Hello, I'm new(ish) to here, though I've been lurking for a week or so. Since 2011 I've been working on a fantasy comedy called "Postcards from the Edge of Infinity", and a major part of the initial "arc" is a personal fantasy that I, and I'm sure many on this forum, have had since first reading of the Romanovs and their deaths, of them being rescued. The whole reason I'm here is, though it's a fantasy comedy (the initial idea I had was "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" but for fantasy,) I am dedicated to portraying the Romanovs as accurately as is possible; also that, though they are spirited away to another land w/the main characters, their story is intended to be accurate up until the moment said mains arrive. So no Lich Rasputin and his Singing Insect Minions (a phrase I'm sure haunts the nightmares of many a Romanov devotee to this day. So, er, sorry of reminding you.) Though I'll post more in time, here is, as concisely as I can manage, the synopsis and basic pitch of "Easy Fellowship: Here, There, Somewhere, and Back Round Again."
Modern day English geeks Zoe, Jeff, and Dave find themselves, through no fault of their own, travelling between worlds via a set of magic dice belonging to Zoe's incredibly bigoted/senile granddad; who turns out to also be an obscenely old wizard named Gaeratric, and whom is travelling w/them, much to their eternal regret and frustration. Very soon after this, when they're still in shock and getting the hang of things, they arrive in what turns out to be the basement store room at IH; w/the IF on the other side of the doors, having just been left there by Yurovsky to go and get their murderers. After some arguing over the method, they get the doors open and the two groups are introduced just as Yurovsky and his men arrive. The teens' piss-poor attempts at a bluff fail and they're about to be shot when, in a display of competence not to be seen for many a moon, Gaeratric turns the gunmen into rabbits.
Jubilation at this is short-lived when, in getting them out to show the Romanovs, Zoe drops the dice and they are immediately transported to Middle-Earth in the year 4E 1967, w/a quasi-modern world magitech thing going on. Over a couple of days of staying in a tavern in Hobbiton, Zoe, Jeff, and Dave explore and get to know OTMAA, introducing them to modern world via the Bohemian Rhapsody video. However, OTM are kidnapped by Orcs and taken to Mordor, which now has an inland sea and is a Blackpool expy, only to find when they get there that their dungeon has been repossessed. They thus have to let them go, and they are soon taken in by a kind wizard who owns a casino. Back in Hobbiton, the main plot gets underway as the Zoe, Jeff, Dave, Gaeratric, and Anastasia embark on an Epic Quest to rescue OTM.
The whole thing is a parody of Tolkien, w/a satire on homophobia and transphobia; presented as a road trip - undertaken primarily by three modern day teens and an Edwardian Russian princess grand duchess - fuelled by 60's/early-70's classic rock, through a Middle-Earth that owes a lot to Mel Brooks and "Bored of the Rings". The core of the homophobia satire is the relationship that develops between Zoe, who is Bi, and Anastasia, as the latter comes out of her shell. Naturally, this is the most speculative part of the whole thing, and most likely to raise eyebrows, but I'll say right off the bat that this isn't going to a smutfest like some of the "surviving GD" stories I've read of in the books section; it's intended to be a sweet, humorous love story between two teens, that happens to be in the context of a Tolkien spoof and feature Anastasia. Incidentally, due to my fascination w/the Romanovs, the very first thing that I came up w/past the setup and the four mains was "they rescue the Romanovs and end up in a Tolkien spoof where they have to rescue OTMA;" the homophobia satire came later and fit around what I had already, w/Zoe (now main main character) and Anastasia, on the grounds of her personality and being closest in age to 16-year-old Zoe, being the obvious choice for the central romance.
So, hope I've not bored you too much w/my rambling, and to hear your comments. The main purpose of putting this here, aside from constructive criticism, is to get help w/the characterization/dialogue of the Romanovs, particularly OTMA and especially Anastasia. Will be posting scenes as they're done to such ends. For now, er, (witty parting words.)
