Round One Reviews, Part Four
Today's featured stories include:
You That Way, We This Way by nonelvis
Characters: Ten, TenII, Rose
Rating: Adult (sex)
Details: post-JE, menage a trois, one-shot
Why It Rocks:
First, let me get this out of the way: for some reason, this fic is listed under the PWP section of the Awards. Now, I've always been given to understand that PWP stands for "Plot? What Plot?" or at the very least, "Porn Without Plot". If that's true, then I have NO idea why this fic is there, because there's a plot. Okay, it's sort of a thin plot, and the author admits she was really aiming for just straight-up porn, but in the end, it's all plotty.
Not like that's a bad thing, and not that such a thing should be held against this sweet little fic, but just so you're all aware, when it comes time for voting. If you are a stickler (like me), vote for this one in a category that it actually belongs.
Moving on.
Ten has absolutely no intention of visiting Rose and Handy - except, of course, that he does. He finds them in flux, boxes scattered over their house, mostly packed, as though they're just moving in. We discover that no - they're actually just moving out, although we don't find out why or where to until later. Handy doesn't seem all that pleased to see him; Rose is torn between being pleased and wanting to kick him. And then they all three wind up in bed together.
(Hey, I said it was a thin plot.)
What makes it plotty, of course, is less the sex as it is their reactions to each other when they all first meet again:
The other Doctor walks towards him, stretches out a hand to caress the side of the worn and battered blue box. He touches the ship with just the tips of his fingers first, then relaxes his palm against her, closing his eyes.
It's been three years, since Handy last saw the TARDIS. In just a few words, Nonelvis is able to convey a great deal of emotion, of loss and heartache and longing. Later, when you learn that Handy has also been traveling on Earth, even to the point of up and leaving Rose, sometimes without a note, you understand why: he's searching. He's looking for the part of himself he's been missing, and now that he's confronted with it again, you almost wonder if he'll be able to let it go.
"[The TARDIS is] mine, too," [Handy] replies, his voice calm and cool. "You left us here, but you took her from me. You can't imagine how very, very quiet it is inside my head, because at least when the Time Lords died, you still had the TARDIS. I don't even have that."
Handy isn't the focus of the story - that's Ten - but his reactions to Ten and to Ten with Rose are palpable, and run through the story like a ribbon. It's a bit of a shame we don't get to see these events from his eyes, because I'm sure they'd be fascinating.
But then, Rose's acceptance of Ten's return is fascinating too:
"He said he wanted to spend the rest of his life with me," she continues, "but do you have any idea what a rubbish human you make? How hard it actually is to build a life with you?"
Not that Rose is bitter - although maybe she is a little. Handy may be utterly fascinating, but think about it: the Doctor is a flirt, a mover, a shaker, someone who can't manage to stand still for twenty minutes without aliens attacking. Sure, that's all fun and exciting, but there are those evenings when all you really want to do is cuddle on the couch and watch The Office on DVD and maybe order in a pizza. It's abundantly clear that such a plan isn't going to happen with Rose and the Doctor.
Rose does the almost-expected near-shouting about how Ten left them behind, but mostly, she's not so upset with Ten as she is with herself, because somehow, in the three years, she's fallen in love with Handy, and forgotten that at the end of the day, he's still the Doctor:
"I've learned to live with it - all of it. But the worst thing is that he forgets sometimes. He forgets that he has to be careful. He knows we've only got so many years left together, but he's still him - he's still you."
Rose and Handy's life together isn't perfect - you get the impression that in their moving on, they're also running away. They're trying to figure out their place in the universe, and with each other, and how to be with each other, in a way they didn't have to do before. It's not easy for either of them, and Ten, gradually, realizes this.
In short, vote for You That Way, We This Way. It's short, it's true, it's sweet and funny in parts, and sad and lovely in others. It's got a Handy who's actually fairly handy, a Rose who is willing to accept him, and a Ten who just wants them to find their own way. It's got a lovely little bit of porn in the middle, and actually a nice chunk of plot on either side. It absolutely deserves your vote.
*
Human Nature by countrygirl_914
Characters: Ten, Rose, Jackie
Rating: Adult (sex)
Details: AU of S3's Human Nature, five chapters and an interlude, some sexual content but not much
Why It Rocks:
Okay, I know what you're thinking: "Oh, God, not another one." I think re-writing Human Nature/Family of Blood is one of those cliches that all DW authors must write at some point, right up there with what happens in between episodes and reunion!fic. And this one's got the makings of being cornier than most: It's not Martha, it's Rose. It's not 1913, it's 2006. And the Doctor actually retains his memories.
