rec: reflections
May. 8th, 2008 10:44 am![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
elyssadc.livejournal.com posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
calufraxHere's my second long-story rec.
Story: Reflections
Author:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
vandonovan
Rating: Adult
Word Count: 90,812
Author's Summary: Charged with saving the universe, can the Doctor overcome his own darkness to defeat the Daleks?
Characters/Pairings: Second Doctor/Jamie, Victoria
Warnings: Dark AU
Recced because: I should probably start by explaining what this story is really about. Perhaps best summarized by one of it's reviewers, it's a story about a ""Dalek-blighted universe created by a Doctor corrupted by his own heart." This piece is an AU based off of the serial The Evil of the Daleks, which I think is one of the best stories in all of classic Who. Sadly, most of the episodes were burned in the BBC purge of misery and woe, but the storyline is worth suffering through reconstructions for. However, if you absolutely refuse to watch this serial, or simply can't for whatever reason, this recap provides all the information you would need to make sense of Reflections. And Van's story is definitely worth the effort.
Although it's pretty darn long by Who-fic standards, I think this one is absolutely worth the time commitment. Not only is it a brilliant Two/Jamie story, but the plot is completely engaging and seriously intense. Van has an excellent grasp of the characters, particularly the Second Doctor (he also does a great Victoria), and the result is that you really understand the motivations of his AU-self. You can believe that this dark version is someone the Second Doctor could have become. (And did I mention the sex is hot as hell?) But most of all, I love this story because it's just so damn angsty. The first time I read it I was hooked from chapter one through the very last line and yes, I cried.
“You don’t understand,” the Doctor retorted. “I helped the Daleks! Jamie and I . . . we isolated the Human Factor and the Emperor reverse engineered our procedure to extract the Dalek Factor. With . . . with Jamie dead, there’s no way to–”
“We’re well aware of the situation, Doctor,” Menos said abruptly.
Fretting, the Doctor rubbed his hands together. His memories had completely sorted themselves out now, yes, and he remembered where he had been before the Time Lords had timescooped him here. He’d been in the TARDIS, serving the Daleks, helping them spread the Dalek Factor throughout the known galaxies, race by race by race.
And Jamie, oh, his young, noble Jamie–he was long dead. “I don’t think you are as well aware as you think you are,” the Doctor said darkly. This was the first moment he had spent away from the Daleks in so very long. To find this cold greeting was his only reprieve was hardly any better. “There’s nothing I can do to stop them. Maybe once, but not anymore. Their arm is too long. They are too powerful.”
“You alone, no,” Menos agreed. “But there is someone who could aid you.”
“I’m not even sure if an army could aid me,” the Doctor spat. “Lock me away if you’d like. I’ll not go back there. Not back to them.” He ran a hand over his face, found it coarse with thick hair. His personal hygiene had been neglected greatly during his allegiance to the Daleks. However little sleep he had needed, the Daleks had needed far less. He was beyond weary now and he felt beaten. Having failed as miserably as he had and having helped the Daleks kill and enslave so many countless billions already . . . he didn’t deserve the chance to try to redeem himself.
Story: Reflections
Author:
vandonovanRating: Adult
Word Count: 90,812
Author's Summary: Charged with saving the universe, can the Doctor overcome his own darkness to defeat the Daleks?
Characters/Pairings: Second Doctor/Jamie, Victoria
Warnings: Dark AU
Recced because: I should probably start by explaining what this story is really about. Perhaps best summarized by one of it's reviewers, it's a story about a ""Dalek-blighted universe created by a Doctor corrupted by his own heart." This piece is an AU based off of the serial The Evil of the Daleks, which I think is one of the best stories in all of classic Who. Sadly, most of the episodes were burned in the BBC purge of misery and woe, but the storyline is worth suffering through reconstructions for. However, if you absolutely refuse to watch this serial, or simply can't for whatever reason, this recap provides all the information you would need to make sense of Reflections. And Van's story is definitely worth the effort.
Although it's pretty darn long by Who-fic standards, I think this one is absolutely worth the time commitment. Not only is it a brilliant Two/Jamie story, but the plot is completely engaging and seriously intense. Van has an excellent grasp of the characters, particularly the Second Doctor (he also does a great Victoria), and the result is that you really understand the motivations of his AU-self. You can believe that this dark version is someone the Second Doctor could have become. (And did I mention the sex is hot as hell?) But most of all, I love this story because it's just so damn angsty. The first time I read it I was hooked from chapter one through the very last line and yes, I cried.
“You don’t understand,” the Doctor retorted. “I helped the Daleks! Jamie and I . . . we isolated the Human Factor and the Emperor reverse engineered our procedure to extract the Dalek Factor. With . . . with Jamie dead, there’s no way to–”
“We’re well aware of the situation, Doctor,” Menos said abruptly.
Fretting, the Doctor rubbed his hands together. His memories had completely sorted themselves out now, yes, and he remembered where he had been before the Time Lords had timescooped him here. He’d been in the TARDIS, serving the Daleks, helping them spread the Dalek Factor throughout the known galaxies, race by race by race.
And Jamie, oh, his young, noble Jamie–he was long dead. “I don’t think you are as well aware as you think you are,” the Doctor said darkly. This was the first moment he had spent away from the Daleks in so very long. To find this cold greeting was his only reprieve was hardly any better. “There’s nothing I can do to stop them. Maybe once, but not anymore. Their arm is too long. They are too powerful.”
“You alone, no,” Menos agreed. “But there is someone who could aid you.”
“I’m not even sure if an army could aid me,” the Doctor spat. “Lock me away if you’d like. I’ll not go back there. Not back to them.” He ran a hand over his face, found it coarse with thick hair. His personal hygiene had been neglected greatly during his allegiance to the Daleks. However little sleep he had needed, the Daleks had needed far less. He was beyond weary now and he felt beaten. Having failed as miserably as he had and having helped the Daleks kill and enslave so many countless billions already . . . he didn’t deserve the chance to try to redeem himself.
