Gregarius

Unread items (100)

the story girl

the dark side of nano

Posted: November 16th, 2009, 9:05pm MST

Tags: [edit]

writing kinda feels like a chore.

k. best get to it.

Calapine

fic: things you don't want in the night

Posted: November 16th, 2009, 8:26pm MST

Tags: fic [edit]

Title: Things You Don't Want in the Night
Pairing/characters: Ten/Simm!Master
Rating: PG
Words: 1600
Notes: Spoilers for The Waters of Mars and that trailer.

Summary: Right after that Martian adventure, the Doctor decides to have a nice sleep; the Master wakes him up.

Things You Don’t Want in the Night

Later he’d refer to it as a wrinkle in time and then pretend it never happened. Everything made much more sense that way.

-

The Doctor woke to the sound of a slow hand clap. It was a bit disconcerting since he was almost certain that he was travelling solo and absolutely certain that he really really wanted to be alone right now, alone and asleep, and not just because he was feeling sorry for himself. There were proper reasons too. Deep, Time Lord-y ones that the ephemeral races couldn’t possibly begin to comprehend. And he wanted a lie in.

Unfortunately, whatever was clapping could talk too: “Ten out of ten for crazy; eight out of ten for gratuitous death and destruction. Minus several million for style.”

The Doctor opened his eyes, made an undignified squawk of protest and then smooshed his face into a pillow as though that would somehow vanquish the Master back to whatever hell he’d sprung from this time.

“You’re dead,” he mumbled into the nice soft comforting fabric of his pillow that had never ever unexpectedly come back from beyond the grave (again) and woken him up at an ungodly hour of the morning.

The Master jabbed a finger into his ribs, causing the Doctor to yelp and fall off the bed into an undignified heap of blankets and pillows. “Do I feel dead?” asked the Master, smiling the sort of self-satisfied smile the Doctor really didn’t want to see first thing in the morning. He was tired and miserable and very fucking miserable thanks very much, and he’d quite like to have his pity party without listening to his undead ex-boyfriend’s gloating just because he had had one or two (or, thinking about it more closely than he liked, several...a lot of several) moments when he’d almost decided that actually, yes, he was a god.

“We could start you a religion,” said the Master, irritatingly. “People could bow down and offer bags of jelly babies to images of giant question marks.” The Doctor scowled. The Master stared and took a step forward, looming over him. “Are you naked down there?” he asked. “You are, aren’t you? Brilliant! Let’s have sex.”

“Let’s not,” muttered the Doctor, scrambling to his feet and trying for a bit of old-fashioned Roman dignity as he swung a sheet around himself in a half-hearted toga imitation. “It’s a bit too much like necrophilia. How many times have you come back from the dead now?”

“I’m not here to talk about me. I’m here to offer some constructive criticism.”

“I can’t wait.”

The Master began to pace the room. “Just a seasoned professional trying to help out an amateur, but ‘they will obey me’? Really? I should haul you up in front of the Shadow Proclamation for plagiarism, or impersonation. A really pathetic impersonation.”

The Doctor rolled his eyes. “Yeah, because there’s no way they’re going to be pissed off about someone trying muck up the fabric of time by destroying the Earth about a billion years early.”

The Master sniffed. “That was artistic expression.” He sat down on the bed and gave a little bounce. “Springy.” He raised a very unsubtle eyebrow at the Doctor. “Come on, it’s not as though anyone else is going to feel sorry enough for you that they’d set foot in here.”

“You feel sorry for me?”

The Master’s smile thinned. “Oh, yes, you sanctimonious little hypocrite, I feel very sorry for you.” He blinked and the dark look was gone. “So what’s next? A big black hat? Shiny gold robes? Stamping your name all over every super weapon in sight?”

Very gingerly the Doctor sat down at the other end of the bed. “Right now all I want is to go back to sleep. Alone.”

“I could show you some planets all ready to be exploded by an enterprising megalomaniac. We’ll start small, morally speaking. Just go for the bad planets, full of all those power-hungry war-mongering species that you hate.”

The Doctor scowled. “I don’t hate species.”

“Sure you do. The Daleks, Sontarans, Daleks, Daleks again, Vervoids, Daleks, Kastrians-”

The Doctor gave him a blank look. “Who?”

“Tut, tut, Doctor. You did kill the last of the species. With a conscience as monstrous as yours I’d’ve thought you’d have the names of every species you’ve managed to wipe out of the cosmos indelibly engraved on it.”

“I didn’t...” he mumbled, looking down at his hands.

“Well,” said the Master consolingly, a hand reaching out to pat the Doctor’s knee, “it was a long time ago. It doesn’t really matter anymore, does it?”

The Doctor jerked away from him as though he’d been stung. “Yes it does! Yes it...what are you doing here anyway? Why aren’t you dead?”

“You summoned me up with your epic levels of self-pity.”

“Ha bloody ha.”

The Master gave an exaggerated sigh. “Oh, all right, you win. You’re going to die in –“ he glanced at his watch “-about a day, so I wanted to get in one last shag before you become all old and gnarly...” The Doctor frowned. “Or teenage and ginger,” continued the Master. “I wouldn’t want to spoil the fun of what passes for your regeneration control.”

“Do I really get to be ginger?” asked the Doctor, a little too eagerly.

“No,” said the Master. “But you do get to be dead, and you don’t want to die a virgin. Again.”

“I’m not a virgin,” protested the Doctor.

“Of course not,” said the Master soothingly. “But let’s just make sure, alright? Just incase human sex doesn’t count.”

“Get out.”

“No.”

The Doctor leaned forward, but not too forward. He didn’t want the Master to get any more of the wrong idea that he already had. “I don’t like you. I don’t trust you. And I definitely don’t want to sleep with you.”

“Liar.”

The Doctor looked affronted. “Which bit?”

“All of it. You’re an appallingly bad liar. You should practice more. Like me. I mean, you’re starting to get the hang of the patter, sure, but it takes more than a couple of grandiose declarations and a galaxy-sized ego to be a villain.”

“I’m not a villain,” said the Doctor, rather peevishly.

“You could be. Stick a bin bag on your head, get a law degree, break through one or two time barriers and you’ll be trying to kill yourself four lives ago. Fun for all the family!”

“I don’t recall that ending up very well for you.”

The Master paused. “Oh. Yeah. That. Okay, new plan. Let’s go blow some stuff up.”

“Look, just tell me what’s going to happen to me.”

“Can’t do that.” The Master grinned. “Spoilers, as your lovely girlfriend would say.”

The Doctor’s eyes narrowed. “How d’you know about her?”

“A better question would be: which one of us does she think is the better shag? You get one guess.” The grin widened. “I know, let’s go find her and have a threesome. She’ll love that.”

“No. Thanks.”

“You know, you’re even less fun than I remember.”

“Good.”

“Really, it’s boring. And stupid. By the way, do you get stupider the louder you shout? I mean, at least I’ve got drums in my head. I’m trying to drown out the incessant beat, but you’re just an idiot. Do you really think anyone would have noticed if you’d saved all the humans and dumped them in, oh, the 51st century. They might still be human, but they’re pretty au fait with the idea of time travel.”

“There’d have been complications.”

“There’d have been complications,” mimicked the Master. “Boo hoo.” He wiped imaginary tears from his eyes. “Poor ickle Doctor, life is so hard and nobody loves me or wants to play with me and everyone dies and I’m all alone wah wah shut up.”

“I never said a word, and nobody is asking you to stay.”

“You want me to though.”

“No, I don’t.”

“Do you really think the universe cares that much about a handful of silly little humans and their fragile little ships?”

“It felt wrong. It wasn’t supposed to change.”

“Says who?”

“Me. I say so.”

“So?”

“I made a choice, Master. You weren’t there. You wouldn’t have saved them anyway! Just what are you doing here? What do you want?”

“You’re going to die,” said the Master, very calmly.

“So you said.”

“Try not to take everyone else with you.”

The Doctor swallowed. “Like you?” he said lightly.

The Master laughed; it even sounded genuine. “I’m here, aren’t I? I’m alive. I live, Doctor, I always live.” He smiled thinly. “Don’t you worry about me. Worry about, oh, everything else.” He stood up.

“Going somewhere?”

“Your senile excuse for a time machine has just landed. I’m going out. Dead me is about to give you a hilariously miserable time on your favourite planet and I want popcorn.” He gave the Doctor a little wave. “Be seeing you.”

“Enjoy the show,” muttered the Doctor.

The door to his bedroom slammed shut behind the Master. The Doctor crawled back under his blankets and pulled them up over his head. He closed his eyes and hoped that when he woke up, he’d be convinced the whole conversation was just a horrid nightmare.

Hippie Geek Girl

The fact that work was nothing to ...

Posted: November 16th, 2009, 7:36pm MST

Tags: [edit]

The fact that work was nothing to write home about today is in fact something to write home )er, LJ) about. In that ever-so-fun "YAY I DON'T SUCK" sort of way.

I also finally have an appointment to get back on my meds and my trainer said that she was pleased with my overall progress. So today gets chalked in the "win" column.

Gordon

Finished off Black Books. Am now onto ...

Posted: November 16th, 2009, 7:23pm MST

Tags: [edit]

Finished off Black Books. Am now onto Green Wing and already having unclean thoughts regarding Sue White.

Thinking of chucking Shaun Of The Dead on before bed, haven't watched that in a while.

anenko

I'm still really enjoying You're Beautiful, although ...

Posted: November 16th, 2009, 12:07pm MST

Tags: [edit]

I'm still really enjoying You're Beautiful, although it's one of those series that I'm happier not thinking about too deeply. cranberrysheep has an interesting discussion regarding the gender dynamics in the show: "What we are left with are two examples of women: the desired and the undesired."

I mentioned in my first post about the show that I found Mi Nam's innocence/ignorance difficult to swallow. I've since slotted her into my "sweet but dimwitted shoujo heroine" file, and have given up on Mi Nam being anything more complex. I'm not fond of the sweet but dimwitted heroine trope in general; it's difficult to see why anyone likes these girls beyond the fact that they're cute and painfully good. Cultural differences, maybe?

I really love Tae Kyung and Mi Nam's relationship; they have a lot of sweet and squeeful OTP moments. I just don't see them as equals. In episode 10, Tae Kyung wonders why Mi Nam is always so passive. Earlier on, Mi Nam tells Tae Kyung that he's always the one who makes the decisions, and doesn't like when she interferes. I'm wondering where Mi Nam's self-hatred disgust is coming from. She's lying--I'm sure that's weighing heavily on her conscience--but Tae Kyung and Manager Ma are part of the lie, too. But Mi Nam is suddenly calling herself a "thing" and certain that her love will ruin Tae Kyung.

*flails* I don't even know what my point is in all of the above.

*

Hunting for icons always puts me in a bad mood, but I did get a laugh out of someone linking to their Wan Pissu icons.

*

I'm still feeling squeeful about the AO3. The posting interface is a lot easier than ff.net. I love the bookmarks system, too--especially the ability to bookmark fics from off-site.

This entry was originally posted at [anenko.dreamwidth.org].

A good grammarian can outwit any word.

Doctor Who, a reaction in brief

Posted: November 16th, 2009, 8:23am MST

Tags: [edit]

That was brilliant. The way that Children of Earth was brilliant.

Which is not how I like my Who to be brilliant.

In other news, I think Russell T. Davies is a shitheel.

Drakyndra, ex-Master of Fandom

Huzzah for gratuitous absurdity!

Posted: November 16th, 2009, 7:00am MST

Tags: friends [edit]

Huh. It takes a new Doctor Who episode to remind me just how much of flist is from Doctor Who fandom. Still, at least the reactions are (mostly) interesting.

So anyway, on Saturday I went to my first ever Hen's Night, for Katie who is due to be married next weekend. And it was a lot of fun!

There was copious alcohol (Well, it was set up to be a cocktail party), and party bags with... amusing party favours. And a completely ridiculous headband. And we got to play some amusing games, such as an innovative new take on Pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey, known as, erm, "Pash the Poster".

Unfortunately, it was a Twilight poster. There was a great deal of RPattz mockery, though. Oh, and we also got a bit of Katie-related TMI courtesy of a drinking game! And we had a burlesque dancing lesson, which was a bit different.

So yeah, fun night. I wonder how the next one I go to will compare, though I hear it is schedules to be somewhat... different.

In other news, it turns out that fa11ing_away did actually break her wrist, so she has a lovely cast now.

Gordon

I can feel bits of my brain falling away like wet cake.

Posted: November 15th, 2009, 7:15pm MST

Tags: [edit]

Due to hurty eyes, been unable to use computer or play games for any length of time this weekend. Hence why, apart from a break for Who and a break for filling in Job Centre documentations, I have watched fourteen fifteen episodes of Black Books today and fallen for Fran all over again. I am most certainly in a quirky British sitcom mood right now and may well binge on Spaced and Green Wing all over again this week. And Nightengales.

Calapine

doctor who: the waters of mars

Posted: November 15th, 2009, 3:11pm MST

Tags: doctor who [edit]
Doctor Who was on tonight. Here are some things what I thought about it:
- I like the fact that the Evil Monster is water. And that it makes zombies. And Lindsay Duncan is teh awesome. But I'm going into this expecting it to be bloody miserable and for me to wish it was season five already. Mostly, therefore, if it's not a complete and utter depressing angstfest, I will be happy. (Ish.) But if it is, that's what I was expecting so no disappointment. It's a win-win!
- Sort of.
- Anyway...
- Love the quarry Marscape!
- Why is there a reject from Phantom Menace out looking for trespassers to arrest on a planet no humans have ever been on before? Whyyyyy?
- "The Doctor. Doctor. Ffffuun." Awesome delivery!
- "I hate funny robots." ILU DOCTOR. He totally was pissed off at the bloody SW prequels too, ah bet, yay. "Ah, well, dogs, that's different." Aha! Oh, cheap lols ftw. (Yeah, I hate myself.)
- No Forgettable Guest Star, there is no way you should ever ever call anywhere Eden. It's asking for trouble, the sort of trouble where you end up Very Very Dead.
- OH NOW YOU'RE DEAD. HA. Told ya so.
- Gusev Crater! *Mars!geek squee*
- "Oooh, I really should go..." Totally channelling The Trought, episode one, Tomb of the Cybermen, oh yes.
- Aw, man, I may love this just for having a few lines about how, yes, space travel is worth it.
- Okay, I do quite like this group of characters. I love that they actually act like a highly trained military/skientific lot who do not do stupid things, don't get stupidly incredulous and don't panic. I can believe Earth'd send these people on an interplanetary expedition. And Adelaide is tots rocking.
- Ancient north Martian: Ice Warrior or Ambassador Martians? ENQUIRING MINDS NEED TO KNOW.
- Woo! Think can assume Ice Warriors! Old skool shout-out! Winning!
- Oooh, I do like how Adelaide's background ties into Stolen Earth/JE. (This in no way justifies the sheer awfulness of JE, course, but it's a lovely scene.)
- Heh, the Doctor just said he loved Adelaide! Dudes!
- Lindsay Duncan's bleedin' amazing.
- Y'know I bet if Adelaide's granddaughter didn't fly that ship, someone else would. It really is just this appallingly unconvincing contrivance so the Doctor is an unheroic bastard has deep meaningful angsty manpain. Did someone forgot who this show is actually meant for? Cause kids seeing their beloved hero walk away as he listens to a base of people die one by one? Not exactly fun family viewing.
- OH THANK FUCK THAT TOOK HIM LONG ENOUGH.
- "The laws of time are mine and they will obey me!" Oh dear, hubris attack.
- This was going so well until Tennant started the manic weasel routine. It's like he's in some horrid competition with the music as to who can be the more irritatingly OTT.
- Stop looking so smug Doctor - it'd have been slghtly more impressive if you hadn't been walking away listening to a bunch of people DIE before helping them out.
- Good gravy, the Doctor's really being an utter bastard of hubristic crazy. Whatevs, dudes, whatevs. It ain't big and it ain't clever. It's the teenage idea of deep and it's just silly.
- "I've gone too far..." Yeah, I think I might be supposed to feel upset that Ten's going to die shortly and he looks a bit frightened by it. Instead I am Quite Cheered because V TIRED OF THE OTT EMO AND HUBRIS V TIRED.
- Cloister bell, cool!
- Heh, I thought we were meant to get the super long titles of the next episode.
- I see the finale contains crappy CGI. Marvellous.
- Alright, that was nowhere near as bad as what I expected. Lindsay Duncan was really really awesome and if I cut out the last ten minutes and all Deep Emo shots of Tennant, he was alright too. Hell of an improvement on Planet of the Dead anyway. And even with the bloody emo shots, I was definitely enjoying it until the last five minutes and, um, yes, I may just pretend that didn't happen. It was terribly silly. Everything else, not too shabby. Definitely worth another watch.

Gordon

Waters Of Mars.

Posted: November 15th, 2009, 3:02pm MST

Tags: [edit]

That was rather bloody good I thought.

______

Back it up like a dump truck.

Posted: November 15th, 2009, 1:22pm MST

Tags: squee glee [edit]

A) So you know how we were all squeeing over the awesomeness that was Puck in general and Puck/Quinn specifically in this week's episode of Glee and how the glee club needed to wise up and embrace the awesomeness that is Rachel Berry? Well, I was putting the ep on my ipod last night when I noticed this fantastic Puck/Quinn/Rachel moment. I will gif this for you now.

OT3! Look at Puck and Rachel right there! They cut to Will so quickly that we didn't get to see the end of it, but I choose to believe that Puck kissed her hand and everything. This basically means that the jocks like Rachel more than the gleeks! That's a little bananas! And that once the truth about baby!gate comes around, Rachel's going to be one of the only people on Team Liar. Rachel has very weird moments of empathy like when she told Quinn that she was awesome and they needed her for the mash-up. She may be all about Finn, but lately Rachel's been such a team player that I could see her telling everyone to get over it so they could win sectionals and be the cute little gang of misfits that they are. Or whatever, I think it's just more interesting from a storytelling POV if she's on the side that you don't think she'll take.

B) This is the coolest thing I've seen in quite some time! I love it!

C) I caught up on FNL. I changed my mind. This show can break my heart even with a completely new cast of characters! I think I love Luke Cafferty a lot! He went back to apologize to Tami about lying to her! OH GOD, YOU GUYS. All he wants is for Coach to care! He came to practice in his Panther's t-shirt and East Dillon shorts and I couldn't love him more for it! It's moments like when coach asked the Lions to finish the fight with him that make this show. I was wondering how they'd get new uniforms when they were burning it, but I didn't know that Coach would pull a Will Schuester and bankroll it himself! The sad fundraiser parade for the Lions was hilarious though. "Give it to people who aren't taking it!" BWAH HA HA! Coach and Tim make the best team!

Tim Riggins offering his help to Coach was amazing and there were smiles and EVERYTHING IS BETTER ONCE RIGGINS GETS INVOLVED. Denise from Full House grew up to be very pretty! (Yes, I remember her in that incest ep of House, but she was all sickly and in love with her brother then.) The scenes in which she taught Landry how to punt were really great! (But where is Devin?) The chick stalking Tim Riggins, on the other hand, is really annoying. You are not Tyra. You are not Lyla. You are not even StupidMILFNeighbor. Go away. At least Riggins won't have to sleep in his truck now. The bad part is that I can see her creeping into his trailer in the middle of the night like FerretMan.

Tami getting booed at the pep rally was uncool because she's like superwoman and her beat down of Joe in front of the old guys with Panther rings rocked! I hated Coach lying to her, but I loved her showing him who was boss. You do NOT lie to Tami Taylor, Eric! I loved the hell out of Buddy Garrity's speech though. It always make me feel dirty whenever I think he's great, but there you have it. He's the one guy who through and through has loved the Panthers and the heart of everything the team meant, not just the football aspect, so for him to disavow them because stupid Joe was turning them into something that wasn't the Panthers anymore was beautiful.

I don't care about Matt's art storyline at all and I hate that Julie's been reduced to essentially being Matt's ball and chain when she freakin' gave up going to Dillon and we haven't seen anything about that!

the story girl

not in the mood to write today. ...

Posted: November 15th, 2009, 12:59pm MST

Tags: [edit]

not in the mood to write today. I should do it anyway. I need to write for at least 2 hours to get/keep on track for Nano.

I need to also work on my other projects and do some holiday shopping and whatnot.

I am of a mind instead to curl up on my nice warm couch with a trashy book. (I think I shall!)
not in the mood to write today. ...

Posted: November 15th, 2009, 12:59pm MST

Tags: [edit]

not in the mood to write today. I should do it anyway. I need to write for at least 2 hours to get/keep on track for Nano.

I need to also work on my other projects and do some holiday shopping and whatnot.

I am of a mind instead to curl up on my nice warm couch with a trashy book. (I think I shall!)

"Greeks talk a whole pile of nonsense. Fuck 'em."

And by the way, don't ever fucking call me "Nicky" again.

Posted: November 15th, 2009, 12:02pm MST

Tags: the thick of it [edit]

The post is probably solely for grenadine's benefit.

MALCOLM/NICOLA. I SHIP IT SO BAD, IT HURTS.

He genuinely seems to like her!

She broke down, and he felt bad about it! She cried, and he felt really bad! He tries to cheer her up with stupid rhymes like THAT'S NOT THE PLAN, STAN and THAT'S NOT THE AGENDA, BRENDA which don't work, and for a split second he's all, "Well, shit, I made a girl cry. SHIT," and not in that way where he's annoyed that he has to deal with emotions, but because it seems like he's genuinely feeling bad. Which - MALCOLM TUCKER. FEELING BAD THAT HE MADE SOMEONE CRY. I - what?

He thinks a resignation is beneath her!

She yelled at him for people obsessed with war metaphors and being hyper-masculine!

HE GAVE HER A YELLING PEP TALK ABOUT NOT TAKING SHIT FROM PEOPLE WHO WANT TO EMBARRASS HER FAMILY, AND IT WORKED. Aaaaaaaaaaand it seemed actually somewhat genuine. Oh, gosh.

And then he lets her have a small get-out clause to resign at a later date!

AND THEN:

"Okay, so like, what do we do now? Do we go after him with, you know, one of those things that you say - a 'big bum-dildo of vengeance' or something?"
"There you go, there's my girl! Indiana Murray and the Big Bum-Dildo of Vengeance. I like it. Hey... do you want his mobile number?"

Between that, and threatening to flay people alive for spreading stories about her kid - is that how Malcolm Tucker says I love you? INDIANA MURRAY AND THE BIG BUM-DILDO OF VENGEANCE.

Yup.

I SHIP IT SO BAD.

I ship it so bad that I find myself actually noticing that they keep making a habit of pointing out how crap and absent Nicola's husband is.

Calapine

fic: night vision

Posted: November 15th, 2009, 11:43am MST

Tags: fic [edit]

Title: Night Vision
Pairing/characters: Romana II/Liz Shaw
Rating: PG
Words: 1200
Notes: written for atraphoenix for the dw_femslash ficathon.

Summary: Time Lords are dead helpful for learning important stuff, like how to make universes.

Night Vision

There are times when Romana wonders whether she’s made a mistake in inviting Liz aboard her TARDIS. She's clever. For a human, she’s exceptionally clever. Clever enough to repair alien technology she’d first encountered only hours before, clever enough to cure extraterrestrial plagues and successfully negotiate treaties with irate Martian ambassadors.

Clever enough that Romana is just slightly worried that if she doesn’t get Liz back to Earth very shortly after she’s left it, something very nasty would happen to the planet.

The Untempered Schism doesn’t exist anymore, but as she watches Liz sleep, Romana wonders what she would see if she looked into it. A human never had, of course. (Narvin’s voice echoes in her head, “Madame President, it is one thing to allow these... these people into the Academy, but I’m afraid that even your good intentions will not change fundamental biology. But, please, by all means, show them the Schism you wish to murder them all. I doubt the High Council will object.”)

She cannot believe that this human would die; she believes that she could be inspired.

She slides her fingers down Liz’s arm, tracing nonsense words in her own language, amuses herself with meaningless mathematics in another. She kisses Liz’s wrist, her skin deliciously warm beneath Romana’s lips.

Liz rolls over to face her and opens her eyes. “If you’re going to write on me, I insist it makes sense.”

“Oh, alright. How about a mathematical model of the universe?” says Romana, moving her fingers to skim over Liz’s back and beginning a new set of equations.

“Slower,” murmurs Liz. “I’m not much of a cosmologist.”

“Liar.”

Liz turns over onto her back, Romana doesn’t miss a beat. Her fingers are soft and cool on Liz’s stomach, inscribing the secrets of the universe in a language that is almost-but-not-quite too primitive to begin to understand. She feels Liz stifle a giggle as she strokes a sensitive spot and glances up at her face to see her trying to frown.

They travel to the beginning and the end and Romana is unsurprised to see a familiar blue box register on the scanner each time. “Don’t you want to speak to him?” asks Liz when Romana rematerialises her TARDIS on the other side of Malcassairo.

“Do you?” asks Romana, arching an eyebrow and recalling Liz’s acerbic comments about why she’d left the Doctor to go back to her own studies. Her hands move over the console, completing the technically perfect landing. She leans back and bites her lower lip. “You know, I think I met him after he’d grown up a bit – he didn’t feel he needed to patronise everyone around him. He just did it because he could.”

“Including you?”

Romana smiles. “What do you think?”

“Does it make sense to you?” Liz asks as they step outside, arm-in-arm. The sky is dark save for a single dying star.

“That’s a very linear question.”

“How does it begin?”

“I told you, well, wrote it on you.”

Romana sends her TARDIS spinning out from the initial explosion, Event One, the Big Bang. They race out and forward through time. Liz watches their progress avidly. “We’re approaching the edge of the universe,” she says. She looks up sharply. “Is that safe?”

“Not particularly.” Romana’s fingers dance over the console. “We can go outside it, if you like.”

“That’s....” Liz swallows down the impossible. She knows better than that. She watches the equations scroll past on the screen and Romana watches her. There is a terrible certainty in mathematics.

“Shall we?”

Liz nods her ascent. Romana flicks a switch. Around them space ripples like liquid.

Outside the universe, they land. Liz looks at Romana, raises a questioning eyebrow. Romana looks at the scanner and smiles. “There’re a lot of answers out there. More than you could ever find on Earth, I think.”

They’re greeted by an irritated man in black robes.

“Oh good,” he says, “another one.”

“That’s Narvin,” says Romana. “Ignore him.”

“What is she doing here?” he demands. “And where have you been? You do realise there’s rather a lot of important work to be done, I assume?”