Basically, although this fic pre-dates JE, the Doctor becomes Handy. He's himself, but Human.
The thing is - the story may have a corny take on a familiar cliche, but what follows is decidedly not corny. The Doctor at first enjoys his new humanity - in fact, he revels in it, experiencing London in a way he hadn't before, on a three-dimensional level. He gets a flat near Jackie's, to stay close to Rose, he hangs up the brown pinstripes and wears other clothing - he even finds himself a job, tinkering with electronics. He lives a normal, human life, catching cabs at 2am, exactly as he never thought he would. It's all got an end date, of course, three months and not much more. The Doctor, before he changed, set up a device that will tell him when it's time to turn back, when the Family have died off. In the meantime, though, he throws himself into this new life with joy and wonder.
They’re just clothes, pieces of wool and silk and cotton, but he feels...naked, somehow, the first time he puts on jeans and a t-shirt instead of his pinstripes and tie. His armour’s gone and he’s exposed to the world. Rose seems to notice that something’s wrong, like she always does, and holds his hand, grounds him, makes him smile and laugh, and by the end of that first day it’s not so bad, not anymore.
As time goes on, little bits of the realities of human life creep in - sleep, and injury, and feeling the cold of winter creep in. What's worse is that the Doctor, with his now-human brain, can no longer contemplate the expanse of knowledge and memory he once had. As time goes on, he becomes - smaller, almost. The fun of his adventure wears off, day by day, as the three months draw to a close:
And it’s been a grand adventure, this fleeting field trip into the land of humanity, sensing with different senses and feeling only one heart beat within his chest instead of two. But it’s hard, being able to manage only some simple phrases in a few languages when you’re used to being fluent in millions, to vaguely remember how quantum mechanics works but be unable to solve a simple problem. He wants to be able to take Rose’s hand and dance among the stars again.
Except the detector doesn't go off. Three months pass...four months...five.....and still the Doctor remains human, and what's more, is convinced that he'll be forced to remain human for much, much longer. Slowly, he becomes domesticated. He wears thick coats to keep warm from the weather as summer turns into fall into winter. His boss asks him to consider running the store instead of just working there. And he and Rose fight, with them both storming off, angry with the other.
“The human brain isn’t meant to hold as much as that of a Time Lord. Things that happened in my first body are getting fuzzy. I can remember the general ideas, but the specifics are gone-a random person’s name, the colour of the light when the sun sets on a planet light years away. And it’s going to keep happening, to my second regeneration, and my third, and my fourth, on and on until I can barely remember any of it.”
What's even more frightening, however - is that the Doctor begins to accept that perhaps, the Family will never actually die, and he'll be trapped on Earth. He thinks about staying in his job permanently - he starts to furnish the flat. And worst of all:
“You know,” he says softly into her hair, “we can’t go on with ‘the Doctor’ forever. Someday you’re going to have to start calling me ‘John’.”
And if you've ever tried to live with waiting - you understand why. A body can't wait for the unknown forever. A human body, anyway.
Sleeping with the Doctor to scare away the nightmares has turned into just sleeping with him. Jackie raises her eyebrow questioningly but stays silent, and Rose doesn’t even try to explain. Her mum would never believe that all they do is sleep, but it’s true. The hum of the TARDIS used to be their lullaby; now the beat of the other’s heart has taken its place.
Of course, the inevitable occurs - well, both. The Doctor, as a human, can fall in love. And as soon as he does - as we all know it will - the detector goes off, announcing the Family's demise. It's safe for the Doctor to become a Time Lord again.
And here's the lovely, beautiful thing about this fic - we come full circle, back to the original show again, because here we have the human John Smith, sitting with the girl he loves, angry and upset because now it's time for him to become the man he is meant to be:
“But what if I don’t want to be the Doctor anymore?” he cries, doing nothing to stop the tears trailing down his cheeks. “What if I just want to be John Smith, who works at Milton’s shop and is in love with Rose Tyler? Why can’t I have that? Why can’t I get what I want for once?”
Obviously, I'm not going to tell you which way he goes. (Go read it yourself!) But the sheer fact that Countrygirl was able to start with the familiar, run in a completely different direction, and end in the same place, I have to tip my hat to her brilliance. I think she must have died laughing when she saw JE, because essentially, she'd already written Handy's first six months of being human, of learning to leave the Time Lord behind. That she was able to take what is essentially a very cliched, very corny idea - Human Nature with Rose! And memories! And Jackie! - and turn it into such a sweet, caring, non-cliched fic...well, that's just about bordering on genius.
