a conspiracy of cartographers

Re: a thread on one of my recent posts, I realized that one of my favourite things in the (fannish) universe is Narnia crossovers. They don't even necessarily have to be stellar in-depth amazing well-justified crossovers, although obviously none of that hurts; I'm just fascinated by any Narnia crossover on general principle. See, Narnia is a really delicious world. It's not like, for example, Doctor Who, where you can just impose the Doctor on various worlds and easily handwave it; it's another kind of fun entirely. The text of Narnia is one that's there to be examined and argued with by other perspectives. (For instance, what about Susan? although that, by far, isn't the only direction in which to go.) It's just ... really enjoyable to poke at Lewis, you know?

Or maybe it's just that I grew up on those books. Tolkien may be my foundational text, but dammit, I believed in Aslan. And my inner six-year-old doesn't care that he's lion Jesus; that's entirely beside the point.

The point, in this particular case, is that I want to compile a recslist of Narnia crossovers.

( Six fics: Buffy, Doctor Who, Good Omens, Harry Potter, Highlander, and His Dark Materials crossovers. The AO3 has a lot more than just these; it's simply a selection of fandoms I recognized. Probably unsurprisingly, rather skewed towards Fic About Susan. )

The problem with going out and getting things done is that I now have a backlog of things I want to talk about! Anyway, the best thing I have discovered recently: Six Things from History Everyone Pictures Incorrectly. Dazzlingly glittering pyramids! Technicolor Parthenon! Sneaky historical clothing! It makes me want to write all the fic warms my geeky heart.

My currently-open wikipedia tabs are pretty great. What do the deluge myth, the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, and the University of Paris have in common? Three guesses, and the first two don't count. I am now tempted to click the 'random article' link and then make myself write Methos fic about it, actually. Trying it, the first article that comes up is on Beryl Davis. I have never heard of Beryl Davis before, but apparently she was a singer during WWII and knew both Glenn Miller and Frank Sinatra. The fic writes itself. I could do this for hours.

More importantly, though, because I have talked through my shame for loving Highlander (no more shame! yay id show! \o/) I think it is high time that I recced some fic. Alphabetically and with enthusiasm:

Adam and Joe by genteelrebel, Methos/Joe & Duncan/Methos. I don't actually know where to begin talking about this one, because it is kind of amazing in its scope: it's a recounting of Methos' life from 1986 to 1998. In certain ways, this fic is downright evil. It blends canon so seamlessly, turns it into such a coherent emotional arc, and explains Methos so damn well, that it is threatening to rewrite all the personal canon in my head. It has a pretty unique and fairly creepy (but awesome, so awesome, and about as kinky as I have never known I always wanted) take of Methos and Duncan's relationship, complete with a really different interpretation of the Double Quickening than is the norm. It also has an OC I am quite a bit in love with, and an actually happy ending for Cassandra. And Joe is the best Joe ever; I want to take him home and keep him. Caveats for this being one of those deliciously long fics (we're talking in excess of sixty chapters here) that are probably best savored over the space of a week or so.

Brothers and Other Strangers by Valentin, Duncan/Methos. After Bordeaux, Methos takes avoidance to really impressive new levels. (On reflection, Methos-with-amnesia is a weirdly more common fandom trope than one might expect.) I love this one because I love stories about Adam Pierson the defense mechanism. Caveats for the usual frustrating treatment of Cassandra and a, ah, early-2000s website background. Can't do much about the former, but setting a blank page style should fix the latter.

The Fourth Son by Lanna Michaels. This is everything I have ever wanted in a fic about Methos and Kronos, and it's just them talking for a few pages. I spent most of it clawing at my face with joy anyway. But then, I can be a bit strange about Methos and Kronos. (Didn't I say? Id show. Also, pairing type. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry.)

Sacred Trust by Lanning, Duncan/Methos. All my favourite fics are necessarily ones that I think understand Methos, but this one really gets it; there's such a depth and intricacy to the bits of Methos' past we do see that I've been many things suddenly starts to make sense as a concept. This is another one of those fics that I find difficult to separate from canon; of course this is the true story of Darius' Light Quickening, and of course the Watchers are terrified of this particular Immortal, and &c. Caveats for length, a narrative that is quite angry with Duncan, actually, and for the general unpleasantness of Methos' past.

And lastly, a vid: Commercial for Levi by Gianduja Kiss, wherein she was actually awesome enough to put my Theory of Methos' Boyfriends into vid form. (By which I mean that it feels like she reached straight into my head, not that she actually knows me from, heh, Adam, and did it with any particular intent.) Actually, hell, this is a blanket rec, just watch everything this woman has ever vidded. It's all fabulous.