Instead of doing canon review for the Trick or Treat exchange (need to get the characters right, I do have a probably-working idea and some of the story written) I’m reading Jerry-survives-the-war fixit fic for some reason. And more fanfic. And still more fanfic, making this a monster post because I want at least a link and a couple of words for each story.
October 2: A Clean Fire by harborshore. Jerry gets rescued by a pal and things fall into place from there.
H. M. The Queen Mother interviews Lady Peter Wimsey as new Duchess of Denver by jpadsk. Oh, what a missed chance. John Cowan says it all in a comment (and how I wish I could give kudos on comments, I’d like to let him know I agree but not in the writer’s hearing): “This story desperately needs an editor. These characters are obviously German spies masquerading as the Duchess and the Queen Mother. It isn’t just the mistakes in English, either, it’s the whole way in which they speak. It’s true that the Q.M. is Princess of Teck in Württemberg, but she was born and raised in the U.K.” (For one thing, Harriet wouldn’t break down and sob for any reason in front of the Queen Mother!)
Ring Out, Wild Bells by keswindhover. There are two almost identical versions of this; I inadvertently left kudos on the (locked) 2004 version but I’m linking to the (public) 2011 version. (Which I’ve now also left kudos on.) Good aunting from Harriet, echoes of the hospital scene in Gaudy Night. And John Cowan does it again: “A great vignette, although I can’t help pointing out that if you can’t sing, you don’t get into Oxford’s Bach Choir.” Apparently the writer has read Gaudy Night all right, they should know that Harriet can sing and Peter knows that!
October 3: I think, if I were king of Greece by custardpringle. Not fix-it, but Jerry kidfic set just before Clouds of Witness. Good aunting from Mary and a glimpse into her relationship with Denis Cathcart.
A Fine Romance by hhertzof. Jerry and Hilary at Oxford, becoming friends with a promise of more.
Role Model by AlexElizabeth. This one is very thoughtful and touching. Jerry is sure he isn’t going to produce any heirs of his own, but he wants to leave Bredon with something he can be heir to.
The Distant Hum of Engines. In which Peter asks Jerry to do some difficult and confidential work, and he (Jerry, not Peter, obviously) gets re-embroiled with Hilary. (“You still are an ass,” Hilary told him. “I haven’t spent the past five years praying you wouldn’t die not to marry you when you came back home.”)
Also this wonderful (completely unrelated) story: There Is a Cottage by the Woods by Rebecca Burton. Though there’s a ghost in the early part of the story there’s nothing creepy about it, just wonderful sweetness and friendship and a woman standing up to the world wanting other things from her than she realizes she’s made for. Oh, and everything’s better with kittens. With one specific kitten, at least.
October 4: A Soldier’s Return by ryfkah. Polly and Maladict sorting out where they stand, with footnotes.
Born to Strange Sights by ryfkah. Howl/Young Wizards crossover. Makes a lot of sense!
And So The Garden Grew by ryfkah. Now Lady Mary Parker née Wimsey is a detective, too!
Jamie Hamilton’s Rotten Luck by ryfkah. Homeward Bounders/Harry Potter crossover, with a hint of Howl’s Moving Castle!
Local Customs by ryfkah. Homeward Bounders/Buffy the Vampire Slayer crossover. I don’t know Buffy but it’s clear enough what happens. Nice look at Jamie Hamilton!
The Young Chants by ryfkah. Chrestomanci vignettes, starting with cute kidfic and evolving into teenagers being clever.
October 5: in olden days, a glimpse of stocking (series) by custardpringle. Hilary Thorpe and Jerry Viscount St George as a bickering, and later married but still bickering, couple. I skipped #2 (A Jolly Kind of Detective Game) because it’s novel-length and I’ve read it more recently than the rest. In fact I didn’t read beyond #5 or so the first time around, I don’t know why!
Barriers by ryfkah. (note: you may not be able to read this unless you have an AO3 account and are logged in). Hexwood fic, Mordion/Vierran. Must reread the book because I think I’m missing a lot of the context.
October 6: No Good Deed by ryfkah. (Locked, ditto). The beginning of Flavian and Mordecai’s friendship.
Impulse Control by ryfkah. Another Mordion/Vierran one, somewhat less canon-dependent than Barriers (though still canon-compliant).
The Curse of the Blue-Eyed Tiger by vanillafluffy. Midnight is a Place fic; another book I should reread because I remember those characters only vaguely. There’s a cat!
knowledge in pursuit by possibilityleft. Missing scene: Millie leaves Series Ten, taking only the barest necessities.
Reflections of a King by Merfilly. Yes, Edmund really did grow up.
Office Hours by labellementeuse. Robert Millman and Carmela Rodriguez cope better with the Pullulus effects than the wizards do.
love like mountains by betony. The Adon, Manaliabrid and Lagan from Lagan’s POV. Disturbing (in a good way).
October 7: Thrones, Dominations by Dorothy L. Sayers and Jill Paton Walsh. Started it to check a fact and ended up rereading the whole book in between all the fanfic. Not as good as the Sayers-only Peter/Harriet books but still good characterizations. (And I agree completely with Harriet that Rosamund was a very silly woman with strange ideas but it’s a shame that she got killed.)
In Which Pooh Goes Puddle Jumping and Piglet Throws a Picnic by hhertzof. Er, what it says on the tin? Very cute. With Hums.
We Are Six — in Space (The Department Six Remix) by hhertzof. Wonderful Calvin Spaceman Spiff and Hobbes adventure.
October 8: A Place to Call Your Own by hhertzof. Janet Chant carves out her niche in Chrestomanci Castle.
Common Ground by hhertzov. Janet and Tina cope with rooming together without Molly, and it turns out they have more in common than they thought for the last three years.
Taming by Morgan (duckwhatduck). Petit Prince fanfic, in which a boy tames a fox and/or vice versa. Somewhat bittersweet ending.
A Slip of the Heart by opalmatrix. Mitt and Biffa figure things out. “I’ll say,” said Mitt. “Biffa — I could marry you on the spot!”
In Pompeium by hhertzof. A Doctor Who drabble in Latin!
In Which Sophie Puts Her Foot Down by ryfkah. Yay Morgan! (But it’s a good thing that Sophie puts her foot down)
In Which Lettie Makes Demands by ryfkah. Very reasonable demands, too!
The Prisoner’s Dilemma by ryfkah. “Navis knew that he would make a far more effective tyrant than any of the other members of his family, if he were to put his mind to it.”
Another Country by ryfkah. Dalemark/Oxford Time Travel Universe crossover. Very effectively done, and peak Mitt/Maewen.
Lord Edgware Dies by Agatha Christie. A Poirot I hadn’t read before, or at least didn’t remember! Spoiled a bit by Hastings being the first-person narrator. I do like the fact that none of the (somewhat) nice people did it — it’s “we think X did it” [lots of reasons why they can’t have done it and almost all of these other people can] — “surprise! X did it after all!”
Index of reading notes is here.
