Prompt Masterlist for the Doctor Who Historical Fic-Fest

[fallingtowers]

Rules for claiming a prompt:

* Claiming begins tomorrow, on November 2nd, at 12:00 EST (i.e. noon). Any attempts to claim one before that are invalid. There will be another post tomorrow to remind you of the official start of the prompting period.

* First come, first served.

* Two people can claim the same prompt, but not more. There are so many different suggestions with great story ideas that it would be a pity to waste them all.

* Please avoid claiming your own prompts. It's not strictly forbidden, but it's more fun the other way, innit?

* If you finish and post your fic before the deadline on Saturday, December 6th, you may go back and claim another, unused, prompt. Or a third one, or a fourth one, if you're a very prolific author.

* Please read the rules and guidelines before writing.

***

General prompts:


* In Smith & Jones, the Doctor complains that Emmeline Pankhurst stole his laser-spanner. How? And why?

* Chatting with writers like Shakespeare, Dickens and Agatha Christie is all fine and dandy, but what about the time that the Docor (bonus points for Eight!) met Matsuo Bashô?

* Why did the heyday of the Minoan Culture on Crete end in the 15th century B.C.? I'm sure you have got an exciting theory to offer...

*Actually, I would really like to read a Wild West story starring Calamity Jane and, if possible, Ace.

* Emma Goldman was a Time Lady. Discuss.

* 1920s New York is home to a rather unusual detective agency. After a particularly unruly Rift Storm, two former companions (Jack and Martha for preference) find themselves in charge of both it and the investigation into the disappearance of its former owner.

* A mysterious assailant is decimating the Paris artworld on the eve of the second world war. Fey Truscott-Sade, 'art detective' and agent of the crown, joins forces with Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera to defeat a common foe.

* Macbeth gets bad press because of Shakespeare, the Doctor knows better. When someone (Donna?!) challenges him to prove a point, they end up spending a week in some rather damp dungeons, while above their heads someone is twisting history into a new shape.

* The Doctor and his companion(s) visit Russia in the era of Catherine the Great. The Doctor is determined to have an audience with the Empress, but he's not about to tell his companion(s) why. I'd love to see One, Barbara, Susan, and Ian here, or any of One's teams, really.

* H.P. Lovecraft was always a rather disturbed man; facing Evil From The Dawn Of Time didn't help. I'm thinking Seven and Ace here.

* When Barcelona (the city, not the planet) in 2026 contains not even the foundations of the Sagrada Familia cathedral, Team TARDIS flies back to the 1880s to figure out what went wrong. Written with Ten and one of his companions in mind.

* Long shot prompt, but I had to request it: There's a good reason the Maschinenmensch prop from Metropolis went missing after filming: it was a new-model Cyberman, stranded on Earth. Our Heroes (originally written with Four, Sarah, and Harry) must find it before it wrecks havoc on 1920s Berlin.

* Gilgamesh and Enikidu fight Ishtar, with some help from the Doctor and companion(s). (Seven and Ace, perhaps?)

* In The Sea Devils, the Doctor mentions meeting Horatio Nelson. What happened?

* When and why did Janice Joplin give the Doctor that brown coat? Which Doctor was it? Did he modify the pockets?

* ANYTHING WITH TESLA. Anything. (I bet Liz would get along famously...)

* Heroditus vs. Thucydides vs. the Doctor. Hilarity ensues?

* In 1917, revolutionary-in-exile Lenin, novelist James Joyce, and Dadaist artist Tristan Tzara were all living in Zurich. Because of the Doctor [and companion(s)], they all meet-- whether they know it or not.

* John Adams and the Doctor get into a bickering contest whilst Abigail Adams and companions get on with the real work. (basically I just want to see the Adamses. Feel free to twist this prompt however you like.) Claimed by sunnyrea.

* Why does Elizabeth I hate the Doctor, anyway?

* Anything with Jane Austen. Anything at all.

