Calufrax

Hello, I'm Clocketpatch and I'll be you're reccer for the week. Please forgive the abundance of Eleven era fic – the boy in the bowtie has kind of stolen my fandom heart. Since it’s a Monday I’m making my first rec nice and short…

Story: I Am Zagreus
Author: infiniteviking
Rating: All Ages
Word Count: 203
Author's Summary: The title character, in rhyme, from his own fragmented POV. Highly subjective; 200 words.
Characters/Pairings: Eight, the TARDIS
Warnings: None

Recced because:

The author gives no warnings, but I'm going to – don't read this before you go to sleep.

This reworking of the Zagreus rhyme preserves the creepy sing-song patter of the original; It probably will make very little sense to someone who hasn't listened to the relevant audios, but I think that creepiness makes it worth a read anyway. The themes of possession and darkness are easily recognisable, whether you know the characters or not, especially given the Doctor's recent tangles with his dark side in series 5. The last skilfully twisted stanza leaves a lingering chill long after you've finished.

Story: Secretly Loves the Sahara
Author: lunarla225
Rating: All Ages
Word Count: 1835
Author's Summary: The universe has a really rotten sense of things. Donna in Egypt, pre-Series 4.
Characters/Pairings: Donna Noble, Wilfred Mott, The Doctor (10th)
Warnings: none

Recced because:

It’s absolutely gorgeous.

Really, there’s not much more I can say to sum it up. I love Donna and seek out fic with her, and yet, somehow, this is the first straight-forward, non-AU, fic I’ve seen with her set in the gap between The Runaway Bride and Partners in Crime. It’s about her growing as a person. It’s about her vacation to Egypt. It’s about the utter dullness and wonder of life on Earth. It has a prose style which draws the details crystal clear and hyper-real, painting the picture, showing all of the little nitty-gritty things that make up a day, that so often get forgotten by authors. This is professional, publishable quality writing. It’s absolutely gorgeous. And it’s all told from a perspective that is unequivocally, uncompromisingly, Donna Noble, unedited, in all her glory.

Story: Occupational Hazard
Author: Sceadu
Rating: All Ages
Word Count: 1097
Author's Summary: Jo is embarrassed about doing something very predictable. Meanwhile a certain medical Doctor unknowingly gets a glimpse of his future.
Characters/Pairings: The Doctor (3rd), Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, Jo Grant, Other Character(s)
Warnings: none

Recced because:

This is a lovely bit of UNIT fluff that caught my eye while going through the archives. It manages a complete adventure in just over a thousand words – complete with twisted ankles and the Doctor forgetting something really obvious (but remembering it in time to save the day). It also has a fun little cameo, which leads to the punch line. I’m not going to give it away, but it left me with a silly, knowing smile plastered all across my face.

Story: Don't Stop Me Now
Author: overbright
Rating: Teen
Word Count: 1152
Author's Summary: Five things the Doctor didn't do after the Waters of Mars. And one thing he did.
Characters/Pairings: Donna Noble, Rose Tyler, The Doctor (10th)
Warnings: none

Recced because:

The Time Lord Victorious is exercising his power. This is one of those fics which takes events that should be happy, but lays a twisted subtext at their feet. It’s probably the best example I’ve ever read of what might happen if the Doctor well and truly did lose it and put his own desires above the good of the universe as a whole.

And it’s terrifying.

Story: Protect and Survive
Author: JJPOR
Rating: Teen
Word Count: 49,717
Author's Summary: The Doctor and Ace find themselves in a darkly altered version of the 1960s we know; somebody has been meddling with history, raising the spectre of nuclear Armageddon, and that somebody needs to be stopped.
Characters/Pairings: Seven, Ace
Warnings: Swearing, violence, graphic descriptions of the aftermath of nuclear war

Recced because: I was desperately hoping this story would be finished by the time my turn came up to rec. I know I just gave you a Seven story, but this one is very different and it needs a shout out:

This story doesn’t flinch. It goes dark as anything I’ve ever read on the teaspoon, but the terrifying part is that it goes dark while keeping every moment completely in-character. That, combined with the eerily beautiful descriptions of atomic war, is enough to give you nightmares. JJPOR shows us a version of the sixties which might have happened, had events transpired just a little differently. He spins a plot that keeps you reading, and gasping, and guessing at who might be responsible. The whole story is absolutely peppered with pop-culture references. Read this if you want a meaty, timey-wimey plot with perfect characterization. But don’t, I beseech you, read it late at night with the lights off…

Story: The Man with Time in his Eyes
Author: Poetry
Rating: Teen
Word Count: 8475
Author's Summary: Mereisekarait, a medical student from the planet Emmeras and a former companion, meets a man with time in his eyes, a look she finds deeply familiar. He doesn't recognize her. Can they solve a mystery and untangle their timelines?
Characters/Pairings: Original character, other Doctor, the TARDIS
Warnings: Swearing

Recced because:
OCs can go either way, and their presence tends to deter potential readers. Other Doctors offer a world of possibility, but their unfamiliarity takes a leap of faith to accept. If you take that leap this story is so, so worth it. It’s heart-breaking, it’s reassuring, it’s about a character who endures through space and time no matter what face he wears. It’s about the companions he loves so very much. It’s about his ship, his lovely lady, and his chariot amongst the stars. The OC is one of the most remarkable aliens I’ve encountered in fic, for she is not alien-in-name-only but is a part of a complex and believable culture which we see from her point of view. Yet, she is still completely sympathetic, even if she isn’t as innocent as she pretends. To cut it short, this is a mastery of plot and world-building and frighteningly likely what-if.

I’ll give a shout out for the chapter titles as well, which provide a nice bit of nostalgia as well as being highly appropriate for each scene.

Greetings! I'm Clocketpatch and I will be your assigned reccer for the week. Most of the stories I've picked out already are a trifle on the long side and I do apologise in advance. I'll try to get some shorter ones in as well for those who enjoy having tales which they can read and digest over a lunch break.


Story: Wibbly-Wobbly, Timey-Wimey (Book I: Exile)
Author: I Walk In Eternity
Rating: All Ages
Word Count: 33280
Author's Summary: “People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect… but actually, from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint, it’s more like a big ball of wibbly-wobbly…. timey-wimey…. stuff.” (The 10th Doctor, ‘Blink’) An adventure spanning all of the Doctor's lives begins with a series of vignettes from the eras of the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Doctors. May they rest in peace.
Characters/Pairings: Barbara Wright, Ben Jackson, Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, Dodo Chaplet, Ian Chesterton, Jack Harkness, Jamie McCrimmon, Jo Grant, John Benton, Liz Shaw, Martha Jones, Omega, Polly Wright, Romana (author created), Susan Foreman, The Autons, The Doctor (10th)
Warnings: Some swearing

Recced because:
For my first rec of the week I wanted to start at the beginning, literally. Using the simple, yet brilliant, premise of a diary bequeathed from companion to companion, this story follows the life of the Doctor and those many companions, allies, and enemies who have been swept into the whirl-wind of his existence. The plot is, in some ways, straight-forward, but at the same time it is very, well, I guess the scientific term is “wibbly-wobbly”, as it darts from past to present. This is, really, a love song to the show. Every character from Jack, to the Brig, to Ben and Polly, to the Doctor himself(s), is perfectly voiced and painted with the palate of an author who is both a very talented writer and a very devoted fan. There are continuity references galore for those who like them, though the story should still be a good romp for someone who has only basic knowledge. There's a mystery as well!