“In reverse order: yes, out, and she wants to understand the nature of the universe.”

Narvin snorts. “Brilliant plan, Madame President. Shall I just turn over the computers to her now, or can she wait until we’ve resurrected our species?”

Liz isn’t listening; she’s examining her new surroundings. Matte silver walls rise up into a high cathedral arc that disappears into shadows so high above her she loses her sense of perspective. A dozen corridors sweep out of the room they’re in and she can see them rising or falling into the distance. It’s a space station of absurd size. And it’s so quiet. As the voices of the two Time Lords fade into the distance, she can hear nothing else.

Her footsteps seem unnaturally loud; she begins to notice the feel of her heart beating. A pulse in her wrist, her neck, inside her head. A throbbing beat of blood, getting louder.

The air is so still and blank. She can smell nothing at all. Suddenly, irrationally, she believes she cannot breathe.

Something lands on her shoulder. She gasps and turns, backs away, her hands raised to defend herself.

“Romana!” she snaps, indignant.

“Sorry,” Romana says, sounding more amused than apologetic. “I thought you might like to know where everything actually is. These corridors go on for, well, it’s entirely possible they go on forever.”

“Like a TARDIS?”

“Very like a TARDIS. In that respect. We cannot, however, travel through the Vortex.” There’s a bitter edge to her voice. She presses her hand flat against the wall and a section just about the size of a door shimmers out of existence. “Transport tube,” says Romana. “After you.”

Light reflects, refracts. She can see; she can hear. All the physical laws are in evidence. “It’s another universe, isn’t it? It’s an entirely separate self-sustaining system.”

“And very handy place to hide,” agrees Romana.

The control centre to the station is a more majestic version of the console room in Romana’s TARDIS.

“Is there anyone else here?” asks Liz. The emptiness of the place has begun to take on a character of its own, and it looms a little too much like a tomb for comfort.

“There was.” Bitterness, again. “At the moment, I’m afraid you’ll have to make do with me.” Romana hits a control on the console with more force than is necessary. “And Narvin,” she adds, an afterthought.

The dome ceiling of the control centre slides back. Liz looks up to see the shimmer of a force field, then there is nothing (“Darkness,” thinks Liz, “is the absence of visible photons reflected from a surface. What am I seeing?” ), and then...and then...

All of existence. If Liz stretched out her arm, it would fit into the palm of her hand.

Here lies the impossible; here lies understanding.

Liz looks at the universe.

The universe looks back.
fic: night vision

Posted: November 15th, 2009, 11:43am MST

Tags: fic [edit]

Title: Night Vision
Pairing/characters: Romana II/Liz Shaw
Rating: PG
Words: 1200
Notes: written for atraphoenix for the dw_femslash ficathon.

Summary: Time Lords are dead helpful for learning important stuff, like how to make universes.

Night Vision

There are times when Romana wonders whether she’s made a mistake in inviting Liz aboard her TARDIS. She's clever. For a human, she’s exceptionally clever. Clever enough to repair alien technology she’d first encountered only hours before, clever enough to cure extraterrestrial plagues and successfully negotiate treaties with irate Martian ambassadors.

Clever enough that Romana is just slightly worried that if she doesn’t get Liz back to Earth very shortly after she’s left it, something very nasty would happen to the planet.

The Untempered Schism doesn’t exist anymore, but as she watches Liz sleep, Romana wonders what she would see if she looked into it. A human never had, of course. (Narvin’s voice echoes in her head, “Madame President, it is one thing to allow these... these people into the Academy, but I’m afraid that even your good intentions will not change fundamental biology. But, please, by all means, show them the Schism you wish to murder them all. I doubt the High Council will object.”)

She cannot believe that this human would die; she believes that she could be inspired.

She slides her fingers down Liz’s arm, tracing nonsense words in her own language, amuses herself with meaningless mathematics in another. She kisses Liz’s wrist, her skin deliciously warm beneath Romana’s lips.

Liz rolls over to face her and opens her eyes. “If you’re going to write on me, I insist it makes sense.”

“Oh, alright. How about a mathematical model of the universe?” says Romana, moving her fingers to skim over Liz’s back and beginning a new set of equations.

“Slower,” murmurs Liz. “I’m not much of a cosmologist.”

“Liar.”

Liz turns over onto her back, Romana doesn’t miss a beat. Her fingers are soft and cool on Liz’s stomach, inscribing the secrets of the universe in a language that is almost-but-not-quite too primitive to begin to understand. She feels Liz stifle a giggle as she strokes a sensitive spot and glances up at her face to see her trying to frown.

They travel to the beginning and the end and Romana is unsurprised to see a familiar blue box register on the scanner each time. “Don’t you want to speak to him?” asks Liz when Romana rematerialises her TARDIS on the other side of Malcassairo.

“Do you?” asks Romana, arching an eyebrow and recalling Liz’s acerbic comments about why she’d left the Doctor to go back to her own studies. Her hands move over the console, completing the technically perfect landing. She leans back and bites her lower lip. “You know, I think I met him after he’d grown up a bit – he didn’t feel he needed to patronise everyone around him. He just did it because he could.”

“Including you?”

Romana smiles. “What do you think?”

“Does it make sense to you?” Liz asks as they step outside, arm-in-arm. The sky is dark save for a single dying star.

“That’s a very linear question.”

“How does it begin?”

“I told you, well, wrote it on you.”

Romana sends her TARDIS spinning out from the initial explosion, Event One, the Big Bang. They race out and forward through time. Liz watches their progress avidly. “We’re approaching the edge of the universe,” she says. She looks up sharply. “Is that safe?”

“Not particularly.” Romana’s fingers dance over the console. “We can go outside it, if you like.”

“That’s....” Liz swallows down the impossible. She knows better than that. She watches the equations scroll past on the screen and Romana watches her. There is a terrible certainty in mathematics.

“Shall we?”

Liz nods her ascent. Romana flicks a switch. Around them space ripples like liquid.

Outside the universe, they land. Liz looks at Romana, raises a questioning eyebrow. Romana looks at the scanner and smiles. “There’re a lot of answers out there. More than you could ever find on Earth, I think.”

They’re greeted by an irritated man in black robes.

“Oh good,” he says, “another one.”

“That’s Narvin,” says Romana. “Ignore him.”

“What is she doing here?” he demands. “And where have you been? You do realise there’s rather a lot of important work to be done, I assume?”

“In reverse order: yes, out, and she wants to understand the nature of the universe.”

Narvin snorts. “Brilliant plan, Madame President. Shall I just turn over the computers to her now, or can she wait until we’ve resurrected our species?”

Liz isn’t listening; she’s examining her new surroundings. Matte silver walls rise up into a high cathedral arc that disappears into shadows so high above her she loses her sense of perspective. A dozen corridors sweep out of the room they’re in and she can see them rising or falling into the distance. It’s a space station of absurd size. And it’s so quiet. As the voices of the two Time Lords fade into the distance, she can hear nothing else.

Her footsteps seem unnaturally loud; she begins to notice the feel of her heart beating. A pulse in her wrist, her neck, inside her head. A throbbing beat of blood, getting louder.

The air is so still and blank. She can smell nothing at all. Suddenly, irrationally, she believes she cannot breathe.

Something lands on her shoulder. She gasps and turns, backs away, her hands raised to defend herself.

“Romana!” she snaps, indignant.

“Sorry,” Romana says, sounding more amused than apologetic. “I thought you might like to know where everything actually is. These corridors go on for, well, it’s entirely possible they go on forever.”

“Like a TARDIS?”

“Very like a TARDIS. In that respect. We cannot, however, travel through the Vortex.” There’s a bitter edge to her voice. She presses her hand flat against the wall and a section just about the size of a door shimmers out of existence. “Transport tube,” says Romana. “After you.”

Light reflects, refracts. She can see; she can hear. All the physical laws are in evidence. “It’s another universe, isn’t it? It’s an entirely separate self-sustaining system.”

“And very handy place to hide,” agrees Romana.

The control centre to the station is a more majestic version of the console room in Romana’s TARDIS.

“Is there anyone else here?” asks Liz. The emptiness of the place has begun to take on a character of its own, and it looms a little too much like a tomb for comfort.

“There was.” Bitterness, again. “At the moment, I’m afraid you’ll have to make do with me.” Romana hits a control on the console with more force than is necessary. “And Narvin,” she adds, an afterthought.

The dome ceiling of the control centre slides back. Liz looks up to see the shimmer of a force field, then there is nothing (“Darkness,” thinks Liz, “is the absence of visible photons reflected from a surface. What am I seeing?” ), and then...and then...

All of existence. If Liz stretched out her arm, it would fit into the palm of her hand.

Here lies the impossible; here lies understanding.

Liz looks at the universe.

The universe looks back.

B-A-N-A-N-A-S

THAT JOHN KRASINSKI FELLOW IS PRETTY CUTE

Posted: November 15th, 2009, 11:30am MST

Tags: [edit]

THAT JOHN KRASINSKI FELLOW IS PRETTY CUTE

lithiumdoll

Dear Yuletide Author

Posted: November 15th, 2009, 4:50am MST

Tags: [edit]

I'm here, I'm here!

Okay, so, (again) thank you so much for writing my fic! I want to stress (again, again) that I will adore whatever you do and my prompts and preferences really are just meant to be helpful indications rather than, like, what my appreciation hinges on.

I'm a total canon Ho and I'm all about characters being in character. So that tends to mean I'm not a slasher. Also, I'm really not a shipper. I'm just difficult, basically. So if you're not sure about going het or gen, gen is great! Love the gen. Also, while we're here, I <3 plotty, dialoguey fic, if there's snarkiness, bonus! So, so much of my happy place.

Genre/theme wise - as long as whatever happens happens believably, you have me at hello. I'm trying to make up for the no-slash, no-het thing *shifty eyes* Oh! And if you want to give the story a seasonal theme, that's absolutely fine by me. If you don't, that's also absolutely fine by me.

Squicks: Non-con, sexualised violence, RPF (any RPF - I can't even read Band of Brothers fic, man. This makes me sad). I realise that none of the fandoms I've asked for exactly predispose themselves to these, but just in case you're all "maybe she's always longed for a Bandom crossover with whips and roofies", now you know.

Burn Notice
Words cannot express how much I would love ~anything at all~, but because that's incredibly unhelpful I have prompts! Use, ignore or twist beyond all recognition as brings you happiness.

Overall: I <3 gen, would be fine with Michael/Fi and tend not to so much want of the slash, but if gen or het are anathema to you, I'll understand.
- Michael leaves home, joins the Army and .... then what happens? I have only love for backstory.
- How did Michael and Sam meet?
- Actually, anything pre-series SAM would be awesome too.
- Which isn't to say I don't adore Fi, because I do! What does Fi get up to when she's not humouring Michael?
- Younger Madeline, I would find fascinating (whether very young, or young mother, perhaps after Michael has gone? ANYTHING at all)
- BARRY! SEYMOUR! I realise this isn't so much a prompt as a sign of devotion but, truly, anything with either of these guys would be awesome.

I actually can't think of anything more to add to this. Except possibly, did I mention I love crossovers? Because I totally love crossovers. Any of the shows in my interests crossed over with any of these shows would make you a special, special snowflake.

Jake 2.0
Jake \o/ Anything post series would kill the pain o_0

Gen would be lovely, otherwise I am good with wherever you want to go.

Prompts:
- Warner and DuMont and PLOTTING. And Jake. Somehow.
- Jake and Beckett on a mission together, for reasons that don't need exploring at this juncture. Awesomeness ensues.
- Five years after the series ended, if it had have kept going where might they be at?

For some reason, I completely failed to mention how the Kyle and Jake comedy (or .. action / drama /whatever) roadshow would also be my happy place. Presumably because I hate me and want me to suffer. Anyway! What I really loved with the show was the ensemble, so if you found a way to have something plotty where everyone got to do something? You would exceed the RDA of win. Bonus points for Jake's nano's either evolving or going wrong somehow.

Traveler
I thought I was over this show but it turns out, no. There is nothing I wouldn't love beyond all measure to read. NOTHING. I will prompt anyway, just in case "whatever you write" isn't the most helpful thing in the entire world.
- post-series (OMG what happened next?)
- really, really, really post-series (OMG what happened in the end?)
- pre-series, who was Will Traveler? (seriously, ANYTHING)
- Jay and Tyler getting Will out of trouble

I managed to just put "Will Traveler" in the character chooser thingy and therefore fail - anything with Will, Tyler and Jay would be wonderous. Bonus points for sneaky government types, beleaguered FBI agents and conspiracy. Mmmm diabolical plots.

Zombieland
*FLAILY* So I saw this? And I was all THANK GOD FOR YULETIDE WRITERS. Anything post-film would be beyond wonderful. I am all about the characters, so just driving through Zombieland and being their them would be beautiful, but if you want to go plotty this would be awesome as well.

I really have nothing to add to this - I'm so sorry! It's just every time I think Zombieland, my hands start to flail. I have flail issues. I'm typing with my nose or something.

TL;DR I hope you have fun with the writing and please don't sweat the prompts! I will have happiness with whatever you come up with!

salt & vinegar.

Dear Yuletide Writer!

Posted: November 14th, 2009, 11:44pm MST

Tags: yuletide [edit]

dear my lovely yuletide writer!!

first and foremost, anything you write will be fantastic. also, i know i requested kind of random and obscure things. don't feel bad or obligated to write what i suggest. it's just an idea. and for the record, i'm just keeping the karin slaughter request alive year after year - don't feel bad if you can't/don't want to write it.

second, i like the dark and twisted, so it doesn't have to be a happy ending. however, if you're feeling the spirit of the holiday, go right ahead! (but i really like twisted stuff.)

feel free to ask fox1013, iamsab, and/or girlboymusic to find out anything you need to know about me. :) and i'm pretty much all about friendship here.

and on to the requests!

Request: Markus Zusak - The Book Thief

Character: Death
death is one of my favorite narrators ever. i absolutely adore this book and recommend it to so many people, but i feel like this book is so complete and perfect, that i would love to see death deal with a different situation. the armenian genocide? rwanda? OR you could play cross-over fairy here, and have someone die in another fandom. but death POV is essential here, and zusak's specific death with his strange devotion to humans.

i wish i could write this story, but i have tried, and i can't get death's voice right. (i'm far too cynical and snarky. this death *likes* humanity!) so really, anything you do here would make me happy. i love this character, so much. i want more, i have wanted more, ever since i read the book - death was my favorite. i felt for him so much, having to do this job he didn't really ask for, trying to stay distant because everyone goes away. oh, what heartbreak! really, ANYTHING death POV here would make me happy happy.

Request: Karin Slaughter - Grant County series

Characters: Any
i request this every year, and i will continue to request it. i love this series - the backstory, the relationships, the violence, the fact that she doesn't shy away from horrible things happening. lena, tessa, and sara are my favorites, but i love the idea of contrasting the sisters before the series starts - and exploring why sara doesn't like lena so much. will is awesome also (though no angie please!) and if you want to work with "undone", it might be cool to see what's happening back in grant county while sara's away. but seriously, anything here would make me sooo happy.

really, anything. i love the girls. even if you want to explore life back with nell and possum, or focus in atlanta, or backstory on ANYONE . . . man, yeah. but i know that no one offered to write it this year, so no pressure. ;)

Request: thirtysomething

Characters: Ellyn Warren/Hope Steadman/Melissa Steadman/Nancy Weston
i'd also love a story with susannah. i love susannah - i would be susannah in this group of people. but nancy's my all-time favorite, i think, and melissa and hope and ellyn are just so perfect . . . i would love a story where hope is legitimately psychologically in trouble (so. many. possibilities!) or dealing with the fact that janey doesn't talk and is, say, autistic. or just the women talking about hope's holiday kink. ANYTHING. i love them. but i love nancy the best.

you don't understand how much i love this series. you just don't. i actually could NOT stop crying after watching gary's funeral. like, it was just so. damn. perfect. and it was partly so perfect because of nancy. i LOVE NANCY WESTON. you have no idea how much. but i also love ellyn and melissa and want them in my family. and hope's the crazy aunt you have to put up with that doesn't let you in the kitchen at the holidays because you can't slice the potatoes thin enough. and susannah - oh, how i relate to susannah. susannah story after we see her leave for new york. susannah and possibly melissa? again, YOU CAN DO NO WRONG.

Request: Once and Again

Characters: Grace/Jessie/Judy/Karen
i would be happy with anything but rick/lily, to be honest. i love grace, and i love jessie, and i love karen sammler like i love nancy weston, which is to say a LOT. and judy! aunt judy is so awesome. i like the "discarded" spouses better - jake and tiffany, karen and her depression. a story from aaron's POV might be totally awesome too. (clearly, i love the psychological.) i think grace acts like a middle child which is interesting because she wasn't - so why? i love jessie because she spoke up and went to therapy, and karen because she insisted that jessie go. oh, this show!

i can't stop thinking about grace and judy and karen. karen is amazing. my karen love is much like my nancy weston love (shocker, right?). grace and her post-adolescence, grace and her awkwardness, grace and eli, grace dealing with her mother that is all about her . . . and her younger, cuter, sassier sister zoey, and then jessie . . . man. and i love jessie. everything about her. i would love a friendship story between judy and karen. you can do NO WRONG HERE EITHER!

basically, i am happy with anything you write!however, if you do decide to throw in psychological stuff, i really, really, ask that you get a good beta for that. it's my pet peeve. but sending people to therapy is like a major kink of mine, but please be careful if you decide to do that. (anyone can use a good therapy session!) also, i love canon. i love stories that work within canon, add to canon, etc. i would love it if you didn't go all AU on me - though if you really wanted to, go free!

castrovalva9

Yuletide

Posted: November 14th, 2009, 11:15pm MST

Tags: [edit]

Just in case my yuletide writer is curious/would like some direction, I thought I'd give a better indication of the sort of story I'd like.

First, thanks for writing for me! I can already assure you, I'll be thrilled with anything you write for one of these fandoms. My general tastes are: I like fluff, crackfic, character studies, vignettes. A story with a holiday setting or theme would be lovely, though by no means required. Gen, het, slash, and femslash are all welcome. Any rating is fine.

On the other side of the coin, I don't care for graphic violence, non-con, and character bashing.

Now we get into my requested fandoms. For most of these, I have a few story ideas in case you'd like guidance. Please don't feel obligated to stick to the suggestions, though. If you want to write a different plot, go for it!

All My Children
I'm fond of most of the characters, but especially Erica, Phoebe, Palmer, Myrtle, Babe, Ryan, the Martins in general, Bianca, Leo, and David.

Trixie Belden Mysteries
I especially like Trixie, Honey, and Jim. However, I'd also be very happy with an ensemble piece, or a story with the focus on Mart, Miss Trask, Regan, Di, Brian, or Dan. Preferably no futurefic. A short mystery or a piece from Honey's viewpoint are a couple of ideas I had.

Desperate Housewives
I know I chose several characters from the list when signing up, but don't feel constrained that you must write about them only, or even necessarily include them in the story. For me, you really can't go wrong no matter which characters you write about. When I signed up, I included the following suggestions:
A story set before Mary Alice's death (from anyone's viewpoint) is one idea. The women just playing a poker game and gossiping is another. Or maybe something set during that five-year "gap" when the show jumped ahead in time? Then the story could be about Gabi being pregnant and her reaction, Bree building up her business, etc. A "What happened to Kayla?" fic is another possibility.

Ugly Betty
I love Betty, Christina, Justin, and Marc. A story with a focus on one or more of them would be great. Ideas: What's Christina been doing since she left? Justin working somewhere/interacting with Marc. Or Marc could get a new boyfriend. If shipping Betty, Betty/Daniel or Betty/Matt work best for me.

______

Glee fanmix: Talk Like Lions, Sacrifice Like Lambs EP (Puck, Quinn)

Posted: November 14th, 2009, 9:09pm MST

Tags: fanmix glee [edit]

This is the sorta-idea that came to me while I was picspamming this week's episode. Watching the Glee panel today didn't help quelch the thought. With Dianna Agron looking all Betty Draper, I wanted nothing more than for there to be a Mark Salling fedora shoot so I could've gone all 1960s Sterling Cooper Draper-Pryce on this. Sadly, it was not meant to be. I'm going to need a Mad Men-inspired episode somewhere down the line, preferably with a guest spot by Christina Hendricks who will be playing the accordion and being fabulous while teaching the cheerios the ultimate ways in which to be all about the teasing and not about the pleasing.

a Puck/Quinn EP: Talk Like Lions, Sacrifice Like Lambs

01. Counting Crows - Round Here
round here we're carving out our names
round here we all look the same
round here we talk just like lions
but we sacrifice like lambs
round here she's slipping through my hands

02. Louie Says - She
if she bends, then she breaks
she loves you but then she takes it away
she bends and she bows
she's cold, but she melts like snow
she bends, she breaks

03. The Pierces - Save Me
there's a lot you don't know
there's a lot I can't tell
would you think I'm crazy if you knew me that well?
'cause there's a lot you don't know
but you say you won't go and I'd like to believe you
but I know there's no one left to save me
(I'm the only one)

04. Goo Goo Dolls - Hate This Place
can I get along without you?
tell me lies that you know I need

05. Pat Benatar - Love Is A Battlefield
we're losing control
will you turn me away or touch me deep inside?
and before this gets old, will it still feel the same?
there's no way this will die
but if we get much closer, I could lose control
and if your heart surrenders, you'll need me to hold

06. The Academy Is... - Skeptics and True Believers
would you believe me if I said I didn't need you?
'cause I wouldn't believe you if you said the same to me
and near death, last breath, and barely hanging on
would you believe me if I said I didn't need you?

zip file with mp3s and cover art (25.69mb): here (mf) or here (ss)

Please comment if snagging :).

Doyle

Yuletide!

Posted: November 14th, 2009, 8:31pm MST

Tags: [edit]

Dear yuletide writer (I just feel a bit odd about calling people goats, although goats are perfectly nice creatures. Maybe that bit in Harry Potter about Dumbledore's brother and the inappropriate charms ruined them for me?),

Hurray! You've signed up for one of my rare fandoms - and this year they're really pretty rare, I think the most popular has four offers that aren't me - which means I like you already. And I'm dead easy to please, honestly. I like gen, slash, het, femslash, poly, I'm a huge multishipper, there are very few characters I don't like, I'm a big fan of humour and dialogue and adventures and fun character interactions; I'm not very fond (at least for these four fandoms) of unremitting angst without at least some spark of hope at the end of the tunnel, and I really hate character or ship bashing (though obviously some characters do canonically dislike each other, and reflecting that's fine).

I know this is weird in fandom, but I generally skim NC-17 scenes, so PWP isn't really my thing; don't feel you have to fade to black if it's going to wreck the story you're writing, of course.

Enid Blyton: St Clare's - any

My favourite's Alison, the silly cousin with her epic girlcrushes, but I'll be happy with anything in this fandom - gen or femslash, though no underage sex, please. Feel free to go outside the bounds of the genre, especially if you want to play with what happened in the mysterious third year we know nothing about (zombie apocalypse at St Clare's?)

I should say that I love, love, stories about girls' boarding schools, with all the trappings of that genre - midnight feasts and practical jokes on Mam'zelle and all that. I was torn between this fandom and Malory Towers and St Trinian's, and finally went for this because it's rarer. So whatever characters or plot you go for, it'd be great if they were still at school. Apart from that? Go mad. If you want to stick to canon and the style of the books, that's fine by me (something from the teachers' POV could be fun?), but if you want to veer off into crazy genre-crossing antics, I'm more than on board with that. Elder gods in the grounds! Ghosts in the attic! Someone finds a time machine! Plucky schoolgirls fending off velociraptor attack! Etc.

I haven't read Pamela Cox's fill-ins so I'd prefer not to get fic based around those.

Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? - Bob Ferris/Terry Collier

Bob/Terry, please, slash or just a continuation of the strong friendship that's in canon - there's just no fanfic for this at all, so I'd be happy with anything (provided Thelma's not made into a cartoon villain).

This one's a long shot as nobody's offered it but me two years running (it's me who keeps nominating it too), but as I've got pimped into new sources by yuletide I decided that hell with it, I was going to request it anyway. Anyway, here's my post pimping this show. After I wrote that I went back and rewatched some episodes thinking "surely, surely my slash goggles were turned to max last time I saw this and a 1970s sitcom wasn't that blatantly, knowing slashy?" - except it really is. More so than I remembered, even. If you go the slash route I'd prefer an R-rating or below; if not, a caper or a social occasion or a rambling conversation down the pub would be just as good.

I didn't mention her in the character selection, but if you do go for this one and don't feel like writing the guys I'd love to see Terry and Thelma interacting - I love their relationship in canon, veering between circling each other like cats and ganging up on Bob when he's annoyed them both.

The Brady Bunch Movie - Greg Brady/Marcia Brady

Marcia's my One True Character here; for preference I'd like Marcia/Greg or Marcia/Noreen (her lesbian best friend), but if that's not your thing, I'd also like gen about Marcia going to college or interacting with her schoolmates or family, or just generally being awesome.

This movie, and A Very Brady Sequel, are my warm'n'fuzzy happy place. I love the mocking-but-affectionate tone of the movies a lot so if you can keep that, we're golden. I named Greg in my characters request, but if stepcest isn't your thing feel free to only have him in a minor role, or leave him out entirely. So long as my girl Marcia's centre stage, all is well.

I said in last year's sign up that I hadn't seen any of the original series. No longer true! So if you want to follow the movies in stealing the show's ridiculous plots, I'll have no complaints.

Bernard and the Genie - Bernard Bottle/Josephus

Something keeping the sweet, funny tone of the movie, please; fix-it fic reuniting Bernard and Josephus would be lovely, or a missing scene before Josephus leaves? Slash would be adored, gen-with-subtext is good too, hijinks and hilarity ensuing are my favourite things.

Nothing to add to that, really!

anenko

Guess what? It's another Yuletide post!

Posted: November 14th, 2009, 7:26pm MST

Tags: yuletide [edit]

I'm happy with my assignment, but I have to figure out a story to hang my glee off of.

(I was TOTALLY off base with guessing what fandom I was going to get.)

*

My Dear Yuletide Writer is over this way.

*

ETA: Dark Agenda is a Yuletide-related challenge; they're trying to encourage people to write about chromatic/characters of colour.

______

It's like as if High School Musical had been punched in the stomach and had its lunch money stolen.

Posted: November 14th, 2009, 3:58pm MST

Tags: squee glee [edit]

A) I watched the entire Glee panel from the Comic-Con that happened in July today. Way to be topical, I know, but I had only seen clips of it before so it was wicked to see the whole thing. Precious cast is completely precious!

