2011!!!!

dis iz srs bzns gaiz

I don't know about you, but I actually cringed while writing that title.

But before I get into that—digression! Because first off, I wanted to thank everyone, especially Frea and the rest of the CIA, for all of the birthday wishes. I kept telling Frea not to do anything, it wasn't a big deal, turning 20 wasn't special, blah blah blah...she ignored me, of course. I'm not surprised, since I did the exact same thing when it was her birthday. Yep, it's a vicious, never-ending cycle. Regardless, I really appreciated it, and I wanted to express that here. So, thank you! You guys helped make my day quite awesome. :)

Anywho. I know that I haven't been around much at all lately; in fact, I'm sure most of you figured I got lost in a cave for the past two months or so. The blame mostly lies in college, but also partly because I'm kind of A.D.D. and, like Frea, tend to get distracted by shiny things and whatnot. (I wish I had the decidedly more effective Frea-like ability to crank out epic chapters and stories every single week, but alas, 'tis not so.) Either way, I've decided that I'm going to try and make more of an effort to at least contribute to the blog a bit more, which in turn will hopefully motivate me to kick myself into gear and get some more Kill Bryce written for you guys. Which sort of brings me to the topic I'd like to discuss now: writing. Or, more specifically, the direction writing seems to be going nowadays. Fair warning, this post may get a bit vent-ish, so if you think you're someone who's easily offended, then now's the time to click that back button or a link to somewhere else.

Still here? Cool. Let's get started, then, shall we?

You Like Me, You Really, Really Like Me!

So there are a lot of great Chuck websites out there: ChuckThis, provider of optimism and cheer every episode (we provide the sarcastic flipside to their commentary, I think, and it works out well for both of us),   the Google Group (Hi, Bill!), some fanfiction blogs and Liz James's fun Articulate Shnook.  I got my start reading on ChuckTV.net, which led me to Fedak and Schwartz defending Mask to Sepinwall, which led me to a link to JMG's fanfiction, which led me to writing Fates.  If you followed that flow chart well, you may need to get your head checked, but even so, all of that is why I'm super-stoked that Fates is the focus of an article on ChuckTV.net.

No, seriously, it is!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CRYSTAL!!!!

So you may have noticed some changes over the blog lately if you had time to visit during your holiday (if not, we totally understand; I'm still sacked out from the peppermint bark and Dr. Pepper myself), and now we're all colorful and stuff.  There's not really a story involved except that Frea likes Photoshop a whole heck of a lot and thinks it may just be the niftiest thing on the planet.

But there IS a story today of the new-ish layout and that story is the tale of one crystal.elements, who is the CIA-voted cutest author on staff here at Castle Inanity.  No, really, you can ask any one of us, "Who's the cutest author on staff?" and not a single one of us will hesitate in replying, "Crystal."  And then we might offer you a glass of "Duh" to go with your "Obvious Cookies."  The only one who might reply differently is mxpw, and that's because I may or may not have told him Yvonne might post here once in awhile as a way to not have to spend money on his Christmas present this year.  The hope is enough.

Before I got sidetracked, I was talking about Crystal, so I'll get back to that.  Crystal, you are awesome.  And I don't mean that in my normal everyday use of the word "Awesome" (which is sarcastic, more often than not).  You are so awesome that Captain Awesome could take lessons from you.  I met you a looooong time ago, it feels like (I know it's been less than a year, it just feels like years because you're so awesome), and I am so glad I did.  Not many people could saturate us with the adorableness of Closet Gleek and then turn around and slam the desperation of Kill Bryce into us, but you did, and you made it look so easy.  If I didn't think you were so great, I'd probably fear you a little bit.  Your enthusiasm and outlook and freakish intelligence (seriously, just walking around the Stanford campus with you made me feel smarter...and then I couldn't work the camera on my phone) are all a huge inspiration, and I'm so glad to know you.

I hope you have a happy birthday, and that your next year is just as amazing as you are.

Also, you should probably know that there are now plans in motion for the CIA to take you to Vegas and get you drunk for your 21st birthday.  Just, you know, so you know.

:)

Frea

PS - Everybody, Crystal drew the header herself and then I stole it.  She had no idea I was going to use it.  Isn't it awesome????

iTunes Fun!

Fanfic From Liam! -- "Peace on Earth"

Hello, my little ferrets. Daddy Liam is back with a new ChuckFic! It's been since February since I've posted a story. But two days ago inspiration struck for this one. Forgive me for any mistakes and the like. I rushed through this, trying to bring it to order and completion.

As you might imagine, my take on Christmas time events isn't as jovial as other. I'm not a particular fan of the season, but respect those who are. As such, I present this gift. To all those who've read my fics, responded, and given kind words, I wish to express my love and gratitude to you all. Doubley so to all those wonderful people who work on Castle Inanity. You guys are my heroes.

-- J

Rod Serling Would Have Approved

:)

All Quiet on the Castle Blog: Fates 46!

So it's been rather quiet on the blog lately, which is my fault, as I've been busy photoshopping and with family and the holidays and the like. We've got some posts in store for you, I think. I've bugged Chris about another Why We Write and mxpw and I are going to put our heads together for a book recommendations post to get you through the long, cold hiatus (unless you're in the southern hemisphere, then it's the long, hot hiatus). But in the meantime, how about a sneak peek of the next chapter of What Fates Impose, hitting shelves January 2, 2011?

Wow.

2011. I'm sorry, hold on, I have to go run my head under the faucet and process that. In the meantime, you can read this hilarious little sneak peek.

The Complete TRON Collection (So Far)

Pictures are after the break. Most of these aren't wallpaper-sized yet. It'll happen eventually, I'm sure.

Administrative Note (And a Free Wallpaper)

Given that I've now added crazy fun wallpapers to the site, I've killed two turkeys with one boulder and made the ebooks page a "Downloads" page.

And here's the shiny new wallpaper.  It's the same as the other one, only orange instead of blue.

640x480 || 800x600 || 1024x768 || 1152x864 || 1280x960 || 1280x1024 || 1600x1200

CHON

Okay, maybe not CHON. CHON sounds kind of silly. But anyway, with the new TRON movie finally, finally, finally hitting theaters yesterday, there's been an upsurge in really cool lighting/TRON-like Photoshop tutorials. Last night, I was talking to mxpw and looking at some gorgeous fan-made posters, one thing led to another, and then this happened:

And then I thought, this would make a great wallpaper, soooooo....

mxpw vs. Frea - Chuck vs. the Wookie

Chuck vs. the Wookie

Season 1, Episode 4, air-date 15 October 2007

A rival agent shows up; she needs assistance stealing a gem from a drug lord. Chuck's agents are reluctant to help due to past dealings.

