Title: Marching to the Beat of a Different Timeline (R) & Travelling in a Wibbly Wobbly Liney Whiney (PG-13)
Fandom: Dr Who/Sarah Jane Adventures/Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Pairing: Luke Smith/Dawn Summers
Categories: crossover, college years, time-travelling, Wolfram & Hart, unexpected history
Length: Epic (60,579 words) & Long (37,462 words) respectively
Warnings: None

Author on LJ: fandomlver (looks pretty moribund, though)
Author website: fandomlver

Author's Summary:
Oxford was Luke's chance at normal. At least, until he met the pretty girl in his Ancient Languages class...and the girls who follow her around, and the strange boy who hangs around her flat, and those weird phone calls from her sister...

Review:
Luke Smith goes to college, reading Anthropology because Physics is still too easy. He meets Dawn Summers and ends up not entirely accidentally in a study group with her. The story revolves around the clashing and meshing of their worldviews over the subsequent months. It's not exactly a romance, because Luke is terrible at that sort of thing, but they do end up as more than friends. There are threats and backup from both sides of the crossover, and it all fits together very nicely. The sequel throws the Doctor, Amy and Rory into the mix, and ups the ante by filling in some Buffyverse Extremely Ancient History. I didn't see the ending coming, and I enjoyed it thoroughly.

Fandomlver has a very deft touch with the characters, making each of them distinct and recognisable without exaggerating them (often hard to do with Andrew, for instance). Luke in particular is adorable, being super-intelligent but utterly clueless when it comes to people, and comes out with some quotes that are absolutely perfect Dr Who. The storyline too is an interesting blend of the styles of both Buffy and Who: we are presented with what feels like a Who-style problem in a Buffyverse framework. Interestingly the sequel, Travelling in a Wibbly Wobbly Liney Whiney reverses this, presenting a Buffy-like problem in a Whovian framework. Both are well-handled and fit their respective styles; the threats feel appropriate, neither too hard nor too easy for either group's very different expertises. Even the humour is nicely balanced, and frequently understated. The irony of Luke insisting to Dawn and Connor that he and Sky are both human is just there for the reader to pick up on rather than hammered home, for instance.

In short, this is a well-written, gentle pair of epics that deserve a wider audience. If for absolutely nothing else I would love them for this quote from Luke: "Don't need weapons. I have physics." Perfect Who, just perfect.

On AO3:
Marching to the Beat of a Different Timeline
Travelling in a Wibbly Wobbly Liney Whiney

On ff.net:
Marching to the Beat of a Different Timeline
Travelling in a Wibbly Wobbly Liney Whiney

On Twisting the Hellmouth:
Marching to the Beat of a Different Timeline
Travelling in a Wibbly Wobbly Liney Whiney