Calufrax

No, of course I haven't forgotten that I'm reccing here these two weeks - I'm just spreading them out a bit. Yes, that's right. Spreading them out. Clearly. Anyway, without further ado:

Story: Blood From A Very Tall Stone
Author: nostalgia
Rating: Teen
Word Count: 1,416
Author's Summary: So, like, Romana and Duggan clearly liked each other in 'City Of Death'. This is the post-ep fic about how the Doctor was like really jealous or something. Can the epic timelove be saved? Will K-9 survive? What happens to the cups of tea that vanish early on in the story?
Characters/Pairings: Romana II, The Doctor (4th)
Warnings: None that I can think of

Recced because: Well, as may have become embarrassingly clear based on some of my earlier reccing spells, I'm more than a bit partial to a bit of Four/Romana, especially Four/Romana II, and even more especially when it evokes the spirit of those gloriously silly Season 17 stories as well as this does.

File this one under the by now bulging dossier of fics I can't believe hadn't already been recced on the comm. I mean, it's a really good fic by a well-known member of the LJ Whofic community and it seems like years since I first read it (five years in fact, from the timestamp on the review I left over on Teaspoon), so it would seem to be a shoe-in for having already been brought up here. In fact I was fairly sure it had been, but it turns out not.

The idea of a Romana/Duggan "thing" during City of Death, and of imagining the Doctor's reaction afterwards seems by now to be a well-worn path for Four-ficcers to take, although it's always interesting to see the different takes on it. For my money, this is one of the very best versions out there, and what really makes it work is the dialogue. Sparkling, I believe is the word for it. Every other line is a zinger. Those wonderfully absurdist word-games that the Doctor and Romana managed to veer into at the most unlikely moments, rendered here with incredible fidelity to the original source material. It's a bit of a cliché to observe when praising dialogue in fanfic that you can hear the original actors saying the words, but I really can when I read this. And as I know from bitter experience, unless you're a genuine comedic genius like Douglas Adams (and who of us is?) writing that stuff even reasonably well is hard. So hats off, really, to anybody who can do it as seamlessly as in this fic.

So yes, if Four/Romana is your thing, then this is the real deal. 24 carat stuff. Go and check it out and leave a word or two of appreciation.

( An Excerpt )

Story: Hand in Hand for Eternity
Author: AceOnGallifrey
Rating: All Ages
Word Count: 971
Author's Summary: The Time Lords want Romana back. Romana wants to keep on running. The Doctor? Well, he knows what he has to do.
Characters/Pairings: Romana II, The Doctor (4th)
Warnings: None, well not unless you're philosophically opposed to "fix it" fic, I guess.

Recced because: Well, I guess it's no secret by now to those of you with even a passing familiarity with my fannish activities that I'm a big, fat sucker for the whole notion of Four/Romana (and Doctor(s)/Romana(s) in general). This fic isn't quite flat-out Four/Romana II, but it's arguable that it's strongly hinting at that. But let's face it, one of the big strengths of Four and Romana as a partnership, especially during S17 once they've got that whole Key to Time thing out of the way, is that it doesn't really matter whether you're invested in the idea of the "/" between them. They're just best friends forever, careening slightly manically around time and space on their holidays, holding hands, comedy double-acting at each other and any supporting character they run into, being extremely silly and somewhat cool and most importantly having enormous fun while they're at it. It's like Ten and Rose during S2 of NuWho but not annoying.  I kid!

But then comes S18 and, while there's still a fair bit of the above to be had, things also suddenly get very real. They both know they're on borrowed time together, that their "thing" isn't going to last much longer. It only lasts as long as it does, in fact, because of a freak navigational accident that strands them temporarily in another universe (and you have to suspect that once they're in E-Space, Romana knows in her hearts of hearts that she won't be accompanying the Doctor on the journey back).

And this fic considers the scene that it all turns on; that scene in Full Circle where Romana gets the summons back to Gallifrey and the Doctor...the Doctor shows every sign of just going along with it. "You can't fight Time Lords." He should know. He tried, and look how it turned out for him in the end. Four's reaction is as understandable in that light as his decision to cut Sarah Jane loose before answering that earlier summons, but the quiet tragedy of what I've heard described as Four and Romana's "break up" is there if, like me, you're a fan of the pair of them. And this fic nicely examines that scene, describing the thoughts and emotions that we can only guess from the performances on the television screen. And then it turns it on its head, and yes, you could describe it as a "fix it" were it not for the real sense you get that, the positive note the fic ends upon aside, the Doctor's decision here may or may not end well for either him or Romana - it's a terrible risk they're both taking. And yet, sometimes it is better to fight and lose than not to fight. Or even run. And the ending makes me go sort of "Awww", and that's worth a rec in itself. :)


( A Sample )

Well, that week went quickly, didn't it? It's been a lot of fun, and I hope people have enjoyed the recs I've posted so far. Just one more to go...

Story: Nothing gold can stay
Author: clocketpatch 
Rating: All ages
Word Count: 16,535
Author's Summary: In which Romana saves the Doctor's butt, the universe, and some newt people.
Characters/Pairings: The Doctor (4th)/Romana II, K9
Warnings: Although there's nothing explicit, the story does involve possession and the Doctor acting very strangely; it hints at some pretty dark stuff, including violence, but without going into the details

Recced because: Here's another story that I've been meaning to rec either on Calufrax or elsewhere for at least three years now, but somehow never got around to it, because I'm bad like that. I have put in a good word for it here and there, though, in LJ conversations and elsewhere as and when the opportunity arose, because I really do think as many people as possible should read this one, and hopefully enjoy it as much as I have. I'll be honest, clocketpatch has become a pretty firm internet acquaintance of mine over the past couple of years, but I'm not exaggerating or gilding the lily even a little bit when I say she's one of the best writers I've come across online and that I wish her busy real life gave her more time to write, because the world needs more writing of this quality.

Very nice prose stylings, interesting use of words and vivid descriptive passages are the things I most associate with clocketpatch's writing, and this story is no exception. Another thing which endears it to me is the fact that it's about Four, Romana and K9, with more than a hint of Four/Romana about it; I can't get enough of that sort of stuff, as anybody who has had any fanfic-related dealings with me probably knows. Here, though, what is often thought of as a quite light, fluffy Team TARDIS find themselves involved in some quite grim, dark stuff indeed. I don't want to give more away than I did in the warnings section above, but it's interesting to see these characters in that sort of setting, and strangely it's extremely effective. Another thing this author does very well is to ground her stories very much in the often harsh reality of life, but without going overboard with grimness for grimness's sake. It's a fine line to tread, but she does it very well.

It's not all darkness, though - the portrayal of Four and Romana and their unique star-crossed relationship, and the whimsy of it, is very nice indeed. It makes me smile, and kind of "get something in my eye" at points, especially in the epilogue which provides a perfectly bittersweet ending to the whole tale. Another thing well worth mentioning is the world-building in this story; the author's aliens are very alien while remaining understandable to the reader, a hard thing to achieve.

Lastly, I cannot overstate the big impression this story made on me the first time I read it and how it consciously or unconsciously influenced my own later fic about Four and Romana and indeed the way I see their characters nowadays. Go and read it!

( Four Reflects )

And it occurs to me, somewhat shockingly, that I've managed to go a whole week without reccing any Seven fics... I suppose I'll just have to do better next time. :)