Fandom Promo!

[crantz]

Welcome to the Fandom Promo post, everyone!

Here's where you get those eyes on your fandoms for sign ups!

Share what makes your Yuletide fandoms the shiniest and why you love them. A big part of Yuletide is how small our fandoms can be, and this is a good way to make sure other people know what gems there are out there!

Suggested form to use:

<b>FANDOM NAME</b>:
<b>WHAT MAKES IT GREAT</b>:
<b>WHERE CAN I FIND IT?(optional)</b>:

Comments

Mongolian History RPF

[saiditallbefore]

If you’ve been hanging around spaces that talk about exchanges for the past year, you’ve probably heard me mention Mongolian History RPF already. If not... welcome to my TED talk! ;D

Mongolian history is obviously a HUGE swathe to cover, so I’m going to drill down and focus on the four “characters” I’m nominating (and will be requesting and offering): Khutulan, Töregene Khatun, Fatima, and Mandukhai Khatun.* I’ll be listing some online resources and primers for the curious at the bottom of this post, but if you really want to dive deep, Jack Weatherford’s The Secret History of the Mongol Queens is super accessible and is the best English-language resource you’re going to find-- try your local library.

*I was going to nominate Samar Gunj since she did so much but she doesn’t even appear to have a wikipedia page in English? But Mandukhai is also awesome.

I’m not looking for anyone to become an expert in the subject overnight-- hell, I’m certainly not an expert! This is just fanfiction, after all. What I’ll be requesting (and hoping to write!) is fictionalized takes on events that we’re pretty sure actually happened, as well as events that never actually took place-- things that might have been. If this sounds at all interesting to you, please come play in this sandbox with me and don’t let the idea of historical research put you off! I got into this on Christmas Eve last year because someone’s prompt got into my head and I couldn’t quite think of a good way to fill it...until I listened to the Missed In History podcast episode on Khutulun.

KHUTULUN

If you’ve heard of any of these figures, it’s probably Khutulun. She’s relatively well-known in the Western world, for a simple reason: Marco Polo met her on his expedition (in addition to a whole bunch of other people, but the one we’re familiar with in the West is Marco Polo).

The basics: after the Mongol Empire began to fracture and collapse into civil war, Khutulun (Genghis Khan's great-great granddaughter) fought alongside her father, Kaidu Khan. She also reportedly was an amazing wrestler and would not marry a man unless he could best her at wrestling, and won 10,000+ horses from men who tried to win her hand in marriage. There’s an additional, even more unsubstantiated story about how an assassin came to Kaidu Khan’s camp, intending to kill Kaidu Khan, but Khutulun stopped him. The nameless assassin then swore his service to Kaidu Khan and stayed there for many years... eventually marrying Khutulun (without beating her in wrestling).

Primers/Resources:
https://www.laphamsquarterly.org/roundtable/wrestler-princess
https://www.rejectedprincesses.com/princesses/khutulun
https://www.missedinhistory.com/podcasts/khutulun.htm
+footnotes and bibliographies of the above

TOREGENE KHATUN & FATIMA

I’m talking about these women together because their stories are intertwined. Warning, though: I’m not talking in detail about it here, but any in-depth discussion of these women is going to touch on some pretty nasty stuff, including torture.

Now, Toregene was married to a useless prince who became Great Khan, and she basically held the empire together. In fact, after his death, she consolidated power and remained as empress-- with her loyal servant Fatima by her side.

Notably, Fatima and Toregene shared a tent and "intimate confidences", and Toregene named Fatima queen. Does that mean they were together? Well, it’s difficult, if not impossible, to know the sexuality of any historical figure if we don’t have their own words, and historical conceptions of sex and sexuality were different than our own (although LGBTQ+ people have always existed!). None of that actually matters though, because this is fanfiction, and you are free to make shit up. And in my opinion, Toregene and Fatima are very shippy.

Their lives ended in tragedy-- they retired together in quiet, but Fatima was accused of witchcraft and executed shortly thereafter, and Toregene died of unknown causes. But while they lived, they were both pretty badass (and I totally ship them).

Resources/Primers:
https://www.rejectedprincesses.com/princesses/toregene-khatun
https://web.archive.org/web/20060709022543/https://www.theglobalist.com/DBWeb/StoryId.aspx?StoryId=4601
+footnotes and bibliographies of the above

MANDUKHAI KHATUN

She was also known as Queen Monduhai the Wise and she was the first person since Ghengis Khan (who died 200 years before her birth!) to unite the warring Mongol clans.

