Griever's foray into journal world.

New fanfic! Lets shout Hooray!

Wed, 11 Feb 2009 03:46:12 GMT

Title: While It Lasts
Rating: G
Genre: Het
Characters: Tony D, Ziva D, McGee.
Summary: Filler moments, and some scene reenactments from the episode 'Love and War'.
Disclaimer: Nothing belongs to me.
Spoilers: Major Love and War spoilers
A/N: First NCIS fic (yay!) It's Tiva-ish but not really. More of a friendship fic. =) Enjoy!

00000

“Like McGee, and his new sorceress friend!”

Ziva looked almost wistful as she replaced the photo frame back onto the table. Tony made a noise, and she turned to look at him, only to realise he’d walked into the other room and was circling back into the hall. She narrowed her eyes at him, an unspoken question in her eyes.

“Oh. Yeah. I was gonna talk to you about that – heh – it’s kinda funny, actually.” Tony started.

Ziva waited impatiently for an explanation as Tony hemmed and hawed searching for a way to tell her.

“Uh, let’s see. How do I put this delicately? Um, she’s not real.” He looked back at Ziva with a combination of a sheepish, yet proud look on his face.

Almost immediately, the pieces fell into place; Tony’s sudden interest in McGee’s love life and his reaction in the bull pen when McGee had revealed his new acquaintance to them.

“You did not.”

But as wrong as she thought it was, even she had to admit that it was a good prank, not that she would ever tell him.

“I did, I was bored, it was late, I just watched Weird Science. Next thing I knew, I was building a fake online profile and – IM-ing with McGee.”

He explained in a single breath. He watched Ziva expectantly. If she approved, they could have even more fun with the Probie, and if she didn’t, well, he was going to have to hide all her stationary from her for the next week or so.

“He really likes her, Tony! You have to tell him!”

Ziva surprised even herself with her sudden interest in McGee’s well being, only to realise that it was because she was feeling somewhat jealous she had not thought of such a prank before her partner did.

Tony noticed she had not condemned him for his actions yet, and tried to sway her onto his side.

“Heh – I know. But it’s actually kind of flattering, in a creepy way.” He began, but a glare from Ziva silenced him. He mentally thought of the many spots he could hide her pencils, pens and rulers in. He’d have to find a special one for her paperclips and letter openers. And her
stapler. Staplers were dangerous.

“What did you think would happen?” She wrung her hands in exasperation over her head and Tony decided he would rather be in her good books than trying to get her to his side. He decided to backtrack.

“I didn’t know! The flaw in the plan – was the plan. But I got another plan, okay?” He said, the gears in his head turning as he tried to think of a way he could redeem himself in her eyes.

“Which is?” Her accented voice was laced with irritation.

“You ever see Fatal Attraction?”

He was saved from elaborating on his new plan as he noticed Ziva’s line of vision had shifted from glaring at him to a curious look over his shoulder. A sudden mental image of a static-y television and a pair of hands coming out from it made him shudder involuntarily.

“Poltergeist is behind me, isn’t it? “

00000

“So, hows it going with your other – special friend?” Tony started, earning a curious look from Ziva as she turned back to watch the exchange.

“Claire? Nah she’s gotten a bit clingy. I didn’t respond to an email of hers right away, she freaked out, started going on about how computers are destroying civilisation, which is weird ‘cause she’s a computer programmer.”

Tony took the chance to get out of the web he’d mistakenly weaved around himself.

“Kick her to the curb!” He told him, and turned back intending to leave to Jenning’s lab.

“I think I’m going to give her another shot.” McGee called out, and Tony blinked back a look of surprise before turning back to him. He saw
Ziva smirk from the corner of his eye and groaned inwardly. The plan was not working.

“We connected, you know – it’s not every day that you find a –“

“Level 5 sorceress.” Tony completed his sentence for him, regretting instantly the stupid Wikipedia article he’d stumbled upon that had lead to the mess he was in.

Ziva tugged at the sleeve of his suit impatiently and he followed her out with a grimace thinking of a Plan B to the Plan B of the Plan A. Which would make it - Plan C?

“You have to tell him the truth!” Ziva whispered at him as they made their way to the exit.

“Maybe, but not until I’m absolutely sure lying won’t work.”

Their walk to across the parking lot was quiet, and it wasn’t until something McGee said earlier in their investigation while in the forest came
back to him that prompted him to break the comfortable silence.

“Do you think that I’m undesirable, Ziva?”

Accustomed to Tony’s random outburst like this, but not to the subject matter, Ziva had to adjust her train of thought for a few moments before replying him.

“Not undesirable, no. Why do you ask?” She asked cautiously. They had not had such conversations since the incident in the elevator.

Which, she suddenly remembered, still had not been properly resolved yet. She glanced to her side at Tony, concentrating on his driving.

“Nothing, just something the Probie said.” He said. “But if you, super ninja extraordinaire think I’m still ‘date-able’, then obviously the
problem lies with the McGullible.” He let out a bark of laughter and flashed Ziva a grin before turning his attention back to the road.

“I said you were desirable, Tony, I did not mention that you were ‘date-able’.” She replied. She watched in enjoyment as Tony processed her words and let a look of confusion, then indignation cross his features.

“What is the diff - I am so date-able, Officer David. Let me tell you that I –” He started indignantly before rudely being cut off by a snort from Ziva.

“Right, and this is why I have not heard you talk about a date, let alone a woman, in the last few weeks. Months, even!” She added, for sheer measure.

