calufrax | Recent Entries

Story: By The Naked Sword
Author: the_seventh_l
Rating: Teen
Word Count: 295
Author's Summary: Ask not what your Governor can do for you, but whether he's lived long enough to do anything.
Characters/Pairings: Governor of Varos
Warnings: Refs to death.

Recced because: I have a love for fic that looks at minor characters and fleshes them out, and this piece is a brief but brilliant and chilling exploration of the Governor of Varos (from Vengeance on Varos), sitting day after day on his “poisoned throne” as the author puts it, and why he does it. It’s excellent.

thisbluespirit

Story: Time Waits for No Godot
Author: BetaCadabra
Rating: All ages
Word Count: 1882
Author's Summary: What the world never realised it so desperately wanted: a Doctor Who/Samuel Beckett crossover story. Familiarity with 'Waiting for Godot' not necessarily required.
Characters/Pairings: Second Doctor, crossover characters.
Warnings: None.

Recced because: Where to even begin? A work of literature is amusingly turned around by the arrival of the Doctor (who doesn’t have much truck with a permanent state of waiting, after all), and then what ought to be the crackiest of crossovers turns out to be unexpectedly serious in all the right ways. And I can echo the author’s assurance that no knowledge of Waiting For Godot is needed, because I’ve never actually read or seen it myself, and I loved this enough to rec it here. Plus, I think they’re right about the other thing, too – the world really did need this crossover, even if it didn’t know it.

Current Mood: hopeful

thisbluespirit

Story: Reconnection
Author: Llywela
Rating: All ages
Word Count: 3032
Author's Summary: There is comfort to be found in a friend.
Characters/Pairings: Sarah Jane Smith, Harry Sullivan
Warnings: None.

Recced because: It’s a beautifully done and wonderfully satisfactory look at Harry and Sarah, being friends and helping each other, even after time and a few quarrels have come between them – reconnecting, as the title says. I can’t recommend it enough; it’s just lovely.

thisbluespirit

Story: Professional Development
Author: johne
Rating: All ages
Word Count: 1403
Author's Summary: Once, Karen was just Lucie's friend at work. Now, she's her bitter enemy. Lucie knows what the next stage has to be.
Characters/Pairings: Lucie Miller, Karen. (Slight Lucie/Karen).
Warnings: None (or maybe for the sort of insults you might expect between these two).

Recced because: Well, for one thing it’s great Lucie fic, and there’s not nearly enough of that. For another, it brilliantly uses Lucie, Karen and the scenario to poke fun at the concept of an archnemesis and it’s very funny. And it even comes with cake. Does a person really need to ask for more in a fic?

( Small taster under the cut )

thisbluespirit

Story: Finest Hour
Author: Prochytes
Rating: All ages
Word Count: 544
Author's Summary: Five occasions on which the First Lord of the Treasury met the Last Lord of Time.
Characters/Pairings: Winston Churchill, Sixth Doctor, Peri Brown, Third Doctor, Eighth Doctor, Sarah Jane Smith, First Doctor, Second Doctor.
Warnings: None.

Recced because: Regardless of how people might feel about the use of Churchill in Doctor Who, this is a smashing fic that looks at how and when he met the Doctor (and when the Doctor met him, which isn’t the same thing), and feels as if it gets so much in, that I can’t believe the total word count is a brief as it is. Oh, and the best bit? The tantalising hints about how the Doctor got on with the other Prime Ministers…

nonelvis

We are finally coming to the end of our reccing pipeline, so I'm looking for volunteers to start reccing beginning February 9. (Previous reccers preferred for that two-week slot, as I'll be away at Gally for the last half of it and will not be able to keep a close eye on the comm.) If you've been reading this comm for a while but have never stepped forward to rec, please consider it – everyone, new and old reccers alike, is welcome to rec. All you need to do is select 4-10 stories that haven't been recced before and that meet the comm's fairly basic rules (well-written/formatted, no bashfic, etc.). Reccing periods last two weeks; complete rules and sign-up instructions in this post.

Tumblr, Facebook, Google+, and other users reading this: you don't need a LiveJournal account to rec! If you're interested in reccing, you can comment in the sign-up post, leave me an Ask, or email me at nonelvis42 on Gmail. (Note: if you're a Facebook user who wants to volunteer, please contact me by email; I have no Facebook account, and LJ doesn't send OpenID users comment notifications, so I have no reliable way of reaching you beyond email.)

thisbluespirit

Story: When In Rome
Author: Meadowlark
Rating: All ages
Word Count: 3362
Author's Summary: The TARDIS team explores an abandoned villa in ancient Rome, and Ian and Barbara discover the wine cellar. Cracky shenanigans ensue.
Characters/Pairings: Ian Chesterton, Barbara Wright, First Doctor, Vicki
Warnings: None.

