[March 24th] [The Man From U.N.C.L.E.] That's Entertainment
Title: That's Entertainment
Day/Theme: March 24th - either someone gets eaten or something blows up
Series: The Man From U.N.C.L.E. (specifically, The Odd Man Affair episode)
Character/Pairing: Mr. Ecks, Mr. Wye
Rating: K/G
By Lucky_Ladybug
Wye was bored as he flipped through the television channels. “What is it with the ruddy entertainment world these days?” he grumped. “There’s nothing to see.”
“I guess that depends on where your tastes run,” Ecks replied from where he was stretched out on the couch reading TV Guide.
“Well, it don’t run to Godzilla films, I can tell you that much,” Wye declared. “And you can only see so many disaster films before they all become a blur before your eyes.”
“Zed would have been appalled to hear you say that,” Ecks grinned.
“He watched The Towering Inferno so many times, he wore out the disc,” Wye grunted.
“Not to mention his special film copy,” Ecks said. “Who knows where he managed to obtain that.”
“He had some kind of black market deals going to get those film copies,” Wye said. “I knew about it, but I wasn’t part of it.”
“Yes, I would think that would be too mundane a task for a highly trained agent,” Ecks snarked.
“Har har.” Wye flipped the channel again. “Oh, for the love of . . .” He gestured wildly at the screen, where a dinosaur was bending down to gobble up a person. “What’s going on with the telly today?”
Ecks watched the scene with bored disinterest. “It’s supposed to be scary, but having the chap in that vulnerable position makes it difficult to take it seriously. Plus, it’s reminding me of how we got rid of Raymond.”
Wye shook his head. “If it wants to be a black comedy, that’s one thing. But like you say, it’s supposed to be serious. It doesn’t mix well together.”
“Zed probably found it hilarious,” Ecks remarked.
“Zed found all disaster hilarious, simply because he liked inflicting destruction,” Wye said. “I find it hilarious when I want to laugh at this ruddy idiotic world.”
Ecks set down the TV Guide. “So you like black comedies, but not disaster films.”
“More that they just bore me after a while,” Wye said. “There’s only so many ways you can flood the nation or blow up a country.
“Every now and then I get a little laugh out of a romantic film. They’re so sentimental and saccharine and preposterous. Love ain’t like that.”
Ecks sat up. He didn’t entirely agree with Wye’s cynical view of romantic relationships, since his sole experience with one was seeing how much his parents loved each other. But he understood that Wye had come from an entirely different experience that had negatively colored his view on the matter and perhaps always would.
“Well, if you mean that ‘love at first sight’ nonsense, I don’t agree with that, either,” he said upon reflection. “But if a film portrays the relationship as healthily developing over time . . .”
“Which most don’t,” Wye interjected.
“When they do,” Ecks insisted on continuing, “it doesn’t seem so bad.”
“Maybe not, but I still can’t look at a mushy film without finding it completely daft.”
Ecks leaned back on the couch, placing his hands behind his head. “I’ll admit they’re not my favorite thing to watch,” he said, “but sometimes I’m just a little curious as to what it would be like.”
“You’re free now. You could go find someone and try it out for yourself,” Wye said.
“First I’d rather sort out what we’re going to do with our lives,” Ecks said. “Maybe then I’ll feel more capable of approaching someone and trying to get in with them.”
“On some level that makes sense,” Wye said. “But if you’re waiting to get to a better state in life first, you might end up only attracting gold-diggers.”
Ecks made a face. “It’s not that I’m waiting to have the money to support someone,” he said. “It’s more that I want to feel like my life makes sense before I try bringing anything else into it.”
“I guess that sounds logical,” Wye said. “Only if you get it all figured out, introducing some romantic interest will probably turn it on its head again.”
Ecks reached for the TV Guide again. “And you think I’m cynical.”
“We both are, in different ways.” Wye watched him idly flip through the magazine. “So is there anything in there that appeals to you?”
Ecks shrugged. “I’m not even sure what I like. Adventure films, perhaps. Sometimes even spy films, since they’re about a world I’m used to. Mostly, however, they just feel silly when compared with the genuine article.”
Wye flipped the channel yet again. “Fear Factor?” He stared at the screen as someone was dared to eat a cricket. He had to laugh. “Oh, see what I mean, Ecks? People can just be so stupid.”
Ecks gawked at the screen. “Are you going to watch reality telly again?”
“Maybe for a little bit. It suits me better than Godzilla Goes to Mars or whatever was on the other channel.”
Shaking his head, Ecks laid back down on the couch and spread the open magazine over his face. He wasn’t really in the mood for reality television at the moment, or any television at all, particularly. But he wanted to stay on the couch and didn’t mind much if Wye watched it.
He really wasn’t expecting to fall asleep. But suddenly the magazine was being lifted off his face and his hair was flying into his eyes and Wye was peering down at him. “Hello, Duck. Now what were you doing under there?”
Ecks blinked at him, still trying to wake up. “I don’t really know,” he admitted.
“Well, I’ve had it with the telly for now,” Wye declared. “You can try it out if you want it.”
“Maybe I will,” Ecks said, rolling onto his side. “Or maybe I’ll just leave it off for now. You don’t know how much of it I watched in the hospital.”
Wye smirked. “I saw quite a bit of it myself. I suppose what I like the best, aside from black comedies, are some of the crime series. But none of that’s on right now.”
Ecks yawned. “Typical.”
He dozed again after a minute. Wye watched him, a bit in amusement, and then left him to his rest.
He was going to do a little research while Ecks slept. Some of the adverts he had seen had given him a possible job idea. Maybe, depending on what he learned, that would be the best option for him and Ecks to take.