Or at least, very, very talented.
In short, vote for Human Nature, not for what it is, but what it isn't. It's not cliched, it's not corny, it's not trite, it's not tired. It doesn't have the Doctor moving in predictable patterns, it's not that far off of canon, and it's not something you'll want to miss. What it is, is a fic that very much deserves your vote.
*
Teach Me More by aibhinn
Characters: Ten, Rose
Rating: Adult (sex)
Details: Two-parter in a set of three stories, about the Doctor teaching Rose how to speak Gallifreyan. You don't need to read the rest to understand this one, though. Vaguely post-JE. Actually, AU post-Doomsday where Rose returns, says the author in the comments below. I'm not sure it matters, just know that Rose is back and you're good.
Why It Rocks:
The funny thing about this nomination is that I don't actually think it's the best of the three stories. (I'd say the best is Precious. I believe that's the last one, also, unless aibhinn just hasn't linked them on her journal, so if you're reading this, sweetie, and there's more stories, go do the linky-thing, please.)
However, this is the one that was nominated, so this is the one I'll pimp. (Them's the rules.)
The story's quite simple, really. The Doctor starts teaching Rose Gallifreyan, entirely by accident. Just a few words, really, not enough for her to hold even a tiny bit of a conversation - but Rose, knowing that it means a lot to him, decides to take matters into her own hands, and start learning more.
"You know how pleased the Doctor was when I asked him about his language? I, er...wanted to know if you could help me. Learn a little more of it, I mean. Not fluently, I don't know if I could do that, but even a few words or phrases…?" She trailed off hopefully, but the TARDIS didn't respond. Rose felt her heart sinking...
This, in a very neat twist by Aibhinn, is such a completely Rose thing to do, one wonders why it never came up in the series. (Actually, that's a point - and I think the crack!fic bunny just bit. Dammit. Back to the review.) Rose is, in her very nature, curious and caring, and knowing that the Doctor has nothing left of his people or planet, it's kind of surprising that she wouldn't have asked for more information. Perhaps, being young, she didn't think of it. Perhaps, this being vaguely post-JE AU post-Doomsday, and thus her returned to him, she's only now aware of what it means to have lost everything and everyone you've loved.
The Doctor's discovery of Rose's attempts to learn on her own have a two-fold response. Well, three-fold. One, is utter amazement that she'd do such a thing:
He felt as though he'd been dropped into a vat of ice water; he was certain at least one of his hearts had stopped beating for a moment.
Not that it's a bad thing, just that she'd take the time and trouble to do it. Even if it is a very her thing to do.
The second is that he himself wants to teach her - not have her learn on her own, which is great and wonderful and lovely, of course - but that if she's going to learn, the Doctor wants to be the one to do it.
Which leads to three: the Doctor teaching Rose how to speak more Gallifreyan. Body parts, specifically. Which leads to smut, specifically. Which makes everyone happy, wiggiemomsi specifically. :)
The smut, of course, isn't just smut - it's a language lesson. So in between the kisses and the cuddles and the rest, you're actually getting grammar and vocabulary. (Hand, palm and fingers, apparently, all have the same root word in Gallifreyan. Who knew?) We get a language lesson too, as Aibhinn has tossed them in there. (One wonders how much of this language she's constructed.) Either way, she's clearly put some thought behind it, since the words do follow some kind of linguistic pattern. It's a shame the series is so short - it'd be interesting to see how much more the Doctor could teach Rose - and thereby, how much we ourselves could learn.
(But that might just be me.)
"I'd probably speak more French now if lessons in school were anything like that," says Rose. Seriously. Especially if taught by David Tennant. (Does he speak French? Do any of us really care?)
In short, vote for Teach Me More. It's got linguistic lessons, the TARDIS throwing books, the Doctor being tongue-tied, and Rose being cheeky. It's funny and sweet and you'll come away a bit smarter than when you went in. It's a good story in an excellent series, and as such, it deserves your vote.
*
Coming Around by HonorH Link goes to Teaspoon
Characters: Eight, Nine, Rose
Rating: Teen-Adult. Ish. (non-explicit sex)
Details: post-Doomsday, mildly AU, Pete's World, one-shot
Why It Rocks:
Oh, I like this story. Actually, this might be one of my favorites of today's bunch, so far. It started as a challenge, apparently, for measi, so all hail Measi for prompting it.
