Chrestomanci fic recs, by request (sort of)
So - to begin at the end, or very nearly - smirnoffmule recently asked me if I'd found any good Chrestomanci fic on the AO3. I had. So I said I'd have to make a rec list, and here it is.
(Not comprehensive - I've not read "Conrad's Fate", "The Pinhoe Egg", or "Mixed Magics" yet, so I've been skipping fics focussing on characters from those.)
(I am rather boggled at myself. I don't normally do single-author fandoms; I get hung up on whether the author's intentions are being honored. But when it comes to DWJ, I seem to be devouring fanfic and interviews and who knows what-all. O_O)
Just an Ordinary Boy by twitchbell. (Torchwood/Chrestomanci, gen; PG-13)
“My name is Christopher Chant, by the way. I prefer it to ‘corpse’.” In which Jack Harkness, Gwen, and Ianto meet a teenage boy who's run into some trouble on the Cardiff side of the Rift. My favorite thing about the Chrestomanci series is the snark, and this story gets that absolutely spot on.
Complications by minutia_r. (Chrestomanci, gen; G)
Fabulous. Absolutely fabulous. Pre-series fic - the author's summary is "Christopher and his cousin Caroline, both about to become parents, meet for tea and conversation". It's got... how do I say this? It's got the really proper flavor of DWJ's stories, with the unflinching emotional honesty and the way things look quite different from around a corner. *loves*
Holding the Title by minutia_r. (Chrestomanci, gen; G)
...oh, just read all of Minutia_R's stuff, if you're looking for good Chrestomanci fic. (Okay, I skipped the slash, because I can't not ship Christopher/Millie exclusively... but the gen is all so excellent, I'm quite sure the rest is fantastic too, if that's your thing.)
This one is Cat's first time being Chrestomanci, and it is adorable and awesome and fantabulous. *nods* I really like the... *flounders*... the double-sightedness, the temporal stereoscopic-ness. The way you can kind of see what it would have been like if Cat and Christopher had been the same age, and also how the thirty-odd years between them change the dynamic.
Almost Anywhere by temaris. (Chrestomanci, Christopher/Millie; G)
Awww. I don't really know how to rec this one without spoiling it, but... it's young-adult!Christopher and Millie, and exactly the right sort of proposal, and while in some ways it's fix-fic and a bit sugary, I love it. *hearts in eyes* I need to put this one on my Kindle.
their fine incisions by dropsofviolet. (Chrestomanci, gen; G)
AKA the one for Yuletide where lost_spook wanted to know "what somebody as sensible as Janet finds to do with her life in Chrestomanci's world". It is wonderful and does what it says on the tin, and one gets the sense that everyone had better hang on to their hats now that Janet has grown up. :D
The Last Asheth by Laurea. (Chrestomanci, Christopher/Millie; Teen)
I find myself quite fond of Christopher/Millie fic. There's so much of it that's excellent. And this one! It's a proper plotty adventure with adult!Christopher/Chrestomanci and adult!Millie working together (at Mother Proudfoot's request, yet - yay for building on established mythology!) and being Really Quite Awesome. *squee* What a team. :-)
Millions of Cats by Rosencrantz. (Chrestomanci/Howl's Moving Castle, gen; G)
"Two families of powerful magic users go on holiday together. This will end well." ;P
...is there really anything more to say? SO. MUCH. AWESOME.
(Also, the title. I suddenly find that I really, really wish Wanda Gág had illustrated the Chrestomanci and Howl books both; her style would be absolutely perfect. Don't you think?)
Apple Vines by cest_what. (Chrestomanci, gen; G)
Sappy as hell, but who cares? Christopher+Cat chosen!family cuddlefic. There is no way I was not going to love that. And it's really quite well-written and not overdone at all, anyway. *melts in contradiction of own words* ;-)
Ring-a-Ring-a-Rosie by blueyeti. (Chrestomanci, gen; G)
Sometimes a drabble is a perfect 100-word work of art. This one, for example. Also, it's about language, and it spins off a throwaway line from "Charmed Life" into a wonderful little image that could be the center of its own book all by itself.
(I think this is one reason I'm not uneasy about reading Chrestomanci fic: there are so many more stories to be told. You know how they sometimes say Doctor Who is easy to cross with anything because you just write "The TARDIS lands..." and away you go? For me, Doctor Who doesn't have that quality, because I'm very conscious of the fact that it does have a continuity structure to fit things in between. Chrestomanci doesn't have that. And between the summoning and the spirit-walking, it's very easy to get Christopher Chant into any world you can imagine.)
