#the alternate svalbard in hdm

[ludinusdaleth]

something about stories with an island off to the north, a place cold & dead yet surviving like a corpse filled with maggots, like fungi in a flood, littered with the bones of dead societies & whales, near inhospitable and yet it feels more like home more than anywhere you've known.

[silveryinkystar]

Rating: Gen

Summary:  Pantalaimon observes people and their dæmons, over the course of their journey to Svalbard. Alternatively, three dæmons Pan observed with their humans, and one honorary dæmon's appearance.

A/N: This was originally meant as a fill for the HDM meme, but it quickly turned into meta poorly disguised as fanfic. It’s still in story form, though. Hope y’all enjoy!

HDM Meme fills:

[1-4/4] Daemons: Pantalaimon, Kaisa, the golden monkey, Hester +1 surprise bonus daemon [1-6/6] Locations: Jordan College, Mrs. Coulter’s flat, The Costas’ houseboat, Lee Scoresby’s balloon, Iofur Raknison’s palace [3/8] Characters: Pantalaimon

[chevalier-tialys]

I thought I’d list all my HDM fics in one place for convenience! Admittedly they’re mostly about Lee and Lyra, but the list will be updated as new stories are added.

The Tales of Lee Scoresby (Series)

*TW: non-graphic violence, referenced character death

lookin’ for somethin’ (haven’t found it yet) [Ao3]

After months of fruitless searching, Lee finally finds a way to an old friend in need.

Set before and during the opening scene of S1E04. And exploratory piece about what led Lee to Trollesund.

Over the Hills and Far Away [Ao3]

In the middle of the night, the Tartars ambushed the gyptian camp, and another child was taken. The fight of Bolvangar starts here. 

Set between S1E05 and S1E06.

Bolvangar Lights [Ao3]

The Station was ambushed by a group of gyptians determined to get their children back. Lee might not be a gyptian, but he'd sooner tear down the entire facility than give up on Lyra...

Set during S1E06

Fog and Ice [Ao3]

In the dark, everything seems a lot worse than it is. Come morning, and an old friend to help you on your way: Lee is offered a choice that he couldn't ever refuse.

Set before and during S1E07

Tales of Tomorrow (Series)

*Contains heavy spoilers for the HDM book trilogy

*TW: implied character death, daemon touching, intercision

At the Edge of the Abyss [Ao3]

"Belacqua? No, you are Lyra Silvertongue." An old friend's declaration comes true once more as the light in the gloom in the land of the dead. Lyra distracts the ghosts (specifically Lee) with stories, and gets a surprise when the War is over.

Just North of Oxford [Ao3]

Short moments where Lee is the dad Lyra needs (and deserves). Mostly unrelated scenes from their lives after the book trilogy.

*Spoiler warnings in notes of each chapter

Into the Mountains [Ao3]

Sometimes, it's good to look at things from another perspective. One might just learn something new about themselves, if they do - even people as in tune with themselves as Lee.

*Companion piece to Chapter 6 of Just North of Oxford - in which Lyra and Lee talk after their visit to Bolvangar, and Lee finds out he’s aromantic.

Others

The Legacy of Svalbard [Ao3]

Things are slightly changed, and Lee found himself thrown into the same cell in Svalbard as Lyra. Thinking quickly, he goes along with her story to make sure that Iorek stays alive long enough to fight an angered Iofur Raknison.

AU of the show where Lee ends up on Svalbard with Lyra 

The Smokeleaf Tin  [Ao3]

What Lyra did to the spy-fly.

A Study in Dæmons, Told in Four Parts  [Ao3]

Pantalaimon observes people and their dæmons, over the course of their journey to Svalbard. 3 dæmons Pan observed with their humans, and one honorary dæmon's appearance.

A Strange New World  [Ao3]

*Heavy spoilers for the book trilogy

“Don’t you go before I do.” “Lee, I couldn’t abide to be anywhere away from you for a single second." The balloon was gone, and now it was time to walk the earth. Lee was familiar enough with the skies, but the land always promised new paths...

Canon Divergence from The Subtle Knife where Lee survives

The Path Foretold  [Ao3]

Lee and Serafina’s conversation in S1E06, as experienced by Lee and overheard by Lyra.

can’t see forward ‘cause it disappears [Ao3]

*Written for His Dark Materials Fan Week 2020

Lyra returns to the campsite after chasing a ghost. It doesn’t quite go the way Lee expected it to.

Escape [Ao3]

*Spoilers for S02E03: Theft

Lee makes his escape from the Magisterium outpost.

TW: mild blood/gore, aftermath of torture, references to child abuse, referenced past minor character deaths, passing mention of alcoholism and gambling

Distorted Reflection [Ao3]

Lee encounters Marisa again. This time, he's not alone - but he's, quite literally, backed into a corner.

Alternatively, a discussion in a cave that leads to several revelations.

TW: referenced canonical child abuse, child death (all past events, non-graphic mentions)

After the Garden [Ao3]

*Spoilers for The Amber Spyglass, written for His Dark Materials Fan Week 2021

Will wonders what to do with his knife, now that he has no more use for it.

one day’s coming (but the next day’s here) [Ao3]

Lee Scoresby, from rancher to ranch hand to amateur aeronaut. TW: gun violence, non-graphic minor character death

[onewhoturns]

i have a few passing thoughts about today’s hdm episode! spoilers for episode 4 below the cut

OKAY first off, the standout of the episode; Lin. You beautiful bastard. I’ll admit, this isn’t exactly book!Lee to me, but I FUCKIN LOVE HIM ANYWAY. He’s less ‘laid back easygoing cowboy type’ and more ‘rough and tumble roguish scamp’ but he also got ALL the funny lines, and I adore him. This is one of those things (basically all of these things are, generally) that I shrug at, because, of course, this is an adaptation of the books. I will always view them separately, and have from the beginning. I can still enjoy both of them.

