Rec: The Amazon

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I'm very sorry I'm so late getting started with my recs, everyone! There should be no further delays.

For my short series of recs, I will be recommending something literary and something musical on each post. Musical, you ask? Yes. I will be recommending songs written by fans of Doctor Who about the show. This is commonly called Trock (Timelord Rock), in the style of Wizard Rock, which you may be familiar with if you have spent time in the Harry Potter fandom. I possess no musical talent whatsoever, so I am kind of in awe of some of the songs that have been produced in our fandom!

Title: The Amazon
Pairing: Delgado!Master/Four
Length: ~9,500
Summary: Jo made a poor choice in husbands, the Master made a poor choice in building materials, and the Doctor's gone off in a scarf.
Warnings: language, off-screen sex
Author on LJ (or Teaspoon, or Prydonian): neveralarch, neveralarch (on Teaspoon), neveralarch (on AO3)
Why this must be read:

This story is quite possibly my favorite thing to come from the anon meme, which is saying quite a bit! Both the Jo and Delgado!Master voices are strong and distinctly them, which makes me savor every interaction between them. I think I could happily read their adventures forever. Whether it's Jo speculating about whether the Master's name is something ridiculous, taking him shopping for clothing with too many feathers on it, or expounding on his relationship with the Doctor while he quietly wishes for the ceiling to cave in on him so he can escape the conversation, Jo is so entertaining as his traveling companion. Jo's theories get in his head, and he can't ignore them.

As if all of that weren't awesome enough, this story also has the Fourth Doctor, which the world really needs more of. There are so many excellent, witty lines in this story. I like the thematic thread of poorly considered relationship decisions running throughout the fic. In fact, this story also has a wonderful prequel called "The Honeymooners" about another such bad relationship choice, mentioned in passing in "The Amazon."


The third trip went poorly again, though for once it hadn't anything to do with Jo. They had managed only one step out onto the juridical plains of Braire before they were arrested for parking without a permit. The TARDIS, disguised as a local vehicle, was impounded, and Jo and the Master were locked up together pending a hearing. This, in and of itself, was merely one of the hazards of traveling to a particularly law-obsessed planet. Once he had access to a lawyer, the Master was reasonably confident that he could turn all this to his advantage. The part that made this experience completely unbearable was that Jo was back on her favorite subject again.

"You know, back when we were locked up on your space ship, I tried to tell him. Doctor, I said, he does keep trying to give you half of the universe. Maybe you should be a little nicer. But he was too busy escaping to listen to me."

"Thank you for pleading my case," said the Master. He stared up at the ceiling, willing it to drop down on him before he had to listen to another word of Jo's completely ridiculous idea of relationship advice.

"And then after that," said Jo, "you'd shot him and disappeared. I told him your hand must have slipped, but he was too busy being upset about the Daleks."

"Was he," said the Master. The ceiling was not cooperating. He began to weigh the actual disadvantages of just throttling Jo.

"Yes, and I have to tell you, I'd avoid them if you want to get back together. The Doctor really hates the Daleks."

Link to the story

Title: The Sound of Drums
Pairing: Gen.
Length: 5:55
Warnings: None.
Musical Artist: Chameleon Circuit (at DFTBA and at Itunes)
Why this must be heard:

This song is part of Chameleon Circuit's second album, Still Got Legs. The band member lineup changed slightly between albums, and the new member Eddplant brought this song along with him (he had done an earlier version of it previously).  This version is spectacular. It sounds wonderful. (So does the whole album!) Essentially, it tells the story of the end of Series 3 in the Master's voice, with a brief and lovely interjection from the Doctor. I promise you you won't be able to listen to it only once!

Link to the song: it can be listened to at the blogs of a couple of the band members. Here or here.