"I thought I'm not going to get this job, no way, so I'm going to show them me playing the drums on tupperware with unsharpened pencils." Heh. I love everyone wanting him to sing Billy Joel but he pulled the cold card.

Lea Michele talking about how she'd known Matt Morrison for a few years because they'd both done Broadway made my little Will/Rachel-loving heart expand with joy even though it has nothing to do with them at all. Also, "SING IT!" "No seriously, sing it." LOVE! And then Matthew sang "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" without the aid of his ukulele and it was awesome and there was hilarious touching and Cory and Lea proclaimed that they were in love with him! ♥♥♥ The "pour me some more water" thing was great because A) YOU ARE AWESOME, LEA MICHELE and B) he poured it for her the first time too! And his continued "hiiii, Lea" made me crack up! Matthew Morrison, you're so funny that it almost doesn't even matter that you think monogamy is a type of tree! (You win, Chrishell Stause!)

But I loved the story about Lea crashing her mini-Coop when she pulled into the lot for the studio test: "A full on collision with a van! It was totally their fault! I just left my car in the middle of Pico, took a golf cart up, had glass and little cuts on me, came in, and they thought I was making it up to get sympathy." HEH. And Dianna Agron straightened her hair in a Starbuck's bathroom before her callback! LOL! I can't imagine her with curly hair though.

"One of the many things that separates the show from High School Musical is the incredible music you're hearing..." HAHA. Well-played, panel host! Well-played!

"Babies hate our show." Heh.

Dianna bringing up Freaks and Geeks when talking about how to describe the show? A+++! It was even better than the Election reference, which is the comparision I made when watching the pilot. Her grandmother was not happy when she saw pictures of Dianna with the cross. Heh.

Jane Lynch is the mother hen!

"WHAT? RajeeshKurt's gay?" Followed by Chris!voice!

"Well, the character is kind of written for Lea. It kind of is Lea..." BWAH! Little Lea Michele = Rachel Berry! And then Matthew piped in with, "Oh, I was nothing like a high school teacher in high school!" Matthew was THAT GUY! I loved Dianna's thing about the mean girls sending you e-mails later to be all, "Hey, you're doing okay," and you're like, "Hey, I remember when you were kind of mean to me!" Aww. Rock!

I love Ian Brennan. That is all.

B) I also watched Paper Heart even though I was weary at first because, as we all know, Michael Cera is completely incapable of play a different freakin' character. I'm sure many, many actors play a "type." However George-Michael-Cera is all he ever does! I guess it was okay in this because he was supposed to be playing himself and the mockumentary itself was cute. The Charlyne/Michael stuff was awkwardly precious! The "I won't waste any more of your time" bit where he walked out of the restaurant and was gone for like five minutes because he didn't realize it would take him so long to go around was hilarious! However, all the observations about love weren't particularly insightful or new. The interviews with the kids at the playground were so great though! Wings at Applebees! French Riviera restaurant that only serves seafood!

C) Speaking of documentaries, last night I finally saw Andrew McMahon's Dear Jack, which he started filming from the day he got diagnosed with leukemia and chronicled the whole process of treatment and recovery. It was sad and hopeful at the same time; I really loved how music is what pushed him to get better. Strangely enough the only part that really had me teary-eyed was the Tommy Lee phone call. That was really, really nice. Since I don't really keep up with musicians' lives outside of their music, I had no idea that Andrew had gotten married to his girlfriend Kelly so throughout the movie, I kept thinking that it would be horrible that they'd break up again. (The itunes synopsis was misleading!) There were parts of the documentary when I thought that she should've made it less about her (like when she talked about how she could move on if he died, but she didn't want to), but it was also really lovely to see him smile during that cute moment at the hospital when they talk about how he can't kiss her and how she's in the hospital but he's in there a lot more. It looks like they make each other happy which is all that matters, I guess. I also loaded up my ipod with the Dear Jack EP and, while I love "Dear Jack", I think my favorite song from it has to be "There, There Katie" because the piano in the beginning is so beautiful! (I love JM, but I still miss Something Corporate.)
Jack's Mannequin - There, There Katie
Please comment if snagging. :)

The Shattered King

Yep. It's time for another exciting edition ...

Posted: November 14th, 2009, 12:42pm MST

Tags: [edit]

Yep. It's time for another exciting edition of 'Fuck You Itunes'.

Lets compare the new Bon Jovi album my mum wants. On Amazon US download service it costs $3.99. So about £3.

In Tesco instore, you can pick up the CD version for around £5.

On Itunes? The digital download is £7.99.

(And Itunes has repeatedly failed to allow me to authorise my mums laptop.)

I swear to god if there wasn't an itunes voucher to be used here...

But given itunes are so completely incompetantly godawful, how are they even still in business? I just don't get it. Their service is shite, their prices are the most expensive in the sector, and yet... people still use them?

Oh, and even better? The track I just wanted to buy for myself? Itunes will only sell it as part of an album that I do not want. Die in a fire, itunes. Die in a fire.
Drawing. Dean Winchester.

Posted: November 14th, 2009, 12:21pm MST

Tags: [edit]

Finished. Quite happy with. Though I'm not convinced the likeness is quite 100%.

Remember these are all for sale. If anybody wants something, just give me a shout.
Christ. Was just watching a program about ...

Posted: November 14th, 2009, 11:57am MST

Tags: [edit]

Christ. Was just watching a program about bullying in schools.

Kid being bullied, found the guts to tell a teacher. Teacher told him yep, no problem, we'll put an end to this. They have no right to use racial abuse against anybody.

Teacher called the group of bullies into his office. Group of bullies said 'That other kid was being a pain in the ass, it was all his fault! He was annoying us!'

Teacher sent them away, called the kid who was being bullied into his office, and started saying 'We understand its all your fault, you have to change your behaviour and stop annoying these other kids.'

I despair.

anenko

AO3

Posted: November 14th, 2009, 8:49am MST

Tags: [edit]

I'm all set up at the Archive Of Our Own: here.

I'm really excited to have a home off-LJ for my fics. ♥

This entry was originally posted at [anenko.dreamwidth.org].

Hippie Geek Girl

In case you hadn't noticed...

Posted: November 13th, 2009, 10:08pm MST

Tags: [edit]

I've gotten so out of touch with LJ that I just had to add a note to my to-do list saying "HEY, REMEMBER THAT THING YOU USED TO DO ALL THE TIME?"

*sigh*

So, yeah. New(ish) job is... job-like. I haven't been and won't be talking about it much here, mainly because I'd like to keep said job, and also because I don't really want to think about it too much when I'm not there. :/ Suffice it to say that I'm fairly convinced I don't completely suck. I'm also trying to get back on my ADD meds, which will hopefully make life in general a hell of a lot easier.

Between that and the many small but significant tasks I need to get done this weekend, my brain is pretty much drained at the moment. How's everyone else doing?

"Greeks talk a whole pile of nonsense. Fuck 'em."

Your partner.

Posted: November 13th, 2009, 10:05pm MST

Tags: law order [edit]

I am continually surprised that this exists in the same canon as SVU.

"WE'RE COLLEAGUES, NOT LOVERS. I MEAN, THAT'S JUST THE WAY IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE, RIGHT?"

It's funny (and sad), because he was talking to his boss.

Jack McCoy.

(Jack's "...oh my God, you actually love her, don't you?" face was epic in that scene.)

IN SUMMARY:

- Connie is the one that wears the pants and has a track record of sleeping with co-workers.
- The detectives ship them.
- Jack ships them.
- "It was dumb. It was dumb, and you're not dumb."
- They stay up until ass-all late in the morning prepping her for trial while eating Chinese food, and they look like crap, and they also look like they're about to have sex on Mike's desk if you wait a couple seconds.
- That last scene was basically Jack saying, "Just have sex already and get it over, oh my God my life as a DA is too stressful for your nonsense."
- This was 6x12 "Trophy" (DIANA: "YOU KNOW HOW JACK OPERATES. I MEAN, YOU ARE SLEEPING WITH HIM, AREN'T YOU?" CLAIRE: "*ARTFUL KNOWING UNANSWERING EYEBROW RAISE*") Part 2.
- Mike has basically been in love with Connie since the beginning but never said anything, and now when she's balls to the wall trying to send her ex-boyfriend to jail because he's SLEAZY AND AWFUL, he decides to defend her honor in court by epically pwning that sleazy motherfucker so bad and so hard that you can hear the AND FUCK YOU TOO I ACTUALLY LOVE HER BTW UNLIKE YOU in his voice - oh, and I know all of this because the show told me it was true.

(I LOVE BEING RIGHT ABOUT THIS STUFF.)

...

!!!!

THIS HAPPENED.

If they wake up in bed together next week, I'm buying everyone Patron. Deal?

No, really, I hope SVU stress eats a whole gallon of ice cream, the flavor of which it hates but it was the only thing left at the grocery store. I HOPE IT FEELS BAD ABOUT ITSELF.

Doyle

Fic: Show Me More of This Traken Thing Called Kissing (Tegan/Nyssa)

Posted: November 13th, 2009, 5:44pm MST

Tags: [edit]

Title: Show Me More of This Traken Thing Called Kissing
Author: Doyle
Pairing/characters: Tegan/Nyssa, Adric, Five
Rating: PG-13
Words: 5100
Notes: For livii in the dw_femslash ficathon. Starts after Four to Doomsday and fudges the timeline a bit in terms of how many missing adventures there might reasonably be between that story and Earthshock. Contains comedy! Angst! Symbolism! And an educational slide show!
Summary: Nyssa makes a formal bid for Tegan's romantic affections. Tegan isn't quite sure what to do with that, really.

“Probably my Great-Aunt Mathilde, I suppose,” Tegan said, once she'd mentally untangled the bit about 'matrilineal descent'. “She's my gran's sister – on Mum's side – must be at least ninety, so she's definitely the oldest woman in my family. Dunno if that makes her the 'most senior matriarch' or not. I wouldn't cross Gammy while I was in range of her walking stick, I know that much. Why d'you ask?”

And she wondered again what was wrong with Nyssa today, because she started to answer and then didn't seem to know what to say next. She looked a bit flushed, too, and Tegan put down her wine glass, ready to make a grab for her friend at the first sign of imminent keeling-over. “Look, sit down, for heaven's sake! You don't want to go fainting again.”

“Yes. You're right, of course.” Nyssa smoothed out her dress and perched carefully on the steps, in a way, Tegan noted with amusement, that was a lot more ladylike than her own inelegant sprawl. The pair of them must be a sight – finishing school girl led astray by an off-duty air hostess, assuming they still had air hostesses in the year 22-whatever-this-was.

They were alone, more or less, apart from the couple somewhere across the square having a furtive bit of fun behind a pillar – the woman was letting out the occasional giggle – and the robot-thing sweeping up paper streamers and bits of finger food. It seemed to give them a hard look. Tegan glared back: yes, my friend and I are getting gently drunk in St. Mark's Square at four in the morning, have you got a problem with that? It whirred and spun away.

The Doctor had said something about needing to see the Doge, and Adric had wandered off a while ago, interest caught either by the beauty of the canals in the artificial lantern-light or the distant jingle of an ice-cream gondola, so it had just been the two of them for some time. Tegan had enjoyed spending some time with Nyssa when there weren't Escher cities or plots to invade the Earth to contend with. It was like being on holiday with someone you didn't know well, but who turned out to be clever and interesting and quietly funny. It was... nice.

“I like you,” Tegan said, six hours' worth of wine making her fuzzily sentimental and warm-hearted to the whole world, especially the Nyssa-shaped bit beside her on the steps. “I'm glad we're friends.” Thinking over this later, she couldn't swear whether or not she reached out at this point and patted Nyssa's hair.

“I'm glad, too,” Nyssa said, smiling at her, looking a little more sure of herself now. “That was why I was asking about your family.”

“Ask whatever you like,” she said, looking around for her glass and very much not making the leap from family to poor Auntie Vanessa. Nyssa didn't need reminding about what the Master had done to either of their families.

“I know it probably seems silly, with my people gone,” Nyssa was saying, “but I don't know what the procedure is in your culture – I did look in the library but all the late-twentieth-century Earth books about romance seemed a bit... well, they didn't help – but if we were on Traken, I would go to the most senior matriarch in your family...”

“Gammy,” Tegan put in, pleased to have caught up after getting lost round about 'romance'.

“Yes. I would go to Gammy and I would ask for her permission to approach you.”

And somehow, Tegan still couldn't see where this was going. “Approach me,” she repeated, smiling a bit, still riding the wave of alcoholic goodwill.

“Yes,” Nyssa said again, her own smile fading fast. “Romantically, I mean.”

After a long moment, Tegan said, “Um.” A longer one before she managed, “So it's not the person's dad you go to, on your planet?”

She looked astonished. “Well, if you were a man, or you didn't have any female relatives, it would be the senior male in your family I'd need to speak to.” The of course was implied. Tegan conceded that this made a certain amount of sense. As much as anything had in the last five minutes, anyway.

The colour was rising in Nyssa's cheeks again. “I did find some information on your planet's culture,” she said, opening the handbag she'd been clutching all day. “It's not really part of the ceremony but on Traken the fastaiin flower is sometimes exchanged between new lovers because it's a symbol of, of, temptation, and the book I found said...” She thrust her hand out, desperately.

Tegan took the apple from her as if it was going to start ticking.

It was red, and waxy, and she almost asked where Nyssa had got it before she decided that there were other questions that should come first.

So she'd be asking any of those, any minute now, then.

“Um,” she said.

Across the square, the pillar-woman squealed with delight.

**

The thing was, Tegan had thought she had their little group dynamic all figured out. Just one happy-slash-dysfunctional time-travelling family, with a bratty genius of a kid brother and a sweet scientist sister and a youngish-looking uncle roped into babysitting despite not being great with kids. She'd quite liked that idea, not that she'd ever have said a word to any of them. Call it only child syndrome or something. Playing the bossy big sister had suited her.

Except Nyssa hadn't been thinking along the same lines, had she?

Nyssa... fancied her, or had a little crush...

Back in Venice Tegan had thought, looking at her friend's huge-eyed, miserable expression: oh. That's why it's called a 'crush'.

“Look, this is just all a bit sudden,” she'd tried, but Nyssa was already falling over herself apologising.

“I'm awfully sorry.”

“I don't know what to say...”

“I've never done anything like this before.”

“Maybe you're drunk!”

“I haven't had any alcohol.”

“Maybe I'm drunk.”

“Yes, you are. Oh, that makes it worse, doesn't it, I was all wrong about when to say something...”

“I just had no clue you felt like this.”

“I thought you might feel the same way...”

“Adric's coming,” they both said at once, and smiled awkwardly at each other.

“I'm sorry,” Nyssa said again, and Tegan said, “No, I am. I wish...”

Adric had caught up to them before she could finish that thought. Lucky, really, because she hadn't the first clue what was going to come out of her mouth next. What was it she'd almost wished?

She couldn't remember later what had happened to the apple.

**

That was nearly the beginning and end of it, all at once.

“The TARDIS is getting bigger all the time,” Nyssa said the next day, a day they'd spent tiptoeing around more than just Tegan's colossal, crippling hangover. “I'm sure I could find a different room if you'd like some more space.” As if that was the only reason; there was nothing but the tiniest worried edge to her tone to suggest they'd spoken about anything unusual last night.

“We're fine as we are,” Tegan groaned into her pillow. “If you start hauling furniture around the place while my head's like this, I won't be responsible for my actions.”

“I couldn't understand most of that,” Nyssa told her kindly, but she went and fetched a glass of water and some kind of miracle hangover-be-gone pill she'd talked out of the Doctor.

“You,” Tegan told her, draining the glass, “are an angel. And don't go anywhere, please. Me and you, we're friends, right?”

Nyssa probably didn't know what an angel was, but she shone at the compliment, and she agreed that yes, they were friends, and everything was fine between them again. Business as usual. Just like it had been before.

But.

There was a second or two, while she was lying across her bed enjoying being suddenly headache-free and Nyssa was looking through a book at her desk, when Nyssa reached up to tuck her hair behind her ear. And Tegan caught herself looking at the pale sweep of her neck, the soft waves of her hair, her lips.

“Tegan?” She was sure she only groaned very softly but it got Nyssa out of her chair and sitting down beside her on the bed in a second. “I could get you some more medicine.”

“No,” Tegan told her, rolling onto her back to look fixedly at the nice, uncomplicated ceiling. “It's all right. Just my head.”

The ceiling had grown circles overnight, white indentations that looked well on their way to becoming roundels. You couldn't even trust the architecture in this place. You thought it was one thing and then it started turning into something else, and maybe it was a good something else, but you just wished someone had bothered to warn you...

“Tegan?”

“The TARDIS is being metaphorical at me,” she complained, and after a hesitation she only spotted because she was looking for it, Nyssa gave her a comforting pat on the hand.

**

Tegan had no idea how Adric had got wind of this Nyssa-epic-lesbian-romance business. The Doctor knew, she was sure he did, because the TARDIS was still regrowing and in some places the walls were very thin, and she'd inadvertently – very inadvertently – heard part of a post-Venice conversation between him and Nyssa that had made her ears burn. Oh, nothing very scandalous; more like an anthropology lecture from a professor who was dying inside of embarrassment but was determined to see the thing through anyway, but still.

Nyssa's side of the discussion had consisted mostly of “Oh” and a differently inflected “Oh” and “I didn't realise” and “I see”.

“I didn't understand about your culture,” she'd told Tegan in their room later. “I'd never considered that your species might have a preference for opposite-gender relationships. I'm sorry. It should have occurred to me.”

“Why would it?” Tegan tried to imagine how she would have reacted if she'd ended up on this ship with some sexy Adonis of an alien, who looked just like a human man and shared her bedroom and was her best friend, and who backed off at a rate of knots when she put the moves on him because in his society mating with a brunette was right out. “Anyway, some people – lots of people, actually – in my species do like their own sex. Or both. Or neither one, probably...”

“Oh, I know,” Nyssa said earnestly. Tegan knew she knew. She'd fled to another room when the Doctor had started talking about the Kinsey report. “But you're heterosexual.” She didn't say it quite right, the stress on the wrong syllable. Tegan didn't bother correcting her.

In bed, looking up at the new, solid roundels in the dark, she thought about the boys and men she'd gone out with, and the girl with soft dark hair who'd worked on her dad's farm in the summer, and her friend Alice, whose boyfriends she'd always detested without really knowing why.

It didn't seem like the Doctor to have gone gossiping, but maybe Adric had been accidentally eavesdropping, too. Anyway, it didn't matter how he'd found out, what mattered was Tegan's important discovery, which was this:

Adric trying to be helpful was at least a thousand times worse than Adric being a pain. At least.

“You see,” he said, pressing the button so that the image on his bedroom wall changed from the TRAKEN: A BRIEF HISTORY title screen to a doodle of a crowd of people standing in some sort of garden, “on Traken, starting a romantic relationship involves the families of all parties.”

“Yes, I got that bit,” Tegan said, fuming at having been tricked in here under false pretences. She might have known there wasn't such a book as 'Beginner's Guide to Navigating a TARDIS (Airport Edition)'. “Where the hell did you find a slide projector, anyway?”

“I thought using a primitive level of technology would make you feel more comfortable.”

His room was unnaturally tidy. There was nothing easily throwable within arm's length.

“But if you already know,” Adric went on, oblivious, “then Nyssa must have made her declaration.” He shrugged. “Congratulations, I suppose.”

“Wait, you knew this was going to happen? Oh, thanks for warning me!”

“I did warn you!” Hurt, he gestured at his screen. “I warned you with slides!”

She pulled a random slide out of the projector and held it up to the light. “Do I want to know why this woman's got a spear?”

“It's a representation of Earth people and their essentially primitive culture.”

“She's wearing an air hostess uniform!”

“Well, you're the only specimen I've got.”

Tegan folded her arms. “Adric,” she said, “you've been working out the rate of growth of the TARDIS, haven't you?”

He looked understandably wary at this sudden interest in his beloved maths. “Ye-es. Not that you could possibly understand the complexities of sixteen-dimensional...”

She waved him quiet. “But it's big, isn't it? It's growing fast, new rooms every time we turn around, right?” Tegan wasn't tall, but neither was Adric, and she could loom when she wanted to. “Now, imagine how many different places I could hide your badge for mathematical excellence.”

“I don't know what Nyssa sees in you,” he announced huffily, clicking off the projector.

Yeah. I'm having problems with that one myself.

“Anyway,” he added, his voice more conciliatory, “I only heard them talking last night. I wasn't to know Nyssa was going to ask you straight away.”

Tegan pressed her fingers to her eyes. “No, you've got it all wrong, that's not what they were talking ab...” A thought struck her. “So, what, in your head the Doctor's the most senior woman in my family?” That was marvellous. The thought of Great Auntie Doctor almost saved this whole situation for her.

Adric rolled his eyes at the stupidity of the whole world. "If there are no female family members available then the senior male assumes the responsibility," he said, sounding like he was quoting something. "Your family's on Earth, and Nyssa's are all dead, so I assumed the Doctor was the only possible choice."

"They are, aren't they?" she said quietly, only grasping the enormity of it now someone else had said it so bluntly. "Nyssa's family. Everybody she ever met. We're all she's got, now."

"The book didn't say what happens if someone doesn't have any family at all.”

“I can't imagine what that must be like,” Tegan said to herself. Then: “What book?”

He picked a leather-bound volume from the desk and handed it to her. “It's all I could find in the library about Traken. If you want to borrow it, I put some sticky notes on the pages about two-person all-female mating rituals.”

“The minute he gets us back to my time,” Tegan murmured, leafing through the pages and trying not to look at the helpful little notes, “I'm buying you some magazines, because this can't be healthy for a boy your age. Where'd you say you got this?”

Adric's tone turned speaking-to-children patronising. “A library is a big room full of lots of books on all sorts of different subjects...” He trailed off at the look she gave him, and clapped his hand protectively over his badge.

**

“Do you think about your family?” she said in the dark, and the room was quiet for such a long time that she thought Nyssa must be asleep.

“Sometimes,” Nyssa said, “I forget to think about them for hours.”

She rolled over so she was facing Nyssa's bed, but couldn't see anything, not even the shape of her beneath the blankets. The room had never been this dark before. “You didn't light your remembrance-candle.” She'd thought, before she'd started reading that book of Adric's, that the thing Nyssa lit every evening was just a night light.

“It's supposed to make the people you love come to you in your dreams.” She said it so quietly the words were almost swallowed up by the dark. “It works, too. But I... think I'd prefer them to stop, now.”

Tegan couldn't say anything. There was a pain in her heart, and she couldn't work out whether getting out of bed and crossing the room in the dark and putting her arms around Nyssa would make things better, or worse, or just much more complicated.

“I know I'm lucky,” Nyssa said. “I'm still alive and I've got the Doctor and Adric and you, and I've seen more places than I ever dreamed. If my father,” her voice faltered, “if he had seen what was coming he would have been so glad that I survived. My mother, too.”

“God, Nyssa...”

“I'm very glad you're here,” she said, no trace of tears in her voice. Maybe she had none left. “Every time the Doctor says he's found Heathrow, I know I should be happy for you, but I'm pleased, so pleased, when he's wrong. I'm sorry for that. I wish I was a better friend.”

“Don't be stupid,” Tegan said, blinking fiercely. “You're the best friend I've ever had.”

**

She went looking for the library a few nights after the Mara, because she didn't want to sleep and if she stayed in the room Nyssa would insist on staying up with her, and Nyssa had had one of her headaches for days and looked a step away from exhaustion already. Tegan had left her curling up in bed, drifting into what she hoped was a dreamless sleep.

Big room, lots of books; it fitted Adric's description, all right. Nowhere near where he said he'd found it, but the way the TARDIS was stretching and reshaping, that wasn't a surprise.

What was unexpected was finding the Doctor there, crouched on the floor and peering down a hole in front of one of the bookcases, a dubious look on his face. “Tegan,” he said. “I'm trying to find out where this leads. You didn't, by any chance, notice a hole in the ceiling on your way here?”

“I came from upstairs.”

“Even so...” He shook his head at the hole as if it had disappointed him. “I'll have to cordon off Venusian Fiction until this repairs itself.”

“No, not Venusian Fiction!” She grinned at the unimpressed look he shot her. “Well, if a good Venusian story's out, I'll just have to look for something about Traken. Where's that section?”

The Doctor climbed to his feet – with her help, she wasn't about to lose the only person who could half-reliably pilot this ship down a mysterious hole in the library – and dusted down his jacket. “I'm afraid there's only one book about Traken,” he said. “Adric has it at the moment, but I'm sure he'll let you have it when he's finished if you ask nicely.”

“Just one?” She'd been picturing miles of shelves, thousands of books about people like Nyssa. “A whole civilisation and there's only one book left?”

He nodded. “There are some galactic libraries. I hope that a few other books might survive.”

A few. All Nyssa's culture and her life and her people reduced to a couple of paperbacks.

“It's horrible,” Tegan said.

“Yes. I know.” He brushed his hand across her shoulder, a kind, brave heart look on his face. “It's very late, Tegan. Can't you sleep?”

She shrugged, pulling a bit away from him. “Weird dreams. Since the Mara, y'know? All... mirrors and snakes and apples.” She suddenly remembered Venice, Nyssa holding out that apple. “And caves,” she said grimly. “Me and Nyssa in lots and lots of caves.”

The Doctor cleared his throat. “Well, those are all aspects of your culture's folklore and mythology thrown up by your mind,” he said. “Nothing to worry about, I'm sure.”

Tegan, who knew damn well what a yonic symbol was and was quite sure the Doctor did too, realised he'd rather be dropped off another radio telescope than have this conversation, and let him change the subject.

“We can have another go at getting you to Heathrow tomorrow,” he said brightly. “Why don't you pack a few things?”

**

This time they really did get to Heathrow.

In 1666.

There were Terileptils.

Nyssa sat on her own bed while Tegan unpacked, and she was trying so hard to look sympathetic instead of pleased that eventually Tegan came over and hugged her and said, “Yes, all right, I'm not completely sorry to be staying.”

Nyssa was soft and pleasant against her.

“But don't say a word to the Doctor.”

**

The stupid frock they'd given her kept catching on the branches. She was thinking of just tearing the damn skirt off, but that would mean slowing down. At least the shoes had flat heels.

Once again, this was distinctly not Heathrow, though she hadn't mentioned anything about going home for a few trips, now.

A hunting horn blared out across the forest. It was still far off and she must be almost at the TARDIS now, she...

