calufrax

Story: Fondness
Author: LizBee
Rating: Teen
Word Count: 738
Characters/pairings: Fourth Doctor/Romana I
Author's summary: "I am rather fond of you," the Doctor said, in an unexpected fit of post-coital affection.
Warnings: none

Recced because: I don't even ship Four/Romana, but this fic was so funny I was willing to go with it. The Doctor and Romana's pillow talk in this is hilariously droll and full of witty jabs at both Time Lord society and their own relationship, and perfectly in character. I could hear both their voices clearly in this dialogue, which is no small feat considering how the banter between Four and Romana I was some of the best of any Doctor & companion team, IMO. It was lovely to hear the flavor of that recreated here. A delightful (if mildly NSFW) read.

jjpor.livejournal.com

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 )

dbskyler.livejournal.com

Story: With True Love and Brotherhood
Author: LizBee
Rating: All Ages
Word Count: 831
Author's Summary: The Doctor has an invitation, Rosita has a firm right hook, and then there's a Yeti.
Characters/Pairings: The Tenth Doctor, Rosita, Jackson Lake
Warnings: None

Recced because: After the events of The Next Doctor, the Tenth Doctor tries to recruit Rosita to be his next companion. I won't tell you the outcome, but I will tell you that this is a wonderful, feel-good fic. Go read it.

( an excerpt )

nonelvis

Last rec of the week! I'm still looking for more reccers starting in mid- to late November, so please drop by the sign-up post if you're interested, and tell your friends to drop by, too.

Story: Detectives, Adventurers and Girls Who Don't Wait Around: The Paradox of Amelia J. Williams
Author: LizBee
Rating: All Ages
Word Count: 2,808
Author's Summary: Between her debut in 1938 and her death in 1993, Amelia Williams probably wrote over five hundred novels, short stories and articles.
Characters/Pairings: Amy Pond, Rory Williams
Warnings: None

Recced because: Amy Williams: kissogram, model, travel writer ... and incredibly prolific pulp and children's fiction author, too. This "essay" reviews Williams' career and her work's impact on children (and adults) of all ages, including some children and adults you'll no doubt find familiar.

I love everything about this story – its detailed history of how Amy's writing evolved over the years; the sly references to other Whoniverse characters; the Photoshopped book covers; and especially, the style in which it's written and the "author" to whom it's attributed. In fact, there's only thing that disappoints me about it: that Williams' books don't really exist, so I can't read them.

Excerpt: ( after the cut )

jjpor.livejournal.com

Greetings, fellow fanfic aficionados (try saying that three times, fast) - I will be doing my best this week to meet all your reccing needs. Let us kick off with something that I personally find to be right up my fan-fictional street:

Story: Cheer Up, Emo Time Moppet
Author: LizBee
Rating: All Ages
Word Count: 7,504
Author's Summary: The Doctor and Romana's secret alien lovechild learns some hard truths about life.
Characters/Pairings: The Doctor (10th)/Romana II, Rose Tyler, Sarah Jane Smith
Warnings: None

Recced because: Well, if any of you are at all familiar with my previous reccage or indeed output in Whofic, that little "/" between the "The Doctor (10th)" and "Romana II" may strike you as a significant clue. I think it's debatable whether or not somehow bringing Romana back from E-Space/the dead and having her interact with the new series Doctors and their companions would actually be a good idea on TV for a variety of reasons; it can, however, work very well indeed in fic, and this is a very good example. Here we have Romana returning from her long sojourn with the Exo-Universe...with Livia, her and the Doctor's by-now adolescent daughter, in tow. Yes, I'll leave you to digest that idea and imagine exactly how it might play out when Ten (of all Doctors) and his modern-day associates are confronted with this state of affairs, and then gently suggest that you rush over to the Teaspoon and see that whatever you imagined, it wasn't as funny, as well-thought out or as true to the various characters as this story.

I can never get enough of Doctor/Romana, personally, but this isn't the only thing, or even the main thing, going on in this story. Ten and Rose are probably never going to be in my list of favourite Doctor-companion teams, but their interaction here is very well portrayed in a way I wish the TV stories had managed more often. Sarah Jane is very well done too, and K-9 (both of him) is...well, K-9. Above all, young Livia's self-centred teenage point-of-view which continually misses the nuances of the relationships between the other characters (as we are prone to do at that time of life) is a hoot.