All hail HonorH for following through!
Rose has been living on Pete's World for the past year with her mum and baby brother. On the anniversary of her last conversation with the Doctor, she goes back to Bad Wolf Bay. So she's there, minding her own business, as it were...when all of a sudden, the TARDIS slams down beside her, in a rain shower of sparks and lightning. Inside, she finds...Eight, just about to regenerate after the final conclusion of the Time War.
And so it begins, the first/last time that Rose heals the Doctor. She helps him fix the broken TARDIS, and tries to coax out of him what he's just experienced. She fumbles and stumbles and says the wrong things, but in the end - as you know must happen - she says the right thing at the right time, and while he's not entirely healed, neither of them are entirely broken any longer.
But why do I love it?
First, because it's just the right amount of timey-whimey. There's the hint of River Song or rallalon's Non-Linear Love Story, but condensed into a single moment in time. We've got Nine, at the very beginning, and Rose, at the very end. If you're afraid of timey-whimey (or, like me, it's been known to cause headaches), then this is a perfect starter fic.
Second, it makes sense. Nine says, towards the end, that he'll make himself forget his time with Rose, but in such a way that he'll remember it again, after she's left him. This actually helps explain why the Doctor might not have tried so hard to find Rose - as well as why he appeared to her on Bad Wolf Bay. He knew, of course, that she had to remain in the alternate universe in order to heal him, because she'd already done it. And he had to show her Bad Wolf Bay, because she'd already been there.
The absolute perfection of that circle just makes me grin.
Third, it works. I say this is only mildly AU, because really? Reading this story post-JE, it still works. The only thing that makes this story non-compliant with JE is the fact that Rose calls her little brother Jamie and not Tony. (OMG, call out the canon police.) It is entirely possible to live in a world where this happened, and JE happened too. And I'm a canon-whore, I love stuff like this.
In short, vote for Coming Around. It's short, it's perfect, it's pre-JE but still very much canon, it's got Eight and Nine and it explains a heck of a lot about Doomsday. It has a well-placed fade-to-black and it just makes you happy to have read it. It completely and totally deserves your vote.
*
Passing the Torch by calapine
Characters: Donna, and others
Rating: PG (swearing)
Why It Rocks:
Oh, man, do I love crack!fic that sneaks up on you. The Doctor is dead. According to Donna, it snuck up on him. All he was able to do was give Donna all his Time-Lordy ways, and an instruction manual. The instruction manual has helpful entries on most of the people the Doctor has run into in his life. Namely: Romana, the Master, Martha, the Brigadier, Jack Harkness, and Sarah Jane Smith.
We thus follow Donna, as she meets them, in a series of short bursts. I think probably my favorite was Jack Harkness:
“Well hello there, gorgeous.”
Donna quickly flicked through the book for ‘Jack Harkness, Captain’ and scowled at the entry. It was just four words, written large enough to cover the entire page: Do Not Shag Ever. Ever was underlined three times.
“Fuck that,” muttered Donna, before planting a smacker on the Captain’s lips.
And that would be the entirety of Donna meeting Jack Harkness.
The others are longer and possibly funnier, but this had me howling. Also:
“Give me that,” said the Master and snatched the book from Donna’s hands. He grabbed a pen from his pocket and swiftly started scoring bits out and making his own additions. Then he handed the book back to Donna.
She read his edits and frowned. “So, he was actually hopelessly in love with you?”
Ah, Master. Although...you're probably right.
The making of good crack!fic, of course, is that no one knows they're in crack!fic. This definitely fits the bill there. Donna spends most of the fic going around meeting the folks in the instruction manual, and ignoring as necessary. She's also very much Donna, and acts exactly as you'd expect Donna to act, if suddenly turned into a full Time Lord and left to her own devices:
The Master made another grab for the book, but this time Donna was ready. She stepped neatly out of the way and then smacked the hefty volume into the back of his head. The Master crumpled to the floor, unconscious.
“Evil Time Lord nutters, nil points; Donna Noble, twelve,” she muttered, flipping open her mobile to call the authorities.
In short, vote for Passing the Torch. It's funny, it's quick, it's got Sarah Jane with tea, the Brigadier in a uniform, and Romana looking incredulous. It's extremely funny crack, and very worthy of your vote.