A figure careened into her, one of the soldiers in red and silver, and Tegan yelped in surprise. He bore her into a clump of trees and she whirled around with her fists ready to swing, because if she was about to die then she could at least give him a broken nose to remember her by and –

“Tegan!”

Nyssa's hair was wild around her dirt-streaked face. The armour-plate was too big for her, and she was clutching the heavy sword two-handed, the point almost trailing on the ground.

“What the hell are you doing?” Tegan gasped.

“I was coming to rescue you,” Nyssa said, and then Tegan started to laugh, weakly, helplessly, and that set Nyssa off, and in another minute they were holding each other up.

Tegan would tell herself, later: we were giddy and exhausted and she had that weird, gorgeous
Joan of Arc thing going. Of course I kissed her.

She would try to pretend that when she'd leaned in and pressed her lips against Nyssa's she was moving on some sort of instinct, not thinking anything at all, definitely not you're amazing and I might love you.

And she wouldn't be entirely sure if Nyssa might have been kissing her back, because a second later Adric stumbled into them.

“They've still got the Doctor,” he panted.

In the labyrinth of dungeons beneath the castle, the three of them squeezed into the small tunnel Adric had used to escape, Tegan tried to concentrate on everyone getting out of this alive, and not on other things. Nyssa's thigh pressed against hers in the confined space. How Nyssa had felt, flush and open under her mouth.

“You two aren't going to do more kissing, are you?” Adric whispered suspiciously.

“No!” they hissed back at the same time, and even in the near darkness, Tegan saw her own expression on Nyssa's face: do you mean 'no, not while we're stuck down here' or 'no, not ever?' I know what I mean, what do you mean?

They rescued the Doctor before the High Priestess could get him to the altar. Back at the TARDIS, Tegan waited for Nyssa to say something, and when she didn't, waited to get up the nerve to bring up the topic herself. And waited. And waited.

**

So – Tegan was prepared to admit that she might like women. Some women, anyway. That High Priestess hadn't been much to write home about. It was a part of herself she hadn't known was there, but now she did, and it was all fine. This thing with Nyssa, which they hadn't said a word about in weeks, it was okay. They were best friends, and they lived together, and anybody who'd ever shared a flat knew it was suicidal to get involved with someone you lived with.

Especially if you couldn't bear to lose them.

It was a purely physical attraction to the woman, brought on by their closeness. And they were friends as well, so it was natural enough to confuse that combination of attraction and affection with something... else.

They'd just never talk about it for the rest of their lives. That was a plan.

Then it was 1925, and they watched the Doctor play cricket and went for tea at Cranleigh Hall. “This is more like it,” Tegan told Nyssa as they strolled around the beautiful grounds, not arm in arm but not distant, either. “This is my idea of time travelling, all this Brideshead stuff.”

“It's lovely,” Nyssa agreed. “What's a brideshead?”

It was later, when they were getting dressed for the party, that Tegan had her revelation. Nyssa was off in another room and Ann Talbot was shimmying out of her clothes, and Tegan happened to glance at her in the dresser mirror for a moment while she was doing her make-up.

And then she put the brush down.

Ann and Nyssa were identical. Two peas in a pod, nobody in the house could tell them apart.

Except she didn't feel attracted to Ann. Oh, objectively she thought she was lovely, no question, but...

But Ann wandering around the room in a corset and stockings didn't do anything for her, when she sometimes felt a jolt just looking at Nyssa fully-clothed. So it couldn't just be a physical attraction, whatever this thing was.

It couldn't 'just' be anything.

“Rabbits,” Tegan said quietly, and Ann scanned the carpet in alarm.

**

And when poor George Cranleigh confused Nyssa and Ann, and dragged Nyssa out onto the roof, and it looked like she was bound to go over the edge; that was the moment when things snapped into focus, and Tegan bit her lip until she tasted blood, staring up at the roof and thinking I love you, I've been an idiot but I love you, and don't you dare get yourself killed until I've managed to make a complete fool of myself telling you all this, do you hear me?

A woman screamed. Tegan's eyes slammed shut.

Someone was holding her by the arm; Adric. She clutched at him, not sure she could look. “The Doctor's got Nyssa,” he told her. “She's all right, Tegan, I promise, she's all right.”

It felt like the first time she'd ever breathed.

**

“I'm not letting you out of my sight again,” she said into Nyssa's hair.

“I'd like that.” Still shaken, but laughing a little, glad to be alive.

“I say, that gel's a bit familiar with Ann.”

“No, that's the other one, Mother. That's Nyssa.”

“Ah. Jolly good. Hot-blooded people, these Australians, what?”

“Never again,” Tegan repeated, holding on to her as tight as she could.

**

Tegan laughed out loud when she realised. They both must have been arranging things in the room for weeks – a bedside table moved to the other side of the bed, a pile of books transferred from the floor to the desk. She hadn't known she was doing it for any particular reason, and she was sure Nyssa didn't have that sort of cunning in her.

However it had happened, subconscious accident or design, the floor between the two beds was completely clear. It'd only take a minute to push those beds together.

Nyssa put the box with their party frocks down by the wardrobe and turned to look at Tegan. “So,” she said, a shy smile lighting up her face.

“So,” Tegan said.

Neither of them moved.

“Oh, hell,” Tegan said at last, “if we're going to do this...”

“And we are,” Nyssa said firmly.

“...and we are, we might as well do it right.”

**

“Doctor,” Tegan said. “There's something I'd – well, we'd – like to speak to you about.”

The Doctor looked up from the console, and flickered a glance at their clasped hands, and straightened up. He might have smiled, before his face settled into an appropriately serious expression. “Yes, Tegan? Nyssa?”

Adric snapped his book closed. “I'll go and...”

“Adric,” Tegan said, “are you, or are you not, a member of this family?”

“Well, I hope this isn't going to take long,” he grumbled, slinking back as if it was a great imposition on his valuable time, but she'd seen that split second of delighted, shy surprise, and she wouldn't forget it in a hurry.

“It'll only take a minute,” she said, because she wasn't sure she could promise to keep her hands off Nyssa for longer than that. “Doctor, as most senior member of Nyssa's family, I'd like your blessing to become involved with her.” Seemed a pretty clinical way of putting it to her mind, but that was what the book said, and with the way Nyssa was happily blushing beside her she supposed it'd do.

The Doctor rocked back on his heels. “As a matter of interest,” he said, “were I to say 'no'...”

“The book didn't mention that,” she said serenely, “but I think a swift kick to the shins wouldn't be out of the question.”

“In that case, I'm more than happy to give you my blessing,” he said, leaning in a little to let Nyssa kiss him on the cheek, and then she turned to Tegan and grinned, and kissed her properly.

When they let go of one another Adric had made his escape, and the Doctor was examining the ceiling. “I'm prepared to increase my blessing,” he said, “if you'll go somewhere else and let me finish repairing the TARDIS.”

“That,” Tegan said, “is the best idea you've had since I got caught up in all this.” And she bit cheerfully into the apple she'd been holding.

______

I'm Jewish-Catholic. I'm pretty much set in stone.

Posted: November 13th, 2009, 1:06pm MST

Tags: squee crossover crack [edit]

A) I went to an advanced screening for Pirate Radio last night. It was an okay movie. My friend really liked it, but I thought it was a little aimless. There were a bunch of funny bits (every time Kenneth Branagh said, "Well done, Twat," the entire theater cracked up!) and the music was most excellent, but there were a lot of times when I thought that there were scenes in it just for the sake of making the movie longer. It was all over the place. That Tom Sturridge kid was pretty adorable though and most of the supporting cast was hilarious. Also, it was such a trip to see Betty Draper randomly pop up out of nowhere.

B) All About Bradley Cooper Steve was horrendous except for the last twenty minutes! I hate to say it because I like both Sandra Bullock and Bradley Cooper but this movie was awful and did not need to exist. Sandra Bullock's Mary was so awkward and crazy and dense that she didn't feel like a real character -- she was the quirky character type stretched out so far that there was nothing identifiable about her until the very end. Likewise, I didn't understand why she would like Steve who, hot as Coop is, was kind of an asshole for most of the movie. The only two characters that I thought were good were the two protesters who ended up going across the country with Mary. The apple head guy knew random facts just like Mary but unlike her, his character toned it down so he didn't seem like a total cartoon. If they'd just lowered the volume a little on Mary as well, perhaps the movie might not have been so horrible.

C) I don't know what's worse: The trailer for Matt Damon's The Green Zone so obviously being a Bourne knock-off in which there is none of the Bourne fun (I need another movie if for no other reason than Bourne/Parsooooonnnsss!) or The Prince of Persia trailer featuring Jake Gyllenhaal with a faux!British accent playing the prince of Persia. The VO for the second movie is also really annoying -- is it Gemma Arterton? They should've just gotten Kristen Bell to do it. She would've XOXOed all over that thing. I guess we should just be thankful that they are not carrying on with the fakest sounding Southern accents possible like the entire cast of The Yellow Hankerchief. Did these people even listen to themselves speak? I may be a little biased because I thought William Hurt was the worst part of this season of Damages and I wanted to stab myself to put an end to the boredom every time his storyline came up because he talked so slowly and was so boring, but even without that, this movie looks like a total snoozefest.

C) Finally! This is the first time you'll hear me say it about a FOX cancellation, but good job there! Dollhouse/Axe of Cancellation was my OTP!

D) I watched this week's House just now. (19)80s party! BWAH HA HA. I see what you did there, show. House could've still passed off his costume as Falco in "Rock Me Amadeus"! I think the Wilson-is-dating-Amber reveal from a few seasons ago was a lot more surprising than Cuddy-is-dating-Lucas, but I hope that means more screentime between Lucas and House! Remember how they ruled last season? Also, I have no words to express just how completely workplace-inappropriate Cuddy's shirt was for the first scene. I mean, COME ON!

Gordon

Videogames - the uncanny valley and gender and moral choices.

Posted: November 13th, 2009, 12:57pm MST

Tags: [edit]

v Theory suggested elsewhere as to why I always have subtitles on during videogames even though I can hear perfectly, that it's because of all the stuff we pick up from someone visually when they're taslking and that bar a couple of games, videogames aren't quite there yet with the stuff we don't really notice in real life. So despite the audio being perfectly clear, because you're missing the visual cues, you feel the need to have something there3 because you're worried you'll mishear or misunderstand something. Two games I think of where i haven't needed them? Vampire:Masquerade:Redemption and Half-Life 2, both using the source engine. They manage to catch enough of the subtlety, especially in HL2 that I don't feel the need for the extra help. Mass Effect almost got away with it. It's only with games trying to look realistic too, don't need them in Sam & Max or Beyond Good & Evil, which are both very stylised.

Dragon Age I've currently got them on, as the facial animation isn't quite good enough, also it helps when your party start having random conversations, as oyu can sometimes not realise they've started and miss the first line or two.

Loved Jeremy Parish's comment on the Active Time Babble podcast when asked wether he chose to play as male or female characters in RPGS, he said it depended, he'd fully intended playing a male Shepard in Mass Effect, but Jennifer Hale's sheer awesomeness made him choose a female Shepard. Which is exactly what I ended up doing. Recently, I chose Lilith in Borderlands due to her powerset rather than because she was female and my main playthrough Dragon Age is as a male human rogue, but I did dabble with a female human rogue just to see any differences in the origin story.

My gender choice in games comes down to several things, the voice acting, the exact type and style of play, sometimes it's even as simple as how the choices look. Fable 2 I chose a male character due to the whole romance/marriage/children aspect and indeed, If I know beforehand there's oging to be romantic options in a game I'll usually go with a male character jsut because as a straight male, it's just more natural. Having said that though, my main Mass Effect playthrough that I'll be using for ME2, my female Shepard ended up in a relationship with a female character. Being a Bioware game it's handled well and without any prejudice, which is how it should be. The male romance option I ruled out because he's voiced by the bloke who voiced Carth in KOTOR and despite being a completely different character in a completely different game, the legacy of "Let's see how much we can wind Carth up." continues. Which went to even more extreme lengths in Mass Effect. :P

The most difficult part of Mass Effect was my Renegade playthrough, where I wanted to max out my intimidation skill so was a complete bitch to all and sundry, because it's in my nature to be good and do the right thing. (To the extent that in my main game on Oblivion, I couldn't bring myself to murder an innocent to join the Brotherhood so missed out on a whole questline.) It was tough at times, but insulting the council, getting hostages killed, punching reporters and making fanboys cry was a bit of a laugh. Second playthrough was Paragon though, and that save's the one I'll be continuing with in the second game when Katherine Shepard gets let loose on the universe again. She came very close to being called Germaine, but even I thought that was a bit too silly.

that's something else i'm loving about Dragon Age, there's no lightside/darkside meter or anything, yes your approval rating with party members changes depending on actions, but that differs depending on their outlook on life. It leads to some funny dialogue too, with Morrigan saying something like "Oh, are we going to save some kittens next?" when I was being a do-gooder.

my blood is full of retcon!

AND ANOTHER THING

Posted: November 13th, 2009, 12:42pm MST

Tags: [edit]

We had been told, over and over again, that it was chilling. That to watch it was to fall under the hypnotic sway of Evil, only to be shaken loose when the lights came back on.

We knew the history of the Nazi Party. We were third-year German students, after all. Most of us were history or sociology majors. We knew how he had come to power. We knew what they had done. I had been to Dachau, seen the furnaces.

We were going to watch Triumph of the Will, Leni Reifenstahl's masterpiece of propaganda, supposedly one of the greatest and most inadvertently terrifying-in-implications films ever made.

We couldn't stop laughing.

Maybe it was the (accidental?) homoeroticism in how it lingered over the limbs of the good clean German youths at the beginning of the film. Maybe it was the earnest young workers of the Labour Service doing military manuevers with shovels, brightly calling out "Wir plantzen Baeumen! (We plant trees!)" without a shred of self-awareness. Maybe it was the disco marquee of lights used to introduce Goebbels and the rest, as though they were headliners at Treasure Island Resort and Casino (with Special Guest Carrot Top!). Maybe it was Hitler himself, screaming about blood purity and Aryan sacrfiice while resembling an irate Minature Schnauzer the entire time.

Maybe it was all the fucking Wagner.

Maybe we didn't watch enough of it. That which we did got the full MST3k treatment -- not from fear, not from a sense of self-preservation, not even from hysteria; the damn thing was camp as hell. Stylishly-shot, yes, and utterly ridiculous. Even the squares were giggling and pointing. We weren't denying the horror of the Third Reich, or the reality of the Holocaust, or the terrors of the Second World War. We just couldn't stop laughing.

So, to everyone who says I should just ignore 300's horrifically homophobic/racist/pro-war slant for the sake of enjoying it as campy lunacy? Yeah. Not working.

That's right. Actual Hitler is funnier than 300.*

*and better shot, too

lithiumdoll

For reasons that don't need exploring at ...

Posted: November 13th, 2009, 12:10pm MST

Tags: [edit]

For reasons that don't need exploring at this juncture, I'm not doing festivids this year. (Okay, fine, because of an unstable work situation and a complete inability to fill out a form, I'm not doing festivids this year. )

But then I had a cunning plan. I do still want to do a vid, I just don't want to risk letting someone down (or fill out a form *shifty eyes*) - and I can! Plus, this way, non-vidders can maybe get a vid \o/

Normally when I do small fandom vids, it's auction (hello, Veritas and The Collector) or it's because it's a small fandom I want to lure people into (hello, everything else).

This time, I will ask.

I forgot to put True Blood on the poll! Consider that a write in or something. Eric! Pam! Lafayette! Sam! Anyone who isn't Beel or Sucky!

View Poll: Next vid

If no one has a preference, I will choose randomly with a pin. Which will suck for my monitor.

Also, if you can sign up for a vidding exchange thingy in good conscience, and aren't stumped by things like .. questions and ... preferences ... festivids sign ups are open -- go do that!

Drakyndra, ex-Master of Fandom

And that would be the end of that

Posted: November 13th, 2009, 6:45am MST

Tags: memes [edit]

And so endeth my Internship. Last day and all today.

At least it ended on a good note. If by "good note" one means "had very little work to do, so spent most of the day messing around on the Internet and chatting with people who came up to ask how I liked my time there. And to compliment my haircut."

(Yeah, I got my hair cut the other day. It is now... much shorter than it used to be. Possibly the shortest I have ever had it. I was going to take a picture to show you guys, but I couldn't get a decent one - as always, I Do Not Photograph Well - so no camwhoring for you.)

Anyway, back to Interning. My supervisor gave me what sounded like a decent enough write-up. And we had an ice-cream party for my last day. No, really - at afternoon tea, someone brought in ice-cream and mini cones, and we ate that. Which was very nice of them.

So now I just need to do the reflective essay, which will be easy. Huzzah!

Also: Have a meme.

Leave me a comment saying "UNICORNSICE-CREAM!"
I'll respond by asking you five questions so I can get to know you better.
Update your journal with the answers to the questions.
Include this explanation in the post and offer to ask other people questions.

I grabbed this from robotlove, and she asked me the following questions:

1. All the countries you've been to so far and the one you like best!
Excluding Australia ('Cos I live here), I've been to New Zealand, - I was like a year old, so I don't remember it - Thailand, Egypt and Jordan. And technically Singapore, though I never left the airport.

As for my favourite... While the competition is probably down to between Thailand and Egypt, which both have very, very good points, Egypt most likely wins out on the basis that it's got a wider range of cool stuff. Including resorty beachy things if you go to the Red Sea.

2. Favorite color
Hot pink. Not the pale or salmon pinks, though I still like those, but the really bright, bold hot pink. Yeah, it's one of my particularly girly moments.

3. Least favorite Geass character
Kinda grateful this was phrased as "least favourite" rather than "most disliked", mainly because I don't really hate any of the Code Geass characters. There's characters I love, characters I like, characters that amuse me, characters that interest me (without liking them), and characters I don't care about/find mildly annoying.

Anyway, it depend if we are talking about overall opinion, or at a specific point. The closest I came to hating any Geass character is when the Suzaku-Lelouch meet-up got interrupted just as they were about to work together. I had a moment of ARGH RAGE at Schneizel over that. Overall, though, it's probably... Rolo. Not because of any actual dislike for him, I just didn't care about him at all, and I spent most of the time that was focused on him wishing they'd focus on characters I actually cared about. I appreciate what his death meant in terms of Lelouch's development, but as a character in and of himself, I am just profoundly apathetic to Rolo.

4. Favorite subject
FFFFFF...

No idea. Creative Writing classes are the most fun, even if in educational terms they are probably the least productive; sociology and psychology tend to have interesting lectures, but dull assignments. That class I had a few years back on Cybersocieties was great though. And anything about Media and Culture is good.

5. Why vegetarian, and which of all veg food do you like best? :D
I'm not vegetarian for any particularly moral reason, I just don't like the taste of meat - even before I became a vego, I never ate much red meat - and the idea of eating something's flesh kind of squicks me out. A lot. But because my reasons are so subjective, you'll never hear me try to convert others or anything.

And as for food... maybe a curry. Actually, probably definitely curry. I remember out last day in Jordan, when I'd been away from Australia and my Indian take-away joint for three weeks, and I went to the hotel restaurant and had a veggie curry for lunch. OM NOM NOM! I still don't know if that place actually made amazing curries, or if it was just the joy of having one after living off the somewhat small range of tour vegetarian options for three weeks.

I reserve the right to ask people exceedingly stupid and/or random questions if they respond to this meme.

The Shattered King

32.97% voter turn-out for the Glasgow North ...

Posted: November 13th, 2009, 6:29am MST

Tags: [edit]

32.97% voter turn-out for the Glasgow North East by-election. That's a record low for a Scottish election. What a not so proud moment for Democracy.

I suppose the good news is at least that the Conservatives beat the BNP down into 4th place. Heh, I love how the Tory candidate is widely being praised for running the best campaign, and managing to get so many votes.

Still surprised the Lib-Dems continue to do so badly.

And an interesting demonstration of what happens when ex-Big Brother contestants try and enter politics. ALong with a rather precise measurement of how many friends Colin Campbell has.

Charlie Baillie - British National Party - 1,013 votes (4.92%)

William Bain - Labour - 12,231 (59.39%)

Eileen Baxendale - Liberal Democrats - 474 (2.30%)

Mev Brown - Independent - 32 (0.16%)

Colin Campbell - The Individuals Labour and Tory (Tilt) - 13 (0.06%)

Ruth Davidson - Conservatives - 1,075 (5.22%)

David Doherty - Scottish Greens - 332 (1.61%)

Mikey Hughes - Independent - 54 (0.26%)

David Kerr - SNP - 4,120 (20%)

Louise McDaid - Socialist Labour Party - 47 (0.23%)

Kevin McVey - Scottish Socialist Party - 152 (0.74%)

Tommy Sheridan - Solidarity - 794 (3.86%)

John Smeaton - Independent Backed by the Jury Team - 258 (1.25%)

Gordon

Five random Eighties one-hit wonders on YouTube and a bonus vid.

Posted: November 13th, 2009, 2:08am MST

Tags: [edit]

Because I have insomnnia and stuck my eighties playlist on random shuffle and these have all shown up in the last four hours...except for the Dutch metal band, because I don't actually have a copy of that.

Monsoon - Ever So Lonely

Strawberry Switchblade - Since Yesterday

Scarlet Fantastic - No Memory

Animotion - Obsession

Westworld - Sonic Boom Boy

...and as a bonus, as seen on the "Guess The Lyrics" round on one episode of Never Mind The Buzzcocks. the almighty Vortex with Open The Gates.

A.j.

Also!

Posted: November 12th, 2009, 12:34am MST

Tags: london09 [edit]

Also!
Passing this on...

Posted: November 12th, 2009, 12:06am MST

Tags: glee [edit]

Passing this on...

the story girl

twitter me this batman...

Posted: November 12th, 2009, 9:21pm MST

Tags: [edit]

Have acquired a twitter. next up: the world!

[twitter.com]

Gordon

Games.

Posted: November 12th, 2009, 8:41pm MST

Tags: [edit]

Completed Borderlands. Was awesome despite the final boss being a complete piece of piss to despatch and not because I was a higher level than it, it really was the second most one-sided boss fight this year. The most one-sided being earlier in the game, a boss called One-Eyed Jack, who was taken out in under three seconds when I afterburnered my buggy over a ridge and ran the bloke over. Going to start Playthrough 2 sometime, where you keep your levels, skills and weapons but the entire world starts off at Level 32 rather than Level 1, with everything scaled up proportionately.

So, back to Dragon Age. Alistair and Morrigan's bitchy flirting is hilarious, my dog wound up Morrigan and I seem to hve picked up a cute religious nut with a prediliction for extreme violence and nicking stuff. I've spent two hours just messing around in this village, doing little quests and helping people prepare for an attack. Might have missed a chance to get an extra party member, not sure. I am as usual, being a nice, good guy as much as possible, even if it decreases my chances of getting it on with Morrigan. Best moment - discovering that getting your warhound to piss on a tree marks that area as his territory and means his stats are boosted when in that area. Insane, but marvelous. :)

Bed now. Took one Nytol last night and had good night's sleep, going to do the same tonight, sleep patterns are still a couple of hours off, but overall, okay.

The Shattered King

Starting to look a little bit more ...

Posted: November 12th, 2009, 2:40pm MST

Tags: [edit]

Starting to look a little bit more like Dean Winchester, but still a ways to go.
Is Blood Ties any good?I ...

Posted: November 12th, 2009, 8:11am MST

Tags: [edit]

Is Blood Ties any good?

I see they're selling the S1 boxed set for £4.99 on play...

______

picspam: That High F Never Sounded So Good - 1.09 Wheels (Glee)

Posted: November 12th, 2009, 4:20am MST

Tags: squee glee [edit]

Glee returned tonight and it was awesome! The joy of having a new episode coupled with "Wheels" being amazing means that the only way to express my squee was through a picspam. MY HEART. And Artie and Tina getting lines and a storyline and everything! KURT AND HIS DAD AND THE HIGH F! And basically EVERYTHING. I love this show like Kurt loves his designer sweaters.

PICSPAM: That High F Never Sounded So Good - 1.09 Wheels (Glee)

FINN: I'm looking for a job. I mean, no one's hiring. I almost got in at Olive Garden, but they said I was too tall to be a busboy.
QUINN: Somewhere in that pea brain of yours is a man. Access him and tell him to prove to me that I chose the right guy to have a baby with.
FINN: I will. I'll find a job. You can count on me, I swear. Where are you going?
QUINN: You were right. This does hurt too much.

Quinn's such a glutton for punishment! On the one hand, I love it because she looked so pretty alone up high on the bleachers. (It's really a great juxtaposition to her being in the sub-basement when it comes to the new social hierarchy yet still being untouchable.) On the other hand, it's so sad because she's basically watching the life she's supposed to have go on without her. Does she think that maybe Sue will turn around and let her back on the team? Is she trying to support Brit and Santana? (Probably not on that one.) Is it some sort of self-flagellation for getting knocked up? I don't know. All I know is that because I love the Quinn/Sue relationship, I'm going to ahead and believe that Sue looked sad here. She wasn't her usual tyrannous self while she was watching the routine. Besides, I think it's telling that she wasn't in such a rush to replace Quinn. It's not like she would've had to break the exclusivity pact to find a new Cheerio -- she's got a list of Cheerios that she randomly kicks off the team to choose from. It's obvious that she chose not to because there can only be one Q and we all know it. This scene was also awesome because Finn is totally stupid enough not to realize that her word choices are a bit off. I also love the running joke about Finn being a giant! Now I know that Quinn being demanding and bitchy with Finn throughout this episode is so wrong since we know that she's got no leg to stand on, but a) it's SUPER HILARIOUS! and b) if Quinn's ask-jeeving thing were true in that world where naming your kid Drizzle is a good idea and Finn had knocked her up, his laissez-faire attitude would certainly warrant a few bitchfaces from her here and there. She's just trying to keep up pretenses! OH WHATEVER, SHE'S PRETTY AND THE HBIC IN CHARGE SO A++++, I SAY! (Also, I just got the greatest idea for a mix. Who knows if it'll ever come to fruition but it's there.)

SUE: Well Jacob, this is Ohio and in order to win, my Cheerios need to appeal to that panel of judges. So if I have a pregnant girl doing a handspring into a double lay out, the judges aren't going to be admiring her impeccable form. They're going to be wondering if the centrifugal force is going to make the baby's head start crowning. Oh and by the way, all this? Off the record. Probably should have told you that earlier.