Carina Hansen Miller.  She's been present in two episodes total of this series, but you wouldn't know it looking at the archives over at fanfiction.net. mxpw and Frea are even among the guilty who have written entire stories about this DEA agent they like to call "Loki in a Skirt" (one more so than the other!).  So when the opportunity to review her debut episode came up, they might have jumped at the chance.

And look, there's even a new mxpw vs. Frea graphic to, er, commemorate it.  Yeah, that's our story and we're sticking to it.  (Frea's note: Many, many, many, many apologies to Yvonne Strahovski).

Some Stuff

First off, you've probably gotten the email or seen the Tweet or whatever by now, but there's a new chapter of What Fates Impose up.  Chuck like you've never seen him before!

Second off, we're going to be a day late with the next mxpw vs. Frea.  We'll be watching Chuck vs. the Wookie for this one, so if you want to follow along or prepare, I'd recommend turning to those DVDs you hopefully purchased and reveling in the goodness that is Yvonne Strahovski, Zachary Levi, and Mini Anden in the same scene (funny story: when I went to see The Tourist in the theater the other day, there was a movie trailer with Jason Statham.  I kept my eyes peeled for Yvonne, thinking it might be for The Killer Elite, and therefore was sad that I didn't see more than a split-second flash of anything that could be her, until the title popped up at the end and proved it was actually a trailer for The Mechanic.  And the split-second flash that I thought might have been Yvonne?  It was Mini Anden.  No joke).

Thirdly, remember those comic book covers I did?  Sarah - Wrath of the Giant Blonde Shemale?

Sneak Preview: Fates 45

So random fact: I don't know if it was the script writer or the editor (I don't think it was the editor) or the props department, but somebody on Chuck can't spell "Seville."  And now that that little note is out of the way, how about a preview of What Fates Impose, Chapter 45?  Yeah, yeah, I know All the Roads That Lead to You Are Winding did it first, but damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead anyway!

Man, I'm so excited for the rest of Fates 45.  I may post another snippet later on because I get to do something absolutely new with Chuck.  I've done it to Casey (not in Fates), and now it's Chuck's turn.  I can't wait until Sarah has her go at it.

Also, quick note: new ebook on the page.  Chuck vs. Fulcrum!  ne71 was awesome and emailed me the original file, which meant a really fast conversion.  Boo-yah!  After the break, a nice preview of What Fates Impose, Chapter 45: Red Day Dawning.

Fates

I've been a bit at war with myself lately and I need to come clean.  I've promised time and again on this blog that What Fates Impose is going to go all the way to the Intersect 2.0, but I've been thinking about it and talking it over with Maximus, and I've come to a decision.  What Fates Impose will end a lot sooner than that.  I have a lot of reasons for this, some of which are personal, some having to do with the plot.

The reasons I can give you:

I want to write other things.   Fates is a gargantuan task taking up several hours a week.  I recently took a week off of writing and the breather felt amazing.  I love writing Fates.  I love writing for you guys.  But I've been writing the same thing for 300k words, and it's beginning to take a toll.

The new ending place I've picked is actually a better ending that my original.  One of the key components to writing is to know when to end a book and when to start one, and my original ending has sat badly with me since the beginning.

I know people are going to be disappointed with the ending, knowing that there was potentially story after that, but there's not much I can do about that.  This isn't an apology for anything, even though I regret that I just can't tell the whole story.  All good things come to an end, and so will Fates.

But don't worry, we've still got quite the ride to get to the new ending spot.

:)

Frea

I Learned a New Trick

So one of the things I've been teaching myself is how to do things in Photoshop.  It's partially fascination and partially practicality, but sometimes, I have to wonder.  Anyways, a few days ago, Nathan Fillion tweeted a fan-made Castle comic book cover that looked really great and retro and I thought, "Ooh, that's neat!"  And I instantly wanted to know how to do that myself, so I spent some time studying the picture.

And then it occurred to me.  You know what else would make a great comic book cover?

Frequently Asked Questions

Good news, everybody!

So the other day, somebody asked for what seemed to be the millionth time, what SWP means. Perfectly understandable, mind you, as what is more important than SWP? I can't really think of anything. But it got Frea and myself to thinking (always a dangerous thing). As enjoyable as it is to proselytize to our readers about the glories of SWP, it is terribly inefficient. I mean, wouldn't it be better to just have an explanation everybody can look at whenever they want for what SWP stands for, than to have to explain it every time somebody asks?

The answer is yes, yes it would be better.

Happy Birthday, Chris!

So a few months ago, this story popped up on fanfiction.net that made me go, "Waaaaaaait a minute."  I mean, it was so well-written and kind of brilliant, but...at the time, it was like a prequel to What Fates Impose, which, let me tell you, really got my dander up.   So I went out and bought a shotgun and some rock salt and I did me some huntin'.  I searched the entire Midwest up and down for this upstart writer who had the audacity to steal my idea and make it even better, I tell you.  And then I took the poor son of a gun out back behind the shed and put him out of his misery, which is why that story hasn't been updated in months.

Actually, that's not what happened at all.  I fell so much in love with the story Chuck vs. the Simple Twist of Fate that when I saw a request by the author for a beta reader, I jumped all over the opportunity.  And to this day, I am so, so grateful that I did because otherwise, I would never have gotten to meet the wonderful I Am Not Amused aka Musey aka Chris.  And that, my friends, would be a very sad existence indeed.  In the months that I have known him, I have come to esteem Chris as one of the coolest people I know.  He's an awesome writer, his taste in music and his love for music are both astounding and kind of mind-blowing, and he's just a really great dude.

So thank you, Chris, for being my friend and enriching my life and my music collection.  Happy Birthday to the real life Bryce Larkin (but way cooler).

Now, everybody, as a birthday present to Chris, go read Storms in Encino and review it!

:)

Frea

mxpw vs. Frea - Chuck vs. the Intersect / Pilot

Chuck vs. the Intersect / Pilot

Season 1, Episode 1, air-date September 24, 2007

Chuck is a computer geek who gets a computer full of information zapped into his brain...information that contains secrets that the federal government desperately needs to keep in Chuck's head...and keep Chuck, himself, intact.  Chuck meets a woman who agrees to go on a date with him, but she's one of the government agents who's interested more in his head than his body.

So in the first "Retro Version" of mxpw vs. Frea, the two commentators attempt to battle the boredom of hiatus with an episode that regularly shows up on favorite lists of Chuck bloggers everywhere.  Last week, there was no optimist.  This week, there is no pessimist.  Amazing how that balances out.

Unfortunately, the monkey minions chained to the keyboard were unable to capture the first part of the conversation between our esteemed episode critics (or it was about Fates/Fortune and contained spoilers), so we now take you to your regularly scheduled mxpw vs. Frea, already in session:

mxpw vs. Frea: Back to the Future

Good news, everybody!