This author is no stranger to these pages, but anybody's who's read any of her works will know there's a reason for that. I first read this one a good two or three years ago, or maybe longer, at I think the recommendation of a Livejournal associate, and I'm somewhat shocked to see that I never left a review on it, because it's something I've gone back to more than once and always thought fondly of in between times. Indeed, rereading it before posting this, I was struck by how many of its ideas I must have taken on board and how they have clearly influenced my own efforts to write new series Doctor/Romana fic. Fellow Calufraxers, I urge you, don't be the discourteous fool I was - when you read this (as I'm assuming you will), please leave a small indication of your appreciation for the author.

( A Sample: )

jinxed-wood.livejournal.com

Story: The Watchmaker
Author:

lizbee
Rating: Teen
Word Count: 19,748
Author's Summary: None
Characters/Pairings: Harriet Jones, Liz Shaw, Mickey Smith, Romana II, Rose Tyler, The Daleks, The Doctor (10th)
Warnings: None

Recced because: Romana survives the Time War - one of my favourite tropes - and settles down on Earth. This is a lovely meaty story thats wonderfully paced.

janeturenne.livejournal.com

For my last rec of the week, a return to Gallifrey, and two very different takes on the same pairing from the same author: one dark with a hint of sweetness, one sweet with an edge of darkness, each an excellent take on Romana and Braxiatel and their centuries of twisted chemistry.

Story: Tutoring
Author: lizbee
Rating: Adult
Word Count: 1097
Author’s Summary: Braxiatel has a special interest in Romana.
Pairing: Romana/Braxiatel
Warnings: Explicit Sex

Let’s put this as simply as possible: there isn’t a lot of het sex written in Classic Who, and this is almost certainly the hottest I’ve ever read. It’s more than a PWP, in that there’s some leadup and a great deal of atmosphere, but the sex is definitely the focus, and it’s very, very well done. The issue of Romana and Brax’s age difference is touched on (it’s set during Romana’s time at the Academy) but isn’t allowed to dominate, and it ends on just the right bittersweet note.

( Excerpt: )

Story: Needs Must
Author: lizbee
Rating: All Ages
Word Count: 644
Author’s Summary: Romana and Braxiatel have some unfinished business. Post-"Panacea".
Pairing: Romana/Braxiatel
Warnings: None
Recced because:

My personal headcanon on Braxiatel and his hopeless pash for Romana largely involves him being unwilling to admit to himself how much the woman who is his President isn’t the same girl he fell in love with all those years ago. This fic plays on that idea very effectively, with an additional note of him being just as ensorcelled (though differently) with the older and wiser version. Add to that a Romana who clearly has been shaped by her many experiences--as traveler, President, and captive of the Daleks--and the result is a fic that crams an enormous amount of complexity and depth into a very short word count, with a chilling ending that will stick with you long after the story ends.

( Excerpt: )

biichan.livejournal.com

So Primsong has already done her first rec, but since it's still Sunday in my time zone, I figured I'd do my last. And since Remix Redux just opened their archives today, I thought I'd rec a remix done two years ago (which is coincidentally the first time I participated.)

Story: Superb (The Sex-O-Matic Venus Freak remix)
Author: LizBee
Rating: Teen
Word Count: 1913
Author's summary: Romana has improved on the Doctor's technique by quite a bit.
Characters/Pairings: Romana/Strella/Reinhardt, Romana/Mel, Romana/Tosh, Romana/Harry, Romana/Simm!Master, Romana/Lucy, Romana/Sarah Jane, Romana/Martha, Tenth Doctor
Warnings: no actual on-screen sex (though there's plenty of implying)

Recced because: It's silly, naughty, and just plain fun, not mention pretty darn funny as well. I especially enjoyed the running gag about week-long Time Lady orgasms. (The story it remixes, Livii's she'll be superb is fun as well, but Magicallaw already recced it two years ago.)

Everything you ever heard about Time Lord sexuality, or the nonexistence thereof, is a lie.

Okay, historically it's true that Time Lords were a bit repressed. The grandeur and majesty of the heritage of Rassilon didn't exactly lend itself to elaborate scenes of debauchery. But these days, there are only a handful of Time Lords around, and it's safe to say the species is, as a whole, pretty damn sexy. If a skinny man in a suit offers you a ride in his phone box, you'd best pack your good knickers. If a dapper madman takes you out dancing, you should resign yourself to the inevitability of a night of passion and bad pop music. If a sweet-looking blonde gives you a flirtatious look over the rim of her cocktail glass--

But let's not get ahead of ourselves.

