Calufrax

Story: The Assistant
Author: Lurky McLurklurk
Rating: All Ages
Word Count: 4557
Author's Summary: The singleheart Doctor gets more than he bargained for when he gets a job.
Characters/Pairings: Brigadier Lethbridge Stewart, Rose Tyler, Sarah Jane Smith, Eight, Ten (human version)
Warnings: None

Recced because: I love alternate universes. I especially love complex and well thought out alternative universes. I especially especially love complex and well thought out alternate universes that give me SO MANY FEELINGS about their characters, even more feelings than I already had. And oh, does this fic deliver. I most of all love the take on Sarah Jane and the Brigadier, and U.N.I.T.'s dark secret. It's threaded through with well-crafted angst, but the ending is the most heartwarming thing I've read in a long time.

Excerpt:

"Well, if you're not going to work for Torchwood, then what are you going to do?"

"I definitely have to get a job?"

"Yes!"

"I could work for UNIT. I've done that before. Not in this universe, perhaps, but they exist here. I saw a truck one time."

"And how are you going to contact them? They're a top secret organisation! They're not exactly going to be in the phone book ..."

Story: A Change in the Wind
Author: Beatrice Otter
Rating: All Ages
Word Count: 2481
Author's Summary: Why does Mary Poppins have a bag that's bigger on the inside? Why, because she's a Time Lady, of course!
Characters/Pairings: Eleven, Mary Poppins
Warnings: None

Recced because: Normally crossovers aren't my favorite thing, but Mary Poppins being a Time Lady just fits so perfectly! Beatrice Otter has woven the two canons together seamlessly, with a fascinating take on both. Mary Poppins'/Domaripopexnal's first person p.o.v. narration is perfection, describing her circumstances with a sharp and dry wit, a grudging and not entirely conscious affection for her charges, and always underneath it all, a deep and piercing loneliness and grief for the losses of the Time War. Her interaction with the Doctor is deliciously complex on both their sides, a masterful portrait of warring anger, relief, gratitude, mourning, pride, loneliness, resignation, pity, and survivor's guilt.

Excerpt:

"Does she have eyes in the back of her head?" Auguste asked.

"Of course not, silly," Lucienne said scornfully. "We've seen her without her hat! She reads minds."

It was commendable logic, and much closer to the truth. Dromaripopexnal was a Time Lady, a native of the lost planet of Gallifrey, and mental sensitivity far beyond that of humans was one of the many gifts they possessed. So she could read minds, given preparation and close proximity to her subject, but in this case it was not necessary.

It was a simple deduction. One of the children was always lagging behind to look at something interesting; and as Auguste and Lucienne had been the most recently chastened for it, Madeleine was the most likely to be the current culprit. Honestly, Dromaripopexnal was not quite sure why looking after human children was considered so difficult. A very little bit of knowledge about the general behaviors of immature Homo sapiens, affection and attention, and discipline as appropriate. It was hardly vortex mathematics!

Story: Appearances Can Be Deceiving
Author: betawho
Rating: All Ages
Word Count: 6755
Author's Summary: It was irritating enough having to deal with one Doctor; Peri didn't think she'd have to deal with two. Or have to deal with herself, an other self, a different self. She stared at the other Peri, with her one hoop earring, her biker boots, and her Bowie knife. Okay, that was just weird.
Characters/Pairings: Six, Peri, AU!Six, AU!Peri
Warnings: None

Recced because: Betawho has a great Peri voice and has her and Six's dynamic down pat; plus, this story showcases an interesting take on regeneration, an original planet that I'd love to visit, and two fascinating character studies. However, none of those things are the reason I'm reccing this.

I'm reccing this story for its very last line.

You'll know why when you read it.

Excerpt:

Sunlight dappled the dales and fields below, glinting off the rippling river. Meadows were a virtual jubilation of flowers, reds and purples and yellows. She'd much prefer to be down there collecting specimens, she'd seen some interesting looking brassica and bassilicum, rather than up here where she was likely to get snakebit or buried in an avalanche.

"What's the problem?" She turned her face up at that familiar impatient voice. Yellow trouser legs led up to his golden backlit explosion of hair. She shaded her eyes.

"I just thought I'd take a moment to compose my will before I fall down the mountain and die."

Well, the end has come. For my last rec of the week, I'd thought I'd do something about goodbyes.

Story: You can't go home again
Author: Pitry
Rating: All Ages
Word Count: 2237
Author's Summary: Five postcards the Doctor got from Mel.
Characters/Pairings: Brigadier, Third Doctor, Mel Bush, Amy Pond, Rory Williams, Eleventh Doctor, River Song, Ninth Doctor, Sixth Doctor, Seventh Doctor

Recced because: Full disclosure: this was written for my prompt at dw_straybunnies. But I wouldn't be reccing it if Pitry hadn't taken my half-formed hopes and wishes and sculpted them into pure timey-wimey awesome.