Recced because: Here’s a story to give everyone’s spirits a lift as we struggle towards the end of the week! Just how did the TARDIS team stumble over a handy abandoned villa – and what made them stay? This fic explores the gap in The Romans with much humour and warmth, and the author captures the four adventurers perfectly, even in more unusual (but completely plausible) circumstances. It’s delightful, and guaranteed to leave you smiling by the end.

thisbluespirit

Story: But She Meant To Do It
Author: merripestin
Rating: All ages
Word Count: 100
Author's Summary: Accident challenge drabble for lj:dw100. Ace understands why now.
Characters/Pairings: Ace McShane
Warnings: None.

Recced because: It’s one of those drabbles that show off exactly what the format can do: one hundred words comprising a painfully perfect character sketch by an author who’s got a genuine knack for this sort of thing. Oh, Ace.

thisbluespirit

I'm

lost_spook and I'll be your reccer for the next two weeks. I'm very fond of most corners of the Doctor Who universe, so hopefully there'll be something for everyone before my time is up. Here goes...

Story: The Hump Day Party Mix
Author: eve11
Rating: All ages
Word Count: 4080
Author's Summary: Shuffle. Record. Rewind. Play.
Characters/Pairings: Clara Oswald, Eleventh Doctor, Frobisher
Warnings: None

Recced because: It’s a wonderful romp of a 'missing' story, involving Eleven, Clara, centipede nuns, multiple thefts (sorry, procurements), nods to all sorts of corners of the Doctor Who universe, and Clara gets to run into a certain shape-shifting private eye. It’s a joy from start to finish, but it’s also got heart and depth, centering on the mix tape of the title and what it means to Clara.

newmoonstar

My reccing period comes to an end today, and I've had so much fun re-reading all these favorites and pointing more readers to them. I look forward to doing it again someday! For my last day, here's a little gem that I can't believe hasn't been recced here before:

Story: When the Boat Comes In
Author: vvj5
Rating: all ages
word count: 515
Characters/pairings: Ben Jackson/Polly Wright
Author's summary: Ben and Polly, coming home again.

Recced because: There's not a great deal of fic for Ben & Polly, so when you find a good one, you treasure it all the more. This is a short but excellent look at their relationship after they came home, and their voices are captured perfectly. It's sweet but not syrupy, and will definitely put a smile on the face of anyone who's always rooted for our duchess and sailor to find happiness together. Guaranteed to make you go 'aww'!

( An excerpt )

newmoonstar

Story: Roots
Author: Inkfire
Rating: all ages
Word count: 701
Characters/pairings: Susan Foreman/David Campbell
Author's summary: In which Susan builds a life made of little things and moments- learning to stand still. Classic!Who character insight piece, set after The Dalek Invasion of Earth. Susan/David

Recced because: I'm one of the rather small group of people who really loves Susan, and this little fic managed to encapsulate what I pictured her life being like after she leaves. I sincerely believe Susan would be able to make a happy life for herself without the Doctor, on Earth with David, and this piece has a hopeful slant, in a quiet, measured, yet lyrical way. It rings true for the Susan we know from the show, and that's good enough for me. An introspective, insightful, lovely piece, well worth the read.

( An excerpt )

newmoonstar

Story: The Devil's Harvest
Author: vvj5
Rating: teen
Word count: 3395
Characters/parings: Sixth Doctor, Clara Oswin Oswald
Author's summary: Clara's alone in a wood in the middle of the night, but there's something else out there...

Recced because: The concept of what it must be like for Clara in the Doctor's time-stream, to be all those Claras, different yet the same, over and over, is an intriguing idea only just touched on in the show. This fic is a very well-done take on that concept. You can hear the voice of the Clara we know perfectly in this fragment of her, and her brief meeting with the Sixth Doctor here works very well, as he's equally well-written. This is an eerie story with some mentions of gore, and obviously, because it's a time-stream Clara, this version of her does die, but it's fascinating to hear her thought process as she realizes what's happening, and heartbreakingly poignant too, especially at the end. This story would be perfect reading for Halloween, but I had to rec it today, because I want everyone else to go read it too.

( An excerpt )

newmoonstar

Story: Christmas Cutaway
Author: Calapine
Rating: all ages
Word Count: 1232
Characters/pairings: Eighth Doctor, Grace Holloway
Author's summary: Too much sugar in your tea: the Doctor and Grace at Christmas

Recced because: We could all use some Christmas-themed fluff at Christmas. This one is actually as thoughtful as it is cozy, being a conversation over Christmas dinner between Eight and Grace. (The author lists it as romance, and there's a small kiss, but there's nothing especially shippy about it, and it could easily be read as platonic too.) They talk about silly things and serious things, and the third-person present tense gives us Grace's down-to-earth POV, but with a somewhat dreamy quality, which works well for a story featuring the dreamy, enigmatic Eighth Doctor. A nice stand-alone vignette to warm a winter evening.

