l_loire sucks. He's laughing at me because I don't want to watch the season finale of NCIS and be taken by surprise when the MYSTERY CAST MEMBER dies.

*growfs*

EDIT: Goddammit! *is watching NCIS*

EDITED EDIT: ( Part One Spoilers )

EDITED EDITED EDIT: ( Part Two Spoilers )

"... we're on the run from Father Time."

Last night, whilst we were having cake, I was asked (rather peevishly) why I hadn't asked for anything for my birthday. I, rather shamefacedly, came up with this answer: "All the stuff I wanted was so expensive, I felt guilty asking for any of them."

To which my mother replied, "Oh my God, she's growing up!"

Yeah, I know it was my birthday--my special day an' all--but srsly, if I can't justify spending my own hard-earned money on a $60 set of DVDs, how am I going to ask my working mother or my great-aunt-on-a-pension to spend that kind of cash? Of course, now that they've simply given me the money, I don't feel guilty anymore. This is surely some kind of double-standard... but now I have only one question: is the complete 4-season Man From UNCLE set really worth the $249.99 plus free shipping from Time-Life? Inquiring minds want to know.

I woke up this morning hearing birds and seeing sunshine, and wondering why I wasn't on the Delaware River (despite having slept far too comfortably to have been tenting). It took me a while, but I figured it out: while we were all playing poker last night, the smoke from Dad's fire was blowing sneakily into the house and hickory-curing all of us, so that I spent the night inhaling the wood smoke scent from Brian's hair. And it is a very nice smell. :) Although, I suppose, not pleasing to all... <-- is strange.

I posted A Night at the Opera over at ncisfanfic because I was told to *waves to wiccagirl24 and becky_monster* but while there's a lot of posting, there doesn't appear to be a hell of a lot of commentating, so I don't know if I'll hear back from anybody. Ah, well, that's not the point. The story's out there and that's what's important. ... I should have that tattooed across the insides of my eyelids. OH! And this makes me very very happy:

Hypercubes, Carpetbags and Other Four-Dimensional Spaces: A nice little DW/NCIS crossover, involving Abby traveling in the TARDIS with the Eighth Doctor. *bouncebouncebounce*

Starting this Wednesday, I'm not going to be online. Brian's going out of town and I'm taking advantage of the solitude to get some serious writing done. Ergo, for all intents and purposes I'll be out of town too, from Wednesday afternoon to Sunday afternoon. So if anyone needs to get in touch with me, do so before Wednesday. I'll be on AIM, YIM and Skype this afternoon, and on Monday and Tuesday evenings.

Props to Aunt Tre, the once-and-never-again nun, for that little gem. I really need to start bringing a pocket notebook to my family gatherings, they've been popping out some live ones, the last few visits.

Mom made ravioli for my 'post-birthday,' as Brian calls it. He should talk; he got a fucking turkey dinner for his 'post-birthday' (since his last bday was three days before Thanksgiving). Damn, was it good. Had to stop before I made a complete pig of myself, especially since Mom asked me if I'd lost weight. !!! And I finally got the straight dope on how she knew I was going to get promoted before I did. For the record, she did not play the Traditional Nepotism Card--she ran into my future director in the ladies' room. I don't know why women feel compelled to talk to one another in the lav...

Dad just lit a fire in the backyard. (This is S.O.P. for my father in good weather... or any weather.) It went WOOSH!!!

Me: "So Dad, did you use the flamethrower this time, or just gasoline?"
Dad: "I have never used gasoline. Too expensive."
Me (nodding sagely): "Propane?"
Dad (picks up the mini-tank): "Propane."

My family, they do amuse me.

Okay, question: If I write a story for a particular pairing in a particular fandom, and said pairing is clearly stated in the summary, why then do people from competing 'ships feel compelled to read the story and then leave reviews saying, "Well, this was a good story, but I like this other pairing better"??? I do not like being praised with faint damns, my children... (If anyone who hasn't already found it over at graphiteslog is curious, here is the story in question: A Night at the Opera (NCIS; Ducky/Abby; established buddy!sex--therefore, if you are a Gibbs/Abby 'shipper... DON'T TELL ME YOU LIKE THEM BETTER BECAUSE THIS IS NOT THE STORY FOR YOU!!!)

