Calufrax

     Today I'm invoking the "yesterday was a holiday" clause (You there in the back with the rule book, pipe down, it is so allowed!) and posting a second rec, so I can fit in the stories I had lined up.  Happy New Year again!

Story: "Dances In Four Worlds"
Author: Mercy_Brown
Rating: Teen
Word Count: 2335
Author's Summary: Four dances that could be happening somewhere. (Ianto/Lisa, Ianto/Rose, Ianto/Ten, Ianto/Jack)
Characters/Pairings: Ianto/Lisa, Ianto/Rose, Ianto/Ten, Ianto/Jack, as the summary says.  :)
Warnings: None

Recced because: Four memorable dances that one Ianto Jones might be sharing, with four different partners.  By the time I was done reading these four vignettes, I was utterly charmed and wanted all of them to be true.  Happily, thanks to the magic of alternate universes, they are.  ;)

Story: "Dancing at the Sugar Shack"
Author:  rickmaniac101
Rating: All Ages
Word Count: 2218
Author's Summary: "The Doctor gets a one-night stint waiting tables, greeting, and stripping at the Sugar Shack. Oh, the humanity."
Characters/Pairings: Tenth Doctor, OCs
Warnings: Swearing, otherwise none

Recced because: I was introduced to this story via the Children of Time awards (in which it took a first round Runner-up win in the "crackfic" category), and it's a real gem.  It's told from the POV of an OC, Big Jake, the bouncer-turned-owner of a male strip club, the Sugar Shack.  We've probably all seen cringe-worthy OCs, but Big Jake proves how *much* a well-written OC can add to a story.  The same can be said of writing in dialect; too often it comes across as hokey and forced, but in this story, you feel like you're sitting at a table with Big Jake, having a beer and listening to his tale about a weird, skinny guy who showed up at the club one night . . . Laugh-out-loud funny stuff, with just a dash of angst to make it believably Ten-ish.

Story:  "We're Hers"
Author: aibhinn  
Rating:  Adult   
Word Count: 4708
Author's summary: "At a Halloween party in a London club, Rose runs into an old boyfriend…and gets in over her head."
Characters/Pairings: Nine/Jack/Rose, Jackie Tyler
Warnings: None, unless you haven't seen S1 from "The Empty Child" on . . .

Recced because: As some folks here might know, I'm a great fan of the Doctor/Jack/Rose OT3 (with either Nine or Ten), and this story is ( to me, anyway) a lovely example of that combination.  It's also a great "warm fuzzies" piece, as Jack and the Doctor get to be all protective of Rose, she's grateful . . . and ultimately a very good time is had by all.  ;)

Story: "Torchwood Babiez: Missing Shoes"
Author:spastasmagoria (and jigglykat)  See also tw_babiez. . .
Rating: All Ages
Word Count: Officially 25, but kinda N/A in this case . . .
Author's summary: "Designed specifically to kill you with cute. The byproduct of too much booze and conventions... we give to you... WHY KIDS AND TORCHWOOD SHOULD NEVER BE IN THE SAME SENTENCE. (comic-fic)"
Characters/Pairings: Jack Harkness, Gwen Cooper, Ianto Jones, Toshiko Sato, Owen Harper, Rose Tyler, Tenth Doctor (all as you've never seen 'em before . . .)
Warnings:  Warning numero uno: this is a WIP, with an uncertain end date, though it is still in production.  Warning numero two-o: it's sheerest crack.  Warning numero three-o:  it is addictive.

Recced because: It's weird, funny, cracky as heck, and cuter than all get out.  Also, it's brilliantly executed, both story and art.  Dame Ruth says, "check it out!"

Wow --  my last rec of the week.  Already.  I thought long and hard about which fic to pick; there are so many wonderful authors on Teaspoon, and some folks with wonderful bodies of work, but I decided at that start of the week (as a way of narrowing things down) to pick individual stories that were generally short, punchy and preferably less well-known, which have haunted my memory for one reason or another.   I wish I could have recced a boatload more . . . which means I'll probably sign up for another run in the future.  ;)

Story: "The Day No One Died"
Author:  Rowena_Zahnrei
Rating:All ages.
Word Count: 2539
Author’s summary: "The Doctor spun on her, his brown eyes flashing in sudden anger. “Do you think I make this kind of call arbitrarily? Do you think I don’t want to go back and stop these idiots from destroying themselves? Their people?”
Martha was rather taken aback. “So, you’re just going to stand here, then,” she frowned. “Do nothing. Allow an entire people, an entire planet to die out just because you don’t want to upset the balance?"
The Doctor glared, his jaw set. “There’s more to this universe than one planet. I have to look at the bigger picture,” he said coldly. “And so do you.”

A brief story in five parts on why, sometimes, you can't go back. Even if you have a time machine."
Characters/Pairings: Ten, Martha
Warnings: None

Recced because: This is a relatively short, but memorable, examination of the things the Doctor can and cannot do to right wrongs and how the "larger picture" perspective of history can lead to a positive result from a tragic beginning.  It also touches on the power of words and writing, and is a beautifully-sketched portrait of hurt'n'angry S3 Ten, and his relationship with Martha.

 Story: "A Matter of Timing"
Author: Forge
Rating: All ages
Word Count: 13.000
Author’s summary: "Crossover with Firefly. The wreck of a luxury liner is boarded, and Ace is kidnapped. Months later, the crew of the Serenity is caught up in the Doctor’s latest scheme.What experiments are being performed on Icarus? What's in the Box stolen from the Doctor's quarters? It's all a matter of timing, but events are slipping away from him. As tensions between the Doctor and Captain Reynolds mount, Ace’s time is running out."
Characters/Pairings: Seven, Ace, the Firefly crew.
Warnings: None.

Recommended because:  To be really, brutally honest, this story could use a good going-over for some mechanical/spelling/punctuation issues.  However, with that said up front, I still consider it well worth a rec for the quality of the characterizations, the fine ear for voices and dialogue, and the perfection with which Seven and Ace fit into the Firefly 'verse.  Seven's hidden darkness and twisty mind are shown to good advantage -- and the sequences in which he plays chess with River are genuine standouts.

Story: "Homesick"
Author: Howlcastle
Rating: All ages.
Word Count: 2515
Author’s summary: "Jamie is grumpy and the Doctor thinks the only way to improve his mood is a quick trip back home."
Characters/Pairings: Jamie, Two, Zoe
Warnings: None

Recommended because: Jamie, Two and Zoe are one of the great TARDIS teams (IMNSHO), and Jamie has always been a favorite Companion. Thrown constantly into situations well outside his native frame of reference, he always kept his basic core of common sense and honest loyalty. This story is an affectionate, respectful and believable character piece focusing on Jamie's thoughts about his home, his past, and where he belongs.

Story: "Near"
Author: rosa_acicularis / rosa_acicularison LJ, too.
Rating: All ages.
Word Count: 976
Author’s summary: "Memory is a funny thing." The Doctor, after Utopia. (Now inconsistent with canon.)
Characters/Pairings:  Ten/Rose, Captain Jack Harkness, Martha Jones
Warnings: Ending of "Utopia," "Doomsday."

Recommended because:  The author has a brilliant understanding of Ten/Rose; their "voices" and feelings always ring perfectly true in  her stories.  This is a brief interlude, posted just after "Utopia" aired (hence the slight AU-ness of it) that is beautiful, funny and heartbreaking, written with clean, polished, scalpel-like precision.  An angsty start to the week, but hey,  Mondays are kinda angsty by nature, right?  ;)