Calufrax

I've just realized that due to a late start I have more rec to get up to seven! 

Story:  Reset
Author:  Gillian_Taylor (dark_aegis  on LJ)
Rating:  Teen
Word Count:  16,465
Author's Summary:  Time isn't a straight line. Sometimes it loops back before going forward again. Sometimes it's meant to do that. Most of the time it isn't.
Characters/Pairings:  Nine/Rose/Jack

Recced because:  Suspense?  Check.  Banter?  Check.  Bonding and UST for our favorite trio?  Check.  A smidgen of angst?  Check.  Plot that will have you racing to find out what happens?  Check, check, and more check.  Timey-wimey stuff?  Check. 

On a visit to Mars in the future, Nine, Jack, and Rose become stuck in a Groundhog Day-style time loop that only the two humans remember.  From a wonderfully eerie beginning to an intriguingly (and amusingly) ambiguous ending, this clever story is a fun read.  The characterization is impeccable whether the trio is engaged in flirty banter or exploring the emotional repercussions of living one day over and over with no consequences.  Plan to read the whole thing at once if you can, because the chapter-ending cliffhangers make sure that stopping mid-story is not an option you want to take.

Story: Life in Technicolor
Author:  kaydee_falls
Rating: Teen
Word Count:  11,091
Author’s Summary: There's a woman alive in this world who wasn't alive before, and that woman is her, and this entire universe is different because she's here now. (Post-Doomsday Rose!fic, AU from that point on. Mainly Rose/Doctor with a side of Rose/Jack.)
Characters/Pairings:  Rose/Ten, Rose/alt!Jack, Mickey Smith

Recced because: Life in Technicolor totally blew me away! This story is elegant at every level: structure, prose, emotion, and more.  Flashbacks and imagined futures intertwine with the present as  Rose lives on Pete’s World, trying to adjust to her new life.  The progression of her emotions and choices is just right.  There’s a fabulous appearance by alt!Jack. The language is plum gorgeous, the details inventive, and the dialog always in-character.  If all that isn’t enough, the story makes marvelous use of Bad Wolf that at one point literally made me gasp out loud. (Yes, I was that immersed in the story.)   If you read only one story I rec this week, make it this one. 



( excerpt )

Story: A Gentleman of the Universe
Author: Stressfactor
Rating: All Ages
Word Count: 1,487
Author's Summary: All that stargazing Wilf did and he never got to travel among them until one day he did.
Characters/Pairings: Wilfred Mott, Tenth Doctor
Warnings: none
Recced because: Everybody loves Donna’s grandfather Wilf, and the Doctor proves he is no exception when he gives Wilf a trip in the TARDIS. This is a very moving story, full of beautiful descriptions. There’s a deftly used classic Who reference. The Doctor gets to show off his compassionate side and while Wilf proves that genuine wonder at seeing the universe isn’t confined to the standard pretty young female companions. “A Gentleman of the Universe” is a charming, heartfelt tribute to a charming, heart-filled character. Tissue warning, but not the sort that leaves you feeling crummy.

Story: Today’s Not Over Yet
Author:  Camilla Sandman
Rating:  all ages
Word count:  996
Author’s summary: Tomorrow, the world is ending, and today, he is happy. [Eighth Doctor with special guest stars.]
Characters/pairings:  Eighth Doctor, Charley Pollard, Grace Holloway, Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, Rose Tyler
Warnings:  none
Recced because: 
I love sweeping, elegiac Time War fics that make me cry.  This is not one of those fics, but it’s magnificent in a different way.

It’s almost time for the Doctor to end the Time War, but he’s busy seizing the day in ways that are sweet, silly, and very much the Doctor.  The fic conveys the weight of the terrible event that is to come, but it’s hopeful too.  The scene that explains how he found the wisdom to not just sit around being emo is perfect in every way. 

( Try an excerpt! )

Story:  A Note Left
Author: rallalon
Rating:  Teen
Word Count: 1,739
Author's Summary: "Doctor, Rose, if I don't make it back to you and we never see each other again, I want you two to make sweet, sweet cross-species love and think of me. Often, and at the same time."
Characters/Pairings:  Jack Harkness
Warnings: Justified angst.

