Round Three Reviews: Part 22
Today's Featured Stories Include:
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Relict by ninamusing
Category: WIP - Doctor/Rose
Fandom: New Who
Characters: Nine, Rose, Jack
Rating: Teen+ (highest rating so far is teen but the author notes it will be rising, and there are some fairly graphic descriptions of erotic dreams)
Details: Nine/Rose/Jack off-the-charts UST and hurt/comfort. Eleven chapters completed of an author-estimated 14-ish. Last updated March 2009.
Why it Rocks:
I was going to go for the tried and true high school debate club tactic of opening this review up with a dictionary definition of relict, but since this is the internet, I can just give you a link and get straight to the undignified flailing with no further ado.
For the acronym-impaired, UST stands for Unresolved Sexual Tension. To me it is like a drug, and reading Relict has been like mainlining the purest grade. And it is one thing when you've got UST between two characters, but when there are three involved, all having it between one another as well as all together? It's a wonder I'm even coherent enough to write this review.
The emotional landscape of Relict is complex. With three skillfully-developed characters, and three distinct relationships between them, it has to be. As the story opens, Jack muses about the relationship between the Doctor and Rose; their much-noted lack of respect for personal space, their absurdly obvious feelings for one another, and their thus-far chaste friendship. Jack can barely stand watching it without wanting to, as he says, tie them together, preferably in a horizontal position. Rose, for her part, is a bit less conscious of some similar feelings regarding the Doctor and Jack, focused as she is on the Doctor half of that duo-but she keeps finding herself watching them together and enjoying very much what she sees; not only for the aesthetic value but because she recognises as well the feelings that the two men have for one another, and appreciates it:
They [the Doctor and Jack] traded tools with an efficient gesture, pressing palms together to stabilize the metal objects, then changing the grasp with a brush of their fingers that made Rose’s hand tingle. She might not know those arms, but she knew those fingers, that palm. She knew how her hand fit inside their grasp, where the calluses were, how strong and secure that clasp was, how gentle. Her hand was tiny in his. Jack’s was just as big - the palm as broad, the fingers thicker if not so long. A good match.
And the Doctor? His feelings remain a mystery to the reader. Outside and apart from his companions, he's an enigma, and the ailment that he begins to suffer is likewise mysterious.
I find the relationship between Jack and Rose to be one of the most interesting dyads in Relict. Both of them are openly and obviously in love with the Doctor, they both relish watching the other flirting with him, but their feelings towards each other are a bit more nuanced. They are sort of partners, brothers-in-arms in the eternal battle to keep the Doctor on an even keel, and also in each of their individual quests to get the Doctor into a slightly more horizontal position. They aren't jealous when the other receives the attentions of the Time Lord, and this is really the clear sign that even though they never talk about it or even think about it consciously, they are in love with one another as well.
See? Complicated. And I could go on about the Doctor's Time War trauma and all the glorious hurt/comfort scenes as well, and the mysterious nature of the spells he keeps having, and the appearance of the Zero Room(!).
But I want to save space to talk about the writing.
There are as many ways to paint with words as there are to paint with colours. ninamusing's style is (sometimes literally) breathtakingly lush, detailed, filled with realistic touches while maintaining an overall tone of the dreamlike. The colours of the world she paints are all just that much more saturated, that much brighter than our every-day reality. And this style rings true of what I know about being in that sort of intense unrequited relationship: everything is turned up to eleven as your senses reach for every last glimpse/taste/sound/touch/smell of your beloved(s). Sitting down to read Relict in (mostly) one go, it made me feel drunk, giddy, and a bit overwhelmed.
ninamusing sets much of her story on the TARDIS, in between adventures, but she does take us to a spellbinding fin-de-siècle Vienna Opera Ball which is, quite simply, enchanting. She's extremely detailed in her descriptions of events (and feelings) throughout the story, and these scenes are no exception. The words created a little film in my head, and I must say, it really rivals any costume dramas I've seen in quite a long time. The dancing, the clothing, the gaslights, and then all of the little character moments that just ratchet the UST up and up and up into the stratosphere:
She was on her feet before he was, her eyes skittering away from Jack’s. The Doctor put his hands lightly on her bare shoulders, turning her away from him. An oval mirror in an ornate frame on the wall opposite reflected her astonished face as the Doctor’s long fingers worked lightly at the hooks and eyes at the base of her bodice. She caught her breath as she felt his touch through the layers of fabric in the small of her back. He opened the dress a few inches up to her mid-back. And then he was working at the ties of the corset, fingers sliding through the laces to ease their tension.
There's no actual hanky-panky going on in that scene, mind. They are out having a meal and Rose's corset is too tight for her to enjoy it, so the Doctor loosens it for her. It's actually a wonderful up-ending of the typical "bodice-ripping" romance scene. Here, this is a purely utilitarian operation, loosening a corset so the lady can eat unencumbered, but it's absolutely dripping with sensuality and desire. And then they sit down and finish dinner. No, really.
There are a dozen or more scenes like that-with Rose and the Doctor, or Jack and the Doctor, or all three of them together-where the most innocent and every-day of operations become loaded with layers of subtext and the true feelings of all involved are on the tip of all of their tongues. The physical ache is palpable. It hurts so good.
Relict has been a WIP for a long time now. The latest update was not that long ago, so ninamusing is still working on it, and I hope to all the powers in the 'verse that she doesn't leave us hanging for much longer. So, if you wind up reading it because of this review, do leave a nice comment to let her know that her efforts are being appreciated. I know I've certainly appreciated them, and I'll be adding ninamusing to my watchlist so I don't miss the next update.