Like the line up above says, I have good news! Frea, in all her infinite wisdom, floated to me a most excellent idea: What would the world be like if mxpw and Frea took a crack at reviewing the episodes of a simpler, happier time? I can tell you, I don't know for sure, but I am excited to find out what this Brave New World has in store for us.

So without further delay or pomp or circumstance or diversion, I present you Castle Inanity's plan to help you deal with a severe lack of SWP in your life.

Yellow Paper Snippet

Today saw a massive overhaul of The Masterfully Decorated Evil Lair of One Frea O'Scanlin, which usually turns up interesting artifacts (case in point: favorite hat!  second case in point: shrunken head of enemy from second grade) and today was no exception.  For indeed, I found a piece of yellow legal paper that seems to contain the original draft of part of Chapter 14: At the End of the Day.

Because I'm nice (and have nothing else to post today), I'll share it here (warning, some swearing!):

A Treat!

So with massive help from nneghandi, Course Jester, and the Ardent Aardvark, yesterday I learned how to do something very important:

That's right, I learned how to put a Table of Contents into an epub ebook.

Which means if you head over to that ebooks page now, you can get new versions of What Fates Impose I-III, What Fates Impose IV (including up to chapter 44), To Resist Both Wind and Tide, and the complete Adorable Psycho, now including the newest chapter of 9 Months and The 405 Gets Plowed, of course.

Also, there's a new ebook up on the page.  I combined all six of the Fatesverse one-shots and put them up there in PDF, ePub, and Kindle formats for everybody.  As far as the other stories without TOCs, I'll get those formatted as time allows, and add new stories to the queue.

Happy Sunday, everybody!

Frea

PS - I am not neglecting Fates to do this, even though the progress bar hasn't moved.  I've taken a week off of writing.

A Special Holiday Message

Happy Channukah, everybody!

Love,

The CIA

Quick Note

Just wanted to let everybody know I added a new ebook to the page up there at the top -- ninjaVanish's Chuck and Sarah vs. the Bunker.  I'll of course add Themselves when he finishes it.  Any requests for finished stories?

:)

Frea

mxpw vs. Frea - Chuck vs. the Leftovers

Chuck vs. the Leftovers

Season 4, Episode 10, original air-date November 29, 2010

Things are turned upside-down the day after Thanksgiving when Chuck's mother drops by...along with Alexei Volkoff. Morgan must deal with Jeff and Lester during the Black Friday sale at the Buy More.

There are puppies and rainbows after the break, and our review. A coincidence?

Instant Reaction: Chuck vs the Leftovers

Tweet: #SarahConnorBitches #Chuck410

Addendum: Pretty sure any episode that lacks Linda Hamilton is an episode wasted.


Tweet: #JamesBondBitches #Chuck410

Addendum: Pretty sure any episode that lacks Timothy Dalton is an episode wasted. Wait. Let me rethink that, becuase last week didn't have either of them. Let's rephrase: Any episode that lacks Linda Hamilton and/or Timothy Dalton is an episode wasted, provided that said episode doesn't include oodles of SWP. Can we agree with that?


Want more idolizing of Linda Hamilton and Timothy Dalton? Just hit the jump.

Another Holidaze Message from Castle Inanity

Love,

The CIA

A Special Thanksgiving Day Message*

Love,

The CIA

*This is assuming you're, you know, in the States. If not, have a wonderful Thursday and we'll be back on Saturday with your regularly scheduled Inanity.

4x09 - Phase Three Icons!

I was feeling productive this week, and Monday's episode was okay. Nothing iconic or anything.

Hee, you see what I did there? Yep, I lied. Monday's episode? Totally iconic. Which is why there are 26 icons after the break. They're up for grabs, of course, and if you take any, just let me know in the comments! Thanks to ChuckTV for providing such awesome screengrabs! If Strahotski gets their screengrabs up, I may add more Sarah numbers.

Happy Thanksgiving to those of you in the States! To everybody else, uh, as you were?

:)

Frea

Frea vs. mxpw - Chuck vs. Phase Three

 Chuck vs. Phase Three

Season 4, Episode 9, air-date November 22, 2010

While hiding out in Southeast Asia from an international agent determined to locate the Intersect, Sarah goes on a rogue mission. Ellie and Awesome work to uncover a family secret.

Warning: Prolonged exposure to Sarah Walker's badassery can cause brain melting. If you begin to feel nauseated, dizzy, light-headed, or forget where you are, please consult a doctor right away. But not Captain Awesome, he's done enough.

Instant Reaction: Chuck vs Phase Three

Tweet: I'd be more excited about #Chuck409 if my heat worked. #Truth

Addendum: My heat doesn't work. This is seriously distressing now that it is almost below zero here. At least my apartment is well insulated. BUT SEMI-PRO TWEETERS MUST PERSERVERE>


Tweet: #SaranConnerBitches #Chuck409

Addendum: Frea is right (isn't she always?). Every episode of Chuck this season needs to start with a tip of the TwitterCap to Linda Hamilton. By the way, the TwitterCap is kind of like the Winged Flying Hat in Super Mario Brothers, only it's on the Internet and doesn't actually make you fly. So, um, it's not really like that hat at all. They're both red? They both have wings vaguely involved?


Hey, I'm going to try to continue being funny after the jump!

How To Recognize Your Sarah

With tonight's episode of Chuck promising what looks like the most badass version of Sarah Walker of all time, mxpw and I thought we would help you out. Working together, we've compiled a list of the Sarah Walkers you might see in your everyday lives and we've compared them to two things: canon Sarah, or the Sarah seen on the show, and the most badass Sarah we know...

The Adorable Psycho.

This list is by no means exhaustive; we are a fandom of many great Sarahs. We've simply picked a few of the more popular ones for our guide: How to Recognize Your Sarah.

Warning: Does contain up to date write-ups on various stories in the section; if you don't want to be spoiled on something you haven't read, skip to the next Sarah. :)

The Screenwriter's Blog #1

Hello, my little weasels. It’s Daddy Liam here. I know, I’m sorry. I’m a day late on this blog. My sincerest apologies. I typically spend my Sunday relaxing and being all magnificent and awesome. But no need to fear. For Daddy’s home and he’s brought a surprise.

What is that surprise, you may ask? Great question random reader of the Castle Inanity blog. This surprise is my very first article where I discuss the art of screenplay writing! I’ll pause a moment to allow you all to get the raucous applause out of your system.

(pause)

Good. Now I’m sure many of you are wondering, “Daddy Liam, why haven’t you been writing on your Awesome Award winning fic Chuck Versus the Road to Innocence?” I have several pat answers, ranging from the obscene (Because your mom won’t leave me alone long enough to write it.) to the flippant (Because the fic bores the hell out of me.) But truth of the matter is, for quite a while now, a new form of writing has captured my interest. Screenwriting.