Current Mood: cheerful

morgeil.livejournal.com

Story: The Hitchhiker's Guide to Getting Laid on Gallifrey
Author: LizBee
Rating: All Ages
Word Count: 1293
Author's Summary: The Gallifreyan Karma Sutra is a very short book.
Characters/Pairings: Fourth Doctor, Romana I

Recced because: Because, if I am to be terribly honest with myself, I prefer the first Romana over her second incarnation (mind you, it's a terribly close race). And good Romana I fic is hard to find. Thankfully this fic exists.

And there is not only great Romana I characterization... there is also excellent Four/Romana snark and probably some of the best Four/K9 banter I've ever read.

Disappointingly however, there is actually very little sex involved.

( Excerpt )

Current Mood: busy

garpu.livejournal.com

Story: Shadow Self
Author: LizBee
Rating: Teen
Word Count: 870
Author's Summary: Fifth Axis interrogations stir up things best left quiet in Braxiatel's mind. Or, The One Where Brax Has A Head!Pandora.
Characters: Irving Braxiatel
Warnings: None specifically

In the 90's, when "Doctor Who" was off the air, the void was filled with a series of books published by Virgin. Those books lost their license around 1997 or so, but they began publishing a series of books around Bernice Summerfield, a character in many of the seventh Doctor books. Later, Big Finish acquired a license to produce new material based upon both "Doctor Who" and the Bernice Summerfield line. Irving Braxiatel is one of the characters who pops up in books and audios from time to time, mostly in the Benny line.

This story takes place between a short story, "Midrash" and an audio "Death and the Daleks." This post by

lizbee sums up some of the backstory (but there are spoilers for the Benny audios). She does an awesome job of capturing a complex character, yet still making him sympathetic to the reader.

Braxiatel opened his eyes and found that he was not alone.

But then, he never had been.

The pain of the Special Inquisitor's work was beginning to recede at last -- he was almost able to meditate on the irony, that the effort to shield himself from a telepath should prove as painful as any torture. That the headache was self-inflicted only completed the absurdity. He rested his head on the back of his chair, and looked up at his companion.

livii.livejournal.com

Story: The Unplanned Pregnancy (of Rassilon)
Author: LizBee
Rating: Teen
Author's summary: It's the wrong bed, on the wrong planet, and he's sharing it with the Lady President. And that's just the start of Narvin's problems.
Characters/Pairings: Romana II/Narvin, Ten
Warnings: none
Word Count: ~1,500 words

Recced because: Well-written, well-characterized, and hysterical Gallifrey fic – what's not to love? Coordinator Narvin is regularly portrayed in this audio series as Romana's foil, but here we see there might be something more lurking under the surface. From lines of beauty like "Romana, I am not sending K9 out to find your sex tape—" and numerous hilarious skewerings of clichés, to a finale with Ten that's pitched just right, this is a delight.

silly-cleo.livejournal.com

(Um, sorry about the lack of recs this week. Life rather intervened, best laid plans of mice and men. Anyway, on with the show!)

Story: Rebuilding
Author: Lizbee
Rating: All Ages
Word Count: 937
Author's Summary: Following the Dalek invasion of Gallifrey, Braxiatel pays a visit to Romana.
Characters/Pairings: Romana II, Braxiatel.
Warnings: None.

Recced because: I find that this fic encapsulates a lot of my ideas about Romana as President as well as the creepy (but awesome) of Braxiatel and Romana's relationship with same, it sticks in my mind and is really pretty much canon for me. A must if you're a fan of Romana, especially in the BF audio spin-offs.

jinxed-wood.livejournal.com

Story: The Devil You Know
Author:

lizbee
Wordcount: 1,828
Rating: Teen
Author's Summary: Romana sees the Time War at close range.
Characters/Pairings: Leela/Romana II/The Doctor (8th)

Recced because: I have a severe weakness for Time War fic, especially when it involves Romana - throw in Eight and Leela, and it becomes a very special tale indeed. This is a tender portrayal of their intertwining relationships - and it has a delicious twist at the end.

biichan.livejournal.com

Story: Identity Politics
Author: LizBee
Rating: Teen
Word Count: 2355
Author's summary: The duplicate Doctor goes through a different sort of metacrisis.
Characters/Pairings: Duplicate!Tenth Doctor/Rose, Alt!Wilf
Warnings: Spoilers for Journey's End

Recced because: First of all, it's funny. The humor is extremely well done, flowing in a natural, effortless fashion. Believe me, that's a lot harder to do than it looks. More importantly, though, is that underneath the humor there are some real issues about gender and identity being explored. The Duplicate Doctor isn't just part-Doctor, after all, he's part-Donna too. And sometimes the Doctor parts and the Donna parts don't exactly mix.