( An excerpt )

newmoonstar

Story: Jamie Learns Something About Vegetables...And So Do Ben And Polly
Author: RobotRollCall
Rating: all ages
Word count: 846
Characters/pairings: Second Doctor, Jamie McCrimmon, Polly Wright, Ben Jackson
Author's summary: In which the TARDIS crew discovers the origins of broccoli.

Recced because: This is pure fluff of the best kind. It's lovely to imagine what those ordinary moments between adventures are like, and I bet there were plenty like this for this wonderful team. (It's also a brilliant idea; I'm sure many children would accept this explanation of broccoli easily, though it would probably make them want to eat it more, not less!) So have some warm and fuzzy cuteness as Team Two settles in for dinner. (And even though it's not Christmas themed, the happy family dinner atmosphere makes it perfect reading for Christmas Eve!)

( An excerpt )

newmoonstar

Story: Encounters with an Opera Ghost
Author: Suzanne
Rating: all ages
Word count: 2423
Characters/pairings: Eleventh Doctor, Amy Pond
Author's summary: Crossover with the stage version of Phantom of the Opera. The Doctor and Amy have ended up in Erik's lair, and the Doctor has been here before.

Recced because: It's a Doctor Who/Phantom of the Opera crossover, what more do you need?? There's few things better than a good mash-up of two of your favorite fictional characters, and as a huge Phantom fan I enjoyed this one immensely! Even if you're only passingly familiar with Phantom of the Opera, there's fun to be had here in the clash of personalities between the goofy, happy-go-lucky Eleventh Doctor, no-nonsense Amy, and the angsty, melodramatic Phantom. (The Doctor and Amy have some good banter between them, especially.) It starts out spooky, then gets silly, and I laughed quite a bit through this, but it actually is kind of sweet to imagine the Doctor and Amy dropping in on poor old Erik and possibly helping him get over that nasty business with a certain soprano!

( An excerpt )

newmoonstar

Story: The Gift
Author: Kittenmommy
Rating: all ages
Word count: 106
Characters/pairings: Eighth Doctor, Grace Holloway
Author's summary: Grace gives the Doctor a gift that he doesn't really want.

Recced because: Drabbles are as hard to get right as longer stories, and this one is a clever idea that manages to be funny and capture the essence of Eight and Grace's interactions in just a few sentences. It left me with a smile on my face, so go read it and you'll smile too. :)

newmoonstar

Story: Flight
Author: Astellya
Rating: all ages
Word count: 904
Characters/pairings: Sixth Doctor, Peri Brown
Author's summary: Peri and the Doctor have a heart to hearts about life, freedom, and what happened on Varos.

Recced because: This is a story I keep coming back to again and again. The Doctor and Peri had many unresolved issues in their relationship, and because of the brevity of Colin Baker's run as the Doctor, we didn't get a whole lot of time to explore it on screen. This fic offers a quiet, introspective moment between them, of the kind I always wished we'd have more of on the show. In relatively few words, the author manages to convey a whole world of understanding passing between them. Both the characters and the reader somehow can fill in the blanks of what goes unsaid, and when they do open up and voice their affection for one another, it feels direct and authentic. It has a melancholy to it, but also beauty in the ambiance of dusk and summer beside a lake, where two wandering souls find comfort in their friendship. If you love Six & Peri this is a must-read, and if you don't, you might just like them better after reading it.

( A snippet )

newmoonstar

Story: Adventures in Scientific Babysitting
Author: Lyricwritesprose
Rating: all ages
Word count: 200
Characters/pairings: Liz Shaw [and Kate Stewart]
Author's summary: When Liz Shaw babysits, the science is going to get done right.

Recced because: This is an adorable little drabble that I absolutely think must have canonically happened. I love the idea of companions remaining in each other's lives after they leave the Doctor, and it just fits perfectly to imagine that the Brigadier would ask his former colleague to look after his daughter, since in 'The Power of Three' she did say someone had taught her that 'science leads'.

Not going to bother with an excerpt because it's so short. Just go read it and smile.

newmoonstar

Hi! I'm

newmoonstar (Meadowlark on Teaspoon) and I'll be your reccer for the next two weeks! Most of these recs will be on the shorter, more lighthearted end of the spectrum, since we could all use some relief from the stresses of the holidays. :)

Story: We Found Jesus In a Junkyard
Author: Lissy Strata
Rating: all ages
Word count: 1282
Characters/pairings: Ian Chesterton, Barbara Wright
Author's summary: How did Ian and Barbara explain their disappearance anyway?

