*headdesk* Did anyone else ever have to post their fic masterlist in three parts? It's embarrassing...

Part 1: Ninth Doctor era fics
Part 2: Tenth Doctor era fics
Part 3: Multi-era fics, other character fics and drabbles
 

Surprise surprise, this thing is too big for one post  :P

( Fanfic Masterlist Part 1: Ninth DoctorCollapse )

Since this series is a bit complicated and reading chronologically is not the best way to understand what's going on, here's the recommended reading order, under the cut.


( Through A Glass Darkly-VerseCollapse )


This post will be added to as the series develops.

(And, yes, there were comments to this post, but  I accidentally managed to delete the original post while editing  *sigh*)

So here I am, back in Ireland for the first time in thirteen years... and there's a hurricane.

Well, strictly speaking a tropical storm by the time she made landfall in the West of Ireland, but this is Ireland: why should the literal truth get in the way of an event such as a hurricane? So Hurricane Ophelia she is, and it's been a bloody windy day. Sadly, three people died during the storm, mainly due to fallen trees. We spent much of the afternoon in the hotel lounge looking out at the wind bending trees horizontal, though did go for a walk along by Sandymount Strand later in the afternoon - breezy but not dangerous.

They take their storms seriously over here. All public transport had shut down by early afternoon in Dublin (earlier further west); shops and businesses either didn't open at all or closed by around 11; all schools were closed and people were advised to stay indoors. But this being Ireland, the pubs stayed open. The #ophelia hashtag on Twitter was full of publicans inviting people to come and take shelter, and weren't even requring the purchase of a drink with which to drink Ophelia's health. As for other ways of marking Ophelia's presence, I saw a parish priest warn that if parishioners happened to have a baby to baptise nine months from now, they better not want her christened Ophelia or they could find another church.

All the same, Ophelia, we've had enough of you; you can feck off across to England now. Bye!

It almost looks as if John Oliver has been reading your blogs, kaffy_r! Depressingly accurate, and worth watching:

"See how easily I pack? No more boarding for me when The Management goes away!"

Last night's vote - and the state of the current US presidential election campaign, particularly the high numbers of disaffected voters rejecting what they see as 'the establishment' - should send shivers down the spines of political elites everywhere. It was never just about independence from the EU. It's about disaffection, economic haves and have nots, structural unemployment, racism to the point of xenophobia, and polarised notions of national identity. It's neither a left-wing nor a right-wing problem - the disaffection and anger is across the political spectrum. And unravelling all of that to bring a nation together may be an impossible task.

Interesting piece in the Guardian: Brexit earthquake has happened, and the rubble will take years to clear.

Over the long weekend, I had the opportunity to watch Andrew Davies's excelllent dramatisation for the BBC of Anthony Trollope's The Way We Live Now - a clever, satirical expose of late 19th century English society. I was struck most by the character of Mr Melmotte: a businessman and financier, known for large infrastructure projects and other investments, with a supposed Midas touch. Oh, and unpredictable temper-tantrums and wild, shaggy hair, and a desire to get into politics, which led to him being elected. People flocked to invest in his schemes, believing that they would get rich quickly. They ignored the rumours of abandoned projects, suspect schemes and a trail of bankrupt investors left in his wake; the impressive prospectuses with no actual work being done; the projects that carried the Melmotte name and nothing else.

Nah, that didn't remind me of anyone; of course not!


And in other news, this confession from a former Trump senior staffer is fascinating:

Even Trump's most trusted advisors didn't expect him to fare this well.

Almost a year ago, recruited for my public relations and public policy expertise, I sat in Trump Tower being told that the goal was to get The Donald to poll in double digits and come in second in delegate count. That was it.

The Trump camp would have been satisfied to see him polling at 12% and taking second place to a candidate who might hold 50%. His candidacy was a protest candidacy.
...
I'll say it again: Trump never intended to be the candidate. But his pride is too out of control to stop him now.


Augustus Melmotte's empire finally collapsed around him when the Emperor was exposed as having no clothes: his latest huge development was revealed to be a fraud, the share price collapsed, and the entire house of cards upon which he had built his empire fell to the ground.

Wouldn't it be nice if life could imitate art a little more closely!

If Dubya was the Shrub, is Jeb the Potted Plant?

Lewis fans will be familiar with Noo-Noo, the missing 'giraffe-y thing' that leads James to the murderer in Fearful Symmetry. And apparently 'giraffe-y things', or more precisely, the Existential Giraffe, is now a thing among some Lewis fans. I now have an Existential Giraffe, courtesy of the lovely and generous owlbsurfinbird.

Here is my Giraffe-y Thing meeting the other soft and cuddly occupants of the household:

Stephen Moffat is stepping down.

Stephen Moffat is stepping down!

Not until 2018, admittedly; there will be no Doctor Who in 2016 other than a Christmas special, and Moffat's last series will be in 2017. And then Chris Chibnall takes over. I'm on the fence about Chibnell; I didn't care for what he did with Torchwood, and I haven't been completely thrilled with his DW episodes, but I have very much enjoyed Broadchurch.

But! Moffat is stepping down! I may be able to start enjoying Doctor Who again - especially as I already like Capaldi. Not that we know whether Capaldi will stay beyond Moffat, of course. But I am very much looking forward to a post-Moffat era!

A few initial reactions; spoilers below, obviously!

( They like their one-word titles, don't they?Collapse )

I saw the first episode of Endeavour series 3 yesterday and enjoyed it very much. No spoilers for the plot or what happens to the main characters. The spoilers below are related to one minor reference near the end and one administrative detail at the start.

( Spoilers below - you have been warned!Collapse )

Anyone else seen the episode? What did you think?

All kinds of spoilers likely to be present in any comments - reader beware.

And so we're rapidly approaching 2016, just as I've finally managed to get used to writing the date as 2015. Where has the year gone!

And now, stolen from complexlight, the 2015 writing summary/analysis...

( Words, in briefCollapse )

If you've read to the end of this extremely verbose post, I wish everyone who reads this LJ a happy, peaceful, helpful and personally satisfying 2016.

And if you haven't done this meme for yourself, please do so!

So, the lewis_challenge Secret Santa has started posting - yay!

I am participating, which will probably not be a surprise. And so here is my annual offer: a short fic for the first person who correctly identifies my story during the challenge. Of course, I won't comment on guesses until after reveal, and all comments will be screened.

Happy Secret Santa!

It's late and I'm off to bed as soon as Justin Trudeau speaks.

But here in Canada the country has spoken and the message is very, very clear:

STEPHEN HARPER, YOUR TIME IS UP!

And here's to Canada's new prime minister. They said it couldn't be done - and WE DID IT!

Congratulations, Canada!