Meme: 1st & Last x5

By way of chestnut_pod:

Go through your five most recent fics & post the first and last lines. Do not provide context.

[A note: I'm defining "most recent" for values of "most recently written" as opposed to "most recently posted", because a couple of the five in the latter category are very old commentfic.]

So, herewith the results from my latest five works, listed from earliest posted to most recent:

Studies in (Relatively) Contemporary Egyptology

1st: Dr. Jackson: I’ve got an ancient (Earth) history class coming up in school this fall, and they want us to do a major research project as part of it.

last: Let’s hope it stays there.

The Mice and the Mastermind

1st: This account is a difficult one to write.

last: I cannot but blush at his words – but I have found it best, in the end, not to disagree.

Under the Hill and Far Away

1st: “’Tis a special occasion,” said the spare, silver-haired gentleman as he stepped up to the bar in a particular pub off Cavendish Square.

last: “Indeed,” said Russell, smiling, “on both counts. So, how soon are we invited for dinner?”

New Plan

1st: “Dr. Bunsen Honeydew, Mup- er, Q-36 Scientific, where the future is being made today. How can I help you?”

last: He tapped the Send button on his mobile phone, then picked up the suite’s desk phone, tapped a button, and said, “Room service? I’d like to place an order for 3200….”

As Lucky Can Be

1st: Emma MacGill stood ready, outwardly calm and collected, awaiting her cue.

last: “Oh, that’s a spare. Hold onto it as a souvenir; you never know when it might come in handy.”

Meme: 15 Characters (Winter Procrastination Edition)

And because I need a distraction from the two fic exchange assignments I'm working on at the moment, let's do this again:

Rules:
I've made a list of fifteen (15) characters from a variety of fandoms. Your job is to ask questions about various combinations of these characters (examples: What secret past do #8 and #14 share? What if #2, #6, and #9 went on a road trip? If #5 and #10 were having dinner, who invited who?), which I'll do my best to answer.

Once we've accumulated sufficient questions, I'll compile the results and make a new post or posts incorporating all the Qs and As. (Many ages ago by 'Net time, the answers were given in comments to the questions in the original post, but that was long ago and far away, and nowadays the new post means that everyone sees all the answers at once, and no one besides me has to backtrail through a reading-page to find the original meme.)

Notes:
Different practitioners of this meme make different sorts of lists. My approach tends to involve recruiting from as many different sources as I can possibly manage. Thus, queries are extremely likely to produce Improbable Crossover Theater for various - and sometimes really weird - values of "improbable". Management will do its best to respond to all queries posed, but reserves the right to designate some results Just Too Bizarre To Contemplate.

[Also: why, yes, if anyone else is inclined to start one of these going, I will happily wade in....]