Now we get into some other bits and pieces, most notices differences that made me go =/ and then ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Again, I want to reiterate; I still love this show. I’m still super psyched to see the rest of it. These are just those things that emphasize the difference of universes between book and show.

1. They gave Iorek’s speech to Lee. =[

2. They made Iorek... hm, not sure how to word this. Angrier? Or maybe just more emotional. In the books he’s maybe a little cold, perhaps resigned, but in a kind of hardened way? Here he was more visibly frustrated, which is very... human. I just remember in the books him being more inscrutable. It’s one of those things that has me ¯\_(ツ)_/¯  for the show, cause I’m happy to accept it for this universe and see where it goes, but it definitely changed the character a bit. He’s less of the strong silent protector type I guess?

3. In that same vein; the moment where Lyra is like ‘it’s set! loophole!’ and Iorek is like ‘hm... clever’ wasn’t in this. Which feels like a bit of a loss because it really foreshadows the ‘silvertongue’ bit to me.

4. What’s the deal with Fra Pavel? What’s the implication here? Is this implying some kind of pedo stuff? If so... =/ I dunno. It’s not in the books (at least as far as I remember?) so it’s manufactured for the show, and it feels... I dunno. Why make that the choice, y’know? Is it just to draw comparisons to the Catholic church? Alternatively, if it’s something else, I’ll be curious to see what it is. 

5. Lyra got to bluff/be tricky with words more in this episode. I liked that. But also... Look, I like Dafne Keen, I do. And I’m not gonna say they should have cast someone else. I just feel like she’s not quite believable at times. Some things feel kinda stilted or overacted, and I could definitely be putting unrealistic expectations on a kid, that could totally be a thing. There were just a couple times where I was like =/

6. Why did they make the consul “greedy”? Why do that? The character was overwhelmingly neutral in the book to me, maybe even more of an ally. Why make him seem like a threat? Why make him vaguely creepy? Please don’t, I like the neutrality of the consul. Similarly: Why give Coram the lines about a prophecy, why give him the line translating Bolvangar, why give Lyra the line about ‘what should we be asking’ and her challenging Iorek? It felt like trying to make her extra-spicy-rebellious when I found her humility toward Iorek to be a pretty important thing in the books. Like, she’s smart enough to respect him.

7. Why make John Faa so mad? Why give some of his lines to Coram? I dunno man. =/ I feel like it undermined his levelheaded leadership. And I hate hate hate that it whispered of unintentional racism in the back of my head, even though I’m betting the scripts were written before casting him. It just felt like he’s been made less warm than the books. I mean, again, it’s a character change. It’s not something I’m going to continue to pick at, it’s something I’m going to accept as just ‘this is a different character’ and move on, because the show universe isn’t the book universe and that’s fine.

8. Lyra. Wtf. You should know better - and if not you, Coram should know better - than to whip out the alethiometer in public.

9. Wow, a lot more of a blatant presence of the Magisterium in this universe. Less covert control behind the scenes, more visible police forces. Again; a different universe.

10. Mrs. Coulter. Hm. I had some opinions here. There were several things that made me go =/ and then ¯\_(ツ)_/¯  Mostly her power in the Magisterium. It’s not as strong as it is in the books. I get that that gives her more of a struggle, makes her path interesting to follow, and at times you’re rooting for her to succeed even though you know she’s awful. But I don’t know, man. The way that the Asriel reveal was handled super undermined her power. She’s a powerful character, and it feels like there could have been other ways to show her struggle besides that?

11. Why the Cardinal with such a profound hunch. Why do that. It’s so incredibly noticeable and just comes across like an old timey ‘creepy cripple’ thing that just feels =/ to me. It’s not even like it’s just the actor. That was a choice that was made. It’s distracting, but not in the way I think it’s supposed to be. I feel uncomfortable, but I feel uncomfortable because it feels like it’s making evil out of-- I don’t even know what to call it. Is it called a hunchback? Is there a more appropriate term? It feels like taking someone with a-- is it a disability? I honestly don’t know-- and making them a villain who’s supposed to be offputting because of that.

12. Iofur. Interesting choice, not sure how I feel about it, but I’m along for the ride.

13. So that cave was her meeting with Iofur. Will we still get a reveal of the grand palace of Svalbard? Or is it all going to be moved into caves?

14. Okay, the number one thing that irritated me and cannot be accepted as just a difference between show and book canon: Previously, I’ve seen people mentioning the lack of daemons in the show. So in that last shot, I actively was looking for daemons among the Gyptians. And I was like ‘oh, cool, there’s some birds and stuff. oh, and a dog-’ BUT THE DOG WAS ON A ROPE. WHO WOULD HAVE THEIR DAEMON ON A LEASH? I could understand having a dog on a leash for filming. But they put a frickin’ BEAR in the shot, shouldn’t it be easy to take out a ROPE in post? I dunno man, that irritated the hell out of me. Then again, maybe it wasn’t a daemon, maybe it was a sledge dog. -- OKAY ON REWATCH, IT’S A SLEDGE DOG. So okay. Fine. BUT, the fact that I was confused enough to think that shows that they look like they are supposed to be daemons. So maybe give the people walking the sledge dogs visible daemons that aren’t the sledge dogs? I guess this mostly just brings to mind the Today show appearance of Lin where the interviewer was like animals talk! which felt like it was infantilizing both daemons and armored bears to just ‘all animals can talk, how cute!’ But that’s not the fault of the show, that’s just interviewers being uninformed, which is probably inevitable. It just made me salty xD

I think that’s all I wanted to say? Probably more than I wanted to say?