The Doctor climbed back into bed, and wondered if there was an appropriate time to tell your universe-traversing girlfriend that you were maybe sort of a bit gay now. You were a strident red-haired woman in a skinny man's body. Or something. One thing about Donna, she'd been utterly certain of her heterosexuality, and the only clitoris she was interested in was her own.

Current Mood: happy

silly-cleo.livejournal.com

Story: Second Fiddle
Author: LizBee
Rating: All Ages
Word Count: 1114
Author's Summary: It's a perfectly normal (that is to say, disastrous) day for the TARDIS crew, except that Martha finds she might be playing second fiddle. Again.
Characters/Pairings: Martha Jones, Romana II, Tenth Doctor, Leela, Martha/Romana, Romana/Leela
Warnings: None

Recced because: I've been resisting reccing this one for ages and I really don't know why. It's possibly the first Classic Who fic I ever read yet I keep coming back to it again and again and it always makes me happy. It's actually partly responsible for how much I adore Romana II and it has wonderful Martha voice. I suppose I'm reccing this one for the same reason I've recced a lot of others this week, it has several lines that you come across and every time you just think "...Yes, exactly" and that, to me, is marvelous and a big part of what a good fic ought to do. I dunno. It has Romana/Martha AND Romana/Leela, ALL IN ONE FIC. What more could you want, except for it to be longer?

Anyway, that's all from me. I've had a lovely time reccing this week, sorry again for being a bit inconsistent!

avarill.livejournal.com

Story: Paradox Loop
Author:

lizbee
Rating: Adult
Word Count: 3544
Author's Summary: He's seen her from childhood, but he doesn't know her name.
Characters/Pairings: First Doctor, Romana, Susan
Warnings: Explicit Sex

Recced because: This one made my eyes mist over and blew my mind at the same time. It's a nifty temporal paradox, a desperate love story, a look at the Doctor when he was young, and a tidy solution to some interesting continuity puzzles all at the same time.

Current Mood: accomplished

avendya.livejournal.com

Story: Nowhere Music
Author: LizBee
Rating: All Ages
Word Count: 1664
Author's Summary: "I was a dad once."
Characters/Pairings: Romana II, Eighth Doctor
Warnings: none

Recced because: Oh, the language. This story is less about plot, and more about time - what could have, might have, should(n't) have happened in a war where everything around you can be rewritten in an instant.

"Losing a time war, if you've never tried it, is a long, slow process. Win a day, lose a decade. That planet? It was always uninhabited. Would you mind standing still a moment while I nip back and kill your grandfather?"

( Excerpt )

nonelvis

Story: Timepiece
Author: LizBee
Rating: All Ages
Word Count: 5,485
Author's Summary: Unscrupulous temporal engineers and a major breach in the laws of time lead Rose Tyler and the first Romana to join forces to rescue the Doctor. Both of him.
Characters/Pairings: Romana I, Rose, Four, Ten
Warnings: None

Recced because: This is a delightful character study – sure, there's a plot about rescuing the Doctor before he accidentally gets erased from time, but it's completely secondary to the interactions between Rose and Romana. Romana is her usual clever and competent self, but still needs Rose's human ingenuity to save them from a scrape or two on their way to locating their wayward traveling companions. The dialogue sparkles –

lizbee always does a beautiful job writing Romana – and as I commented on her journal when she posted this, this story made me miss Romana I.

( Brief excerpt after the cut. )

livii.livejournal.com

Story: Learn How To Be You In Time
Author: LizBee
Rating: All Ages
Author's summary: "No one you can save that can't be saved." Written for the chuchontime prompt: "Romana is in need of some muscle. Duggan has conditions."
Characters/Pairings: Romana II/Duggan
Warnings: none
Word Count: ~1,300 words

Recced because: Oh, my soul. This is a gorgeous piece, bringing back the marvellous Duggan from City of Death, and throwing him and Romana into the Year That Never Was. Time Lords aren't easy people to know, but Duggan, with his big heart and good faith, tries his best, and between romance in shattered cafes, proposals involving piles of rocks, death, and rewinding, this manages to be heart-breakingly beautiful while also funny and insightful. "I'd forgotten you were crazy," Duggan says, and he must be crazy to deal with some of the things that come his way from knowing Romana, but somehow, these two crazy kids make it work.

