Meme: Ten Favourite Fanfics
What with two reccing sites, three stints on calufrax (and a fourth to come next week), I've always been a bit wary of more reccing, except on the odd excited occasion. I mean, most people whose fic I like are on my f-list, so it gets long.
But recs are ♥ - who doesn't perk up a bit on finding someone singing their praises? So, a meme: In no particular order, list your favourite (not necessarily the best) fanfics (by other people, not yourself) and share the love.
1. The Benefits of Being Monochromatic by primsong
It's hard to pick just one fic by Primsong. She's said before that she went from writing poetry to fic, and it tells in every line of her gorgeous description, and she's got a real knack for transcribing the feel of an era and making you feel you've somehow come across a missing episode. I know her heart belongs to Three, but my very favourites of hers are her One and Two fics - somehow she's got every creak and crackle of the b&w era down in loving detail. I should, given this is favourite fics, list something I've read several times, but... I love this, and someone beat me to reccing it on Calufrax. It's b&w in colour, with one of the most interesting alien races I've come across. However, I'm torn because her Two, Jamie, Ben and Polly epic for tardis_gen Reciprocal Quandaries is another one of my very favourite fics. And she's a brilliant drabble-writer, too.
2. Last Train From Iskenderun by jjpor.
If it's hard to limit myself to one fic by Primsong, it's even harder to manage it with JJPOR. I keep finding myself incoherently babbling at whatever new thing he's written, but this one left my more incoherent than most. It's the story of Bea and Edgar, from SJA, and it's just gorgeous.
3. The Frosting of Angst by Magnus Greel. I had to include a cake!fic somewhere, but when I thought about it, this is the one I most often sneak back to have a snigger at. It has a random forty foot lobster in it. Just when we all thought naked-Ten-chained-to-Three-covered-in-cake-and-cape-thanks-to-the-Master couldn't get any better. (If you're staring at me strangely, the series is here - as the various members of one forum took on this literary challenge. And I don't think a one of got above a PG rating, either.)
4. Daytripping by LilacFree. I came to Teaspoon in a post-flu depression, looking for Five/Tegan fic to cheer me up (I watched the Guardian trilogy while I was ill and got ridiculously upset by it... I had Proper Flu, okay.) I probably shouldn't admit this to anyone, but it is true. Otherwise I'd have stayed on adwc forever. This fic was exactly what I was after. I can't write Doctor-shippiness to save my life (I can barely write shippiness for ships I ship...), and I rarely want to read it, but Lilac Free can do Tegan and Five in character and shippy, which isn't the easiest thing to pull off. So, if I'm looking at fics I've read a lot, never recced elsewhere, well... *blushes* Yes, I'm a hypocrite, after all. It is, however, a classy shippy fic.
5. Deal With the Devil by Forge. One of the perks of my searching for crossovers has been discoveries like this one. Forge writes the Master in all his incarnations so well. And in this, a crossover with Angel the two evil so-and-sos who meet in this are so well-portrayed, I'md tempted to squee, and I don't do that much, if ever. But I need to prod people gently in the direction of every other Master fic (there's also the Master and Drusilla... *faints off*)
6. Box of Tricks by AstroGirl. AstroGirl writes fabulous crossovers, another thing I've learnt in my reccing quest. I was going to avoid anything I've personally recced on Calufrax, but this didn't get much reaction, and the thing is, I love it to bits, because it's a Vila fic, it's a B7/DW crossover (and there ought to be a million more of those), but fundamentally, because you could also read it as a lovely bit of TARDIS-fic - also a rare thing. So I present it again here.
7. Companions at the Chalet School by hhertzof. (I was tempted between this and paranoidangel42's CS/DW crossover, but she will keep doing sad Harry/Sarah. Still, if you like this, make sure you read that one, too!) This is very much a personal thing. I love the Chalet School series. They're addictive, old-fashioned and one of my staples of comfort-reading. This not only brings in Ace, Sarah Jane and Jo Grant as pupils in a rather wonderful way, but features Seven as the main Doctor in question, and then relentlessly and lovingly includes every single cliche of the series. So I don't expect anyone else to rush to it, but it is rather something and I enjoyed it. (I can't see Miss Annersley having anything to do with Jack, though - not really! And if Harry is going to be paired off with a Trip, it should clearly be Con and not Margot). *cough* I've not been sane for a long while.
