halfamoon | Bad Wolf: Rose Tyler Fic Recs

Rose Tyler is one of my favorite television characters--one of my favorite fictional characters, period. I grow weary of seeing her subjected to the same sort of abuse by fandom that happens to far too many female characters. So, I wanted to put together a recs list where fans, instead of bashing, show just why she's so awesome.

While I realize that 90% of New Who fanfic includes Rose in some way, most of the time, it's as a love interest for the Doctor/Jack/Mickey/MotW or as the prisoner/victim/one-in-need-of-rescue, not as the protagonist. I hope this list of fics, divided chronologically, presents Rose as the main character and hero in her own right.

Pre-Series
Timelines and All That by

sunstar77 (NC-17) - Bit of background here: This fanfic is actually a redo of an earlier version. While I liked the original's superb characterizations and the sizzling hot porn,

wendymr and a couple other readers pointed out a logic flaw in the ending of the original story--and I had to agree with them.
Unlike some lesser fic writers,

sunstar77 did not throw a hissy fit at the constructive criticism but took it into account and came up with this superior version. Like the first draft, this rewrite maintains the wonderful interactions between Jack and Rose and the way the narrative tone changes from burning hot porn (still there) to melancholy regret at the end. Now, this fic is my favorite one-shot Whoniverse story.

Season One
Ghost in the Machine by Rain (LJ?) (All Ages) - Something breaks in the TARDIS's console, and Rose ends up uncontrollably jumping back and forth through time--and the TARDIS's own history. This would explain the rumor, that had circulated amongst the Doctor's old companions, of the TARDIS being haunted by a ghost, who would appear randomly from time to time.
This fic is a wonderful way for New Who fans to be introduced to Classic characters (or vice versa). More so than that, it's just fabulous fun, with some deeply touching moments, and I love Rose having an adventure on her own. Excerpt:

The bathroom door opened, startling her. A ghostly figure in a kilt walked in. They stared at each other. Rose handed him the towel.

"It´s all yours," she said.

* * *

"Doctor!" Jamie yelled.

He never used that bathroom again.

Man-Whores and Wealthy Women by

honorh (PG-13) - In this fic *giggles* ... The plot of this fic involves *snickers* ... This story is about BWHAHAHAHAHA! ... *ahem* ... The Ninth Doctor and Jack have gotten themselves into trouble again and are being sold as concubines. The dialogue for is spot-on for all the characters, and the Doctor and Jack's attempts at sexual one-upmanship are hilarious. However, it's Rose's plan for rescuing the boys that truly makes this a work of genius. This is easily the funniest fic I've ever read that actually has a plot.

Survivors' Guilt by

wendymr (Mature) -

wendymr needs to stop writing porn that makes me cry! From the title, I had originally expected this story to be about the Ninth Doctor, but this OT3 piece is also about Jack and his lost memories. I also always love how

wendymr writes Rose. Here, she saves the boys, both physically and mentally--and is a bit of a fangirl in the process. ;)

Season Two
Five Slightly Contrived Settings Where the Doctor and Rose Didn't Shag and One Where They Bloody Tried by

shinyopals (R) - I have a penchant for "five things" fic.

shinyopals must read a lot of Doctor/Rose fanfic, in order to turn every contrived cliche on its head. ;p
The first one is my favorite, with the Doctor's Deep Time Lord Denial:
Rose pulled off her socks, tucked them neatly into her shoes under the bed and tossed her jacket over the chair in the corner. Then, barely pausing, she shimmied out of her jeans and was under the covers before the Doctor had time to get a decent look. Bit mean of her, actually.

'You gonna stand there all night?' she asked.

'What?' he said. 'Oh, right, yes, sorry.' She didn't expect him to take his clothes off, did she?

Apparently, she didn't expect anything, since she shut her eyes and fidgeted a little, getting comfy and somehow only taking up half of the bed. It still looked remarkably small for the two of them.

There was absolutely no way his trousers were coming off, he decided. He settled on a compromise of coat, jacket and tie on the back of the chair and shoes off. The rest was definitely staying. Not that it mattered, of course, given that Rose was the one freaking out while he was perfectly fine with sharing a bed.

I love that Rose is completely calm and nonchalant about the situations they find themselves in, and it's the Doctor who's freaking out.