Figgins stopped providing the baseball team with protective cups! I love his frugality! I kind of don't know how Quinn thinks she's going to hide the fact that she's knocked up from her parents when she starts blowing up like a balloon at the Thanksgiving Day parade that the Glee cast got disinvited to. Lots of sweaters? Join Eaters Anonymous as a cover story? I really don't know.

BRITTANY:I find recipes confusing.
RACHEL: My family is fully committed to take-out.
FINN: Yeah, Mr. Shue. Kids are busier than when you went here. We've got homework and football, teen pregnancy and lunch.

BWAH HA HA! IT'S ALL THE MATH! Brittany, I love you! I also love the matching Chang expressions in the first cap! (FTW!) And how Quinn basically bitchfaced Artie into agreeing with her. Also, why does Will have to black things up for Mercedes to take lead? That sort of bugged me a little. Maybe she can do it without re-arranging the song, dude. DID SUE'S KIDS TEACH YOU NOTHING, WILL? But for once, even Finn was all, "Whoa, back up. That dipping in chocolate line was REALLY inappropriate, right?" and everyone else was like, "Dude, where have you been? Were you napping during 'Bust a Move'? THAT'S WHAT HE DOES!" and then it devolved into that episode of Friends with Joey's tailor taking advantage of Chandler. That's not how they do pants, Finn!

Okay, so I admit that I've kind of shipped McHalowitz ever since I met them and the fact that they are besties in real life just adds to that awesomeness. (What is about this show that makes me want to start writing RPF which I've never done because RPF weirds me out just a smidge -- though not enough that I won't read a well-written McGosling one (HOLLA!) -- because we don't really know any of these people? Like tell me when those Dianna Agron pictures with Adam Brody came out, you did not think about how hilarious a Mark Salling phone call about that would be? All I can say is that I'm betting there'd be Death Cab references involved.)

ARTIE: I do care. It kind of hurt my feelings.
RACHEL: We didn't think you would take it personally.
ARTIE: Well, you're irritating most of the time, but don't take that personally.

I don't like that there are divisions of popular kids and not-so-popular kids within glee club! I thought we all got past that after "Somebody To Love"! Stop picking on Rachel, you guys! Artie's little clap and thumbs up when the wheelchair derby rolled in was pretty cute. (And could Dianna Agron be any prettier?)

I couldn't stop laughing during this entire sequence! Finn amuses me so much when they let him be his regular adorably stupid self! I don't know what the hell was on that tray, but Rachel Berry, I think it's a blessing that you're not eating it. It looked disgusting.

QUINN: What's this?
PUCK: It's what I have left over from my pool cleaning money after I bought dip and nunchucks. I was getting that you kinda need money...for our kid.
QUINN: For my kid. Eighteen dollars.
PUCK: How much has Finn given you?
QUINN: Just stop. I told you before. I don't care if that baby comes out with a mohawk. I will go to my grave swearing it's Finn's.
PUCK: It would be pretty awesome if it came out with a mohawk.
QUINN: You are such an egghead.
PUCK: I'm not.

Move over, Blake Lively's hair: there's a new sheriff in town and her follicles have the benefit of being on a show that's not shitty (though I'm backlogged a few episodes and I don't care at all about catching up any time soon so for all I know it's the most amazing thing to ever amaze now)! HAIR TOSS IN 1, 2, 3 GO! Seriously though, Dianna Agron's hair is so FANTASTIC! If one good thing has really come from Quinn no longer being on the squad, it's that she doesn't have to confine her hair to the ponytail of extreme bitchosity anymore or wear that damn uniform ALL THE TIME. Quinn looks so pretty when she's allowed to dress like a real live girl! And yes, I saw this scene when they accidentally put it up on Mark Salling's website (and basically all of Puck's scenes tonight), but that didn't take away from the excitement at all because you can never have enough of either one of them! Also, hurray for correct aspect ratios! I was all BRB TOO BUSY DYING during this. I loved everything about it! The way Mark Salling calls them "numchucks." The fact that WMHS has a home ec room and Quinn is baking in it (without the aid of a recipe, might I add -- eat your heart out, Martha!). Puck having eighteen dollars left over from his pool cleaning business and how the dip reference is in perfect continuity with the last episode when he told Rachel that he bought the grape slushie for her when he went to buy dip! (Oh, SHUT UP!) The fact that there was TOUCHING and she like folded the money back into his hand to prolong said touching and then there was that moment when you can almost hear the clock slow down and Quinn diffused it by going for the mohawk and THEY'RE JUST REALLY AWESOME, OKAY?

QUINN: We're baking!

OH GOD. I THINK I DIED OF CUTE. ♥♥♥ When have they ever been that smiley? NEVER. "That was perfectly measured!" is just about the most adorable thing that has ever been said during a food fight! They were totally going to make out, bitches! Finn chose the absolute WRONG moment to show up! UGH. You don't just sneak up on people like that, Finn! You make noise when you walk or you stomp...or yodel! I mean, really, dude. I find it a little insane that he knew there was a home ec room too! Though we did get that hilarious moment when you think that maybe you can see a light bulb sort of flickering on top of Finn's head before it short circuits and you know that he's once again happily playing Halo in the dark instead of doing his homework.

RACHEL: Maybe one of these days you'll find a way to create teaching moments without ruining my life.

I LOVE KURT'S DAD! He has a Mellencamp collection and talked about chicks doing construction and guys wearing dress shoes with no socks! How cute was Mercedes swearing to vote for Kurt? I also love Brit's right-left confusion and Santana telling her what's the what! Oh Brit, why didn't you just make the L with your hand like I do before you raised it? She's so precious! If Mike Chang should ever defect to Vocal Adrenaline (oh noes!) because they foster an encouraging pop and lock environment, I'm going to need Finn/Brit to happen! It'd be like cute, dumb puppies frolicking in front of rainbows, which means that it would be awesome! I get Rachel's points about Will's afterschool specials always fucking with her solos. This is true and, while I love Kurt, I can't blame her for being pissed. History shows us that she's been burned by Will a bunch of times so I could see why she'd think it was personal (you know because of how it was TOTALLY PERSONAL THE LAST TIME HE GAVE SOMEONE ELSE HER SOLO?). I do like that Will wasn't a smug bastard about it and looked like he felt bad.

FIGGINS: Glee club held open auditions!
SUE: And everyone got in!

You have to be invited to join the Cheerios! I love it! Another thing I love: Brittany being awesome! She lost her wheelchair! She and Becky are friends! SHE BOUGHT HER A CUPCAKE! Oh Brit! I read an interview with the girl playing Becky earlier this week and she seemed like such a sweetheart so I'm really glad she's going to be in another ep! I liked Finn sticking up for himself, but I loved Quinn's "are you an idiot?" even more! She always delivers those lines so well! But who knows, maybe sticking in a jelly bean would've helped! And then there's this piece of awesome:

SUE: I'm about to projectile express myself all over your Hush Puppies!

Two of the like six people trying out were glee kids. ARE THERE ONLY LIKE TWENTY KIDS IN THIS SCHOOL? I love that Jacob and Sue are practically besties with the amount of screentime they've shared. Her "freak" was most excellent though. That kid's definitely going home to write emo poetry. But look at how happy Becky is! That's all on you, Sue Sylvester! (From the other kids, my favorite was the girl who was stomping around like a very angry bull! "Are you serious?" indeed!)

PUCK: All I know is that you're a punk who doesn't deserve to have Quinn as his girlfriend!
FINN: You're a punk!

Have you been chilling in my brain, Ryan Murphy? I called bank heist like forever ago! Is it weird that I'm loving the hell out of this storyline when I was all OMG MAKE IT STOP when it first came up? Don't get me wrong -- I still hate the black-market-baby thing that Terri's got going on and a lot of the time I wonder how these guys who are clearly too stupid to function are even thinking about raising a kid, but the Puck stuff and glee club being there for Quinn? AWESOME! I don't want an actual baby -- even though it's too late for it to just be gas or a chicken bone -- but we can work those kinks out later. Right now I'm going to sit here and enjoy it. I'd probably have more sympathy for Finn if he didn't bitch about his hard life all the time so yay for Puck mentioning that! Also, yay to wheelchair fights! Not as funny as the House one, but that'll do, pig. That'll do. How has Finn not put the pieces together yet? I MEAN, COME ON!

ARTIE: But I wanna be very clear: I still have the use of my penis.

AWKWARD. I loved his super serious face when he said it too. And yes, I really am so much of a dork that I shouted, "ROCK ON, JASON STREET!" And check out Brit high-fiving Artie before leaving! LOVE! Brit doesn't discriminate against anyone! Am I the only one who automatically thought that Finn ran over Artie and his mom during one of his "MAIL!" moments when Artie talked about a car accident even though it defied all logic and the time-space continuum because Finn was fighting bacne when he was eight?

Kurt, have you been stealing Rachel's stickers? I was so happy when he hit the note, but it automatically made me realize that he'd screw up on purpose since the studio version of his solo has him not hitting it. (I wish they would've recorded it with him not messing up on purpose because clearly Chris Colfer can hit it.) I love that Kurt's dad's objection isn't getting the phone calls, but his fear that Kurt will get hurt one day by one of those assholes. Burt is simply the best!

QUINN: If this sonogram bill doesn't get paid, it's not your phone that's gonna get cut off. YOU WILL GET CUT OFF. You need to help me with this, Finn, or else we're gonna go our separate ways.

Sometimes when Rachel looks at Finn that way, I really want to ship them! But then Quinn walks in and tell Rachel to stay because she wants a witnessaccomplice for when she kills Finn and I think of how much cooler everyone else is than Finn! I don't dislike him (how can you really?) but I don't love him either.

PUCK: I knew I had to do something to help Quinn out with our baby. I don't know what kind of stuff you need for a baby that's still in your stomach: bottles, diapers, that kind of thing, I guess. But my babymama was gonna get it all! To make sure that happened, I used the two things I know most about: lying and crime.
SANDY: Is there a lot of pain, Noah?
PUCK: The doctor said the shark fractured my spinal cord.
SANDY: This is why I don't go to the aquarium. I'm going to give you as much as you want, twenty cents on the dollar.
PUCK: I don't put enough to get you hallucinating, just enough to give you a wicked case of the munchies. That's why they keep coming back for more. See? I told you I'd make a great dad!

I love him! AND LOOK AT THOSE LOOKS!

SUE: You think this is hard? Try auditioning for Baywatch and being told that they're going in another direction. That was hard! Hit the showers!

So here's the thing: when I itunesed them, I definitely liked Lea Michele's version a lot better. However, I like Chris Colfer's version better when I see it performed on the show. It's all very confusing. All I know for a fact is that I expected the studio version of the duet to be a lot more amazing than it actually was and that makes me sad.

PUCK: I can get more. People call me a screw-up because I think school's for suckers, but I got ambition. I could get us a house, some stuff, furniture -- we could be a family.
QUINN: Finn is your best friend...
PUCK: He'd be pissed for a while, but then he'd realize that he doesn't have to deal with all of this and he'd bake me a damn cake.
QUINN: You stole from the cupcake fund!
PUCK: No, I didn't! Fine, I did. I made all those cupcakes. I'm all about being a team player, but my family comes first.
QUINN: I get it and I'm sorry. I should have never called you a Lima loser. You're not. You're special and romantic and a good enough person to realize that we are not going to take money from a friend in a wheelchair.

I was sort of hoping that Puck would greet Quinn in the halls with "'Sup MILF?" all the time! Oh Fabray, you're totally realizing that you chose the wrong horse to bet on, huh? Though having two really cute boys fighting over you is probably not the worst thing in the world. This is going to get really good! I love that Puck just wants to have a family and not be a deadbeat and Quinn is, like, warming to the idea even though it's not the greatest plan and she already made a deal with the devil to give up Rosemary's baby. Dana Scully would be happy upon seeing Quinn give Puck The Eyebrow! Once again with the bad timing and not realizing that your girlfriend and your best friend keep hanging out and having eye!sex, Finn! (But his smiles during the job interview KILLED ME!) My heart fluttered a little when Quinn called Artie their friend. Slowly but surely, kids, you are out-awesoming even yourselves! It also really jives with Tina's line later about glee club showing her that she didn't want to be alone. But screw all that -- let's just focus on how Puck shoved six hundred dollars down his pants. That's right. You think about that one. John Bender has never been prouder, you guys.

THEY CARRY HIM IN EVERYDAY! THIS SHOW.

At first, I actually thought that Sue was paying Quinn's bill. I wasn't expecting this at all! Partially because it's almost too easy to write it off as Sue also knowing someone with Down's Syndrome. I guess you expect something far less...predictable? But it turned out to be really, really effective because Jane Lynch sold it! Oh, my heart. IT WOULDN'T STOP RAINING ON MY FACE! What I love most of all is that no one knows and Sue doesn't feel the need to flaunt the details. In fact, I started to get all misty-eyed again while I was capping this. Sue brought her big sister pom-poms and they read Little Red Riding Hood and somewhere in between my heart broke.

I didn't get Artie's argument here at all. (He kept mentioning her stutter when it was so obvious that she didn't have one!) The stuttering thing was never on the same level as him being in a wheelchair so her admitting that she faked it to get out of giving a speech shouldn't tarnish anything! He liked Tina because she was also weird? She's still weird so I don't get why he doesn't like her anymore. Had she faked having Tourette's or something, I might have understood it more, but this really made no sense. Why can't they just like each other without having to define it as neither one of them being normal? I'm guessing this isn't the end of them in the same way that Rachel finding out that Finn knocked up Quinn isn't the end of them, but it's just annoying because they got to be cute for all of five seconds before they broke up! I didn't even know it was a date until Tina mentioned it! This break up better not mean that they're back to having two lines again next week!

KURT: When I saw you right after you got the call and you were so hurt and so upset, it just killed me. I'm not saying I'm going to hide in the closet. I'm proud of who I am. I'm just saying that I love you more than I love being a star.

Kurt and his dad always have the most perfect scenes. ALWAYS. I really wish Rachel or someone figured out that he threw the try-out and let Kurt know that he was amazing.

FINN: This one's for you, Artie!

That does not fail to crack me up! Dork! The cast looked like really gorgeous nerds during this scene because of the suspenders. And Finn hitching a ride by grabbing onto Brit's wheelchair made my heart soar a little. Mostly, I thought about how long it must've taken the cast to get this down. I really like the way Kevin McHale sounded in this song. I love having Amber, Kevin, and Jenna take the lead in this. Now all we need is a Mike, Santana, Brittany, and Shaft number!

Next week: "I am very young and you find it difficult to stand close to me." THANK YOU FOR BEING, RACHEL BERRY. I'VE ONLY WANTED THIS SINCE THE PILOT. I'm so excited!

As always, please don't steal the screencaps, repost them anywhere else, hotlink, or use them for icons or anything! It took me forever to cap, clean, and color them so Puck won't bake you cupcakes if you do.

Speaking of things that are not cool, my paid account expired yesterday and all of my icons are inactivated which means that I cannot properly post about the joy of having a mini-Senor-Bale movie marathon today! Anyone feeling generous enough to renew my paid account so I don't have to go back to six icons? I'll love you forever and make you picspams and icons and picspams of icons and fic and awesomeness?

Bonus: You know when you hear a cover that is so much greater than the original that you forget it's a cover and live the rest of your life assuming that it's the real thing? This is one of those songs. Everything about it kicks ass, but the beginning in particular is fantastic.
Tina Turner - Proud Mary
Please comment if snagging. :)

"Greeks talk a whole pile of nonsense. Fuck 'em."

the bones people

Posted: November 12th, 2009, 3:17am MST

Tags: omg its the bones [edit]

why, yes it is 3am

Did we need a case?

Really?

I only ask that because it seemed like the actual point of this episode was lots of scenes of people basically eating food and agreeing that:

BY THE WAY, BOOTH AND BRENNAN ARE CANONLY, UTTERLY, EXPLICITLY, UNDYINGLY IN LOVE WITH EACH OTHER. IN CASE YOU DON'T BELIEVE US, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE SEVERAL CHARACTERS ACTUALLY MAKE THIS POINT EXPLICITLY. LIKE IN ACTUAL WORDS. NOT IN NODS AND YOU KNOW, FUNNY GLANCES. NO, I THINK I COUNTED FIVE SCENES WHERE THE VERB "LOVE" WAS USED. INCLUDING GORDON GORDON... TO BOOTH. ALSO BY BOOTH. OH GOSH OH GOSH

BECAUSE YEAH. THAT WAS STEPHEN FRY TELLING BOOTH ALL HIS ISSUES HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH HIS BRAIN TUMOR AND EVERYTHING TO DO WITH THAT FACT THAT HE LOVES TEMPERANCE BRENNAN SO MUCH IT INTERFERES WITH HIS NORMAL WAY OF LIFE, AND THEN THEY HAD A CONVERSATION ABOUT HOW INSANE IT WAS THAT THIS WAS TRUE (IT IS TRUE! OH! MY! GOSH!), AND WELL "THE HEART WANTS WHAT IT WANTS," AND OH. MY. FUCKING. GOD. THEN STEPHEN FRY AMBUSHES BOOTH BY SETTING HIM UP ON A FAKE DATE WITH BONES. (Angela was right, guys. Gordon Gordon knew from the moment he met them that they were actually secretly in love with each other. Also: !!!! that sentence is canon)

AND THEN HE BRINGS HER TO HIS SHOOTING RE-CERTIFICATION WHATEVER, AND EVERYTHING IS ALL RIGHT. BECAUSE HE LIKES WHEN HE PROTECTS HER, AND SHE LIKES WHEN HE PROTECTS HER, AND THEY BOTH KNEW THAT'S WHAT WAS GOING ON THEN.

PEOPLE.

I CANNOT COMMUNICATE EXCEPT IN CAPSLOCK RIGHT NOW.

IT'S SORT OF STRANGE WHEN ALL THE POINTS YOU TRY TO COMMUNICATE IN A FANFIC SUDDENLY GET PUT INTO THE CANON OF AN EPISODE. LIKE, MY CANON HAS CAUGHT UP.

This episode also featured Mr. Nigel-Murray, and did not contain a Mad Men joke, so - epic fail on that point.

MASSIVE WIN ON ALL THE OTHERS.

I am not going to lie, this feels strange. IN LOVE. LIKE, AS PART OF THE PLOT, AS IN PEOPLE TALKING ABOUT IT. It's the thing you dream of, and like assume it is there but no one talks about it! Only sort of but not really! And then it happens, and - YEAH. YEAH. Coherence tomorrow, when it is not 3am. HOLY MOTHER OF GOD.

OH MY GOSH THIS SEASON.

For the record - this is my Bones version of being totally and completely numb to what I just watched (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!).

(I would, however, like to go ahead and confirm that one section of that one fic of mine as CANON? YES)

the story girl

I signed up for Yuletide.Hee! ...

Posted: November 11th, 2009, 9:05pm MST

Tags: [edit]

I signed up for Yuletide.

Hee! Some of the possibilities were too awesome to resist.

Gordon

"Finished" Modern Warfare 2

Posted: November 11th, 2009, 7:45pm MST

Tags: [edit]

It was mental, mostly in a good way. NOthing else as fristrating as the level I got so pissed off at last night, a few great levels (The Only Easy Day... and The Gulag especially) and the biggest "FUCKING YES!!!" moment in videogames in ages that I had to apologise to the rest of the household for shouting "FUCKING YES!!!" at the top of my voice. The plot is a big bag of wank and is about as true-to-life as most 80's action movies. Some sections are probably what it's like inside Dick Cheney's wet dreams. A couple of real "Oh no, you did not just do that?!?!" moments.

Washington DC really has become videogaming's bitch hasn't it? Fallout 3 takes place in the city hundred of years after a nuclear war, Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 has soldiers and TItanium Man attacking the Capitol building and now the city gets fucked over by invading Russians and you end up defending the washington Monument and careering through the Capitol Building and the Whitehouse fighting the Soviet menace. This is definitely the best looking fucked over Washington DC so far though.

A.j.

Meme.

Posted: November 11th, 2009, 4:03pm MST

Tags: meme [edit]

Meme.

The Shattered King

This is a pretty cool optical illusion. ...

Posted: November 11th, 2009, 12:25pm MST

Tags: [edit]

This is a pretty cool optical illusion. Click the link and stare at the dot...

And this, I am told, is a surface shot of Mars:

But I assume its been shopped. Can anybody confirm if its genuine?

Gordon

Couldn't sleep last night. So wound up ...

Posted: November 11th, 2009, 10:03am MST

Tags: [edit]

Couldn't sleep last night. So wound up and couldn't stop thinking about that mouthy little c**t form the shop yesterday. Ended up taking two Nytol to try and sleep instead of one, slept until almost noon, so screwed my diabetes up a bit. ALso seem to have caught Simon's cold. Lovely.

Drakyndra, ex-Master of Fandom

What, me post about FMA? Really?

Posted: November 11th, 2009, 7:32am MST

Tags: spoilers [edit]

Huh. Free time, I'd almost forgotten what that was like.

Not that I'm entirely free - I still have to study for my (one) exam, and write up my reflective essay or my internship. But classes are done, all my other assignments are done, and as of this Friday, my Internship will be done, too.

So, yeah. I actually have a bit of time to kill now. Which would be fun if it wasn't so damned hot.

So in order to take advantage of this shiny wonderful thing, today I... slept in really, really late. And fa11ing_away and I went to the pool. I haven't been to the pool in ages.

While I am on that note: Happy Birthday, fa11ing_away! *\o/*

For the more fannishly inclined, I am now all caught up on my FMA, both manga and new anime.

For the new anime, while I agree with the people who were somewhat disappointed at how some of the manga stuff on Ishbal was cut (there were some really, really good scenes), I'm not exactly going to raise a fuss, given it's entirely likely we may get more flashbacks later. I'm not sure how several straight episodes of flashback would mess with the stories pacing (The Ishbal stuff would really be more suited to a movie adaptation, anyway).

And as of the most recent episode... I really need a Kimblee icon. Because man, seeing him animated reminded me of what a brilliantly menacing psychotic bastard he is. Shine on, you entertainingly batshit whacko!

I also confess to being highly amused by this.

As for the manga, totally unsurprised that Riza lived, and that it didn't take human transmutation to fix. But still quite relieved by it, anyhow. And the bit with the hug and Riza totally pushing Roy around was amusing and so... them. (On that note, and trying to avoid the mildly wanky debate that's floating around: While I do kind of ship them, and I believe they have everything that it would entail to make a relationship work, I don't think they are a canon couple. Not yet, anyway. They work as a ship, because they work as a partnership, and not everything they do together is about their romance.)

Oh, and I knew Mei was around for a reason, which is why I am unsurprised she showed up for healing tiems.

...And naturally, this'd be the point where Bradley shows up to be the incredibly Badass bastard that he is, and decides to get exceedingly painful on them. And Pride, as always, is a horrifying creeper.

Cue the actual eclipse staring which means the climax is staring us in the face, yes? So next month we had better find out what is going on with Al. And we need to see Ed leading the big showdown since, well, the story is named after him. (That said, I can see why he's been held back from the big fights, lately. Spread the load, and then give the climax to the hero.

...Huh. Had more to say on that chapter than I expected.

The Shattered King

The fighting didn't end everywhere on the ...

Posted: November 11th, 2009, 6:22am MST

Tags: [edit]

The fighting didn't end everywhere on the Western Front once news of the imminent armistice leaked out. At certain points there was heavy fighting as attempts were made by the allies to seize every inch of German held territory they could before the eleventh hour.

At 10:58 am at a canal crossing between Havre and Ville-sur-Haine on the outskirts of Mons, an attack was launched towards a row of houses by troops of the 28th North West Battallion, 2nd Canadian Division. In the attack Private George Lawrence Price was killed. Officially named as the last Canadian soldier to die on the Western Front.

Price was interred in a cemetary originally developed by the Germans at the nearby village of St. Symphorien, where he was laid to rest less than twenty yards away from the grave of a soldier killed during Britian's first action of the war, on 23rd August 1914. Across this tiny patch of Belgian soil these two headstones face each other, two points in the demarcation defining the beginning and end of the British Empire's involvement in the Great War.

the story girl

oh, dear. I seem to be considering ...

Posted: November 11th, 2009, 2:18am MST

Tags: [edit]

oh, dear. I seem to be considering signing up for Yuletide. (there's stuff requested but not offered that I could write!!!) Here's hoping I get over it.

in unrelated news, I am so freaking lame. Also bored, boring...

"Greeks talk a whole pile of nonsense. Fuck 'em."

you down with SCDP - yeah, you know me

Posted: November 10th, 2009, 11:07pm MST

Tags: mad men [edit]

Because I promised baggers; also, because I have Deep Thoughts.

Most - if not all - of the outside-LJ TV blogs I read seem to be obsessed with the fact that at the beginning of Season 3, Matthew Weiner said he wasn't going to "do an episode about the JFK assassination" - only to turn around and have that be something of a central plot point in 3x12, and oh my gosh, HOW AND WHY DID HE CHANGE HIS MIND/LIE TO US!!! I was a little surprised to learn that this was supposedly interpreted that the death of Kennedy - A FREAKING HARDCORE SEMINAL MOMENT IN AMERICAN CULTURE GOD DAMN - was somehow expected to occur extra-episode, and the fact that for the most it informed a great amount of the action in 3x12 was... a surprise? Really, critics? REALLY?

I think the saddest thing ever would be if you watched "The Grown-Ups" and thought it was an episode about the assassination of JFK. I really, honestly would. Is it an episode that features the assassination of JFK, and also characters REACTING TO THIS EVENT AS IT RELATED TO THEIR LIVES AS LAID OUT BY A NARRATIVE OF OTHER EVENTS? Clearly. These are also not the same thing. Sure, it's a traumatic, recognizable event - it features footage we are familiar with, and having dozens of times thanks to Oliver Stone (BACK, AND TO THE LEFT; BACK, AND TO THE LEFT) - but in many ways, it occupies no bigger or no smaller a narrative presence than the crash of that airplane in Season 2. We the audience know it means ajsfhakjsfhakjsfhaksjfhkajhfkajhfa more, but to the story - to the characters within that story, who have no ability to conceive of the radical social change about to domino effect (and any ~inking~ therein would be projecting and FALSE)? Not so much. In the end, 3x12 is about the sputtering end of the Draper marriage, set against this back-drop of oh by the way, Kennedy's dead.