Also, and I have no idea how I even found this: fix-fic for that one XKCD comic about the Mars rover. You're welcome. ♥ ♥
(Not comprehensive - I've not read "Conrad's Fate", "The Pinhoe Egg", or "Mixed Magics" yet, so I've been skipping fics focussing on characters from those.)
(I am rather boggled at myself. I don't normally do single-author fandoms; I get hung up on whether the author's intentions are being honored. But when it comes to DWJ, I seem to be devouring fanfic and interviews and who knows what-all. O_O)
Just an Ordinary Boy by twitchbell. (Torchwood/Chrestomanci, gen; PG-13)
“My name is Christopher Chant, by the way. I prefer it to ‘corpse’.” In which Jack Harkness, Gwen, and Ianto meet a teenage boy who's run into some trouble on the Cardiff side of the Rift. My favorite thing about the Chrestomanci series is the snark, and this story gets that absolutely spot on.
Complications by minutia_r. (Chrestomanci, gen; G)
Fabulous. Absolutely fabulous. Pre-series fic - the author's summary is "Christopher and his cousin Caroline, both about to become parents, meet for tea and conversation". It's got... how do I say this? It's got the really proper flavor of DWJ's stories, with the unflinching emotional honesty and the way things look quite different from around a corner. *loves*
Holding the Title by minutia_r. (Chrestomanci, gen; G)
...oh, just read all of Minutia_R's stuff, if you're looking for good Chrestomanci fic. (Okay, I skipped the slash, because I can't not ship Christopher/Millie exclusively... but the gen is all so excellent, I'm quite sure the rest is fantastic too, if that's your thing.)
This one is Cat's first time being Chrestomanci, and it is adorable and awesome and fantabulous. *nods* I really like the... *flounders*... the double-sightedness, the temporal stereoscopic-ness. The way you can kind of see what it would have been like if Cat and Christopher had been the same age, and also how the thirty-odd years between them change the dynamic.
Almost Anywhere by temaris. (Chrestomanci, Christopher/Millie; G)
Awww. I don't really know how to rec this one without spoiling it, but... it's young-adult!Christopher and Millie, and exactly the right sort of proposal, and while in some ways it's fix-fic and a bit sugary, I love it. *hearts in eyes* I need to put this one on my Kindle.
their fine incisions by dropsofviolet. (Chrestomanci, gen; G)
AKA the one for Yuletide where lost_spook wanted to know "what somebody as sensible as Janet finds to do with her life in Chrestomanci's world". It is wonderful and does what it says on the tin, and one gets the sense that everyone had better hang on to their hats now that Janet has grown up. :D
The Last Asheth by Laurea. (Chrestomanci, Christopher/Millie; Teen)
I find myself quite fond of Christopher/Millie fic. There's so much of it that's excellent. And this one! It's a proper plotty adventure with adult!Christopher/Chrestomanci and adult!Millie working together (at Mother Proudfoot's request, yet - yay for building on established mythology!) and being Really Quite Awesome. *squee* What a team. :-)
Millions of Cats by Rosencrantz. (Chrestomanci/Howl's Moving Castle, gen; G)
"Two families of powerful magic users go on holiday together. This will end well." ;P
...is there really anything more to say? SO. MUCH. AWESOME.
(Also, the title. I suddenly find that I really, really wish Wanda Gág had illustrated the Chrestomanci and Howl books both; her style would be absolutely perfect. Don't you think?)
Apple Vines by cest_what. (Chrestomanci, gen; G)
Sappy as hell, but who cares? Christopher+Cat chosen!family cuddlefic. There is no way I was not going to love that. And it's really quite well-written and not overdone at all, anyway. *melts in contradiction of own words* ;-)
Ring-a-Ring-a-Rosie by blueyeti. (Chrestomanci, gen; G)
Sometimes a drabble is a perfect 100-word work of art. This one, for example. Also, it's about language, and it spins off a throwaway line from "Charmed Life" into a wonderful little image that could be the center of its own book all by itself.
(I think this is one reason I'm not uneasy about reading Chrestomanci fic: there are so many more stories to be told. You know how they sometimes say Doctor Who is easy to cross with anything because you just write "The TARDIS lands..." and away you go? For me, Doctor Who doesn't have that quality, because I'm very conscious of the fact that it does have a continuity structure to fit things in between. Chrestomanci doesn't have that. And between the summoning and the spirit-walking, it's very easy to get Christopher Chant into any world you can imagine.)
Also, and I have no idea how I even found this: fix-fic for that one XKCD comic about the Mars rover. You're welcome. ♥ ♥