rec: ozymandias in hell
Jul. 8th, 2008 11:15 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
eponymous-rose.livejournal.com posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
calufraxStory: Ozymandias in Hell
Author: ponygirl
Rating: None given (Teen seems a safe bet)
Author's Summary: Written for the "Old Clichés Made New" fic challenge on Livejournal. Martha learns about a side of the Doctor she hasn't seen before. Well, make that nine sides, actually.
Characters/Pairings: Martha Jones, First Doctor, Second Doctor, Third Doctor, Fourth Doctor, Fifth Doctor, Sixth Doctor, Seventh Doctor, Eighth Doctor, Ninth Doctor, Tenth Doctor
Warnings: None
Word Count: 7,881
Recced because: Ponygirl has an amazing gift for storytelling, and the tense but careful pacing of a longer story showcases this brilliantly. Her characterisation of each of the Doctors is flawless, but it's her interpretation of Martha that steals the show - even the most contradictory facets of her character come together for her terrifying and wonderful exploration of the Doctor's mind, of the Time War, and of everything that came after. While this may seem like a been-there-done-that scenario, the author admirably accomplishes the "Made New" part of the challenge, and the fic as a whole feels beautifully mysterious and different and unknown, and, more than that, it feels real and true to each character.
"What is it... what's wrong? Doctor?"
"'Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair...'" the man said softly, his words directed more to the ruins around them than to his companion.
She frowned. "Quoting Shelley at me doesn't really tell me anything useful... Doctor? Where are we? Doctor!"
As if from a great distance, the man's eyes focused on her, dark and hollow, and she gave a barely perceptible flinch.
"Oh, Martha Jones," he began, and his tones carried some of the same defeated hopelessness as the wind, "this is my own very personal hell. This is Arcadia."
Author: ponygirl
Rating: None given (Teen seems a safe bet)
Author's Summary: Written for the "Old Clichés Made New" fic challenge on Livejournal. Martha learns about a side of the Doctor she hasn't seen before. Well, make that nine sides, actually.
Characters/Pairings: Martha Jones, First Doctor, Second Doctor, Third Doctor, Fourth Doctor, Fifth Doctor, Sixth Doctor, Seventh Doctor, Eighth Doctor, Ninth Doctor, Tenth Doctor
Warnings: None
Word Count: 7,881
Recced because: Ponygirl has an amazing gift for storytelling, and the tense but careful pacing of a longer story showcases this brilliantly. Her characterisation of each of the Doctors is flawless, but it's her interpretation of Martha that steals the show - even the most contradictory facets of her character come together for her terrifying and wonderful exploration of the Doctor's mind, of the Time War, and of everything that came after. While this may seem like a been-there-done-that scenario, the author admirably accomplishes the "Made New" part of the challenge, and the fic as a whole feels beautifully mysterious and different and unknown, and, more than that, it feels real and true to each character.
"What is it... what's wrong? Doctor?"
"'Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair...'" the man said softly, his words directed more to the ruins around them than to his companion.
She frowned. "Quoting Shelley at me doesn't really tell me anything useful... Doctor? Where are we? Doctor!"
As if from a great distance, the man's eyes focused on her, dark and hollow, and she gave a barely perceptible flinch.
"Oh, Martha Jones," he began, and his tones carried some of the same defeated hopelessness as the wind, "this is my own very personal hell. This is Arcadia."
