Calufrax

Story: Mother's Day
Author: Nancy Brown
Rating: Teen
Word Count: 1224
Author's Summary: It should've been her.
Characters/Pairings: Alice Carter/Jenny ("The Doctor's Daughter")
Warnings: None

Recced because: Alice and Jenny are a small rarepair, but they have a few fans, and every fic I've ever read with them seems plausible because of how abrupt their endings were in their shows (Torchwood: Children of Earth and "The Doctor's Daughter" episode of Doctor Who). They're also one of the few Whoniverse pairings I don't mind looking for babyfic for, in part because F/F babyfic in general is so rare to find. Here, Alice is tormented with thoughts about not being the surrogate mother for a princess as well as thoughts about losing her son. Jenny is there to ease Alice's pain. I love their interactions here--everything between these two makes me smile.

Story: Perfect Package
Author: paynesgrey
Rating: Teen
Word Count: 205
Author's Summary: "He's going to love you."
Characters/Pairings: Clara Oswin Oswald/Missy
Warnings: Non-Con

Recced because: Yes, this fic is short. But this fic was the first Clara/Missy fic I liked. I felt their dynamic in this fic was similar to their dynamic in canon, and I could see this as a missing scene that could have taken place before "The Bells of Saint John."

Story: John
Author: Alex Caligari
Rating: Teen
Word Count: 5732
Author's Summary: A blonde, an explosion, and a leather jacket.
Characters/Pairings: Ninth Doctor, Rose Tyler
Warnings: Swearing

Recced because: This is one of my favorite canon diversion AUs. Here, the story of "Rose" is retold with Rose as the Doctor and the Ninth Doctor as her companion. I find it just as fun as the episode it's based on.

Going to try and squeeze in one last rec. :)

Story: Turned
Author: johne
Rating: Teen
Word Count: 1450
Author's Summary: Section-Leader Watkins' prisoner seems to know far too much about her.
Characters/Pairings: Zoe Heriot, Isobel Watkins (from The Invasion)
Warnings: None

Recced because: This fic was published only a few days ago, but its concept already got my attention. Not only does it have an interesting premise (if Zoe had stayed with the Doctor up until the events of Inferno) but the dialogue is very in-character and the characterization of mirrorverse! Isobel is fantastic (and a little frightening),

Story: The Incident in the Lab
Author: Irish Bad Wolf
Rating: Teen
Word Count: 903
Author's Summary: The Doctor and Grace get into a tricky situation during a chemistry experiment.
Characters/Pairings: The Doctor (8th)/Grace Holloway
Warnings: None

Recced because: This story is eloquent and has just the right mix of humor and romance that works perfectly for this particular Doctor.

Story: Doctor Who and the Dangers of Hospitality
Author: SpaceTimeConundrum
Rating: Teen
Word Count: 5027
Author's Summary: Some planets really know how to throw a party.
Characters/Pairings: The Doctor (5th)/Nyssa of Traken, Tegan Jovanka
Warnings: None

Recced because: With everything that happens to this TARDIS team in canon, they deserve a lighter and fluffier moment or two. This story is a bit reminiscent of Black Orchid; just letting the characters have a bit of relaxation and fun (special mention goes to Tegan's parts) with some romance dusted in while keeping everyone in-character.

spacetimecndrm.livejournal.com

Hello Calufraxers! I'm Conundrum, your fan fiction guide for the next two weeks. You can find me lurking on Teaspoon as SpaceTimeConundrum. I've got quite a selection lined up for you all, a solid mix (I hope) of Classic and New Who ranging from the dark to comic, often in the same story. Now, let's start things off with a bang, shall we?

Story: Fission
Author: PencilGuardian
Rating: Teen
Word Count: 39,791
Author's Summary: The Doctor is accidentally cut in half whilst trying to stop the Master.
Characters/Pairings: Fifth Doctor/Nyssa of Traken, Tegan Jovanka, the Master
Warnings: No standard warnings. Some body horror.

Recced because: This may very well be my favorite fic on Teaspoon. What that says about me, I'll let you all be the judge once you've followed my advice and read this.

The story is in turns funny, bittersweet, and more than a little bit demented. Aside from a few plot details that absolutely would not sneak past the BBC censors, this is a near-perfect homage to the Classic Who serials of the 1980s. Much like in the source material it frequently references, the Fifth Doctor is forced to endure a succession of horrifying traumas along the way. Poor Doctor. Luckily Nyssa and Tegan are there to save the day. It's excellently plotted and every character is given an active role in the story, even a few genre-savvy minions. I especially liked how it deals with the consequences of the Master's body snatching in The Keeper of Traken in a unique way.