Recced because: This is possibly the funniest fic I've ever read. I laughed so hard through the whole thing! Ian & Barbara explaining away two years of absence is the missing scene we all wish we could see, and I think this is my favorite, because it's completely absurd, yet still oddly plausible. Anyone who's ever had dealings with actual evangelical types will recognize the dialogue as utterly spot-on, and the deadpan delivery is just hilarious. Ian & Babs were characters who could use their wits to get out of any sticky situation, and I could totally see this happening. The bonus cameo appearance of another favorite character at the end is the cherry on top of a delicious treat. Go forth and read, but don't do it in a library, your laughter will disturb the other patrons. ;D

( An excerpt )

clocketpatch

Story: Level Complete
Author: thebigcat
Rating: All Ages
Word Count: 1313
Characters/Pairings: Ten, Eleven, Amy Pond, Rory Williams, River Song
Author's Summary: AMY POND used SLAP. ELEVENTH DOCTOR has been INJURED FATALLY.

Recced Because:

LOADING…
LOADING…

I am a sucker for hilarious crack, and this is hilarious crack of the first order. Gain new companions while avoiding the nefarious inference of the WILD CRACK. This fic is Eleven's first two series re-imagined as a snarky text adventure game. And did I mention it's really funny?

( A taste )

clocketpatch

Story: No Longer a Sidekick
Author: Annariel
Rating: Teen
Word Count: 5930
Characters/Pairings: Ace McShane, Clyde Langer, Fitz Kreiner, Rani Chandra, Samantha Jones, Sarah-Jane Smith
Author's Summary: How did Fitz Kreiner rebuild his life after he left the Doctor? Particularly when aliens will keep interrupting his plans.

Recced Because:

Fitz Kreiner is messed up beyond all belief, and he can't take two steps without wandering into trouble or making a horrible mistake, but for all his flaws, he's also very likeable and much more competent than he gives himself credit for.

Some unspecified time after the EDAs finish, Fitz leaves the Doctor and aimlessly drifts his way onto Sarah-Jane's couch, claiming that he's given up saving the universe and being a sidekick. With a little help from Sarah-Jane, the Bannerman Road gang, a gang of angry Ogron's, and a woman with a time travelling motorbike, he realizes that only half that claim is true.

This fic seamlessly blends canons and timelines from different corners of the Whoniverse. The dialogue is sometimes painful and sometimes hilarious, but always spot on. The details of time and place are richly imagined. The characters live and breathe. And Fitz is perfectly imperfect and compelling as he bumbles his way (with many friendly but forceful nudges) towards accepting his past and making a new beginning.

( A Taste )

clocketpatch

Story: So Our Story Goes
Author: MissNessarose
Rating: All Ages
Word Count: 1918
Characters/Pairings: Mel/Ace
Author's Summary: They meet ten years later, and perhaps by chance—but Ace knows that she won't let this chance simply pass her by. And so she doesn't.

Recced Because:

It's chicken soup for the soul.

In canon, Mel goes off with Glitz and who knows what happens to Ace. This fic picks up ten years later. It doesn't try to explain what happened in the interval, only that Mel is back on Earth now and Ace is running a charity. They meet by chance. Then they keep meeting on purpose.

This is a beautiful bit-by-bit romance, which grows organically with Mel and Ace slowly coming to the conclusion that all of their friends, and neighbours, and co-workers reached almost from the beginning. It's Ace appreciating Mel for her voice and crazy hair, not in spite of them. It's Mel solving problems. It's Ace making explosions. It's afternoons at the movies and walks in the park. It's the small moments which don't seem significant on their own, but, cumulatively, have more power than all the Nitro-9 in the universe. It's two people falling in love and it's beautiful.

( A Taste )

clocketpatch

Story: Vanity
Author: Wishingstar
Rating: All Ages
Word Count: 414
Characters/Pairings: Twelve, Saibra, Jack Harkness
Author's Summary: "Could you trust someone who looked back at you out of your own eyes?" Well, that depends on who you are.

Recced Because:

Series 8 had a lot of great guest characters – Journey Blue, Robin Hood, Psi, Saibra, Captain Lundvik, Rigsy…

There doesn't seem to be a huge amount of fic up for any of these characters yet, perhaps because of how little time has passed since the airing of Death in Heaven. So, imagine how delighted I was to uncover this gem about Saibra.

There are no heists in this fic, but the emotional impact of Saibra and the Doctor's brief reunion has stayed with me. Saibra learns to accept herself and find joy. The Doctor misunderstands her motives and runs away from the possibility of happiness. It's such a clear, painful, and oddly funny summation of Twelve's character, and it may be my favourite fic yet published for this era.

