Rec: It's About Choices

[kseda.livejournal.com]

Story: It's About Choices
Author: Van Donovan
Rating: Mature
Word Count: 9,056
Author's Summary: Turlough influences some of Tegan's choices.
Warnings: graphic sex

Recced because: I keep saying that fandom needs to be fired for not producing more Tegan/Turlough fic, and this story is my Exhibit A for why the pairing works. The characterization is spot-on, from the snappy dialogue to the perfectly captured mannerisms. Tegan's observations of Turlough, his analysis of her, their reactions to each other all meld into a snarky, bittersweet piece made all the better by the inescapable conclusion. Also: hot like burning.

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Rec: Crumble Cake by Merripestin

[elliptic-eye.livejournal.com]

Story: Crumble Cake
Author: merripestin
Rating: Adult
Word Count: 1,049
Author's Summary: Ace/Benny; it's time they learned to share. [NA continuity somewhere between Deceit and TLHH]
Characters/Pairings: Benny/Ace, Seven
Warnings: graphic sex

Recced because: It's not always pleasant, but it is always visceral.

I admit I'm missing huge chunks of NA lore, most of my exposure to these two coming from audio for Benny and TV/audio for Ace, but stick these two in a trench, as Merripestin's done—especially if it's the umpteenth trench—and, oh, yes, this is an extrapolation I can see.

There's sex, and at 1,049 words, you wouldn't think there'd be room for much more, but the author makes this micro war into a quick, skewering little character study and ensures we're never bored. "Crumble Cake" runs on all the tensions cropping up between companions learning about the unglamorous side of travel: constant danger, constant inconstancy, and all in constant proximity to the inscrutable, inhuman figure of the Doctor. Call it a candid capture.

( Excerpt )