I love this fic to pieces.

clocketpatch

Story: Full Moon, Full Moon
Author: TheBigCat
Rating: Teen
Word Count: 4824
Author's Summary: In which the Doctor is an ex-chemistry teacher (recently fired), Ace might possibly be a werewolf, and they both sort out things with absolutely no explosives- which is a shock to both of them. (Survival AU)
Characters/Pairings: Ace McShane, Seventh Doctor
Warnings: N/A

Recced because:
It was a challenge deciding which of TheBigCat's many excellent fics to rec this week. She writes across eras and in a variety of styles and tones. Finally, I decided on Full Moon, Full Moon because:

1) it features Ace and Seven, one of my all-time favourite Doctor-Companion combos

and

2) it's wonderful and unique take on them unlike anything I've read elsewhere.

This is an AU, but how much of an AU is left up to the reader's imagination (is it a timeline which took a different path, or is it a completely different reality?). Ace is a werewolf (or, more accurately, a were-cheetah), and the Doctor is… a mystery wrapped in a puzzle tied with an enigma. He's a recently fired chemistry teacher. He may also be a Time Lord – or possibly a wizard. Who knows? This fic is full of questions without answers, but that's because the plot is less important than the magnificent, mentor-student friendship between Ace and her Professor, which is the same in any universe.

There is great dialogue, lovely descriptive prose (a lot of it about tea, and I had to make a cuppa while re-reading for this rec, because it kept making me thirsty), and loads of references to other companions/villains/past episodes for those who like spotting continuity nods. And, of course, there are lots of questions marks (not just on the Doctor's jumper) to keep you wondering what might happen next long after the fic is finished and the browser window closed.

Sample:

( Under Here )

Well, these two weeks have gone by just as quickly as they usually do, which is to say in a flash, and my reccing stint is nearly over. I didn't get the chance to post as many recs as I would have liked, but I hope there'll be a next time to remedy that. In the meantime, allow me to leave you with this excellent fic:

Story: Nor Grave Nor Bed Denied
Author: LizBee and Branwyn
Rating: Teen
Word Count: 2,343
Author's Summary: In the wake of the destruction of Skaro, Romana receives a visitor.
Characters/Pairings: Romana II, The Doctor (7th)
Warnings: None

Recced because: As you may have noticed only the other day, I remain as obsessed by Doctor/Romana as I ever have been, and by that murky period between Survival and Rose which presumably led up to the Time War and which may or may not have been accurately depicted in the 90s novels. This ticks all of those boxes, as well as hinting strongly at Seven/Romana, which as far as I'm concerned is second only to Four/Romana in terms of being right up my fannish alley. ...so to speak.

This fic also takes its lead from the audio story The Apocalypse Element, with which you may or may not be familiar (it's very good, btw, if you ever get the chance to listen). I don't think you need to be to work out very quickly what the backstory is. In some ways not knowing and going only on the hints provided in the fic makes Seven and Romana's somewhat difficult conversation here even more strained and effective. And what a conversation it is; I love the way the two characters are portrayed here, both older and wiser and more damaged than they were in their heyday together, still with that connection but with so much pain and baggage by now to go with it. I think there's an understandable tendency in fanfic to idealise the character relationships that appeal to us and to disregard the fact that real relationships, however idyllic, invariably have their ups and downs and messy patches. This treatment of the Doctor and Romana is all the more commendable for not falling into the trap while also clearly having a lot of affection for both characters and their shared history.

There may be a hint of the far more difficult relationship the Doctor and Romana had in the EDA novels, which isn't one of my favourite choices that those novels made, but even that shows and honesty and willingness to face up to the less comfortable part of Who "canon" that adds to the strength of the story. Most of all, they are portrayed as two characters who are at the point in their association where they cannot fool each other at all, however much they might want to, and who are both well aware of that fact.

All this and numerous little nods to various bits of Who lore established in several different versions of continuity. You may know by now that I'm a sucker for that sort of thing and prepared to award all the bonus points to anything that acknowledges the weirdness that is LOOOMS!

So once again I urge to you head over to the Teaspoon post haste and read this rather spiffing fic, and then to be sure to leave words of appreciation for the author. And that, for now, is my work here done.

( An Excerpt )

Story: You Know Me Better
Author: hangingfire
Rating: Teen
Word Count: 1,011
Author's Summary: As the Master's prisoner, the Doctor gets to know the connection between pop music and world domination.
Characters/Pairings: The Doctor (10th), The Master (Simm)
Warnings: None...apart from mass murder on an apocalyptic scale.

