round one prompt post - CLOSED TO NEW PROMPTS
ROUND ONE IS CURRENTLY CLOSED TO PROMPTS. ANY PROMPT POSTED HERE FROM NOW ON WILL BE DELETED.
New rounds will open at suits_meme.
Round One is officially closed. Round Two will open on Wednesday morning. Feel free to continue posting fills.
Refer to the Rules before posting a prompt.
Direct any of your concerns to the Mod Post.
I'll be archiving prompts (both ( Read more... )
New rounds will open at suits_meme.
Round One is officially closed. Round Two will open on Wednesday morning. Feel free to continue posting fills.
Refer to the Rules before posting a prompt.
Direct any of your concerns to the Mod Post.
I'll be archiving prompts (both ( Read more... )
Harvey frowns. “That’s fascinating, Mike, but how does it help the case?”
“In Pennsylvania, it’s illegal to sing in the bathtub.” Harvey stares at Mike long and hard for a moment. He’s just about to ask if Mike thinks he’s being funny when Mike spits out another one: “In Devon, Connecticut, it’s illegal to walk backwards after sunset.”
Harvey crosses his arms and opens his mouth to tell Mike that it’s time to be serious, but Mike interrupts again. “In Provo, Utah, you can be fined $50 for throwing snowballs.”
“The phrase ‘rule of thumb’ comes for an old English law that made it illegal for a man to beat his wife with something wider than his thumb.” Mike says, and then he just keeps going, a frenzied look in his eyes while Harvey just gapes open-mouthed. “The US Mint makes about 20 billion coins per year. Non-dairy creamer is flammable. The longest recorded flight of a chicken is 13 seconds. The human brain is more active while sleeping than while watching TV. There are two credit cards for every one person in the United States. Sherlock Homes never actually said ‘Elementary, my dear Watson’…”
Harvey watches in horror as Mike goes on, spouting random facts without end. It’s pretty obvious now that he’s not doing it intentionally, but Harvey’s still not sure how to handle it. The incessant jabbering from Mike isn’t helping him think.
“Coca-Cola was originally green. The term ‘golf’ was initially an acronym for ‘Gentlemen Only, Ladies Forbidden.’ The glue on Israeli postage stamps is certified kosher-”
In desperation, Harvey reaches out and presses his hand over Mike’s mouth. There’s open-mouthed mumbling and saliva smearing against his hand for a moment, and then Mike falls silent. Harvey breathes a sigh of relief and drops his hand. Mike immediately starts up again, and Harvey groans.
“Dr. Seuss pronounced Seuss so that it rhymed with ‘rejoice.’ A jiffy is an actual unit of time for 1/100 of a second. The average aardvark weighs 150lbs…”
Harvey runs his hands through his hair, biting his lip as he watches Mike ramble on. Something is seriously wrong with Mike, and he wonders if he should call an ambulance, but he’s not sure it would do any good.
“The earth’s year-long orbit is 585 million miles, which means the planet moves about eight times faster than a bullet. The only city in the US named Beach is in the land-locked state of North Dakota. Yellowstone’s Old Faithful geyser shoots up to 8,000 gallons of 199 degree water about 140 feet into the air every time it erupts.”
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“’Stressed’ is ‘desserts’ spelled backwards. It’s a myth that stress turns hair gray, but it can make hair fall out. New York City is one of the top three most stressful cities in the United States. The word ‘stress’ comes from the Latin word ‘stringere’ meaning ‘to pull tight.’”
Stressed? Mike’s doing this because he’s stressed?!
On one hand, Harvey can’t help but be a little amused, which, considering how obviously helpless and panicked Mike it, almost makes him feel a bit guilty. Almost. On the other hand, Harvey wonders how Mike will survive in the legal world, which can get much more stressful than what Mike’s experienced so far, if stress causes this kind of emotional breakdown for him. And Harvey definitely doesn’t want Mike to leave the firm- he’s too valuable to Harvey.
“Stress may account for 30% of all infertility problems.”
So, stress. Well, Harvey figures, if stress caused the babbling, then de-stressing will stop it. Only he’s not quite sure how to de-stress Mike.
Harvey reaches out and puts a hand on Mike’s shoulder, then slowly pushes him towards the couch and makes him sit. Mike says, “The phrase ‘good night, sleep tight’ comes from Elizabethan mattresses, which were secured to the bedframe by ropes; when the ropes were tightened, the mattress became firmer.” Mattress, couch- they’re somewhat related, right? That has to be a good sign.
Harvey sits beside him and puts one hand on Mike’s back, rubbing gently up and down. Mike says, “Chinese stress balls were created during the Ming dynasty and are thought to relieve stress because they touch acupuncture points on the hand.” Harvey hopes that’s supposed to mean the back rub helps.
Harvey presses harder on Mike’s back, and the stream of facts pauses while Mike slowly inhales and sighs. Mike he leans further towards Harvey until the side of his face is pressed against Harvey’s chest. Harvey tenses up- he’s not used to people invading his personal space like this. Mike mumbles, “Laughing lowers stress hormones,” and Harvey relaxes a little. It seems that the human contact is helping Mike relax. His hand on Mike’s back resumes its gentle rubbing, and he can feel Mike’s muscles slowly loosening under his touch.
Mike mumbles something into Harvey’s shirt, so muffled that he can barely make it out, but it sounds like, “The pupils dilate in response to stress for the same purpose as in response to attraction: gathering more visual information.” Harvey raises an eyebrow at that, but doesn’t comment.
Mike’s silent for a long time, then finally he breathes a big sigh into Harvey’s jacket and pulls away. He seems to be back in control of himself now. “Thanks,” he mutters without looking at Harvey.
Harvey, hand still resting on Mike’s back, murmurs, “No problem.”
fic at my journal- http://blackat-t7t.livejournal.com/19244.html
sources:
http://www.dumblaws.com/random-laws (the law facts)
http://www.freewebs.com/thesilentteen/randomfacts.htm (the random facts)
http://facts.randomhistory.com/stress-facts.html (the stress facts)
http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~bingbin/ (the one stressed/desserts fact)
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This was adorable.
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The whole thing is up on my journal here-- http://blackat-t7t.livejournal.com/19244.html
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