calufrax

livii.livejournal.com

Story: Photocopy
Author: agapi42
Rating: All Ages
Author's summary: A smudge of ink and the story changes. (Spoilers for the PDA The Time Travellers.)
Characters/Pairings: Ian/Barbara, First Doctor
Warnings: none
Word Count: ~ 1,200 words

Recced because: This is heart-breaking and beautiful. The story is actually about another Ian – one from an alternate timeline in the BBC PDA book The Time Travellers. It's a fantastic book, and a fantastic hook for a fic, and we see the options – what could have been, the slight alteration, the smudge of ink, the wedding ring. As always, this Ian is strong, moral, funny, and in love with Barbara through all his iterations. Lovingly written, I think this would be enjoyable without having read the book, because it's so Ian, and his love, and his hope, and his amazingly large heart.

livii.livejournal.com

And 'round we go again! This week I'm going to bring you three authors who haven't been recced here before, and some Big Finish and PDA love. Enjoy!

Story: Once Upon A Time
Author: atraphoenix
Rating: All Ages
Author's summary: Ian Chesterton was a scientist. He wasn’t supposed to believe in fairy tales.
Characters/Pairings: Ian/Barbara
Warnings: none
Word Count: ~1,200 words

Recced because: A beautiful story (written for me!), describing Ian's growth and journey through life and love, and his beliefs. The structure is terrific, with the story spinning out around a core of fairy tales, and using all sorts of little tricks like pointing out the narrative conventions being (currently) subverted. We see the world and Barbara through his eyes – and get to see a kick-ass moment for Barbara – and it's loving, creative, and thoughtful. Poisoned apples, and cursed spinning wheels. No kisses just yet, Ian thinks, waiting for his chance to be the knight on a white horse – or as best as he can be, whatever Barbara needs. Lovely work.

drho.livejournal.com

Story: Ten Times Trouble
Author: TigerKat
Rating: All Ages
Word Count: 8157
Author's Summary: Ian and Barbara are getting married. All ten Doctors go to their wedding. Chaos ensues.
Characters/Pairings: Barbara Wright/Ian Chesterton, the Doctor (1-10), Ace McShane, Donna Noble, Evelyn Smythe, Fitz Kreiner, Jack Harkness, Jamie McCrimmon, Other Character(s), Romana II, Sarah Jane Smith
Warnings: None.

Recced because: Ian and Barbara deserve a perfectly lovely and smooth wedding, complete with affection, cake, peace, and presents. But Ten Times Trouble is like a real wedding, rolling everyone’s drunk uncle, interrupting brother, affectionate friends, and bickering relatives into ten incorrigible packages. This sweet, funny, and poignant story has more than a bit of appeal for almost every part of fandom.

livii.livejournal.com

Story: Bright Star
Author: eponymous_rose
Rating: Teen
Author's summary: Marshellian Paston's Fifteenth Theorem of Time Travel states that any two persons travelling through time are slightly more likely to meet from a probabilistic standpoint, within a margin of error described by a hypercube with complex dimensions; Ian, Barbara and Sarah Jane Smith give Marshellian Paston something to write home about.
Characters/Pairings: Ian/Barbara, Sarah Jane, Harry Sullivan, Luke Smith, First Doctor, Susan, Vicki, Third Doctor
Warnings: none
Word Count: ~7,700 words

Recced because: Epic and brilliant, this story spins out a non-linear adventure and love story for Ian and Barbara, and unexpectedly but beautifully, tells us about Sarah Jane, as well. There's UST, romance, a touch of sex, happiness, ever-afters, danger, and adventure galore – everything that happens in life, especially a life with the Doctor, all of it, the good and the bad. The guest stars are all perfectly used, and with some terrific lines: "It's enough to give anyone a headache," Harry said sympathetically. / "Oh, Ian's just easily baffled," said Barbara which made me laugh out loud, and "It's a lovely elbow," said Barbara politely. / "Thank you," Ian said. "But I have heard good things about certain other portions of my anatomy." which was too perfect – and sexy – for words, this is an absolute delight.

netgirl-y2k.livejournal.com

Story: Dating in the Workplace
Author: Paranoid Seat
Rating: All Ages
Word Count: 2471
Author's Summary: If anyone had asked the Doctor whether he begrudged his companions their interpersonal relationships, he would’ve denied it strenuously, with much hand-waving and/or babbling. Because it was true! For the most part. Crackfic, plain and simple. Have your brain-bleach on standby. Do not attempt to eat or drink while reading unless you have a valid warantee on your monitor/keyboard.
Characters/Pairings: Ian/Barbara, Ben/Polly, Two/Jamie, Brigadier/Benton, Tegan/Nyssa, Peri/Erimem, Ace/Hex, Five/Turlough, Jack Harkness.
Warnings: Crack

Recced because: Sometimes you want to read long plotty gen, sometimes you want to read some character driven angst and sometimes what you really want to read is some brain bendingly hilarious crack!fic.

This fic has something for everyone, and by that I mean that whoever you ship they probably get a mention in there somewhere. It's very funny and never fails to cheer me up any time I read it.

Plus who doesn't love a fic that contains the line 'Captain Jack Harkness, at your service. Ah... I’ll find my pants, shall I?'

pontisbright.livejournal.com

Story: The Nooks of Soho
Author: VMG
Rating: Adult
Word Count: 4311
Author's Summary: Barbara and Ian? Let's not kid ourselves. After life in the TARDIS, no one's that straight...
Characters/Pairings: Barbara/Ian, Barbara/Susan, Ian/One, Ian/m, Barbara/f
Warnings: potential underage squick

Recced because: despite my firm belief that Ian and Barbara got married and are still somewhere in London, perfectly contented, VMG writes a disastrous sex scene between them which manages to be hilarious, sweet, and utterly convincing. This is a story about the impossibility of simply coming home again after travelling on the TARDIS. Ian and Barbara love one another, but that's not always enough, and both find themselves resorting to fairly desperate measures under the strictures of 60s society to fill the gaps.