She was married to the Khan, and after he died she adopted an orphan who also just happened to be the last living descendant of Genghis Khan (I’d explain how Mandukhai is related but that’s a twisted family tree. Just know that Genghis wasn’t an only child.), raised the kid, married him when he became an adult, and named him Dayan Khan, or “Great Khan”. Under their leadership, the Mongol Empire was reunited for the first time in centuries. (Seriously, this is a huge deal!)

And she didn’t just sit back and lead from her tent-- she fought battles, even while pregnant! The Ming Dynasty of China expanded the Great Wall to contain Mandukhai! Historically, we know that she (probably) died of natural causes, but there were rumors that circulated that Ming agents assassinated her...

Primers:
http://thefemalesoldier.com/blog/mandukhai-khatun
http://brewminate.com/queen-manduhai-the-wise/
(Sorry, I think the main resource for Mandukhai is The Secret History of the Mongol Queens!)

I know this is tl;dr, but I really enjoy this little niche of fandom, and I hope someone else out there does, too!

Re: Mongolian History RPF

[miul]

Gosh, this is incredibly fascinating and ripe with potential. I’m so glad I know of them thanks to this comment :D

shrubbery ate my baby: Jordskott

[kimaracretak]

FANDOM NAME: Jordskott

WHAT MAKES IT GREAT: Jordskott is a thoughtful, compassionate take on how working for the (Swedish) police uniquely equips one to love and lose and obsess. It is also about trees that would like to eat you, and those are not actually incompatible stories. It's a Scandinoir drama in terms of frame: a detective returns to her childhood home to deal with her father's company after his recent death, the childhood home she's been avoiding ever since her daughter vanished there years ago. But dealing with the company means dealing with (among other things) witches, a sentient forest, her father's crimes, her daughter's not-quite-ghost/not-quite-self, and a supernatural environmental group. It's about the horror of love and the love of difference and grief and memory and has a wonderful amount of care for women/children/refugees/brainbads who are painted as villains in two many police dramas.

Anyway. More people should come have feelings about women and girls and the forests that would like to eat them because they love them. It's a Swedish show but there's English subtitles, and it's somewhat? short - there's two seasons, 10 and 8 episodes so far, and I highly recommend it for anyone who likes fairytales, mysteries, horror, unique police dramas, and female characters

WHERE CAN I FIND IT? ITV Encore in the UK and Shudder through Amazon Prime in the US and ... other places in other places?

Un Chant D'Amour (1950) - Classic Erotic M/M Short Film

[(Anonymous)]

FANDOM NAME: Un Chant D'Amour (A Love Song)



WHAT MAKES IT GREAT: In 1950, author Jean Genet (with, it is speculated, filmmaker Jean Cocteau) created a 25-minute silent erotic film about the love affair between two male prisoners that flourishes despite both the separation of a wall and one prisoner's abuse by a covetous guard. Widely banned for years after its release, the film's dreamlike imagery still holds some provocative surprises for modern audiences as well as meditations on freedom and captivity, the need for human contact, and the phenomenon of being both the possessor and object of male desire.

WHERE CAN I FIND IT?: The film can be watched (by adult audiences) online at UbuWeb (http://www.ubuweb.com/film/genet_chant.html).

3 fairytale-esque nominations

[miul]

FANDOM NAME: Princess Tutu (2002)
WHAT MAKES IT GREAT: It's just so good. An anime about a story that celebrates the nature of stories itself! About changing your fate, melodramatic dancing, and archetype reversal. Meta and heartwarming.
WHERE CAN I FIND IT?: I suppose the usual anime-watching sites would have it.

FANDOM NAME: 12 dancing princesses (fairy tale)
WHAT MAKES IT GREAT: Oh, the romance. It's such a vivid and compelling little story; I always wanted fic for it.
WHERE CAN I FIND IT?: The good thing about it is that it stays mostly the same throughout various iterations.

FANDOM NAME: Spirited Away (ghibli film)
WHAT MAKES IT GREAT: I'm sure many know of it, though it doesn't have a lot of fic. I always wanted more on Chihiro and Haku's special bond.
WHERE CAN I FIND IT?: ~~

Re: 3 fairytale-esque nominations

[myrrhee]

OH MY GOD. Please tell me you did nominate 12 Dancing Princesses. Absolutely count on me if it gets through.

Lackadaisy (Webcomic)

[delphi]

FANDOM NAME: Lackadaisy by Tracy J. Butler

WHAT MAKES IT GREAT: Lackadaisy is a darkly humorous crime comic set in Prohibition-era St. Louis a year after the mysterious death of wealthy gangster Atlas May. The story follows the attempts of May's widow to keep the Lackadaisy speakeasy afloat and the defection of May's former protégé to the rival Marigold gang. This series features an engaging anthro cat art style reminiscent of Don Bluth, an impeccably researched sense of time and place, and a tantalizing plot wrapped around the secrets of a motley crew of rumrunners, Jazz musicians, hired killers, pyromaniacs, industrialists, and possibly even an innocent or two.