( A Taste )

clocketpatch

Story: Another Fine Mess
Author: Lyaka
Rating: All Ages
Word Count: 6310
Characters/Pairings: Three, Nine, Twelve, Missy, The Master (Delgado), The Brigadier, Twelve/Missy, Three/The Master (Delgado)
Author's Summary: Twelve gets careless in the lab and accidentally whips up a space/time paradox. The Brigadier is not amused. (Shameless multi-era sass fest.)
Warnings: None

Recced Because:

It's funny. It's really, really, really funny. Lyaka has written a comedy of witty sass, dark humour, forbidden love, and enough snark to cause a temporal paradox. Watching Doctors from different eras bicker at each other is something I always enjoy, and this fic delivers on that premise in spades. I dare you to get through it without giggling.

( A taste under the cut )

kaffy_r

Story: Strings Attached
Author:

beshter
Rating: Teen
Word Count: 80,918 (and counting)
Author's Summary: Pete Tyler thought he was agreeing to making his entire life better. Sometimes gifts come with strings attached. When his entire life is turned upside down, fate gives him a second chance at pulling it together.
Characters/Pairings: Jackie Tyler (both universes), Pete Tyler (Pete’s world), Mickey Smith, Rose Tyler, the Tenth Doctor
Warnings: None by author (character death mentioned)
Recced because: I’m taking a chance by rec’ing this, because it’s unfinished. However, there are 22 chapters, which gives you plenty to chew on until the final chapters come — and the author appears to have a schedule, which means this fascinating story should be completed. I certainly hope so, because this tackles one of the fascinating untold stories in the Whoniverse; how did the Pete Tyler of Pete’s World come to be so different from the lovable, but unsuccessful Pete Tyler of our world?

beshter has a knack I love in writers: they build a believable world, they create characters who act believably, and they act only on the information they know. We, as readers, know what’s happening and why, but the writer’s skill is such that we want to watch this Pete (always one of my favorite characters) think his way through his good fortune, through invasion, through losing one Jackie and into loving a new Jackie.

A taste:
( This was not the life that Pete Tyler had signed up for )

kaffy_r

Hello one last time (at least for now), since my time recommending has come to a close. To make up for a number of days' absence, I will be recommending two stories today. The second will be in a separate post; I hope you enjoy both of them!

Story: Winter Where You Are
Author:

st_aurafina
Rating: all ages
Word Count: 1,810
Author's Summary: Clyde has helped Luke sort out some confusing issues, but even he can't explain why the universe is named River. (SJA/Firefly crossover)
Characters/Pairings: Clyde Langer, Luke Smith
Warnings: None
Recced because: You can probably tell from my other recommendations that I have an amazingly large soft spot for crossovers; when they’re done well, they expand the universe in which we read. More than that, they also are proof that we’re reading an author whose sense of wonder is even more strong and flexible than the norm in the already creatively flexible universe that fanfiction is. This story by

st_aurafina is a beautiful example of that. This story is remarkable for the cut glass purity of the conversations between River and Luke, the different ways that Luke interacts with the people he loves, and the brilliant way the author has drawn the similarities between Luke and River. (By the way, if you know the world of Firefly, you won’t be confused by the name “River.” If you don’t, all you need to know is that this River is not a curly-haired archaeologist.)
A taste:
( The Bane had gifted their Archetype )

kaffy_r

Story: A Moment’s Peace

Author: betawho

Rating: All ages

Wordcount: 268

Author’s Summary: There's no point in running all over time and space, if you can't stop and appreciate the moment. — Includes a hammock and River Song.

Characters/Pairings: the Eleventh Doctor/River Song

Recced because: I’ve rec’ed at least one exquisitely uncomfortable story this week. Having done so, I find I need to return to an author who has provided me with some of the most comfortable and comforting pieces of fiction it’s been my pleasure to consume. betawho loves one of my favorite couples, Eleven and River, and reading this particular little piece is definitely a tiny, high-quality gem of the sort that leaves one smiling. (If, like me, you’re an Eleven/River fan who occasionally enjoy pieces of fluff that make you go “awwww” without getting too gummed up in sweetness, I’d recommend a large slice of the author’s oeuvre.)

A taste: Nope, this one is too short — just go and enjoy it!

kaffy_r

Story: Digita1 Gir1
Author:

nancybrown
Rating: All ages
Word Count: 6,679
Author's Summary: Lisa is human. Mostly.
Characters/Pairings: Ianto Jones, Jack Harkness, Lisa Hallett, Suzie Costello, Ianto/Lisa, Ianto/Jack
Warnings: None
Recced because: When I realized that this has not, as far as I can tell, been recommended, despite the author's well-deserved Calufrax ubiquity, I couldn’t help a little chortle of glee, because it falls to me to tell you how remarkable a story

nancybrown has written in Digita1 Gir1. As does much of her fiction, this centers around Torchwood, and as much of the best Torchwood fiction does, it extracts the sublime from the ridiculous, and posits a world in which the plots of too much Torchwood, generally an unholy blend of insane and inane, are abandoned in favor of what Torchwood could actually be on rare but glorious occasions; sublime, terrifying, and heartbreaking (with a tiny flame of hope somewhere, almost guttering out, but not quite.) This is an AU which does that for one of the Torchwood episodes that most horrifyingly blends insane and inane: Cyberwoman. It finds Lisa Hallet alive, in love, battling the last ghosts of her cyber-programming, and dealing with an unexpected danger to Ianto and others she may possibly care for.