* The Doctor fancies playing Sherlock Holmes... on Jack the Ripper. Mayhem ensues.

* The Doctor and some of history's more famous disappearances: I'm thinking of Roanoke Colony, Raoul Wallenburg, Amelia Earhart and Theodosia Burr Alston.

* The Doctor witnesses the space shuttle Challenger accident in 1986 (and/or maybe Columbia in 2003). Does he interfere or not?

* Riproaring adventure on the high seas with the Napoleonic War-era Royal Navy. Three and Jo in their post-Three-Doctors travels?

* The failure of the Darien colony led pretty directly to Scotland going bankrupt and thus the Act of Union. Was it just inhospitable terrain and terrible planning, or were aliens/time travellers/etc. lying in wait for nefarious reasons? I'd secretly like to see how Anji feels about the economics of it all. Claimed by zyrk.

* Something set in Australia at some point prior to the 17th century. Maybe Five and Tegan and whoever else, touching on how come Tegan can speak the languages in Four to Doomsday?

* The Doctor meets Darwin, at any point in his career, though during the Beagle voyage would be doubleplusgood. (Any Doctor/companion team, though I've always felt that the Doctor's namedropping -- unless it's all lies to make himself sound impressive -- suggests pre-AUC One went through a very celebrity-happy phase.)

* The Library of Alexandria. (Seven and Benny? Brax???)

* The carnival in 18th century Venice is a bit more risque than the companion was expecting, especially the cavorting nuns. (I think either Mickey or Harry would be really fun)

* Victoria and Elizabeth I weren't the first British monarchs the Doctor's seriously annoyed...

* Captain Robert Scott's 1912 Antarctic expedition is doomed and that can't be changed, not one line - but that doesn't stop the Doctor from wanting to meet the man.

* There are peculiar alien goings-on at the court of Henry VIII, but the King hasn't noticed; he's more interested in this charming young woman who's appeared from nowhere, much to Anne Boleyn's annoyance. Claimed by lareinenoire.

* Pliny's work on his Natural History would get along a lot faster if this dreadful Doctor didn't keep turning up. Six picking fights with him would be marvellous, but any of them would work. Claimed by carawj.

* Determined to prove there's no such thing as a mummy's curse, the Doctor takes his companion to 1922 when Howard Carter's team were excavating the tomb.

* Doctor plus companion(s) attend the very first Olympic games. Claimed by marcal_92.

* The Doctor meets Wu Zetian.

* The Doctor and the Venerable Bede have a nice day fishing.

* Any Doctor runs into Thomas Jefferson during his days at The College of William and Mary. Bonus points for Jefferson playing the violin, the Doctor attending meeting of the Flat Hat Club, or references to Hanover tomatoes.

* The Doctor meets up with Vercingetorix, either before or after his revolt against the Romans.

* The Doctor and companion(s) are present at the failed opening night of Carmen.

* Also, would it be too much colonial Virgina history to ask for John Smith the Doctor meeting up with John Smith the Jamestown adventurer?

* Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder plot. What side is the Doctor on? Seven could interesting, along with explosion-loving Ace.

* During the conflict between Stephen and Matilda in the 12th century, Matilda escapes Oxford Castle and goes down the frozen Thames to Wallingford, which is a very long way and quite a feat. Of course it turns out, she had help, perhaps from one of the Doctors with a companion that knows the area?

* A psychevore is lurking round Five Points, New York, soaking up all the bad karma washing around during the 1860s. Can the Doctor and his companion(s) thwart it without altering history?

* Assorted Doctors and companions, solo or in a group, drop in on the Algonquin Round Table over the course of (from the Circle's POV) one month.

* It's mentioned in the EDA Seeing I that an unknown Doctor was up to something with Amelia Earhart, possibly something the Doctor would rather everyone didn't know about. What was it?

* The Doctor ships with Zheng He aboard a Chinese treasure ship. (Preferably when he's travelling without a companion.)

