Thank you!

PLUG: "London, Unreal" Chapter 2 & "A Study in Carnë" on AO3 by Huinesoron on 2022-07-08 14:46:07 UTC Writing Plug Reply

London, Unreal, my spin-off of Sergio's The World Without Authors, has its second chapter:

The First Day of the Rest of Their Lives

In which Constance and Jasmine fail to break into a bookshop, meet their first canon character, and discover exactly where they've ended up. [Looks at title] I'm sure no-one will guess that last part. (Complete with maps!)

And... back at the beginning of the year I posted a Lord of the Rings/Sherlock Holmes mashup on the Board. It's now cleaned up and posted to AO3:

A Study in Carnë

In which Hemlock Holmes and June Whitson investigate a murder right on the borders of their very own Shire.

re: London, Unreal by doctorlit on 2022-07-11 17:37:26 UTC Reply

Yeah, the London setting was obvious, but I like how you're constructing this London out of geographically accurate parts from different canons. It's a really strong follow-up from Sergio's "patchwork geography," which was more focused on landmasses and biomes than an individual city. I see I'm a bit behind on my reading materials, though at least you seem to be using the television versions of Omens and Strange, which I wasn't planning on watching anyway. I'm excited to see how things unfold, in any case!

"Mr. and Mrs. Davenport," eh? Is there a rule that all WWA stories must contain that surname?

A couple typos:
The streetlamps when from burned-out bulbs to Narnia-style lanterns . . .
I think you wanted "went" there?

"Mom," Jasmine murmured, as the reached the edge of a tree-filled square . . .
"they"

Also, I'm reading one of the Earth's Children novels right now, so when you first mentioned the horse, my brain was primed to imagine it as a Przewalski-esque primitive horse, but I suppose that's probably not the sort of horse you were imagining in London . . . Heh, okay. Checking Wikipedia, the British Isles saw horses at least as far back as 700,000 BC, while Earth's Children is set in roughly 28,000 BC. So while a primitive horse could appear in the Unraveled London, it would see humans as predators, and probably wouldn't hang out near humans at a bookshop's door. Still, I hope the horsie friend finds their caretakers, or gets taken in by new ones! Horsie friend seems lonely . . .

Oh, and I don't remember if I commented on "A Study in Carnë" while you were posting it, but I definitely read it, and it was quite good!

—doctorlit should probably be researching candidates to vote on right now, but reading and reviewing never ceases!

Thank you! by Huinesoron on 2022-07-12 18:28:42 UTC Reply

Typos corrected with gratitude. ^_^

As you've noted, Good Omens and Strange & Norrell are based on the TV adaptations, but honestly, both of those adaptations are really close to the books. I'm referencing the adaptations so I have concrete visuals, but it could just as easily be the books.

I'm also not taking characters from the end of their storylines. With one exception (on Hampstead Heath, if you want a meaningless spoiler), everyone I'm using is from the first third or so of their story. What that means is a bit variable, but there's no real story spoilers, and I'm trying (trying!) to introduce people so you don't have to have read them.

The idea of a hybrid somewhere was central to my initial conception of this story. I think the very first idea I had was to do Chicago and have Harry Dresden running around; then I passed through police/detective shows in New York; and then I landed in London, and haven't moved on since.

hS

A sneak preview: by Huinesoron on 2022-07-11 11:57:14 UTC Reply
WANTED: The most CURLY-HEADED Hobbits in all the Shire. Assemble this Mersday 1 Halimath at BAGGINS HALL to gain something to your ADVANTAGE.
- From The Adventures of Hemlock Holmes: The Curly-Headed League, coming soon(ish) to an AO3 near you
hS

I’m pumped for this!! (nm) by Lily Winterwood on 2022-07-11 12:07:41 UTC Reply

I read and enjoyed both stories. by Scapegrace on 2022-07-08 20:26:27 UTC Reply

I'm not really that big on TWWA, but I've been keeping up with it, and your work is a fine addition. Or spinoff, or something, but who'd ever write a spinoff of someone else's fanfic? =]

The Hemlock Holmes story was much more my speed. I enjoyed it when it was posted here, but it flows a lot better in a single document. =]

So oddly enough, I was gonna ping you when LU chapter 3 went up. by Huinesoron on 2022-07-09 20:26:31 UTC Reply

Minor spoilers, but that canon character they met at the end of chapter two is very much the third member of the main cast. I know it's one of your fandoms of interest, but I wasn't sure if you're much invested in the characters, or just the setting as a whole.

As for Hemlock and Whitson - they're fun, I like them. I don't know if I can concoct another story for them, but I'm pretty sure the first one was written with no idea where it was going, so maybe!

hS

No, I am invested in the characters. by Scapegrace on 2022-07-09 22:57:54 UTC Reply

I'm just not as... au fait with all their nuances as I ought to be. They slip more easily from my head for some reason, while the magic system really does stick around. Also, if you want to use Algernon at any point in LU, do feel free. =]

Read London, Unreal by Meta on 2022-07-08 17:54:56 UTC Reply

Loved it. I really enjoy seeing PPC stories that aren't necessarily focused on standard missions, and of course your stories are always entertaining.

Haven't read the Holmes story yet, but will do soon.
Have read, did like. by Linstar on 2022-07-08 17:38:59 UTC Reply

Not a ton to say, though—I guess it’s weird to think that I joined AO3 before hS, very oldbie, did.

I read both—it was funny to see Sherlock Holmes (Or a version of him) in Middle-Earth, and I thought that the introduced canons in London, Unreal were interesting.

—Ls doesn’t have much else to say.