WHERE CAN I FIND IT?: The ~160 pages of the story to date can be read for free on the author's website at http://lackadaisycats.com/archive.php

Fable, Getsu Fūma Den, Legacy of Kain

[mieldyne]

FANDOM NAME: Fable

WHAT MAKES IT GREAT: High fantasy + steampunk. The first game is typical RPG medieval-ish fantasy, but Fable II and Fable III bring in steampunk and some greater sci-fi style into the world as well. The emphasis on storytelling and great world building to explain how the Hero thing works as an inherited trait and not just a title or character class. A fun morality system and ways to interact with NPCs, fun ways to grow your character either with combat and gameplay and with the lean towards Good or Evil. Watching their decisions actually physically change them and affect the world and people around them. The Fable Pain Train where you'll know when you're riding it and you're not allowed to get off, now embrace the feels, good and bad. Plus, the ambiguous nature of Heroes in general, as not all of them are good.

WHERE CAN I FIND IT?(optional): They are all Xbox 360 exclusives, but Fable Anniversary (remake of the first game) and Fable III are available for PC, with Fable Anniversary also on Steam.

+   +   +

FANDOM NAME: Getsu Fūma Den ("Legend of Getsu Fūma")

WHAT MAKES IT GREAT: It's one of those games under the famous "Nintendo Hard" label, but it's quite fun. It's a platformer similar to the likes of Castlevania, but with creatures and themes from Japanese folklore or inspired by such. The enemies constantly keep you on your toes and you must act quickly, learning their patterns. There are some silly interactions with demons and other inhabitants of Mad Demon Island / Kyōki-tō, a variety of different subweapons to use and nice lore and story of a young man wanting to put the souls of his fallen brothers to rest by ridding evil from the world and taking out the demon Ryukotsuki.

WHERE CAN I FIND IT?(optional): It's an old NES game that was never officially translated and localized outside of Japan back in 1987. But some nice fans have translated it (two versions exist now) and can be played via emulation.

+   +   +

FANDOM NAME: Legacy of Kain

WHAT MAKES IT GREAT: Dark, gothic, and with some fantasy and sci-fi here and there. Also time travel and characters trying to change fate with varying degrees of success. And vampires, lots of them. Beautiful storytelling, beautiful world, unique vampires and a "villain protagonist" in a world where the two of them are probably the least of your problems. You go from a nobody nobleman (or a hotblooded paladin-like person) and quickly turn into a nightmare, with all the bells and whistles of being a powerful vampire to boot.

WHERE CAN I FIND IT?(optional): HIGHLY recommend playing the games in order, for best story experience. The first game, Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain, can be found on the Playstation Network or found as a physical copy for the PS1 for really cheap. Note that Blood Omen is radically different in gameplay than the others. All the others can be found on Steam and in physical copies for cheap, with Soul Reaver being another PS1 game and Soul Reaver 2, Blood Omen 2: Legacy of Kain and Legacy of Kain: Defiance being for PS2. This one is optional but recommended too: There was an MMO called Nosgoth that shut down in 2016. If you want extra lore there is a fan website where you can read up all about the story added in that here. (Set after the intro to Soul Reaver, but before that game's story actually starts.)

A Charm of Magpies Series & The Stars Are Legion

[nonesensed]

FANDOM NAME: A Charm of Magpies Series by K. J. Charles

WHAT MAKES IT GREAT: You know those really, really good fanfics you find sometimes? Those where there's an interesting plot, a hearty dose of UST, believable conflict and lovely sex scenes? I felt the same way reading these books as when I'm reading a very, very good fic. And that is a compliment! You get silly, fun and emotionally engaging entertainment with magic and mystery thrown in together with the romance and erotica. A great read if you want to smile and feel good!

The plot goes thus-ly: Lucien, newly made Lord Crane after the very unexpected deaths of both his father and older brother, must return to England from exile abroad to take care of their posthumous affairs. The trouble truly starts when Lucien is hit by waves and waves of strong suicidal impulses. Never having suffered such impulses before, Lucien draws the conclusion that he's been put under a curse. Being a sensible sort he sends for a magic users to help him out. Unfortunately, the practitioner who shows up - Stephen Day - has had terrible experiences with the Crane family. The two of them now need to figure out if they can work together and what, or who, is attacking Lucien. The matter is further complicated by the fact that they find each other v. attractive.

