Fanfic Recs / Twelfth Doctor Fics

Proof that the remaining 12% is worth punching a wall harder than diamond for.

These are fanfic recommendations made by tropers for the Twelfth Doctor era Doctor Who fanfics, all of which have to be signed to stay on the page. Feel free to add a fanfic of your own to the list, but remember to use the template found here.

You can also add to the current recommendations if you want. Refrain from posting Conversation in the Main Page though; that goes in the discussion page.

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General Fics

And the Shepherd's Boy Says by vailkagami

• Recommended by: thebadplace
• Status: Complete
• Synopsis: The Doctor gets captured while on a trip with Bill, Nardole and Missy. Things start out badly and get worse, and the tramua he experienced in Heaven Sent has long-term consequences.

Immolation by songofdefiance

• Recommended by: thebadplace
• Status: Complete
• Synopsis: There’s an ear-splitting crunch, and the ground shakes beneath Donna’s feet. The ground shakes, Shaun screams, and Donna - Donna is staring down at her physics exam. (Years after being forced to forget about the Doctor to save her life, Donna gets stuck in a time loop, and an old wrong is righted.)

Insomnia by samchandler1986

• Recommended by: Kendrix
• Status: Complete
• Synopsis: It was meant to be a simple site-seeing trip to a space station. Instead, the Doctor and Clara find themselves drawn into the search for the kidnapped ward of a criminal faction. Set between Flatline and In the Forest of the Night, canon-compliant.
• Comments: Mostly a plot-driven fic, like an actual episode - Interesting, fleshed-out setting, intriguing secondary characters, but the main highlight is the author's very strong grasp on the characters of Twelve and Clara, whom he writes in a very authentic, lifelike manner. Definitely worth reading for any fan of the two.

It Was Dark, the Moon Shone Brightly by vailkagami

• Recommended by: thebadplace
• Status: Complete
• Synopsis: Lady Me is looking for information. Clara isn't looking for anything in particular, but she does find the Doctor, sitting on the roof of a university building, playing guitar. (A bittersweet post Hell Bent meeting between Clara and the Doctor at St. Luke's University.)

The Meeting of Two Eternities by DaraOakwise

• Recommended by: thebadplace
• Status: Complete
• Synopsis: It's a truth that he keeps to himself, but after eleven mostly-honorable lives, one metacrisis, and one traitor, the Doctor has run out of regenerations. So meeting his impossible successor on a dusty moon in the middle of nowhere goes just about as well as one might expect. Fortunately, Clara is there to mediate.

Melt Like This by foreverwriting9

• Recommended by: hpfan4ever
• Status: Complete
• Synopsis: A collection of Twelve and Clara's adventures.
• Comments: A wonderful collection of some happier moments between Twelve and Clara. Shows the wonder of adventures with the Doctor. Could be seen as Twelve/Clara but it's left open to interpretation whether it's close friendship or hints of romance.
• Warning: Major character death.

A Spirit of Adventure by pjcrazy

• Recommended by: hpfan4ever
• Status: Complete
• Synopsis: "It started out as mild curiosity in a junkyard, but now it has turned out to be quite a great spirit of adventure." During The Caretaker the Doctor bumps into a pair of old friends at Coal Hill School.
• Comments: Heartwarming for anyone who wishes to see the Doctor with his first companions after all these years.

Strange Creatures by lyricwritesprose

• Recommended by: thebadplace
• Status: Complete
• Synopsis: Mickey and Martha are looking for a shapeshifting alien at St Luke's University. They find an unexpected old friend.

A Teacher & A Reporter by HartnellTroughton

• Recommended by: MrThorfan64
• Status: Complete
• Synopsis: 51st anniversary special. The Doctor has teamed up with two of his old companions to fight another threat from one of the Doctor's oldest enemies.
• Comments: An enjoyable story for 51 years. Not big and epic, but small and fun.
  • YMMV - Immature, slipshod command of language mechanics, particularly grammar, and an abundance of tell not show in writing style. The idea was fine, but the execution went somewhat awry. - MacShimi

Time and Time and Time Again by JustMcShane

• Recommended by: pencilcillin, thebadplace
• Status: Complete
• Synopsis: Bill had watched Groundhog Day, once. Or, well, she had watched half of it. Skimmed it, sort of. Watched the opening few scenes. Read the summary on Wikipedia? (Bill is stuck in a time loop where, despite her best efforts, the Doctor keeps dying. The author tagged it "dark comedy" and the author is right.)

Shipping Fics

like turning wolves into lambs by mygalfriday (BrinneyFriday)

• Recommended by: thebadplace
• Status: Complete
• Pairing: Twelve/River
• Synopsis: Fantasy AU - From the stories she has heard about the Doctor since she was a little girl, he’s a hard and ruthless man. He knows nothing of love or kindness. He’s a killer – heartless and cold. River doubts a shivering woman on a miserable night will do much to change that, but it isn’t her job to question Kovarian, only to do what she’s told.