Recced because: I find that even all this time and a number of re-watches later, I still have an ambivalent relationship with The Sound of Drums/Last of the Time Lords. Sure, it's a deeply flawed two-parter (I won't have a word said against its prologue, Utopia, mind you - one of the very best Ten episodes, imho), and Magic!Fairy!Doctor and John Simm's more self-indulgent moments as the Master aren't to everyone's taste (or to mine, really)...but there's still something deeply compelling about it. I think in part it's that dark, pessimistic streak Russell T Davies shows in many of his better stories. When RTD allows himself to imagine horrible things in the context of Who (or Torchwood), he doesn't half imagine them.

Simm!Master has arguably been eclipsed by Missy in the NuWho Master stakes, and in the hearts of many fans, but there's something about him, something unhinged and disturbing. He's the Master with all of the brakes off, every pretension to being a gentleman-villain or cackling supervillain stripped away so that the pure evil and madness can bubble through. He actually does what the Master has spent a lot of time threatening to do, and on an almost unimaginably vast scale. Of course, at the same time he remains very much cackling a supervillain, but there are moments when the camp actually complements rather than detracts from the chilling murderousness of his actions, probably none more so than the all-singing all-dancing mid-story cliffhanger where he unleashes the Toclafane upon the Earth.

And this fic takes its lead from that moment and others in its consideration of Simm!Master in relation to his appreciation of popular music. In doing so, it absolutely nails his character and his relationship with Ten in that story, the traditional Doctor-Master "thing" stretched to its breaking point and taking on a new level of dysfunction. The conceit that as the Master gets more violent his taste in music grows more flamboyant is at once amusing and telling in what it tells us about the motivations behind him being the way he is (I think, ultimately, it's all about acting out for the Doctor's benefit). Ten's pain at being the captive audience for this show is also captured very well indeed, rising above run of the mill Ten!angst to evoke a genuine sense of sadness, horror and despair.

So if you like your Master fic dark and horrifying, you ought to like this one a great deal, as do I. Please go and have a read and if you agree, be sure to leave some words for the author.

( A Preview )

Ahoy there, Who fanfictioneers! As always when I begin a new stint reccing here on

calufrax, I am struck by how little time at all it seems since last time I did this, and how long it in fact was. Tempus fugit and all that. Well, without further ado, allow me to kick off this round of recommendation with something of a rare gem:

Story: Bounce
Author: Nancy Brown
Rating: Teen
Word Count: 5,470
Author's Summary: A mysterious device affects the lives of the Doctor and his friends.
Characters/Pairings: Amy Pond, Canton Everett Delaware III, Jenny Flint, Madame Vastra, Rory Williams, Strax, The Doctor (11th)
Warnings: None, apart from some references to Victorian-era murders

Recced because: Well, full disclosure, this was written in response to one of my prompts in the EleventyFest ficathon, way back in 2013. When I gave the prompt, though, I don't think I was expecting it to elicit anything as seriously good as this bit of prime Eleven-era fic. This is the fic I was going to rec last time around before being distracted, magpie-like, by another story by the same author, but this time I'm making very sure indeed to put this one front and centre.

The story follows the trail of a strange, and possibly deadly, presumably alien device across three time periods, and with three groups of investigators. In the Victorian era, Madame Vastra, her wife Jenny and the inimitable Strax are called in by Scotland Yard to consult in a case of multiple murders. Meanwhile in the late 1960s, G-Man Canton Everett Delaware III looks into a slew of missing persons against the backdrop of the countercultural anti-war movement and the Nixon administration. And finally in futuristic Scotland, the Doctor and the Ponds are drawn to a museum of extraterrestrial curiosities. The skill with which the author weaves these various strands together to tell a single story, using time travel pleasingly to tie the plot together, is only one of the several great things about this piece.

I especially enjoy the way the different eras each have their own distinctive style, from the Sherlockian stylings of Vastra and Jenny's nineteenth century adventures to the hardboiled inner monologue that drives Canton's sections (and I don't think you have to find him as cool a character as I do to really dig those parts). As with those of this author's other works that I have read, it is the characterisation and the voices that I find most compelling about this. Canton's private-eye-esque patter aside, the Doctor-Amy-Rory team TARDIS (one of my favourite of all time) really shine here, and even Strax gets one excellent, and very Strax-like, exchange.

I urge you - don't walk, (metaphorically) run over to the Teaspoon and read this one, and please be sure to tell the author how much you liked it.