Okay, off for post-birthday cake (Funfetti tiems!) and nickel-'n'-dime poker.

So, right. Birfday weekend! Not over yet, but it's twenty to 11 and everyone's asleep, so here's the short short version:

Mary'n'James FTW! *hugs them in my head, cuz they is sleeping* They brought me cardinal-related things (I love cardinals--the birds, not the ball team) and Scrabble for the PC! Woot! Wordnerd time! And then Erica brought me a plush Ducky! HEE! Erm... okay, she brought me a plush duck... which I now need to dress in scrubs, or at least a bowtie and glasses. Then while Brian and James played Brawl, Erica and I showed Mary the mindfucktasticness that is Sapphire & Steel: ( Silver is made of win and horny. )

Erica left and we all got to bed about 1:30. I had several NCIS dreams and Mary had an S&S one--so we both dreamed of David McCallum on Saturday morning. *biiiiiig grin* Brian made a breakfast/lunch/brunch/food meal thing of egg sandwiches, which we all devoured of course. Then Ben appeared out of nowhere and proceeded to not exist for 25 minutes after his arrival. (His GPS system in his car was insistent upon this point.) So while he was non-existent, he had a bowl of soup and a donut. Brian went food shopping to replace the cold cuts my brother had secretly devoured, and then I got to open my ThinkGeek box from Ben! Which has been sitting in my living room for a week! Taunting me! He got me a CD flip thingie and an LCD candle and a WTF mug, all of which are most welcome. GLEE!

Then Ben and Brian proceeded to school each other in Brawl--see, they bring me things but they come for the video games, and because I feed them--and Mary'n'James and I watched some episodes of NCIS ('The Immortals,' 'Meat Puzzle' and the 'McGee gets poison ivy on his penis' episode). I didn't corrupt them, they'd already seen the show! I just made them love Ducky some moar.

Wyatt spent a good half hour stringing me along on IM about whether he was coming or not (the douche *hugs him*), but he and Jess did finally show up, just in time for dinner (of course). Jess brought me Strongbow! It's a yummy yummy hard cider! And Wyatt, who was in Italy for Spring Break, gave me a stone from Pompeii and a beautiful blown glass pen with an etched nib. (Brian got one as well, but it's my birfday, dammit!)

At some point during the day, I sat down and wrote a short and pointless Ducky=Illya=Steel story, which may be found here. It's not really crack!fic, because it's not stupid-funny, which to me is a requirement... but yeah, okay, it's crack. Please don't take it seriously or assume it figures into any other story's canon. Otherwise, brain-hurts may ensue. You have been warned.

Dinner was Teh Yum, as was the butter pecan birthday cake and the double fudge brownies. Ryan swung by again after his date, just in time for cake (of course). Ben and I (gently) introduced Jess to MST3K via "Manos: The Hands of Fate." *worried* Jess? You okay? ;) Apples to Apples was fucking retarded as always. I do love that game. (Mary is Ben! Hee!) And then Wyatt and Jess had to go back to New Paltz (at... five minutes to 1 in the morning? Maybe?), so the rest of us proceeded to crash.

And so here I am! And yes, that was the short version. :P

I almost started bawling during NCIS tonight when I thought Ducky might have some sort of terminal illness.

*facepalm*

Thankfully, he's fine. Whew!

I suddenly have good reason to fear Steel. There's a new feature on my work computer, a 'security policy compliance indicator,' called... Elemental Agent.

EEP! D:D:D:

In other news, I rewrote and expanded the Meat Puzzle Missing Scene; it's now entitled Faded Photographs, and clears up the little question left behind by the first version. Enjoy!