It's not the most comfortable read: this isn't intended as 'hawt pron' by any stretch, and the swirling time structure is a little hard to follow in places. But it's a thought-provoking piece, the dialogue is absolutely spot-on, and the closing paragraphs are just plain beautiful.

netgirl-y2k.livejournal.com

Story: Six Ways Barbara and/or Ian Might Have Died and One Way They Never Did
Author: agapi42
Rating: All Ages
Word Count: 1353
Author's Summary: Across the timelines, fates diverge. What could have been might be, somewhere.
Characters/Pairings: Barbara/Ian, Martha, First Doctor, Tenth Doctor
Warnings: Character Death

Recced because: I am sucker for AUs and this fic is a series of six really interesting ones looking at Barbara, Ian, their adventures and what night have been but thankfully wasn't. As you can probably tell from the title this fic isn't exactly a barrel of laughs all the way through but the ending still manages to be one of the sweetest and most uplifting things I've read in this fandom.

( Snippet )

morgeil.livejournal.com

This one's a bit late, sorry. That's what I get for staying at office parties too long... :P

Story: Homecoming
Author: Kazzy
Rating: Teen
Word Count: 1597
Author's Summary: They’ve left the Doctor, but in many ways they’re coming home to world that is as foreign as any they’ve been to yet. It’s not easy to pick up the life you left behind.
Characters/Pairings: Ian/Barbara
Warnings: None.

Recced because: This is one of my absolute favorite Ian/Barbara fics. There have been quite a few takes of what happened to them after "The Chase", but I feel that this is the most plausible. It's realistic, understated and quite, quite lovely.

Current Mood: blah

violetisblue.livejournal.com

Story: Tea and Variable Resistance
Author: Professor Pangaea
Rating: All Ages
Author's Summary: The Doctor hadn't mentioned any third eyelids, but he hadn't mentioned quite a lot of other things either.
Characters/Pairings: Tenth Doctor, Martha, Ian/Barbara
Warnings: None

Recced because: This story of the Doctor and Martha's 1969 Earth sojourn does a lovely job of portraying both the Doctor's essential, unknowable alienness, and his yearnings for human contact: his reaction to Barbara and Ian's infant son, his distant awkwardness around Martha (there's a scene between them which, though humorous, is uncomfortably reminiscent of any lonely, elderly human being seeking solace in younger company), the nightmares neither of them can or will discuss. Martha here is wry and intelligent, not yearning romantically for the Doctor but rather seeking any sort of clue that would allow her to understand him--though her own, personal flashes of insight bring her closer than she thinks. A very satisfying study of two individual characters and their sometimes unspoken friendship.

biichan.livejournal.com

Story: Love Of His Life
Author: Carmen Sandiego
Rating: Unrated
Author's summary: The Doctor loves - foolishly, unconditionally, brilliantly - through all his lives.
Characters/Pairings: Second Doctor/Jamie, Third Doctor/Jo, Theta/Koschei(/Ushas), Fourth Doctor/Romana, Eighth Doctor/Romana, First Doctor/Barbara (unrequited), Barbara/Ian, First Doctor/Cameca, Tenth Doctor/Reinette, Susan, the Brigadier, Martha and numerous other companions mentioned. Also, from the deity corner, Pain, Death, and Time.
Warnings: Should I warn for Gallifreyan mythology?

Recced because: If someone is a thousand years old or more (or even if they're the nine-hundred years they claim to be), it's very silly to presume that they've only loved once in their life. This fic expresses that concept beautifully. It's wonderfully written, with lyrical prose and a firm grasp of canon. The incorporation of Pain, Death, and Time--the three Gallifreyan goddesses--lends a perfect note of unease. I almost didn't rec this, because hasn't everyone read something by Carmen Sandiego? But this fic just gets it so very right that I couldn't help myself. If you haven't read this already, please do. (It's not really as long as the pairing list makes it sound like. It's actually just under three thousand words.)

I'd also like to say that it's been a distinct pleasure to rec to everyone this past week. Due to the generosity of our mods, who let me sign up for another week, I'll be back at the end of April. Quite frankly, I can't wait!

Current Mood: happy
Current Music: Ben Lee - Begin

livii.livejournal.com

Story: Something to It
Author: albatrossjr
Rating: All Ages
Author's summary: Pre-Unearthly Child: He is just imagining it.
Characters/Pairings: Ian Chesterton, Barbara Wright
Warnings: none

Recced because: Ian is not in love; he is just imagining it. A dead-on portrayal of Ian, showing the attraction between him and Barbara before they ever met the Doctor. The story is beautifully written – the style suits the subject matter perfectly – and it's all so very possible, and feels so real. It's short and sweet and clever, with some lovely details, and also manages to break my heart, the way they're dancing around each other, and the way Ian values his friendship with Barbara too much to think he could ever act on his attraction. Just a wonderful little bite of a story.

reccity-rec-rec

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

April 2018

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A rec comm for A Teaspoon And An Open Mind

Entries tagged with pairing:barbara/ian

Rec: Photocopy by agapi42

rec: Once Upon A Time by atraphoenix

Rec: Ten Times Trouble by TigerKat

Rec: Bright Star by eponymous_rose

rec: dating in the workplace by paranoid seat

rec: The Nooks of Soho by VMG

rec: six ways barbara and/or ian might have died and one way they never did

Rec: Homecoming

Rec: Tea and Variable Resistance

REC: Love Of His Life

Rec: Something to It

reccity-rec-rec

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April 2018

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