( An Extract )

newmoonstar

Title: Love in a Mist
Author: thefadingsoldier
Rating: teen
Word count: 660
Characters/Pairings: Lieutenant Carstairs/Lady Jennifer
Author's summary: Lieutenant Carstairs and Lady Jennifer meet in the Time Mist before the Time Lords send them back to Earth in their own era.
Warnings: none

Recced because: The Second Doctor's era had many great one-off characters, and Lieutenant Carstairs & Lady Jennifer from 'The War Games' are two of my favorites. Over the course of ten episodes we really got to know them, & I'm probably not the only one who hoped they'd get together at the end. (In fact, I know I'm not the only one, since they show up in the BBC novel 'Players' by Terrance Dicks, which I also recommend...) I never expected to see a fic for minor characters like them, so I was awfully glad to find this beautiful little vignette depicting the reunion between them that we didn't get to see on TV. As soon as I read it, I said to myself: "Headcanon accepted!!" :)

paynesgrey.livejournal.com

Story: R.A.P.T.U.R.E
Author: PhoenixDragon
Rating: Teen
Word Count: 1,865
Author's Summary: It wasn’t ideal in his own mind, but humans needed a change of pace now and again - and if it made them happy, he was more than willing to give them anything that they needed, anything that they wanted.
Characters/Pairings: Eleventh Doctor, Amy Pond, Rory Williams, OCs
Warnings: Horror descriptions

Recced because: Gosh, this story really hits you in the gut. An eerie, haunting concept that just leaves you breathless through the whole fic. Very intriguing story which makes you want more, but it’s also perfect as it is with the way it ended. This author is madly talented, you can tell, and this is one of her best.

Story: New Territory
Author: Spydurwebb
Rating: Teen
Word Count: 1631
Author's Summary: Done as a prompt for someone who wanted to see Three and Sarah in a romantic setting with mentions of clothes and their age gap. Of course, knowing me, it had to have a twist.
Characters/Pairings: Sarah Jane Smith/Third Doctor
Warnings: no standard warnings apply

Recced because: The twist in this fic is a bit sinister--but not too sinister. And I love this otherwise, calm, quiet look at Three and Sarah Jane's relationship.

Hi! I'm

merryghoul. I'm also on Teaspoon as merryghoul (my work there was formerly under a different name). I'll be with you for the next two weeks as this comm's reccer.

For this reccing period, barring one exception, I really wanted to highlight people who haven't been recced before or have been recced less than a handful of times on this comm. Several of these works have been lingering in my fic bookmarks for years, and I'm just getting to rec them now. I blame myself for not reccing a lot of these fics earlier.

With that said, here's my first rec of the reccing period.

Story: The Moth People
Author: Ember Keelty
Rating: Teen
Word Count: 1537
Author's Summary: "You aren't getting rid of me that easily, sweetheart. You can't; I'm inside of you."
Characters/Pairings: Gwen Cooper/Suzie Costello
Warnings: no standard warnings apply

Recced because: What if Suzie's resurrection glove never lost its connection after Suzie's second death in "They Keep Killing Suzie?" And why is Gwen not resisting this connection at all? I've always liked this fic's take on what could've happened after "They Keep Killing Suzie" for years now, and I'm finally happy I can rec it for Calufrax today.

x-los.livejournal.com

Story: The Renegade Tourbus
Author: Neveralarch
Rating: Teen
Word Count: 1809
Author's Summary: “Matrix archives: mailing list section. Fragments from the 'Gallifreyan Expatriate Circular', commonly referred to as the 'GEC'.”
Characters: Iris Wildthyme, Romana II, The Doctor (3rd), The Doctor (5th), The Doctor (5th), The War Chief, Drax, The Master (Ainley), The Meddling Monk, The Rani
Pairings: a touch of Doctor/Master, but it’s comedic (and might, if we believe the Doctor, be a Trolling Turlough—a Trollough?) and doesn’t actually get to the warned-for Explicit (Chat) Sex: this is an ensemble piece uber alles
Warnings: Explicit Sex, Swearing
Recced because:

All the renegades have a mailing list, which Iris Wildthyme trolls. How many renegades? “To answer your question (more for the benefit of others interested) there are currently nine _official_ members of the list, of which only five are usually active. The other four are grandfathered from the original list created by Omega and distributed from the anti-matter universe.

Yes, before you ask, we do still distribute to all known universes. This is very difficult, technically speaking, and is also why I am moderator and not, for instance, Drax.” ←The Rani moderates. This fic spans several early Doctors’ worth of canon, and is fun for Three’s breezy email-voice alone.

“To: GEC list
From: morbius.brain.of
Subject: please remove

I, Morbius, am returned from the grave! And all I see in my inbox is spam from this list. I no longer wish to receive messages.

To: GEC list
From: romana.dvoratre.lundar
Subject: re: please remove

Could you take me off here too, please? I think the Doctor added me without my permission.

