tardis_library | Rec [Fic]: The Spartans by JJPOR and Reciprocal Quandaries by Primsong

I've been meaning to post some recs for the Second Doctor gen request for a while, so here are two now to make up for my delay, both of them fabulous historical longfic for the same TARDIS team.

Title: The Spartans
Creator:

jjpor | JJPOR
Rating: Teen
Word Count/Length/Size: 69,883 words
Creator's Summary: Greece, 480 BC: As the vast armies of the King of Kings prepare to battle the outnumbered defenders of the Hot Gates, the Doctor and his friends find themselves where they often find themselves at times like this – caught in the middle.
Characters/Pairings: Second Doctor, Jamie McCrimmon, Ben Jackson, Polly Wright
Warnings/Notes: Explicit violence.

Reasons for reccing: It's no secret that JJPOR is still one of my favourite Doctor Who writers and this may be my favourite of his stories. It's basically a full-on attempt at a 60s era historical, although going that little further (like a PDA or MA, save that JJPOR's stuff has far more heart and eventual happy endings) to allow for some of the historical reality. It's vividly written, excellently characterised, well-plotted out, and a real treat.

Link: https://www.whofic.com/viewstory.php?sid=32635

Title: Reciprocal Quandaries
Creator:

primsong
Rating: G
Word Count/Length/Size: 30,765
Creator's Summary: Two, Ben, Polly and Jamie pause for a bit of restful holiday at the 1900 Paris Exposition - or so they wished. A 'historic' adventure for one of the Old School teams.
Characters/Pairings: Second Doctor, Ben Jackson, Polly Wright, Jamie McCrimmon
Warnings/Notes: None.

Reasons for reccing: Talking of treats, this is also a long historical 'missing adventure' featuring the very same TARDIS team, but with a much lighter edge. It is a delightful runaround set during the Paris Exposition in 1900, complete with improbable doppelgangers and actual candy floss, and is heaps of fun. I only wish there were more of it!

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/129687/chapters/184323 (And here @ Teaspoon.)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

auroracloud

Ooh, thank you for these recs! I'd actually come across the Paris Exposition story some time on AO3, but because I didn't have the time to read a long fic then, I sort of lost track of it - thank you so much for reminding me of it! Because it sounds like exactly my thing.

And I also remember seeing The Spartans recommended somewhere but lost track of it, because it was at the time when I hadn't seen any Ben and Polly yet. But it sounds like the kind of historical gen story I'd really love to read for these characters, so I'll definitely give it some time soon, too!