*
All of today's reviews were written by azriona.
You That Way, We This Way by nonelvis
Characters: Ten, TenII, Rose
Rating: Adult (sex)
Details: post-JE, menage a trois, one-shot
Why It Rocks:
First, let me get this out of the way: for some reason, this fic is listed under the PWP section of the Awards. Now, I've always been given to understand that PWP stands for "Plot? What Plot?" or at the very least, "Porn Without Plot". If that's true, then I have NO idea why this fic is there, because there's a plot. Okay, it's sort of a thin plot, and the author admits she was really aiming for just straight-up porn, but in the end, it's all plotty.
Not like that's a bad thing, and not that such a thing should be held against this sweet little fic, but just so you're all aware, when it comes time for voting. If you are a stickler (like me), vote for this one in a category that it actually belongs.
Moving on.
Ten has absolutely no intention of visiting Rose and Handy - except, of course, that he does. He finds them in flux, boxes scattered over their house, mostly packed, as though they're just moving in. We discover that no - they're actually just moving out, although we don't find out why or where to until later. Handy doesn't seem all that pleased to see him; Rose is torn between being pleased and wanting to kick him. And then they all three wind up in bed together.
(Hey, I said it was a thin plot.)
What makes it plotty, of course, is less the sex as it is their reactions to each other when they all first meet again:
The other Doctor walks towards him, stretches out a hand to caress the side of the worn and battered blue box. He touches the ship with just the tips of his fingers first, then relaxes his palm against her, closing his eyes.
It's been three years, since Handy last saw the TARDIS. In just a few words, Nonelvis is able to convey a great deal of emotion, of loss and heartache and longing. Later, when you learn that Handy has also been traveling on Earth, even to the point of up and leaving Rose, sometimes without a note, you understand why: he's searching. He's looking for the part of himself he's been missing, and now that he's confronted with it again, you almost wonder if he'll be able to let it go.
"[The TARDIS is] mine, too," [Handy] replies, his voice calm and cool. "You left us here, but you took her from me. You can't imagine how very, very quiet it is inside my head, because at least when the Time Lords died, you still had the TARDIS. I don't even have that."
Handy isn't the focus of the story - that's Ten - but his reactions to Ten and to Ten with Rose are palpable, and run through the story like a ribbon. It's a bit of a shame we don't get to see these events from his eyes, because I'm sure they'd be fascinating.
But then, Rose's acceptance of Ten's return is fascinating too:
"He said he wanted to spend the rest of his life with me," she continues, "but do you have any idea what a rubbish human you make? How hard it actually is to build a life with you?"
Not that Rose is bitter - although maybe she is a little. Handy may be utterly fascinating, but think about it: the Doctor is a flirt, a mover, a shaker, someone who can't manage to stand still for twenty minutes without aliens attacking. Sure, that's all fun and exciting, but there are those evenings when all you really want to do is cuddle on the couch and watch The Office on DVD and maybe order in a pizza. It's abundantly clear that such a plan isn't going to happen with Rose and the Doctor.
Rose does the almost-expected near-shouting about how Ten left them behind, but mostly, she's not so upset with Ten as she is with herself, because somehow, in the three years, she's fallen in love with Handy, and forgotten that at the end of the day, he's still the Doctor:
"I've learned to live with it - all of it. But the worst thing is that he forgets sometimes. He forgets that he has to be careful. He knows we've only got so many years left together, but he's still him - he's still you."
Rose and Handy's life together isn't perfect - you get the impression that in their moving on, they're also running away. They're trying to figure out their place in the universe, and with each other, and how to be with each other, in a way they didn't have to do before. It's not easy for either of them, and Ten, gradually, realizes this.
In short, vote for You That Way, We This Way. It's short, it's true, it's sweet and funny in parts, and sad and lovely in others. It's got a Handy who's actually fairly handy, a Rose who is willing to accept him, and a Ten who just wants them to find their own way. It's got a lovely little bit of porn in the middle, and actually a nice chunk of plot on either side. It absolutely deserves your vote.
*
Human Nature by countrygirl_914
Characters: Ten, Rose, Jackie
Rating: Adult (sex)
Details: AU of S3's Human Nature, five chapters and an interlude, some sexual content but not much
Why It Rocks:
Okay, I know what you're thinking: "Oh, God, not another one." I think re-writing Human Nature/Family of Blood is one of those cliches that all DW authors must write at some point, right up there with what happens in between episodes and reunion!fic. And this one's got the makings of being cornier than most: It's not Martha, it's Rose. It's not 1913, it's 2006. And the Doctor actually retains his memories.