Sneak Preview: Chapter 44

I wish I had a really cool graphic for the next chapter of What Fates Impose like I usually do, but I'm on my laptop (which is coming up on four years old and is running Vista off of 1 gb of memory; computer nerds may now wince in sympathy), so... yeah.

But hey!  A preview of Chapter 44.  My second preview on Chapter 44, if you'll believe it.  (Where's the first?  Dig in the archives.  I didn't tag it as 44, but I did share a brief scene since I wrote the first scene of 44 something like 4 months ago)!

It's after the break!  Hope you enjoy!

Frea

Never Gonna Give You Up

WARNING: CHAPTER 43 SPOILERS AHEAD!

Updates

So those of you who aren't on Twitter probably don't know about this yet, but yesterday, my step-grandpa passed away.  I wasn't terribly close to him.  Well, actually, that's not true. When I was little and still living in that area, I adored him, but it's been many years since.  Not sure what's going to be happening in the near future, but given that I'm house-sitting for another family in the area, my schedule probably won't be disrupted too much.  After that, however, I'm not sure.  I may be headed to my grandmother's house to help her out with some things until classes start next semester.

At any rate, it means taking the posting date off on the progress bar to the left since I no longer know when Chapter 44 will be dropping.  If it was finished, I'd have no problem just popping it up on ff.net today and forgetting about Fates for as long as I need to, but it's not finished yet, so...

Also, in other news, I signed up for college classes yesterday.  I'm taking a full load of classes in the spring and then a half-load in the summer and fall.  Before those start, however, I've enlisted in the Who Are You challenge and already have my holiday-themed story planned, as well as a Christmas gift for you guys, and the next three chapters of Fortune Favors Fools. 

December is going to be a busy month for me, I can already tell.

If anybody wants to sign up for the challenge, I know they're still taking entries.  C'mon, join the crazies like me, Crystal, mxpw, Justin, and many of our esteemed section.  You know you want to.  And just for the record, my WAY challenge entry won't be in the Fatesverse, as that would be a dead giveaway and I intend to make people work to recognize me.  But I give my fellow CIAs permission to write in the Fatesverse, should they choose.

And to those that are curious about the progress bar activity, some of them...aren't actual stories, sorry.  At least, I don't think I ever had plans to write a rock opera for mxpw, as much as he wishes that were the case.  It's just impossible to rhyme with "kumquat," you know.

A couple of great writing posts from mxpw and Justin coming out this week because I nagged them.  Don't forget to show them some love.

See you when I see you,

Frea

Reader Beware: Justin's got a brand new blog!

Okay, my little ferrets, this is Daddy Liam, here to tell you how it is. Few days ago, Uncle Maximus gave me a talkin’ to. Either I get off my lazy ass and contribute something or get shipped off to blog-Siberia along with Petey, aka Chuckster3185. For those who don’t recall Petey, he was an original member of the Castle Inanity blog before he displeased Mistress Frea. Something about not showing the appropriate amount of due deference or whatever. I’m too pretty to worry myself over management decisions.

In all seriousness, what we’re talking about are the first stages of a Castle Inanity “rebranding”, so to speak. Or so I’m told, anyway. Uncle Maxy and Aunt Frea are my bosses and tell me only what I need to know. And again, too pretty to worry about management stuff. Anywho, it did make me realize there really isn’t an excuse for me to not contribute more. So, I’m planning to do it.

mxpw vs. Frea - Chuck vs. the Fear of Death

Chuck vs. the Fear of Death

Season 4, Episode 8, air-date November 15, 2010

Summary: In order to repair his status as an agent and his relationship with Sarah, Chuck agrees to go on a dangerous mission with an eccentric partner. Morgan and Casey must stop Jeff and Lester from knowing the true identity of Greta at the store.

So you know how sometimes Frea is the optimist and mxpw is the pessimist and they're at each other's throats because they don't agree on a single thing?

Er, you're not going to find that with this episode review.

Instant Reaction: Chuck vs the Fear of Death

Tweet: I should be getting paid for this. I'm looking at you @JoshSchwartz76. #Chuck408 #AllIDoIsWin

Addendum: What follows, dear people, is a lesson in vanity. When you get this cocky, what happens? Well, turns out you forget exactly how many hits Olivia Newton-John had and find yourself unable to think up clever replies to people's @ tweets. I am not yet a professional Tweeter, you guys. But I'm close. SO CLOSE.

Tweet: "You're about to meet a lot of scientists" is never something you want said to you. Ever. #Ever #Chuck408

Addendum: Unless you're a scientist I guess?


More of teh funny after the break. #IntentionalMispellingofThe

Aisle of Terror Icons

Stahotski got the screen-grabs from the latest two episodes up, I made a few icons while I was trying to think of what to write next!







You know the deal, let me know if you took one.

:)

Frea

Frea's Guide to Frakking Up Sarah Walker

So this week, I got a couple of reviews this week that made me laugh. In fact, TaurgaFour outright accused me of being a glutton for punishment, which I can’t deny. I’ve said on the blog a time or two that I have regretted writing To Resist Both Wind and Tide not because I am ashamed of the writing (though the second chapter needs some work), but because people love my Sarah perspective to the point of requesting it…quite a lot. Some would have me stop writing Fates in Chuck’s perspective entirely, I believe.

And yet, here I am, penning Fortune Favors Fools, the third in the Sarah Walker perspective series. And I’ll even admit it outright: writing from inside Sarah Walker’s head is just as much fun, if not more, than from Chuck’s*. There, that wasn’t at all like throwing kerosene onto a forest fire. Ooh, like at the shiny lights.

So I was talking to mxpw, and it was mentioned that I should write a blog post about how to write Sarah, since she’s a character a lot of people feel that I write well.  It sounded like a good idea, and hey, I'm vain, so I scribbled down a few rules based on tricks I had used while bringing Fates Sarah from my imagination, where she hates me, to the screen where you read her.

Note:  I made most of these rules up in the very same chat, and they’re meant to be taken a little tongue in cheek, so get out those grains of salt, please!

Video Ideas...

So this probably won't be happening anytime soon, since I'm still very busy with school, but my video editing bug is starting to eat away at me again. At first I thought I'd try my hand at another Sarah Walker-esque video—a Sexy Bitch: Part Two, if you will—but decided to hold off on that for a bit longer, maybe until the fourth season is over and I've got more footage to work with. (Cue groans of complaint from the majority of the male population, lead by mxpw.)