nancybrown’s technical prowess shines through in the tiniest scenes — Lisa walking through a meadow, Lisa feeling the pull of electronic machinery and what it could mean for her, the descriptions of the antagonist’s laughter. The author’s emotionally mature vision of Lisa’s mind, and her description of Lisa’s distant, but still very human, view into the minds of others, have made this a story I return to again and again.

A taste:
( The man who does stop )

kaffy_r

I've fallen down on the job again, and missed a couple of days; my apologies once more. I hope this makes up for it!

Story: Cold
Author: nostalgia_lj
Rating: Teen
Wordcount: 834
Author’s Summary: The Doctor visits River to ask an important question. (Post-Kill The Moon, so spoilers etc.)
Characters/Pairings: the Twelfth Doctor/River Song

Recced because: Sometimes fic, good fic, makes us uneasy, or leaves us wondering “Is that really the way my beloved characters think?” Every so often that’s a good thing, something spiky and uncomfortable here in the land of fanfic, where we often go for the sunshine and fixit, and quite rightly want the characters we love to be happy. nostalgia_lj is a past master of writing beautifully uncomfortable stories. Her phraseology and sense of timing are superb, as is her sense of the absurd (and her ability to match transcendence with black or cracky humor.) In this story, matching Twelve with River, we see what could arguably be the most alien part of their relationship; the implacable logic that rules at least part of their minds and souls. (For something incandescently beautiful from this author, try “Blue Roses.”)

A taste:

( "Do I have to watch this?" )

kaffy_r

My apologies for a missed day; life got crazy. I hope you enjoy this particular story!

Story: What shall I do with his favorite things ....
Author:

bobsyeruncle
Rating: all ages
Wordcount: 1,120
Author’s Summary: A friend of Steven's returns a borrowed toy. COE missing scene.
Characters/Pairings: Jack Harkness, Alice Carter
Recced because: I have a personal affection for

bobsyeruncle; she and I share generational similarities, and a love of family, born, found, or made. I think the latter often shows up in her work. I also love her work because it is unsparing, whether in its clear-eyed insistence on seeing issues like race in the Whoniverse, or the difficulties of love and connection with people who have wronged us. It is also full of love. In this story, strongly and cleanly written, she observes the grief of a mother and grandfather in the unimaginable wake of Children of Earth and provides a possible outcome for Jack Harkness and Alice Carter.

A taste:

( "I'm sorry, just - Why did you say that .." )

kaffy_r

Story: An Unkindness of Ravens
Author:

prochytes
Rating: Teen
Wordcount: 1,293
Author’s Summary: Thought and memory. In the end, they’re all that matters. (Crossover with The Avengers.)
Characters/Pairings: Jack Harkness, Gwen Cooper
Recced because:

prochytes’ work has been recced before, because the author is damned good at emotional complexity, believable settings, three-dimensional characters so real that you can, upon occasion, dislike them for many reasons, and an unwillingness to provide happy or sad endings simply because people want one or the other. The latter works well with the author’s focus on Torchwood, I think. I recommend this, somewhat shorter and breezier than many others of the author’s works, because it pushes my “does crossovers well” buttons. The plot is sketched with short, efficient sentences and the characters' dialogue is much the same, enhancing the story's kinetic feel. Architecturally and in substance, much of the story is told between the words. All of it is done with elegance and and wit, as witness the amount of thematic consistency, from title to endpoint.
A taste:
( "Greatcoat - corner of the third alleyway.." )

kaffy_r

Story: a message to lead myself here
Author: wave_of_sorrow
Rating: all ages
Wordcount: 2,105
Author’s Summary: In which Eleven accidentally invites Nine (and, by extension, Jack and Rose) to watch him die.
Characters/Pairings: Amy Pond, Jack Harkness, River Song, Rory Williams, Rose Tyler, The Doctor (11th), The Doctor (9th)
Recced because: Many of wave_of_sorrow’s stories play with timelines in a way that I love. I chose this one to rec because I appreciate it on both a technical and emotional level. wave_of_sorrow pulled off writing this in a format with many extremely short, one-sentence paragraphs. It’s a format that can often drive me batty because some writers use it to scream "Look! Everything I'm writing is Important!" That wasn’t the case here, because the author wrote with emotional heft as well as economy. The story itself threatened to choke me up at times, with what I consider a spot on illustration of the relative youth of both the Doctor and River in this situation. And of course River and Nine, two damaged souls, connect in fascinating ways. There was more than one spot where the tears threatened to come, despite the story's brevity.