“I’m just – I needed to - I will have a date by the end of today and when I do, you’re buying me Chinese!” He exclaimed, shooting his partner a nasty look.

This was not the way he had envisioned the conversation going. Well, he technically did not envision the conversation, but it definitely had not involved him promising to get a date by the end of the day. Hopefully Jennings’ lab would have some pretty interns or secretaries he
could charm into joining him in a night out.

00000

He thought his prayers had been answered when the lady at the reception had told them one Miss Jessica Shore, the Doctor’s assistant was going to take them to the laboratory. He could not decide which one he was more excited for, the opportunity to prove Ziva wrong, or the
once in the life time chance to enter the lab where spy gadgets were made.

When the assistant turned up to lead them away, Tony grinned in delight, eliciting a knowing groan from Ziva.

“Please, Tony, she is out of your team.”

“Oh ZeeVah, I’m pretty sure she plays for my team – but I think you’re looking for the word ‘league’ in this case.” He mumbled to her and quickened his steps to get catch up with the assistant. He cleared his throat when he thought he was close enough.

“So,” He began. “What’s a nice girl like you doing in a top secret government counter espionage gadget lab like this?” He could feel the glare Ziva was giving him without looking at her.

“I bet that sounded better in your head.” The assistant replied, and Tony thought it was pretty much a bad start, considering the fact that he also couldn’t really remember her name. Round Two, he decided.

“No, not really. I like your glasses.” He tried again, this time fully aware of the weird face Ziva was giving him. He realised he was grasping at straws, but he had to at least exhaust all his options first.

“Let it go, Tony.” Ziva whispered harshly at him, and he logically agreed that he probably should, no point in angering someone who possibly might help in their investigation. But he couldn’t. Tony DiNozzo was not losing a bet, not this way at least.

“Can’t.” He told her, and then continued to address the assistant. “Lemme guess, camera, infrared X-ray vision –“
This time, he managed to get a reaction from her, albeit not the one he’d expected.

“I’m Doctor Daniels’ assistant, Agent Dinozzo – “

“Tony.” He insisted. But she obviously made a point to ignore him.

“I make copies, get coffee – I don’t play with the toys.” She turned away and unlocked the door with a swipe of her keycard. Ziva smirked again, knowing full well that Tony’s attempt to charm her was failing miserably.

“That’s my job,” a voice called from inside, and they all entered the lab. An aging man greeted them as they walked to the center of the room.

“Doctor Rod Daniels, you must be Officer David, and you are –“

“Very Special Agent Tony Dinozzo” He made one last attempt at the assistant, glancing backwards at her as he emphasised the Very Special, earning another exasperated sigh from Ziva.

The rest of the lab visit though, was a collection of little distracting wonders, to Tony at least. The little flying mechanical machines intrigued him, together with the various seemingly normal items, although Tony guessed they were secretly used for worldly spying missions – he’d have to ask Ziva if she had ever used them before in her Mossad days.

He was thankful Ziva had taken over the line of questioning from then on. He was too busy admiring the scientists’ handiwork. He spotted a hidden webcam on an LCD screen and noticed that his hair was out of place. The resulting smack on his arm from Ziva pulled him back to what the Doctor was saying. A minute of McGeek perfect mumbo jumbo later though, he was handed a toothpaste cap and he grinned in childish delight as he toyed with it before Ziva yanked it away and returned it to the doctor.

The subsequent search conducted in Jenning’s office had revealed nothing out of the ordinary. They both subjected themselves to a thorough search before leaving and it was not until they were buckling their seat belts that Tony realised, after noticing a very uncharacteristic smiley Ziva; that he was on the verge of losing his own bet. He groaned inwardly.

00000

Gibbs seemed like he was on a warpath, and Tony was certain his quip about writing ‘Gibbs’ Gut’ on a warrant hadn’t helped the situation much.

“So much for my date tonight.” McGee sighed.

Tony reacted instantly, reaching out and grabbing McGee’s arm.

“Whoa! What are you doing? You giving the psycho another chance?” But even as he said it, a light bulb went off in his head.

“Well I was, now I guess I gotta cancel.” McGee said forlornly.

Tony braced himself for the onslaught of what he was about to do, but he could not give up a chance at one-upping Ziva. Who, coincidentally
was now looking very suspiciously at him, almost as if she could see the gears working in his head.

“What is that sillyness –” He started, still gripping McGee tightly.

McGee glanced down at Tony’s hand on his arm, slightly miffed.

“Sorry.” Tony mumbled, and quickly pulled back.

“Ziva and I will cover the interviews for ya.” He offered generously, knowing that McGee would probably not give up such an opportunity. He would think of the consequences later.

“That’s awfully un-Tony of you Tony!” McGee said, trying to figure out if Tony had anything to gain from him going out with Clare. It was really uncharacteristic of him. But still, Tony seemed to have changed since his stint as Agent Afloat.

“Just doin’ ya a solid, Probie, because you having a date is about as rare as me, not having one.”
He shot a victorious glance at Ziva, took in her narrow eyed glare and scampered away towards the exit. Ziva gave McGee a small wave goodbye and followed her partner out, catching up with him before he got into the car.

“You cheated.”

“I – I did not! I said I would have a date by the end of today and –“

“That was cheating!”

Tony swore if she had so much as a pencil within her arms reach, his eyes would have been gauged out.