In a word: Fantastic.
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Parting Gift by gracie_musica
Category: Dark
Fandom: Torchwood
Characters: Jack, Martha, Ianto (sort of)
Rating: PG
Details: One-shot, Jack/Ianto, major angst, character death, set sometime in the future, after JE.
Why It Rocks:
Fact of life, people: Jack is, technically, immortal. Ianto is not.
This means that at some point in the future, Ianto is going to die. Now, if you're a Ianto fan (like me), this thought is endlessly depressing. If you're not a Ianto fan - well, you've probably already scheduled the party.
What important to realize about Parting Gift, however, is that it's not about Ianto's death - in fact, the manner and method in which he dies is almost immaterial. Yes, it's fairly violent and sudden - but what death isn't sudden? Even had Ianto died of old age, to a Jack who loved him, the effect would be as if it were sudden. The entire point of the fic is that Ianto has died (past-tense), and Jack is gearing up the courage to say goodbye.
Now, I realize that Jack has been gifted with an exceptionally long life, and in that life, he will have companions die. But I don't think it gets any easier for him - at least, not at the stage in which we see him. (Maybe when he's Boe, it's a different story.)
Certainly, losing someone you love isn't easy for those of us who only get 80-some years, instead of a few thousand. It's not for Jack, that's evident. I think perhaps it surprises him, when someone dies - he knows it'll happen, of course, he's not stupid. In a way, he has been preparing for Ianto's death since the day they met.
Oh, he’d known that this end was inevitable. They’d both known far too well what would happen. Ianto would die, either from work or old age or his head would roll off his body from rolling his eyes at Jack’s antics too much, but he’d be gone and Jack would be there to carry on. Alone for a while, but he’d grieve and then find someone else.
What is particularly surprising to Jack, however, is how much the fact of Ianto's death hits him. Jack, who has seen entire lifetimes come and go, understands better than anyone (up to and including the Doctor) that there is a time and place for everything and everyone. We see him pause in memory for Suzie, for Tosh, even for Gray - for the countless victims of the Rift, even, Jack will pause and look sorrowful, before moving on with his role. We saw him scramble to bring back Owen (although that wasn't entirely for noble reasons). I think to a certain extent, Jack has a very nonchalant view of death. It's why the fact that Ianto's death hits him so hard is especially striking - Jack has had friends claimed by death before.
But perhaps none of them meant quite the same to him as Ianto.
It was quiet, just the noise of his footsteps crunching through the snow. A benevolent, peaceful quiet. He could almost feel Ianto watching him.
Stupid, since there was nothing, but he could feel it. The pinprick of awareness that made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end, the one that signaled Ianto’s gaze on him.
That the fic is set in winter could, on one level, been seen as cliche. Yes, yes, cold of death, the world in mourning, white all around, blank slate, yadda yadda yadda. But there's a bit more to it than that. I'm going to venture out and say that this death, Ianto's death, is the first to actually hit Jack as hard as it does. The cold of winter seeps into Jack's very bones; the starkness of the bare trees above him outlines the world in black and grey. Life without Ianto is devoid of warmth, devoid of color.
...his eyes landed on a tiny little pine sapling, its young green leaves bright against the snow and bare wooden trunks.
And yet...there is still color around, if you know where to look. The tree growing on the edge of Jack's winter is more than a metaphor of springs to come and life beginning again. It's as much a sign to Jack as it is to us that death might claim, but it doesn't win, as long as there is someone to come after.
In short, vote for Parting Gift. There are few fics that deal with death or its aftermath quite so head-on as this. It's a quiet, crisp little fic, and it entirely deserves the warmth of your vote.
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Stay by lillibet Link goes to Teaspoon
Category: Romance
Fandom: New Who
Characters: Ten, Rose, Donna
Rating: Adult
Details:Ten/Rose first time, AU series 4 ending (written before the actual ending aired).
Why it rocks:
Ah, ROMANCE! You may remember me as the reviewer that got chocked up over the pure, perfect love between two articles of clothing. Clearly I am not above admitting that I love a good romance. So, here in the Romance category of New Who we have Stay by lillibet.
The author notes that she wrote this before the end of series 4 had aired, so it was all just guessing at the time. We knew Rose was coming back but we didn't know how that would shake out. Lillibet opens the story with Donna and the Doctor arguing, and even though there is delicious smut later on, this may actually be my favourite part of the fic. Rose is on board the TARDIS and she's... packing. To go back to Pete's World. Donna and the Doctor are in the console room and Donna's trying to beat some sense in to him regarding Rose's imminent departure.
Holding onto his sanity by his fingertips, he pushed both hands through his hair, which was never a good sign. "Donna you don't understand. It's... complicated."
"Complicated?" Donna echoed in amazement. "I know complicated mate, and this ain't it. Complicated is almost getting married to someone who wants to help a giant alien spider woman feed you to her spider babies - that, Sunny Jim, is complicated."
The Doctor rocked back on his heels for a moment as he held Donna's Medusa-like gaze with a stony glare of his own.
"You know, 'spider woman' doesn't trump everything."
"Yes, it bloody well does," Donna said, and then she sighed, took another step closer, and tried a gentler approach.
I also very much appreciated Rose's turn for introspection, a classic case of be careful what you wish for. A lot of reunion fics have Rose and the Doctor run straight to each other's arms, but Lillibet writes them as still hesitant to openly acknowledge their feelings for one another. Thus, having saved the universe in some unspecified way, Rose packs up the things she had left on the TARDIS after their first separation and prepares to leave again. The Doctor seems willing to let her, and neither has given the other any reason to believe they have a future together.