A taste:

( "The Doctor knew he was..." )

kaffy_r

Hello, and happy Monday! I'm

kaffyr, and I'll be providing you recommendations for the coming week. All of the stories I've collected this time around are short, and in a couple of cases they are very short. But they're examples of stories that either have made me think, or have provided me with a great deal of enjoyment - and sometimes both. If you read any of these, it would be wonderful if you could let the author know you've read by leaving a comment!

Story: A Message in the West
Author:

scarlett_key
Rating: all ages
Word Count: 4,330
Author's Summary: Martha Jones’ walk across the world brings her to Seattle, where she encounters a pirate radio station perfect for getting the word out about the Doctor. When she finds the pirates, she has to argue her case to another doctor before she can access the airwaves.
Characters/Pairings: Martha Jones, other characters
Warnings: none
Recced because: Crossovers are always a revelation to me, largely because they show me the talent of a writer. In fact, they generally stand and fall on that talent. The broader the stylistic chasm between worlds, the tougher the challenge for an author.

scarlett_key handled this extremely challenging crossover, between Doctor Who and the NBC sitcom “Frasier,” really well, something I wouldn’t have thought possible, especially given its setting, during the horrific Year That Wasn’t. It’s wonderful (in a somber, Year That Wasn't way) to see my favorite show, and one that I liked a great deal, come together so believably.

A taste:

( "Don't mind them." )

cpsd90.livejournal.com

Story: Ten and Rose Do the Hellmouth
Author:

biggrstaffbunch
Rating: All Ages
Word Count: 6,467
Author's Summary: A visit to the Hellmouth so Rose can see her first-ever vampire results in even wackier hijinks as the Doctor finally goes toe-to-toe with someone sexier than him. Or, Rose Meets Dracula.
Characters/Pairings: The Doctor (10th), Rose Tyler, Other Characters
Warnings: n/a

Recced because: I promised a funny fic recommendation for my last one, and this one isn't merely funny, it's hilarious. Rose meets Dracula here (and this Dracula is particular awesome), and if that isn't enough to pique your interest, this is a Doctor Who/Buffy the Vampire Slayer crossover (although no worries if you aren't a fan of the latter--all that's necessary to the plot is explained in the story, and the primary focus is still the Doctor and Rose, although the action is set in Sunnydale). This fic is one I have re-read over and over again, mostly because it makes me laugh, in that I-really-shouldn't-drink-coffee-while-I-read-this sort of way.

cpsd90.livejournal.com

Story: Everybody Needs an Editor
Author: SignificantOwl
Rating: All Ages
Word Count: 1,592
Author's Summary: "Martha Jones? Are we having oblique yet resonant dialogue?" [post-ep for The Shakespeare Code]
Characters/Pairings: The Doctor (10th), Martha Jones
Warnings: n/a

Recced because: I have recommended serious works so far that focus on character development and narrative arc, many of which pick up on many of the very serious themes in Doctor Who. But there is also humor in Doctor Who, and so my two remaining recommendations will both be funny and perhaps a bit silly. In this one, Martha discovers that the Doctor is writing a novel. In between the humor, both the Doctor and Martha are characterized well (I could well believe this would be an actual episode tag for The Shakespeare Code), and the humor highlights the Doctor's own rude-but-perhaps-a-bit-charming way of interacting with humans sometimes.

cpsd90.livejournal.com

Story: Unless, Perhaps, Someday, A War
Author: haveloved
Rating: Teen
Word Count: 6,080
Author's Summary: She has realized since that forever is fragile. Forever can be taken away. But the fight cannot be taken out of Rose Tyler. Rose, as the dimension cannon is built and she finds herself working through the Doctor's timeline and trying to figure out what exactly is the mystery behind Donna Noble.
Characters/Pairings: Rose Tyler, Pete Tyler, Donna Noble, The Doctor (10th), Rory Williams, The Doctor (8th), Grace Holloway
Warnings: Mild Swearing

Recced because: The quotation that gives the title its name sets the tone for the story:
“Probably we’ll die without ever seeing each other again.”
“Yes, probably. Unless, perhaps, someday, a war…”
- Hiroshima, Mon Amour

It is war and destruction that brings Rose Tyler back, not her belief in forever, but it is because of who she is that she comes back at all. One of the wonderful things to me about Doctor Who is its concern with who we are--the people we choose to be and the people we become through the choices we make, often in impossible situations. We cannot control the world around us or what other people choose, much of the time, but what we can choose is how we respond. It is these choices that make us who we are, and when everything else is so fragile, perhaps that is what matters the most.