~Romana”

Story: Delight
Author: PhoenixDragon
Rating: Teen
Word Count: 404
Author's Summary: The silence held its own color.
Characters/Pairings: Eleventh Doctor, Amy Pond, The TARDIS
Warnings: None.

Recced because: Eleven is alone in the TARDIS is a moment of angst, missing the Ponds, and the moment is painted so beautifully and completely here in so few words. It’s vivid, sharp, poetic – utterly gorgeous – as the Doctor can’t help seeing the significance of a colour – red. I’ve enjoyed an awful lot of this author’s stories, but this one has stuck in my head (with claws) ever since I first read it. I hope you like it, too.

Ahoy there, Calufraxers! I'm

lost_spook (vvj5 on Teaspoon) and I'll be your reccer for the next two weeks. I have a fondness for pretty much all eras, so I'll be reccing a fair mix (I hope!). To start with, however, let's get bang up to date.

Story: Love/Hate
Author: nostalgia
Rating: Teen
Word Count: 3552
Author's Summary: Missy blackmails the Doctor into spending some time with her at a posh hotel. Yay?
Characters/Pairings: Twelfth Doctor/Missy (mentions of River/Doctor)
Warnings: Swearing

Recced because: Missy blackmails Twelve into a romantic holiday. It could never go well, but the really terrible thing is it’s not as bad as the Doctor would like it to be. This is just so funny and sharp and true to the pair of them (and Doctor-Master relationships generally). In particular, Twelve’s continual annoyance throughout the fic is a joy to behold, though Missy’s constant needling isn’t far behind.

Have a snippet to tempt you:

This wasn't going at all well, which was only to be expected. He was being blackmailed into a holiday and it wasn't even a good one. He found a barstool and a drinks list and waited for the barman to notice him. He half wished he'd changed into something cooler, but he knew Missy would have taken that to mean he was prepared to enjoy himself.

“What will it be?”

“Water, with ice, and a banana daiquiri for my... “ Arch-nemesis? Best enemy? Former friend? “Annoying woman in black.”

Story: I could never live with me before you came along
Author: Nancy Brown
Rating: Teen
Word Count: 8664
Author's Summary: Canton Everett Delaware III is on a mission from God, er, River to put the band back together.
Characters/Pairings: Amy Pond, Canton Everett Delaware III, Jenny Flint, Madame Vastra, River Song, Rory Williams, The Doctor (11th), plus Anthony Williams and OCs
Warnings: None

Recced because: I was actually planning to rec another fic by this author, and I came across this more or less at random while looking for the other one on her Teaspoon page yesterday...and loved it. And couldn't believe it had no reviews and decided the best way of remedying that with a vengeance was to get it out here on Calufrax. So win/win for me - I get to rec this magnificent fic and still have one in the hole for my next reccing stint! :D

In all seriousness, though, this is a great fic, written with excellent characterisation and just common sense, decency and humanity. You know, like the best fics are. The fact that it also ticks quite a few of my fannish boxes as regards the tail end of the Eleven era (the Capaldinator is obviously brilliant, but I'm unashamed to say Eleven remains "my" NuWho Doctor) certainly doesn't hurt either. I've made no secret of the fact that I was, and am, seriously dissatisfied with the ending Amy and Rory got in The Angels Take Manhattan, not even because of their fates but mainly because of the slapdash way it was all plotted and the way we were expected to swallow rl attempts to plaster over those plot holes by authorial "word of god", so this sort of semi-fix-it (it doesn't actually fix it, but makes its point by illustrating one of the several blatantly obvious ways that it could be fixed) will always hold a certain appeal for me. The fact that it's wise-guy G-Man Canton Everett Delaware III, still one of my all-time favourite one-shot Who guest characters, who gets to be the main instrument of that sort-of-fix-it is, for me, the shiny cherry on top.

The author gives Canton an OC boyfriend, fittingly also a smart-mouthed hard-boiled cop type, who is also the everyman observer of the Doctor's strange world, as they go about reuniting Canton, the Paternoster Row crew, Amy and Rory and their adopted son Anthony, and eventually River and Eleven himself, and even get a bit of fraught adventure along the way. Throughout, we are reminded deftly and thought-provokingly of the difficulties and dangers facing same-sex relationships over the ages, with Vastra and Jenny's relationship also portrayed with great perceptiveness and sensitivity. I think the main thing I like about this, though, is the obvious love for the diverse cast of characters; even the ones that don't get that many lines (Eleven, actually) are vividly portrayed; as I often say of fanfic I find has particularly true-to-life characterisations, you really can hear the voices as you read it.

So get over there and see what you think, and please leave some words of appreciation for the author...!