“No! You did not specify the terms, and I have a date – yeah with the McGeek – but I have one! I win!” He teased her and reached for the door
handle.

Ziva suddenly loomed up against him, trapping him between her body and the car door, her hand clamped over his on the handle.

“You used a co-worker, who was under the false impression that he was going to get lucky tonight to gain the advantage in our bet. That is not only cheating, it’s wrong!” She snarled, evidently not at all happy with the outcome. Tony pushed up against her more, suddenly aware of their position and not exactly disliking it.

“I still win, sweetcheeks.”

He pried her hand off his with his other, and quickly got into the car, starting the engine.

He spent the rest of the entire trip ignoring the heated glare from his partner all the way to their destination.

It was ten minutes into the first interview when Ziva excused herself to go to the ladies.

She made sure she was out of ear shot before quickly punching in a series of numbers into her phone violently.

“McGee, there is something I have to tell you.”

And so, the tables were turned.

00000

It had taken Tony the half an hour for him to drive home to be a hundred percent sure that Ziva had betrayed him to the Probie. It was after he’d left NCIS, feeling all stages of guilty for toying with his co-worker, that he realised the Probie was never usually that persistent with women, unless someone else was pushing, or in this case pulling his chain. It had Ziva’s name written all over it.

He’d given an extra twenty dollars and his last piece of pizza to the manipulative Probie. No, he corrected, it was his sneaky partner who was manipulative. He resigned himself to his fate, contemplating karma and a higher being before he realised that someone was knocking on his door.

Tony glanced at the clock before walking towards it, taking note that his Sig was conveniently placed on the table beside the door before he peered through the eyehole. He yanked the door open, scowling at his visitor.

“You lost me twenty dollars. And a slice of pizza. And not to mention my self respect.” He growled accusingly at Ziva, standing at his doorway smirking at him with two bags full of what seemed like food.

“Your twenty bought you supper, Tony.” She said, nudging past him. He shut the door and followed her to the kitchen. She started placing what looked like boxes of Chinese take out on his kitchen counter. He wasn’t about to let it go that easily.

“You told him what I did! You’re such a sore loser.” He muttered as he inched closer to the food, not able to resist the delicious smells wafting towards him. Ziva smiled at him almost genuinely as she opened his cupboards with easy familiarity and took out some utensils.
She disliked using the chopsticks that came with the food.

“I merely saved him the trouble from being embarrassed by your stupid prank. And I bought you Chinese, so I will assume that our issue is settled.”

“Yeah, with my twenty!”

“Which, Tony, you gave to McGee, who gave it to me, who decided that you deserved more food after you so generously gave McGee your last piece of pizza.” She was openly irritated now, and Tony knew better than to agitate her more.

“Well, okay. Fine, but next time-”He took one look at her and backpedalled. “Eh. Let’s just take this to the TV. We can eat and I can put James
Bond on and show you the wonders of Q.”

Ziva smiled, remembering her earlier curiousity at the man Tony had rambled on and on about in the bullpen. Tony came up to her and grabbed a box of noodles, ignoring the plate she had taken out. Ziva stopped him, glaring at him before producing a fork seemingly out of nowhere and stuck it into his box.

“In case I want to share.” She clarified.

He flashed her a wide grin and tugged on her arm. She barely had time to pick up a box for herself before she got dragged into the living room. She watched Tony as he picked out his beloved DVD. She thought back at the series of events that had lead to her being in her partner’s apartment at that moment and realised with a start that she actually meant what she had said almost a year before during the whole 'frame Tony' fiasco.

“You are a good man, Tony.”

Tony hesitated before inserting the DVD, and then settled himself next to her comfortably. He leaned towards Ziva, letting an arm drape around her and coaxed her head to fall neatly into place between his head and his shoulders.

“Yeah, so you keep saying.”

00000

End.

Crossposted to ncisfanfic

Also on FFnet HERE if you want to leave a review there too :P

threee deeee

Wed, 04 Feb 2009 08:33:28 GMT

Sucks big time that I have Chuck on hand ready to watch - but no 3D glasses. So sad ='( now the edges are wonky and blurred...

Nerd Herd rocks my socks

Fri, 07 Nov 2008 09:20:29 GMT

How. Awesome. Is. Chuck Bartowski?!!

I want my own super computer brained nerd too! Minus the annoying best friend. But I want MY CHUCK!!!

uh huh ...

Mon, 06 Oct 2008 10:36:21 GMT

Er yea.

I got bored. And photoshop was very entertaining. :D

Time Waster

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 11:58:15 GMT

Snagged from Lisa, cause I do have alot of time (or so I'd like to think), and this is more appealing than finance....

1.ONE OF YOUR SCARS, HOW DID YOU GET IT?
Upper forearm - my sister bit me.

2. WHAT IS ON THE WALLS IN YOUR ROOM?
Pictures of me, Star Wars poster, scribble sheet

3. WHAT DOES YOUR CELL PHONE LOOK LIKE?
Red Nokia N76 with a severely cracked screen.

4. WHAT MUSIC DO YOU LISTEN TO?
Punk, Alt Rock, Pop Punk, Emo?

5. DO YOU KNOW WHAT TIME YOU WERE BORN?
8.00pm

6. WHAT DO YOU WANT MORE THAN ANYTHING RIGHT NOW?
Ice cream

7. WHO DO YOU MISS?
My family =(

8.WHAT'S YOUR MIDDLE NAME?
I don't believe I have one.