(I also found 3x12 to be extremely aware of 9/11. EXTREMELY. In fact, I'd go as far to say that it is next to impossible in this day and age to tell a story about JFK that wasn't tangentially 9/11-referencing. I don't call that America boasting; I call it "this is how television functions in our society." I would honestly watch something that was a study on different characters in different locations watching 9/11 on television, because that story has SO MANY DIFFERENT LAYERS. NYC residents vs. New York metro vs. New Jersey/Connecticut/Pennsulvania vs. Mid-Atlantic states in general vs. East Coat time zone vs. the rest of America vs. the REST OF THE WORLD. Straddling the lines between the first three, you have no idea how rich this topic is.)

So yes - maybe if some character had developed a strong love of Kennedy in Season 3, and then in 3x12 that love was crushed by Lee Harvey Oswald - I would be pissed. BUT I AM NOT.

3x13:

- I'm sad that the Draper marriage is effectively over (MW said as much in post-this interviews). I IRRATIONALLY WANTED THEM TO WORK THINGS OUT. ALL RIGHT. EVEN IF I KNEW IT WAS IMPOSSIBLE.
- ROGER. AND. JOAN. Holy God. "I can't read your handwriting." "It's perfectly clear! Correspondance." They are the 60s versions of Harry & Ruth to me (Harry and Ruth are the spy versions of Roger & Joan?).
- I see Pete/Peggy/Truddy coming in Season 4. Which makes me a little sad, because the strangest thing I found about S3 was HOW MUCH I SORT OF LIKED PETE/TRUDDY. They turned into a nerdy, adorable, go-get-'em sort of couple! Gosh. Pete is a rapist. OKAY, THAT IS CURED.
- STERLING COOPER DRAPER & PRYCE I KEEP SAYING IT OVER AND OVER AND IT NEVER STOPS BEING GREAT.
- Too lazy to download and make it myself, but: need gif of Don kicking down a door ASAP.
- Heady intellectual comment: in many ways, chucking the old for cobbling together the new (at... least re: civil rights?) is sort of what LBJ did? SORT OF? Not... okay, not actually at all? WHATEVER. SCDP is clearly a post-Kennedy surrogate, so if they invade Vietnam, I AM DONE.

In conclusion, I hope Daisy and Mr. Nigel-Murray FEEL BAD about temporarily leaving Bones for a show in which they get 0.5% dialogue and 1/4th of the ratings. On the other hand, Mad Men > Bones, in the grand scheme of things, SO. WHATEVER. I STILL LAUGH AT YOU.

LEAVE ME COMMENTS. I have many more thoughts which I have clearly forgotten.

A.j.

WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!?

Posted: November 10th, 2009, 10:24pm MST

Tags: wtf [edit]

WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!?

anenko

Yet Another One Piece Comment

Posted: November 10th, 2009, 9:35pm MST

Tags: [edit]

And One Piece deals another blow to my heart. I seriously sobbed over this chapter.
Oh, my heart.

Posted: November 10th, 2009, 6:47pm MST

Tags: [edit]

Oh, my heart.

A.j.

[nt]

Posted: November 10th, 2009, 5:33pm MST

Tags: work [edit]

The Shattered King

This is supposed to look like Dean ...

Posted: November 10th, 2009, 4:41pm MST

Tags: [edit]

This is supposed to look like Dean Winchester... but I'm not convinced I've got it quite right...

Gordon

Modern Warfare 2 then.

Posted: November 10th, 2009, 4:22pm MST

Tags: [edit]

...and I'm not sure if I'm enjoying it or not. It's even more insane, hectic and chaotic than the previous game and the number of times I've died seemingly randomly is actually pissing me off. The constant new objectives and orders which sometimes seem to conflict each other aren't helping. The new blood effect when you get hit is shite, obscuring your vision and just making it massively more likely you'll get shot again.

"That" level was gratuitous and rather uncomfortable.

I'm going back to Borderlands for the rest of the night, as that's definitely fun.
Mouthy little c**t.

Posted: November 10th, 2009, 12:41pm MST

Tags: [edit]

4:46 and my mood has been completely brought down by some mouthy wee cunt, who because I dared to sigh as I went to close the shop door he hadn't, told me to shut my puss and after politely explaining I was merely fed up of having to shut the door behind people told me I should get it fucking fixed (it's to do with the weather, nothing I can do about it) and any more lip and he'd "smash these eggs over my heid." At this I just stared him in the eye and told him to "fucking try it, you'll be on the floor before they hit. Now fuck off." Of course he lacked the balls to live up to what his mouth was saying. I do not appreciate being threatened in my own shop and he's lucky I didn't just take a swing at him right there. I'm now extremely fucking pissed off and literally fuming and pacing round the shop to try and calm down.

The Shattered King

Sketches.

Posted: November 10th, 2009, 11:44am MST

Tags: drawings [edit]

Gordon

Bargain Hunt!

Posted: November 10th, 2009, 4:27am MST

Tags: [edit]

Just picked up Modern Warfare 2 for £25 at Tesco. Their offer was £25 if bought with another top twenty chart game, but either they changed it at the last monute or my local store have f**ked up, as me and another fella's copies both rung up at £25 on their own. *dances*

"Greeks talk a whole pile of nonsense. Fuck 'em."

THAT IS NOT A ROBOT. IT IS A STORM TROOPER.

Posted: November 9th, 2009, 9:21pm MST

Tags: how i met your mother [edit]

Agree to disagree, Internet.

I remain hardcore distracted by the shared Bones/HIMYM set. I had to pause the TiVo to flail at the idea that Barney & Robin might accidentally get engaged IN THE BONES DINER. THE BONES DINER. THAT PLACE IS SACRED AND METAPHORICALLY POSSESSING SEVERAL QUALITIES OF TRUE LOVE.

So: yes.

BARNEY/ROBIN: my newfound OTP of the summer of 2009.

Bros Having Relationship Sex in Season 5: I... have hated almost 100% of it. FLAT-OUT, KNOCK-DOWN, LEGEND-wait for it-S OF THE FALLS, hated them. With the overwhelmingly vast exceptions of parts of "Duel Citizenship" and the one where Marshall made a website about last night's first date - yeah. I have HATED THEM. Their entire raison d'etre in episodes is to point out to other characters just how incapable they are as a couple, and it felt - heavy, and forced - or not forced! just. YEAH. I want shenanigans?

So the idea that Barney and Robin break-up - or don't break-up, just become "friends" again - MAKES SO MUCH SENSE TO ME. Because I do not, under any circumstances, think this episode was telling me, "Wow, so glad THAT TANGENT is over! *reset*!!!" Like, at all. Now I realize that something I gave them a lot of crap about before might have been intentional - the show skipped over most of Barney & Robin's initial (summer secret sexing) relationship steps because the characters did, too. I mean, Lily had to practically blackmail them into even talking in the first place; I know this is supposed to be a la-dee-dah sitcomy dream world, and I complain endlessly when people take this shit too seriously, BUT COME ON. Even in a sitcom, no relationship lasts that it is founded on blackmail. (WELL. EXCEPT FOR TEMPERANCE BRENNAN AND SEELEY BOOTH. IN THEIR DEFENSE, HOWEVER, BLACKMAIL WAS LIKE FOUNDATION #3. THERE WAS ALSO "BEING SOUL MATES" AND "TOTALLY HOT" IN THE #1 AND #2 SLOTS.)

In other words, Barney and Robin both missed the step where you like the other person, know it, and are daring someone to move first. THIS IS AN EXTREMELY IMPORTANT STEP, FOLKS. EVEN FOR THEM. These relationship-y people weren't two friends who looked at each other and went, "...holy shit, I love you, and can't live without you"? NOPE. They were two people in lust who were pretending.

Instead, Barney spent Season 4 sort of being obsessed with Robin; Robin spent Season 4 probably sort of vaguely attracted to Barney but basically telling herself oh but never mind so not thinking about it. In the finale, BARNEY CONFRONTS ROBIN, they make out then spend the summer having sex all the time until Lily forces them to talk about it... and... you're surprised when that no longer cuts it so they break up?

...really? I love them, too, and wish that by having sex a bunch of times they will suddenly realize they are meant to be forever and ever lightness and sparkles, but... come on </GOB> Also, I am like 400% sure there will be "friends with benefits" sex in at least a month? IF THAT. THIS SHOW IS ABOUT THE COMPLICATED COURSE OUR RELATIONSHIPS CHART. Lily(!) and (!) Marshall(!!!!!!!!!!!) broke up for half a season! REMEMBER?! Jeeeeeeeeeeeeez. Calm down, impending Internet explosion of woe.

In conclusion: if anything, this whole argument is ignoring a larger, far more pressing issue:

ROBIN SPARKLES AND ALAN THICKE STARRED TOGETHER IN A FAILED CANADIAN VARIETY SHOW, WHICH THE LOOK ON BARNEY'S FACE MEANT IT WAS BASICALLY CHRISTMAS MORNING.

Clearly, they still love each other. Gosh.

the story girl

been there. done that.

Posted: November 9th, 2009, 8:59pm MST

Tags: [edit]

Oh, the Onion. How sometimes your humor seems to chronicle our lives.

Quote:
"Maybe he just hates his job," said one coworker, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "That's usually my reason when I start crying and can't stop.

Gordon

Question Of The Day.

Posted: November 9th, 2009, 8:47pm MST

Tags: [edit]

Who do I need to kill/have carnal relations with to get a new SSX game for the 360? Just spent an hour arsing about on SSX3 on one of the PS2s and forgotten just how much bloody fun it is.

______

Twenty-five dollars!

Posted: November 9th, 2009, 8:42pm MST

Tags: squee himym [edit]

You guys know that I normally love all the things that HIMYM chooses to be, but I think this is the first time that I didn't like an episode! It has nothing to do with me shipping Barney and Robin and everything to do with how "The Rough Patch" was completely out of character! There is no way that Barney and Robin would ever get fat, boring, and miserable. Or just settle for being that couple. They're stubborn, but they are also not doormats so all the reasons that the gang had for trying to break them up didn't make any sense because IT WOULD NEVER HAPPEN. I could buy them breaking up because of their commitment issues or because Barney is a whore or because Robin just doesn't do relationships, but this "they hated each other and life" thing was stupid. At least when Ted and Robin broke up, you saw the progression and the reasons why. This came out of left field and didn't jive with anything we've ever seen. Ugh. Not well played, show!

But things I loved: "Murder Train"! The Alan Thicke/Robin Sparkles Variety Hour! (Except how did the rest of the gang know about "Sandcastles In The Sand"? Wasn't Barney the only one who had ever watched that video? Unless Robin told them offscreen, I'm calling it a continuity error.) Lily not realizing that the storm troopers weren't robots. Robin's line about two friends getting back together. The magically VCR-seeking porn!

Ugh, this episode needed a makeover, show!

anenko

[Sharing] Mendol Ikemen Idol

Posted: November 9th, 2009, 7:06pm MST

Tags: sharing [edit]

Mendol Ikemen Idol - 1-11 (of 12)

title: Mendol Ikemen Idol
buy: Not with English subs.
episode: 1-11 of a 12 episode series.
file type: Zip file containing an avi and softsubs in ssa format.
file size: Each zip is 600+ MB

The story revolves around three ordinary girls named Asahi, Nami, and Hinata who are aiming to become idols, but they repeatedly fail in their auditions. One day, they witness a serious crime, and they are forced to flee from the culprits. Fortunately, they are saved by a producer who is willing to let them debut, but they have to hide their true identities and dress up as boys instead. (From DramaWiki)

Mendol is unapologetic crack, with a lot of fanservice, and a side of kink. It also has a canonical lesbian relationship. There's also a guy crushing on a girl dressed as a boy, and a girl crushing on a girl dressed as a boy. Confusion and hijinks ensue.

This isn't a classy show by any stretch of the imagination, but it's amusing.

Fansubs by Tranquil Spring

Episode 1: www.megaupload.com/?d=5OAXB2YV
Episode 2: www.megaupload.com/?d=XLU98QZQ
Episode 3: www.megaupload.com/?d=S46QONEI
Episode 4: www.megaupload.com/?d=3FUM51HB
Episode 5: www.megaupload.com/?d=MGT5E98O
Episode 6: www.megaupload.com/?d=GA9FEKJT
Episode 7: www.megaupload.com/?d=9O4L0IUP
Episode 8: www.megaupload.com/?d=RG7JLTUZ
Episode 9: www.megaupload.com/?d=K7E96I4B
Episode 10: www.megaupload.com/?d=U4RZSDY8
Episode 11: www.megaupload.com/?d=4I7FPRH2
Episode 12: This episode has yet to be subbed by the team who did the earlier episodes. It can be viewed online at Drama Crazy, although be advised that the subber uses homophobic insults against the viewers twice.

gabriella

dear yuletide author aka omg yay i love you already

Posted: November 9th, 2009, 4:04pm MST

Tags: [edit]

Yuletiiiiiide! Hello there person who's writing a yuletide story for me. You should know that your mere existence satisfies me in ways I can't quite articulate. I hope that doesn't make you uncomfortable.

You'll notice that I've included no specific details with the requests, minus a couple suggestions for which characters to focus on. But even those are strictly optional, author. I'm delighted already that you'll be writing for any of these little bitty fandoms.

I read a lot of fic, by the way. I read humor, angst, total crack, sappy sweet romance, slash, het, gen. I guess I'm partial to some good hot slash, but it's by no means a requirement.

Also totally off-the-wall AUs are very welcome. Like taking the characters of Song of Ice and Fire and having them act out the plot of Glee. Nobody in the WORLD would take issue with that.

Right, so here's some thoughts about my requests!

1. George R R Martin - A Song of Ice and Fire series

Isn't this an awesome series of novels? God, yeah. Lesse, uh, I do especially enjoy any and all Starks, as well was Brienne, and Jaime, and Dany, and dragons, and PRETTY MUCH EVERYONE. Except I guess Theon and Melissandre who are kinda boring. But otherwise: DO WHATEVER. Woo!

2. Karin Lowachee - Warchild series Characters: Enas Stlian and Jos Musey

So by the characters I suppose you can see that I do have a preference for the first novel, however! I really do just love this whole little universe in general. I just, you know. Also have a weakness for people trying to be Jos' parents.

3. The Order (comic) Characters: Henry Hellrung, James Wa, and Pepper Potts

Okay I'll admit when I listed those characters I was picturing them having, like, a Wii tournament and then all making out. BUT THEN AGAIN, they're also very suited to like, be all distant and angsty and shit, and honestly I don't really have a strong preference here. I love The Order, and I'd treasure anything you find it in your heart to write about them.

So I guess that boils down to "write whatever!" And have fun. Because omg yuletide yay.
dear yuletide author aka omg yay i love you already

Posted: November 9th, 2009, 4:04pm MST

Tags: [edit]

Yuletiiiiiide! Hello there person who's writing a yuletide story for me. You should know that your mere existence satisfies me in ways I can't quite articulate. I hope that doesn't make you uncomfortable.

You'll notice that I've included no specific details with the requests, minus a couple suggestions for which characters to focus on. But even those are strictly optional, author. I'm delighted already that you'll be writing for any of these little bitty fandoms.

I read a lot of fic, by the way. I read humor, angst, total crack, sappy sweet romance, slash, het, gen. I guess I'm partial to some good hot slash, but it's by no means a requirement.

Also totally off-the-wall AUs are very welcome. Like taking the characters of Song of Ice and Fire and having them act out the plot of Glee. Nobody in the WORLD would take issue with that.

Right, so here's some thoughts about my requests!

1. George R R Martin - A Song of Ice and Fire series

Isn't this an awesome series of novels? God, yeah. Lesse, uh, I do especially enjoy any and all Starks, as well was Brienne, and Jaime, and Dany, and dragons, and PRETTY MUCH EVERYONE. Except I guess Theon and Melissandre who are kinda boring. But otherwise: DO WHATEVER. Woo!

2. Karin Lowachee - Warchild series Characters: Enas Stlian and Jos Musey

So by the characters I suppose you can see that I do have a preference for the first novel, however! I really do just love this whole little universe in general. I just, you know. Also have a weakness for people trying to be Jos' parents.

3. The Order (comic) Characters: Henry Hellrung, James Wa, and Pepper Potts

Okay I'll admit when I listed those characters I was picturing them having, like, a Wii tournament and then all making out. BUT THEN AGAIN, they're also very suited to like, be all distant and angsty and shit, and honestly I don't really have a strong preference here. I love The Order, and I'd treasure anything you find it in your heart to write about them.

So I guess that boils down to "write whatever!" And have fun. Because omg yuletide yay.

The Shattered King

Mid-day today.

Posted: November 9th, 2009, 8:12am MST

Tags: photographs [edit]

Mid-day today.
UK to greenlight new nuclear power stations:

Posted: November 9th, 2009, 6:02am MST

Tags: [edit]

UK to greenlight new nuclear power stations:

[news.bbc.co.uk]

Which is unfortunate given a few years ago we sold our stake in the british nuclear power construction company to the French and we can no longer build the things ourselves, we'll have to pay the French to do it.

This made me chuckle though:

'He said he understood people were "historically suspicious" of nuclear power but said: "There is no evidence that people's fears are grounded."

Yeah.. Chernobyl. The Sellafield leak. Tomsk. Multiple human errors in Japan. There's a pretty long list.

However, if we are ever going to reduce our carbon emissions to levels at which we might not eradicate all life on this planet, I do agree with the government that we do need to build 40-50 new nuclear power stations in the country. Despite this typical bullshit from a Greenpeace spokesman:

"We don't need coal or nuclear, because proven green technologies such as wind and combined heat and power stations can secure Britain's energy needs."

Simply not true. The green technologies are a drop in the ocean of Britains power needs. And will probably never amount to more than 5-10% of the total.

At least the government are being sensible and are proposing to build them next to pre-existing nuclear power stations.

So, should we build lots of new nuclear power stations, or should we all start being rationed on the electricity we use?
Some pictures. To cheer up a gloomy ...

Posted: November 9th, 2009, 5:52am MST

Tags: [edit]

Some pictures. To cheer up a gloomy monday morning.

A Prince Of Persia still, which I didn't realise they were making into a movie, but looks gorgeous:

And a very beautiful nude shot of Eva Green. Which probably isn't as NSFW as it might sound, but I put behind an LJ cut anyway.

Drakyndra, ex-Master of Fandom

I'M MELLLLTING!

Posted: November 9th, 2009, 4:42am MST

Tags: interning [edit]

Did someone forget to tell Summer that it isn't due for another month? Because Sweet Tinkerbell Jesus, sometimes I really hate freaking Melbourne Weather^TM. 34 degrees. Ack.

Also, BRB flipping out over what the hell I can wear to Interning tomorrow. What do professional people wear in 30+ degree weather, anyway?

'Twasn't all sucktastic, though. Creative Writing is finished! For, um, ever. Two majors down, huzzah! I even got a reasonable amount of sleep and everything.

Which just leaves me with finishing up Interning stuff, and studying for my one exam on the 26th. Much less stressful.

Oh, and my upcoming series of Hen's Nights to attend, which shall be... interesting. Never been to one before, and suddenly there are two in two weeks.

Incidentally, I fixed up the settings on my Egypt Photos so they are now actually viewable to the public. (Thanks for pointing that out, fa11ing_away) Jordan pictures from that trip will go up... sometime before the forthcoming Cambodia trip.

So, what's new with you guys, since I am no longer distracted by procrastination my assignments?

Also: HOW ABOUT THOSE FMA SPOILERS? Come on, raws and scanlations!

______

We'll have to lock you in the store room until morning. I'm sure you'll understand.

Posted: November 8th, 2009, 11:05pm MST

Tags: squee mad men [edit]

OMG, the Mad Men season finale was tonight. "Shut The Door" was THE BEST THING THIS SIDE OF EVER! THE GUYS FORMING THEIR OWN AD AGENCY WAS SO EXCITING! Don's not going to be part of a hostile takeover -- no siree! HE'S GOING TO TAKE THE GOLDFISH TOO! I loved the "vote" and I love how Roger's argument when Cooper and Don approached him was basically, "Tell me that you still love me, Don, and I'll fund us buying Sterling-Cooper from the Brits!" Whatever, I'm glad they're besties again! The dream team is back together again! Sterling-Cooper-Draper-Pryce FTW!

Everyone just wanted Don to tell them that he loved them for them to join the new company! That said, Peggy totally chose the wrong moment to be assertive -- I loved it, but I didn't want her to go work for stupid Duck, where everyone would know that she got the job because she was banging him. I didn't think Don would go back to her, but then he did and it was one of the greatest scenes they've ever had! The acting was phenomenal! TEARS! And the "if I say no, you'll never speak to me again." "No, I'll spend the rest of my life trying to hire you." ♥♥♥ I'm going to need Emmy noms for Jon Hamm, Elisabeth Moss, and January Jones (for the ep where Betty confronts Don) please.

"Peggy, can you get me some coffee?"
"No."

ILY, PEGGY.

AND THEN HBIC JOANIE CAME BACK AND DON WAS EXCITED TO SEE HER AND TRUDY BROUGHT SANDWICHES AND PETTY AND PETE SHARED A DESK AND ALL WAS RIGHT WITH THE WORLD! The thought of them all working from a one bedroom apartment is most excellent!

I loved Pete's "I have to look sick." BWAH HA HA! Pete was practically running to stick a thermometer against a light bulb! I loved Harry Crane looking so happy when Cooper smiled at him! I JUST LOVED THIS ENTIRE EPISODE SO MUCH!

The divorce lawyer thing was stone cold, Bets. Fuck Henry Francis and his "you don't need anything from him." He needs to go date Sally's annoying teacher! I HATE HIM SO MUCH. He's so...slimy. I hated Don being Mr. Grabby Hands after he found out about Henry Francis and I actually gasped at "you're a whore!", but I really loved him calling her at the end to tell her that he wouldn't fight her on the divorce. When he told her that he wanted her to get everything she wanted (oh, my heart, Don Draper!) and her response was to tell him that he was still the father of her kids, I actually shouted, "That is not the right answer!" I really thought she'd change her mind. :( I MEAN, THE SCENE WHERE THEY TELL THE KIDS WAS HEARTBREAKING! Salamander won't be able to adjust to stupid Henry Francis! I freakin' hated that Betty jet off to Reno for a month and left poor Carla to take care of the kids! WTF, BETTY? UNCOOL.

Can we have the new season already?

Gordon

Comfort TV

Posted: November 8th, 2009, 7:02pm MST

Tags: [edit]

Six hour QI XL marathon on Dave. Wonderful stuff.

Calapine

ficathings

Posted: November 8th, 2009, 6:30pm MST

Tags: [edit]

So I signed up for Yuletide which isn't actually my fault so much the fault of whoever got them to decide Babylon 5 was now so old and dead it could be a Yuletide fandom. Darn them. I mean, it's great, it's really great. Hopefullly there'll be a bunch of awesome and shiny new B5 fics at Christmas, hurrah, but boo, because omg, I am a bit rub at Fandoms That Aren't Doctor Who. And they don't even let you cheat anymore and say you'll write for Gallifrey, K-9 & Company and, um, Torchwood. (Yeah, I am so not at one with the Yuletide spirit, flame me.)

But, really, it was a good thing, cause it reminded me I'm supposed to be writing for dw_femslash and OH THAT'S GOING WELL. I'm choosing to blame the fact I'm still trying to hack my lungs up rather than the slightly truer fact that I'm A Bit Useless. There are two whole paragraphs written. It will be great. Just as soon as the plot arrives. Or the character point masquerading a as plot. Or something.

At least I've caught up on Vampire Diaries. Shaming achievements ftw!

lithiumdoll

Fic: The History Pyre [T:SCC - Out on the Wire]

Posted: November 8th, 2009, 5:45pm MST

Tags: fic out on the wire [edit]

The History Pyre
Looking at people who belong to us, we see the past, present, and future. -- Gail Lumet Buckley
Rating: PG-13
Words: ~4300
Beta: Thank you oodles mitchy, vchrusch and doccy! Any mistakes yadda yadda mine all mine cakes.
Disclaimer: If it you recognise it, it's not mine. V.sad.

Parts 1-8John’s world has been his workshop for the last two weeks, and there’s another guard at the door. It’s a man this time, John hasn’t asked his name. Disobey Perry’s orders, steal Derek Reese’s kid brother to go on what’s likely to be a suicide run, and there are going to be consequences.

He had kind of hoped getting back alive might count for something, but Derek seems to think that’s debatable. John’s not sure if Derek’s angry because John took Kyle, or angry John didn’t take him too. He’s not sure Derek knows either and honestly, he doubts it would make a difference.

The last he’d seen of Kyle was when Derek had arrived in the med station to ‘escort’ John back to his workroom, and Kyle had still been unconscious. It turned out ‘alive’ had meant ‘shot twice carrying John Connor’s concussed ass out of Century.’

He’d seen Allison just before she left for tunnel patrol, a flash of a smile and a sympathetic expression and then she was gone. He hated she was out there, somewhere he couldn’t see. Hated there was nothing he could do about it.

Derek had told him the west tunnels were the safest place next to Below – safer than the fake HQ it had been her turn to play live bait in. John had told him to go to hell and it had gone downhill from about there. They hadn’t talked since.

John had seen Neil once, when he’d told his guard he was going down Below to check the Techs still had everything under control and then started walking before anyone could say no. Neil had apologized; John had said he was sorry too, but he wasn’t sure why. His knuckles still sting a little.

Just like before, they keep him occupied with piles of busted up electronics and they bring him his food morning and evening. There’s a cot in the corner of the room, behind some boxes, and he’s escorted to the washrooms three times a day. Sometimes there’s even water.

Otherwise, it’s kind of a pity the apocalypse means no birds, he thinks, because The Birdman of the Apocalypse is where he’s headed.

In between scattered bouts of morbid amusement he’s restless and angry, and frustrated. For the first time, maybe the first time ever, he knows exactly what he has to do, and he wound up in a future where no one’s taking his orders. Connor luck.

Plastic shatters under his fingers and a chip spins over his shoulder; he really doesn’t care. He doubts there was much he could have done with the innards of a Tamagotchi pet anyway. Figures one of those would survive the end of the world.

He makes his way out from behind the workbench and over to the partially covered exoskeleton by the wall.

Most of the shine is gone; it’s covered in dust and the dried remains of the red-brown gunk that passed for blood. It’s weird, maybe really weird, but he can still see Cameron there, somehow. No skin, no chip and no power supply - just a metallic skeleton and twisted wires - but it’s her just the same.

Allison was right: he’s sick.

He laughs to himself, at himself, and wanders back towards the bench, only to swing aside and begin pacing the small area of floor that isn’t covered with junk.

There are things to do, places to be, and a growing sense of urgency that gnaws at him. It’s a hundred times worse than when he was a kid and he knew in some abstract sense that the end was coming, because there’s nothing abstract about this at all.