* History must be told - was Marie Curie as good a kisser as Grace Holloway?

* The Doctor hangs out with Apple's Steve Wozniak - I'd love it to be Eight, but whoever would have the most fun is fine by me.

* Both Four and Nine mentioned being on the RMS Titanic when it sank. Nine spoke of finding himself clinging to an iceberg; Four said emphatically that the sinking was NOT his fault. Which begs the question...whose fault WAS it? What really happened on that ship?

* The Doctor and his companion(s) go to Brazil in 1925, when archeologist Percy Fawcett disappeared.

* Between 1945 and 1950, at least five people vanished in what has become known as the Bennington Triangle. Four have never been seen again, and the body of the fifth appeared in strange circumstances. What's been happening, and how do the Doctor and his companion(s) solve the mystery?

* Did Eleanor of Acquitaine and Henry have any help or interference in his courting her away from Louis of France? A strong female companion would be fun here, Sarah-Jane or Tegan, perhaps.

* Elvis was indeed kidnapped by aliens. Either the Doctor rescues him, or the Doctor is the alien who kidnapped him. Sounds like something Ten might do. Claimed by glinda_penguin.

* We've seen how the Doctor was involved with Pompeii, so it stands to reason that he had a hand in other things, so what really happened with the lost colony of Roanoke? Nothing just disappears like that without reason. Claimed by biichan.

* George Byron Brummell, more commonly known as Beau Brummell, was the epitome of the European dandy. The Doctor and/or his cohorts run into him, and fashion is somehow involved. Beau was the period's male fashion icon and someone has got to get the Doctor into a new outfit at some point. Claimed by stunt_muppet.

* The Doctor and any companions of choice decide to tackle the mystery of the Fountain of Youth. Is the story about Juan Ponce de León's discovery just that - a story - or is there some merit to it? Claimed by gehayi.

* "Yeah, but he called her 'Cleo'." So just how did the Doctor get to be on such good terms with Cleopatra?

* Justinian and Theodora, meet Hex and Ace. (Or companions of your choice.)

* Istanbul, 1553. The Ottoman Empire is at its height, but within the secretive heart of the sultan's palace, the seraglio, something is very wrong. The imperial family is embroiled in a vicious battle for succession to the throne, and no one seems to have noticed the greater danger which threatens the palace, the empire, and maybe even the whole world -- no one, that is, except the newest addition to the sultan's harem... Martha Jones. (Or another companion or Doctor.)

* King Arthur - how much fact, how much fiction? With the Welsh connection, there are extra bonus points if Team Torchwood somehow find themselves back in time. Claimed by ladyfiresprite.

* In The Book of the Duchess, the narrator remarks that he can't sleep:

I holde hit be a siknesse
That I have suffred this eight yere,
And yet my bote is never the nere;
For ther is phisicien but oon,
That may me hele; but that is doon.

Could that "phisicien" be the Doctor? And why is his absence keeping Chaucer awake at night? (Bonus points if you can also work the Black Prince or John of Gaunt into the plot!)

* The Beatles' final public appearance on the rooftop of Apple Records, January 30, 1969. It's a last gasp, the end of the 60s, Savile Row and Piccadilly Circus, and watching the performance might be something akin to a religious experience (at least until the cops show up). (Fitz (and Anji) would be a great match; so would Polly and Ben).

* An early Beatles' performance at the Cavern Club: the crush of the crowd, the excitement in the air, the four boys in mop-tops playing their hearts out. A Doctor and/or companion(s) get swept up in the excitement (and possibly kiss a mop-top or two?) About any character would be awesome. Claimed by sunnyrea.

* Tommy Douglas: the father of Medicare in Canada: would love to see any Doctor or companion-who's-a-doctor-or-nurse finding themselves working with him under the new regime in 1962.

