Reads fanfic and writes original fics. AKA: JCJAuthor, AuthorAlexandraGilcrist, and Retrogirl1938. Christian, wife, mom, and teacher. Likes my life boring and my stories THRILLING.
Fandoms: Macgyver 2016, The Man from UNCLE, Star Trek TOS/AOS, Loki
Good Mac + Bad Mac
https://ift.tt/lTWi6yv
by Retrogirl1938
What if James MacGyver and Jonah Walsh went rogue together?
What if that was why James left?
What if James and Walsh were the ones sent after Mac in Bullet+Pen?
Written for Rosie's MacGyver Flashfic Writealong 2026
Words: 1129, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English
Series: Part 10 of July 2026 MacGyver Flashfic Writealong
Fandoms: MacGyver (TV 2016)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Categories: Gen
Characters: Jack Dalton (MacGyver TV 2016), Angus MacGyver (MacGyver TV 2016), James MacGyver (MacGyver TV 2016), James Greer (MacGyver TV 2016), Jonah Walsh, Matilda "Matty" Webber
Relationships: Jack Dalton & Angus MacGyver (MacGyver TV 2016)
Additional Tags: Bad Parent James MacGyver (MacGyver TV 2016), James MacGyver Bashing (MacGyver TV 2016), Jack Dalton is Angus MacGyver's Parent (MacGyver TV 2016), BAMF Jack Dalton (MacGyver TV 2016), BAMF Angus MacGyver (MacGyver TV 2016), Worried Jack Dalton (MacGyver TV 2016), Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, Episode: s02e11 Bullet + Pen (MacGyver TV 2016)
I finished @rosies-writealong #MacGyver Flashfic Writealong! 11 prompt sets = 14k words. I had so much fun!
Thanks @rosieblogstuff for running the challenge.
Obligatory not quiteee a flashfic, but thought finally writing the beginning of my Prodigal Son & MacGyver crossover was too perfect a fit for the prompt "Mac's Dad isn't his boss... so where was he? AU" for me not to do it. @rosies-writealong hiii
Spoilers for up to s2e4 for MacGyver (lots of refs to that episode, this fic is set right after it)
Shouldn't really be spoilers for Prodigal Son past the basic premise (in this bit at least, the full fic will end up with sooo many s1 spoilers unfortunately)
****excerpt!
“I think he needs a break, that’s all.” Jack complained, sinking back into the plush war room armchair.
“I offered him a longer break, of course I did, he didn’t take it.” Matty was looking down at her tablet, as if she had better things to be doing with her time, but she’d also activated the privacy screen on the windowed walls so Jack knew she was taking him seriously.
“Well, maybe you gotta make him take it.” Jack crossed his arms and then uncrossed them immediately after, feeling uncharacteristically restless. Mac must’ve been rubbing off on him somehow. “He’s Mac.”
“Exactly, he’s Mac.” Matty put down her tablet and looked up at Jack. “This is what he does. The only time he’s taken vacation days since I became director here has been to fly around the world trying to track down his dad. He needs a project at all times, a problem to fix.”
“He might need it, but it sure as hell ain’t always good for him.”
“And what am I supposed to do with that gem of knowledge?” Matty retorted exasperatedly. “Be real, this is not either of your first rodeos. You’ve both been shot at on a daily basis, thrown into cells, interrogated, tortured—“
“This ain’t like that.” Jack interrupted. “Matty, he was at home. This wasn’t a mission, he got abducted at his own damn front door and I wasn’t—“ Jack cut himself off, falling silent. His jaw worked briefly before he grimly continued. “I wasn’t there.”
Matty grimaced. “He got himself free, Jack. He’s ok. Mac can take care of himself, you know that more than anyone.”
“Yeah, well, everybody who was ever able to take care of themselves did so right up until they couldn’t — and Mac shouldn’t hafta. That’s the whole point, why does he have a damn team if when it really matters he’s completely alone?”
“He’s not alone.”
“He was.”
Matty sighed, she moved over to Jack and rested a hand over the back of his, resting on the arm of the sofa. Her voice softened, gentle but emphatic. “You can’t be with him every second of every day, Jack.”
“I can try.” Jack retorted stubbornly.
“Which’ll exhaust you and drive Mac up the wall. Give him a little time to heal, give yourself it.”
“I don’t need to heal.” Jack made a brief sarcastic act of patting himself down as if looking for an injury. “Nothin’ happened to me.”
Matty sighed, her hand slipped away. “You are impossible.”
“Does that mean you’re going to make Mac take a mandatory vacation?”
“No.”
