can do such a thing. The ethics of Space Race are a grappling point for Rufus in terms of Anthony's role and I would love to see Anthony grapple with his choices himself.

Lia has a few stories where she writes character pieces such as the conversation between Karl & Flynn that I discussed on this blog earlier and she graciously decided to accept the prompt.

Her story Lost Friends brings the two characters in a conversation after Anthony's death and Rufus's Chinatown trip. It is interesting how Anthony indicates Rufus has a harder time forgiving Flynn then he does Anthony, which I think is particularly poignant considering the agency that Anthony accepts and expects for his choices in this story. The request to clear his name for his family's sake brings a more personal touch to Anthony as well.

So: thank you Lia for writing & sharing this story with us and tackling the prompt challenge. I feel honoured you wrote me a story and hope you like this experimental sketchnote. (I felt like doing something different from usual, so I hope you enjoy it all the same).

The Timeless story Burn the Witch by @barefootwithneonhands intrigues me. It explores a darker Lucy returning from her time in Rittenhouse viewed through her teammates eyes, and has her take direct action in their fight.

It's got mystery (the Bell Witch), lots of humor - especially from Rufus, tender moments between Denise & Michelle, heartbreak as to what Lucy went through and a realness to who she is now having gone through that and what she is truly willing to do combined with the vulnerability of being truly seen.

I like how Lucy is so unapologetic. The small hint with the 20 dollar bill that she succeeded and the way her team questions, but supports her. Little details like Wyatt listening to history podcasts while exercising and Denise pinching her nose in frustration as she contemplates the list of people she cannot kill make me smile.

NaNoWriMo - My Cartoon of the Day - Day 24: In Need of Medical Help?

Adventure comes with a price and as writers we often do like to make our main characters pay it. When they get injured, is there a doctor available? Medical staff? Decent supplies? Some painkillers? A nice suite in a hospital or a cold and windy little hut in the middle of nowhere?

Day 24: In Need of Medical Help?

As writers we face our own health challenges: are your wrists strained yet from the excessive typing or are your hands cramping up? Perhaps you tackled a really bad cold or had the flu during November. *waves hi!* NaNoWriMo should not come at the expense of your health, so I wish you all well. We still have a stretch of month to go, so get a good night sleep if you can & let's get this done!