( A Taste )

scripsi.livejournal.com

Story: Gymnophoria: Take One
Author: Culumacilinte
Rating: Teen
Word Count: 1256 words
Author's Summary: She knows intimately the sensation of a pair of eyes trained on her; the awful, crawling knowledge that someone is staring at her, imagining her naked, imagining doing more than just looking.
Characters/Pairings: The Sixth Doctor, Peri Brown
Warnings: Discussion of sexual harassment, and references to the implied sexual abuse of a minor.

Recced because: I’m re-watching old Who at the moment and just finished Mindwarp. I quite like Peri, but I dislike her being made into a perpetual sex object. This fic deals with how Peri feels about all these guys fawning over her and makes a great job describing it. I also enjoy Six showing his caring side.

( Excerpt )

scripsi.livejournal.com

Hello! I’m

scripsi here and Dancingsalome at Teaspoon. This is my first round of reccing and I hope you will enjoy my recs as much as I have!

Story: Friends In High Places
Author: nostalgia
Rating: Teen
Word Count: 1753 words
Author's Summary: In which Torchwood completely fail to locate the Doctor while he's pretty much on their doorstep.
Characters/Pairings: The Third Doctor, Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, Liz Shaw, Jack Harkness, Donna Noble, the Tenth Doctor, The Master (Delgado), River Song, the TARDIS
Warnings: None stated

Recced because: The Doctor is thinking of getting a pet snake, the Brigadier fudge personal files and the Master takes a part time job at Torchwood. What is not to love? The fic consist of a couple of short scenes with various characters that are described spot on and why they want to find, or hide, the Doctor. I laughed out loud several times while reading it.

( Excerpt )

Story: Metamorphosis
Author: Rose of Pollux
Rating: Teen
Word Count: 19872
Author's Summary: Season 6B, post-"The Two Doctors." After learning about Dastari's experiments on the Doctor, the Rani brings her old classmate, along with his Scottish companion, back to Space Station Chimera for a new series of experiments. With two Grigs of Androgums aiding the Rani, the Doctor and Jamie may never be the same again...
Characters/Pairings: Jamie McCrimmon, The Doctor (2nd), The Rani
Warnings: None

Recced because: Just the idea of the Second Doctor and Jamie facing the Rani is intriguing; and the author manages to execute it well with the characters' dynamic written perfectly and a very unique twist (which I won't spoil).

Story: Beauty and Folly
Author:helluin
Rating: Teen
Word Count: 4134
Author's Summary: After a year spent pushing through a time-barrier on Planet Folly, the Doctor is rather the worse for wear. However, he does not entirely appreciate Nyssa's attempts to play nursemaid.
Characters/Pairings: The Doctor (5th), Nyssa
Warnings: None

Recced because: Set during the Big Finish audio "Demons of Red Lodge" (though there is enough context given for this story to work as a standalone), this is a wonderfully angsty and well-written character study for Nyssa and the Doctor.

Current Mood: jubilant

nonelvis

Posting on behalf of Styrofoam monster on Teaspoon.

Story: Self-Preservation
Author: Memory Dragon
Rating: teen
Word count: 16429
Characters: Delgado!master, Three, Simm!master
Summary: Running for his life with the Master, the Doctor finds someone he just can't leave behind.
Warnings: This fic is part of a well balanced diet of angst and cuteness. The Master gets a bit beaten up (off screen abuse of the insane on backwater planets) and there is a small bit of violence towards the Doctor, but I don't think it's anything major. Just a bit of choking, really.

Recced because: Self-Preservation features two incarnations of the Master, and Memory Dragon writes them both splendidly (though of course, anything Memory Dragon writes with the Master is guaranteed goodness). This fic shows the trust between the 3rd doctor and his master, something that has been lost in their later regenerations, and the mercurial nature of simm!master, and offers a believable explanation for how Delgado becomes who he will be. The story is very much one of contrasts, a moment of truce in a conflict that almost feels like a farce because it's obvious in this fic that Three and his master don't hate each other - rather the opposite. The concern the 3rd doctor and Delgado!master show for each other only underscores how bitter their battles will become. The conversation between the two Masters was also well done, with Delgado characteristically dismissive of his older self's melodrama. And the ending is excellent.

I could go on about it all day -- go ahead and read it!

excerpt: ( after the cut )

nonelvis

Posting on behalf of Styrofoam monster on Teaspoon.