///
“What’re you watching?” Mac called over as he breezed behind the living room couch. He wasn’t really curious but since he’d been under the weather the last couple days and Bozer had been supplying him with a constant stream of — unasked for — foods and meds, he felt obligated to show at least a passing interest.
Bozer hooked an elbow over the back of the couch to peer after Mac as he continued into the kitchen. “It’s this true crime documentary, about some serial killer in NYC.”
“Oh, cool.” Mac’s brain flailed for another good question while the TV droned out some dramatic intro. He didn’t share Bozer’s fondness for true crime, their job veered dangerously close to it at times and that was more than enough exposure for him. “Is it, ah, recent?”
“The documentary is new, the killer was caught and arrested when we were little — long before I started keeping up with this stuff. You feeling any better?”
“Yeah, I told you, it was just a cold.” Mac opened the fridge and only spent a few seconds frowning at its contents before pulling out the milk. It was far too late in the afternoon for cereal, but he was feeling too lazy to make anything else. The worst of the cold was over, but he was still feeling a bit sluggish. “I have got to get back to work soon.”
“Nothing wrong with taking some time off.” Bozer replied noncommittally, but there was something obviously reluctant in his tone.
“…charged with the murder of an astounding twenty-three victims, the man known as ‘the Surgeon’ is one of the most prolific serial killers of his time…” The documentary continued to drone on in the background, flashing photos from missing person’s reports across the screen.
Everyone had been a little… off since Mac’s run-in with Murdoc. Or, at least Mac liked to think of it as a ‘run-in,’ it sounded significantly less traumatizing than an ‘abduction.’ Bozer had been a little too cautious with every word and movement, as if he thought Mac had turned into an easily-to-startle stray animal. Jack had practically lived at their house for the first week, and came over almost every day since — and Mac was pretty sure Riley had been behind the delivery for brand new security cameras to his house. Or maybe the cameras had been Murdoc’s own dark humor, Mac had decided not to bring it up to the others just in case. He was over the whole thing, and didn’t need them up in another tizzy about it. Concretely all that had been done to him was that he’d been tased, hooked up to some kind of barbiturate, and had fun poked at him about his absentee father. It was practically an average Friday night in his line of work, if everyone could be a little more normal about it…
“…as we close on two decades since his arrest, this documentary takes a moment to reflect on what we really know about Martin Whitley’s life and work — who really is the man behind the moniker?”
Mac made his cereal, the documentary mainly a faded background noise. Bozer had twisted back around to look at the TV, which was barely in Mac’s peripheral.
“…the fateful night The Surgeon’s reign of terror was put to a sudden end with the arrest of Martin Whitley — an unassuming doctor and family man, married to the prominent Jessica formerly Milton, and a father of two…”
Nothing had even happened, it was all about the ghost of what could’ve. Murdoc could’ve tortured him, Murdoc could’ve killed him. Neither of those things had happened, Mac hadn’t let them happen. He’d gotten free, and it was about time for everyone to stop focusing so much on those could’ve’s and start living in the reality where—
On TV, amidst a riot of reporters, an ornate door swung open and James MacGyver was marched out handcuffed and escorted by police.
Blue and red lights flashed over Mac’s father’s face, the same as he’d remembered it back when he was a kid. Scruffy and self-assured, intelligent eyes glinting out at the world as if he somehow was in control of everything. Underneath him ran the headline from a decades old news story, the words dancing in Mac’s vision. It was some blurry mix of The Surgeon, and Surprising Arrest in Connection With. For a split second Mac’s father’s eyes flicked up to meet the camera filming. He looked prideful, like when Mac had finally managed to get the avalanche beacon working by gutting his new Walkman with numbed fingers. He also looked bitter, more bitter than Mac had ever seen him before.
“Mac? That’s…” Bozer’s voice pitched up, glued in a bewildered horror to the TV. His voice overlapped with the crash of ceramic breaking against tile.
Silver+Bullet
https://ift.tt/zLB6WaK
by Retrogirl1938
Six months after Jack pairs up with Mac, tensions still run high. When a mission goes bad dramatically, they're forced to rely on each other if they want to come out alive.
MacGyver 2016 AU with Jack as a werewolf and Mac as a wizard.
