Damaged Goods by dark_aegis

The Seventh Circle by wendymr

Again, it's Ten-Jack conversations that just make too much sense to not occur somehow. Gives a little bit of comfort and hope back, and the two of them write so beautifully they're always worth reading anyway. CoE spoilers, of course.

Even the Damned by dameruth is exactly the Doctor-Jack conversation I wanted to see in the aftermath of CoE. Spoilers galore, of course. DameRuth writes one of the best Jacks I've read, and this story is no exception to her general awesomeness. Plus, it gives a really good explanation as to why the Doctor seemed to sit this apocalypse out. Go, read, love.

( Ye gods . . . spoilers all the way up to the end. )

*Sigh* Is there a support group somewhere for survivors of TW:CoE?

I'd like to thank my entire flist for keeping TW:CoE spoilers under wraps. You've all been very considerate, and when I watch the miniseries this weekend, I'll go into it unspoiled.

I'll also be avoiding Tsp. until I see it, as so many people there seem constitutionally incapable of grokking that not everybody sees every episode at exactly the same time and will post things like, "What will Jack do now that he discovered Ianto's pregnancy at the end of CoE Day Three? And will Gwen and the reincarnated Tosh continue the affair they started in the very same episode?"

ETA: Annnd I no sooner got finished with this post than someone went and posted a major spoiler outside a cut. Suppose that's what I get for having faith that everyone would understand that those outside Britain may not have seen the episodes yet. I'm checking out of LJ until I've seen the episodes now.

Downloaded TW. Unfortunately, it'll be Thursday before I can see it, at the soonest. Spoil me at extreme peril.

wiggiemomsi, your fic is here!

( The traditional brown paper bag )

You up to doing a beta/Brit-pick? I just finished wiggiemomsi's fic.

In Japan, at least. It'll also be my birthday tomorrow in the States. Celebrate me for two days in a row!

*uses completely indulgent icon*

Sears Tower installs glass balcony

How much puke does the cleaning crew have to wipe off that thing, anyway?

"Become perpetuum mobile of love rollicker enchantment"

Ponder it, folks. Ponder it.

Could someone in the know please explain to me why it is that so many of my favorite downloadable games are only available for PC?

My birthday is this Friday. In unrelated news, I love Nine/Rose and madcap Ten&Donna hijinks, and either of the above with the addition of Jack.

In completely unrelated news, I think I'll miss ol' Capslock Mays. If I were a celebrity of any standing, I think I'd be watching the sky for pianos about now.

"Pick a character that I have written, or that you know I have substantial headcanon about, and ask any five questions about him/her. Be sure to specify whether you would like responses to be OOC (responding as the writer) or IC (responding as the character)."

wiggiemomsi, I'm pleased to say your story's almost finished. lindenharp, I'll be using the momentum I built up doing Wiggie's to do yours. Can't decide if it'll be a longish one-shot or a multi-chapter, but I do have some basics sketched out.

Warn for rape and other sexual violence.

It's a very small thing to do, and survivors of sexual violence will thank you for it. No, you can't know every trigger out there, but this one? Pretty much guaranteed. It doesn't violate your rights or your artistic freedom to extend this one, small courtesy.

Also, warning for "graphic sex and violence" is not a rape warning. That's warning that somewhere in the fic, there's graphic sex; and somewhere in the fic, there's violence. They may be completely separate. They may be together, but consensual sex-and-violence. S&M, hate sex or just two people who get off on violent, aggressive sex does not equal rape. Some of my favorite stories contain both graphic sex and violence. None of my favorite stories contain rape.

The only exception I can think of is if you're talking about canonical sexual violence referenced in your fic, in which case a mere spoiler warning would probably cover it. For example, back in my BtVS days, a story about Buffy and Spike with a spoiler warning for "Seeing Red" would be a no-brainer "Hey, this story references sexual violence."

So, warn for it. It's the nice thing to do. Fandom might not always be the nicest place, but it needn't be that nasty.

Beautiful, but sad, article here:

Pixar grants dying girl's wish

Summary: A little girl who was dying of cancer desperately wanted to see Up, but with one thing and another, and her condition deteriorating, she couldn't get to the movie theater. A friend of the family, desperate to help, cold-called Pixar and told them about her. They sent an employee with a DVD copy of the movie and a bunch of movie merchandise to the little girl's house, where she and her family watched it. Seven hours later, she died.

Thing I love best? Pixar declined to comment on the matter when contacted by the press. This wasn't a publicity stunt; this was them being kind to a dying little girl and her family because it was in their power to do so. I think there's a lesson in that about why they've been so wildly successful.

Have you ever read someone's fic and thought to yourself, "I wonder what happened between those two scenes?" or even, "Nice place to end the story, but here's what I think happened afterward"? Have you, perhaps, then written the scene in your head? Since it's another person's story, though, you don't dare actually write it down.

I'm hereby giving you all carte blanche to do this with my stories. Any of them. There are two caveats only: first, that it must not violate the spirit of the story (which includes the pairing or pairings); and second, that you post it here or at your personal journal rather than in a public comm at least until I've seen it.

wiggiemomsi, your story will be done before the end of the month. Alt!Nine has just asked Rose to come with him on an adventure. Now to ramp up the UST.

From Not Always Right:

Caller: “I need a provider who can speak Spanish.”

Coworker: “Okay, we can find one for you.”

Caller: “Really? What if I wanted a provider who spoke Japanese?”

Coworker: “No problem, we have those.”

Caller: “Really? You have providers who speak Japanese?”

Coworker: “Yes.”

Caller: “But Japanese don’t exist!”

For people who don't exist, there certainly are a lot of them.

I just made what I will now dub "Southwestern Three-Bean Barley Salad." It's pretty good. What went into it:

1 1/2 cups barley
red, yellow and orange bell pepper, diced (each 1/3 of a whole pepper)
1 cup corn
1 tablespoon (or thereabouts) finely-chopped white onion (I'd like to try red next time)
kidney beans, pinto beans, garbanzo beans (I'd recommend swapping out the garbanzos for black beans, but I'm in Japan and can't be picky about these things)
1 clove garlic, sliced
a good deal of olive oil
lime juice, black pepper, chili powder and cumin

Cook barley. Let cool. Stir in olive oil, onion and garlic slices while the barley is cooling. Once it's cooled, remove the garlic unless you like surprising surprises in your salad. Stir in corn, peppers and beans (rinse them if they're canned). Season to taste.

Delicious, filling and vegan. The rest is in the fridge and will serve as dinner for the next few nights. Might add more beans, though; the pack I got was pretty small.

Pure awesomeness, this is: Lunch and Other Obscenities by rheanna27. It's ST Reboot fic that takes place before the movie, when one Cadet Uhura was trying to settle into life at the Academy. Which would've been easier if she hadn't had a sex-crazed exhibitionist with a food phobia for a roommate. Excellent Uhura (and Spock), and terrific world-building for Orion culture, which Rheanna picks up and runs with. It's absolutely hilarious and incredibly well-written. But then, Rheanna's one of those writers who's incapable of churning out crap.