The Girl on the Horse by

orange_crushed (PG) - This is my favorite "The Girl In the Fireplace" "fix-it" fic. I love a strong heroine Rose.

The Polar Bears' Golf Club by

doyle_sb4 (All Ages) - I was on the look out for Ace/Rose fics...and couldn't find any. I finally discovered this superb fic through

calufrax, in which Ace and Rose have to team up to rescue the Doctor. Both of him. Also, I loved the twist with the alien professor. Bonus points for taking the title from Blackadder.

Post-"Doomsday"/Pre-"Journey's End" (AKA "Could have been canon")
Amidst Eternity by

finkpishnets (R) [WIP] - Stories in which the Master has to work with the Good Guys can quickly go terribly awry and OOC. This fic, however, avoids that problem by keeping the Master a Magnificent Bastard, only working with the Our Heroine as a means of self-preservation.

Human Women, Tea Time, and Firey Death by

orange_crushed (PG-13) - I didn't really expect to discover anything different in "The Doctor and Master attempt to live together on the TARDIS post-LotTL AU fanfic # 109,238," but this author succeeded superbly by adding returned!Rose. In-character crack! From the Master's POV, yet!

Also, the parallels between the Doctor and Master are so well-drawn, especially towards the end. In addition, something I always admire about

orange_crushed's fics is how strong and self-reliant her Rose is.

Plus, David Tennant really does look like a terrier -- and I can still live in hope that we might still one day see an episode where Ten and Simm!Master have a "manly" fistfight.

Pawns in the Game by

surrexi (PG-13) - In the midst of increased rift activity during the Torchwood Season One finale, Rose Tyler appears in the plaza above Torchwood Three. I adored all of Jack and Rose's interactions in this story and their love for each other. Reworking "End of Days" like this was just a smashing idea: Jack needed someone on his side.

Protector by

wendymr (PG-13) - I love how

wendymr writes Rose, with sensitivity and intelligence. This is Rose, in Pete's World, with only a few mementos of her previous life: a cellphone photo of her and Ten, which Pete had his Torchwood techs clean up, and another photo with Nine and Jack. Strange thing is, though, Jackie recognizes Jack from the photo--except, that doesn't make any sense according to Rose's timeline, right?
I love Rose working out that Jack must have somehow survived Satellite Five and watched her growing up.

wendymr expanded "Protector" in an OT3 novel, The Watching Over Series (PG-13) - scroll down for the beginning entry - in which Rose brings donuts to an interdimensional chat, the Tenth Doctor's Deep Time Lord Denial over not needing a companion leads him to build K-9 Mark Eight, and Rose had a threesome with Jake and Mickey. (The last one proving that she wins at life.)

Rose Tyler's History of Sex by

misscam (Mature) - Rose has sex at different ages. Really, that's the entire plot of this fic, but

misscam manages to accomplish so much within it.

misscam's Rose is sensual and passionate and entirely in-character. There's an emotional honesty to this story that's generally lacking in fanfic of any sort and in PWP, in particular. The sexual encounters are not depicted as raw and dirty nor as fluffy and sparkly, just very real. The author does not tell us to feel jealous or sorry for Rose--and we end up feeling a bit of both.

They Came to Norway to Eat Our Brains by

doyle_sb4 (PG) - Alt!Torchwood at Darlig ulv Stranden has a problem with zombies. More specifically, one (suspected) zombie, who was dead when they found him, dead when he was brought to the morgue, got up and walked around, charmed a nurse into bringing him his coat, and--“What the hell’s he doing on the roof?”
I just wanted to glomp

doyle_sb4 for this story, starring "a little older and a lot more beautiful" Rose.

Season Four
Somewhere Between Universes by

carawj (PG) - Continuing with the theme of Rose-and-Ace should meet, this fic works off the premise that, while hopping from dimension to dimension, Rose might not have always ended up in the right universe. The references to Seven and Hex were woven in perfectly. This story was written for the From There-To-Here Ficafest at

rose_lives.

The Devil You Know by

rosa_acicularis (Adult) - Great post-"Journey's End" mystery. I had no idea what was going on in this story until the reveal (and I mean that in the best way possible). There are so many details I love, but I don't want to give away whodunit and what-was-done.

Anyone who's ever had even the tiniest bit of love for Rose *must* read this fic.