livii.livejournal.com

Story: Streams
Author: LizBee
Rating: Teen
Author's summary: A non-linear love story.
Characters/Pairings: Martha/Romana, Tenth Doctor
Warnings: none
Word Count: ~ 2750 words

Recced because: "A non-linear love story" is LizBee's summary, and this absolutely sparkling story is all of that, and more. The unlikely pairing really and truly works, with both Romana and Martha flawlessly characterized, meeting and re-meeting and making it work, despite time not working in their favour. It's very funny and witty, just the right level of sweet, and the way the story twists and turns is incredibly clever and interesting to read, all building up to a terrific little ending. An absolute treat.

kerravonsen

Story: How Martha Jones Saved the World and Lucy Saxon Initiated Divorce Proceedings With Extreme Prejudice
Author: LizBee
Rating: All Ages
Word Count: 12199
Author's Summary: An alternate resolution to the "Sound of Drums" cliffhanger, featuring a cavalcade of companions, UNIT soldiers and rather more Time Lords than one usually sees.
Characters/Pairings: Liz Shaw, Lucy Saxon, Martha Jones, Other Character(s), Romana (author created), Sarah Jane Smith, Tegan Jovanka, The Doctor (10th), The Master (Simm), UNIT
Warnings: None

Recced because:Let me count the ways...

This was the first someone-else-in-a-pocket-watch story I read, and it was inspiring.
This was much, much better than "The Last of the Timelords".
1. a better plot, which made a lot more sense
2. a different but interesting origin of the Toclafane (this story was written in the week between "The Sound of Drums" and "The Last of the Timelords", which was a feat in itself).
UNIT!
Former companions! Particularly Ace, Liz and Jo.
Romana!
And Martha did rock, too.
Snark, banter, and good characterisation.

Current Mood: pensive

biichan.livejournal.com

Story: Huntsman
Author: LizBee
Rating: None (probably All Ages or Teen)
Word Count: 6217
Author's summary: "A passing huntsman heard Red Riding Hood's cries..." Martha knows where fairy tales come from. She just never expected to be part of one.
Characters/Pairings: Tenth Doctor, Martha, Rose, Romana I, Romana II, Seventh Doctor, Jamie, Susan, Ninth Doctor, The Bad Wolf, The TARDIS
Warnings: none, really, except some second person in the dream sequences

Recced because: This fic has it all: funny bits, serious bits, spooky bits, and poignant bits. It's about Martha and the TARDIS trying to get her to fix something that's gone wrong within it, but it's also about fairy tales. It's about the big bad wolf. It's about the ghosts in the machine.

It's wonderfully atmospheric and beautifully written. There's a real love for canon informing every word. Maybe the best way to express how good this fic is would be to let LizBee's words speak from themselves: ( Short excerpt. )

Current Mood: peaceful
Current Music: Tycho - Past Is Prologue

reccity-rec-rec

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

April 2018

S	M	T	W	T	F	S
1	2	3	4	5	6	7
8	9	10	11	12	13	14
15	16	17	18	19	20	21
22	23	24	25	26	27	28
29	30

A rec comm for A Teaspoon And An Open Mind

Entries tagged with author: lizbee

Rec: Fondness by LizBee

Rec: Nor Grave Nor Bed Denied [by LizBee and Branwyn]

rec: With True Love and Brotherhood, by LizBee

Rec: Detectives, Adventurers and Girls Who Don't Wait Around: The Paradox of Amelia J. Williams

Rec: Cheer Up, Emo Time Moppet by LizBee

Rec: The Watchmaker, by Lizbee

recs: Tutoring and Needs Must by lizbee

REC: Superb (The Sex-O-Matic Venus Freak remix)

rec: The Hitchhiker's Guide to Getting Laid on Gallifrey

Shadow Self, LizBee

Rec: The Unplanned Pregnancy (of Rassilon) by LizBee

rec: rebuilding

rec: The Devil You Know

REC: Identity Politics

rec: second fiddle

Rec: Paradox Loop

rec: Nowhere Music

Rec: Timepiece

Rec: Learn How To Be You In Time by LizBee

Rec: Streams by LizBee

Rec: How Martha Jones Saved the World...

REC: Huntsman

reccity-rec-rec

Links

April 2018

Tags