Anyways, I just came across this song on Youtube:

I am now seriously considering making a completely over-the-top Chuck/TeamB promo using this song. Thoughts? Other song suggestions? I'm open to any opinions at this point, since I have about a month or so to mull things over before Winter Break comes along. Would love to hear anything you guys have to say. :)

Adventures With Crystal: ChuckFest 2

I know this is nearly a week late, but college likes to suck the life out of me. I had a 15-page short story for my Fiction Writing class due the day I came back from L.A. on Monday, and the rest of the week consisted of me trying to catch up with a bunch of schoolwork and whatnot. BUT...today is Friday, I've finished my last class for the week, and I'm finally free to give my full report of the awesomeness that was ChuckFest. Buckle up and enjoy the ride, people, because this is probably going to be one long and extremely detailed post—complete with pictures! (Unfortunately, no videos, as we weren't allowed to record any footage of the event.)

Roundup: Eaten by Cockroaches

So this week's roundup has two writing articles and one article on how to be a writer.  Wait a second, that doesn't make sense.  Well, being a writer is not just about writing, even though the simplest and first rule is: Write.  And then write some more.  As a writer, if you want to improve, one way to do so is to get feedback, which means talking to other writers, getting critiques, and revision, revision, revision.  I'm going to save that article for last, since it's rather polarizing.

Also, there's an oldie but a goodie in this week's Roundup. Read on to see what awaits!

Free at Last, Free at Last, Thank AP Almighty....

Frea here. So I'm out of the closet, and I was not beaten to death with my keyboard. I probably wouldn't have survived the ordeal except that I keep the back-up Dr. Pepper in the same closet. Not gonna lie: it was touch and go for awhile until I remembered that. And then I had to wait for the marathon plowin' session to end before AP would negotiate terms for my release.

BUT, dear readers, I am proud to say that I am now out of the closet because I promised to pay a lot closer attention to the Adorable Psycho's sex life.

And trust me, I know exactly how that sounds.

But hey, to celebrate my release, how's about a taste of what's to come next week, hmm?

The Most Adorable Coup D'Etat EVER

Hey, Bitches!

Sarah Walker here. Yes, THE Sarah Walker.

This Frea bitch let me take over her blog. Well, okay, my new honesty policy with the love of my life and the Provider of the Plowing means I have to tell the truth: I kidnapped Frea O’Freaking Scanlin and shoved her in a closet, took over her blog, and decorated it with pictures of yours truly. I forgot to duck tape the bitch’s mouth shut, though, so I can still hear her rendition of every single hit song from the first season of Glee. Appropriate and yet, I don’t really want to let her loose. She’s lucky to be alive, that brunette skank.

Hey, shut up in there! I swear, if you start singing anymore Lady Gaga, I'm going to take this keyboard and beat you with it!  And don't think I haven't missed the irony in beating you to death with the same tool you're using to write Fates!

Do you see what I have to put up with just so that I can grace you with my presence? Oh, and believe me, you have no idea how lucky you are. I could be getting plowed right now, and yet here I am, informing you all about why I'm here. I bet there's quite the number of brunette bitches out there among you, too.

It's a new thing I'm trying. Being understanding, I mean. Chuck tells me to picture us having sex in my head whenever I get the urge to kill and it's sort of working but all I end up doing is daydreaming about sex all day and where was I? Oh right, why I'm here. Because it's my birthday and I wanted to celebrate with you, my adoring fans.

Yeah, that's right.  Today, I am one freaking year old!  And in that time, I have killed approximately 87.5 skanks (one was an accident, but she was still a brunette, so it counts for half).  And you know why, bitches?  Because they were sniffing after my man.  That will teach the Ladies' Auxiliary of Burbank to have computer problems.  Prissy skanks were fun to kill in the end.  They had more fight in them than you'd expect from an Auxiliary League, but they had to go.  They were eying my man!  Do people just not get the memo?  I swear I had Casey send it out to everybody, and if the NSA is slacking again, I swear I'm going to take my knife and shove it right up his--


What?  Are you sure?  Damn it!  How do you--fiiiiine.  Frea says I've already done that and it would be uncreative to kill the same way twice.  I'll think of another fitting death for Sir Grunts A Lot.  What the hell? Now she's telling me that I need to hurry up. I'm going to kill her!

Sarah? Sarah, where are you?

Just a second, Chuck! I'm just about to commit some dramatic irony. You'll never abuse your minions ever again, Frea.

What's that, Chuck? You want to plow me now? Oh fine, I guess the bludgeoning will have to wait. Make no mistake, though, this blog is now mine.

I hope you all enjoy what I've done to the place. And you better watch out. If I find out any of you are looking at my Chuck, I'll find you. Trust me, I've done it before.

Later, bitches! It's plowing time!

Sincerely,

Early November Necessities

Right around this time of year, my mother sends an email to all of her children, those wily O'Scanlins with hearts of gold and souls of mischief, and requests our Christmas wish lists so that she doesn't have to spend November and December remembering which of us likes anime and which of us likes good stuff.  Since Christmas is an awesome holiday--I'm so great people give me stuff on a day to day basis, but on Christmas they have to, it's the law--I decided to be benevolent and help my mother out this year.  Here is the list I emailed to her:

1) Orange Chucks, blue laces, women's, low-top, size [REDACTED]
2) Western Digital Passport Drive, 500 gb, red to match my eyes
3) Jayne hat, hand-crafted
4) Nerd Shirt from thenerdmachine.com
5) Bic mechanical pencils
6) The head of my archnemesis on a stick
7) Sharpies
8) Season 2 of Dollhouse

You'll notice that I did not include Dr. Pepper on this list, as Dr. Pepper is not a gift, it is the lifeblood from which all creativity springs and therefore I shouldn't have to wait until Christmas to receive it.

Maximus would like everybody to know that he has seen this list and can vouch for its authenticity.

Is there anything I am missing from this list, dear readers?  Best suggestion might get a sneak peek of Chapter 43 of Fates!

:)

Frea

Even though the list is real (yes, even numbers 6-8), I'm totally joking here.  I promise you, I am nowhere near as entitled as I come off, I just have fun being pompous and if I acted anywhere NEAR this entitled to the real Ma O'Scanlin, rest assured that I wouldn't be able to sit proper for a week.

Blanket Statement

So I wanted to make something clear here:

My author's note at the end of Chapter 42 did not mean we are literally tackling Chuck vs. the Best Friend. This is my fault for not being more clear. I simply meant we were going to tackle some of the same themes--simply put, Chuck doesn't want to put his best friend in danger.  Because he's Fates Chuck, he has a very pessimistic outlook and he's already been taught to expect the worst thing to happen during a mission, so having Morgan around while they're on a mission is the last thing he wants to do.

I've had people ask about Longshore, Crown Vic, and Cole Barker, so I'll make a blanket statement about that, too.

Some canon plots will still be in What Fates Impose, but only in that they make sense in my timeline.  To wit, I thought Chuck and Sarah and Casey would have been handed the Mei-Ling Cho assignment, but it's doubtful they would be at the same sushi restaurant to meet Paine's poor first victim that Ellie tried to save, ergo Chuck Vs. the Truth never happened in Fates (which means Paine might still be at large, muhaha).

