[identity profile] primsong.livejournal.com

Story:  The Ten Doctors
Author: JJPOR
Rating: Teen
Word Count: 25,568
Author’s Summary: It was history’s greatest and most famous party.
Characters/Pairings: The first ten Doctors and Romana plus a wide assortment of companions, a couple of classic Masters and the Brigadier, toss well.
Warnings: None
Recced because: I nearly passed it over this time merely because JJPOR is a very popular author who had another well-deserved recommendation just last week (don’t miss that one either!), but decided we’d just let this be his month for a bounty of riches, goodness knows he’s given all of us enough reading enjoyment to deserve it. 

This piece was written as a tribute for the 45th anniversary of the show and it quite appropriately is the sort of multi-Doctor fic that brings the reader back again and again for another round.  I expect nearly every writer has to give the “what would happen if all of the Doctors were together at once” scenario a try, but some are definitely better than others; this is one of the good ones and you won’t regret it for a moment. 

In essence, Ten has decided that a doomed planet famous for having partied hard right up until the moment their sun went supernova would be the perfect setting for a gathering of his selves and as the guests arrive each and every one is so perfectly portrayed it is a complete delight.  Poor Susan making the best of a doting crowd of Grandfathers, Romana’s opinions regarding the appetizers and Six’s opinions regarding her plus the consequences of expressing those thoughts aloud are only a sprinkle of the stellar moments here, a fabulous panorama lightly sauced with punch.  As no doubt suspected, there are humorous moments but also a few snatches of adventurousness and even some serious and empathetic twists for the heart.

For the uninitiated to his works, JJPOR is a find indeed; a top-notch competent, imaginative and high quality writer whose stories never disappoint.  I highly recommend without reservation not only this particular bit of mildly cracky fancy, but any of his stories across the spectrum.  Enjoy the ride.

[identity profile] primsong.livejournal.com

Story:Bad Judgment
Author: Van Donovan
Rating: All Ages
Word Count: 3,055
Author’s Summary: Poor judgment leads to tragedy.
Characters/Pairings
: The Second Doctor, Jamie, Zoe, the Cybermen.
Warnings: Angst, Character death

Recced because: There are so many times when one slip of fate, one twist of luck or mistake in timing would have meant overwhelmingly terrible disasters for so many of those dear to the Doctor. The author here introduces us to one such a time and hauntingly takes us through to the tragic end.

Van Donovan has had several stories recommended, something which is no surprise in light of the intensity and crafting of this sampling here. The Second Doctor has, as usual, failed to properly communicate what he is up to with his companions and the results are literally fatal. My heart was wrung for Jamie, for Zoe and for the Doctor; it is a tragedy indeed but none of it is written gratuitously, and it is not graphic in its descriptions; the tale is skillfully and precisely measured out. This is a dark but excellent read that you will remember.

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thisbluespirit: (Default)
[personal profile] thisbluespirit
Hail & well met; I'm [livejournal.com profile] lost_spook , known as vvj5 on Teaspoon and I'll be your reccer for this week. I'm very fond of all the Doctors, so there should be a fair spread of eras across the week.

Story: Jamie’s Angels in: Univited
Author: johne
Rating: All ages
Word Count: 4811
Author's Summary: Everyone else is at the Christmas lunch. Donna's in the office on her own — at least, until a rather dubious plumber shows up.
Characters/Pairings: Donna Noble, Second Doctor, Jamie McCrimmon, Victoria Waterfield, Zoe Heriot, Gia Kelly, Isobel Watkins
Warnings: None.

Recced because: If I sneak it in right now, under cover of snow, no one will notice it’s technically a Christmas story?

Donna is left alone to mind the office and encounters the Second Doctor and Jamie in the guise of plumbers; what’s more there seem to be a lot of other strangers about, up to no good. This is a great comic fic to start off the week with a smile. Johne’s idea of the mythical ‘Season 6B’ is certainly much more fun than any others I’ve seen. The Sixties characters cause trouble and Donna stands no nonsense and sets the world to rights, as ever. If you’ve got the January blues, this fic is just the ticket to cheer you up.
nonelvis: (DW blue TARDIS)
[personal profile] nonelvis
Story: How Very 1920s
Author: Paranoid Seat/[livejournal.com profile] purple_bug
Rating: All Ages
Word Count: 3,138
Author's Summary: The Doctor dances with an old friend, while Charley dances with a new one.
Characters/Pairings: Two/Jamie, Eight/Jamie, Charley/Zoe
Warnings: None

Recced because: This is a delightfully sweet little story in which Eight, Charley, Two, Jamie, and Zoe all end up at a formal dance, and Zoe decides to play matchmaker for Two and Jamie as well as herself. It's a simple and well-trod premise, perfectly executed here with sparkling dialogue and those little touches that make each character seem fully realized. Be sure to follow the link at the end to the recently posted (and more adult) epilogue, which includes Eight/Charley/Zoe and is every bit as wonderful.
[identity profile] ionlylurkhere.livejournal.com
Femslash recs this week!