For all of its randomness, Mel's goodbye to the Doctor in 'Dragonfire' is still one of the most affecting in the show's history. Her promise to write to the Doctor--never mind that he didn't have an address, she'd just stick a postcard in a bottle and throw it into space--perfectly captured some of her best qualities: her kindness, her whimsy, her overflowing optimism and desire to believe the best of everyone and everything. Of course, with a time traveler there's no way to make sure your letters get to him in order, and so this fic becomes two equally fascinating jumbled-up wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey stories. On one hand, it's the tale of the Doctor, and how five postcards from a companion who's moved on affected him at critical points in his lives--both before and after he met her. And on the other hand, those five postcards tell Mel's story, the age-old tale of the young person leaving their mentor and striking out on their own, with all the attendant freedom and fear of that venture. These two stories twine together seamlessly, both rich in humor, pathos, and great characterization with everyone's voices ringing true.


Excerpt:

Dear Doctor,
I’ve spent the last five days with this wonderful family. They were very kind, and not at all what you’d expect from a family of man-eating fish. I quite like it here. But I don’t think I’m staying. It doesn’t really feel like home. I’m starting to think it might have been a mistake to leave you. But I think I’ll travel a bit longer, give it another go. I hope this postcard finds you well.
Mel.

And now for something completely different.

Story: Letters From an Unhinged Mind
Author: rollingstone
Rating: All Ages
Word Count: 395
Author's Summary: The Doctor writes two letters: an apology to Obi-Wan Kenobi, and a reprimand for stolen jellybabies.
Characters/Pairings: Fourth Doctor

Recced because: The best crack!fic is that fic that, while undeniably cracky, is also somehow perfectly in character. The premise of these letters is ridiculous, but I can still "hear" Four perfectly nonetheless, lecturing Obi-Wan and upbraiding the jellybaby thief. I was giggling by the third sentence, and didn't stop all the way through.

Excerpt:

I'm terribly sorry for stealing your lightsaber. In hindsight, I realize that, as a Time Lord, I have little use for such a tool, as I tend to favor diplomacy over force anyway. But my immense brain, far superior to your feeble one, overtook pragmatism, and I found I desired to understand such a tool. I hope you'll forgive my theft, particularly given that it was done only to further my expansive and immutable search for knowledge. I intended to return it just as soon as I examined its internal structure and means of application.

However, was it really necessary to set my scarf aflame?

Story: The Master and Mrs. Pond
Author: Memory Dragon
Rating: All Ages
Word Count: 13238
Author's Summary: Still waiting for her proper Doctor and Rory to find her again, Amy meets the Doctor's best enemy and gets chased around by a giant purple monster. So much for hearing embarrassing stories of the Doctor's childhood over chocolate!
Characters/Pairings: Amy Pond, Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, Third Doctor, Delgado!Master, Sergeant Benton

Recced because: Though this is technically the sequel to "The Sea Devils and Mrs. Pond," I chose to rec this one instead because I believe that it is in this story that Memory Dragon truly perfects the initiative of its predecessor, in glorious fashion. (And rest assured, "The Master and Mrs. Pond" is perfectly understandable if you haven't read the first one--all you need to know is that Amy is trapped in Three's era in an AU-ish limbo between Jo and Sarah Jane.) How glorious of a fashion, you ask?

Well, this is Amy "Force of Nature" Pond we're talking about here, dropped down into the proper, polite--perhaps even a bit repressed--Third Doctor's run. And in true Amy Pond fashion, she immediately smashes down that annoying line between text and subtext. She makes fun of the Master's TCE, points out that his schemes are rather rubbish, demands to know whether or not the Doctor and he are ex-boyfriends or if it's an unresolved sexual tension thing. Also, she flirts with him, demands chocolate, and nicknames him--well, I better not spoil it for you. Between her brash confidence and the Master's icy reserve, they are the perfect foils for each other. For such a funny fic, the ending is surprisingly and beautifully bittersweet: the Doctor and Amy can hold out hope for the Master, but the reader already knows his future. And both Amy and we know the future of the Doctor.

(Also, in both stories? Amy is working for UNIT. So she is surrounded by soldiers. Men in uniform. She flirts with everyone, and it is the best thing ever.)

Excerpt:

"You'll find the TCE is a much more elegant solution and much easier to clean up," the Master explained, gripping the weapon in his hands tighter. It was the only show of his temper, but it left Amy wondering if she was pushing a bit too far. He was the one with the weapon after all. "You will be shrunk down to a few mere inches, effectively killing you."

"So it shrinks things?" Amy asked, not caring about how far she was pushing him any longer. This was hilarious. "And I thought the bow tie and ruffles were a cry for help. No, that's not compensating for anything."

