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het_reccersFandom: Doctor Who
Pairing: River Song/The Doctor (various versions of both characters included)
Blurb: One word: Epic.
I’ve been around plenty of fandoms, and I’ve watched an obscene of amount of tv and movies, read plenty of books, etc. And then six months ago, I decided to give DW a shot. None, absolutely none of the other pairings from various shows/movies/books, have lived to the same level of EPICNESS of River/Doctor.
SPOILERS FOR THE ENTIRE NEW!WHO SERIES, especially of season 4, 5 and 6 ahead.
The back to front romance, the mystery and intrigue and slow-simmering reveal of who River is, the epic adventures and shameless flirtation, the tragedy of River’s end and his corresponding beginning, the fact that she is both his lover and his killer, a weapon raised against him and she turns out to be his greatest ally, THAT THEY GOT MARRIED SO HARD THAT THE UNIVERSE LITERALLY RESTARTED. I could go on and on, and on. Few romances have ever spanned centuries and galaxies, but River and the Doctor have been there since the beginning of time (she graffite’d the oldest cliff in the universe to leave him a text message, essentially) to the very end of the universe (and they’ve been). Can you get more epic than that? I think not.
"I think [the Tenth Doctor] understands that [River] could be the love of his life. He understands that, even if he doesn't feel it, and that must be a terrifying thing."
-- Euros Lyn, Doctor Who Confidential"
The love of his life (and the dude is old). From the very first meeting together. Yeah, excuse me while I gather my wits about me to continue on. *ahem*
As those who have watched the show know, there are many different versions of River, like there are many different versions of the Doctor. Mels was one end of the spectrum, and when you compare her to the River we saw in the Library – the difference is vast and you can see the character development and maturation. But, of course, it’s not so linear to us because we’re doing it Doctor Who style, and I absolutely adore that. You never know what’s going to happen when River comes onscreen, even now. At first, we didn’t know who she was, or “if we could trust her,” and the Doctor is so cautious of letting her in because he knows just exactly how painfully it will go wrong in the Library, and honestly, who wants that type of destined heartbreak? Especially the Doctor, who has had more than any one being should have to endure. But bit by bit, he gets to know her, and then there’s the EPIC flirting that we see emerge, with the banter, the back!sex, the kisses, and the shamelessness of it all. (Fact: if you google "River Doctor Flirting," you get over 18 million hits. Okay?) Seriously, it’s so shameless. I love it.
Here’s just one bit of their epic flirting:
And aside from the fact that they’re both so badass in their own unique ways and that she’s almost as clever as him (seriously, go back and watch the Byzantium again, because at that point in the timeline, he barely even knows her and yet he can already vibe with her on this level that he can’t with anyone else. Watch how many times she catches onto his brilliant plans a split-second after he’s had the thought, and watch how he recognizes that, constantly seeking her out to exchange a knowing look; she’s the one person he doesn’t actually have to explain things to, and just - just, guh. EYESEX. I’m getting rambly here. Sorry!)
"She is in some respects his equal...she’s the only other person who can fly the TARDIS. She has opinions that actually he might challenge, but he will also listen to. She’s not the companion in the traditional sense of the companions that the Doctor has had before where they are people who are taken on this fantastic journey by this amazing man. And their eyes are opened to other worlds and other experiences. She has had those experiences, with the Doctor and independently of the Doctor. She’s sort of quite a free spirit."
-- Alex Kingston
Anyway, when the Doctor eventually finds out she’s Amy and Rory’s child, it’s just (say it with me now) EPIC. A Human+Timelord, and I have my issues with “Let’s Kill Hitler," but essentially that whole episode is a demonstration of how much the Doctor cares for her, and the fact that she kills him and saves his life both on their first date, well – as Steven Moffat says: “For a moment the Doctor is there with a lady time lord who loves him, for a moment, for a brief moment and then it all goes wrong, but there you go, that’s relationships for ya.”