Written for Rosie's MacGyver Flashfic Writealong 2026
Words: 4356, Chapters: 2/2, Language: English
Series: Part 5 of Werewolf and Wunderkind, Part 9 of July 2026 MacGyver Flashfic Writealong
Fandoms: MacGyver (TV 2016)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Categories: Gen
Characters: Jack Dalton (MacGyver TV 2016), Angus MacGyver (MacGyver TV 2016)
Relationships: Jack Dalton & Angus MacGyver (MacGyver TV 2016)
Additional Tags: Jack Dalton & Angus MacGyver in Afghanistan | Sandbox Days (MacGyver TV 2016), Werewolf Jack Dalton (MacGyver TV 2016), Magical Angus MacGyver (MacGyver TV 2016), Alternate Universe - Wizards, Alternate Universe - Werewolf, BAMF Jack Dalton (MacGyver TV 2016), BAMF Angus MacGyver (MacGyver TV 2016), Jack Dalton is Angus MacGyver's Parent (MacGyver TV 2016), Angst with a Happy Ending, Hurt Jack Dalton (MacGyver TV 2016), Hurt Angus Macgyver (Macgyver TV 2016), Hurt/Comfort, Worried Jack Dalton (MacGyver TV 2016), Episode: s03e11 Mac + Fallout + Jack (MacGyver TV 2016)
This got WAY out of my control, LOL. I realized writing the Day 9 prompts that I was overly ambitious and only half through the story at 1800 words. I crossed my fingers and hoped Day 10 would combine well. Lo and behold, Day 10 was perfect. Have a two chapter fic that completely ignores the "flash" part of this flash fic challenge.
And Thats How I Became Karaoke Champion of Four States
“And That’s How I Became Karaoke Champion of Four States”
https://ift.tt/61gy2ke
by Retrogirl1938
The title kinda says it all. How Jack Dalton became karaoke champion of four states.
Written for Rosie's MacGyver Flashfic Writealong 2026
Words: 698, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English
Series: Part 8 of July 2026 MacGyver Flashfic Writealong
Fandoms: MacGyver (TV 2016)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Categories: Gen
Characters: Jack Dalton (MacGyver TV 2016), Matilda "Matty" Webber, Angus MacGyver (MacGyver TV 2016), Riley Davis, Wilt Bozer (MacGyver TV 2016)
Relationships: Jack Dalton & Matilda "Matty" Webber (MacGyver TV 2016)
Additional Tags: Banter
protect short sentence stacking as a stylistic choice.
protect fanfic writers—who are kind enough to share their works with people to read for free—from ai witch hunts, speculations and accusations.
“don’t like don’t read” also applies to any fic that is ai-generated and any fic you think is ai-generated by the way. if you don’t like what you’re reading for any reason, you can always stop reading and exit the fic at any point. but harassment is never ever justified. no matter if you think you’ve found a noble excuse to do it. and also…
witch hunts, speculations and accusations harm the writing community as much as ai does. if not more. I don’t want to see another innocent writer get driven away from the community because someone decides to harass and accuse them for using ai just because their fic happens to have “ai telltales” — the same telltales ai got from having been trained on millions of human-made works to mimic how real humans actually write.
This challenge uses multiple prompts to give you a variety of inspirations, not because you're expected to somehow use all 4 in a single small story! Although don't let this stop you from trying, if you're up for extra challenge.
If these prompts aren't inspiring you, try the Alternate Prompts.
Tag @rosies-writealong about your fanworks
AO3 Collection: July 2026 MacGyver Flashfic Writealong
Yesterday got out of my control. After 1500 words and only half done, I was just hoping today's would justify combining them into one long fic. And DANG if these aren't perfect to finish the job. ROFL.
Welcome back for our 3rd weekend of the Writealong!
This challenge uses multiple prompts to give you a variety of inspirations, not because you're expected to somehow use all 4 in a single small story! Although don't let this stop you from trying, if you're up for extra challenge.
If these prompts aren't inspiring you, try the Alternate Prompts.
Tag @rosies-writealong about your fanworks
AO3 Collection: July 2026 MacGyver Flashfic Writealong
EOD - Sense
https://ift.tt/gOG9wCB
by Retrogirl1938
Mac decides he needs to practice disarming IEDs without his magic. Jack is very sure this is a bad idea. Since when does Mac listen to Jack?
MacGyver 2016 AU with Jack as a werewolf and Mac as a wizard.
Written for Rosie's MacGyver Flashfic Writealong 2026
Words: 1000, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English
Series: Part 4 of Werewolf and Wunderkind, Part 1 of July 2026 MacGyver Flashfic Writealong
Fandoms: MacGyver (TV 2016)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Categories: Gen
Characters: Jack Dalton (MacGyver TV 2016), Angus MacGyver (MacGyver TV 2016)
Relationships: Jack Dalton & Angus MacGyver (MacGyver TV 2016)
Additional Tags: Jack Dalton & Angus MacGyver in Afghanistan | Sandbox Days (MacGyver TV 2016), Alternate Universe - Werewolf, Alternate Universe - Wizards, Werewolf Jack Dalton (MacGyver TV 2016), Magical Angus MacGyver (MacGyver TV 2016), Worried Jack Dalton (MacGyver TV 2016)
This challenge uses multiple prompts to give you a variety of inspirations, not because you're expected to somehow use all 4 in a single small story! Although don't let this stop you from trying, if you're up for extra challenge.