Story: Isobel's Zoe
Author: Amy Wolf
Rating: Adult
Word count: 1200
Author's summary: What can go on between two women, besides photography.
Characters/Pairings: Zoe/Isobel Watkins (from The Invasion)
Warnings: Explicit Sex

Recced because: This fic does everything right. Both women are very well characterised, with a clear contrast being drawn between Zoe's openminded 21st century perspective (as broadened further my travelling with the Doctor) and Isobel's dealing with attitudes to homosexuality that she's absorbed from the culture of her time. It's that bit of characterisation that's my very favourite thing about it: I don't think I've seen a better handling of the issue in fanfic before or since: most of the time, it's handwaved away and when it's not it tends to be either superficial or clunky. The sex is both integral to the plot and very hot, even while walking that tightrope. And on top of all that, it slots perfectly into its moment in canon.
ext_23741: (dw - tardis)
[identity profile] carawj.livejournal.com
Story: Being Educational
Author: Amy Wolf
Rating: Teen
Word Count: 338
Author's Summary: Aliens demand that the Doctor, Jamie, and Zoe all share a bed. Zoe uses the chance to learn a few things.
Characters/Pairings: Jamie McCrimmon/The Doctor (2nd)/Zoe Herriot
Warnings: None.

Recced because: It's sweet and very, very funny - I giggled all the way through it. It's wonderfully in-character, and really captures the OT3 element perfectly. Worth reading even if you're not familiar with this era, because it'll actually give you a great idea of the joy that is Two, Zoe and Jamie.
[identity profile] livii.livejournal.com
Story: The Girl From Someone Else's Future
Author: Nostalgia
Rating: Teen
Author's summary: "You've got lovely skin," he tells her. "The hands of a mathematician."
Characters/Pairings: Ten/Zoe
Warnings: implied sex
Word Count: ~ 800

Recced because: This is absolutely heartbreaking, yet gorgeous and compelling (especially in the wake of Journey's End, though this was written long before). Ten visits Zoe, (mostly) all grown up, living her organized life in her linear, efficient world, and remembering nothing (except, maybe, dreams of things that never were). Both characters' voices are dead on, from a Doctor who knows he shouldn’t do this and yet can’t stop himself from leaving a mark, to a Zoe who admits to possibilities but hasn’t had the experience to let her free herself from her background and upbringing. This is beautiful and cold, and the last two lines are devastating.
[identity profile] in-the-end.livejournal.com
Story: She'll Be Superb
Author: livii
Rating: All ages
Word count: 1673
Author's summary: Romana's improved upon the Doctor's technique by quite a bit.
Characters/pairings: Romana II/Tegan, Romana II/Rose, Romana II/Ace, Romana II/Jo, Romana II/Zoe, 9th Doctor, Romana I
Warnings: None

Recced because: It's a story about a Time Lord travelling the universe in their TARDIS picking up human women. Sounds familiar, doesn't it? Only it's not the Doctor it's Romana. Livii's Romana is fun, very Time Lord-y (yes, that's a word) and just great to read. Plus we see little snippets of what life is like travelling with some of the Doctor's other wonderful companions, not forgetting herself. Multi-era stories are my absolute favourite, and this is a great example of why I love them.
[identity profile] dameruth.livejournal.com
Story: "Homesick"
Author: Howlcastle
Rating: All ages.
Word Count: 2515
Author’s summary: "Jamie is grumpy and the Doctor thinks the only way to improve his mood is a quick trip back home."
Characters/Pairings: Jamie, Two, Zoe
Warnings: None

Recommended because: Jamie, Two and Zoe are one of the great TARDIS teams (IMNSHO), and Jamie has always been a favorite Companion. Thrown constantly into situations well outside his native frame of reference, he always kept his basic core of common sense and honest loyalty. This story is an affectionate, respectful and believable character piece focusing on Jamie's thoughts about his home, his past, and where he belongs.
ext_3965: (Martha Jones Commando)
[identity profile] persiflage-1.livejournal.com
Marvellous Martha Jones

I'm recommending Martha Jones-centric fics all this week but they're not all Martha/Ten.