Both of them are so perfectly suited to one another, compliments of each other and exactly what they need. Because the woman who keeps up with the Doctor, and he loves as his wife and equal? She has to be something extraordinary, but more than that, she has to be able to pull him back when he goes too far.
And she does it for him yet again when she shows him the thing he most desperately craves most in the universe: love.
And then they get married – or do they? Because he doesn’t whisper her name at that point, but River clearly knows it in The Library (see below pic), so at some point do they actually do the wedding ceremony right? You don’t know! It’s all more intrigue!
So, in "The Wedding of River Song," there's this moment, this moment where it’s all on the surface - he’s been running from this woman and everything she could mean to him for two years, afraid because he knows exactly how painfully it will end in the Library - and finally, finally he admits he loves this woman and wants her to be his wife, and then BHAM, universe legit restarts because of how epic that kiss is. Yes. That’s how you do it in the who!verse.
So, we know who River is now: she’s his wife. The one and only we’ve ever seen on the series (aside from the TARDIS, if you want to throw her in); companions come and go, but now there’s this Human+Timelady who travels in time and has her own adventures and stirs up trouble for the Doctor, and she’s the only one that can unbalance him and throw him off so well, the only to keep up with him, and, well – others have said it best.
"I like the fact there's someone out there who can yank his chain. The main thing that he finds sexy, I suppose, is someone who can put him in trouble, because he loves trouble. He thinks, 'River has turned up, it's going to be bad - hooray! And I thought it was going to be a boring day.'"
-- Steven Moffat
"It just messes the Doctor up and makes him go, 'Oh Christ, River's here,' and it frightens him. And weirdly he’s going, 'Why the hell am I attracted to her? What's that?' That's the woman who makes him go whoa.'"
-- Matt Smith
So, what remains now? Well, for one thing, there's the whole "Fields of Trenzalore," and how the Doctor handles her going to The Library, because you know he won’t accept either blindly. MORE INTRIGUE AND SUSPENSE. But in between the angst, of course you can expect more humor, flirting, and while her days are spent in prison, her nights? Whoaza, you know they’re some serious sexy times going on there. More adventures, more dramatic River Song entrances, more cleverness, more secrets, more reveals, more heartbreak, more laughter, more snogging – just, ALL THE EMOTIONS. ALL OF THEM.
Essentially, I am a shipper of this pairing because it has everything. She's badass, strong, smart, beautiful and capable - and he's the Doctor, and can you get much more awesome than the Doctor? (Answer: No.) They have ridiculous chemistry, and it shows in every one of their scenes together. Season five and six are essentially to me a great big love letter written by Moffat to them, and I can totally get behind the idea of that continuing on for another few seasons. (Alex Kingston as a regular, please!) This love story is set in all of time and space, and the thing is, people never stop speculating about it. Even now, even when she's been proven to be his wife, there are still so many questions that surround their story, and it keeps people engaged. What more could a girl ask for?
Fic Rec #1: The swelling fermata as the chord dies
Author:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
gidget_zb
Rating/Warning(s): PG-13
Why This Must Be Read: One of my favorite fix-it fixes for the Library. River Song and Idris team up, and really, what more could the Doctor want? Plus, it has one of my favorite Idris lines ever: “Oh hugs! I should have tried those. Much better than kisses or even biting. Everybody wins!” Perfection! This story just pulses with emotion and you end up absorbing the entire fic, captivated.
Fic Rec #2: You Can't Carry it With You If You Want to Survive
Author:dramaturgy
Rating/Warning(s): pg
Why This Must Be Read: Classified as a tale of how Meldoy Pond came a step closer to the person that River Song is - and it's drama and action-adventure and angst-filled, filling in so much of Melody's history, while treating her interaction with the Doctor in new yet familiar light. I love it to bits because it's a unique take on the events that took place between "Let's Kill Hitler" and "The Wedding of River Song," and it's a long piece too. 10k long.