Basically, although this fic pre-dates JE, the Doctor becomes Handy. He's himself, but Human.
The thing is - the story may have a corny take on a familiar cliche, but what follows is decidedly not corny. The Doctor at first enjoys his new humanity - in fact, he revels in it, experiencing London in a way he hadn't before, on a three-dimensional level. He gets a flat near Jackie's, to stay close to Rose, he hangs up the brown pinstripes and wears other clothing - he even finds himself a job, tinkering with electronics. He lives a normal, human life, catching cabs at 2am, exactly as he never thought he would. It's all got an end date, of course, three months and not much more. The Doctor, before he changed, set up a device that will tell him when it's time to turn back, when the Family have died off. In the meantime, though, he throws himself into this new life with joy and wonder.
They’re just clothes, pieces of wool and silk and cotton, but he feels...naked, somehow, the first time he puts on jeans and a t-shirt instead of his pinstripes and tie. His armour’s gone and he’s exposed to the world. Rose seems to notice that something’s wrong, like she always does, and holds his hand, grounds him, makes him smile and laugh, and by the end of that first day it’s not so bad, not anymore.
As time goes on, little bits of the realities of human life creep in - sleep, and injury, and feeling the cold of winter creep in. What's worse is that the Doctor, with his now-human brain, can no longer contemplate the expanse of knowledge and memory he once had. As time goes on, he becomes - smaller, almost. The fun of his adventure wears off, day by day, as the three months draw to a close:
And it’s been a grand adventure, this fleeting field trip into the land of humanity, sensing with different senses and feeling only one heart beat within his chest instead of two. But it’s hard, being able to manage only some simple phrases in a few languages when you’re used to being fluent in millions, to vaguely remember how quantum mechanics works but be unable to solve a simple problem. He wants to be able to take Rose’s hand and dance among the stars again.
Except the detector doesn't go off. Three months pass...four months...five.....and still the Doctor remains human, and what's more, is convinced that he'll be forced to remain human for much, much longer. Slowly, he becomes domesticated. He wears thick coats to keep warm from the weather as summer turns into fall into winter. His boss asks him to consider running the store instead of just working there. And he and Rose fight, with them both storming off, angry with the other.
“The human brain isn’t meant to hold as much as that of a Time Lord. Things that happened in my first body are getting fuzzy. I can remember the general ideas, but the specifics are gone-a random person’s name, the colour of the light when the sun sets on a planet light years away. And it’s going to keep happening, to my second regeneration, and my third, and my fourth, on and on until I can barely remember any of it.”
What's even more frightening, however - is that the Doctor begins to accept that perhaps, the Family will never actually die, and he'll be trapped on Earth. He thinks about staying in his job permanently - he starts to furnish the flat. And worst of all:
“You know,” he says softly into her hair, “we can’t go on with ‘the Doctor’ forever. Someday you’re going to have to start calling me ‘John’.”
And if you've ever tried to live with waiting - you understand why. A body can't wait for the unknown forever. A human body, anyway.
Sleeping with the Doctor to scare away the nightmares has turned into just sleeping with him. Jackie raises her eyebrow questioningly but stays silent, and Rose doesn’t even try to explain. Her mum would never believe that all they do is sleep, but it’s true. The hum of the TARDIS used to be their lullaby; now the beat of the other’s heart has taken its place.
Of course, the inevitable occurs - well, both. The Doctor, as a human, can fall in love. And as soon as he does - as we all know it will - the detector goes off, announcing the Family's demise. It's safe for the Doctor to become a Time Lord again.
And here's the lovely, beautiful thing about this fic - we come full circle, back to the original show again, because here we have the human John Smith, sitting with the girl he loves, angry and upset because now it's time for him to become the man he is meant to be:
“But what if I don’t want to be the Doctor anymore?” he cries, doing nothing to stop the tears trailing down his cheeks. “What if I just want to be John Smith, who works at Milton’s shop and is in love with Rose Tyler? Why can’t I have that? Why can’t I get what I want for once?”
Obviously, I'm not going to tell you which way he goes. (Go read it yourself!) But the sheer fact that Countrygirl was able to start with the familiar, run in a completely different direction, and end in the same place, I have to tip my hat to her brilliance. I think she must have died laughing when she saw JE, because essentially, she'd already written Handy's first six months of being human, of learning to leave the Time Lord behind. That she was able to take what is essentially a very cliched, very corny idea - Human Nature with Rose! And memories! And Jackie! - and turn it into such a sweet, caring, non-cliched fic...well, that's just about bordering on genius.
