A Quokka Dreeds its Weird

Links to all the Yuletide stories I've ever written.

I really wanted to write a story for ionescribens. But two of her fandoms this year were too intimidating (Dunnett and Austen) and two I’m not familiar with. So I did something that ought to be reserved for a New Year’s Resolution, and wrote a story featuring Tom Quinn, Worst Spy Ever, her favorite character in a fandom she requested last year, MI-5 aka Spooks.

The Drop

I was worried that it wouldn’t be what she wanted, since she requested cheer in general and it came out extremely angsty. Luckily she liked it anyway!

The story has spoilers through 3x02, for Tom’s fate on the show. And for those of you who watched further, yes, that’s Ros he’s speaking to.

If you don’t know the series but want to read the story anyway, some brief, spoilery, but need-to-know background is under the cut.

( Read more... )

Despite the fact that it ate an entire weekend of my life a while back, and so obviously held my attention with its patented crazy-making suspense, S6 was probably the weakest of all the seasons I've seen so far. (Thanks rilina!)

While it did a good job of carrying a single storyline through an entire season, its focus on a single character at the expense of the (excellent) ensemble really hurt it-- especially as that character did not have a particularly compelling personal journey, and interested me far less in the entirety of the season than in previous ones.

( Read more... )

Spoil me for anything whatsoever in episodes to come and I will stab you in the eye with a ball-point pen.

ACKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK!

I thought I wouldn't like this because of what I thought was the premise as shown in the preview, a subject in which my lack of caring nears the infinite. But that wasn't what it was about at all! Holy shit!

Assume spoilers in comments. Spoil me for season 5 and be blown up by extra-special Czech explosive.

Oh, writers, you BASTARDS!

I had many things I was going to say about this season so far, and then I watched "Syria." Gibbering incoherence behind cut.

( Noooooooooooooooo! Don't go in the basement! )

Incidentally, I had lost track of which episode this was, and was startled to realize that this was not the season finale. I will be curious to see how they attempt to top this.

PS. Would anyone care to make me a custom "Spooks" icon? You all know what I like.

Enormous spoilers below.

( What happens if you lose the box? )

I stayed up till 1:00 am this mornign because I could not stop watching. And then I was so disturbed and adrenalized that I could not get to sleep till 3:00 am. I am now hung over. Thanks, MI-5!

Enormous spoilers for all of season two and 3x01. Do not click on the cut unless you've seen those episodes.

( !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Tom!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! )

Enormous spoilers for all of season one, and this is not a show you want to be spoiled for.

( I can't believe they actually went there )

I have now watched the first discs of Princess Tutu and MI-5 aka Spooks. (Links to non-spoilery introductions to the series-- read these, because they are better than any intros I could do.)

I think my head just exploded.

That is, either series could make one's head explode all on its own-- MI-5/Spooks by means of an extremely shocking and disturbing plot twist, and Princess Tutu because it is so totally demented (a pas de deux with a giant anteater in a tutu) and also the most metafictional thing I've ever come across, and that includes Revolutionary Girl Utena, the complete works of Jane Yolen, and Steve Rasnic Tem and Melanie Tem's "The Man on the Ceiling." Put them both together, and you get... well, for one thing, you get me sending these consecutive e-mails to oyceter:

Subject: Princess Tutu disc one

Body: !!!!!!!!!!!!! Anteaterina!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Subject: MI-5/Spooks disc one

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Can't wait to see more of this. Um, hopefully with less [OMG SPOILER!]

By the way, turning on the subtitles was a good idea. Especially with the WTF accent that I think was supposed to be US southern but was actually more like "actor with thick Irish brogue attempts to replicate a US southern accent by studying the Japanese voice actors in the baseball episode of "Samurai Champloo.""

Both series highly recommended, with the following notes:

Princess Tutu: This seems very accessible. It uses a lot of anime conventions, but the context is European fairy-tales and ballet, so it's probably fine as a first anime. Also, it is charming, sweet, very smart and literate, and totally insane. As a bonus, the dub track is pretty good. The actress who plays Duck and does (non-spoilery) commentary on the first episode is delightfully fangirlish.

MI-5/Spooks: Smart, gripping, well-acted. Would probably be enjoyed by many people who liked Casino Royale, with the caveat that the violence, while not graphic, is much more disturbing. I didn't think it was gratuitous, but I could see how people might disagree. On the other hand, there isn't much of it and it's mostly implied rather than seen. Turn on the subtitles if you have a hard time with the accents. Apparently some people on Netflix were really offended by the lack of Muslim terrorists in the first two episodes; so, warning that there are no Muslim terrorists in the first two episodes.

Feel free to comment with clearly labeled spoilers WITH THE TITLE OF THE SHOW IN THE SUBJECT HEADER, and FOR THE FIRST DISC OF EACH SHOW ONLY.

Spoil anyone for any episodes past 5 of Tutu and 2 of MI-5, and I will do that thing that happened in the first disc of MI-5.