9. THE BEST TV SHOW EVER CREATED:
I don't know. Xena?

10. THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO?
My foster parents who invited me over for dinner

11. DO YOU GET SCARED IN THE DARK?
The dark gets scared of me.

12. THE LAST PERSON TO MAKE YOU CRY?
Me

13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE COLOGNE / PERFUME?
Tommy Hilfiger, the blue one. .. .

14. WHAT KIND OF HAIR/EYE COLOR DO YOU LIKE ON THE OPPOSITE SEX?
Er. Whatever makes them look nice?

15. WOULD YOU RATHER BE SMART OR FUNNY?
Smart

16. COFFEE OR ENERGY DRINKS?
COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE

17. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PIZZA TOPPING?
Vegetarian, believe it or not...

18. IF YOU CAN EAT ANYTHING RIGHT NOW, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
Ice cream

19. WHO IS THE LAST PERSON YOU MADE MAD?
Accounting lecturer.

20. DO YOU SPEAK ANOTHER LANGUAGE?
Malay, Chinese - 3 dialects

21. WHAT WAS THE FIRST GIFT SOMEONE EVER GAVE YOU?
Don't remember. Was an itsy b

22. DO YOU LIKE SOMEONE?
I like alot of people...

23. ARE YOU DOUBLE JOINTED?
Nah

24. FAVORITE CLOTHING BRAND?
Guess, Levi's

25. WHAT'S YOUR DREAM CAR?
Mini Cooper

26. WHAT COLOR IS IT?
The yellow and black one

27. WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE KIND OF EXERCISE?
Sleeping.

28. WOULD YOU FALL IN LOVE KNOWING THAT THE PERSON IS LEAVING?
No

29. WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO TELL SOMEONE HOW MUCH THEY MEAN TO YOU?
To just tell them

30. SAY A NUMBER FROM ONE TO A HUNDRED:
"A number from one to a hundred"

31. BLONDES OR BRUNETTES?
This is a very weird questionaire, evil pigeon lady.

32. WHAT IS THE ONE NUMBER YOU CALL OFTEN?
Let me check - apparently the Balance Check. Lol.

33. WHAT ANNOYS YOU MOST?
The cold

34. HAVE YOU BEEN OUT OF THE U.S.?
I've never been IN the US.

35. YOUR WEAKNESSES?
Internet

36. TATER TOTS OR FRIES?
No idea what tater tots are, so I'm going with fries

37. FIRST JOB?
Cashier person at a cafe. I'm almost a barista now :D

38. EVER PRANK CALLED SOMEONE?
yea

39. WHAT WERE YOU DOING BEFORE YOU FILLED OUT THIS?
Dinner

40. IF YOU COULD GET PLASTIC SURGERY WHAT WOULD IT BE?
Nose

41. WHY DID YOU FILL OUT THIS SURVEY?
Looked like a better thing to do than study

42. WHAT DO YOU GET COMPLIMENTED ABOUT MOST?
My English - no seriously, its like ppl automatically think I can't speak properly. =/

43. WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF ALCOHOL BECAME ILLEGAL?
Go to jail many many times

44. WHAT DO YOU WANT FOR YOUR BIRTHDAY?
PS3

45. HOW MANY KIDS DO YOU WANT?
No idea

46. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE?
Gotta ask my mum that

47. DO YOU WISH ON STARS?
I hardly ever see stars to wish upon

48. WHICH FINGER[S] IS YOUR FAVORITE?
When I"m mad, the middle one.

49. WHEN DID YOU LAST CRY?
Can't really rememeber

50. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING?
Absolutely LOVE it

51. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT?
All meat is my favourite meat

52. ANY BAD HABITS?
Thats rethorical, yea?

53. WHAT IS YOUR MOST EMBARRASSING CD ON THE SHELF?
Britney Spears Blackout

54. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON, WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU?
Hell yea, I rock. A little.

55. HAVE YOU EVER TOLD A SECRET YOU SWORE NOT TO TELL?
Me? Totally.

56. DO LOOKS MATTER?
Mine do.

57. HOW DO YOU RELEASE YOUR ANGER?
I draw

58. WHERE IS YOUR SECOND HOME?
define second home.
The place I grew up in (Malaysia), the place I live at now (Australia), or the place my family lives at (India)?

59. DO YOU TRUST OTHERS EASILY?
No

60. WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE TOY AS A CHILD?
Power Rangers doll things

61. HOW MANY NUMBERS ARE IN YOUR CELL PHONE?
202

62. DO YOU USE SARCASM?
Who doesn't

63. DO YOU KNOW ANYONE FAMOUS?
No.

64. HAVE YOU EVER BEEN IN A MOSH PIT?
Yep

65. WHAT DO YOU LOOK FOR IN A GUY/GIRL?
Someone who compliments my dorkiness.

66. WHAT ARE YOUR NICKNAMES?
Ass. Only cause its the first syllable of my name, honestly, people have no creativity these days

67. HOW MANY PAIRS OF SHOES DO YOU HAVE?
Uncountable

68. DO YOU UN-TIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF?
Nope

69. WERE YOU UPSET ABOUT STEVE IRWIN DYING?
Not really

70. WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM FLAVOR?
Chocolate chip cookie dough

71. ARE YOU LAZY?
very

72. WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE COLORS?
black and red

73. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE BAND?
All time: Evanescence/Linkin Park
At the moment: Death Cab for Cutie