A general rule of thumb is I've been treating the episode airdate as a gauge for when the episode events happened, too.  Crown Vic...has come and gone.  It happened around the beginning of December, and now we're in January, so my apologies on that.*

That being said, we're still in January, and in the first season territory.  Cole Barker, a second season character, is something like more than a year away, and who knows where the story will be by that time?  And I think it's pretty safe to say that if things keep going the way they are, Sarah's probably not even going to be interested in that British piece of...beefcake.

Sorry for the definitive statements, I just wanted to let everybody know where we stand.

:)

Frea

* There are two exceptions to this rule.  One has already passed and was an author error, and the other is coming and will have an author's note explaining why at the time.

Hanging from a Cliff

 Man, I hate cliffhangers.

Like, I loathe them with a passion.  They make me throw up my hands and groan, and frankly, want to smash my fist into something.  How DARE they?  How dare that writer deprive me of that moment of release, of knowing what happens to my favorite character at his or her greatest moment of peril?

Aren't I just the biggest hypocrite?  I know.  It's fun.

That being said, I LOVE cliffhangers.  They make me giggle like a maniacal schoolgirl.  Perhaps it's because my formative education in dialogue and plot was "Choose Your Own Adventure" books (which I always cheated on) and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.  Perhaps I'm just a sadist.  But either way, a well-done cliffhanger just makes me stop, groan, and start laughing hysterically, while usually applauding the author on his or her work.

At any rate, a long time ago, I had a reader call my cliffhanger on chapter 34 "petty," which made me feel a little disgruntled for about a minute before something shiny popped up in the corner of my vision and I wandered off to explore.  A few hours later (hey, I had a new dog, and she requires a lot of attention), I returned to the subject and thought, "Hm, WAS that a petty cliffhanger?"

Eventually I came to conclusions about why people think cliffhangers are petty and why I think some aren't, and some are, and I'll explain here.

So...what makes a cliffhanger petty?

mxpw vs. Frea - Chuck vs. the First Fight

Chuck vs. the First Fight

Season 4, Episode 7, air-date November 01, 2010

Summary: In order to avoid Sarah after their first real fight Chuck heads out on a rogue mission. Meanwhile Ellie digs into the Bartowski family history.

So after last week, in which we were exactly seven days late in getting mxpw vs. Frea to your computer screen, mx and I sat down and actually came up with an appointed time during which to write our review. Which means we're on time. For once.

Just to warn you, there IS sarcasm ahead. But is it about the episode, or are we mocking something else? You'll just have to read and find out!

Frea

Instant Reaction: Chuck vs the First Fight

Tweet 1: Fun fact: every Monday when I live-tweet #Chuck I lose five followers and gain five others. Time for that roller coaster again! #Chuck407

Addendum: This is actually true. All of my music critic buddies are all like "Quit spamming me with network TV live-tweets" and I'm all like "n00b" and then do it anyway. Actually it isn't quite so badass as that, but let me have my moment.


Tweet 2: Fun fact #2: I dressed up as #Chuck for Halloween this year. #Chuck407


Addendum: This is also true. Although I look like a chipmunk storing acorns fort the winter because my cheeks are so chubby, I did don my Nerd Herd attire and go as Chuck Bartowski for Halloween this year. It was a good Halloween.


Hit the break for more witty irreverence!

mxpw vs. Frea - Chuck vs. the Aisle of Terror

Chuck vs. the Aisle of Terror

Season 4, Episode 05, air-date October 25, 2010

Summary:  Chuck, Sarah, Casey and Morgan are sent on a mission to stop Dr. Stanley Wheelwright from releasing a toxin that causes nightmares. The mission makes Team Bartowski suspicious of where Chuck's Mom's allegiances lie. Jeff and Lester make Halloween plans for the Buy More while Ellie and Awesome get a visit from Awesome's mom.

So...there's a new Chuck on very soon, and mxpw and Frea are only getting around to posting last week's review?  What gives?  Wellllll...there are lots of things going on.  Frea is fighting a cold and the cold medicine is doing strange things to her, November has started, and Frea spent most of last week in a car driving across states like Wyoming and Nebraska.  And Sarah Walker in glasses quite frankly broke mxpw's brain.  We actually got half of the review done and then Frea literally had to go lie down before her head exploded, but we want you to know, you ARE getting the review before Chuck Vs. the First Fight...maybe.  If you click the link before then.  :) 

Enjoy!  

- Frea and mxpw

The Castle Inanity Hallowhedon Pledge

So right before October began, I extended a challenge to all of the CIA to write Hallowhedon stories.  There were no specifics given except that it had to be a crossover with Chuck and a Whedonverse of the authors' choice.  Tomorrow, there will be four new stories in the fandom crossing over vampires and reavers and zombies (oh my) with our gallant crew of nerds and spies.

Now mxpw and I are upping the challenge.  First, though, a video:

And, in a limited time offer, for ANY review on ANY of the four Hallowhedon stories submitted tomorrow, mxpw and I will each go and vote for Chuck in the TV Guide cover contest.  Even if the review is an absolutely hateful bucket of libel, Chuck gets at least two votes from it.  So, in addition to going and voting a crazy amount, you can literally just type "Awesome story, Wep/Chris/Max/Frea!" in the review box (though I hope you have a little more to say than that!), and that's like submitting an extra vote!  Neat, right?

Until we get those stories posted (mine may go up at midnight tonight central time), you can always go here and vote!

- Frea and the Castle Inanity Crew

Hallowhedon Excerpt

So my original Hallowhedon story was going to be this long and thoughtful look at Ellie after she had spent time in the Dollhouse and had undergone a composite event.  It was going to be philosophical, with plenty of action, and Sarah and Ellie kicking butt side by side as our motley crew makes their way through post-apocalyptic L.A. in search of a safe haven.  I had planned to bring Ivy from Dollhouse in and make Ellie constantly have to deal with Jeffster and it was going to be romantic with Ellie and Awesome.

Turns out I'm not so good at the philosophical.  Or maybe it's the stream of conscience that was tripping me up here, but I never sat down to work on this story and now Halloween is two days away.

Time for a new idea, right?  Here's an excerpt.  I'll see if anybody can pick up on what I did:

Hallowhedon Story

So Frea has been getting on me lately to contribute more to the blog. Craziness, I know. So here I am, contributing. I thought I might post a little bit of the rough draft (remember, a rough draft is always subject to change) of my first chapter of my Hallowhedon story. Plus, y'all get to see how different a rough draft is from the finished copy, as I don't really consider this to be very polished. What do you think?

This story is more or less a sequel to my oddly popular one-shot Chuck vs. the Zombie Apocalypse. Some readers asked me to write a follow up to the story, but I never really thought much of the idea until this Hallowhedon challenge came to be. Basically, this story that has yet to receive a title (if anybody has any idea, feel free to share!) and takes place after the zombie apocalypse. Essentially. Exciting, right?