I posted this recommendation yesterday but it seems to have disappeared, so I'm making two recommendations today to make up for it.

Story: The Wake
Author: Biichan
Author Summary: Martha visits The Wheel in the aftermath of the Cybermen.
Characters: Martha Jones, Zoe Herriot
Rating: All Ages
Word count: 940

Recced because: This is a sweet and gentle tale with a vein of humour in which Martha continues to be her usual compassionate self, despite a long lifetime of dealing with aliens:
Martha slept fitfully on the rocket ship. Space travel was not a new sensation to her–she'd been to her first alien planet while still at university and to many more since then–but it had been a much more advanced ship that had first ferried her across the void of stars. Not a human ship–which were still crude and ungainly things more than a century after the Apollo Project–but an alien vessel: a living ship that traveled through time and space at the flick of a switch and the turn of a dial.

Earth's rocket ships, she was given to understand, tended to get where they were going more often.
ext_3965: (Martha Commando No Weapons Just Words)
[identity profile] persiflage-1.livejournal.com
Marvellous Martha Jones

I'm recommending Martha Jones-centric fics all this week but they're not all Martha/Ten.

Story: On the Road
Author: Glinda
Author summary: Professor Docherty isn't the only person Martha owes flowers. She didn't always walk the earth alone.
Characters: Second Doctor, Tenth Doctor, Martha Jones, Zoe Herriot
Rating: Adult
Warnings: Femslash
Word count: 6049

This is a very strong Year That Never Was story that features an older Zoe helping Martha: she discovers friendship and love, and remembers her own earlier travels with the Doctor. Zoe's her usual scientifically curious self, and her brief interaction with the Tenth Doctor is lovely and more than a little heart-breaking. This story is beautifully written and I first read it before I'd seen any of Zoe's serials, but now I've seen some, I love it even more.

But now with the 'gun' completed, there is little for her to do, except think of her next project. A lightning strike the previous week had brought down one of the evil little robots, and the resistance had brought it to her. It sits there in its clamp on her workbench taunting her. Martha is out, telling her story to the latest slave camp, spreading hope out ahead of her, the TARDIS’ universal translator ensuring her words reach the ears of her audience in the language they know and love best. Their current resistance contact is out acting as Martha’s guide and she’d promised not to work on the creature on her own. But her curiosity is eating at her. There’s a long night ahead of her until they return and her fears will only prey on her if she has nothing to focus on alone in her lab.
[identity profile] pontisbright.livejournal.com
Story: Make Her Some Great Princess, Six Feet High
Author: livii
Rating: all ages
Word Count: 824
Author's Summary: "Write your own story then," Zoe says. "We're in a land of fiction. We can do anything we want."
Characters/Pairings: Zoe/Victoria
Warnings: none

Recced because: it's what the companion role is all about: characters who aren't just piggybacking onto a Time Lord's wacky fun, but learning how to live 'the adventure inside of them'. Zoe, with her superbrain and sparkly arse, already knows this - so when she runs into Victoria Waterfield in The Mind Robber's Land of Fiction, she's the ideal person to help her to write her own story. Sweet, funny, and - if it doesn't sound too absurd - empowering. And did I mention the sparkly arse?
[identity profile] tgjerusalem.livejournal.com
Story: The Bet
Author: Lithrael
Rating: Adult
Word Count: 3339
Author's Summary:
Jamie gets tied up. Then things get interesting.
Characters/Pairings:
Doctor/Jamie/Zoe
Warnings:
Graphic sex, PWP
Recced because:
  Hot and cute.  Also, <3 Zoe here so, so much.
[identity profile] 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.
[identity profile] 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.
[identity profile] ghost2.livejournal.com
Story: Transit of Venus
Author: LilacFree
Rating: not given, but it's got to be All Ages
Author's summary: Who are you when you're not the man you used to be? Who created the Universe? And can a girl who was raised to be a human computer find happiness in a commune with a boy in a skirt and a Beatle in a gi?
Characters/Pairings: Second Doctor, Jamie, Zoe
Warnings: none

Recced because: It's cute and sweet, in the best possible way. First there are looks at Jamie, Zoe, and the Doctor as individuals, where each character considers an issue unique to his or her situation. Then there's group interaction that shows what an incredible team these three make. No mortal danger or running for their lives; just nice character work. And if you ever wondered where the Doctor learned Venusian aikido, here's your answer. After reading this story, my first impulse was to go and watch the Second Doctor serials I haven't yet seen.

reccity-rec-rec

[community profile] calufrax is sleeping in your mind. One day, it may be brought back in front of your eyes.

April 2018

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