It could be a Greek tragedy, but remember kids, this is ROMANCE!
ROMANCE! with a little help from Donna "Why don't you tell her yourself?" Noble, who leaves those two crazy kids alone on the TARDIS with strict orders to make it work.
Commence the kissing. And quality kissing it is. Lillibet focuses on the emotions redolent in the moment, how the kisses feel rather than a play-by-play of tongues and lips. As the scene progresses, there are many lovely moments between them. They actually stop and talk about things that need to be talked about. Permission is asked, options are presented, there's no big rush to the finish line. And there's a certain amount of awkwardness that feels a bit truer to life. Of course this is smut and ROMANCE! so it's going to be just that much better than real life, but it's not so removed from what actually happens when two people make love for the first time that it caused me to scratch my head. Clothing removal is an issue, crude double-entendres are made, there's laughter and joy in the act.
Stay is a romantic fic that at the same time isn't fluff. There's a conflict to be worked through, important words that need to be said, and apologies to be made. The resolution involves a lot of mighty fine smut, of which I fully approve. And the Donna at the beginning is top-notch Awesome Donna. Very much recommended for all your Ten/Rose ROMANCE! needs.
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The Man in the Moon by orange_crushed
Category: 10.5
Fandom: New Who
Characters: Ten II, Rose
Rating: All Ages
Details: In Pete's World, Ten II senses the regeneration of his counterpart. 700 words.
Why it Rocks:
It's a thought that's been on my mind often since we learned that the end for Ten is nigh - will we see Ten II again? Is it possible for him to know, even in another universe, that his counterpart has regenerated? While many fans want Rose and Ten II to remain untouched again in canon so that their stories can be whatever we want them to be, others would like that little reminder that some version of Ten lives on. That even after our current Doctor has regenerated, in a way he's still out there. That he always will be, at least for a single human lifespan.
But if we don't get a glimpse of Ten II in canon, that's what we have fanfic for. And orange_crushed has gifted us with a lovely little ficlet that does allow Ten II to know that the regeneration has happened.
The story occurs almost entirely inside Ten II's mind, giving us a sampling of his inner monologue. When he first feels it, an itch in his hands and a briefly overwhelming pain in his chest, he thinks he might be having a heart attack. Then he realizes the reason for the pain - his other self has regenerated. He is now the only man in all the universes that wears the face he wears. He lies on the flagstones of his garden, pondering his life and his place in the universe.
He shuts his eyes and feels the cells of his skin beginning to burn under the sunlight, just enough. It has been seven years in this body, this universe; seven years of her and her people and burning the roast and trying not to get shot with lasers at work; seven years gone already, and today this body is really his. He thinks he might start letting her throw his birthday parties.
He really does like cake.
Rose finds him on the ground, but he doesn't tell her right away. He'll tell her tonight, he thinks.
He'll tell her and she'll cry a little and stare off at the ceiling and hold his hand tightly, as if that could be felt as well, across the vast distance. Maybe it can be. Maybe all this time he's felt it too, her warm star, the sun he orbits, the gravity in the gentle press of her palms; maybe that's what made it seven years and not seven days until the resurrection.
In few words, this story communicates exactly the kind of life that Ten II is living. It is gorgeous, lush in its language and yet subtle in its storytelling. And perhaps best of all, it offers comfort to those of us sure to be in floods of tears come the final scene for the tenth Doctor.
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Match Point by ghost2 Link goes to Teaspoon
Category: Humor
Fandom: Classic Who
Characters: Seven, Ace, TARDIS
Rating: Teen
Details: One-shot crackfic. The TARDIS is absolutely a presence, so if you're not into sentient!TARDIS fic, stay away. Or rather, don't, as this parodies the cliche.
Why It Rocks:
Really? Because any fic that begins with this:
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Well....You just have to love it.
As a response to a challenge, ghost2 had to take a well-known fandom cliche and turn it on its head. Here, she's taken the cliche of the TARDIS getting Ten and Rose together, and instead....allowed the TARDIS to get another Doctor and companion together. In this case - Seven and Ace.
Never before in her extended existence had she encountered such a dire situation that so desperately required her expert intervention. She simply couldn't continue to stand by and allow the greatest wrong ever to be perpetrated upon the universe.
Half the fun of fandom cliches is that the reader knows exactly what to expect. If Nine and Rose land on a shag-or-die planet, we know that the Doctor will equivocate for about ten minutes while Rose is half convinced that she's unlovable. And then they will shag like bunnies. If it's Ten and Martha, Ten will bemoan the fact that he's lost Rose (or he'll say how he never loved her in the first place, kind of depends on the author), and Martha will be a bit nervous and then they'll shag like bunnies.
(If it's Ten and Donna on the shag-or-die planet, there will probably be a lot of yelling. And hitting. And then shagging like bunnies.)
But Seven and Ace? When confronted with the TARDIS's absolute conviction that it's high time that they give up the ghost (no pun intended) and shag like bunnies.....
"Why is the TARDIS giving us presents from each other anyway?" Ace persisted.
The Doctor sighed. "I'm afraid she's matchmaking again."
Ace seized on the pertinent word. "What d'you mean, again?"
"She started to do it with Sarah Jane Smith and me once, but then I was called back to Gallifrey and Sarah went home, thus nipping the problem in the bud. She later tried again when Romana was on board. But that was centuries ago, and I thought she had got over such nonsense."
"Well, I'm not going home, so we can just do whatever you and that Romana did that second time," Ace decided.