I could sit here and type for hours about the wonderfully crap-filled day I had yesterday, but as I don't have time, please enjoy these two more disconnected scenes from "The Dark Lady Affair," my Man From UNCLE/Sapphire & Steel crossover. (I know, these should more properly being going over at graphiteslog, but they're only random scenes, after all.)

~~~

( I know where Illya goes on Thursday nights. )

~~~

( About those three nights in Hong Kong... )

~~~

And last but not least, a short and most likely grossly inaccurate take on how I think Man From UNCLE and NCIS are related... "Gibbs, what did Ducky look like when he was younger?" "Illya Kuryakin."

Been listening to a lot of Elton John lately... for some reason (okay, it's not a mystery :P), I have the urge to make MFU fanvids using a good deal of his songs. How's that sound to you, wiccasgirl24? Illya/Napoleon fanvids? *innocent grin*

I was browsing through David McCallum messageboards and fan sites and whatnot, looking for pics, and I came across this fan-bio of Illya Kuryakin, the part he played in Man From U.N.C.L.E.:

Thumbnail Sketches

Now, I've yet to see MFU (working on it), so I don't know how accurate a biography this is of Illya. But what struck me is how much the character traits resemble the ones that I've seen in Steel in the series, as well as ones that I've personally applied to him in my fan fiction:

( Yet more proof that I've thought about this waaay too much... )

What's next? Illya = Steel = Ducky Mallard? ... Hmm.... Well, I do have this weird fan theory that all the Operators/Specialists on Sapphire & Steel have secret human identities...

I don't have much to say right now, aside from I'm so hungry I could puke and I really don't like waking up like that, but what little I have to say I'mma say it, that way I don't sulk about it all day and be all Nick Knight-y and broody when I get home.

-- I'm not a people person. I don't like people in general (although specific people are gifts from the gods) and I'm certainly not qualified to work with the public. Nor do I think it will ever be wise to trust people to my authority. When I'm in charge of something, I get possessive and prickly and snapping-turtle-y. Which is why I can't figure out why my friends and family are so determined to convince me that 'of cooooooooourse you're good with people! You're fine with people! You just need some more practice.' Honestly, it's like they WANT to bring about Armageddon or something...

-- There aren't enough hours in my life, let alone a single day.

-- Why does everything have to take everything so FUCKING PERSONALLY?!?!?!? I swear, it's the American sense of entitlement, that the world is here to be served on a silver platter with parsley and gold leaf, shat upon, and sent back to the kitchen with the complaint that the chef forget the truffle shavings.

-- I'm really starting to like NCIS. Makes for good watchin', as well as excellent background noise at work. I should buy a new DVD set every week, might bring up my numbers. Don't think it'll become a new 'obsession,' as Brian puts it. There's way too much procedural and far too many humans. But it's a perfect distraction for when my brain needs to mend. After all, it's got David McCallum. *wink*

-- My 24th birthday is in 3 weeks. Mom teased me about feeling oh so old, but it's not an age thing, I just... don't really care any more. After 21, there aren't any more milestone birthdays, unless you're neurotic about zeros at the end of your age, so there's not a hell of a lot for me to get excited about. A boodle of friends are coming to see me, though, and Brian's taking me to the Olive Garden, which is always nice, and it's definitely a day to look forward to (particularly since it falls on payday this year!!!), but it's missing the sense of 'omgomgomg must rifle through the closets 4 MAH PREZENCE!' Mainly because there's no room in our closets. And because I have no shame and even less dignity than my parents' mutant beagle, who is an embarrassment to Nature, if anyone has some free time on their hands in the next three weeks...

Fics I'd Like for My Birthday
** really shippy Ducky/Abby (no, I'm not kidding)
** Sapphire & Steel -- ANYTHING. PLEASE. TINY FANDOM. HELP CONTRIBUTE! But only so long as Silver isn't evil. And since it's mah birfday, no Silver/Sapphire, plz, unless Steel's involved. Which would be Silver/Steel/Sapphire. Which is acceptable. :P
** Doctor/companion fluff, doesn't have to necessarily be romantic (One, Four and Seven are my preferences. Rose need not apply. Again, mah birfday.)
** If anyone can do crossover awesomeness... NCIS/S&S, DW/S&S, FK/S&S or FK/NCIS. Frankly, I'd love to see Nat and Ducky in the same autopsy room... I think Nat would put up well with Ducky's reminiscing, seeing's how she's been around Nick for so long. :)

-- I posted a short little blurb to the FKFIC-L mailing list, for the first time in... dear Lord on high... for the first time since 2006. It had been so long, I had to re-enlist. I have such a big space in my heart for FK. Saved my ass in college, that show did.

Right, that's about enough. I need to go eat something before I keel over and die. Which won't help my stats at work. Nnnnope.