Or at least, very, very talented.
In short, vote for Human Nature, not for what it is, but what it isn't. It's not cliched, it's not corny, it's not trite, it's not tired. It doesn't have the Doctor moving in predictable patterns, it's not that far off of canon, and it's not something you'll want to miss. What it is, is a fic that very much deserves your vote.
*
Teach Me More by aibhinn
Characters: Ten, Rose
Rating: Adult (sex)
Details: Two-parter in a set of three stories, about the Doctor teaching Rose how to speak Gallifreyan. You don't need to read the rest to understand this one, though. Vaguely post-JE. Actually, AU post-Doomsday where Rose returns, says the author in the comments below. I'm not sure it matters, just know that Rose is back and you're good.
Why It Rocks:
The funny thing about this nomination is that I don't actually think it's the best of the three stories. (I'd say the best is Precious. I believe that's the last one, also, unless aibhinn just hasn't linked them on her journal, so if you're reading this, sweetie, and there's more stories, go do the linky-thing, please.)
However, this is the one that was nominated, so this is the one I'll pimp. (Them's the rules.)
The story's quite simple, really. The Doctor starts teaching Rose Gallifreyan, entirely by accident. Just a few words, really, not enough for her to hold even a tiny bit of a conversation - but Rose, knowing that it means a lot to him, decides to take matters into her own hands, and start learning more.
"You know how pleased the Doctor was when I asked him about his language? I, er...wanted to know if you could help me. Learn a little more of it, I mean. Not fluently, I don't know if I could do that, but even a few words or phrases…?" She trailed off hopefully, but the TARDIS didn't respond. Rose felt her heart sinking...
This, in a very neat twist by Aibhinn, is such a completely Rose thing to do, one wonders why it never came up in the series. (Actually, that's a point - and I think the crack!fic bunny just bit. Dammit. Back to the review.) Rose is, in her very nature, curious and caring, and knowing that the Doctor has nothing left of his people or planet, it's kind of surprising that she wouldn't have asked for more information. Perhaps, being young, she didn't think of it. Perhaps, this being vaguely post-JE AU post-Doomsday, and thus her returned to him, she's only now aware of what it means to have lost everything and everyone you've loved.
The Doctor's discovery of Rose's attempts to learn on her own have a two-fold response. Well, three-fold. One, is utter amazement that she'd do such a thing:
He felt as though he'd been dropped into a vat of ice water; he was certain at least one of his hearts had stopped beating for a moment.
Not that it's a bad thing, just that she'd take the time and trouble to do it. Even if it is a very her thing to do.
The second is that he himself wants to teach her - not have her learn on her own, which is great and wonderful and lovely, of course - but that if she's going to learn, the Doctor wants to be the one to do it.
Which leads to three: the Doctor teaching Rose how to speak more Gallifreyan. Body parts, specifically. Which leads to smut, specifically. Which makes everyone happy, wiggiemomsi specifically. :)
The smut, of course, isn't just smut - it's a language lesson. So in between the kisses and the cuddles and the rest, you're actually getting grammar and vocabulary. (Hand, palm and fingers, apparently, all have the same root word in Gallifreyan. Who knew?) We get a language lesson too, as Aibhinn has tossed them in there. (One wonders how much of this language she's constructed.) Either way, she's clearly put some thought behind it, since the words do follow some kind of linguistic pattern. It's a shame the series is so short - it'd be interesting to see how much more the Doctor could teach Rose - and thereby, how much we ourselves could learn.
(But that might just be me.)
"I'd probably speak more French now if lessons in school were anything like that," says Rose. Seriously. Especially if taught by David Tennant. (Does he speak French? Do any of us really care?)
In short, vote for Teach Me More. It's got linguistic lessons, the TARDIS throwing books, the Doctor being tongue-tied, and Rose being cheeky. It's funny and sweet and you'll come away a bit smarter than when you went in. It's a good story in an excellent series, and as such, it deserves your vote.
*
Coming Around by HonorH Link goes to Teaspoon
Characters: Eight, Nine, Rose
Rating: Teen-Adult. Ish. (non-explicit sex)
Details: post-Doomsday, mildly AU, Pete's World, one-shot
Why It Rocks:
Oh, I like this story. Actually, this might be one of my favorites of today's bunch, so far. It started as a challenge, apparently, for measi, so all hail Measi for prompting it.