Fic Rec #3: Blue River fic series
Author:humansrsuperior
Rating/Warning(s): pg to pg-13
Why This Must Be Read: AU (noir/1930s), and it transplants everyone perfectly into this new verse where the Doctor is a detective, and River Song is a criminal he's been after for a while - and then, well, they get involved with each other. Lovely series!
Fic Rec #4: Worth Living For
Author: Sahiya
Rating/Warning(s): PGish. Ninth Doctor/River Song,
Eleventh Doctor/River Song.
Why This Must Be Read: I like to think of this as the definitive "River meets the Ninth Doctor" fic, and oh, how glorious it is written. Great emotion, perfectly in character, and it could totally slide right into canon.
Fic Rec #5: Tout a changé le jour où je t'ai donnée la vie
Author:leiascully
Rating/Warning(s): pg-13
Why This Must Be Read: Timelord babies, and how they came to be. Everything about this is perfection, and normally I'm not the type to go all gooy over baby!fics, but this one is exceptionally well-written!
Fic Rec #6: insanity (is just another word for making it up as you go)
Author:hihoplastic
Rating/Warning(s): g
Why This Must Be Read: River, the Eleventh Doctor, a mad chase, handcuffs, and snogging. What more could you possibly ask for?
Fic Rec #7: Living Legend
Author:cinderbella333
Rating/Warning(s): nc-17
Why This Must Be Read: This is sooo much more than PWP. The characterization and narration is just flawless, and it's probably one of my favorite Doctor/River pieces out there. Plus, it's lengthy and funny and such pitch-perfect dialogue and interaction between River and the Doctor. It's hard to get hotter than this. (Pun not intended.)
Fic Rec #8: What Child is This
Author: Alwaysgus
Rating/Warning(s): teen and up
Why This Must Be Read: WIP, but don't let that stop you. It's already nearing 80k, and presumably somewhere near the end. AND GLORIOUS. OMG SO GLORIOUS. The premise is so original, because when Doctor and River find themselves thrown together at Christmas on Earth ("Delaware? What in the hell is Delaware?"), and it's the domesticity and the combined hotness and mystery that just keeps going and building, and weaving together a great story. Plus, it's got some awesome original characters that take on a life of their own.
Fic Rec #9: Christmas Eve with the Ponds
Author:dqbunny
Rating/Warning(s): Teen
Why This Must Be Read: For it's mix of adorableness and that hint of heartwarming goodness. It's funny and humorous, and honestly, how could Christmas with the Doctor, River, Amy and Rory not be awesome?
Fic Rec #10: Anniversary Blues
Author:betawho
Rating/Warning(s): R
Why This Must Be Read: In which, River Song thinks they've shared their last kiss, there is plenty of alcohol, a fistfight, and Jack Harkness playing a yenta, sortaspeak.
Also, relevant to your interests, but![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
dr_river_awards 2011 only just recently announced it's winners, so check it out! I tried not to duplicate recs here with the winners there, so you've got about another dozen golden winners over there, not to mention the nomination list is like a big giant rec list in and of itself.
*the back!sex or spoiler gif is not mine, and I apologize but I don't know the creator(s). If you do know of it, please inform me so that I can give proper credit. I found it randomly on google images, and they were too appropriate for this for me not to use.
Pairing: River Song/The Doctor (various versions of both characters included)
Blurb: One word: Epic.
I’ve been around plenty of fandoms, and I’ve watched an obscene of amount of tv and movies, read plenty of books, etc. And then six months ago, I decided to give DW a shot. None, absolutely none of the other pairings from various shows/movies/books, have lived to the same level of EPICNESS of River/Doctor.
SPOILERS FOR THE ENTIRE NEW!WHO SERIES, especially of season 4, 5 and 6 ahead.