74. HOW MANY WISDOM TEETH DO YOU HAVE?
Zero

75. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS?
Not really... you can if you want to

76. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW?
I Will Follow You Into the Dark - Death Cab for Cutie

77. LAST THING YOU ATE?
Roast lamb and baked potato and creamed cauliflower and steamed beans

78. LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE?
Josh

79. WHATS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ON THE OPPOSITE SEX?
Eyes

80. FAVORITE THOUGHT PROVOKING SONG:
Title and Registration - Death Cab for Cutie

81. FAVORITE THING TO HATE:
Internet

82. FAVORITE DRINK:
Coffee

83. FAVORITE ZODIAC SIGN:
Mine. Gemini

84. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SPORT?
Basketball

85. WHAT IS YOUR HAIR COLOR?
Black

86. EYE COLOR?
Black - Lol I'm Asian. What do you expect.

87. DO YOU WEAR GLASSES?
Since I was 5, yea.

88. SIBLINGS?
One sister

89. FAVORITE MONTH(s)
June - birthday!

90. DO YOU LIKE SUSHI?
Obsessed with it

91. LAST THING YOU WATCHED?
Australian Idol

92. FAVORITE DAY OF THE YEAR?
Holi-day

93. ARE YOU TOO SHY TO ASK SOMEONE OUT?
I ask people out all the time. "Dude, you're coming to dinner with me. Now"

94. SUMMER OR WINTER?
SUMMER SUMMER SUMMER

95. KISSES OR HUGS?
Hugs

96. RELATIONSHIPS OR ONE-NIGHT STANDS?
Relationships.

97. WHO IS THE MOST LIKELY TO ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS?
I have very few friends here on lj.... I don;t know

98. WHO IS THE LEAST LIKELY TO ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS?
See above

99. Create your own question! Whoo!
What should you be doing now instead of this time wasting questionaire?

studying for my exam on thursday

100. IS ANYONE IN LOVE WITH YOU?
I"m in love with me

Fic Fic Fic

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 15:35:29 GMT

Digging around my Documents folder unearthed one of the 5 fics I had been working on for the last few I-have-no-idea-how-long. So here it is...

Title: Broken
Author: grievingmess
Fandom: Dark Angel
Pairing: M/L

Max was tougher than all of them. As much as they hated to admit it, the 09’er who had gone rogue was probably the strongest of them all. The Terminal City situation reduced even the best of them who had been in Manticore longer, to a state of utter hopelessness, but not Max. Max ploughed on with her ‘cause’, side by side with the ordinary she couldn’t touch, with Joshua faithfully hanging after her every word, with Alec pointing out every flaw in her plan.

It was only a matter of time, they told themselves begrudgingly, until Max too would start losing hope. The authorities camped outside Terminal City would win, and they would be forced to surrender, and then who knew what would happen to them. The government’s mistakes; the freaks.

But as the days wore on, and Max showed no signs of slowing down, even those with the strongest doubts started to change their mind. The X7s were pulling together to fix the communication systems, the X6s, with their brute strength started working on the perimeter defenses. The X5s and the not so aesthetically pleasing rallied the others together in preparation for the confrontation they all knew would happen one day. Not even the worst threats back in Manticore could have instigated such teamwork.

Max had singlehandedly done it. And soon, almost all the residents of Terminal City held her in their highest regards. She was the Manticore rogue who had bested them in their own game. She had been the only one who hadn’t doubted their abilities in surviving, fighting, living. Max was the true Manticore warrior.

But there were a scattered few, those who patrolled the perimeters at night and at day break, who managed to catch a glimpse of a Max very few of them got a chance to. Max, who would huddle close to the ordinary, poring over paperwork as night turned to day, working out equations and protein strands, conversing in hopeful whispers to the ordinary she had given her heart to. Max, who would grasp his latex gloved hands tightly before they left to their respective quarters before the sun rose again.

Late one evening, two months into the Siege with small hopeful signs of the government relenting, the patrol guards watched through dirt stained windows into the make shift laboratory where three people stood among the mess of medical equipment. Words were exchanged, and with a little surprise, they realized their leader had a tear running down her cheek. They recognized the flash of disappointment in her eyes, the clenched jaw and the trembling hands, as yet again, her hopes of a cure for the virus was thwarted. It was then that they realized, as strong as she portrayed herself to be on a daily basis, that Max wasn’t the perfect soldier they thought she was.

They turned away from the window as the doctor apologized, blocking out the voices from within the room. Max’s quiet acknowledgment of the latest failure as she blinked back more tears, burned through them like fire through oil.

She was just like the rest of them after all. Created by Manticore to be powerful and fearless, only really, it had left her cracked and broken.

Writer's Block: Six-Word Story

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 12:11:19 GMT

Hope everyone is enjoying themselves, Xmas in July story so very delayed, but it WILL be up. I promise. I feel so bad for the recipient, getting me this time... Hopefully the story kicks ass enough to make up for the lateness.

Hemingway was once challenged to write a story in only six words. His response? “For sale: baby shoes, never worn.” He is believed to have called it his greatest literary work ever. Can you write a story in six words?

Submitted By femspectre

View 506 Answers

A 6 word story, about the only thing I have time for these days...

The edge. Too close for comfort.