If these prompts aren't inspiring you, try the Alternate Prompts.
Tag @rosies-writealong about your fanworks
AO3 Collection: July 2026 MacGyver Flashfic Writealong
Suit + SAK + Outnumbered
https://ift.tt/ulPtLUS
by Retrogirl1938
The easy ones always go wrong. But at least they all look good taking down the bad guys.
Written for Rosie's MacGyver Flashfic Writealong 2026
Words: 930, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English
Series: Part 7 of July 2026 MacGyver Flashfic Writealong
Fandoms: MacGyver (TV 2016)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Categories: Gen
Characters: Jack Dalton (MacGyver TV 2016), Angus MacGyver (MacGyver TV 2016), Riley Davis, Wilt Bozer (MacGyver TV 2016), Leanna Martin
Relationships: Jack Dalton & Angus MacGyver (MacGyver TV 2016)
Additional Tags: BAMF Jack Dalton (MacGyver TV 2016), BAMF Angus MacGyver (MacGyver TV 2016), Canon-Typical Violence, Banter
Advices aren't rules. They are simply meant to help writers, and they do help some. They aren't magical spells that work for everybody, everytime. There are times when these so considered "rules" need to be broken.
ִֶָ. ..𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ🪽་༘࿐
.✦ ݁˖ 1. Avoid Prologues
It's like saying avoid giving your first chapter a different name, because prologues are just the first chapters of your story in disguise.
The difference? Prologues are helpful to include a scene that happens either much later in the story, earlier than the story, or just a scene that the narrator didn't witness/doesn't know about. They keep your reader reading, because the work of a prologue is to set up a hook for the reader. Then what does this advice suggest?
Some writers believe prologues make the story boring or make the reader feel cheated (because it takes place at a different time, location, or different characters) but that is not always true. In fact, there is nothing wrong with having a prologue in your story. Treat it like an introduction to your story, but it's still a part of your story.
I've deleted or avoided prologue scenes in many crafts, only to realise later they were actually a better opening and created a hook for my story.
ִֶָ. ..𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ🪽་༘࿐
.✦ ݁˖ 2. Only write in active voice.
You can use active and passive voices as much as you want, no limitations. Active voice is considered better by many writers because it keeps the book fast paced, character centred, and... as the name suggests, active.
But imagine reading a book with only active voice. A lot of writers have different writing style and it doesn't matter what voice they use as long as the writing is clear and understandable.
I myself used to believe active voice was why my writing was feeling plain. It wasn't. Infact, making every sentence active in my draft was perhaps the worst descision I've ever made.
Active voice is suggested a lot for horror, mystery, crime, and other such genres. It keeps them fast paced and direct. But these genres also have various passive sentences in them. Passive sentences focus more on the object, or verb, i.e., what is happening, or to whom/to what it is happening. They reveal the subject in the end.
ִֶָ. ..𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ🪽་༘࿐
.✦ ݁˖ 3. Every scene must move the plot forward.
There is no problem with unnesscary scenes. They reveal character, or provide comic relief. Give your readers time to breathe instead of bombarding them with all the action-packed, mysterious or political argument scenes that lead in the direction of the plot.
However, I agree that having too many unnesscary scenes that do not contribute to the plot can lead to the readers slowly abandoning your book. The balance is important, neither extreme is correct.
ִֶָ. ..𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ🪽་༘࿐
.✦ ݁˖ 4. Plan everything before starting writing.
This is excellent advice for those who love planning, or depend on it for writing. However, this does not apply to all writers.
I spent months trying to find ways of outlining my book, but I ended up abandoning the technique altogether. I believe I am the kind of writer who prefers to let the story take it's own direction, or likes to move forward with only a rough idea or plot points in mind. You have to find out which path works for you.
If you are the kind of writer that what's to put characters in a room and experiment, you don't need to force yourself to outline.
If you're content with, or work better with only a few planned directions or a rough plot, go ahead. It isn't necessary to know every detail, and spend too much time planning than actually writing.
You need to find your way of writing, not mold yourself into someone else's.
ִֶָ. ..𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ🪽་༘࿐
.✦ ݁˖ 5. Read a lot to become a better writer.