Looking For Something Dumb To Do by UniverseOnHerShoulders

• Recommended by: beeruckzII, skidoo23
• Status: Completed
• Sequel: Every Ounce of Light and Fury
• Pairing: Twelve/Clara/River
• Synopsis: Clara's plan was brilliant, of course. Completely foolproof. If her father wanted to walk her down the aisle before he died, that could be accomplished. The only slight issue was the lack of available suitors for her to wed... except for the one choice she really shouldn't go with. She asks him anyway, and the Doctor is more surprised than Clara when he actually agrees to her crackpot scheme. It's not until later that they find out that getting married is only the beginning of things...
• Comments: This is a great story that is both angsty and fluffy at the same time. The pairing sounds strange but the author really makes it work! But be warned. This story contains swearing, cursing, sexual innuendo's and references and the angst can get pretty heartbreaking at times.
  • The story gets a bit more explicit as it goes on, and it takes some weird and unexpected turns. In the later chapters it rather meanders away from the original concept, but in a good way in that it gives the piece the feel of a freeform, improvisational work in progress.
  • A sequel, Every Ounce of Light and Fury, is now under way and it is, in some respects, even better than the original story. It's less freeform and has more of a direct plot throughline.
• You should also check out her series Can I Call You Mine? It's a radio show AU once again focused on Clara and Twelve (who's human in this AU and goes by his common alias, "John Smith") and as of March 2018, both works are completed, plus a one-shot. Tuning In On You is the first work and Like We Could Fly is the second one.

The Man Who Fell to Earth by Jontinf

• Recommended by: skidoo23
• Status: Complete
• Pairing: Twelve/Clara
• Synopsis: Primarily a prequel to the prequel "The Doctor's Meditation" expanding on the Doctor's friendship with Bors and his family. Along the way, the Doctor teaches someone how to dance, comes up with an idea for wearable technology, and finds himself missing a certain schoolteacher.
• Comments: The story as a whole works more as an expansion to the "Doctor's Meditation" prequel. This story is hilarious and just as funny as the prequel. There is no explicitness or violence. The F-word makes one appearance that will make you laugh and it totally works.

My Clara by ToryTigress92

• Recommended by: beeruckzII
• Status: Dead
• Pairing: Missy/Clara
• Synopsis: Clara thought she was finally rid of Missy, after the incident on Skaro. But their short-lived partnership has intrigued the Mistress of all Evil, and Clara is about to find out how dangerous, and potentially mind-blowing, it is to be intriguing to Missy.
• Comments: Despite it only having three chapters and not being updated in a while, what's there is definitely worth reading if you're a Missfle fan! Their relationship is portrayed in a realistic light and everyone's personalities are true to canon. Not to mention Clara has a telepathic dog in this story.

once upon a time in nazi-occupied france by yonderdarling

• Recommended by: beeruckzII
• Status: Complete
• Pairing: Twelve/Missy
• Synopsis: "He's sitting in a cafe in Vichy France (he was aiming for 2042) and waiting for his lunch when Missy plops down in the chair opposite him." This is an idea they've had before, it's just the first time they've both been able to consider it. The Doctor and Missy try travelling together.
• Comments: Wonderful story. It's funny, sexy, sweet, angsty and rather unexpected at times. Definitely give it a read. Also, keep in mind that this story contains sex scenes and swearing.

This is Yesterday by thisismyplayground

• Recommended by: skidoo23
• Status: Dead
• Pairing: Twelve/Clara
• Synopsis: Some time after the Twelfth Doctor wiped his memory of Clara, fate brings them back together again. But when Clara discovers that the neuroblock is destroying the Doctor's mind, she's faced with some tough decisions, and uncomfortable alliances.
• Comments: Although the story contains romantic/shipping elements (Clara and Twelve, of course), it has a complex storyline and a bunch of strong supporting characters, with the romantic elements ultimately incidental to the main storyline, much as they would likely be in a TV episode, with some minor innuendo but no overt sexual content). This work is novel-quality and also features (so far) Missy (I won't spoil but so far the story has featured a milestone moment for her worthy of the TV series), Ashildr, and in this story the Doctor's current companion is Anahson, the girl Clara befriends in "Face the Raven".
  • To expand on my comments, this is BBC Books quality work. Right now it's well over 250 printed pages long as of Chapter 12 and has featured twists and turns worthy of Moffat. Currently ranks as not only the best fanfic I have ever read of any fandom, it actually stands as one of the best Doctor Who novels, period, that I have ever read and I've been reading them for decades.)

