Calufrax

Story: The Worst Doctor Who Story Ever
Author: Astrid
Rating: all ages
Word Count: 608
Author's Summary: For April Fools Day, I present something I wrote last year as a parody of all the bad Doctor Who fics (well, bad fics in general). I'm very sorry about this, I really am.
Characters/Pairings: Eighth Doctor, The Master, Adric, Ace, Peri, Mel, Romana II, Sarah Jane (and more)
Warnings: none

Recced because: I laughed non-stop at this absurd yet accurate send up of badfic. We've all seen them- probably lurking in the dark corners of fanfiction.net: fics written as one endless paragraph, riddled with misspelled words, oblivious to punctuation or grammar. They usually feature a Mary Sue and some character bashing for good measure. This one ticks all those boxes perfectly, and I couldn't stop giggling as it hit every cliched trope in Doctor Who fandom over the head with a mallet. This fic is short, so the (intentionally) terrible formatting shouldn't be an obstacle to enjoying this hilarious parody. (And honestly the misspellings just make it funnier- I nearly lost it at 'Parry' and 'Ramona' LOL)

Hi, I'm newmoonstar (Meadowlark on Teaspoon) and I'm finally squeaking in before my reccing period is over with a few great stories for you all! First up:

Story: Genius Loci (The Evidence of Things Unseen Remix)
Author: AstroGirl
Rating: all ages
Word Count: 685
Characters: Leela, Fourth Doctor, the TARDIS
Author's Summary: Leela does not believe in spirits. But she knows there is something here with them.
Warnings: none

Recced because: It's an interesting look at how Leela views the TARDIS, and how her supposedly primitive upbringing none the less gave her the ability to understand and connect with it without the Doctor having to explain it to her. A very lovely and insightful vignette.

Story: The Silent Land
Author: AJK
Rating: all ages
Word Count: 33,156
Characters/pairings: First Doctor, Barbara Wright, Ian Chesterton
Author's summary: A lost tomb, an archaeological dig, a near death experience and reality starts to slip.
Warnings: none

Recced because: This is an exciting and suspenseful adventure story that kept me completely absorbed through all five chapters. Set in the interval between Susan's departure and Vicki's arrival, it features the First Doctor, Ian, and Barbara joining an archaeological dig on Earth in the year 1999, and encountering some seemingly supernatural phenomena from Ancient Egypt. Featuring a fascinating dose of Egyptian mythology, using Classic Who's penchant for characters who are physical doubles of our regulars to good effect, and including a good deal of playful and charming banter from our TARDIS team (and a good amount of Barbara/Ian shippiness), this is an entertaining and satisfying story that I'm glad to have stumbled across.

Story: Afterward, Clear the Table
Author: Styrofoam monster
Rating: All ages
Word Count: 1795
Characters: Jo Grant, The Master (Simm)
Author's summary: AU. Jo Grant has a visitor.
Warnings: none

Recced because: This is a sad but interesting AU in which an older Jo converses with an oddly familiar visitor who shows up on her doorstep bearing grave news. The ensuing conversation alternates between measured wariness and stark candidness as old wounds and new are brought up, with the passage of time and the burden of grief poignantly leveling the playing field between them for one brief moment. A fascinating character study.

Hello all! I'm newmoonstar, (aka Meadowlark on Teaspoon), and I'm glad to be back reccing for the next two weeks! I'm going to start with a fic I recently found which has immediately become one of my faves:

Story: See Ye Not That Bonny Road
Author: Lyricwritesprose
Rating: Teen
Word Count: 12,195
Characters: Jamie McCrimmon, Eighth Doctor
Author's summary: Jamie McCrimmon is wounded, exhausted, and feels like a stranger in his own head.
Warnings: explicit violence (also spoilers for 'The War Games')

Recced because: Do you ever come across a fic that you read for the first time and immediately say to yourself 'omg, this is perfect'? This is one of those fics. I can't believe it hasn't been recced before, but I'm all too happy to do the honors!

Fresh off my first read of it, I'm still in flail mode, but I'll try to highlight it's strengths with a modicum of clarity:

First of all: Post-War Games Jamie. What happens to companions after they leave is a great subject for fic, and Jamie is a particularly interesting case, seeing as his memory is supposedly erased- but how can all the memories be truly gone after all the ways he's learned and changed? How can he forget the best friend he's ever had? In this story, he hasn't quite forgotten, and the memories come to him in snatches of ideas- and he makes sense of them in the context of his own time and culture. The references to Scottish faerie lore are perfectly fitting, and the attention the author has paid to all the little details made me, as someone who once considered getting a degree in folklore, absolutely delighted.

Second: The Eighth Doctor. The scenes between Eight and Jamie are spot on. Sensitively written, thoughtful, and a little bit heartbreaking, but in a good way. This fic does a beautiful job of highlighting the strength of the Doctor & companion bond regardless of which face he wears.

Third: Kirstie McLaren gets a featured role, in a way that makes her more than just an ancillary love interest to Jamie's story. (And hints at interesting possibilities for the future.)

Basically, this is a beautifully written, touching story, with a great mix of action/adventure and insightful character-based scenes. I could hear all the characters voices perfectly while reading it, and I'm accepting the whole thing as my new headcanon now. If you love Jamie and wish his fate had been different, reading this might be a tonic for some of those War Games blues. (Though I would advise having some tissues handy while reading it- the feels will sneak up on you!) Go forth and read: this fic is the kind of fic that ficcing is all about.