Rec: The Red Maw and the Blue Box

[yamx]

Hi, I'm yamx, and I'll be your reccer this week.

Story: The Red Maw and the Blue Box
Author: RobinC
Rating: Teen
Word Count: 1989
Author's Summary: Shall I tell you a tale? Once a monster from another world came to our planet.
Characters/Pairings: Tenth Doctor
Warnings: None

Recced because: I love stories that present an outsider view of the Doctor, and I love stories that deal with the Doctor-as-legend, and I love stories that take a closer look at the Time Lord Victorious, and this story does all three. It's a bedtime story told by an unknown narrator, about the time the Doctor saved their planet. It was spawned by the off-hand comment the Doctor makes at the beginning of End of Time about "saving a planet from the red carnivorous Maw." It does a great job of bringing the Doctor's Otherness into focus, and shines a light on the messes he likes to leave for others to deal with after he's done with the heroic bit.

It's a very different view on the Doctor from what you find in most fics, and it's worth reading for that alone. But it's the beautiful prose and strong narrative voice that make it really memorable.

Rec: The Way We Get By

[yamx]

Story: The Way We Get By
Author: Poetry
Rating: All Ages
Word Count: 4526
Author's Summary: Somehow, even when they're stranded far from home, they find a way to get by.
Characters/Pairings: Ninth Doctor, Jack Harkness, Rose Tyler, The TARDIS
Warnings: None

Recced because: This is an incredibly compelling story about Nine, Rose and Jack being stranded on an alien planet. That in itself would be pretty standard fare, but what makes this story stand out is the incredible dense world building, the tangible bleakness of the Doctor's helplessness juxtaposed with the steely determination of his companions, and the deep, deep undercurrent of mutual care running through it all. Also, I love fics that handle the TARDIS as a character.