This book series currently consists of 5 quick-read books and a number of short stories. The first three books focus on the main characters of Lord Lucien Crane and Stephen Day. The following two books have other main characters but still feature Lord Crane and Mr Day as important side-characters, which is why I'm thinking of nominating the whole series as one fandom.

WHERE CAN I FIND IT?: You can get them as both ebooks, paperbacks and audiobooks, with a few of the short stories being available on the author's website. If you don't want to give money to Amazon, check the author's website for alternatives or check in with your local library or bookstore~!

***


FANDOM NAME: The Stars Are Legion by Kameron Hurley

WHAT MAKES IT GREAT: Are you interested in mystery? Space? Mysteries in space with the setting being giant world ships made of blood and flesh populated only by women? Then you're in luck, because this is the book for you!

The plot goes thus-ly: Zan has lost her memory. She knows only that she's supposed to conquer a ship (or world?) called Mokshi, that she is currently on the world Katazyrna, and that all the people around her know her. Jayd has all her memories but she keeps them close to her chest. She knows Zan better than she knows herself - or at least she knows the old Zan, before the amnesia. Jayd has told Zan that the two of them made a pact or a promise, and that they must work together. But how much trust can one put in Jayd? Or in anyone on these blood-soaked world-ships build of flesh and blood?

I really enjoyed the mystery in this book! It clearly also has touches of horror - horrific things do happen in it, but it's not a through-and-through horror story. I'd first and foremost classify it as a mystery novel; what I wanted to find out most as I read this was Zan's true identity and what the deal was with the Mokshi and Jayd. The horror dwells in the background of this mystery-plot with everyday brutal violence and a H. R. Giger-esque environment. But there is also hope and friendship! People in this book gain things by being decent, instead of losing things for being kind.

What's mostly driving my potential nomination of this book is that I really want to know more about these characters! I especially want to know what happens to them after the end of this book. The characters are so human and their world is so strange yet consistent that I can't help but want more of its weird but compelling dissonance. Just...more of this please!

WHERE CAN I FIND IT?: Hopefully at your local library! If you want to buy it, check out the author's website to find where you can get the hardcover, paperback, audiobook and ebook version.

ISLAND OF BOOKS

[dariaw]

FANDOM NAME: The Island of Books (2005) - book by Dominique Fortier

WHAT MAKES IT GREAT: SO MANY THINGS:
-Luscious descriptions of Mont St. Michel through the ages
-Intrigue and historically fascinating things from the 15th century and other times
-Monks being mysterious and occasionally adorable
-A modern woman trying to make sense of the past
-"Foster brothers" who are complete opposites and rarely agree but terribly protective of each other
-A Renaissance artist falls in love with an aristocrat's wife beyond his reach - so much angst
-Gorgeous descriptions of old books and the amazing stories in them
-The book makes you feel like you're in a different time and place - it's all about the mood.

Also: the book is a fast read, and very, very fic-able - there are lots of characters, stories, and relationships that are just crying out for a fanfiction treatment.

WHERE CAN I FIND IT?: Libraries, your local bookstore, online https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29633650-the-island-of-books

Re: ISLAND OF BOOKS

[morbane]

Hello - we're having trouble finding the character 'Roger'. Is this maybe a Robert? Thanks.

The Room (mobile games) and March Comes in Like a Lion

[ladysorka]

FANDOM NAME: The Room (Mobile games)

WHAT MAKES IT GREAT: Are into puzzle games? Do you sometimes feel nostalgia for the Myst series? Do you enjoy a creeping sense of dread and existential cosmic horror? Do you possibly have a thing for late 1800s/early 1900s spiritualism? The Room series may be for you!

The Room is a series of four mobile games: The Room, The Room 2, The Room 3, and The Room: Old Sins. All four are excellent puzzle games that get more complex as you move through the series - in the first game you're simply opening puzzle boxes, then in the second you're solving puzzles in entire rooms, and in the third, an entire mansion. (The fourth both dials it back and doesn't, as you're solving puzzles involving an entire dollhouse, but, well. You're sort of inside it.)

The series also slowly builds up a story and a world. In the first, you're introduced, through letters he's left for you, to a man named only "A.S.". He's discovered a new element he calls "the Null". It's slowly driving him mad, and you are following in his footsteps. The many effects the Null has on the world, the people that wield it, and reality itself, are slowly revealed in a way that is simultaneously not scary at all to play and yet can leave you shivering and going "wait, oh god, fuck".

I highly recommend them.