The Doctor looked away. "I don't think you'll want to do it."
The fun just keeps going - because of course the TARDIS isn't going to stop. In fact, the more annoyed the Doctor and Ace get - the more it seems to convince her that she's on the right track. (A track, I might add, will eventually lead to marriage and shagging and Ace somehow gaining immortality and the Doctor gaining never-ending regenerations.)
Things come to a head when the Doctor and Ace land on a marry-or-die planet.
As they trudged back towards the TARDIS, the Doctor turned to Ace. "Cheer up, it could have been worse."
"How?" she grumbled.
"The TARDIS could have taken us to a shag-or-die planet instead."
Oh. Just you wait.
In short, vote for Match Point. It's a fandom cliche turned upside-down, it's flowers and striped ties and really tacky wedding planets, it's the TARDIS taking over as we all dearly hope she would. It's delightfully funny, and it will keep you in stitches the whole way through. I've had a grin on my face just writing the review. It absolutely deserves your vote.
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Nine Months by Scarlet Secret Link goes to ff.net
Category: Dark/Angst
Fandom: SJA
Characters: Sarah Jane Smith, Mrs Wormwood
Rating: Author rates it T (Teen) on ff.net; CoT award site rates it Adult. I’d rate it Adult because of the warnings I’ll detail below.
Details: Ficlet, complete. Alternate ending to The Invasion of the Bane. Femslash. Warnings: non-con, bondage
Why It Rocks:
One of the things we come to expect in the Whoniverse, whichever of the series we’re talking about, is that the good guys will win. Of course, it’s never a perfect storybook ending: there’ll always be something lost, someone to mourn, some elements of sadness along the way as the price of victory. In Torchwood, it’s Tosh and Owen dying. In Doctor Who, it’s Rose being torn away from the Doctor, or Donna’s memories wiped as the price of saving her life. In SJA, it’s Sarah Jane still having to lose her parents in order to save the world.
But what if the good guys don’t win? We saw a snapshot of that in the last episode of DW Season 3 while the Master ruled the Earth. But the Doctor triumphed and erased that year, though at a cost. What if the worst really does happen? This is the premise of Nine Months: Sarah Jane and Luke fail to defeat the Bane at the end of the first episode, and nine months later Sarah is still waiting to be saved.
This is a very uncomfortable story to read; this has to be said right up front. Think of Jack in chains in Last of the Time Lords; well, that’s Sarah in this story, only with additional graphic detail. If bondage, humiliation and non-consensual sex are not your thing, you may be wise to avoid this story. If, on the other hand, you like dark, psychological stories that examine what can happen over time to people held prisoner and dependent on their captors for everything, good or bad, pleasure or pain, you might want to read this little vignette.
There are a couple of themes to the story. First, the picture of hope that’s pinned so very strongly on one person dying away:
The Doctor was not coming.
It had been nine months and Sarah Jane had lived in a world of haziness, of loneliness and downright misery. Her hope was beginning to vanish.
The Doctor was not coming.
Even forty years after the Doctor left her behind, and a year or so after meeting him again and finally facing that he is capricious in his choice and treatment of companions, Sarah still had absolute faith that he would save her. She’s been getting through day after day of captivity and torture with that one hope in her mind: the Doctor will find her and save her.
But he hasn’t. It’s been nine months and she’s finally admitting it to herself: he’s not coming. Not because he doesn’t care, but because he doesn’t know.
Sarah has, in effect, become a pet, a creature for Mrs Wormwood to keep and play with as she chooses. She has her own rooms, and she is fed adequately; she even sees Luke from time to time, though Luke has no memory of her and is loyal to his creator. This, then, becomes Sarah’s fate:
She has become a ghost, flitting around her room, seeing nobody but Mrs Wormwood. And only really seeing certain parts of her in any great detail. It had not taken the Bane-woman long to make clear what she wanted from Sarah Jane. After years in a human body it seems she had finally sussed out how to use it to its best advantage and was very eager to test out what she had learnt with her new slave. So whenever she’s in the mood she’ll saunter into her captive’s room and calmly sit, pulling up her skirts with one hand and pulling Sarah Jane’s lead with the other.
Using prisoners for sex is not, of course, at all unusual, and is also a common scenario in fanfic. It seems to be less common in femslash, while on the other hand there are many, many non-con fics covering Jack’s time as the prisoner of the Master. That’s not the point that intrigues me as a reader, though. I said there were a couple of different themes to this story, and the second is that of prisoner as co-dependent. We’ve all heard of Stockholm Syndrome, I’m sure; that well-documented phenomenon whereby prisoners and hostages start to identify with their captors and may even become reluctant to contemplate freedom. Scarlet Secret hints that Sarah is falling victim to that:
Mrs Wormwood knows what she is doing, knows that Sarah Jane will hate herself for loving this, so she naturally has every intention of doing it again.
No, the Doctor’s not coming. And maybe, just maybe, there’s part of Sarah who thinks that’s okay.
This is, as I’ve suggested, a deeply disturbing story, and I won’t deny that I found it an uncomfortable read. It’s definitely not everybody’s cup of tea, and I’ll repeat my caution: if anything in the warnings above are triggers for you, do not read this story. If you do read it, though, I think you’ll agree that it’s a clever psychological study of what can happen even to a strong, independent and determined woman like Sarah Jane if the worst occurs and the good guys lose, and if the Doctor doesn’t come. It definitely deserves its nomination in the Dark/Angst category.
