Hi Hedgi! I've Never Submitted A Prompt Before But Here Goes:

Hi Hedgi! I've never submitted a prompt before but here goes:

For DHD: OG Leverage, Elliot angst in 1x03 "The Two Horse Job". Something regarding him coming home?

(Hi! Yay, your first prompt!!)

"You don't get some kind of homecoming parade," Aimee  snapped, storming off.

Homecoming.Eliot takes a step back, like he's reeling from a slap. He wants to stop her, to talk to her. He doesn't move.  Homecoming.  Somehow that's the word that throws him, not the thought of a parade. A parade is the last thing he wants, so many people looking at him. It's the last thing he deserves, too. 

But even if it was something he wanted, even if it was something he'd somehow earned...

He hasn't come home. 

This place isn't home, not really. He didn't grow up here. Close enough, sure.  And he spent enough time in stables like these, with horses like these, with Aimee. But that's still not right. This isn't where his Dad is. It's not where his Mom's buried.

It hits him like a horse's kick to the chest, the kind that breaks ribs, the kind that makes widows. Grief. He can't afford grief, not in the field. It still gets him, now and again, in those quiet moments like now. It's selfish and pointless and stupid. He's done so much he should regret, so much he does regret, that greets him every morning and stays with him 'til he sleeps, but this is the thing that pricks at him at random.

He should have gone back. For the funeral. He'd have caught hell for it, and a court martial, too. But maybe that would have been worth it, to be here--or close enough-- instead of there when everything went sideways, and sideways again. 

He shakes his hair out of his eyes, blinks back the sun. He did come back, once, twice. Too late for it to matter.

Home is where the people who love you are, and Eliot’s not sure he’s really got any of those.

Leverage Fic Rec:

what space faith can occupy by Anonymous on AO3

Summary (from the author):

"Parker has never felt so bad at loving than when they pulled Hardison out of his grave."

Further plot summary (by blog admin):

A Parker character study & episode coda to The Grave Danger Job, exploring Parker’s thoughts and emotions.

Why I recommend it: I love how Parker’s perspective is written in this fic. It feels incredibly accurate to her character, and it’s a perfect coda to/extra scene for the episode. Angsty, beautiful, hits you right in the feels!

https://archiveofourown.org/works/26554135/chapters/64731784

On AO3

Author: MrsMovie (me)

Title: The Hitter’s Girl

I recommend this story as I feel it’s a different take on a Eliot x female oc story. Kaira is a unique character who goes through her own arc and I feel has a good relationship with Eliot.

Content warnings: Individual chapters are marked with seperate warnings based on the chapters but there are mentions of DV, assault, and PTSD flashbacks.

Summary: This story follows Kaira Lynn Newton, ex army turned merc, and her partner Eliot Spencer as they join forces with Nate Ford, Sophie Deveraux, Alec Hardison, and Parker as they take down the rich and powerful while navigating their relationship and learning to change.

Things to note: I based the character of Kaira off of me. Also this is a part 1 and follows all episodes of Leverage.

thank you for the submission!

Tips for writing those gala scenes, from someone who goes to them occasionally:

Generally you unbutton and re-button a suit coat when you sit down and stand up.

You’re supposed to hold wine or champagne glasses by the stem to avoid warming up the liquid inside. A character out of their depth might hold the glass around the sides instead.

When rich/important people forget your name and they’re drunk, they usually just tell you that they don’t remember or completely skip over any opportunity to use your name so they don’t look silly.

A good way to indicate you don’t want to shake someone’s hand at an event is to hold a drink in your right hand (and if you’re a woman, a purse in the other so you definitely can’t shift the glass to another hand and then shake)

Americans who still kiss cheeks as a welcome generally don’t press lips to cheeks, it’s more of a touch of cheek to cheek or even a hover (these days, mostly to avoid smudging a woman’s makeup)

The distinctions between dress codes (black tie, cocktail, etc) are very intricate but obvious to those who know how to look. If you wear a short skirt to a black tie event for example, people would clock that instantly even if the dress itself was very formal. Same thing goes for certain articles of men’s clothing.

Open bars / cash bars at events usually carry limited options. They’re meant to serve lots of people very quickly, so nobody is getting a cosmo or a Manhattan etc.

Members of the press generally aren’t allowed to freely circulate at nicer galas/events without a very good reason. When they do, they need to identify themselves before talking with someone.

*Polls options based on common fandom tags that co-occur with Leverage on Ao3. Not asking for any particular reason, but posting for fun and fandom discussions!

Hello Leverage people :) this fandom is very fun and friendly here on tumblr, so I thought it might be nice to have a fanfiction recommendations page, to encourage writers in the fandom and to share the fics you love!

If you have any fic recs, please send them as an ask or submission. Please include the following information (*asterisk = optional):

Link to the fic

Site (AO3, ff.net, tumblr, etc)

Author(s)

Title

The reason you recommend it

A brief description *

Content warnings *

Anything else you’d like to mention *

Currently I don’t have any hard rules on what you can and can’t submit. NSFW is fine, fics with archive warnings are fine. But, please note I still have the right to not publish your submission if it makes me extremely uncomfortable.