The back to front romance, the mystery and intrigue and slow-simmering reveal of who River is, the epic adventures and shameless flirtation, the tragedy of River’s end and his corresponding beginning, the fact that she is both his lover and his killer, a weapon raised against him and she turns out to be his greatest ally, THAT THEY GOT MARRIED SO HARD THAT THE UNIVERSE LITERALLY RESTARTED. I could go on and on, and on. Few romances have ever spanned centuries and galaxies, but River and the Doctor have been there since the beginning of time (she graffite’d the oldest cliff in the universe to leave him a text message, essentially) to the very end of the universe (and they’ve been). Can you get more epic than that? I think not.
-- Euros Lyn, Doctor Who Confidential"
The love of his life (and the dude is old). From the very first meeting together. Yeah, excuse me while I gather my wits about me to continue on. *ahem*
As those who have watched the show know, there are many different versions of River, like there are many different versions of the Doctor. Mels was one end of the spectrum, and when you compare her to the River we saw in the Library – the difference is vast and you can see the character development and maturation. But, of course, it’s not so linear to us because we’re doing it Doctor Who style, and I absolutely adore that. You never know what’s going to happen when River comes onscreen, even now. At first, we didn’t know who she was, or “if we could trust her,” and the Doctor is so cautious of letting her in because he knows just exactly how painfully it will go wrong in the Library, and honestly, who wants that type of destined heartbreak? Especially the Doctor, who has had more than any one being should have to endure. But bit by bit, he gets to know her, and then there’s the EPIC flirting that we see emerge, with the banter, the back!sex, the kisses, and the shamelessness of it all. (Fact: if you google "River Doctor Flirting," you get over 18 million hits. Okay?) Seriously, it’s so shameless. I love it.
The Doctor: Ah, no, stay where you are! 'Cause look at me, I'm confident. You wanna watch that, me when I'm confident. Oh and this is my friend River. Nice hair, clever, has her own gun. Oh, and unlike me she really doesn't mind shooting people. I shouldn't like that, kinda do a bit.
River: Thank you, Sweetie.
The Doctor: I know you're team players and everything, but she'll definitely kill the first three of you.
River: Oh the first seven, easily.
The Doctor: Seven. Really?
River: Oh, eight for you, honey.
The Doctor: Stop it.
River: Make me.
The Doctor: Yeah well, maybe I will.
Amy: Is this really important, flirting? Because I feel like I should be higher on the list right now.
And aside from the fact that they’re both so badass in their own unique ways and that she’s almost as clever as him (seriously, go back and watch the Byzantium again, because at that point in the timeline, he barely even knows her and yet he can already vibe with her on this level that he can’t with anyone else. Watch how many times she catches onto his brilliant plans a split-second after he’s had the thought, and watch how he recognizes that, constantly seeking her out to exchange a knowing look; she’s the one person he doesn’t actually have to explain things to, and just - just, guh. EYESEX. I’m getting rambly here. Sorry!)
-- Alex Kingston
| Mr. and Mrs. Song. (Yeah, it really works like that.) |
Anyway, when the Doctor eventually finds out she’s Amy and Rory’s child, it’s just (say it with me now) EPIC. A Human+Timelord, and I have my issues with “Let’s Kill Hitler," but essentially that whole episode is a demonstration of how much the Doctor cares for her, and the fact that she kills him and saves his life both on their first date, well – as Steven Moffat says: “For a moment the Doctor is there with a lady time lord who loves him, for a moment, for a brief moment and then it all goes wrong, but there you go, that’s relationships for ya.”
Both of them are so perfectly suited to one another, compliments of each other and exactly what they need. Because the woman who keeps up with the Doctor, and he loves as his wife and equal? She has to be something extraordinary, but more than that, she has to be able to pull him back when he goes too far.
River: Well then soldier, how goes the day?
The Doctor: Where the hell have you been? Every time you've asked I have been there! Where the hell were you today?
River: I couldn't have prevented this.
The Doctor: You could have tried!
River: And so, my love, could you. {to Amy} I know you're not all right. But hold tight, Amy. Because you're going to be.