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Today's Reviews were written by:
azriona: Parting Gift; Match Point
papilio_luna: Relict; Stay
unfolded73: The Man in the Moon
wendymr: Nine Months
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Relict by ninamusing
Category: WIP - Doctor/Rose
Fandom: New Who
Characters: Nine, Rose, Jack
Rating: Teen+ (highest rating so far is teen but the author notes it will be rising, and there are some fairly graphic descriptions of erotic dreams)
Details: Nine/Rose/Jack off-the-charts UST and hurt/comfort. Eleven chapters completed of an author-estimated 14-ish. Last updated March 2009.
Why it Rocks:
I was going to go for the tried and true high school debate club tactic of opening this review up with a dictionary definition of relict, but since this is the internet, I can just give you a link and get straight to the undignified flailing with no further ado.
For the acronym-impaired, UST stands for Unresolved Sexual Tension. To me it is like a drug, and reading Relict has been like mainlining the purest grade. And it is one thing when you've got UST between two characters, but when there are three involved, all having it between one another as well as all together? It's a wonder I'm even coherent enough to write this review.
The emotional landscape of Relict is complex. With three skillfully-developed characters, and three distinct relationships between them, it has to be. As the story opens, Jack muses about the relationship between the Doctor and Rose; their much-noted lack of respect for personal space, their absurdly obvious feelings for one another, and their thus-far chaste friendship. Jack can barely stand watching it without wanting to, as he says, tie them together, preferably in a horizontal position. Rose, for her part, is a bit less conscious of some similar feelings regarding the Doctor and Jack, focused as she is on the Doctor half of that duo-but she keeps finding herself watching them together and enjoying very much what she sees; not only for the aesthetic value but because she recognises as well the feelings that the two men have for one another, and appreciates it:
They [the Doctor and Jack] traded tools with an efficient gesture, pressing palms together to stabilize the metal objects, then changing the grasp with a brush of their fingers that made Rose’s hand tingle. She might not know those arms, but she knew those fingers, that palm. She knew how her hand fit inside their grasp, where the calluses were, how strong and secure that clasp was, how gentle. Her hand was tiny in his. Jack’s was just as big - the palm as broad, the fingers thicker if not so long. A good match.
And the Doctor? His feelings remain a mystery to the reader. Outside and apart from his companions, he's an enigma, and the ailment that he begins to suffer is likewise mysterious.
I find the relationship between Jack and Rose to be one of the most interesting dyads in Relict. Both of them are openly and obviously in love with the Doctor, they both relish watching the other flirting with him, but their feelings towards each other are a bit more nuanced. They are sort of partners, brothers-in-arms in the eternal battle to keep the Doctor on an even keel, and also in each of their individual quests to get the Doctor into a slightly more horizontal position. They aren't jealous when the other receives the attentions of the Time Lord, and this is really the clear sign that even though they never talk about it or even think about it consciously, they are in love with one another as well.
See? Complicated. And I could go on about the Doctor's Time War trauma and all the glorious hurt/comfort scenes as well, and the mysterious nature of the spells he keeps having, and the appearance of the Zero Room(!).
But I want to save space to talk about the writing.
There are as many ways to paint with words as there are to paint with colours. ninamusing's style is (sometimes literally) breathtakingly lush, detailed, filled with realistic touches while maintaining an overall tone of the dreamlike. The colours of the world she paints are all just that much more saturated, that much brighter than our every-day reality. And this style rings true of what I know about being in that sort of intense unrequited relationship: everything is turned up to eleven as your senses reach for every last glimpse/taste/sound/touch/smell of your beloved(s). Sitting down to read Relict in (mostly) one go, it made me feel drunk, giddy, and a bit overwhelmed.
ninamusing sets much of her story on the TARDIS, in between adventures, but she does take us to a spellbinding fin-de-siècle Vienna Opera Ball which is, quite simply, enchanting. She's extremely detailed in her descriptions of events (and feelings) throughout the story, and these scenes are no exception. The words created a little film in my head, and I must say, it really rivals any costume dramas I've seen in quite a long time. The dancing, the clothing, the gaslights, and then all of the little character moments that just ratchet the UST up and up and up into the stratosphere:
She was on her feet before he was, her eyes skittering away from Jack’s. The Doctor put his hands lightly on her bare shoulders, turning her away from him. An oval mirror in an ornate frame on the wall opposite reflected her astonished face as the Doctor’s long fingers worked lightly at the hooks and eyes at the base of her bodice. She caught her breath as she felt his touch through the layers of fabric in the small of her back. He opened the dress a few inches up to her mid-back. And then he was working at the ties of the corset, fingers sliding through the laces to ease their tension.
There's no actual hanky-panky going on in that scene, mind. They are out having a meal and Rose's corset is too tight for her to enjoy it, so the Doctor loosens it for her. It's actually a wonderful up-ending of the typical "bodice-ripping" romance scene. Here, this is a purely utilitarian operation, loosening a corset so the lady can eat unencumbered, but it's absolutely dripping with sensuality and desire. And then they sit down and finish dinner. No, really.
There are a dozen or more scenes like that-with Rose and the Doctor, or Jack and the Doctor, or all three of them together-where the most innocent and every-day of operations become loaded with layers of subtext and the true feelings of all involved are on the tip of all of their tongues. The physical ache is palpable. It hurts so good.
Relict has been a WIP for a long time now. The latest update was not that long ago, so ninamusing is still working on it, and I hope to all the powers in the 'verse that she doesn't leave us hanging for much longer. So, if you wind up reading it because of this review, do leave a nice comment to let her know that her efforts are being appreciated. I know I've certainly appreciated them, and I'll be adding ninamusing to my watchlist so I don't miss the next update.