It was originally just going to be a long one-shot written in Chuck's POV, much like the first story was. But I realized as I was writing that that just wasn't working for me, so I changed the idea. It's now a multi-chapter story, with each chapter probably coming from a different POV. Why should Chuck get to have all the fun? Plus, this means I can write a chapter about Jeff saving the day. Oh, is that spoiling? Whoops.

Instant Reaction: Chuck vs the Aisle of Terror

Tweet 1: #SarahConnorBitches #Chuck406

Addendum: With Linda Hamilton being all up ins the Chuck universe now, I will probably be starting quite a few episodes from hear on out with this hashtag. I got two RTs of it this week. Let's see if we can get it to five next week. We're building a Chuck meme, people! Get on board!


Tweet 2: Freddie Krueger is Scarecrow? #Chuck406

Addendum: Now I can't get the idea of Cillian Murphy as the new Freddy Krueger out of my head. He would be decidedly less gross looking but infinitely more terrifying because of it. Seriously the doctor character was basically not-good-looking Batman Begins Scarecrow. They even did similar special effects.


Reply Tweet 1, from ladycat713: and still pretty freaking scary.

Addendum: They failed at giving him a creepy mask though. Missed opportunities.


Tweet 3: @ladycat713 Batman Begins/Freddy Krueger/Chuck crossover now plz.

Addendum: Seriously I spit out great fic ideas every week and nobody steps up to the plate. THIS STUFF IS GOLD> Where are my authors at?

Authors, please get back to me after the break.

Who is YOUR Sarah?

Well, while Frea is away, I guess I'll effort to do something to, well, draw attention to myself. Heh.

So I was bored and tooling around the interwebs (read: femslash communities) when I came upon something I thought could definitely serve to help the fanfic writers that frequent the blog. Specifically those that like to write Sarah-centric stories.

It kind of goes back to Frea's post about "The Vulnerable Female that Can Still Break You In Half," but there was this neat little flowchart I found that can kind of guide you in making sure your Sarah (or any female character, for that matter) doesn't fall into a classic stereotype. So, yeah, enjoy!

Flowchart: Know Your Female Character Stereotype

Monday Updates...Mondates, If You Will

Okay, this is going to sound strange.  I figure, it's me, so chances of what I'm about to say sounding normal are pretty much nil to start off, but either way, here goes:

In about four hours, I'm flying across the country to pick up a chainsaw.

mxpw's Scribe Theater Three Thousand

So Frea asked me to do a column on writing. I think it was partly inspired by a comment I had made in this thread: Back into the Fold. I answered a question by one of our readers about what methods they could explore to better improve their writing. In the comment, I said that one of the best ways to learn how to write is actually by reading. This is very true. It’s pretty much how I learned to write, and I think Frea would say that it has helped her greatly as well.

To that end, Frea suggested what I do for this column is to take writing done by our fellow fanfiction writers, and try to analyze and break down the strengths of their writing styles. It seemed natural to choose our Most Benevolent Overlord Frea to be my first guinea pig.

Frea has many strengths when it comes to writing (and yes, she does have weaknesses as well, all writers do). While discussing them all would take more time than I can afford to spend, I have decided to select two of those strengths for discussion. For the purpose of this particular post, I am going to look at Frea’s ability to develop her characters and effectively showcase that characterization in her writing.

Icons: Chuck vs. the Couch Lock

Chuck vs. the Cubic Z icons still to come (hopefully today, but I'm going on a very strange trip on Monday and working this weekend, so I really can make no promises at all!  Sorry!).

But here are a few from Chuck vs. the Couch Lock.  With...wait for it, waaaaait for it, Jeffster!  I KNOW!  I'm shocked, too!  They're after the break, and if you want one, you know the deal (save it and let me know).

Happy Friday!

Frea

Update!

Yet another lightning quick note to let everybody know that Part IV of Fates on the eBooks page up there at the top of the blog now includes up to chapter 41, and the guide has been updated as well!  The Complete Reference Guide to What Fates Impose on ff.net is on indefinite hiatus.

- Frea

Sneak Preview: Fates 42

Since I don't really have any huge surprises coming in the next chapter like I have for the past three, I'm going to post a couple of spoilers for 42 as I write it.  Exciting, right?  Here's the first one, just a little taste for all of you.  As you can see in the picture, there's a friendly face returning to Fates.  Time to face relationship fire, though...

What the Frak is Wep Reading? Week (I'm not even sure)

Just when I thought I was out, blah, blah, blah. So you asked for it (at least Frea did), and when you ask for it (well, when Frea asks for it), be careful what you wish for, I guess. So at long last, the column that recommends fics that you may, or may not have read returns in full force. It's time for What the Frak is Wep Reading?

mxpw vs. Frea - Chuck vs. the Couch Lock

Chuck vs. the Couch Lock

Season 4, Episode 5, Air-Date 10.18.10

When Casey's former team returns looking for him, Chuck must decide what he's willing to sacrifice in order to find his mom. Elsewhere, Morgan works up the nerve to reveal a potentially dangerous secret to Casey.

After Frea was lazy the critics mutually agreeing that a week off was best, our favorite critical and snarky duo has returned with their thoughts on season four's fifth episode, Chuck vs. the Bride Couch Lock.  One of them has declared it a favorite.  The other probably would have agreed, except it needs more SWP.  Which is which?  If you don't know already, you probably don't read the blog much... but you can continue reading after the break.

CHUCKtoberfest Video

Everybody, if you could spread this video around, let's really get the ball rolling and help out our pals at Chuck This, yeah?

As the promos say, "Spread the Nerd!"*

- Frea

* Fates Sarah: I'd like to spread the nerd...

Instant Reaction: Chuck vs the Couch Lock

Tweet 1: Doors in the desert are not suspicious at all. #Chuck405

Addendum: The only people who would use doors in the desert are terrorists or sand people. Never mind that most Tusken Raiders ARE terrorists. The only difference between a terrorist and a sand person is species and is that really something they couldn't overcome? Basically what I'm saying is that we need to get Mark Hamil into Afghanistan.


Tweet 2: Casey was part of the B-Team? #Chuck405

Addendum: I was going to say the A-Team, but come on. If you don't have Mr. T calling people sucka fools then you can't really be the A-Team, can you?

As always, more after the break.

CHUCKDAY!

Is everybody excited?  After the hiatus from mxpw vs. Frea, we'll have a new one of those for you hopefully tomorrow -- the lack of a review last week is my fault as I, a) did not really have anything good to say about the episode, and b) was involved in a lot of projects that unfortunately ate up a lot of time -- and there will of course be Chris's Live Tweets tonight (seriously, go to his Twitter, you DO NOT want to miss that) and he'll post them up on the blog later with addendums that always slay me.  And I will do my best to have icons from both tonight's episode and last week's up.