You don't need to read a lot in order to write stories. Reading (especially your specific genre) helps you understand the way other authors write, analyse the structure, elements and characters, and even gain inspiration. However, reading is a hobby for the purpose of enjoyment so forcing yourself to read and analyse every detail in a story isn't really important.
I, as a writer, only read because I enjoy reading. Even though sometimes I do learn something from authors and their writing styles, my sole purpose isn't to make my writing better. I sometimes read different genres than I write. I sometimes don't read at all for months.
So believing that you can't be a writer without being a verocious reader is very false. You can read now and then, as much as you prefer, without needing to do it a lot.
ִֶָ. ..𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ🪽་༘࿐
And, that's the end. Hope this helped, because as a first time writer I remember following every advice, trying to make my writing better. Some helped. Some didn't.
And that's ok. Because every writer is different. That's why every story is uniquely beautiful. You don't need to worry because some advices don't work for you. You don't need to force yourself to become the "perfect writer".
Quarantine + Suspicion + Bedrooms + Stakeout + Ukelele
https://ift.tt/mTtuCKq
by Retrogirl1938
When a shelter in place order becomes a stakeout, the team's patience is tried.
Basically 5x6 if Jack lived.
Set in my Codependency Saves Lives AU
Written for Rosie's MacGyver Flashfic Writealong 2026
Words: 914, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English
Series: Part 3 of Codependency Saves Lives
Fandoms: MacGyver (TV 2016)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Categories: Gen
Characters: Jack Dalton (MacGyver TV 2016), Angus MacGyver (MacGyver TV 2016), Riley Davis, Wilt Bozer (MacGyver TV 2016)
Relationships: Jack Dalton & Angus MacGyver (MacGyver TV 2016)
Additional Tags: Episode: s05e06 Quarantine + N95 + Landline + Telescope + Social Distance, Not Canon Compliant, Episode Fix-it, Team as Family, Banter
This challenge uses multiple prompts to give you a variety of inspirations, not because you're expected to somehow use all 4 in a single small story! Although don't let this stop you from trying, if you're up for extra challenge.
If these prompts aren't inspiring you, try the Alternate Prompts.
Tag @rosies-writealong about your fanworks
AO3 Collection: July 2026 MacGyver Flashfic Writealong
This challenge uses multiple prompts to give you a variety of inspirations, not because you're expected to somehow use all 4 in a single small story! Although don't let this stop you from trying, if you're up for extra challenge.
If these prompts aren't inspiring you, try the Alternate Prompts.
Tag @rosies-writealong about your fanworks
AO3 Collection: July 2026 MacGyver Flashfic Writealong
Scrambled
https://ift.tt/iPVfL7x
by Retrogirl1938
Jack's thoughts during the Episode: s01e12 cold open. Because we absolutely need more hugging in this fandom.
Written for Rosie's MacGyver Flashfic Writealong 2026
Words: 884, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English
Series: Part 5 of July 2026 MacGyver Flashfic Writealong
Fandoms: MacGyver (TV 2016)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Categories: Gen
Characters: Jack Dalton (MacGyver TV 2016), Angus MacGyver (MacGyver TV 2016)
Relationships: Jack Dalton & Angus MacGyver (MacGyver TV 2016)
Additional Tags: Episode: s01e12 Screwdriver (MacGyver TV 2016), cold open, Missing Scene, Non-Consensual Drug Use, Jack Dalton is a competent agent, still not a tag, i don't care, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Drugged Jack Dalton (MacGyver TV 2016), Canon-Typical Violence, Unreliable Narrator, Banter
Macgyver + Cold Trail
https://ift.tt/AdHTy5j
by Retrogirl1938
Jack has exhausted every resource Phoenix has looking for Mac after Murdoc takes him in X-Ray + Penny, but the trail still went cold. Jack can't lose his boy. Especially when this kidnapping was his fault.
Written for Rosie's MacGyver Flashfic Writealong 2026
Words: 998, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English
Series: Part 4 of July 2026 MacGyver Flashfic Writealong
Fandoms: MacGyver (TV 2016)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Categories: Gen
Characters: Jack Dalton (MacGyver TV 2016), Angus MacGyver (MacGyver TV 2016)
Relationships: Jack Dalton & Angus MacGyver (MacGyver TV 2016)
Additional Tags: Episode: s02e04 X-Ray + Penny (MacGyver TV 2016), Missing Scene, Non-Consensual Drug Use, Canon Compliant, Canon-Typical Violence, Worried Jack Dalton (MacGyver TV 2016), Jack Dalton Feels Guilty (MacGyver TV 2016), Jack Dalton is Angus MacGyver's Parent (MacGyver TV 2016), Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending
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