New place WOO HOO

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 13:06:54 GMT

I am absolutely in love with this new room on campus. Not only is it $100 cheaper per week, its also bigger than the last one, minus the noisy children, crappy food and hour long bus rides. The city is 15 minutes away (20 if I take my time to walk)... I never want to leave here. :D

I just found out I get to watch TV on my computer using some network cable thingy (the wonders of technology that I will never understand), get wireless uni internet, food right across the hall (and in 2 drawers in this room). Its heaven on earth. Until uni actually starts anyway haha.

NCIS was on earlier, and despite the adverts and promos on the channel featuring Ziva, the episode was from S2 with Kate (the ep with McGee going to a hypnotist to help solve the case). It totally made me regret not bringing my DVDs back from home. I miss <strike>MW</strike> NCIS. It was nice though, watching this S2 ep again. It had a totally different feel from the newer seasons. More light hearted and fun, something I feel that has been lacking in S5. Heres to hoping S6 of NCIS starts kicking ass again!!

Its freezing outside, sort of warm inside with the heater on full blast.. Worse than all the winters I've experienced in India... Oh, which now leads me to the subject of INDIA, the country I spent the middle two weeks of my vacation in. OH THE HORROR.

I always like to think that nothing in India can surprise me anymore just due to the fact that its been a part of my life for the last decade or so, but I have been proven wrong. My mum and sister decided to relocate there to join my dad (just so the family is split to two countries rather than three) so my trip there was actually to help them move stuff around, taking advantage of me as usual...

Everything just moves so slooooowly there. When they say they'll come tomorrow, it means the day after tomorrow. When they say "Sir, 100% I'll come and fix EVERYTHING" it means "Sir, I'll come to do my part, and you can wait another day or so for some other dude to finish up what I started". The installation of the TV took 3 days (minus the cabling for the TV channels - one whole day for that, and it wasn't working anyway), assembling the bed (3 identical ones) took 4 days, and by the time I had to leave (day of elevator incident) the washing machine had been delivered but not installed, and the internet line guy had been 'on the way to your house, Sir' for 2 days.

Today via trusty mobile texts, I've been told that the TV has been fixed. But the curtains have not arrived (2 days late), the furniture (couch etc) has not been 'polished' whatever that means, and the water filter has malfunctioned ... Im so glad Im back here instead of there. I have my TV and internet and food....

I've also completed The Bell Jar and Madame Bovary thanks to the painstakingly long plane flights and delays to and fro. Both are so remarkably wonderful and cleverly written. The kinds you don't forget even after ages and ages... Now am starting Catch 22.

Enough pointless rambling... I'm pretty sure most people have stopped reading by now, and if so too bad... you'll miss the next line :D

Look out for fic soon!!

x0x0x

Withdrawal symptoms

Sat, 05 Jul 2008 12:44:58 GMT

Am currently piggy backing off Calvin Klein's wifi spot thing in the mall since this dump of a hole has no decent Internet connection which costs less than 20 bucks. I imagine I must look extremely shady standing on this one spot for nearly half an hour now clicking away ok my iPod...

Managed to pick up catch 22 and the bell jar as recommended, so I guess that will keep me busy till I get back to Aus. Fic writing is going well which is good, but am still that much of a wuss that I can't bring myself to post anything just yet...

Can't come online as much as I want to(or at all) unless I come to calvin Klein everyday... Can't wait till I'm outta here... But on the bright side,Indian food does rock somewhat.....

x0x0

There is never 'too much' reading...

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 16:39:01 GMT

From spastic_visions' journal, the meme for bookworms =)

1) Look at the list and bold those you have read.
2) Italicize those you intend to read
3) Underline the books you LOVE.
4) Strikethrough the books you HATE.
5) Reprint this list in your own LJ so you can judge and be judged.

1 Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6 The Bible
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman (I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE this trilogy. And the movie didn't do it justice...)
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
12 Tess of the D'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare (I did most for lit class, sonnets and plays.. not ALL..)
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19 The Time Traveller's Wife
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25 The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis ( Yet another series I absolutely LOVE, which movie sucked)
34 Emma - Jane Austen
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis (Er.. Isn't this part of the Chronicles??)
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38 Captain Corelli's Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding (There should be an option for multiple underlining. I LOVED this)
~~50 Atonement - Ian McEwan~~ (I gave up halfway...)
51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52 Dune - Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley (Another one I can keep reading over and over again.)
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones' Diary - Helen Fielding
69 Midnight's Children - Salman Rushdie (oh, this was gooood)
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses - James Joyce
76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray (Was this that movie with Nicole Kidman?)
80 Possession - AS Byatt
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry (I loved this book even more after I actually went to India and saw it all first hand..)
87 Charlotte's Web - EB White
~~88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom~~
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton (I was such a kid then...)
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl (Roald Dahl...*heart*)
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

I have to give credit to my literature class in high school, consisting of 3 students, for making me read (and enjoy) some of the books in the list...

So judge away =)

Someone has to go and make one of these for movies now :P

distractions suck

Fri, 13 Jun 2008 06:06:23 GMT

What do I do in between exams ?

Write fic.

My priorities are so screwed up. Another 2 days. 2 long days.....

Without a challenge or a prompt or ...

Wed, 11 Jun 2008 09:28:38 GMT

There are 8 ML stories on the DA front page of FFnet.

8. EIGHT. EIGHT!!

And without a challenge going up or a prompt... 8 out of 25... and one which I can't tell just yet. OC pairing???

*Happy dance* The little shipper in me (ah hell, who am I kidding, little?) is ecstatic.