8. As Ordinary Things Often Do by Doyle. I'm not sure this author's ever written a bad thing, and I also very much like the one where Nine and Mickey get locked up in an alien jail, but I've forgotten its name. (And I have mentioned the awesome Blackadder one before, and recced it on Calufrax), but this is a mad AU Rose/Benton, Martha/Harry fic that I oughtn't to give the time of day to, but I've read it serval times. It's rather wonderful, and oddly right.
9. To the Rescue! by dbskyler I laughed pretty much the whole way through this. It's hilarious, and I nearly killed the person who recced it on Calufrax the week before it was my turn. Of course, it was a tough choice between this and the probably even more wonderful Fallacy Somewhere. (When fanfic takes random throwaway lines and spins something fun out of them, I'm hugely grateful for the internet).
Noooo!!! I've used up all my spaces already, except for this one, which had to be:-
10. Macbeth by john_elliott. Aha, you might say, didn't one William Shakespeare write this? Yes, but his version didn't take place in This Time Round, nor did it star Tegan and Turlough in the title roles, feature unexepcted and random detectives, a murderous Nyssa, and Brian Blessed. Storytime! is wonderful nonsense (in which Who characters enact famous tales for the benefit of their toddler selves - look, trust me, there's a reason, and it's fun, okay? Just go with it.) and this is the King of Storytimes, which makes it a possible contender for my favourite bit of fanfic as a result. And, what's more, it's all Jamie's fault... (I'm not sure this wasn't where 'Jamie's Angels' began as well.)
*sulks* Need another ten now, as I haven't included persiflage_1's Eight and Liz story (Memory), All These Things That We've Done by netgirl_y2k, or anything by pitry (I'm particularly fond of Superheroes Anonymous), or belantana's Differences of the Body, nor anything by atraphoenix, infiniteviking, settiai, aralias, eponymous_rose, or eve11, who all write so well. Plus, if this were for best fanfic, I would be tempted to put ClocketPatch's Syntax of THings at no 1. As it's faves, I stick to cosier fics, like the coward I am!! Or so, so many others. And 10 seemed like lots! *sigh* Oh, well, calufrax here I come...
And I limited this to DW fandom, too.
But recs are ♥ - who doesn't perk up a bit on finding someone singing their praises? So, a meme: In no particular order, list your favourite (not necessarily the best) fanfics (by other people, not yourself) and share the love.
1. The Benefits of Being Monochromatic by primsong
It's hard to pick just one fic by Primsong. She's said before that she went from writing poetry to fic, and it tells in every line of her gorgeous description, and she's got a real knack for transcribing the feel of an era and making you feel you've somehow come across a missing episode. I know her heart belongs to Three, but my very favourites of hers are her One and Two fics - somehow she's got every creak and crackle of the b&w era down in loving detail. I should, given this is favourite fics, list something I've read several times, but... I love this, and someone beat me to reccing it on Calufrax. It's b&w in colour, with one of the most interesting alien races I've come across. However, I'm torn because her Two, Jamie, Ben and Polly epic for tardis_gen Reciprocal Quandaries is another one of my very favourite fics. And she's a brilliant drabble-writer, too.
2. Last Train From Iskenderun by jjpor.
If it's hard to limit myself to one fic by Primsong, it's even harder to manage it with JJPOR. I keep finding myself incoherently babbling at whatever new thing he's written, but this one left my more incoherent than most. It's the story of Bea and Edgar, from SJA, and it's just gorgeous.
3. The Frosting of Angst by Magnus Greel. I had to include a cake!fic somewhere, but when I thought about it, this is the one I most often sneak back to have a snigger at. It has a random forty foot lobster in it. Just when we all thought naked-Ten-chained-to-Three-covered-in-cake-and-cape-thanks-to-the-Master couldn't get any better. (If you're staring at me strangely, the series is here - as the various members of one forum took on this literary challenge. And I don't think a one of got above a PG rating, either.)