* Leif Erickson and other Vikings discovered Newfoundland in 986, and built a settlement at L'Anse-aux-Meadows; no one knows why they left, however. One can imagine that if the Doctor was there, things might have got silly enough to make them leave... (I can quite picture Four or Six, here).

* Gooold! The Doctor and/or a companion decide to go get a claim (and maybe claim jump) during the Klondike Gold Rush in 1898-99 in the Yukon Territory. Bonus points for some fine members of the North West Mounted Police.

* Passchendaele - a brutal WWI victory for the Allies, powered by the Canadian troops in a moment that, in some ways, was a heroic moment for the country, capturing land no one else could. The Doctor and companion(s) end up with the generals beforehand, trying to decide strategy. This is not a happy ending bit of history. (Anyone but characters who have already seen WWI action would be great).

* A female companion wants to really fly; and trains with other women of the WAAF to fly Spitfires in WWII (alternatively, any female aviation pioneer would be great fun).

* The Doctor falls in with the developing punk scene in London in the 1970s; I could really see Nine, a young One, or Seven, here. Claimed by xhecticbankaix.

* Shamelessly stolen: Farewell, Great Macedon, wherein "the Doctor and his companions are framed for murder as part of a conspiracy to kill Alexander the Great and must pass a number of trials, including walking on hot coals, to gain the trust of his bodyguard, Ptolemy." (Would adore One and any of his teams here, as I love One's pure historicals like burning).

* In a village during the Spanish Civil war, two people turn up: a middle-class person from Britain who's come to fight on their behalf, and a middle-class person from outer space who's come to not fight on their behalf.

* The Doctor meets a Flashman-type. Choose your own high Victorian adventure.

* During the Apollo missions, NASA are forced to call on the expertise of British scientist Dr. John Smith. (We'd quite like to see the usual story reversed, i.e. the people in the capsule have to work to save the people at mission control.)

* Suffragettes, dammit. With Krynoids, or something.

* The Doctor meets a man walking through an Alpine pass to his winter pasture. In 1991, the man's body is found preserved in the ice. What happened?

* 30 May 1593: Christopher Marlowe supposedly stabbed through the eye in a tavern in Deptford. Three men were with him but only one has been conclusively identified. Who were the others? Were they even men? Why was he killed in the first place? And what does all of this have to do with his as-yet-unperformed Doctor Faustus?

* Given that the three most famous Inklings wrote stories which involved strange temporal effects, if not time travel as such†, I'd love to read a story in which one or more of the Inklings ran across the Doctor and ideally had to deal with some odd time-wimey stuff (so to speak).

† Narnia, obviously, involves really odd timelines (and also has various things which are bigger on the inside!), and Lewis was fascinated by the idea that ghosts are 'temporal echoes' rather than spirits as such; Tolkien's unfinished "Notion Club Papers" deals with time travel and the mythic past starting to affect the present; Charles Williams' "Descent into Hell" involves, among other things, a young woman being haunted - she thinks - by the ghost of her martyred ancestor, which turns out to be the result of a sort of temporal paradox and her own future actions.

* What if some parts of Dante's journey through Hell weren't as symbolic as everyone seems to think? I figured Purgatory and Paradise would be a little harder to find alien explanations for, but if you're interested in either feel free to go for that, too!

* July 4th, 1776. How many Time Lords does it take to run a revolution? Bonus points for working the Illuminati in somewhere.

* 1848 Seneca Falls, and just how well does the Doctor get along with Elizabeth Cady Stanton? (I can totally see Ten blundering about here, but it could just as easily be, say, Four or Six or any of the others.)

* Late 1850s/1860, "Burning Kansas," various constitutions and capitals being built and burned--do the Doctor and a companion (or two, or three) fit into this anywhere? (I can kinda see One with Susan, Ian, and Barbara, but it doesn't have to be them.)

* Doctor and companion(s) witnessing an 1858 Lincoln-Douglas debate. Claimed by amaresu.