Story: Force of Nature
Author: nostalgia
Rating: Teen
Word count: 2637
Characters: Missy, 12
Summary: The Doctor reluctantly assists Missy's life of crime.
Warnings: none

Recced because: This story is Classic Master. Missy keeps the Doctor and the reader guessing all the way through - the prose is crisp, the banter is strong, and the characterization fitting. The Master is simultaneously superior and vulnerable, the Doctor frustrated and reluctantly fond, and there is a customary blend of trust and mistrust between them. Good Missy stories are hard to find, and this is a good one.

excerpt: ( after the cut )

but_can_i_be_trusted

Story: The Enmity of Ages
Author: Forge
Rating: Teen
Word Count: 1,718
Author's Summary: A battle that has stretched across time. From childhood games, to burning planets, to the Immortality Gate. The never-ending conflict between the Doctor and his oldest enemy.
Characters/Pairings: The Master (unspecified), the Doctor (unspecified)
Warnings: None

Recced because: I can't think of a word to say that would sell this one. It's just...good. Very damn good. We'll let it speak for itself.

eve11

Title: Bring Up the Bodies
Author: Yowza
Rating: Teen
Word Count: 2571
Author's Summary: He wished the beeping would stop. It was bad enough only having hours to live, but listening to those hours being counted down by that shrill monotonous beep was intolerable. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust the Doctor and Barbara and Susan to get him out of this situation – they’d been in difficult circumstances before, after all, but that he didn’t trust the justice system here one little bit. It may not matter that they could prove he was innocent if everyone else was so convinced he was guilty.
Characters/Pairings: Ian Chesterton
Warnings: (reposting Author's note): Warnings for execution, and spoilers for Keys of Marinus. I don't know what made me wonder what would happen if Barbara and the Doctor didn't catch the murderers in time, but I did wonder, so here it is.

Recc'ed Because: This one was only posted a few days ago but it really grabbed my attention, just because of the mixture of the mundane world amid the absolute madness of the overarching idea of time traveling adventures, and of course the dread and helplessness and heartbreak of the inevitable. Even reading the warning, the reader is right there with Ian on the inability to process the absurdity and reality of the whole thing. It's dark and sad and horrible, and brilliant for all that.

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Title: The Existing Scheme of Things
Author: Culumacilinte
Rating: Teen
Word Count: 6835
Author's Summary: In which the TARDIS acquires two more passengers, and there are Antarctic explorers in love. And a little bit of altering the course of history.
Characters/Pairings: Eleven, Amy Pond
Warnings: None

Recc'ed Because: It's a fantastic historical adventure about the Terra Nova Expedition of the Antarctic in the early 1900s, a could-be-an-episode story with the moral and ethical arguments of when and why the time stream should stay fixed or can be altered. The secondary characters really shine. Not being a history buff, I did not know anything about the expedition before reading the story, but the author did a great job of telling both the history and the Doctor Who perspective in a seamless manner. It is a quick read for such a complete and well-written adventure tale. Perfect for a Sunday afternoon.

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Title: Future
Author: Styrofoam Monster
Rating: Teen
Word Count: 423
Author's Summary: They are not humans, and they will not be Time Lords.
Characters/Pairings: Tenth Doctor/Simm!Master
Warnings: None

Recc'ed Because: A dark, imaginative, and brutal AU where the Doctor and the Master end up on Earth, almost domestic but with old habits that die hard. There is an amazing amount of depth packed into so few words. The poetic dread of being the last of their kind, of fitting nowhere, not even with each other--simmers just under the surface of this story, unstated but pervasive. I love the discussion of Gallifreyan synonyms and tenses. I am not sure whether to be happy or sad at the ending.
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Title: Lost in the Echo
Author: PhoenixDragon
Rating: Teen
Word Count: 2812
Author's Summary: When he cut and ran from the Vortex, the thud-thud-thud of his hearts like drum-beats within his ears, he knew they had deemed him a coward. Unfit. Unbecoming material for Time Lord.
Characters/Pairings: Borusa, Irving Braxiatel, The Master (Academy era), The Rani (Academy era), The Doctor (1st)
Warnings: None

Recc'ed Because: Great world-building, and a chilling and very believable backstory for how Koschei started on the road to the incessant sound of drums. The Time Lord mythology is both intriguing and mysterious, and I love how the Master's downfall is brought about by his own brilliance and insatiable desire--not just to know, but to cement his own superiority in his mind and chase away his insecurities.

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but_can_i_be_trusted

Story: No Will But My Will
Author: Astrogirl
Rating: Teen
Word Count: 511
Author's Summary: Who needs empathy when you have mind control?
Characters/Pairings: The Master (Delgado version)
Warnings: None

Recced because: To be perfectly frank, the Master fascinates me. This is a scary and gorgeous look into his mind that only serves to increase that fascination. Again, I have to point out that this is a version I have yet to see...but, just as before, unfamiliarity does not reduce the chilling, raw power behind the story.

lyakahime.livejournal.com

Getting the last one in under the wire! I was planning to only rec crossovers this week, but then I found this fic and I couldn’t not rec it. So the last one breaks the mold. Thanks for having me, all, and to all a good night!