Story: 1900
Author: Bad_Dickens
Rating: All ages
Word Count: 21497
Author's Summary: The Doctor, Vicki, and Steven visit the Paris Exposition of 1900, make some new friends, and investigate strange happenings..
Characters/Pairings: First Doctor, Steven Taylor, Vicki
Warnings: none

Recced because:

In the author’s own words ‘“1900” is a love letter of sorts to Paris.’ It’s a breathless historical adventure which whirls along on a cloud of phenomenal research and first hand experience; Paris is in this story. She is as essential a character as the Doctor or Steven.
This could easily have been a first Doctor episode – well, perhaps not the hot air balloon chase scene with Steven, that might have been a bit beyond the 1960s budget and SFX department to pull off – but it’s all presented with such a deft touch and caring hand. All of which is, in itself, enough to recommend this fic; furthering adding to its case is the fact that Steven and Vicki are the companions of choice. Theirs is a pairing which gets little love in fic, and has lost most of its actual footage to the bonfires of time. They are brought to life so vividly in this fic –
it’s a bit lengthy, but it’s definitely worth the plunge!

Story: Young Men Among Roses
Author: KindKit
Rating: Teen
Word Count: 1006
Author's Summary: Jack Harkness, shell-shocked and amnesiac, is sent to Craiglockhart War Hospital in the summer of 1918. There he meets John Smith, a fellow soldier.
Characters/Pairings: Jack/Eight
Warnings: some not particularly graphic sex

Recced because:

Originally I was going to rec another one of Kindkit’s stories, but then while I was browsing through his/her archived works I discovered this gem and was utterly captivated. It tells, in prose that flows like poetry, the tale of two lost and lonely men, drifting without a past, through a convalescent home’s rose garden as summer fades to autumn, and the War to End all Wars (oh bitter irony) draws to a close.

I’m not sure I understand this fic completely (and that’s part of the charm), but the beauty of it, and the palatable feelings of loss, desperation, and sometimes hope coming off the characters make it worth the read. Even more so since all of that is packed into just a touch over 1000 words.

Hi I’m Clocket and I’ll be your assigned reccer for the next seven days. Hopefully I’ll be able to give you a nice selection of lengths and eras with a good crack-to-angst ratio. Since I’m swamped with school this week I wrote most of these up a good month in advance so here’s hoping no one steals the recs.


Story: To the Rescue
Author: dbskyler
Rating: All Ages
Word Count: 1381
Author's Summary: Sarah Jane is in Aberdeen! Help is on the way.
Characters/Pairings: Sarah-Jane, Jack Harkness, K-9, Jo Grant, Romana II, Harry Sullivan
Warnings: probably best not to be drinking anything that might wreck your laptop when reading this

Recced because:
Mondays need a bit of humour, therefore I bring you this wonderful and highly plausible fic about what Sarah-Jane did after getting dumped in Aberdeen. Did she weep and angst in a corner, a helpless little maiden in distress?
– of course not! She’s Sarah-Jane!
The Doctor, however, is set on the notion that she must be rescued, and sends various companions to do the deed; the results are predictably hilarious as Sarah-Jane rolls her eyes at each in turn and gets on with her sight-seeing (this involves wild misappropriations of UNIT funding).



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Story: The Boy in the Library
Author: funkyinfishnet
Rating: All Ages
Word Count: 5116
Author's Summary: Set after 'The Long Game.' After an argument with the Doctor, Rose finds herself led to the TARDIS library and finds someone unexpected there who's hiding from the Doctor.
Characters/Pairings: Rose Tyler, The Doctor (9th), Adric
Warnings:

Recced because:

Halloween is a time for ghost stories...

this is a perfect blend of old and new Who. It’s bittersweet, but hopeful, and an awesome insight into the Doctor, the TARDIS, and the many, many fragile companions who have been shaped by their time among the stars. And also, the way they, in turn, have shaped the Doctor. When you’ve finished be sure to check out the beautifully written sequel: The Ghosts that Linger



Also, it’s come to my notice that SOMEHOW there are no references to Adric in the Calufrax character tags. For shame people. For shame.