He needs to think of a way out, any way out, but his plans scatter in front of him. He can’t focus.

The door opens; he guesses it’s dinnertime and doesn’t bother to look around. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome,” says Kyle.

John turns as Kyle rounds the six foot pile of servers. “Kate let you out?”

Kyle shrugs easily and drops a couple of cans in John’s hands. “Eh, more or less.”

“Kate turned her back for two seconds and you snuck out,” John translates. “Great. Derek’ll probably blame me for that too.” He puts the cans on the desk; any excitement he ever had at the thought of mystery food is long since gone.

Kyle waves a hand with the careless assurance of someone Derek isn’t looking for an excuse to kill. “Don’t worry about it.”

“You’re not the one who’s been grounded. I’m under freaking bunker arrest, Kyle. I’ve spent the last two weeks breaking down toys that don’t work so someone else can make filtration units that don’t work. Somewhere out there, the machine are winning – completely and forever - and I’m in here, having to ask the guy at the door if I can go to the bathroom.”

John stops himself before it gets any more embarrassing, but he can’t help punctuating his rant with a thrown scrap of metal casing. It bounces off the wall and rolls under a pile of what used to be TomToms.

Kyle stares at him and then nods slowly. “So you’re not happy. I’ll bust you out. You got us out of Century, I can return the favor.”

John forces himself to bring it down a notch. “You got us out of Century.” He manages a smile; it feels small and uncertain. “Thanks, by the way. The whole getting shot thing.”

“I guess we’re even.” Kyle leans back against the wall and crosses his arms. “So where next? What’s the plan?”

“I don’t have a plan, I have Cliff Notes.” John sees the confusion and shakes his head. “Never mind. I need to give Savannah’s bracelet to Catherine, that’s it.”

Kyle cants his head. “Catherine? She gave you the picture, right?” He unconsciously touches the front pocket of his vest. “Back in the barrens? Savannah was her … daughter?”

“Sister,” John lies easily. “She’ll want to know what happened.”

“How do you know where she’ll be?”

“She won’t be far away, Savannah was her life.” John smiles grimly and Kyle looks even more confused.

The confusion gives way to a strange determination; it’s the only warning John gets as the friendly demeanor drops and the colder, harder man his mother knew surfaces.

“You know you’re not fooling as many people as you think you are with the cryptic comments, right? Allison thinks you’re just having a hard time getting past something. Derek can’t decide if you’re more dangerous to yourself or others.”

John looks away. “There’s things I can’t talk about. I’m not trying to be cryptic, I guess I’m just … I don’t know.”

“I talked to Kate,” Kyle says like John hasn’t said a word. “Don’t worry, she didn’t tell me anything, really. But she thinks you just want someone to ask the right question. So I got a question for you.”

Kyle falls silent and John guesses after a few moments he’s waiting for John to give the word.

It’s a bad idea, he knows it absolutely and completely and he still rolls his eyes like he’s fourteen and says, “Fine. So, ask.”

“Did you really think I wouldn’t recognise you?” Kyle asks in a ruthlessly bland tone that leaves John frozen, staring and open-mouthed in its wake.

Kyle smiles almost ruefully. “I wasn’t sure, for a while. If you’d been older maybe I wouldn’t have caught it, but I remember being sixteen. You’re taller. I bet your mom’s tall, right?”

John nods automatically; actually he grew past his mother at thirteen, but he never really shook looking up.

“I thought maybe you were my grandfather come from the past or something - you look a lot like him. But that’s not right, is it?”

John shakes his head mutely.

Kyle nods and then nods again; he grins like a kid at Christmas. “I asked Derek, you know – ‘are you sure there isn’t another Reese kid out there?’ Like maybe he forgot one. He tried to get me to go see Kate, but his poker face isn’t as good as he thinks it is.

“So then I remembered there was this thing about, you go back in time to kill your own grandfather. Kinda screwed that one up when you saved my life.” Kyle tilts his head back until he’s staring at John. “But the things you know … you’re from the future.”

John stares at the pile of junk beside him, but no answers appear. He directs his reply to it anyway; it’s easier than speaking to Kyle. “Maybe you should go see Kate,” he says flatly. It’s a throw away line and his heart isn’t in it.

Kyle stands away from the wall, not angry, but even in his peripheral vision John can see that it isn’t the posture of someone about to back down. “I deserve to know this, Connor.”

John hisses his amusement under his breath and raises his head, speaking to the wall now. Progress. “Why? You haven’t done anything that bad.”

Kyle says, “Please,” and like that, just like that, John gives in. He’s spent his whole life wanting to give in. “I was born in nineteen eighty-three, I’m not from the future.”

“Eighty-three? That’s - but you know all about -”

“I’m not from the future,” he says evenly, and turns just enough to meet Kyle’s eyes. “But my father was.”

Kyle, finally, has nothing to say; John takes a moment to enjoy a bitter kind of victory before he goes on. “The machines sent back an eight-hundred to kill my mom, because in their future I was leading the Resistance. I – we – were winning, they were desperate I guess. He – the other Connor – sent Kyle Reese back, to protect her. It worked. She lived and I was born nine months later.”

Kyle is silent as he works though the implications and then he shakes his head. “If you sent him, me, back, where am I now? The older me.”

“He dies – he died – saving her.”

Kyle swallows.

John goes on relentlessly, because if this is what Kyle wanted it’s what Kyle’s getting. “But it’s out of order, this time. I jumped from two thousand nine to whenever it was that you and Derek found me in the old ZeiraCorp building.

“The machines don’t know who I am and I’m pretty sure they haven’t discovered time bubbles yet. Or they hadn’t - I think maybe that’s what Crystal Peak was hiding. The machines knew there was something too important to nuke in there, that’s the only thing I can think of worth waiting for.”

John stops at last and watches Kyle process. It’s probably too much to ask this will end well, so he pins his hopes on just being stuck with the crazies in the last dark room down Below.

After a couple of minutes, Kyle says, “Okay. Now what?”

That’s unexpected enough that the only answer John can find is the honest one. “We need to take Crystal Peak. They have time tech now, we have to destroy it or take it, or we’re dead. We’re all dead.”

Kyle nods slowly. “And after that? You send me back in time and this happens again?”

John bites his lip until it stings and asks, “Are you going to tell Derek?”

Derailed, Kyle blinks and then shrugs. “Tell me why I shouldn’t.”

Kyle isn’t really questioning, he’s challenging, and John doesn’t need to fight him; Kyle will lose this one all on his own. He shrugs back, and just waits.

“If I told him,” Kyle begins, and then stutters into silence. John can see his mind opening up to the hundreds of possibilities, and the repercussions those possibilities spawn. The hundred ways it could play out that Kyle can anticipate, and the terror filling the place of the million ways that he can’t.

John watches as his expression goes from aggressive, through horror and finally settles on desperately lost. After a few moments, John gives him a sharp smile. “Welcome to my world.”

Kyle is silent for a long time and John lets him be; he picks up a screwdriver and goes back to work. It seems like a long time before Kyle finally says, “The tapes?”

John glances at the pile at the end of the workbench. “From my mother. She’s still back there. She’s stopping Skynet,” he adds dryly.

Kyle laughs under his breath. “Yeah, I guess that didn’t work out so well.”

John grins and barely feels a pang. “No, I guess not.”

“Wouldn’t she be able to tell you what’s in Crystal Peak? What does she say?”

John looks at the pile again. “I haven’t listened to all of them.”

“Why the hell not?” Kyle’s hand reaches for the tapes fast, but John is faster. The screwdriver slams point first into the wooden desk an inch from Kyle’s fingers.

“Don’t.”

Kyle’s hand slowly withdraws, fingers flexing. John risks a look and sees shock, not anger. He repeats as gently as he can, “Don’t.”

In the silence, he pulls the head of the screwdriver from the wood and deliberately sets it down.

He takes a breath and speaks as calmly as he can, like he hasn’t nearly stabbed anyone at all. “If I listen to them, I’ll act on them. I don’t know they’re still accurate, I don’t even know they haven’t been tampered with. And if they’re clean, maybe I’ll misinterpret or I’ll – I don’t know. I can’t afford to second-guess.”

If he listens to those tapes, he’ll know too little and too much. And he’ll know all the times he never made it home.

Kyle has a talent for finding a target too, and he doesn’t need a screwdriver. “Or maybe you just don’t want to know how it ends. How she ends. You’re risking everything – us - because you can’t deal with it.”

John flinches. “If there was anything really important, it would have been on the first tape. It would have been written on the walls in blood, okay?” He shoves the pile of tapes and they scatter over the bench. “All they are is a really long goodbye.”

“You don’t know that.”

“But I do know where it ended.” He grins and feels his lips stretch over a snarl. “For them. For her. Bishop - it’s near Crystal Peak.” John feels himself slipping into the space where the world is cold and sharp and the path is achingly clear. “You want to know a secret?”

He takes Kyle’s close-lipped silence as an answer and smiles faintly. “Whether I listen to those tapes or not, it doesn’t matter.”

“It has to matter-“

“It doesn’t,” John interrupts. “History, the future - fate finds a way.” He smiles painfully. “I used to wonder how many times we’d done this. How many times John Connor had sent you back. How many times you’d died. Could be a couple times, could be thousands.

“And there must have been a least one John Connor whose father wasn’t Kyle Reese, right? Maybe he was meant to be my father. Maybe it should have been him, later, only she never met the guy because she never got over you.

“Maybe I’m a mistake; that would be a pretty big change, right? But we’re still here, still doing the same thing over and over. I think we never win. Or lose. We go ‘round and around, with me or without me; with these tapes, or without them.”

He’s breathing hard when he’s finished, hands fisted tight and the skin white at his knuckles. Carefully, he unclenches his hands and then says quietly, “My mother says we make our own fate, but we don’t. Fate makes us. It makes us, and it pushes us where it wants us to go, and it does not stop. Ever. It doesn’t stop until it kills us. Maybe not even then.”

Kyle shakes his head like John’s landed a punch, but his voice is strong – and angry. “If you really believe that, why even keep fighting? Why give us light and weapons and hope and then say it doesn’t mean a damn thing?”

John stares up at him and then he brings his hands down so hard on the workbench that the tapes slide to the floor. Kyle jerks back, Johns palms sting but he doesn’t really feel them. “Were you even listening? I have. No. Choice.”

“You can’t believe that,” Kyle whispers. “I don’t believe that.”

”Neither does Derek.” John’s tired. He doesn’t remember ever being so tired. He raises his hands and laces his fingers behind razor-rough hair; hangs his head and murmurs to the ground, “So that’s good. That’s great. One more pawn on the board.”

He can feel the chill of the machine against the skin of his wrist and he tries not to listen to the little voice that says, surely, this has to be new. He can’t afford to hope; he’ll leave that to everyone else.

Kyle coughs. “I guess I’m sorry.”

“What?” John’s head jerks up, surprise overriding the exhaustion.

Kyle flicks his gaze to the side, his turn to look away. “I’m sorry I get killed. I’m sorry I’m not there. It must’ve been - I’m just sorry.”

John laughs, he doesn’t know what else to do with the awkward words and uncomfortable expression. “Kyle, you aren’t my father. The other Kyle was, and he pretty much died for me, so I think we’re even. He probably never even knew about me, I don’t think I would have told him.”

“But you told me,” Kyle says.

“I’m not sending you back.” John hadn’t meant to say that, but it escapes anyway. Maybe it’s just as well.

Kyle stares at him incredulously. “Didn’t you just get through telling me fate has us cold? There was this really dramatic moment with the bench.”

John flushes. “Like I said, there must have been other variations. Maybe we take this turn out. Just keep the machines from sending a Terminator back and let whoever comes next start over. Maybe it needs to start over.”

They’re both silent for a long moment and then Kyle says, “You knew Derek. When you arrived.”

John makes a non-committal sound and Kyle laughs. “Little late for secrets, Connor.”

“It’s never too late for secrets,” John says ruefully. The chill is warming and there’s a lightness there he hadn’t felt since Century. He doesn’t even want to think about exactly how wrong that is.

Kyle looks like he’s not leaving it alone and John rolls his eyes. “Connor sent him back with a cell of Resistance fighters. They were all killed by a Trip 8; it shot him too.” He can still remember Derek just standing there, making sure Vic didn’t start paying attention to other targets. Waiting to die. He can remember the blood under his mother’s hands.

“He dies?” Kyle asks quietly, lost all over again. “He died?”

“Not – no.”

“You mean, not that time.” Kyle’s expression clears of anything much and John nods.

“He was with us when we went to rescue Savannah. None of us were there when – when. But. I think it was quick.” He remembers Derek hadn’t even closed his eyes, and he says more firmly, “It was quick.”

“Good.” Kyle stands straighter. “Look, he’s only got you in here because he knows you’re not telling him something and he thinks you’ll run out into the barrens first chance you get.”

“He’s pretty much right,” John points out. “He can’t keep me here if I want to leave though, right?”

Kyle says nothing and John frowns. “Right?”

“People we don’t trust, they’re left outside if we think they’re no danger. If they know too much … we can’t afford to let them go, and we can’t keep them here.”

That’s a picture drawn in really broad strokes; John cants his head. “So why am I still alive?”

“Because Allison likes you. Kate likes you. You got us supplies. Light. Freaking Math lessons.” A smile flickers. “He’ll figure it out sooner or later, you know that, right?”

John returns the smile wanly. “Sometimes I wish he would. I kind of miss him.”

“It’s not him though, is it?”

“No.” John shakes his head. “It isn’t.” He stares down at the machine wrapped around his wrist for a moment, then raises his arm and looks to Kyle. “This? Is part of a T-1000. Actually, it’s part of the machine that gave you my mother’s picture. It came through the time bubble with me, looking for a machine it built. Savannah’s been carrying the remains and when she was a kid, Savannah was with my mother.”

He looks at the band thoughtfully. “It’s a record of everything that’s happened between then and now, it’ll tell us more than the tapes can.”

Kyle’s eyes follow the metal band like it was a poisonous snake. “When you decide to spill, you don’t mess around, huh? That thing dangerous?”

“Yes, but it needs us to get it to Weaver. I think in the future Weaver’s from, Connor has the machines fighting each other. Or maybe he had nothing do with it and they evolved enough to turn on each other just like real people.” He smirks bitterly. “Anyway, Weaver said that Connor owed it. This is the debt. I give Weaver the bracelet and Weaver tells me where the picture came from.”

“Does it matter?” Kyle tears his attention from the band, picks up a can and opens it with a few twists of his knife.

“No. Not any more. But we still need to get into Crystal Peak and Weaver can help us. T-1000s make Trip-8s look like pocket calculators, just this part managed to re-write enough of their local directives to make the machines help us at Century. Weaver could get us the time bubbles.”

Kyle nodded. “And then?”

John really doesn’t think they’ll make it that far, but while he’s never actually taken leadership classes he’d guess Leadership 101 would not involve suggesting they’re all going to die screaming. “I told Allison I’d take out the machines,” he says after a pause. “Sound like a plan?”

Kyle hands over the can – peas or something – and nods dubiously. “Sounds like one of your plans.”

John laughs, startling himself and Kyle both. “So what would you do?”

Kyle stops with his knife half into the next can. “What?”

“The fate of the world is in your hands,” John prompts. “What do you do?”

John means it as a joke, but he can see Kyle thinking about it. He scoops out peas with half a cell phone case and waits.

He eats silently for maybe a minute, watching the varied expressions flickering across Kyle’s face with a certain amount of fascination. After a while he takes pity and says, “It doesn’t matter if we don’t even make it past Derek.”

“Derek will help us.”

John snorts. “Some other Derek I haven’t met? Why’s he going to help us?”

“Because Derek remembers what Kyle looked like at sixteen just as well as Kyle does,” says Derek.

There should be a law, John thinks breathlessly, where he only gets shocked stupid once a day.

“Door’s open,” Derek explains mildly, as he walks around the pile obscuring it. Derek’s hand is on his gun and John thinks wildly that it would be really stupid if he got shot now.

Kyle looks wary, but not worried. “How long?”

”Long enough to know I have a nephew, not a Gray.” Derek stops a few feet from them, looking impassively at John.

Seriously, John hates that look. He goes with what he knows. “We have to go to Crystal Peak.”

“We do,” agrees Derek, with an expression this time, but it’s not one John can parse. If he had to guess though, he’d guess his uncle was amused. He’ll take amused.

There’s a knock somewhere near the door, he keeps staring at Derek as he responds. “It’s open. Apparently.”

A woman he vaguely recognizes as his first guard – Samantha, maybe – appears around the side of the servers and jerks her head to Derek to bring him closer. John glances at Kyle, who shrugs. John can’t hear much of the muttered conversation, but he gets the gist.

And then Derek is gone, and Kyle is gone, and John is left sitting alone with the words “west tunnels” and “machines”.

-o-

When Derek comes back it’s hours later and John has been staring at Cameron’s exoskeleton for so long he can see the shape of her.

“We lost the west patrol,” Derek says bluntly. “It looks like a raid. No bodies. We’ll go after them when it gets dark.”

John shakes his head. “It’s too late.” But hey, the voice inside whispers, never mind. It’s always been too late.

“When Allison-“ He stops, he doesn’t know it will be Allison this time, that was a stupid assumption. “When one of them comes back,” he amends, “we won’t be here, so you have to tell the patrol to meet whoever it is in the barrens. It can’t be allowed on the base, and they shouldn’t ask it questions. It won’t like questions. Tell them to tell it you left orders to go to Crystal Peak.”

For once Derek doesn’t ask why, but John tells him anyway because there are tears pricking his eyes and Derek has to understand. “Cameron will find us. It’s what she does.”

It’s all she does.

"Greeks talk a whole pile of nonsense. Fuck 'em."

Harry Pearce & Leo McGarry: my new BFFs

Posted: November 8th, 2009, 2:30pm MST

Tags: [edit]

Spies: I don't really have a lot of thoughts about Spooks 8x02, outside of "!!!! SPIES, I AM GLAD THEY ARE BACK, AND THAT THEY ARE SPYING WHILE BEING DYSFUNCTIONAL." I have a lot of thoughts about the spoilers I read yesterday, which I won't mention, except to say that I HAVE READ THEM and I HAVE THOUGHTS.

Lawyers: Explain to me again when it was that I STARTED TRUSTING NBC PROMOTIONAL PIECES? Oh, man. And now they are baiting me again! With next week! On the other hand, THAT EX-ADA GUY IS TOTALLY CONNIE'S EX-BOYFRIEND, and I'm fairly certain next week confirms that fact. (Also, a serial killer, APPARENTLY. Awesome sauce, Connie.) (Also: FORMAL WEAR??!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?! oh my.) Oh, man. Was that reveal not this week because that would make two ex-boyfriends in one episode? lol to the extreme - I would kind of like to know what exactly Connie was up to in high school! I think Mike was having similar thoughts*!!

* SOMETHING SORT OF LIKE:

"So-"
"DON'T. All right? DON'T."
"I didn't say anything!"
"But you were thinking it!"
"I wasn't thinking about anything, Connie. Except..."
"UGH WHAT."
"Nothing! He seemed very nice, is all."
"'Very nice'... VERY NICE?"
"He said you looked 'respectable'! That's a nice thing to say to a woman in a professional capacity, right?"
"It was high school, Mike."
"I know."
"It was high school, and I was- well, I was in high school."
"I know you were."
"...UGH, SHUT UP AND GET US A CAB, PLEASE."

...it's possible my weekend of watching The West Wing has gone to my head.

The point is: in Jack's analogy of "oh my god, you two cannot end up like myself and Claire", JUST TO THROW US ALL A CURVE BALL, COULD IT POSSIBLY BE THAT CONNIE IS THE ONE WITH THE BAD HISTORY OF DATING CO-WORKERS, RATHER THAN MIKE? Oh. My. God. Until proven otherwise, I am saying yes. \o/

-

I had plans last night! To - you know - clean and stuff! Instead most of the day disappeared to watching The West Wing and then, alternatively, the end count of the healthcare bill passing through the House. I, um, cheered when they got to 218. I CHEERED. LIKE IT WAS A YANKEE GAME. what the hell MY LIFE, SHE IS QUITE FUCKING EXCITING, EVERYONE. (I am now of the firm belief that yes, nine years ago it was AARON SORKIN - not Jack McCoy, sorry dude - that made me want to be a lawyer. Oh, my GOD IT WAS. My first mistake was just thinking that meant I wanted to major in political science. I could explain further, but I think this would spoil my personal essay.)

-

I think the check-out guy at Trader Joe's likes me. It's sort of by coincidence that he seems to ALWAYS be the line I pick, and then today, when I was fairly certain I'd scared the crap out of him with my ENTHUSIASTIC delight that they had started selling these delicious pita crackers again, he smiled in a - WELL, IT WAS NOT A POLITE AND COMMON COURTESY SMILE, LET US SAY THAT. Or perhaps I am insane, and simply misinterpreting said common courtesy and politeness. I feel like this happens to me a lot? IT'S SO HARD TO TELL, WITH ME. I AM AWKWARD.

Gordon

PLACE YOUR BETS NOW!

Posted: November 8th, 2009, 1:33pm MST

Tags: [edit]

Dave are showing Banzai. We just watched the one where Peter Davison says he would bum Sylvester McCoy to save the world from the Daleks.

BETTING ENDS!

The Shattered King

The sun shone today for the first ...

Posted: November 8th, 2009, 11:46am MST

Tags: [edit]

The sun shone today for the first time in about 2 weeks. Though it was only just peeking above the mountain tops.

The more I think about it, the more convinced I am that the lack of sunlight is a major factor in my emotional state through the winter.

I mean, the last couple of weeks its just been so dark and gloomy all day.

(And that it has an effect on my skin for that matter. All that UVB treatment I got over the summer would probably have been a much more sensible thing to get in the winter.)

anenko

[Picspammy] Janelle Monae - "Many Moons"

Posted: November 8th, 2009, 8:36am MST

Tags: picspam [edit]

While I very rarely picspam music videos, that's not the "something new" for picspammy. Janelle Monae is a new discovery; I found her short film/music video only days ago, thanks to a comment at yuletide. The song is wonderful, and the video hints as a fascinating world that I'd love to learn more about.

The video is YouTube quality, and I don't have much luck capping music videos under the best of circumstances. The video is included at the end of the picspam; I'd encourage you to watch it.

The Shattered King

So, apparently Charisma Carpenter is playing a ...

Posted: November 8th, 2009, 7:29am MST

Tags: [edit]

So, apparently Charisma Carpenter is playing a hardass leather-clad lesbian assassin in the new season of Legend Of The Seeker.

This seemed the sort of thing that some of you might be interested to know.

A.j.

YAY!

Posted: November 7th, 2009, 12:19am MST

Tags: geeky [edit]

YAY!

______

icons #22: Glee

Posted: November 7th, 2009, 8:34pm MST

Tags: icons [edit]

Apparently, there's also nothing I like better than making icons that I won't have room for when my paid account expires in two days! I'm going to blame it on Will Schuester because I love him most of all when he's having highly inappropriate relationships with his students.

25 Glee (1x08, cast)

01. 02. 03. 04.

05. 06. 07. 08.

09. 10. 11. 12.

13. 14. 15. 16.

17. 18. 19. 20.

21. 22. 23. 24.

25.

Textless icons are not bases. Don't alter anything.
Do not hotlink.
Do not repost anywhere.
Do not claim as your own.
Comment if snagging.
Credit.

the story girl

Back on track -- and over 10k

Posted: November 7th, 2009, 7:53pm MST

Tags: nanowrimo [edit]

11178 / 50000 words. 22% done!

lithiumdoll

Fic: Points [NCIS LA]

Posted: November 7th, 2009, 7:39pm MST

Tags: fiction ncis la [edit]

Points
Hetty is a rose (by any other name), Sam is trying to work, Kensi can be deadly with that fork and Callen should probably switch to de-caff. Maybe get a new hobby.
Rating: G
Words: ~1980
For: mitchy, because she wanted it
Beta: Thank you so much to meredith44 and jebbypal, remaining errors are all on me.

“Agents.”

Callen jumped violently, which was unfortunate because he had his head tilted back and a mouth full of Red Bull. When he’d finished coughing - and glared at Sam for the ‘helpful’ thumps on his back - he ignored Kensi’s barely smothered laughter and reached over the debris of Thai takeout to snag some napkins.

Hetty tutted not quite sympathetically as she lifted the case reports out the way of his mopping. “I’m sorry, Mr. Callen. I was hoping to have an update.”

Callen glanced at a remarkably unapologetic-looking Hetty, “You always sneak up behind me.”

“I wasn’t sneaking, I was approaching. And even if I were ‘sneaking’, I wouldn’t expect quite such a reac – ah, I see.”

Hetty picked up the can from the top of the small – okay, maybe not that small now Callen looked at it – pyramid of cans at his side. She pursed her lips and said levelly, “May I suggest, Mr. Callen, that you consider investigating the world of natural stimulants? While I applaud your support of the economy, I do feel the manufacturers will survive even without your sterling efforts to single-handedly keep them in business.”

Callen studied her for long enough to appear as if he was giving some serious thought to her recommendation and then said, “Or you could just sneak up behind Sam next time.”

Sam snorted. “Yeah, right. No offence, Hetty, but I can always smell you coming.”

(Callen’s not sure when he started awarding himself points for making Sam smile, but it’s something to do late nights and long stakeouts. A snort isn’t a laugh or a smile, so Callen can’t give points that.)

Hetty smiled benevolently and said, “No offense taken, Agent Hanna. It’s always gratifying when one’s attention to the art of per fumum is appreciated.” She brought her wrist to her nose and took a delicate sniff. “I have worn many remarkable fragrances, but I always return to Prada. Ah, memories.”

Kensi leaned forward with her chin propped on her hand. “Dashing men and wonderful parties?” She lowered her voice. “Was Frank Sinatra involved?”

“Not … that time.” Hetty’s eyes twinkled and then she drew herself up – back to business. “Deputy – I’m sorry, Senior Deputy White has requested another update.”

“Okay, seriously, every hour on the hour? Doesn’t Senior Deputy White have better things to do? Is Ventura that boring? Do they not have crime in Ventura?” Callen paused and then looked to his partner. “So, I’m thinking I’ll go live in Ventura.”

Sam rolled his eyes and pushed the last of his dinner away. “Please - you’d go crazy in under three minutes. And stop saying Ventura.”

(Sam’s eye rolls sometimes precede a smile or grin, but not always and really they happen too often for Callen to give himself points for. It seems like cheating.)