In a word: Fantastic.
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Parting Gift by gracie_musica
Category: Dark
Fandom: Torchwood
Characters: Jack, Martha, Ianto (sort of)
Rating: PG
Details: One-shot, Jack/Ianto, major angst, character death, set sometime in the future, after JE.
Why It Rocks:
Fact of life, people: Jack is, technically, immortal. Ianto is not.
This means that at some point in the future, Ianto is going to die. Now, if you're a Ianto fan (like me), this thought is endlessly depressing. If you're not a Ianto fan - well, you've probably already scheduled the party.
What important to realize about Parting Gift, however, is that it's not about Ianto's death - in fact, the manner and method in which he dies is almost immaterial. Yes, it's fairly violent and sudden - but what death isn't sudden? Even had Ianto died of old age, to a Jack who loved him, the effect would be as if it were sudden. The entire point of the fic is that Ianto has died (past-tense), and Jack is gearing up the courage to say goodbye.
Now, I realize that Jack has been gifted with an exceptionally long life, and in that life, he will have companions die. But I don't think it gets any easier for him - at least, not at the stage in which we see him. (Maybe when he's Boe, it's a different story.)
Certainly, losing someone you love isn't easy for those of us who only get 80-some years, instead of a few thousand. It's not for Jack, that's evident. I think perhaps it surprises him, when someone dies - he knows it'll happen, of course, he's not stupid. In a way, he has been preparing for Ianto's death since the day they met.
Oh, he’d known that this end was inevitable. They’d both known far too well what would happen. Ianto would die, either from work or old age or his head would roll off his body from rolling his eyes at Jack’s antics too much, but he’d be gone and Jack would be there to carry on. Alone for a while, but he’d grieve and then find someone else.
What is particularly surprising to Jack, however, is how much the fact of Ianto's death hits him. Jack, who has seen entire lifetimes come and go, understands better than anyone (up to and including the Doctor) that there is a time and place for everything and everyone. We see him pause in memory for Suzie, for Tosh, even for Gray - for the countless victims of the Rift, even, Jack will pause and look sorrowful, before moving on with his role. We saw him scramble to bring back Owen (although that wasn't entirely for noble reasons). I think to a certain extent, Jack has a very nonchalant view of death. It's why the fact that Ianto's death hits him so hard is especially striking - Jack has had friends claimed by death before.
But perhaps none of them meant quite the same to him as Ianto.
It was quiet, just the noise of his footsteps crunching through the snow. A benevolent, peaceful quiet. He could almost feel Ianto watching him.
Stupid, since there was nothing, but he could feel it. The pinprick of awareness that made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end, the one that signaled Ianto’s gaze on him.
That the fic is set in winter could, on one level, been seen as cliche. Yes, yes, cold of death, the world in mourning, white all around, blank slate, yadda yadda yadda. But there's a bit more to it than that. I'm going to venture out and say that this death, Ianto's death, is the first to actually hit Jack as hard as it does. The cold of winter seeps into Jack's very bones; the starkness of the bare trees above him outlines the world in black and grey. Life without Ianto is devoid of warmth, devoid of color.
...his eyes landed on a tiny little pine sapling, its young green leaves bright against the snow and bare wooden trunks.
And yet...there is still color around, if you know where to look. The tree growing on the edge of Jack's winter is more than a metaphor of springs to come and life beginning again. It's as much a sign to Jack as it is to us that death might claim, but it doesn't win, as long as there is someone to come after.
In short, vote for Parting Gift. There are few fics that deal with death or its aftermath quite so head-on as this. It's a quiet, crisp little fic, and it entirely deserves the warmth of your vote.
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Stay by lillibet Link goes to Teaspoon
Category: Romance
Fandom: New Who
Characters: Ten, Rose, Donna
Rating: Adult
Details:Ten/Rose first time, AU series 4 ending (written before the actual ending aired).
Why it rocks:
Ah, ROMANCE! You may remember me as the reviewer that got chocked up over the pure, perfect love between two articles of clothing. Clearly I am not above admitting that I love a good romance. So, here in the Romance category of New Who we have Stay by lillibet.
The author notes that she wrote this before the end of series 4 had aired, so it was all just guessing at the time. We knew Rose was coming back but we didn't know how that would shake out. Lillibet opens the story with Donna and the Doctor arguing, and even though there is delicious smut later on, this may actually be my favourite part of the fic. Rose is on board the TARDIS and she's... packing. To go back to Pete's World. Donna and the Doctor are in the console room and Donna's trying to beat some sense in to him regarding Rose's imminent departure.
Holding onto his sanity by his fingertips, he pushed both hands through his hair, which was never a good sign. "Donna you don't understand. It's... complicated."
"Complicated?" Donna echoed in amazement. "I know complicated mate, and this ain't it. Complicated is almost getting married to someone who wants to help a giant alien spider woman feed you to her spider babies - that, Sunny Jim, is complicated."
The Doctor rocked back on his heels for a moment as he held Donna's Medusa-like gaze with a stony glare of his own.
"You know, 'spider woman' doesn't trump everything."
"Yes, it bloody well does," Donna said, and then she sighed, took another step closer, and tried a gentler approach.
I also very much appreciated Rose's turn for introspection, a classic case of be careful what you wish for. A lot of reunion fics have Rose and the Doctor run straight to each other's arms, but Lillibet writes them as still hesitant to openly acknowledge their feelings for one another. Thus, having saved the universe in some unspecified way, Rose packs up the things she had left on the TARDIS after their first separation and prepares to leave again. The Doctor seems willing to let her, and neither has given the other any reason to believe they have a future together.