I'm so happy =) It almost makes the idea of taking exams tomorrow less scary. Almost.

OTP OTP OTP =)

For that dirty pigeon lady...

Sat, 07 Jun 2008 13:22:53 GMT

Ask and you shall receive...

For mrsevilpigeon... Feel free to steal them, although WHY anyone would is beyond me... Lol!

Its scary that I actually like the OTP one...

And one Logan one, just because all that screen capping of Normal was threatening to make me go crazy :P

Deeee

Thu, 05 Jun 2008 07:06:46 GMT

In a weirdly pleasant twist of fate...

I got a D for my Business assignment. The one I spent an hour doing calculations, analysed it in 3 and wrote the whole thing in half a day.

Which, before you go "aww, at least its better than an E", stands for a Distinction. Which means I aced it. Which means if i put in *that* much more effort into it I could have gotten a HD (High Distinction).

But you know, since I absolutely detest Busn1001 and expected a mere lousy pass... A D is totally excellent.

Now lets hope theres a repeat performance for that during the end of semester exams... (and for Stats, and Torts, and Foundations of Law...)

Edited to say: I made another userpic to celebrate! :D

I made that!

Tue, 03 Jun 2008 11:53:12 GMT

I think I made an icon. I say 'think' because I'm not sure what is required for an icon. Should I say, I made a userpic? Because thats what I'm using it as. But then icons are used as userpics right?

I got myself confused.... Typical. (and I didn't even need geeky_apple to do it! :P)

Hm.

But I like it anyway.

You guys like my new userpic? :D

Being almost 18

Wed, 28 May 2008 13:30:57 GMT

See, when you want to plan a surprise 18th birthday for a friend, you do *not* ask if your friend prefers chocolate or non chocolate cake...

Or if she can come out on Friday night to freakin' *study*

Lol... My friends rock, but they need to learn the art of subtleness... Now I can't wait for the birthday party I'm not going to have while I'm *studying* :D

Heh heh...

Business is boring

Tue, 27 May 2008 03:32:50 GMT

Its week 12, one more week to the exams and I'm posting an entry when I should be paying attention to what's being said in front of the lecture hall... Damn accounting rate of return...

Mothers day

Sun, 11 May 2008 22:14:27 GMT

Sad and moody because celebrating mother's day when your mother is literally miles away in a different country sucks.

1.5 months till I see you again!

Why.

Sun, 04 May 2008 05:20:37 GMT

It kinda freaks me out that an MA writer asked me to beta her fic. Nice, but freaky.

*Gulps*

Meme and more

Sat, 26 Apr 2008 10:31:01 GMT

Flying back to Australia tomorrow. Back to all the stress that comes with being in uni ='(

Luggage is packed with stuff, it is SO going to go way past the 20kg limit. I have some serious re-packing to do (ugh).

Haven't been around the computer alot much lately (which was brought to my attention by mrsevilpigeon ) and that is such a miracle for someone addicted to the internet like me. On the other hand, I'm up to the 'Hard' level on guitar hero now and my pinky is so rocking the orange button :P haha.

Fic-wise, everything is going ... good. I guess. I've got four one shots, two of which are in the final stages of completion, the other two halfway done - one of it isn't for the DA fandom *gasp*. And my muse kicked in for that one which I've 'sort-of-abandoned-but-haven't' which is going to be wrapped up after these four are done with.

So all in all, a pretty good, productive two week holiday for me. Fic wise, at least. I'm so going to die when I start uni again...

And below the cut:
Let others know a little more about yourself, repost this with your name followed by "ology".

TECHNOLOGY

Q. What is your wallpaper on your computer?
Picture of my family at the airport before I left.

Q. How many televisions do you have in your house?
Four

BIOLOGY

Q. Are you right-handed or left-handed?
Right handed

Q. Have you ever had anything removed from your body?
Nope. Oh, blood for a medical test before I left for Australia.

Q. What is the last heavy item you lifted?
My luggage, Sunday before last. Will attempt to carry it back again tomorrow.

Q. Have you ever been knocked out?
No, fortunately.

BULLSHITOLOGY

Q. If it were possible, would you want to know the day you were going to die?
Yes, so I can do all the crazy things I want to do...and say nasty things I've always wanted to say to nasty people :P

Q. If you could change your name, what would you change it to?
Never thought about it... Something weird and totally unique. Like Rufimy (who is one of my friends)

Q. What colour do you think looks best on you?
Black

Q. Have you ever swallowed a non-food item?
Paper. A fried scorpion when I was in China... and who knows what else I've ingested when I was in India :P

DAREOLOGY

Q. Would you kiss a member of the same sex for $100?
Yeah, why not.

Q. Would you allow one of your little fingers to be cut off for $200,000?
No way...

Q. Would you never blog again for $50,000
Probably not, but I'll have to check the current US dollar rate against the Malaysian dollar and get back to you :P

Q. Would you pose naked in a magazine for $250,000?
No. I'm such a wuss

Q. Would you drink an entire bottle of hot sauce for $1,000?
I'll drink hot sauce anytime, baby!

Q. Would you, without fear of punishment, take a human life for $1,000,000?
Absolutely not.

DUMBOLOGY

Q: What is in your left pocket?
Gum wrapper and movie stub

Q: Is Napoleon Dynamite actually a good film?
never watched it.