Story: No Such Gorram Thing
Author: Lady Yueh
Rating: All Ages
Word Count: 2731

Author's Summary: Prompt by such_heights: There's no such thing as aliens, and no gorram freakish flying box is going to convince any of the crew of Serenity otherwise (Firefly/Doctor Who)
Characters/Pairings: Ace McShane, Jack Harkness, Martha Jones, Rose Tyler, The Doctor (10th), The Doctor (3rd), The Doctor (4th), The Doctor (7th), The Doctor (8th), The Doctor (9th)
Warnings: None

Recced because:

Doctor Who is one of those shows that was MADE for cross-over fics. It can be incredibly difficult, however, to write cross-overs which are true to the spirit of all represented source material. No Such Gorram Thing succeeds in this task marvellously. All of the members of Serenity’s crew are perfectly sketched in this series of short vignettes. All of the Doctors (and companions) are perfectly drawn as well, and the interactions between the different characters are utterly natural, sometimes hilarious, and occasionally heartbreaking.

Story: All Changes Big and Small
Author: the_seventh_l
Rating: All Ages
Word Count: 1116
Author's Summary: 'Looking in the mirror, Frobisher thought he looked pretty good, even without a beak.' Sometimes even a shape-shifter needs to stay the same. Slight spoilers for "The Doctor's Daughter" and the end of "Journey's End".
Characters/Pairings: Frobisher, Iris Wildthyme, Jenny
Warnings: none

Recced because:

Because Monday's are rather awful sometimes, here's a bit of crack to brighten the day!

For those not in the know, Frobisher is a shapeshifting alien – a Whifferdill to be precise – who likes to wear a penguin body most of the time. In this story Frobisher is having a bit of a mid-life crisis, with some interesting results… the line about him, Jenny, and an adopted Adipose alone make this fic worth its weight in gold. Also, the ending, which explains Frobisher’s fate, is scary-plausible (if a little AU).

Story: Some Are Boojums
Author: Amy Wolf
Rating: All Ages
Word Count: 1765
Author's Summary: What I tell you three times is true - AU from Last of the Time Lords.
Characters/Pairings: Lucy Saxon, The Doctor (10th), The Master (Simm)
Warnings: none

Recced because:

Some Are Boojums is a mind-trip, a slippery thing to grasp, and an amazing feat. It is amazing. In the spirit of the story I’ll tell that three times: Amazing! Amazing! Amazing! I’ve read it at least eight times, and new meanings unfurl themselves each time.

Amy_wolf has taken Lewis Carol’s epic nonsense poem The Hunting of the Snark and used it as the basis for a truly inspired glimpse at what might have happened had the Master lived at the end of The Last of the Timelords. The Master narrates the story to various unidentified companions, and, as he slips further into insanity, you can’t help but feel sorry for him. As for the Doctor, well, his insatiable desire to ‘fix’ things is worrying to say the least!

You don’t need to have read Lewis Carol’s poem to understand this story (I hadn’t the first time I read it), but I encourage you to seek out that poem anyway, since it’s readily available online and makes for a good mind-trip in and of itself.

My appologises in advance if the coding messes up again. I did a demo post on my own page and it turned out. So, *fingers crossed*

Story: Doomsday Dimensions
Author: Doomsday Dimensions
Rating: All Ages
Word Count: 9891
Author's Summary: Rose's parallel universe has a parallel Doctor--in his Eighth incarnation, unscarred by the Time War. But something's afoot on Gallifrey...
Characters/Pairings: Romana II, Rose Tyler, The Doctor (8th), The Master (Other)
Warnings:

Recced because:

This story has the distinction of being the first quality fic I ever read. It’s the story which got me writing fic in the first place, ‘cause I looked at it and thought; wow, that’s some good stuff. I wish I could do that.

I came back to DD when it was time to do my reccing list, worrying that, now that I’ve been exposed to lots and lots of other quality fics, this one might have lost its charm. It hasn’t. It’s funny and sad and epic in all the right places. I believe this might have been one of the first stories in the ‘Rose and the alt!Doctor in Pete’s World’ genre, and it remains one of the best. Whatever happened at the end of series four, this story, and the other stories which follow it (did I mention that this is only the first in a series?), remain my personal canon for what happened to Rose after Doomsday.