The Doctor: You think I wanted this? I didn't do this! This wasn't me!
River: This was exactly you. All this. All of it. You make them so afraid. When you began all those years ago, sailing off to see the Universe, did you ever think you'd become this? The man who can turn an army around at the mention of his name. "Doctor." The word for healer and wise man throughout the Universe. We get that word from you, you know. If you carry on the way you are, what might that word come to mean? To the people of the Gamma Forests, the word Doctor means "Mighty Warrior." How far you've come. And now they've taken a child. The child of your best friends. And they're going to turn her into a weapon just to bring you down. And all this, my love, in fear of you.
And she does it for him yet again when she shows him the thing he most desperately craves most in the universe: love.
River: Those reports of the sun spots and the solar flares. They're wrong. They're aren't any. It's not the sun. It's you. The sky is full of a million million voices, saying, "Yes of course. We'll help." You've touched so many lives, saved so many people. Did you think when you're time came you'd really have to do more than just ask? You've decided that the universe is better of without you. But the universe doesn't agree.
The Doctor: River, no one can help me. A fixed point has been altered. Time is disintegrating.
River: I can't let you die—
The Doctor: But I have to die!
River: Shut up! I can't let you without knowing you are loved. By so many and so much. And by no one more than me.
And then they get married – or do they? Because he doesn’t whisper her name at that point, but River clearly knows it in The Library (see below pic), so at some point do they actually do the wedding ceremony right? You don’t know! It’s all more intrigue!
| I totally know your name, dude. |
So, in "The Wedding of River Song," there's this moment, this moment where it’s all on the surface - he’s been running from this woman and everything she could mean to him for two years, afraid because he knows exactly how painfully it will end in the Library - and finally, finally he admits he loves this woman and wants her to be his wife, and then BHAM, universe legit restarts because of how epic that kiss is. Yes. That’s how you do it in the who!verse.
So, we know who River is now: she’s his wife. The one and only we’ve ever seen on the series (aside from the TARDIS, if you want to throw her in); companions come and go, but now there’s this Human+Timelady who travels in time and has her own adventures and stirs up trouble for the Doctor, and she’s the only one that can unbalance him and throw him off so well, the only to keep up with him, and, well – others have said it best.
-- Steven Moffat
"It just messes the Doctor up and makes him go, 'Oh Christ, River's here,' and it frightens him. And weirdly he’s going, 'Why the hell am I attracted to her? What's that?' That's the woman who makes him go whoa.'"
-- Matt Smith
So, what remains now? Well, for one thing, there's the whole "Fields of Trenzalore," and how the Doctor handles her going to The Library, because you know he won’t accept either blindly. MORE INTRIGUE AND SUSPENSE. But in between the angst, of course you can expect more humor, flirting, and while her days are spent in prison, her nights? Whoaza, you know they’re some serious sexy times going on there. More adventures, more dramatic River Song entrances, more cleverness, more secrets, more reveals, more heartbreak, more laughter, more snogging – just, ALL THE EMOTIONS. ALL OF THEM.
Essentially, I am a shipper of this pairing because it has everything. She's badass, strong, smart, beautiful and capable - and he's the Doctor, and can you get much more awesome than the Doctor? (Answer: No.) They have ridiculous chemistry, and it shows in every one of their scenes together. Season five and six are essentially to me a great big love letter written by Moffat to them, and I can totally get behind the idea of that continuing on for another few seasons. (Alex Kingston as a regular, please!) This love story is set in all of time and space, and the thing is, people never stop speculating about it. Even now, even when she's been proven to be his wife, there are still so many questions that surround their story, and it keeps people engaged. What more could a girl ask for?
Fic Rec #1: The swelling fermata as the chord dies
Author:
gidget_zbRating/Warning(s): PG-13
Why This Must Be Read: One of my favorite fix-it fixes for the Library. River Song and Idris team up, and really, what more could the Doctor want? Plus, it has one of my favorite Idris lines ever: “Oh hugs! I should have tried those. Much better than kisses or even biting. Everybody wins!” Perfection! This story just pulses with emotion and you end up absorbing the entire fic, captivated.