It could be a Greek tragedy, but remember kids, this is ROMANCE!
ROMANCE! with a little help from Donna "Why don't you tell her yourself?" Noble, who leaves those two crazy kids alone on the TARDIS with strict orders to make it work.
Commence the kissing. And quality kissing it is. Lillibet focuses on the emotions redolent in the moment, how the kisses feel rather than a play-by-play of tongues and lips. As the scene progresses, there are many lovely moments between them. They actually stop and talk about things that need to be talked about. Permission is asked, options are presented, there's no big rush to the finish line. And there's a certain amount of awkwardness that feels a bit truer to life. Of course this is smut and ROMANCE! so it's going to be just that much better than real life, but it's not so removed from what actually happens when two people make love for the first time that it caused me to scratch my head. Clothing removal is an issue, crude double-entendres are made, there's laughter and joy in the act.
Stay is a romantic fic that at the same time isn't fluff. There's a conflict to be worked through, important words that need to be said, and apologies to be made. The resolution involves a lot of mighty fine smut, of which I fully approve. And the Donna at the beginning is top-notch Awesome Donna. Very much recommended for all your Ten/Rose ROMANCE! needs.
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The Man in the Moon by orange_crushed
Category: 10.5
Fandom: New Who
Characters: Ten II, Rose
Rating: All Ages
Details: In Pete's World, Ten II senses the regeneration of his counterpart. 700 words.
Why it Rocks:
It's a thought that's been on my mind often since we learned that the end for Ten is nigh - will we see Ten II again? Is it possible for him to know, even in another universe, that his counterpart has regenerated? While many fans want Rose and Ten II to remain untouched again in canon so that their stories can be whatever we want them to be, others would like that little reminder that some version of Ten lives on. That even after our current Doctor has regenerated, in a way he's still out there. That he always will be, at least for a single human lifespan.
But if we don't get a glimpse of Ten II in canon, that's what we have fanfic for. And orange_crushed has gifted us with a lovely little ficlet that does allow Ten II to know that the regeneration has happened.
The story occurs almost entirely inside Ten II's mind, giving us a sampling of his inner monologue. When he first feels it, an itch in his hands and a briefly overwhelming pain in his chest, he thinks he might be having a heart attack. Then he realizes the reason for the pain - his other self has regenerated. He is now the only man in all the universes that wears the face he wears. He lies on the flagstones of his garden, pondering his life and his place in the universe.
He shuts his eyes and feels the cells of his skin beginning to burn under the sunlight, just enough. It has been seven years in this body, this universe; seven years of her and her people and burning the roast and trying not to get shot with lasers at work; seven years gone already, and today this body is really his. He thinks he might start letting her throw his birthday parties.
He really does like cake.
Rose finds him on the ground, but he doesn't tell her right away. He'll tell her tonight, he thinks.
He'll tell her and she'll cry a little and stare off at the ceiling and hold his hand tightly, as if that could be felt as well, across the vast distance. Maybe it can be. Maybe all this time he's felt it too, her warm star, the sun he orbits, the gravity in the gentle press of her palms; maybe that's what made it seven years and not seven days until the resurrection.
In few words, this story communicates exactly the kind of life that Ten II is living. It is gorgeous, lush in its language and yet subtle in its storytelling. And perhaps best of all, it offers comfort to those of us sure to be in floods of tears come the final scene for the tenth Doctor.
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Match Point by ghost2 Link goes to Teaspoon
Category: Humor
Fandom: Classic Who
Characters: Seven, Ace, TARDIS
Rating: Teen
Details: One-shot crackfic. The TARDIS is absolutely a presence, so if you're not into sentient!TARDIS fic, stay away. Or rather, don't, as this parodies the cliche.
Why It Rocks:
Really? Because any fic that begins with this:
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Well....You just have to love it.
As a response to a challenge, ghost2 had to take a well-known fandom cliche and turn it on its head. Here, she's taken the cliche of the TARDIS getting Ten and Rose together, and instead....allowed the TARDIS to get another Doctor and companion together. In this case - Seven and Ace.
Never before in her extended existence had she encountered such a dire situation that so desperately required her expert intervention. She simply couldn't continue to stand by and allow the greatest wrong ever to be perpetrated upon the universe.
Half the fun of fandom cliches is that the reader knows exactly what to expect. If Nine and Rose land on a shag-or-die planet, we know that the Doctor will equivocate for about ten minutes while Rose is half convinced that she's unlovable. And then they will shag like bunnies. If it's Ten and Martha, Ten will bemoan the fact that he's lost Rose (or he'll say how he never loved her in the first place, kind of depends on the author), and Martha will be a bit nervous and then they'll shag like bunnies.
(If it's Ten and Donna on the shag-or-die planet, there will probably be a lot of yelling. And hitting. And then shagging like bunnies.)
But Seven and Ace? When confronted with the TARDIS's absolute conviction that it's high time that they give up the ghost (no pun intended) and shag like bunnies.....
"Why is the TARDIS giving us presents from each other anyway?" Ace persisted.
The Doctor sighed. "I'm afraid she's matchmaking again."
Ace seized on the pertinent word. "What d'you mean, again?"
"She started to do it with Sarah Jane Smith and me once, but then I was called back to Gallifrey and Sarah went home, thus nipping the problem in the bud. She later tried again when Romana was on board. But that was centuries ago, and I thought she had got over such nonsense."
"Well, I'm not going home, so we can just do whatever you and that Romana did that second time," Ace decided.
The Doctor looked away. "I don't think you'll want to do it."