All hail HonorH for following through!
Rose has been living on Pete's World for the past year with her mum and baby brother. On the anniversary of her last conversation with the Doctor, she goes back to Bad Wolf Bay. So she's there, minding her own business, as it were...when all of a sudden, the TARDIS slams down beside her, in a rain shower of sparks and lightning. Inside, she finds...Eight, just about to regenerate after the final conclusion of the Time War.
And so it begins, the first/last time that Rose heals the Doctor. She helps him fix the broken TARDIS, and tries to coax out of him what he's just experienced. She fumbles and stumbles and says the wrong things, but in the end - as you know must happen - she says the right thing at the right time, and while he's not entirely healed, neither of them are entirely broken any longer.
But why do I love it?
First, because it's just the right amount of timey-whimey. There's the hint of River Song or rallalon's Non-Linear Love Story, but condensed into a single moment in time. We've got Nine, at the very beginning, and Rose, at the very end. If you're afraid of timey-whimey (or, like me, it's been known to cause headaches), then this is a perfect starter fic.
Second, it makes sense. Nine says, towards the end, that he'll make himself forget his time with Rose, but in such a way that he'll remember it again, after she's left him. This actually helps explain why the Doctor might not have tried so hard to find Rose - as well as why he appeared to her on Bad Wolf Bay. He knew, of course, that she had to remain in the alternate universe in order to heal him, because she'd already done it. And he had to show her Bad Wolf Bay, because she'd already been there.
The absolute perfection of that circle just makes me grin.
Third, it works. I say this is only mildly AU, because really? Reading this story post-JE, it still works. The only thing that makes this story non-compliant with JE is the fact that Rose calls her little brother Jamie and not Tony. (OMG, call out the canon police.) It is entirely possible to live in a world where this happened, and JE happened too. And I'm a canon-whore, I love stuff like this.
In short, vote for Coming Around. It's short, it's perfect, it's pre-JE but still very much canon, it's got Eight and Nine and it explains a heck of a lot about Doomsday. It has a well-placed fade-to-black and it just makes you happy to have read it. It completely and totally deserves your vote.
*
Passing the Torch by calapine
Characters: Donna, and others
Rating: PG (swearing)
Why It Rocks:
Oh, man, do I love crack!fic that sneaks up on you. The Doctor is dead. According to Donna, it snuck up on him. All he was able to do was give Donna all his Time-Lordy ways, and an instruction manual. The instruction manual has helpful entries on most of the people the Doctor has run into in his life. Namely: Romana, the Master, Martha, the Brigadier, Jack Harkness, and Sarah Jane Smith.
We thus follow Donna, as she meets them, in a series of short bursts. I think probably my favorite was Jack Harkness:
“Well hello there, gorgeous.”
Donna quickly flicked through the book for ‘Jack Harkness, Captain’ and scowled at the entry. It was just four words, written large enough to cover the entire page: Do Not Shag Ever. Ever was underlined three times.
“Fuck that,” muttered Donna, before planting a smacker on the Captain’s lips.
And that would be the entirety of Donna meeting Jack Harkness.
The others are longer and possibly funnier, but this had me howling. Also:
“Give me that,” said the Master and snatched the book from Donna’s hands. He grabbed a pen from his pocket and swiftly started scoring bits out and making his own additions. Then he handed the book back to Donna.
She read his edits and frowned. “So, he was actually hopelessly in love with you?”
Ah, Master. Although...you're probably right.
The making of good crack!fic, of course, is that no one knows they're in crack!fic. This definitely fits the bill there. Donna spends most of the fic going around meeting the folks in the instruction manual, and ignoring as necessary. She's also very much Donna, and acts exactly as you'd expect Donna to act, if suddenly turned into a full Time Lord and left to her own devices:
The Master made another grab for the book, but this time Donna was ready. She stepped neatly out of the way and then smacked the hefty volume into the back of his head. The Master crumpled to the floor, unconscious.
“Evil Time Lord nutters, nil points; Donna Noble, twelve,” she muttered, flipping open her mobile to call the authorities.
In short, vote for Passing the Torch. It's funny, it's quick, it's got Sarah Jane with tea, the Brigadier in a uniform, and Romana looking incredulous. It's extremely funny crack, and very worthy of your vote.
*
All of today's reviews were written by azriona.