I'm back! And I come bearing gifts!

Story: Lies Told to Children
Author: Lyricwritesprose
Rating: All Ages
Word Count: 1274
Author's Summary: The Doctor explains why he travels with humans, or possibly just spins a tale.
Characters/Pairings: Barbara Wright, Ian Chesterton, First Doctor, unspecified Doctor

Recced because: I thought I'd start off the week with the Doctor who started it all, and when it comes to First Doctor fics, nothing compares to this one. It's gorgeously written, deeply affecting, and just so goddamn smart. On one hand, the lies of the title refer to the xenophobia taught both consciously and unconsciously to the children of Gallifrey (a goldmine of a subject that far too few authors tap). On the other hand, the Doctor tells the story of his moral evolution and changing attitude towards humans by using the framework of a fairy tale--and a metaphor is a kind of lie as well. The way this story compares and contrasts these two kinds of lies, all through the lens of the Doctor struggling to understand what makes someone a good person--and more importantly, what makes someone a person at all--will leave you with the most wonderful combination of heartache, warm fuzzies, and geeky glee.

Excerpt:

This is false from beginning to end, of course. But there's more than one kind of lie. There are lies like the notion that electrons go around atoms in sedate planetary orbits: false but useful, good for making pictures in your head. And then there are the other kind.

You'll have to decide for yourself which sort this is. Imagine--

Imagine that you were born in a fairy-tale kingdom that shines like a diamond. Imagine you grew up there. And imagine that every day, in a thousand tiny ways, that kingdom whispered, we are the only real, true people in the world.

Story: Unexpected Futures
Author: cosmic angst
Rating: All Ages
Word Count: 2053
Author's Summary: Some cracks run too deep to heal on their own. That's where the Doctor comes in. Doctor/Romana. Set after The Big Bang.
Characters/Pairings: Eleven/Romana
Warnings: None

Recced because: Because this is desperately, achingly beautiful. Because I am an angst junkie, and I want to direct this story directly into my veins. Because the Doctor gets to see Romana again, and Romana gets to see the Doctor again before she dies, and we get to see them traveling together again one last time. Because Eleven/Romana is one of those pairings I never would have thought of, but by God, does it work. Because fiction about difficult choices is my crack cocaine. Because I love Romana so, so much, and even though the Doctor has to erase the peaceful Gallifrey she helped save and nurture, she does get some kind of closure. And so does the Doctor. And so do we.

( “excerpt” )

Story: Before the Moon Falls
Author: Clocketpatch
Rating: All Ages
Word Count: 2750
Author's Summary: This is the story of Ruby-and-White, daughter of the Qetesh.
Characters/Pairings: Ruby White, other Qetesh (original characters)
Warnings: None

Recced because: Clocketpatch is fabulous at constructing literally whole worlds of backstory, which is why when I won a story from her in a charity auction, I asked for one of the background of a minor character from The Sarah Jane Adventures. She chose Ruby White, and created this brilliance, which…you know, I’m just going to plagiarize from my own review:
“There's so much detail, and so well thought-out--everything fits together and weaves together into this amazingly beautiful world and history. You give us these little sketches and peeks at facets of the culture--I especially love what you've done with the color names, since I have such a thing for narratively/symbolically significant names. And I love the lesson/legend structure of the story as a whole, and the little ways in which the original characters are subtly differentiated from each other…[I love] the quotes scattered throughout…I especially love the ending quotes; they just tie up the whole story and sum up who Ruby and her existential crisis all at the same time.”
Also, while Ruby has only appeared in SJA, this fic does not occur in the time or place of her episode, and makes few references to it. If you are familiar with SJA canon, you’ll have fun filling in the blank spots in the background of a fascinating villain, and if you’re not, you’ll still marvel at the inventiveness and originality without feeling like you’re missing key information.


( “excerpt” )

Story: Doctor Who and the Terrible Heron
Author: x_los
Rating: G
Word Count: 1397
Author's Summary: The Doctor's sandwich-thieving reaps its terrible karmic reward.
Characters/Pairings: Jo Grant, Three
Warnings: None

Recced because: I could rec this solely on the basis that I too have been waiting for the Doctor to reap his terrible karmic reward since he stole poor Jo’s sandwiches in The Sea Devils. But I would also like to point out that the interplay of Three and Jo (whom we really don’t get enough of in fanfiction, do we?) is perfectly in character and perfectly hilarious, with Three’s mix of arrogance and protectiveness and puffed-up angst, and Jo’s mix of kindness and ditziness and surprising moments of piercing insight. And even as you’re chuckling at the humor, there’s a sharp note of pathos in Three’s internal monologue about his lack of freedom compared to the heron, and in Jo’s efforts to keep his mind from traveling the dark routes he sometimes sets it on.

( “excerpt” )