Fic Rec #2: You Can't Carry it With You If You Want to Survive
Author:
dramaturgy Rating/Warning(s): pg
Why This Must Be Read: Classified as a tale of how Meldoy Pond came a step closer to the person that River Song is - and it's drama and action-adventure and angst-filled, filling in so much of Melody's history, while treating her interaction with the Doctor in new yet familiar light. I love it to bits because it's a unique take on the events that took place between "Let's Kill Hitler" and "The Wedding of River Song," and it's a long piece too. 10k long.
Fic Rec #3: Blue River fic series
Author:
humansrsuperiorRating/Warning(s): pg to pg-13
Why This Must Be Read: AU (noir/1930s), and it transplants everyone perfectly into this new verse where the Doctor is a detective, and River Song is a criminal he's been after for a while - and then, well, they get involved with each other. Lovely series!
Fic Rec #4: Worth Living For
Author: Sahiya
Rating/Warning(s): PGish. Ninth Doctor/River Song,
Eleventh Doctor/River Song.
Why This Must Be Read: I like to think of this as the definitive "River meets the Ninth Doctor" fic, and oh, how glorious it is written. Great emotion, perfectly in character, and it could totally slide right into canon.
Fic Rec #5: Tout a changé le jour où je t'ai donnée la vie
Author:
leiascullyRating/Warning(s): pg-13
Why This Must Be Read: Timelord babies, and how they came to be. Everything about this is perfection, and normally I'm not the type to go all gooy over baby!fics, but this one is exceptionally well-written!
Fic Rec #6: insanity (is just another word for making it up as you go)
Author:
hihoplasticRating/Warning(s): g
Why This Must Be Read: River, the Eleventh Doctor, a mad chase, handcuffs, and snogging. What more could you possibly ask for?
Fic Rec #7: Living Legend
Author:
cinderbella333Rating/Warning(s): nc-17
Why This Must Be Read: This is sooo much more than PWP. The characterization and narration is just flawless, and it's probably one of my favorite Doctor/River pieces out there. Plus, it's lengthy and funny and such pitch-perfect dialogue and interaction between River and the Doctor. It's hard to get hotter than this. (Pun not intended.)
Fic Rec #8: What Child is This
Author: Alwaysgus
Rating/Warning(s): teen and up
Why This Must Be Read: WIP, but don't let that stop you. It's already nearing 80k, and presumably somewhere near the end. AND GLORIOUS. OMG SO GLORIOUS. The premise is so original, because when Doctor and River find themselves thrown together at Christmas on Earth ("Delaware? What in the hell is Delaware?"), and it's the domesticity and the combined hotness and mystery that just keeps going and building, and weaving together a great story. Plus, it's got some awesome original characters that take on a life of their own.
Fic Rec #9: Christmas Eve with the Ponds
Author:
dqbunnyRating/Warning(s): Teen
Why This Must Be Read: For it's mix of adorableness and that hint of heartwarming goodness. It's funny and humorous, and honestly, how could Christmas with the Doctor, River, Amy and Rory not be awesome?
Fic Rec #10: Anniversary Blues
Author:
betawhoRating/Warning(s): R
Why This Must Be Read: In which, River Song thinks they've shared their last kiss, there is plenty of alcohol, a fistfight, and Jack Harkness playing a yenta, sortaspeak.
Also, relevant to your interests, but
dr_river_awards 2011 only just recently announced it's winners, so check it out! I tried not to duplicate recs here with the winners there, so you've got about another dozen golden winners over there, not to mention the nomination list is like a big giant rec list in and of itself.*the back!sex or spoiler gif is not mine, and I apologize but I don't know the creator(s). If you do know of it, please inform me so that I can give proper credit. I found it randomly on google images, and they were too appropriate for this for me not to use.
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