Q: Do you have hardwood or carpet in your house?
Hardwood

Q: Do you sit or stand in the shower?
Stand

Q: How many pairs of flip flops do you own?
Two

LASTOLOGY

Q: Last person who texted you?
Inez

Q: Last person who called you?
My mother asking me when I'll be home so she can steal my GPS and go for her reunion thing...

Q: Person you hugged?
Dawn. I hadn't seen her in 3 years

FAVOURITOLOGY

Q: Number?
8/6/1990

Q: Season?
Anytime with the sun and no rain.

Q: Colour?
Red. Or black.

CURRENTOLOGY

Q: Missing someone?
Not at the moment, but I will in two days ='(

Q: Mood?
Exhausted

Q: Listening to?
30 Seconds to Mars - A Beautiful Lie

Q: Watching?
The computer screen ...

Q: Worrying about?
If my luggage is going to be extremely overweight, because at the moment it certainly looks like it

Q: Wearing?
Black tank top with khaki shorts

RANDOMOLOGY

Q: First place you went this morning?
Dim Sum breakfast with friends

Q: What can you not wait to do?
Finish this crazy thing called a double degree

Q: Do you smile often?
Yeah, I believe I do

Q: Are you a friendly person?
Lets just say if you're nice to me, I'm nice to you =)
=)

Guitar Zero

Fri, 18 Apr 2008 14:13:00 GMT

I bought guitar hero today.

You know, to kill time during this self proclaimed vacation... Excited to play, since I only got to play it at my host family's house before this.

Guess what.

THE GUITAR DOESN'T WORK.

!@#$#%@#$$~!@#

WAste of $$ and time ... Now will have to lug that damn thing back to the mall and give that idiot behind the counter a piece of my mind. Spoilt my day...

And the coffee at Starbucks today sucked as well. Waste of 10 bucks...

Hmph.

Put through shipper hell...

Fri, 11 Apr 2008 23:31:25 GMT

I got into CSI: NY only about a year ago (because of my sister) and got on the DL (Danny/Lindsay) bandwagon (also thanks to my sister) and they were sweet together anyway.
HOW CAN THEY DO THIS TO ME!?!?!?!??!

!@#$%$^@#$%

I HATE TPTB. YOU DO NOT DO THIS TO THE OTP OF THE SHOW ! (ooh, see how I made use of the abbreviations ? :P)

Danny is such a bastard. I hate him. I want to squish you like in 'Shark Tale' you dumb dumb dummy head! And I hope Lindsay never gets back together with you. Hmph. Idiot.

.... I hate Rikki too....

High on sleep deprivation

Fri, 11 Apr 2008 10:52:06 GMT

Let me tell you how my last day of uni before the mid semester break went.

Stayed up till around 2am the night before, *trying* to finish up stats assignment after realising that one page had gone kapooot after MS Word decided to eat up my 'Math Equation' calculations. Slept till 5, decided to wake up to do law assignment, instead remembered that stats was not done yet.... [Sleep count = 3 hours]

Headed to uni at 7am, bus takes about an hour to get to uni if traffic is good. Got to uni at 8.15. Got to the library, computers were down (WTF?!) Stats was due at 12pm. I so fucking hate assignments. Looked for computer lab where the computers were working, wasted 15 minutes, found a free lab and printed the assignment out. Three pages got screwed up, reprinted, thus wasting more time (and print quota).
Spent nearly half an hour looking for the place where we were supposed to hand it in, turned out that it was actually a little slit in a box outside the main commerce office. =.='

Time for law assignment, due at 4pm [sleep count: still 3 hours]

Had 2 parts of the question that I had not completed, reconstructed the assignment to add those two in, with about 4 hours left till deadline. I managed... but then I had the citations to get down. (omg, rules of citation...)

I bloody hate citations. Especially if that stupid case has been cited by every other student and the bloody law report is ALWAYS missing from the shelf. Bags under eyes have gotten larger. Eyeballs are red from staring at computer screen and trying to reduce 1800 words to 1250. I swear half the things in that assignment don't make sense now.

Zombie-fied.

And yes geeky_apple, its gotten a 100 times worse than that time you saw me.

Skipped foundations lecture to finish up assignment (second time this week). Thank god the lectures are taped. Lost track of time... Went 10 minutes late to stats tutorial, printed law assignment out in stats lab, did stats questions like a pro, finished early, ran to law college halfway across campus (3.30pm) and looked for box with slit to put the paper in.

Turns out there is no freaking box with slit, you give it to the person behind the counter.

Missed the bus home, waited for an hour nursing headache and drinking coffee. Managed to get 15 minutes of sleep on the bus home [sleep count: up to 3hours 15 minutes]

Got home, tried to take a nap, host mother was freaking vacuuming the house. At 5.30pm!!! Foiled!

Had dinner, and am now for unknown reason doing this when I should be catching up on sleep...

I'm so glad its the holidays now though. =) two weeks of not rushing to catch buses or lectures :P ... Off to bed now. !!

Happy Birthday ITL!!

Wed, 09 Apr 2008 10:17:54 GMT

Hope you enjoyed yourself =)

and that you got many many insane zombie alien-y gifts :P

Yes, I do realise its gross and disgusting and so not right for a birthday.... *head desk*

Uh...

Mon, 31 Mar 2008 05:45:30 GMT

At the risk of being labeled a n00b and an irritating quack who should know this stuff by now because she just should... Can anyone tell me...

What does OTP stand for?

I blame my lack of imagination and creativeness for my inability to guess it. And hey, it took me a while to figure out what AU/UST and canon meant ...