Rec: Paradise Naan by A.J. Hall

[ffutures]

Title: Paradise Naan
Creator: ajhall
Rating: Teen
Word Count/Length/Size: 3945
Creator's Summary: no summary
Characters/Pairings: Jack Harkness, Sybil Ramkin, Ianto Jones, Owen Harper, Death (Discworld), Myfanwy (Torchwood Pterodactyl), Gwen Cooper, DCI Swanson, Toshiko Sato
Warnings/Notes: none

Reasons for reccing: One of several brilliant crossovers by A.J. Hall - in this Discworld crossover Jack Harkness goes looking for some help when Myfanwy is ill and comes back with more than he bargained for.

( excerpt )

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1048214

rec [fic]: Numb by Penny

[justmcshane]

Today's rec bingo (card here) is for the third column, fifth row prompt 'injury/illness'. Which brings me to bingo! However, I'm pretty sure I'm gonna keep on reccing and try to get a blackout bingo before the end of the month.

Title: Numb

Creator: Penny

Rating: All Ages

Word Count/Length/Size: 8651 words

Creator's Summary: Jamie wasn’t afraid of dying – but if there was one thing travelling with the Doctor had taught him, it was that there were worse things. In which Jamie is captured by the Cybermen and partially cyber-converted.

Characters/Pairings: Jamie McCrimmon, The Doctor (2nd), Zoe Herriot

Warnings/Notes: Some disturbing Cyberconversion imagery.

Reasons for reccing: Back when I was several years younger and Calufrax was still a thing, I remember wanting to sign up for ficreccing duties because I had a whole list of stories I wanted to share with everybody. I went back through my old documents this morning while I was trying to find a good story to rec for this bingo prompt in particular, and found that list, and this fic in particular (which I hadn't reread for a long time) was at the top. Which is excellent, because it's a very good fic.

A lot of Doctor Who authors have a particular TARDIS team that they write especially well for and you can tell that they love doing it. The characters' voices will consistently shine through, and the prose will sparkle. In Penny's case, that team is Two and Jamie (with the other two!era companions making frequent appearances). All of their stories are wonderful, really (I especially loved their Steven Universe AU) and I encourage you to go check it all out!

But, anyway. About this fic in particular. One of my many, many weaknesses (I've been revealing my weaknesses gradually via these recs so far, and a talented person would be able to exploit them easily and quickly defeat me in mortal combat without any problems whatsoever) is hurt/comfort, and this is well-written h/c of the very highest quality. Jamie is someone that’s obviously hard to write (I don't know, I've never tried - I've been too scared of getting him wrong), but oh my stars have they done this well. You can see him trying to do what the Doctor would do, even when he’s in danger. It’s quite light on Zoe, but she’s concerned for Jamie. There’s a gradual reveal in what’s happened, and it’ll have you squirming in anticipation. Plus, a satisfying ending, which is always a good thing. 

I've just checked and this fic doesn't have any reviews at all. Which is a terrible, awful crime, and as soon as I post this, I'm off to begin the process of rectifying that. I hope you will join me in doing so, because it really is a wonderful story.

( But first, a preview... )

Link: http://www.whofic.com/viewstory.php?sid=55743