Recced because:  This is the video note Jack might have left for the Doctor and Rose before traveling back in time from the Game Station where they abandoned him.  It's a powerful missing scene that could well have happened.  Rallalon does an amazing job of portraying Jack at a moment of transition where the humor and astounding faith in the Doctor and Rose we saw at the end of S1 coexist with confusion and a nascent sense of betrayal. I highly recommend it enough for fans of the Captain. Also, look for the sneaky Bad Wolf in the coda!

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( Excerpt )

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Another angsty story elbowed its way onto my rec list.  Tomorrow, I promise crack with Donna.

Today is crossover crack ficlet day!  Because they're both so very short, I'm giving you two recs for your reading delight.  (Mod, if that's not OK, I'm sorry!)

Story:  Snark and Explosives
Author:  TigerKat
Rating:  Teen
Word Count:  366
Author's Summary:  Ace McShane and Jayne Cobb. Ain't life nice? Crossover with Firefly.
Characters/Pairings:  Ace/Jayne. 
Warnings: Sexual themes? Also crack.

Recced because: Ace/Jayne  (Can we call it Jayce?)  may be the best crossover crack pairing ever.  The author puts a lot of character, laughs, and explosions into very few words.  Shiny! 

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Story:  The Secret of the Mysterious Coat
Author: scarlettgirl
Rating: None given. I'd say Teen, less for actual content than because if you show it to your ten year-old cousin her brain may explode.
Word Count:  616
Author's Summary:  There is a strange disturbance in the universe. Can Nancy and her gal pals, George and Bess, get to the bottom of this strange mystery? A totally crack!fic Torchwood/Nancy Drew crossover.
Characters/Pairings:  Jack Harkness, Ianto Jones, Owen Harper, Toshiko Sato, plus the Nancy Drew crew:  Nancy, George, Bess, and their associated boys.
Warnings:  Possible corruption of childhood memories through innuendo.

Recced because:  If you, like me, read dozens of Nancy Drew novels as a child, you may be sent into helpless giggles at the mere concept of a Torchwood/Nancy Drew crossover.  Even if you only read one or two Nancy books and barely remember them, you should still enjoy this wonderfully silly story.  The author does a fine job of mocking the characters and writing style from Nancy Drew, but in a loving sort of way.  (Since Jack is around, it's a very loving sort of way. *wink*)

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( An excerpt from The Secret of the Mysterious Coat )

Story:  Perpetual Motion
Author:  Meredith
Rating:  All Ages
Word Count:  5,408
Author's Summary:  Nine, running. "After he dies, he finds himself back in his TARDIS control room. This doesn't entirely surprise him. After all, it is some sort of afterlife, and he can't think of anywhere else that looks remotely like heaven."
Characters/Pairings:  Ninth Doctor, the TARDIS.
Warnings: None.

Recced because:  This is my personal canon for what happened to the Doctor between the Time War and meeting Rose.  It's clever, powerful, unexpectedly funny here and there, and heartrending.  Meredith nails Nine's character, particularly during an encounter with an alien at a concert that is so quintessentially Doctor.  We get to see the TARDIS being more upfront than usual at looking after her Time Lord. Your heart will break for Nine all over again, but right at the end the story puts the first few pieces back together.

Story:  Postcards to Gallifrey
Author:  Tsukara (tsukara on LJ)
Rating:  All Ages
Word Count:  10, 514
Author’s summary: AU. The TARDIS is broken; no more time travel, and no off-planet travel until he can get the parts he needs. And so the Doctor and Rose live out their bohemian lifestyle in a whole new way.
Characters/Pairings:  Ten/Rose
Warnings:   Might require tissues at times.

Recommended because: I don't normally like "Rose didn't end up in the parallel universe" fics, and I don't often like baby!fics, but I adored this. (The baby doesn't show up until late.)  Each chapter is better than the last. The writing in this story is simply gorgeous.  It took me a chapter to get into the style, but once I did I was blown away.  The author conveys enormous amounts about places and people in very few words.  

