Calufrax

Hello!  I'm idelthoughts on Teaspoon, and it's my first time reccing on Calufrax. I tend to read mostly New Who fics, but I've tried to select a diverse(ish) sampling of some of my favourites.  So many of my favourites have already been recced, so it's been a challenge!  I'll do my best, and hopefully there will be something for everyone to enjoy.  I'll start with my favourite of the bunch:

Story: The Larks, Still Bravely Singing, Fly
Author: cyberjulie
Rating: All ages
Word Count: 2904
Author's Summary: The Eighth Doctor, recovering from an act of finality no one else could have brought to pass, finds a moment's grace in the last place he would expect.
Characters/Pairings: Eighth Doctor, historical figure
Warnings: None

Recced because: If you don't know the story of Christmas Day Truce in 1914, I urge you to read up on it.  It's one of the magic moments in history where people show themselves capable of being better, in a way that the Doctor always urges us to be.  It's touchingly written, and the World War I battlefield is the perfect real-world background against which to set the battle-weary Eighth Doctor.  The romanticism and bleak desperation of the Great War is the most apt parallel for the Time War than I can imagine. 

John Alexander McCrae is a great choice of historical figure to bring into the DW world.  My favourite Who stories, especially from the Classic Who eras, are the ones that go back in time and make history live.  I really enjoy didactic storytelling - I suppose it's why I have such a soft spot for YA fiction in general.

(As a total aside, and on a note of ridiculous Canadian patriotism, the one-off encounter with McCrae as a notable historic figure and the general structure of the fic reminds me of the Canadian Heritage Moments that used to run on the CBC in an effort to bolster public pride and knowledge of Canadian history.  If you know what I'm talking about, then you get a Super Secret Canada Club High Five from me.  And if you don't know what I'm talking about and want to have a good chuckle at Canada's expense, then go look it up on youtube.  There are quite a few, but I think the most notable is 'Doctor, I can smell burnt toast!', though I also recommend the one on Sam Steele, the Klondike Mountie.)

( Excerpt )