They would discuss it when Ecks was fully awake again.
Day/Theme: March 24th - either someone gets eaten or something blows up
Series: The Man From U.N.C.L.E. (specifically, The Odd Man Affair episode)
Character/Pairing: Mr. Ecks, Mr. Wye
Rating: K/G
By Lucky_Ladybug
Wye was bored as he flipped through the television channels. “What is it with the ruddy entertainment world these days?” he grumped. “There’s nothing to see.”
“I guess that depends on where your tastes run,” Ecks replied from where he was stretched out on the couch reading TV Guide.
“Well, it don’t run to Godzilla films, I can tell you that much,” Wye declared. “And you can only see so many disaster films before they all become a blur before your eyes.”
“Zed would have been appalled to hear you say that,” Ecks grinned.
“He watched The Towering Inferno so many times, he wore out the disc,” Wye grunted.
“Not to mention his special film copy,” Ecks said. “Who knows where he managed to obtain that.”
“He had some kind of black market deals going to get those film copies,” Wye said. “I knew about it, but I wasn’t part of it.”
“Yes, I would think that would be too mundane a task for a highly trained agent,” Ecks snarked.
“Har har.” Wye flipped the channel again. “Oh, for the love of . . .” He gestured wildly at the screen, where a dinosaur was bending down to gobble up a person. “What’s going on with the telly today?”
Ecks watched the scene with bored disinterest. “It’s supposed to be scary, but having the chap in that vulnerable position makes it difficult to take it seriously. Plus, it’s reminding me of how we got rid of Raymond.”
Wye shook his head. “If it wants to be a black comedy, that’s one thing. But like you say, it’s supposed to be serious. It doesn’t mix well together.”
“Zed probably found it hilarious,” Ecks remarked.
“Zed found all disaster hilarious, simply because he liked inflicting destruction,” Wye said. “I find it hilarious when I want to laugh at this ruddy idiotic world.”
Ecks set down the TV Guide. “So you like black comedies, but not disaster films.”
“More that they just bore me after a while,” Wye said. “There’s only so many ways you can flood the nation or blow up a country.
“Every now and then I get a little laugh out of a romantic film. They’re so sentimental and saccharine and preposterous. Love ain’t like that.”
Ecks sat up. He didn’t entirely agree with Wye’s cynical view of romantic relationships, since his sole experience with one was seeing how much his parents loved each other. But he understood that Wye had come from an entirely different experience that had negatively colored his view on the matter and perhaps always would.
“Well, if you mean that ‘love at first sight’ nonsense, I don’t agree with that, either,” he said upon reflection. “But if a film portrays the relationship as healthily developing over time . . .”
“Which most don’t,” Wye interjected.
“When they do,” Ecks insisted on continuing, “it doesn’t seem so bad.”
“Maybe not, but I still can’t look at a mushy film without finding it completely daft.”
Ecks leaned back on the couch, placing his hands behind his head. “I’ll admit they’re not my favorite thing to watch,” he said, “but sometimes I’m just a little curious as to what it would be like.”
“You’re free now. You could go find someone and try it out for yourself,” Wye said.
“First I’d rather sort out what we’re going to do with our lives,” Ecks said. “Maybe then I’ll feel more capable of approaching someone and trying to get in with them.”
“On some level that makes sense,” Wye said. “But if you’re waiting to get to a better state in life first, you might end up only attracting gold-diggers.”
Ecks made a face. “It’s not that I’m waiting to have the money to support someone,” he said. “It’s more that I want to feel like my life makes sense before I try bringing anything else into it.”
“I guess that sounds logical,” Wye said. “Only if you get it all figured out, introducing some romantic interest will probably turn it on its head again.”
Ecks reached for the TV Guide again. “And you think I’m cynical.”
“We both are, in different ways.” Wye watched him idly flip through the magazine. “So is there anything in there that appeals to you?”
Ecks shrugged. “I’m not even sure what I like. Adventure films, perhaps. Sometimes even spy films, since they’re about a world I’m used to. Mostly, however, they just feel silly when compared with the genuine article.”
Wye flipped the channel yet again. “Fear Factor?” He stared at the screen as someone was dared to eat a cricket. He had to laugh. “Oh, see what I mean, Ecks? People can just be so stupid.”
Ecks gawked at the screen. “Are you going to watch reality telly again?”
“Maybe for a little bit. It suits me better than Godzilla Goes to Mars or whatever was on the other channel.”
Shaking his head, Ecks laid back down on the couch and spread the open magazine over his face. He wasn’t really in the mood for reality television at the moment, or any television at all, particularly. But he wanted to stay on the couch and didn’t mind much if Wye watched it.
He really wasn’t expecting to fall asleep. But suddenly the magazine was being lifted off his face and his hair was flying into his eyes and Wye was peering down at him. “Hello, Duck. Now what were you doing under there?”
Ecks blinked at him, still trying to wake up. “I don’t really know,” he admitted.
“Well, I’ve had it with the telly for now,” Wye declared. “You can try it out if you want it.”
“Maybe I will,” Ecks said, rolling onto his side. “Or maybe I’ll just leave it off for now. You don’t know how much of it I watched in the hospital.”
Wye smirked. “I saw quite a bit of it myself. I suppose what I like the best, aside from black comedies, are some of the crime series. But none of that’s on right now.”
Ecks yawned. “Typical.”
He dozed again after a minute. Wye watched him, a bit in amusement, and then left him to his rest.
He was going to do a little research while Ecks slept. Some of the adverts he had seen had given him a possible job idea. Maybe, depending on what he learned, that would be the best option for him and Ecks to take.
They would discuss it when Ecks was fully awake again.