Calufrax

Posting on behalf of Styrofoam monster on Teaspoon.

Story: Self-Preservation
Author: Memory Dragon
Rating: teen
Word count: 16429
Characters: Delgado!master, Three, Simm!master
Summary: Running for his life with the Master, the Doctor finds someone he just can't leave behind.
Warnings: This fic is part of a well balanced diet of angst and cuteness. The Master gets a bit beaten up (off screen abuse of the insane on backwater planets) and there is a small bit of violence towards the Doctor, but I don't think it's anything major. Just a bit of choking, really.

Recced because: Self-Preservation features two incarnations of the Master, and Memory Dragon writes them both splendidly (though of course, anything Memory Dragon writes with the Master is guaranteed goodness). This fic shows the trust between the 3rd doctor and his master, something that has been lost in their later regenerations, and the mercurial nature of simm!master, and offers a believable explanation for how Delgado becomes who he will be. The story is very much one of contrasts, a moment of truce in a conflict that almost feels like a farce because it's obvious in this fic that Three and his master don't hate each other - rather the opposite. The concern the 3rd doctor and Delgado!master show for each other only underscores how bitter their battles will become. The conversation between the two Masters was also well done, with Delgado characteristically dismissive of his older self's melodrama. And the ending is excellent.

I could go on about it all day -- go ahead and read it!

excerpt: ( after the cut )

Posting on behalf of Styrofoam monster on Teaspoon.

Story: Other Days
Author: aralias
Rating: all ages
Word count: 3569
Characters: Jackson Lake, Simm!Master
Summary: There were days when Jackson Lake woke up safe in the knowledge that he was Jackson Lake, mathematics teacher, friend to Rosita, and father of Frederick Lake. Then, there were other days.
Warnings: none

Recced because: Even though I was unfamiliar with Jackson Lake, I immediately fell into the narrative. The story is tightly written, using Jackson to give an outsider's perspective on the Master. Jackson/ the Doctor is a great character and his interactions with the Master were witty and smart. The ending packs a particular punch.
Oh, and the remixed drabble, linked in the author's note, is also very much worth reading.

Excerpt: ( after the cut )

Posting on behalf of Styrofoam monster on Teaspoon.

Story: No Return and No Deposit
Author: sheldrake
Rating: All ages
Word count: 3866
Characters: 10th Doctor, Romana, OCs
Summary: "There's a sort of sliding scale of aloneness." Meetings with Time Lords in bars.
Warnings: none

Recced because: Two different bars, and two different encounters between out-of-time people create an atmospheric and introspective story. The fic explores travelling, home, and the ways people are alone. Romana's final monologue is chilling and hopeful and perfect. There is so much depth to this fic - when you finish you want to read it again.

Excerpt: ( after the cut )

Posting on behalf of Styrofoam monster on Teaspoon.

Story: Set Yourself on Fire
Author: livii
Rating: all ages
Word count: 1081
Characters: Leela/Jacobi!Master
Summary: War, in fragments: Gallifrey's two greatest defenders.
Warnings: none

Recced because: This fic imagines the Master and Leela as warriors of Gallifrey, bound together by their determination to protect their home. They are not friends, but comrades-in-arms, sharing something deeper than trust in the cataclysm of the Time War. The prose is sparse and evocative, and the relationship the two share is uncertain and oddly beautiful. Leela is proud and brave; the Master is proud and almost brave. But the ending shows where they differ.

Excerpt: ( after the cut )

Your reccer for the next two weeks is Styrofoam monster on Teaspoon; I'll be posting on their behalf.

Story: Naked People
Author: Pluto
Rating: All Ages
Word count: 4,956
Characters: Tosh
Summary: Tosh finds confidence in the shape of a little rust-colored dress, and sees a side of herself that she'd like to keep. Slight AU (confident Tosh).
Warnings: none

Recced because: Tosh doesn't get enough love. The summary calls this story a slight AU, but it's that kind of AU that is so close to reality you can see it, and far enough that you feel its loss when you finish reading. Tosh is gorgeous and smart, and here she starts to realize it. The structure is excellent, composed of Tosh's interactions with not just her co-workers but also some very well-drawn OCs. Tosh's inner-doubts and struggles ring painfully true, as she explains to a girl much like herself just how she feels sitting in a bar: "You came here because it was better than going home and staring at the television and now you just wish you were home watching anything at all, because at least you wouldn't be paying seven quid a drink for the privilege."

The story is about self-confidence, self-doubt, and self-esteem. It's heart-warming and just a little bit tragic.

( excerpt )