Ten and Rose must live on Earth when the TARDIS loses the ability to travel in time or off planet, but the story’s not about that.  It’s about moving on and putting down roots, living with a person and the prospect of living without them, and above all the things that go unsaid and what happens if they are spoken. It chronicles their relationship through the years with an unflinching clarity.  All of the events and emotions felt true—messy and uncertain and painful, but wonderful and joyous too.  “Postcards to Gallifrey” might break your heart a little bit, but it will put it back together.  It deserves to have dozens of awed reviews; add yours to the pile.

Series:  Almost—Not Quite—Maybe
Author:  spantasmagoria
Rating:  Teen
Word Count:  7,609 for the whole series
Author’s Summary: After an accident on an alien planet, Jack and the Doctor end up as...roommates in the Doctor's skull.
Characters/Pairings:  Ninth Doctor/Rose, Jack
Warnings:  Crack! Also, discussion of sex.

Recommended because:  Friday calls for crack!fic.  What better crack can there be than Nine/Rose crack with Jack playing matchmaker…while cohabiting the Doctor’s body?  “Almost—Not Quite—Maybe” is full of priceless moments.  There’s snappy dialog and zany situations.  The Doctor is grouchy, Rose is exasperated, and Jack is mischievous.  There’s Jackie and a game of Twister (but not at the same time).   Jack goes out on the town and decides he loves the 21st century.  Pranks are played.  spantasmagoria's great comic timing still makes me laugh with every reread.

 Story:  Back to Where You Once Belonged
Author:  sensiblecat
Rating:  All Ages
Word Count:  3,408
Author’s summary: It wasn’t 1913 that changed everything between them; it was 1969. Funny, that.
Characters/Pairings:  Tenth Doctor, Martha
Warnings:  None

Recommended because: I’m fascinated by the Doctor and Martha’s time in 1969 (what did the last of the Time Lords do with himself all day with no TARDIS?), and I like to believe that the version in this story is exactly what happened.  They have no money, it’s hot as hell, and there’s nothing to distract them from the problems of their relationship post HN/FoB. They're both out of their comfort zones.  The Doctor and Martha have to actually talk to each other.  The story does a wonderful job of probing the less pleasant aspects of their relationship and moving towards something healthier.  The author has a great feel for the characters’ voices and motivations. Thoughtful description evokes the grunginess of their life so well you can practically smell the sweat.

( Preview right through here )

It's my turn to rec!  *dance of joy*

Series:  Amor Mundi
Author:  rosa_acicularis
Rating:  Teen
Word Count: 10,929 and 10,431
Author’s Summary: A girl, a forest, and the big bad wolf - it's a story you've heard before, and you'll hear it again. Once upon a time.
Characters/Pairings:  Rose, Ten, the Master (Simm), and a veritable who’s who of New Who, most notably Jack and Martha.
Warnings:  Disturbing themes, swearing.  As the author puts it, “contains Dark, Wrong, and Not Good themes.”  Also, do not read while eating pineapple pizza or just before bedtime.

Recommended because:  Frankly, I’m amazed that nobody has recommended this series before.  It will knock your socks off and then knit you more socks just so it can knock those off too. In the first story, “Do I Twist, Do I Fold,” Rose encounters the Master/Harold Saxon.  It’s so true to character, vividly descriptive, and plausible that it somehow entered my personal canon even though I wished to believe no such thing happened.  You will shiver, you will pump your fist in the air and shout “Boo-yah!” (or other goofy expression of triumph), and you will worry about it long after you’re done reading. On top of that, Rosa_acicularis writes some of the best banter in the biz.

In the sequel, “Good Night,” the Doctor dreams.  It’s surreal, hilarious, complex, and frightening.  The story is stuffed so full of meaning that the author even wrote a commentary (not necessary to enjoying the story, but may add some insight and extra laughs).  This incredible story puts S3 in a blender with fairy tales, Alice in Wonderland, and that intense nightmare you once had featuring everyone you’ve ever met, the one you just couldn’t seem to wake up from.  I cannot recommend it enough.

Excerpt time!