But in the meantime, the people over at Chuck This are pretty awesome, and they like What Fates Impose and the Adorable Psycho and Double Agent a whole bunch, so I think we're naturally predisposed to like them.  Even if we didn't, they're doing a really neat promotional campaign right now called CHUCKtoberfest and everybody should go over, check it out, see what they can do to help.   From the rumors floating around Twitter, it looks like a back nine order is in the works, but this is our show, we've fought to keep it on the air since the dawn of time, let's continue to give our support and gratitude since it's the thing that brings all of us crazy personalities together.

Back Into the Fold

So I apologize for putting on the mod hat yesterday and kind of quelling the conversation that was going on in Wep's rant thread.  I feel there is a very important distinction to be made, and we were veering very close to a line I don't want to cross at Castle Inanity.  Is that censorship?  Oh yeah.  Do I care?  Yeah, I took about ten thousand media classes in college as a Mass Comm major and if I never get into a debate about censorship again, it will be TOO SOON, so any comments left about that will probably be ignored by me.  The argumentative guy that sat behind me and just liked to cause trouble for the sole purpose that he was a chaos vampire and kind of a d-bag besides has ruined it for all of you, I think, so my apologies on that.

But anyway, the rant on CI a couple of days ago led to an interesting conversation I found on Twitter (and it wasn't even Darth Razor--okay, no, I'm not calling him that, I refuse to besmirch the honor of the Sunnydale mascot...insert your own hyena joke here), so now I'm going to do a pro and con post.

My topic: is fanfiction insulting?

Random Wep Rant

So I haven't posted an edition of my (not so) popular column, What the Frak is Wep Reading? in some time, but I come to you today not to recommend fics you should be reading, and instead bring to you a major gripe with fics I don't care if you read or not.

One thing that always annoys me in any Chuck story is a Chuck/Sarah story that places the blame for any faults the couple may have at the feet of one party. This is also true of people who criticize the show, but it's especially prevelant in fics. And who "enjoys" the lion's share of this blame usually? Well it's Sarah, of course. And that makes Wep angry.

ZOMGWTFBBQ

CRYSTAL IS GOING TO CHUCKFEST. *dies happy*

This is epic, guys. If anyone has the time (November 7th, 1PM-9PM) and money (a whopping $200, all of which goes to charity), this is probably the biggest and best opportunity you'll ever get to meet the cast and crew of Chuck. Up close and personal.  I am pretty sure I am going to spazz my ass off. And obsess over the awesomeness of the Chuck cast (specifically Yvonne because she's my kickass actress idol).

Seriously, if anyone can make it into Los Angeles that weekend, definitely head on over to We Heart Chuck and check out the information there. And then tell me, so I can meet you in person. :D

Instant Reaction: Chuck vs the Coup d'Etat

A note about this week's Instant Reaction: If you were following me tonight on Twitter, you know that I didn't tweet all of these. Everything past Tweet 10 you wouldn't have seen. Why is that? Well, Twitter went crazy tonight and my tweets were erroring on my phone, my desktop, and my laptop. So, I had to bow out of Live-Tweeting. But you people here at Castle Inanity are good people and, as such, you deserve the full I Am Not Amused Chuck Live Tweeting experience. So what did I do? Well I just went ahead and "tweeted" everything anyway. Those tweets that you didn't see on Twitter, you get to see here, with commentary and everything. You guys are good to me, so I try to be good back. Sound good? And away we go!

Tweet 1: #Chuck404? That sounds like a DNS error. I miss #ChuckItLive

Addendum: You see what I did there? With my words? No? Well you see, a 404 error on the Internet is a type of Domain Name System error. Okay it wasn't that funny. Fine. *pouts*

For Frea's Birthday: A Taste of Hallowhedon

A/N: It's Frea O'Scanlin's frakking birthday, people! This is cause for celebration! Joyous celebration that includes dancing in the streets, throwing about of beads, and imbibing of alcoholic beverages and playing Fates drinking games (every time Sarah touches Chuck when she doesn't have to, take a shot. You will be SO DRUNK SO FAST). So, naturally, I've written the darkest piece of Chuck fic that I've ever taken a stab at. This is the first chapter of my six-part Hallowhedon fic, where I'm molding the worlds of Chuck and Firefly together to create something disturbing, but hopefully ultimately rewarding. Hope you guys like it! Take a look at chapter one after the break!

Happy (Early) Birthday, Frea!

Since Frea won't be around for the weekend, we've decided to celebrate her birthday a little early. :)

Repost- A (spy) sexy challenge

So I took this down earlier, as I didn't know if it was out of place, but Frea has assured me it was not, so once again, here it is. A challenge for all you writer types. So awhile back, Mx, the great Mikki13, and I started a Sarah-inspired smut community called Yogurt and Fun. To try to revive the community a little, I've issued a challenge based on Heather Chandler's statement in 4.03 ("Isn't spy sex the best?"), and thought I'd share a link, here. Also, take time to look around the community, and please even if you don't contribute to this challenge (which you should!), we'd love to have you contribute something else. Thanks!

http://community.livejournal.com/yogurt_and_fun/4995.html#cutid1

4x03 - Chuck vs. the Cubic Z Icons!

Went a little icon crazy this week just for the fun of it. Grab the ones you like, leave a comment if you took one, yadda yadda yadda. You know the drill.

:)

Peace!

Frea

mxpw vs. Frea - Chuck vs. the Cubic Z

 Chuck Vs. the Cubic Z

Season 4, Episode 3, air-date October 4, 2010

Two former enemies set their sights on Chuck and Sarah when they escape from custody during a prisoner transfer. Morgan receives a surprise from Big Mike. 

Another strong Sarah episode?  What, did they read mxpw's mind over the break?  Nope, Sarah's only in short shorts for less than five minutes.  Frea and mxpw aren't here to slam you with poetry (and you should be grateful, as Frea only knows limericks about islands off the shore of Massachusetts), but they are here to provide their weekly review of Chuck, after the break!

Instant Reaction: Chuck vs. the Cubic Z

Tweet 1: Great kickoff song to this episode of #ChuckItLive.

Addendum: It was a very good choice throughout the episode. Any word on what that song is? I could look it up but I'm lazy. Either way, it made an excellent leitmotif for a rather great episode, and the first standout musical choice of Season 4. I have to say, for all of Season 3's flaws, it had some rather enduring musical moments (Frightened Rabbit's "My Backwards Walk" in Pink Slip, the Antlers' "Kettering" in Other Guy, the Gaslight Anthem's "Here's Looking At You, Kid" for the end of Tooth). I wouldn't mind some more of those cropping up in Season 4.

Hit the break for more tweets.