Rec: Illyria

[dark-aegis.livejournal.com]

Series: Illyria
Author: TARDIS_stowaway
Rating: All Ages
Author's summary: Three years after Doomsday, Rose finds her new universe's version of the Ninth Doctor. Rose may be running for her life, but she's not the one most in need of rescue. Also, the TARDIS looks like a ticket booth. The title of the series comes from Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. In the play, a tragic shipwreck leaves Viola stranded in a foreign land, much as Rose is stranded in another universe. Much mistaken identity and unspoken love ensue. Although this series contains significantly less cross-dressing than the play, I thought the tone of mixed angst and humor fit just right. "What country, friends, is this?" "This is Illyria, lady." "And what should I do in Illyria?" Run.
Characters/Pairings: Ninth Doctor, Rose
Warnings: none

Recced because: This is an original take on the "Rose is stuck in an AU and comes across an alternate version of the Doctor". I love TARDIS_stowaway's version of the Ninth Doctor who travels around in a ticket booth. He's crotchety, he's classic oncoming storm, and most of all, he remains quintessentially Nine even though he's not really the Nine we know and love. I also adore Rose in this series. This a stronger older Rose, a Rose that I wish we'd met during her run on DW. Fantastic plotting, exciting storylines, and humour all characterise this series. I highly recommend it to anyone who loves AUs and who loves the Ninth Doctor.

Rec: British Summer Time

[livii.livejournal.com]

Story: British Summer Time
Author: nostalgia
Rating: All Ages
Author's summary: They were at the beach, and they were going to have fun even if killed him.
Characters/Pairings: Jamie McCrimmon, Zoe Heriot, the Second Doctor
Warnings: none

Recced because: It's hard not to just gush about how cute this one is, but despite being cuter than anything, there's a lot more to it as well. Two, Jamie, and Zoe visit the beach, and each is drawn absolutely perfectly, with a knowing, tongue-in-cheek meta side that adds to the hilarity. The relationship is so wonderful – they're my nonsexual OT3 – the dialogue is spot-on, and throughout the Doctor frets about the Time Lords, the end of his adventure in that body coming soon, and there's a bittersweet tinge to the whole affair; the last line about broke my heart but I still had a huge smile on my face. This is a gem.

Rec: Problem Child

[ghost2.livejournal.com]

Story: Problem Child
Author: dblauvelt
Rating: All Ages
Author's summary: Returning Jamie and Zoe to their own time lines is harder than it first seems...
Characters/Pairings: Zoe
Warnings: none

Recced because: It's about the awesomeness of Zoe. At the end of the Second Doctor era, she was supposed to have her memory wiped and be returned to her own timeline. Well, things don't quite work out the way the Time Lords wanted. Zoe keeps noticing little things about herself that aren't quite right, like the length of her fingernails and the new filling in her tooth. She soon figures out that she's lost two years of her life, and then the fun really begins. Even without knowing all the rules of the "game," she manages to outsmart the Time Lords. Seeing that it's clever, resourceful Zoe, I believed she could do it.

Rec: The Winter of Her Discontent

[dark-aegis.livejournal.com]

Story: The Winter of Her Discontent
Author: LilacFree
Rating: All Ages (though I'd personally call it Teen)
Author's summary: AU after 'The Five Doctors'. The Doctor is going home to be President, and he's bringing his primitive little friends Tegan and Turlough with him. Will Gallifrey survive? Contains non-explicit adult situations.
Characters/Pairings: Fifth Doctor, Tegan Jovanka, Turlough, Leela (Pairing: Five/Tegan)
Warnings: none

Recced because: I absolutely adore stories that explore Gallifrey. This story takes the Gallifrey you hear about in the novels and on the series and turns it on its ear, giving it a depth that makes it so incredibly real. I love all the nuances that make it so alien from any culture that we would consider normal. I also absolutely adore LilacFree's Tegan. I love how she manoeuvres through the political intrigue on Gallifrey and I love how it enhances the relationship between Five and Tegan. Gorgeous prose, clever storyline, and a story that I adore reading again and again. I highly recommend this story to anyone who loves Gallifrey and who loves Five/Tegan.