Story: And Indeed There Will Be Time
Author: kaydee_falls
Rating: Teen
Word Count: 42816
Author's Summary: In 1919, Harriet Derbyshire was killed while investigating the disappearance of Torchwood Four in Dublin. In 2009, UNIT pulls a dying man out of the Irish Sea with a one-word message: Torchwood. Martha joins up with Jack's team in Cardiff to track down the errant branch of the organization -- before a time-traveling race of aliens can change the course of history as we know it. (Jack/Ianto + team)
Characters/Pairings: Jack/Ianto, Donna Noble, Gwen Cooper, Martha Jones, Mickey Smith, UNIT
Warnings:

Recced because: I love a good twisty time travel mystery, and this fic delivers on all counts. The Jack/Ianto pairing is so background you’ll hardly notice it, so don’t come into the fic expecting romance; this is all action adventure time travel plot mystery, all the time. Well-drawn OCs, a richly realized setting, a fantastic mystery, and insanely good writing – you’ll be up late reading it, just as I was!

lyakahime.livejournal.com

Story: Chance and a Grey Sky
Author: rivendellrose
Rating: Teen
Word Count: 2154
Author's Summary: Susan Ivanova meets a strange woman on an isolated planet. (Crossover with Babylon 5, post "Sleeping in Light.")
Characters/Pairings: Romana II, Susan Ivanova
Warnings: None

Recced because: If you’re a fan of Doctor Who, odds are good that you’d love Babyon 5 (give it a try if you haven’t already!). If you’re not familiar with it, some background will help: B5’s five-year plot ultimately centers around an epic war between two ancient, powerful races who were originally charged to be the protectors and guiders of lesser species (i.e. humans) but differed so widely about how to go about doing this that they ended up using us all as pawns in a war stretching for millenia – first a Cold War, but then a very hot one indeed.

Or to put it another way: Babyon 5 is what would happen if someone set a sci-fi series during the Time War from the point of view of the species who are caught in the crossfire, asked to choose sides, destroyed by whichever side they rebuff, and in all cases fundamentally unprepared to choose between two races who don’t actaully look that different from our limited point of view. Cass from “Night of the Doctor” would be the main character.

All of that aside, this alas-too-short fic is set post-series for B5 and centers on Susan Ivanova in the twilight of her career (arguably the character who walked away with the most scars), setting her up with Romana (also fresh from the Time War) in a character-driven piece that is both achingly sweet and inexpressibly sad. The fic doesn’t flinch from any of the realities of what the characters have been through but still manages to end on a believably hopeful note. Comforting without being saccharine, it’s exactly what I need after all the tragedy. Give it your time and you won’t be disappointed.

lyakahime.livejournal.com

Story: Falls the Shadow
Author: bethemoon
Rating: Teen
Word Count: 1596
Author's Summary: Doctor Who/Narnia. She finds it ironic that she has never tried running and he has never tried anything else. Susan Pevensie runs with the Doctor through time and space, and learns to love again. PG-13.
Characters/Pairings: Tenth Doctor, Susan Pevensie (blink-and-you’ll-miss-it Ten/Susan)
Warnings: None

Recced because: Narnia is made for a crossover with the Doctor Who universe, especially on the Problem of Susan, and this crossover delivers on the promise beautifully. It’s told in fifty short snippets that are deliberately out of order and there’s a lot left unstated for the reader to explore; though it’s relatively short at 1.5K, the reread value is through the roof, and every time I go back to it I change my mind on what some of the snippets mean. Everyone reading this fic will have their own unique experience with it, so why not go find out what yours will be?

And so the end is near, and I'm going out with a wave, but I hope you've enjoyed my recs - and if you've read anything you've liked, please don't forget to stop and let the author know.

Story: Gallifreyan Hand Porn
Author: thatsdemocracyforyou
Rating: Teen
Word Count: 639
Author's Summary: The Gallifreyans of the Citadel are almost a sub-culture of their own. They are composed of technicians, archivists, Time Lords, and many others alike, and among them all there is one particular thing in common... a great many gloves. Surely there is some interest and-- er-- inspired works.
Characters/Pairings: Clara Oswald/Damon
Warnings: None.

Recced because: I love it when authors take an aspect of canon, read so much into it and then in fic, take what ought to be crack to its limits and sell it completely, and that’s exactly what the author does quite brilliantly here. You see, Gallifreyans wear gloves a lot. Could there be some sort of related taboo…? Of course there could. Throw in one Clara-splinter, a young Time Lord from Arc of Infinity, and, voila, you have some serious hand pr0n.