skygiants | (no subject)

I am extremely excited to announce that my Yuletide gift this year inaugurated the Crossroads Series tag on the AO3: Let us go then, you and I, a fic about how vet student Laurie and a vengeful warrior Griffin met and entered into a tragic interspecies relationship that by the time the actual books begin is in full swing and never explained!

Laurie would never, later, admit this to him, but her very first thought was: Aslan?

"I won't refuse it," Laurie said. Thought: I deeply resent how much less fun being the heroine of a doomed romance is, compared to reading about it at thirteen.

I'M SO HAPPY.

As you may remember, I rediscovered the Crossroads books, an obscure portal fantasy series about vet students who go perform minor surgeries in a constantly endangered fantasyland, earlier this year. I had no expectations that I would ever receive fic for it; a million thanks to my mystery author for proving me wrong.

While we're talking about books I loved in the 90s: one of my other best holiday presents this year was a set of Fionavar Tapestry cover art, from

genarti. I'm mentioning this because a.) I'm extremely delighted b.) I NEEDED A SEGUE AND HEY, HAVE WE ALL HEARD ABOUT THE FIONAVAR TV SERIES? I am still trying to sort out how I feel about this, but I definitely have some basic requirements:

- amazing 80s hair for everyone, but especially Kim
- I expect serious commitment to the tragic Arthurian threesome and by that I mean Arthur and Lancelot had better make out by the end
- the CBC had better not cut Dave's law notes, the best joke in the series
- if Paul doesn't make someone cry in the first episode then honestly what is even the point

FIONAVAR FRIENDS, please tell me your hopes, fears, and dreams about this thing that is apparently happening!

ETA: And now I have a surprise Madness treat as well! Conversations with Righteousness, which very impressively manages to explore a whole bunch of the things I most wanted to see about Orth and Aria and Righteousness and The Shadow Of Ibex in several quick readable chatlogs.

Orth: Do you want to remember where you end and Righteousness begins? Here’s my advice, for whatever it’s worth: remember where your costume ends and you begin. Yours isn’t a suit, but you’ve still got one. Don’t become it.

A YULETIDE THAT KEEPS ON GIVING. :DDDD

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

kore

I am going to read at least the first Fionavar Tapestry book any day now! I have it on my Kindle and everything!

From:

skygiants

I'm looking forward to your reaction to that reading experience!

From:

kore

I am given to understand they are sort of like Narnia or the Secret Country! Only with law students, in Canada?

From:

skygiants

Yes! Classic Portal Fantasy except also GGK had just come from helping to organize the Silmarillion and so Portal Fantasy-land is everything he got from Tolkien plus a whole bunch of Norse and Celtic mythology thrown straight into a blender, it's amazing.

From:

rymenhild

Kim/Aileron.

No Kim/Loren.

From:

skygiants

I have a faint, distant hope that they'll just go direct for Matt/Loren -- it's 2017! the CBC must be aware they're required to have at least a few token queer characters in a Cast of Thousands -- but I am aware that it is faint and distant.

From:

rachelmanija

Can I see pictures of your covers?

I am very excited about the Fionavar series. Here is what I want:

- Jennifer does not get the personality transplant post-pregnancy.

- They do not cut the flying unicorn.

- They do not cut the sea serpent eating ALL the elves.

- Diarmuid and Paul make ME cry.

From:

skygiants

You can see pictures when I get back to Boston! (I am currently in Vermont.) So, watch this space. :D

If they cut the sea serpent eating ALL the elves I will personally go to Canada and explain, at length, individually,, to EVERY EXECUTIVE INVOLVED IN THE SERIES, why they have just destroyed it and need to provide me with personal recompense.

(I am looking forward to all the things that will make me cry, but I've just realized another thing I need from the series is that they pronounce Diarmuid's name properly, as 'Dermott.')

From:

rachelmanija

Noooo, is that really how it's pronounced? I hope they mispronounce it.

From:

skygiants

It super is and, alas, my ability to talk about Diarmuid's plotline with a straight face has never been the same.

(Maybe they'll skip all the pretense and just call him 'Francis Crawford.')

From:

rachelmanija

Damn you, now I probably won't either.

That would be better.

From:

kore

Sadly yeah, it's like me learning how to say "Fionn mac Cumhaill" as a kid rather than how it looked when I read it.

From:

rachelmanija

It's "Finn MacCool," right?

From:

kore

Yeah, or even "Fen MacCoul." I was disappointed! And embarrassed. (I mispronounce words to this day because I only saw them written down.)

From:

genarti

The cover posters in question are these! The landscape-oriented ones, not the portrait-oriented ones below.

From:

rachelmanija

Those are very pretty! And I am inappropriately cracking up at the giant sea serpent.

From:

genarti

Oh, no, I think it's perfectly appropriate to crack up at the giant sea serpent. :D That part is forever hilarious to me, SORRY ELV-- I MEAN, LIOS ALFAR.

From:

rachelmanija

It's somehow especially funny because literally all the other OTT high-tragedy moments in the trilogy really work for me. Just not that one.

The fact that you can really see the LOTR fingerprints on that whole section makes it even funnier. I should not laugh at the idea that Frodo and Gandalf and all got EATEN BY A SEA SERPENT on the way to the Grey Havens. And yet.

From:

skygiants

It remains the funniest thing to me in the ENTIRE BOOK (and there are a lot of things that make me laugh in the book.)

From:

luzula

Ha ha really, a Fionavar TV series? I am due for a reread of those anyway. My main requirement is that it have ALL THE INTENSE AND OVER THE TOP DRAMA AND FEELINGS, because that is mainly what I remember from those books.

From:

skygiants

I am desperately looking forward to the INTENSE FAUX-CELTIC MUSICAL SCORING at all the moments when [x sacrifices themselves to a god in order to make the crops grow]

From:

genarti

ALL ENYA ALL THE TIME

except for dramatic high-energy fiddling for the battle scenes

From:

skygiants

THEY'RE TAKING THE LIOS TO ISENGARD!!!!

From:

rachelmanija

Yeah, that is basically how I feel too. I am really hoping they don't do the obligatory dark-and-gritty thing.

From:

skygiants

THEY BETTER NOT. Like, sure, make us cry, but make us cry with EARNEST FEELINGS! If it's not sparkly as all getout it's not Fionavar!

From:

ranalore

If I am not convinced that Kevin and Paul are sleeping together by the end of the first episode, THEY HAVE FAILED. Although I am sad it is now too late for either a young James Spader or a young Jensen Ackles to play Kevin, because I don't know if I can bear to have that mental image replaced by whoever they get.

Also, I need Diarmuid, Paul, and Kevin to make ME cry.

Also also, some Scandinavian accents would be nice, for once in a production with Norse mythology in. I'm just saying.

Edited to fix a slippery little article.

Edited Date: 2017-12-26 11:24 pm (UTC)

From:

skygiants

If I'm not convinced that Kevin is sleeping with EVERYONE by the end of the first episode, they've probably failed.

My bet is they will go Fantasy British Accents all the way down, but it would be nice to be proven wrong for once!