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Time Bomb by TheSaddleman

• Recommended by: skidoo23, beeruckzII
• Status: Complete
• Pairing: Twelve/Clara
• Synopsis: Fifty years after losing the Doctor, Clara Oswald finds herself on a countdown to the destruction of the universe unless she returns to face the raven. But does she really want to face it alone?
• Comments: Although I've put this in the shipping section, there is so much in this 7-chapter story that it could go into General. The romantic elements are front and centre (but PG-rated) as the Doctor and Clara are reunited, but the story is also a treasure trove of detail bringing together plot elements from novels, comics, audios, the classic series, and of course the Clara era. The writer even manages to fill some major plot holes (such as giving a plausible explanation for Orson Pink). At the same time, the Doctor and Clara's reunion is emotional, funny, at times downright tearjerking (watch out for Chapter 4) ... and takes both characters in unexpected directions.
  • ...It made me cry. Read it. Now.

The Time That we Love Best by Nehszriah

• Recommended by: Kendrix
• Status: Complete
• Pairing: Twelve/Clara
• Synopsis: Clydebank, Scotland, 1940. John Smith is just trying to get through the war while making himself useful, trading in his paintbrushes for a rivet gun. After a bad day at work, he meets a young English girl at the pub who reads him a bit too well and lingers on his mind a bit too much. [Lots of fluff, slice-of-life, currently post-war]
• Comments: 40ies AU, with cameos from numerous other canon characters. The numerous reviews and favs speak for themselves.

Travels in the Tardis: A companion's guide to Time Lords & Ladies by ss9

• Recommended by beeruckzII
• Also found on Fanfiction here, here, here, here and here.
• Status: Dead, with four out of five completed works.
• Pairings: Missy/Twelve, with minor Missy/Osgood and Osgood/OC
• Synopsis:
  • Deadlock - What if someone else got to The Master before The Brigadier? The Doctor has a murder mystery on his hands and only the garbled dying thoughts of The Master to help him solve it. Can The Doctor make sense from the mind of a lunatic? Can he find a way to save them all?
  • Mindwipe - Being a companion is tougher than Osgood had suspected. Concerned about the morally questionable situations she might find herself in whilst travelling with The Mistress, Osgood had braced herself for everything from murder to mayhem, everything but not boredom and tea, knitting or hideous tea cosies. So a side trip to Aquila and its famous baths should surely be a welcome change? Right? Wrong!
  • The Forgotten - It's been six months of silence, six months of rebuilding, six months of hoping. Yet both Osgood and The Doctor knew it was only a matter of time before the wait was over. Missy is back, yet this time is she bringing more than chaos and destruction in her wake?
  • Blue Christmas - It's been six months since Missy and The Doctor left with the time tots but things haven't gone the way either of them expected. Could a surprise call from Mrs Who actually be the catalyst for setting these two star crossed time lords back on track or will it all combust in time to make it a memorable first Christmas for more than just the twins?
  • Deadlock drabbles - Series of Deadlock Universe inspired drabbles.
• Comments: If you're a fan of Missy, Osgood or Twelve; read these stories. Just read them. Everyone is PERFECTLY in character and the plot is so interesting! You should definitely give it a shot!

When the Clock Strikes Twelve by TheSaddleman

• Recommended by: skidoo23
• Status: Complete
• Pairing: Twelve/Clara
• Synopsis: The Meddling Monk has returned to plague the Doctor. This time he threatens to derail the birth of rock and roll. It's up to the Doctor and Clara to make sure "Rock Around the Clock" is recorded on time.
• Comments: A fun multi-chapter historical featuring the Doctor and Clara interacting with rock and roll pioneer Bill Haley. The story takes an unexpected left turn midway through.

When We Travel by GoldenEnderHawk

• Recommended by: beeruckzII
• Status: Complete
• Pairing: Twelve/Clara
• Synopsis: Basically, this is a Whouffaldi fanfic set in Series 9 that mostly follows canon, but has minor and major changes in the mix.
• Comments: This story is AMAZING! Although it's technically not the best written, the best paced or the best plotted, the Danny bashing might be a bit much for some people and some aspects of it (like Missy being a "main" character and how copped-out some parts are), the fact that this story has almost 150 reviews despite all that already says more than enough of how awesome it is and how Twelve/Clara shippers should give it a chance! It's adorable and fluffy in some parts, funny in others and still sad in some other parts as well. And so if you decide to check it out, you shouldn't be disappointed!

"You're the puppy." by HollowShadowWolf

• Recommended by beeruckzII
• Status: Complete
• Pairing: Missy/Clara
• Synopsis: "Oh poppet. When I said you were the puppy, I didn't mean it quite so literally."
• Comments: I really enjoyed this story! It's cute, funny and epic. And the Missy/Clara isn't overly obvious and is more implied. And also, Clara being a dog is freaking awesome!

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