* 1900 Paris, a cafe. The Doctor runs into Oscar Wilde not long before his death.

* Just how many versions of the Doctor *are* on the Titanic anyway? (I can think of at least three who mention it...)

* Something to do with Henry II and Thomas a Becket (preferably well before his assassination -- it could be interesting to see the Doctor or a knowledgeable companion trying very, very hard not to say something).

* Egypt, during the reign of Akhenaton (I know Ace was there in one of the NAs, but that doesn't mean somebody else can't be as well).

* Meeting Euripides, perhaps inspiring the context of how he writes one of his plays.

* Rome, AD 41. The Doctor was present for the assassination of Caligula and accession of Claudius. Did he interfere? Claimed by finmagik.

* Rome, AD 69. Vespasian is meant to become emperor, but the wrong man keeps getting the job (Galba, Otho, Vitellius), and the Doctor is trying to sort out the timeline.

* Athens, 480 BC. The Persians are invading Athens and the Doctor's companion(s) are trapped there without the TARDIS.

* England, 1776. The Doctor and Edward Gibbon have an argument about what the Roman Empire was really like.

* 7th century BC. Some of Sappho's poetry was dedicated to one of the Doctor's female companions. Which one, and what were they doing on Lesbos?

* The Etruscan language has proved difficult to translate and doesn't seem to be related to other language groups. There are several modern theories on its origins, but what historians (and hopefully the Time Lord High Council) don't know is that it's related to Gallifreyan because the Doctor made a few mistakes while visiting prehistoric Italy.

* 5th century Syria. Simeon Stylites lived on top of a pillar for 37 years. Clearly he was an alien.


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Character-specific prompts:


* How exactly did the Roman poet Ovid end up in exile near the Black Sea? Maybe the Ninth Doctor can shed some light on this matter. Claimed by athousandwinds.

* Sarah-Jane is as surprised as anyone when the Berlin Wall falls. She wonders whether the Doctor was there.

* In 1917 two ships crashed in Halifax, Nova Scotia - one of the largest man-made non-nuclear explosions in history (Halifax Explosion on wikipedia). The Doctor takes Martha because she wants to help the war effort (especially after Human Nature/Family of Blood).

* The Doctor and Martha watching the moon landing.

* Someone won't give up on trying to get to that World Cup final match. Through a string of unlikely circumstances, Hex and Ace end up at the infamous following match - bonus points for Seven being devious...

* What was Nine doing at Krakatoa?

* How exactly did One end up with Gilbert and Sullivan's coat? Claimed by dbskyler.

* In "Rose," there's a photograph showing Nine in the crowd when President Kennedy was shot. Why did he choose to be there in Dallas on 22 November 1963? Did he try to prevent it and fail? Would saving Kennedy have created an untenable future for the human race? Was he there for a completely different reason?

* I have yet to see anyone tackle writing the rest of Three's interrupted tale of himself with Sir Walter Raleigh in the Tower in which he apparently influenced Raleigh's ideas about potatoes. Would love to 'hear the rest of the story,' presumably from the viewpoint of One or Two.

* In "Masque of Mandragora" the Fourth Doctor doesn't get to meet Leonardo da Vinci (although Sarah does, off-screen). By "City of Death" the Fourth Doctor is friends with him as evidenced by the chatty note he leaves ("sorry I missed you -- see you earlier"). So, exactly when did Four meet Leonardo da Vinci, and what happened?

* The Tenth Doctor says in "The Unicorn and the Wasp" that he'd been to Belgium, and that he was "deep in the Ardennes trying to find Charlemagne...he'd been kidnapped by an insane computer." So... what was the full story? Claimed by one_hoopy_frood.

* Jack Harkness meets Oscar Wilde, preferably before Regina v. Wilde and Taylor, but, really anything goes.

* Wouldn't it be really, really funny if Five somehow inspired Margery Allingham's Albert Campion? Claimed by pontisbright.


Have fun!