The fun just keeps going - because of course the TARDIS isn't going to stop. In fact, the more annoyed the Doctor and Ace get - the more it seems to convince her that she's on the right track. (A track, I might add, will eventually lead to marriage and shagging and Ace somehow gaining immortality and the Doctor gaining never-ending regenerations.)
Things come to a head when the Doctor and Ace land on a marry-or-die planet.
As they trudged back towards the TARDIS, the Doctor turned to Ace. "Cheer up, it could have been worse."
"How?" she grumbled.
"The TARDIS could have taken us to a shag-or-die planet instead."
Oh. Just you wait.
In short, vote for Match Point. It's a fandom cliche turned upside-down, it's flowers and striped ties and really tacky wedding planets, it's the TARDIS taking over as we all dearly hope she would. It's delightfully funny, and it will keep you in stitches the whole way through. I've had a grin on my face just writing the review. It absolutely deserves your vote.
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Nine Months by Scarlet Secret Link goes to ff.net
Category: Dark/Angst
Fandom: SJA
Characters: Sarah Jane Smith, Mrs Wormwood
Rating: Author rates it T (Teen) on ff.net; CoT award site rates it Adult. I’d rate it Adult because of the warnings I’ll detail below.
Details: Ficlet, complete. Alternate ending to The Invasion of the Bane. Femslash. Warnings: non-con, bondage
Why It Rocks:
One of the things we come to expect in the Whoniverse, whichever of the series we’re talking about, is that the good guys will win. Of course, it’s never a perfect storybook ending: there’ll always be something lost, someone to mourn, some elements of sadness along the way as the price of victory. In Torchwood, it’s Tosh and Owen dying. In Doctor Who, it’s Rose being torn away from the Doctor, or Donna’s memories wiped as the price of saving her life. In SJA, it’s Sarah Jane still having to lose her parents in order to save the world.
But what if the good guys don’t win? We saw a snapshot of that in the last episode of DW Season 3 while the Master ruled the Earth. But the Doctor triumphed and erased that year, though at a cost. What if the worst really does happen? This is the premise of Nine Months: Sarah Jane and Luke fail to defeat the Bane at the end of the first episode, and nine months later Sarah is still waiting to be saved.
This is a very uncomfortable story to read; this has to be said right up front. Think of Jack in chains in Last of the Time Lords; well, that’s Sarah in this story, only with additional graphic detail. If bondage, humiliation and non-consensual sex are not your thing, you may be wise to avoid this story. If, on the other hand, you like dark, psychological stories that examine what can happen over time to people held prisoner and dependent on their captors for everything, good or bad, pleasure or pain, you might want to read this little vignette.
There are a couple of themes to the story. First, the picture of hope that’s pinned so very strongly on one person dying away:
The Doctor was not coming.
It had been nine months and Sarah Jane had lived in a world of haziness, of loneliness and downright misery. Her hope was beginning to vanish.
The Doctor was not coming.
Even forty years after the Doctor left her behind, and a year or so after meeting him again and finally facing that he is capricious in his choice and treatment of companions, Sarah still had absolute faith that he would save her. She’s been getting through day after day of captivity and torture with that one hope in her mind: the Doctor will find her and save her.
But he hasn’t. It’s been nine months and she’s finally admitting it to herself: he’s not coming. Not because he doesn’t care, but because he doesn’t know.
Sarah has, in effect, become a pet, a creature for Mrs Wormwood to keep and play with as she chooses. She has her own rooms, and she is fed adequately; she even sees Luke from time to time, though Luke has no memory of her and is loyal to his creator. This, then, becomes Sarah’s fate:
She has become a ghost, flitting around her room, seeing nobody but Mrs Wormwood. And only really seeing certain parts of her in any great detail. It had not taken the Bane-woman long to make clear what she wanted from Sarah Jane. After years in a human body it seems she had finally sussed out how to use it to its best advantage and was very eager to test out what she had learnt with her new slave. So whenever she’s in the mood she’ll saunter into her captive’s room and calmly sit, pulling up her skirts with one hand and pulling Sarah Jane’s lead with the other.
Using prisoners for sex is not, of course, at all unusual, and is also a common scenario in fanfic. It seems to be less common in femslash, while on the other hand there are many, many non-con fics covering Jack’s time as the prisoner of the Master. That’s not the point that intrigues me as a reader, though. I said there were a couple of different themes to this story, and the second is that of prisoner as co-dependent. We’ve all heard of Stockholm Syndrome, I’m sure; that well-documented phenomenon whereby prisoners and hostages start to identify with their captors and may even become reluctant to contemplate freedom. Scarlet Secret hints that Sarah is falling victim to that:
Mrs Wormwood knows what she is doing, knows that Sarah Jane will hate herself for loving this, so she naturally has every intention of doing it again.
No, the Doctor’s not coming. And maybe, just maybe, there’s part of Sarah who thinks that’s okay.
This is, as I’ve suggested, a deeply disturbing story, and I won’t deny that I found it an uncomfortable read. It’s definitely not everybody’s cup of tea, and I’ll repeat my caution: if anything in the warnings above are triggers for you, do not read this story. If you do read it, though, I think you’ll agree that it’s a clever psychological study of what can happen even to a strong, independent and determined woman like Sarah Jane if the worst occurs and the good guys lose, and if the Doctor doesn’t come. It definitely deserves its nomination in the Dark/Angst category.
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Today's Reviews were written by:
azriona: Parting Gift; Match Point
papilio_luna: Relict; Stay
unfolded73: The Man in the Moon
wendymr: Nine Months