4. Daytripping by LilacFree. I came to Teaspoon in a post-flu depression, looking for Five/Tegan fic to cheer me up (I watched the Guardian trilogy while I was ill and got ridiculously upset by it... I had Proper Flu, okay.) I probably shouldn't admit this to anyone, but it is true. Otherwise I'd have stayed on adwc forever. This fic was exactly what I was after. I can't write Doctor-shippiness to save my life (I can barely write shippiness for ships I ship...), and I rarely want to read it, but Lilac Free can do Tegan and Five in character and shippy, which isn't the easiest thing to pull off. So, if I'm looking at fics I've read a lot, never recced elsewhere, well... *blushes* Yes, I'm a hypocrite, after all. It is, however, a classy shippy fic.
5. Deal With the Devil by Forge. One of the perks of my searching for crossovers has been discoveries like this one. Forge writes the Master in all his incarnations so well. And in this, a crossover with Angel the two evil so-and-sos who meet in this are so well-portrayed, I'md tempted to squee, and I don't do that much, if ever. But I need to prod people gently in the direction of every other Master fic (there's also the Master and Drusilla... *faints off*)
6. Box of Tricks by AstroGirl. AstroGirl writes fabulous crossovers, another thing I've learnt in my reccing quest. I was going to avoid anything I've personally recced on Calufrax, but this didn't get much reaction, and the thing is, I love it to bits, because it's a Vila fic, it's a B7/DW crossover (and there ought to be a million more of those), but fundamentally, because you could also read it as a lovely bit of TARDIS-fic - also a rare thing. So I present it again here.
7. Companions at the Chalet School by hhertzof. (I was tempted between this and paranoidangel42's CS/DW crossover, but she will keep doing sad Harry/Sarah. Still, if you like this, make sure you read that one, too!) This is very much a personal thing. I love the Chalet School series. They're addictive, old-fashioned and one of my staples of comfort-reading. This not only brings in Ace, Sarah Jane and Jo Grant as pupils in a rather wonderful way, but features Seven as the main Doctor in question, and then relentlessly and lovingly includes every single cliche of the series. So I don't expect anyone else to rush to it, but it is rather something and I enjoyed it. (I can't see Miss Annersley having anything to do with Jack, though - not really! And if Harry is going to be paired off with a Trip, it should clearly be Con and not Margot). *cough* I've not been sane for a long while.
8. As Ordinary Things Often Do by Doyle. I'm not sure this author's ever written a bad thing, and I also very much like the one where Nine and Mickey get locked up in an alien jail, but I've forgotten its name. (And I have mentioned the awesome Blackadder one before, and recced it on Calufrax), but this is a mad AU Rose/Benton, Martha/Harry fic that I oughtn't to give the time of day to, but I've read it serval times. It's rather wonderful, and oddly right.
9. To the Rescue! by dbskyler I laughed pretty much the whole way through this. It's hilarious, and I nearly killed the person who recced it on Calufrax the week before it was my turn. Of course, it was a tough choice between this and the probably even more wonderful Fallacy Somewhere. (When fanfic takes random throwaway lines and spins something fun out of them, I'm hugely grateful for the internet).
Noooo!!! I've used up all my spaces already, except for this one, which had to be:-
10. Macbeth by john_elliott. Aha, you might say, didn't one William Shakespeare write this? Yes, but his version didn't take place in This Time Round, nor did it star Tegan and Turlough in the title roles, feature unexepcted and random detectives, a murderous Nyssa, and Brian Blessed. Storytime! is wonderful nonsense (in which Who characters enact famous tales for the benefit of their toddler selves - look, trust me, there's a reason, and it's fun, okay? Just go with it.) and this is the King of Storytimes, which makes it a possible contender for my favourite bit of fanfic as a result. And, what's more, it's all Jamie's fault... (I'm not sure this wasn't where 'Jamie's Angels' began as well.)
*sulks* Need another ten now, as I haven't included persiflage_1's Eight and Liz story (Memory), All These Things That We've Done by netgirl_y2k, or anything by pitry (I'm particularly fond of Superheroes Anonymous), or belantana's Differences of the Body, nor anything by atraphoenix, infiniteviking, settiai, aralias, eponymous_rose, or eve11, who all write so well. Plus, if this were for best fanfic, I would be tempted to put ClocketPatch's Syntax of THings at no 1. As it's faves, I stick to cosier fics, like the coward I am!! Or so, so many others. And 10 seemed like lots! *sigh* Oh, well, calufrax here I come...
And I limited this to DW fandom, too.