“I’ve been there, it’s nice. There’s a -” Kensi started, and then caught Hetty’s piercing expression of inquiry. “There’s nothing relevant in Ventura. At all.”

“You may not want to work in a Tourism Office. Ever. Because-” Callen shut his mouth at Sam’s glare.

”We done?” Sam asked mildly.

Callen nodded dutifully, if not contritely. It was way, way too late to fake contrite. “We’re done.”

”So we can work now?”

“We’ve been working for fourteen hours,” Callen pointed out with the most pathetic expression he could come up with.

(The left-hand corner of Sam’s mouth twitched, but by Callen’s scoring system that didn’t count either - it twitched when Sam was amused, or angry, or bored, or concentrating: too easy.)

Callen subsided into silence.

“Thank you, Sam.” Hetty smiled.

Sam nodded. “No problem. We’ve eliminated most of the theories we started with; none of them tie Lela Gillespie with Lucas Shaw.

“Gillespie was a Petty-officer – widow, no kids. Shaw was a househusband with two kids - his wife, Anne, worked at Affinity Bank until it was closed down. Gillespie was at the Navy recruitment office out on Rodeo, while according to Shaw’s wife – and from his cell and card records - Shaw hadn’t been outside Ventura in the last five years. Guess he should’ve made it six.”

Kensi took over smoothly, “Gillespie was thirty-seven, Shaw was forty-six. They’ve never lived in the same city or gone to the same school or college, or worked at the same places. They didn’t use the same bank, shop in the same stores, go to the same restaurants or jog in the same parks.

“They’ve got nothing in common except where they were found and the way they died.”

Hetty nodded, “And the lab has nothing for you?”

“With the storm, the crime scene was a mess. And since that thing with the Commander, they’re backed up all the way to next Christmas,” Sam answered, and then smiled slightly.

(Callen doesn’t award points for smiles he doesn’t cause, and definitely not for that one - it’s not real. It’s the one that comes out when the alternative is hitting something. Or someone.)

“Our next move is getting Kensi to go down there in that little black dress she wore last week, see if that would move us up the ladder a little,” Callen offered.

Kensi threw a plastic fork at his head; it missed by two inches, ricocheted off the wall and flew somewhere into the darkness of the dressing rooms.

Callen grinned. “And if that doesn’t work, we’ll send Sam to smile at them. He’s so cute, how could you say no to that face?”

Sam stared at him. “De-caff, man. It’s for your own good. Really.”

Hetty cleared her throat quietly and then said deliberately, “So am I to understand that, in your sterling work eliminating the irrelevant details, you’ve made several important steps forward in forming a solid theory of events?”

At their blank looks she took pity and prompted them with a slow nod. They nodded slowly back.

”Excellent.” She smiled brightly. “I’ll be sure to emphasize your tireless efforts in my next report.” She glanced at the clock on the wall to her right and sighed. “Which will be in about an hour, I suspect.”

When she’d gone beyond hearing range – they devoutly hoped – Callen said, “So, by tireless, she means …”

“No one’s going home tonight,” Kensi confirmed. Then, “Wait, do you even have a home? Has it been two weeks yet?” She looked at Sam.

Sam shook his head, “He lasted ten days.”

Callen shrugged philosophically. “Not enough walls.”

“It was a studio apartment, G.” Sam called back as he carried the sad remains of the takeout to the kitchenette.

(His eyebrow was raised but, seriously, who counts eyebrows?)

“Yeah, but then there was this thing with this guy and his home gym, and it got a little more open plan than intended.” Off their looks, Callen shook his head. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

He sat straighter and raised his voice with all the soulless enthusiasm of a motivational speaker. “Hey, let’s talk about Lela Gillespie and Lucas Shaw some more. Senior Deputy White will be calling in fifty-two minutes.”

Kensi rolled her eyes. “I guess it’s good to know people, and to get us jumping he must really know people.” She stared at the files for a long moment and then spoke quietly, without looking away. “They were frat brothers, right? Shaw and White?”

Callen dropped the caffeine freak act and snapped back into focus; he knew that look. “Yeah, something like that.”

“Where? And where did Gillespie go to College?”

Sam sat back down and pulled the files back towards him. “White and Shaw were UCLA, Gillespie – Herrera then – was at MIT.”

Callen stared at him. “And she ended up a Petty-officer working recruitment?”

Sam nodded absently. “She didn’t get enough credits to graduate. Her father was a Chief Warrant Officer; looks like he died a few months after she left college. Reading between the lines …”

“Right. Too far, go back to college,” Kensi directed. “Was she in a sorority?”

Sam flipped a few pages and shook his head. “If she was, it’s not in her records. Eric could maybe pull something up.”

“Never mind, what about her husband?”

Callen leafed through the files. “Patrick Gillespie. He was doing some serious post-grad work at MIT, but he left the same year she did. Looks like he followed her back to LA. He was killed in a – huh.”

Kensi finally tore her attention from the heap of files, “Huh?”

“Mugging. He was killed in a mugging. In LA. Ten years ago, age thirty-six – it’s a cold case.” He looked up. “Bets he was in a fraternity too?”

Sam pulled his cell from its holder. “We need Eric - he can get this stuff way quicker than we can.”

“It’s nearly midnight,” Kensi pointed out.

Sam’s finger paused over quick dial. “So?”

”So if he’s asleep, you get to go pick him up this time. You know what he’s like when he gets woken up.”

“He’s probably playing computer games,” said Sam, but warily. He did know what Eric was like when he was woken up. “Fine, I’ll go get him, but you make the call. I’m not dealing with repeating everything seven times and conversations about asparagus or whatever the hell.”

Kensi took the cell and stood to go find a comfier chair; this could take while.

“Think we should bring Dom in too? Nate, maybe?” Callen murmured.

Sam looked at him suspiciously. “Why?”

(If Callen gave himself points for every time he made Sam look suspicious, there’d be no point in playing.)

“Because they could provide invaluable insights into the investigation?” He suggested.

“Uh huh. And when it hits 3am, you want company.”

Callen grinned unrepentantly. “That too.”

Sam grunted. “Call Dom, it will be good experience for him. Leave Nate, unless you want to see what a behavioral analyst can do when you’re tired and he’s cranky.”

Callen thought this over for a few moments and then nodded. “That’s a really good point.”

“By the sudden hive of activity, do I assume there is movement on our case?”

Callen didn’t jump this time, but he did grit his teeth. When he was fairly confident he could present an appearance of professionalism – or a fairly close approximation - he turned to face Hetty. “Not just ours. Kensi came up with a possible connection; we think there may be a link to a case from six years ago. Patrick Gillespie was murdered in LA.”

“I see.” Hetty’s bright gaze was as sharp at midnight as it was at midday. It was a little unnerving, but Callen reminded himself he hadn’t actually done anything wrong. Finally she went on, “In the same area our bodies were found in?”

Sam shook his head. “No, we don’t get that lucky. But it might be something. It is something.”

“Then I will be pleased to report your progress to Senior Deputy White, and would suggest you all retire to your places of rest and return fresh in the morning.”

Callen coughed quietly, “We could, but Eric and Dom know where we sleep.”

Hetty looked askance at Sam. He supplied, “We called them in. We need Eric to access the old case files. And some other stuff.”

“Well, in that case, I will wish you good hunting, retire to my place of rest and return fresh in the morning.”

Hetty began to walk back towards her office and Callen called after her, “Enjoy your walls. You never know when you might lose them.”

She didn’t even turn around. “Yes, Mr. Callen. Perhaps your next apartment building should be one with stricter rules on the presence of home-made gyms.”

When she’d disappeared again, Callen looked back to Sam. “Does she have us watched?”

“Like they’d approve the budget for that.” Sam grinned. “For you, maybe.”

(Four points)

Gordon

If there's one thing guaranteed to cheer ...

Posted: November 7th, 2009, 7:26pm MST

Tags: [edit]

If there's one thing guaranteed to cheer me up on a Saturday, it's Charlie Brooker's weekly X-Factor commentary on Twitter. :)

anenko

My current desktop picture makes me happy ...

Posted: November 7th, 2009, 2:49pm MST

Tags: [edit]

My current desktop picture makes me happy every time I turn on my laptop:

*

I've gotten over my difficulty with reading scanlations. I still prefer having an actual book in my hands, but that hasn't kept for diving wholeheartedly into OneManga's collection of One Piece chapters. I'm disappointed that One Piece took a detour into racefail territory during the Foxy Pirates chapter; I winced at Usopp's "the power of the afro" speech.

*

I'm safely signed up for Yuletide. I offered a handful of fandoms, some of which I'm sure I'll have reason to regret later. That is, of course, part of the fine Yuletide tradition.

I ended up trading out Flora Segunda (interesting characters, fascinating worldbuilding) for Mendol (crack, fanservice, and a side of kink). I'm ashamed of myself. . . but not enough to redo my signup.

the story girl

look, I wrote Lost fic! odd, odd fic that popped into my head

Posted: November 7th, 2009, 2:35pm MST

Tags: [edit]

Disclaimer: Lost is not mine
Summary: Ben doesn't get déjà vu. He does get what he wants. ( One-sided Ben/Juliet. Spoilers for season 5. PG, 230 words.)

In Memory
by eponine119
November 7, 2009

When Ben meets the new doctor, he has the feeling he knows her. She's never been on the island. Couldn't have brought her here if she had been. But Ben doesn't get déjà vu.

There's something warm and nurturing in her smile.

He thinks of his motherless daughter. Remembers the weight of her as he took her away from the French woman, so easily. Motherless but not. She would find them here if she looked hard enough, but she's afraid. He hates her for that.

He would kill her before he let her take Alex, but a mother should try. His mother would have done anything for him. Even die.

Lying awake listening to the dark, he remembers. His childhood. The long-haired security guard, so like his father if his father wasn't weak and broken, rotten inside. And her. She was the same. In his head, he used to make-believe they were his parents, that she was his mother, that he was loved.

What ever happened to them? He can't recall.

How could she be here now, seeing it all for the first time? The island is mysterious. He'll ask Richard. Richard won't answer.

He decides then that he wants her. No longer a childish wish. A mother for his daughter. A wife, a woman in his home. Ben always gets what he wants.

end

Calapine

Merlin: The Witchfinder

Posted: November 7th, 2009, 1:39pm MST

Tags: merlin [edit]
This week's Merlin-ness, before I've seen last week's. I take it the troll marriage didn't work out.
- I keep having to tell myself this is not The Black Adder.
- Charles Dance!
- You can tell he's Evil cause of his Big Black Hat and that fact that his inkwell is a human skull.
- Arthur's reaction to Merlin being accused bringeth teh glee.
- Those interrogation-y bits are kinda scary. STOP BEING SO WILLING TO BELIEVE PEOPLE IN BLACK HATS, UTHER.
- I wonder what Uther's Fatal Flaw what eventually destroys him will be? I WONDER?
- He! Team!Merlin&Gwen investigate! Winning.
- Aw, hurrah, some good stuff for Gwen. Alas at limited Morgana though. Just cause you've got a Great Big Guest Star doesn't mean you have to keep shafting the OT4, guys.
- Okay, quite nifty. But, damn, I want more OT4!Team stuff, dammit. I love that they can get great guests, but that ain't why I'm watching.
- Next week - Morgause! Dude! Okay, I'm really quite excited about this cause I love stuff that explores what this Camelot's older generation did, and given that Morgause's role in the legend generally gets lumped in with Morgana's these days, I really want to see what they're doing with her.

Gordon

*moshes*

Posted: November 7th, 2009, 11:49am MST

Tags: [edit]

Have spent most of the afternoon playing Rock Band. I've finally, after some time started defaulting to medium difficulty and only putting it down if a track is really too much to handle. Played a couple of dozen songs, five starred them all. Spirit In The Sky had better be playable in Lego Rock Band, I'm just sayin'

Going to watch second half of this week's SJA now.
Powerful big rats, gentlemen!

Posted: November 7th, 2009, 6:29am MST

Tags: [edit]

After all the stress and crap from last night, I bought Dragon Age Origins to cheer myself up. An hour in and I've already been able to proposition Iona, an elf lady-in-waiting and spend the night with her. Doesn't show anything, you just wake up together and it does add a little extra to the plot. But, being a Bioware game and knowing how things have worked in the past, I checked and yes, was also able to proposition Lady Adaria's son instead, leading to a similar night in. Simon was probably joking when he said I should try for a threesome, but you know, I had to give it a try. Didn't work. The son pointedy observed I'd already chatted up Iona and refused to join in. :)

I believe in the main game I'll have at least three romantic relationship options, one of which is voiced by Claudia Black, so is immediately my first choice.

Being a Bioware game, you can be nice or a complete git and as always some of the gitty responses are oh so, so tempting. Beiung a bit punchy after all the stuff yesterday me and Simon were interjecting our own responses to things. We klost it a bit when a child is asking his dad to bring him back a sword from the battle he's about to attend and I just said "I'll tell you what sun, I'll bring you back an orc's bollock to use as a football." which set Simon off and that set me off and I wasn't able to continue for a couple of minutes due to laughing. Another was Game:"Welcome to the King's camp." Me:"He's not that camp." Tried a couple of the origin stories, my female character with the "violent" voice pack sounds mental. My male character with the same voice pack sounds like a git, which is amusing, but could get annoying.

AM probably going to play through all the different origin stories just to see them, played the Human Noble twice, once male, once female and did the elf mage one, but played the last thrid of it twice to see how it played out if I made a different choice. A choice which was changed due to how the story played out the first time. The dwarf noble origina is seemingly a riot.

Tim Curry's in the game. Unsurprisingly, he plays an evil git. :P So far his performance is nicely understated, enough that I wasn't completely certain it was him at first. Had a look through the rest of the voice cast, we've got KAte Mulgrew, Carolyn Seymour (yay!), Tim Russ, Dwight Schultz and many of the usual Bioware suspects. No Jennifer Hale or John DIMaggio though, I am disappoint. PEte Tyler's in it somewhere though.

The console version of the game plays very like KOTOR, which is good. It's a long game, which is what put me off getting it initially, because twenty hours is usually my very top limit these days, but like I said, needed cheered up. I have killed big rats. As is traditional. The game even points out the absurdity of the rat killing quest cliche in dialogue. Have also done the whole GIANT SPIDARS!11! thing.

In further news, due to my use of them in Guitar Hero 5, you could probably hook turbines up to Kurt Cobain and Johnny Cash's graves and run a small country off them. Seeing Johnny Cash bounding around singing Wolf Like Me by TV On The Radio, with Kurt on bass, Matt Bellamy on drums and Shirley Manson on guitar was both highly wrong and highly entertaining, especially the bit when Johnny, Kurt and Shirley are singijng together at the microphone. Ring Of Fire was a complete blast o play though.

______

Glee fic: two ravens in the old oak tree (Quinn, Puck, Finn)

Posted: November 7th, 2009, 2:00am MST

Tags: fic [edit]

two ravens in the old oak tree
Disclaimer: 'Glee' belongs to Ryan Murphy and FOX. No infringement intended.
Summary: It's hard to compartmentalize when he keeps jumping genres. (Quinn, Puck, Finn)
Spoilers: 1x08 "Mash-up."

The tea leaves swirl; she picks a future.

-

A nose breaks; Puck gets suspended for a week.

This is, of course, what he meant when he said he'd take care of it. He nods goodbye from the auditorium doors and the glee club is a little speechless that he's using his fists for good, but she makes it a point not to look up from her nails. If that makes her a bitch then so be it. She's been called far worse this week. Mr. Schuester leaves to go plead his case with Figgins – something about the freedom of expression and group unity – while Finn scratches his head and asks if she thinks Puck hit that Jacob kid for her.

"It's Puck. When has he ever needed an excuse to punch someone?"

-

Before though, he comes over – too late for a social visit, too early for anything more – and even though they haven't talked since she read townie across his palm lines, he whispers that he wanted to make sure she was okay about, you know, everything. She's not, but she doesn't need him to know that.

"You can stop talking like a golf announcer. My parents went to their bridge club."
"Oh."

His hands are shoved deep into his pockets and he's still rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet like the prospect of being alone with her on a well-lit porch is even more frightening than her father's .45. She doesn't invite him in; he doesn't leave.

"I'm fine," she sighs.

He raises an eyebrow because she's wearing a snuggie and her eyes tint red and tomorrow will mark the first October in years that she won't be donning a cheerleading uniform at some point during the school day and he knows her enough to know that she can't let all that go in four hours.

"I'm here, you know. For whatever."

Her voice catches on I'll be fine. He pretends not to notice.

-

"I'm not going to change my mind."
"About me?"
"About all of it."
"Is that a challenge?"
"Call it a prophecy."

-

A finger breaks. The hockey team starts to lose, Karovsky walks around with a splint, and the slushie war ends before she has to ask Rachel Berry to help her wash out chunks of raspberry-flavored ice from her hair again.

It's a while before Finn starts to put the trail of broken bones together.

-

They start having early morning practices to prepare for sectionals. She misses sleep and caffeine and not having to worry about losing competitions. On a Monday, he comes back from the cafeteria carrying a donut between his teeth and a carton of milk for her. The glee club stares at him like he's suddenly grown a Siamese twin with ironic facial hair.

"It's good for the kid," he shrugs.
"That's...s-s-sweet," Tina stutters.
"Are you feeling okay?" Artie asks.
"Shut up," he glares. "Mr. Shue wanted us to be supportive of Baby Beluga here so I'm being supportive."

They breathe a collective sigh of relief because he's still an insensitive jerk.

She doesn't. (She wishes she didn't know better.)

-

He keeps trying to break out of the box that she shoved him into.

"Stop it."
"I'm trying to make it easier."
"Well, you're not."

It's hard to compartmentalize when he keeps jumping genres.

-

A lie unravels.

The world likes to maximize mortification so it's during a group number. That's the way these things go, she imagines. The rest of them gasp, a speechless audience thrust into one of those paternity episodes of Maury. Finn can't stop asking why and lunging for throats – Puck's, of course, because Finn is still a good guy all the same – and repeating liar, liar, liar. She doesn't try to explain, but Puck remembers the company line and offers up tales of orange sunset wine coolers, throws around words like advantage and it's just sex, bro.

"Shut up, Puck," she hisses.

She doesn't need him to deflect; she's heard that penance is good for the soul.

"No one gets drunk off wine coolers!" Finn shouts.
"I may have added vodka," he lies.

A friendship breaks; practice is cancelled for a week.

-

After, she drops by to ice packs held to bruised noses.

"Is it broken?"
"It takes more than this."

Sometimes tea leaves are wrong.

Drakyndra, ex-Master of Fandom

Be afraid, be very afraid?

Posted: November 6th, 2009, 12:48am MST

Tags: fandom comics [edit]

So, I'm reading this psych paper on the appeal of movie monsters (For my short Radical Fiction essay, I'm talking about Frankenstein), and I come across a reference to a book it cites, about the effects of movies and fear.

A book which was written by one Jonathon Crane.

Yes, really.

Well, I was amused. I wasn't expecting that at all.

Carrie

he's as damned as he seems - Star Trek (McCoy/Chapel) fic

Posted: November 6th, 2009, 12:05am MST

Tags: mccoychapel [edit]

Still archiving commentfic, please disregard!

Title: he's as damned as he seems
Fandom: Star Trek reboot
Pairing: McCoy/Chapel
Rating: PG-13ish.
Summary: "'Chapel,' he says, his voice remarkably steady for someone who's probably well on his way to drinking himself into a coma." 900 words, originally written as commentfic for silverlining_99 (posted here). Title is taken from "Beautiful Disaster" by Kelly Clarkson.

--

She rings the bell at his door once, then a second time, just to prove she means business. "It's Chapel," she says into the intercom, jamming her hands into the pockets of her sweatshirt. She'd taken the time to change out of her duty uniform after her shift, thinking a run around the ship would deter her from doing exactly what she's doing now. He's a grown man, and her direct supervisor, and she really should just leave him be. It's what she's been telling herself right up to this moment, when her traitorous feet have led her to his quarters.

The hatch whooshes open and she lets out a sigh at the sight of him, unshaven face and bright eyes that confirm her suspicions.

"Chapel," he says, his voice remarkably steady for someone who's probably well on his way to drinking himself into a coma.

"Can I come in?" she asks, not waiting for a response before ducking under his arm and into his quarters.

He turns to face her, his expression morphing into a familiar, if slightly more exaggerated scowl. "Jim," he says, somehow managing to make the word sound like one with four letters.

"Jim," she confirms.

--

McCoy had been impossible for the past two days, barking out orders like they were in wartime rather than an extended mission in the middle of nowhere. After a particularly frustrating exchange, Christine, muttering to herself about fucking CMOs and their fucking issues, had happened to run headlong into the captain.

"April," he'd said, as if that was supposed to explain something.

"Pardon?"

"It's April. April's no good for Bones."

"Does he have childhood trauma related to April Fool's Day?"

Jim had rocked back on his heels, studying her. "No," he'd finally said. "He ever tell you how his dad died?"

"No."

"Suffice it to say, it's something that sticks with him. That'd be enough, except he also split up with his wife about six years ago, give or take." He'd shrugged his shoulders. "April's no good for Bones," he'd repeated. "I've learned to just give him some room. He knows where I am. Besides, everybody's got their something. My numerous issues, your inappropriate crush on your boss-" He'd smirked at her dropped jaw. "Oh, come off of it."

--

It's not a crush, she thinks as she watches McCoy cross the room and scowl at the empty bottle on his nightstand. A crush implies something juvenile, unrequited. While she doesn't fancy herself in love - she doesn't, she thinks firmly - this thing between them, well, it's complicated, is what it is.

"So," she says. "April, huh."

He snorts. "Yeah. Let's just say there are better months. This one just leads to me being an asshole to my staff and wondering why the hell I'm even here." He looks at her, through her. "I was never supposed to be here. This was never supposed to be my life."

She steps closer to him, lightly, as if approaching a caged animal. "Well...one month out of twelve isn't bad?" she offers. He obliges her with a small, crooked smile, but the bleak look in his eyes isn't going anywhere. "Come here," she says, holding out her hand.

He hesitates. "Chapel, I don't think-"

"We're not on duty right now, I think you can call me Christine."

She slips her arms around him, but keeps her eyes on his face.

"You're here for the captain," she says. "For Jim. He needs you here; needs somebody to rein him in when he gets too far off the ledge. And Spock, I think he just likes having people to prove he's smarter than." McCoy lets out a dark chuckle at that. "And all the people you've helped, all the lives you've saved. Everyone on your service." She pauses. "And me. I need you here."

She leans up on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek, but he turns his head to catch her mouth with his. It's sweet and sad and surprisingly chaste, and it makes her want to hold him tight until May 1st rolls around.

"You don't have to go," he says when she pulls back. It's the closest he'll come to asking her to stay, she knows, just as she knows that it has nothing to do with sex and everything to do with companionship, with not wanting to sleep another night alone.

She lets him undress her, slowly, his hands mapping paths across her skin. He leaves her in her tank top and underwear; she reciprocates by stripping him down to his boxers. She lies back on his bed, feels the mattress give beneath her as she opens her arms and he settles in half on top of her. He kisses her again before rolling them so they're on their sides facing each other, their hands joined loosely between them and one arm slung over her hip.

She watches his eyes droop, his lashes fanning out darkly on his cheeks as his breathing evens out. Even given the givens, he's still kind of ridiculously beautiful.

"Christine," he says.

"Yeah?" She jumps inwardly, sure he's about to call her out for staring.

"Next time you're in my bed, don't expect to be doing any sleeping." There's a promise to his words that makes her catch her breath.

"I'll hold you to that," she whispers.

end
boys will be boys oh yes they will - Star Trek (Kirk/Chapel/McCoy) ficlet

Posted: November 6th, 2009, 11:54pm MST

Tags: kirkchapelmccoy [edit]

Ignore me, I'm just archiving some commentfic.

Title: boys will be boys oh yes they will
Fandom: Star Trek reboot
Pairing: Kirk/Chapel/McCoy
Rating: PG-13ish?
Summary: "A rap on the door reminds her where they are and that half the crew is out on the floor, not thirty feet away. If she didn't love them both so damn much, this situation might be downright seedy." 371 words, originally written as commentfic for loveflyfree (posted here). Title is taken from "I Do Not Hook Up" by Kelly Clarkson.

--

Somewhere in the back of Christine's mind, it occurs to her that letting Jim Kirk talk her into making out in the ladies room of a crowded club is both a) one hell of a cliche and b) something she never, ever, ever would have pictured herself doing even six months ago. Among other things, she thinks as he grips her hips, walks them backward until he's leaning against the sink.

The door creaks open and she gasps, whipping her head around. "Started without me, I see," McCoy says, flipping the lock.

Jim grins. "Nah, Bones, you're right on time."

"Ugh, boys," Christine huffs, feeling outnumbered. But then McCoy steps behind her, says "hey" in her ear as his hands slide down her bare arms, and she's reminded why she's never really minded all that much. She leans her head back to rest on McCoy's shoulder, which Jim takes as permission to set his teeth lightly on her neck.

A rap on the door reminds her where they are and that half the crew is out on the floor, not thirty feet away. If she didn't love them both so damn much, this situation might be downright seedy. Still, a girl has to draw the line somewhere. "Nuh-uh," she says, although her knees are threatening to give out underneath her. She can't say that she blames them. "This is not happening."

"Hmm?" McCoy asks idly, brushing her sweaty hair away from her temple while Jim moves on to doing some pretty fantastic things to the shell of her ear.

"Not here," she clarifies. "One of you is shelling out for a hotel."

"Not it," Jim mumbles against her skin. "Paid last time."

McCoy rolls his eyes in Jim's general direction. "Last time was on the ship, kid."

"Whatever. Who's the captain here?"

Christine "ahem"s before this conversation gets any more off course. McCoy pulls her face toward his to steal a kiss, leaving her with the lingering taste of bourbon on her lips. "As the lady wishes," he concedes. "It's on me."

"Thank you, baby," she says with a slow smile.

Not to be outdone, Jim straightens up, kisses first Christine and then McCoy in quick succession. "Good. Now can we get out of here?"

end

A.j.

[nt]

Posted: November 6th, 2009, 6:49pm MST

Tags: consumerism [edit]

A good grammarian can outwit any word.

O HAI GUYZ

Posted: November 6th, 2009, 5:21pm MST

Tags: tales of yay [edit]

rj_anderson is coming to see me tomorrow! And guess what else! She just got nominated for some fancypants writing award.

Just for context, previous Carnegie Medal winners have included C.S. Lewis, Philip Pullman, Philip Reeve, and Walter de la Mare. So, you know, nobody important.

Gregarius

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