Rose knows this already by the time she gets trapped in the parallel world--indeed, it is perhaps the reason she does get trapped in a parallel world--but when she returns, years have passed for her, and she has grown and changed yet again. This fic bridges the gap between the Rose Tyler we last saw saying good-bye to the Doctor on Bad Wolf Bay and the Rose Tyler who uses the dimension cannon to get back to the Doctor. I have always been fascinated by dimension cannon stories and by what Rose must have experienced en route to her return and how she must have changed, and this is my very favorite.

cpsd90.livejournal.com

Story: It's Such a Feeling
Author: stoprobbers
Rating: All Ages
Word Count: 2,592
Author's Summary: Oh, now I’ll tell you something I think you’ll understand.
Characters/Pairings: Harriet Jones, Jackie Tyler, Mickey Smith, Rose Tyler, The Doctor (10th)
Warnings: n/a
Recced because: My first Doctor was the Ninth Doctor, and so when he regenerated and the Tenth Doctor took over, I sympathized with Rose's hesitance in the The Christmas Invasion. I was not sure I was ready for this interloper. He seemed so different, and I wasn't convinced he would be as good as Nine had been. By the end of the episode, however, I, like Rose, had been won over. This is a story filling in the Doctor's story in The Christmas Invasion, and it's both about the Doctor himself and the kind of man he is and how Rose comes to see that he is still the same man. In a change from The Christmas Invasion, however, this is entirely from the Doctor's perspective rather than from Rose's. The author here captures the Doctor's cadence just right, in what I might describe as poetic rambling.

cpsd90.livejournal.com

Story: Even Symmetry
Author: Camilla Sandman (

misscam)
Rating: All Ages
Word Count: 1,209
Author's Summary: The Universe is good at illusions, that he knows. It gives life and death both, and somehow that is meant to make it even and balanced and he rages against it. Nothing is even for death. Nothing is even for Gallifrey. And for Rose?
Characters/Pairings: The Doctor (9th), Rose Tyler
Warnings: n/a
Recced because: Some of the fics I re-read are because I love how they fill in details or extend the narratives about characters whose stories I just want to see continue (both of the fics I have recommended so far fit in this category). This is not one of those fics; the facts mentioned in this fic stick to those revealed in the episodes of the first season reboot of NuWho. Rather, I love this fic because it gets to the heart of the Ninth Doctor and the whole of the first season beautifully, exploring who this Doctor is, what drives him, and how he changes over the course of the season. The character study of the Doctor is worth reading on its own terms, but what sets this fic apart is how beautifully (and concisely) well developed it is--the prose is crisp yet lyrical, and the last line is just perfect.

cpsd90.livejournal.com

Story: And the World Keeps Spinning
Author: locker_monster (

locker_monster)
Rating: All Ages
Word Count: 2,032
Author's Summary: While Donna might not remember, the world remembers Donna. And she’s still the best temp in the universe.
Characters/Pairings: Donna Noble, Martha Jones, Sarah Jane Smith, Jack Harkness, The Doctor (10th), Rose Tyler
Warnings: n/a

Recced because: One of the great things about the Doctor is that he helps his companions to see what was already there, to develop the brilliance that they already possessed. They become who they are because of the Doctor, but not because he makes them that way--it was always there, he just helped to bring it out. One of the saddest moments in Journey's End (and this is saying something, since the end of the episode is full of them) is after the Doctor returns Donna (sans memories) to her house and she barely acknowledges him when he leaves. Donna's loss is so great that she doesn't even know what she's missing. What's even sadder to me, however, is that this is the note we leave Donna on (at least at this point), and this seems false to her story. Donna was always brilliant, but the Doctor offered her the opportunity for her to see that, and now it seems like that all has been lost. But surely, if Donna was always brilliant, she would be brilliant with or without the Doctor, and the story here explores that through vignettes about Donna's life after Journey's End. The bonus is that these vignettes also include other companions and even the Doctor himself.

cpsd90.livejournal.com

Hi all: I'm cpsd90, and I'll be your reccer for the next two weeks.

Story: Where To Next?
Author: jinxed_wood
Rating: All Ages
Word Count: 1507
Author's Summary: Martha isn't really sure she believes in happy ever afters.
Characters/Pairings: Martha Jones, Mickey Smith
Warnings: Spoilers for The End of Time.

Recced because: I love fic that fills in the gaps in-between episodes, especially (as in this case) some big changes happen, and also fics that follow up with the companions after their official story is over. This fic does both, and in an elegant and concise manner that few fics manage. When I read this fic, it immediately became my head-canon for what must have happened. Although Martha and Mickey have just met here, it becomes clear (without having to be said directly) why they make sense together. But the fic isn't just about how Martha and Mickey ended up together; it's also about Martha finding her own way, on her own terms.

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

April 2018

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