The Master - Doctor Who Fanfiction Recs
Fifty years of the Master in Doctor Who in 2021: that's worth a dedicated collection of fanfic recs. Also on master.fannishly.com
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Sarn Invictus by icarus_chained
Fandoms: Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (1963)
19 May 2015
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Summary
To escape immolation on Sarn (Planet of Fire), the Master casts himself temporarily back down his own timestream, and has a brief and enlightening conversation with his past self before it's safe to rejoin the present.
Ainley!Master & Delgado!Master compare notes.
Bookmarked by Nym
22 Jan 2021
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The Master (Ainley) finds a way to survive the events of Planet of Fire and briefly hangs out with his faintly-unimpressed former self (Delgado) in doing so. They compare notes on the Doctor. A great concept for a short story, with wonderful dialogue.
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While he is outside planning, she is inside waiting.
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 888
- Chapters:
- 1/1
- Collections:
- 1
- Comments:
- 10
- Kudos:
- 72
- Bookmarks:
- 7
- Hits:
- 558
Bookmarked by Nym
25 Jan 2021
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Short, sharp, and painful story – “O” meets up with the Twelfth Doctor during his time guarding the Vault, while Missy waits for the Doctor to return to her. Character progression in the space of 900 words is a challenge; achieving character progression for the Doctor and for two separate incarnations of the Master at once is pure writing genius.
It’s a heartbreaker, too. This little vignette has haunted me ever since I read it and got me thinking about the characters in a new light. Fanfic doesn't get better than that.
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Missy's still trying to decide who exactly she's supposed to be.
(A short period of calm, contemplation, and outdoor sex during World Enough and Time/The Doctor Falls.)
Bookmarked by Nym
19 Jan 2021
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This covers a lot of emotional ground as Missy deals with the situation—the two weeks—that The Doctor Falls left almost completely to the imagination. It's a detailed yet succinct study of Missy and the other characters present as they head towards that ending.
There's smut between Missy and her former self, a depiction less erotic than emotionally raw and too honest between them, and it's all the more affecting for that.
Everyone in this story is in pain and canon doesn't leave them the space to resolve anything. I'm going to be thinking about this piece for a long time because it hurt to read.
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Like John Smith, Yana tells stories about a madman with his face and a time machine.
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 933
- Chapters:
- 1/1
- Collections:
- 1
- Comments:
- 19
- Kudos:
- 92
- Bookmarks:
- 28
- Hits:
- 706
Bookmarked by Nym
23 Jan 2021
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A brilliantly observed piece, beautifully written. The stories from Professor Yana’s dreams entertain the children of Malcassairo – tales of the hero, Theta, and his arch-enemy, the man in black. All pure fiction, of course…
A little over 900 words, but the author manages so much worldbuilding in that short space. Beautifully done.
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Stranded on Earth, the Master is horrified when the cheetah virus that has long lain dormant makes an untimely appearance. With no TARDIS of his own to synthesise a cure, he turns to the one person he knows will help him.
Bookmarked by Nym
14 Feb 2021
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The author has written a number of short stories set during the Master's unwilling 77 years stranded on Earth. He's an unhappy soul in all of them: bitter, angry, lonely, and depressed. That's true here, when he suffers a relapse of the cheetah virus and has two choices - turn into an animal, or seek the help of the only Doctor around in that time period. In this case, the Third Doctor during his time working at UNIT.
It's not an obvious mashup, Dhawan!Master and Three, but this works beautifully. The Doctor is gentle and kind to a lost soul while the Master does his best to pass for human and stay under the radar. The Master's profound unhappiness and the Doctor's concerned compassion just radiate from this story - it's a terrific idea and beautifully executed.