WHERE CAN I FIND IT?: All four games are available for purchase on both the Apple Store and the Google Play Store. The first two games are also available on Steam.




FANDOM NAME: March Comes in Like a Lion

WHAT MAKES IT GREAT: March Comes in Like a Lion is a slice of life anime/manga drama that about a 17 year-old shogi prodigy (shogi is basically Japanese chess) named... no, wait, come back!

Okay, trying again.

March Comes in Like a Lion is one of the best depictions of depression, and the very slow never quite complete recovery from depression, that I have ever seen.

Kiriyama Rei is a shogi prodigy. He became a professional shogi player in middle school, and was only the second player ever to do so that young. He was also orphaned at a very young age, and only became a shogi pro because it was the only way he could connect with his adoptive father, a shogi pro himself. At the beginning of the series, he doesn't even really like the game. He just thinks it's the only thing he can do, and so he does it. Unfortunately, this also put him at odds with his adoptive siblings, whose own shogi abilities weren't anywhere near his.

He never talks to anyone at school. He believes he has no friends amongst the other shogi pros. And he feels like he's drowning. The series is largely him, very slowly and with the help of those around him, picking himself back up.

The first and biggest help are the Kawamoto sisters, a cheerful family who welcome him into their home and their lives, even while he tries to keep himself distant. But they have their own tragedies and problems - absolutely no one in this series is one dimensional.

Then come his relationships with the other shogi pros, first his rival Nikaidou, then his mentor Shimada, and slowly it grows and it grows and it grows. But again, NO ONE in this series is one dimensional.

That is, in fact, perhaps the key feature of the series. Rei's opponent in a key shogi match? You'll learn exactly why he wants to win, what his motivation is, and why he's not quite what he seemed at first glance. That player fast approaching retirement? Here's why he's refusing to give up. Nikaido, Shimada, Akari and Hinata Kawamoto, even Rei's friendly homeroom teacher and his bullying adoptive sister, here are their stories. This series has empathy for every single character it introduces. It's amazing. And all the while, it never loses track of Rei's life, and Rei's journey.

And it never fails to make you smile, even while it's making you cry.

If you'd like a video introduction, here is an official AMV made for one of the anime's themes.

WHERE CAN I FIND IT?: Both seasons of the anime are available on Crunchyroll. The manga has not been officially released in English, but if you're willing to go the less than legal route, an English scanlation through volume 13 can be found here. (The anime as it stands has gone up through volume 8.)

[elfinessy]

FANDOM NAME: Stan Lee's Lucky Man

WHAT MAKES IT GREAT: Based on Stan Lee's answer to the question 'which superpower would you like to have', this show follows Harry Clayton, a copper with London's Murder Investigation Squad and a gambling addict who is given a lucky bracelet by a mysterious woman. The bracelet brings him incredible luck, but at a cost, requiring him to balance one against the other. There are also a number of dangerous people willing to kill to get their hands on it, and given that the only way it comes off is when he dies, he finds himself in serious troubles.
The show has a fabulous supporting cast - Harry's partner, Suri, his brother Rich, his boss Alistair and the mysterious Eve to name just a few. The relationships are multi layered, and the scope for fanfic (gen, het and slash) are many and varied. It's a fascinating concept - the supernatural fantasy of the bracelet set in the real world.

WHERE CAN I FIND IT?(optional): To watch it is easy - it's Sky 1's most successful original drama series to date. You can find it on Sky 1 catch-up, on TV streaming service NOW TV in the UK and Ireland, and on iTunes. The DVD is also widely available. On the internet it has a Twitter account and very little else, including any fiction except for mine.

NINE PERCENT (百分九少年)

[(Anonymous)]

FANDOM NAME: NINE PERCENT (百分九少年)

WHAT MAKES IT GREAT: If you like rpf, rivalry, complicated relationships, overdramatic bullshit, idol survival shows, bad music, and competition, Nine Percent is the c-pop group for you! The idol surivval show that created Nine Percent (Idol Producer) is not an eligible fandom (though Nine Percent itself still is), but the best way to understand/get into the group is by watching Idol Producer all the way through. Theres 50+ contestants, and the nine who make it into the final group are Cai Xukun, Chen Linong, Fan Chengcheng, Justin (Minghao Huang), Lin Yanjun, Zhu Zhengting, Wang Ziyi, Xiao Gui (Wang Linkai), and You Zhangjing. (I'm telling you this not to spoil the show, but to let you know who to look out for/pay attention to since there are a lot of contestants, and some of the members don't get clearly highlighted until the later episodes.)

The guys who make into the final group have a wide range of personalities and dynamics, plus the added complicated layer of a c-pop group made from members of multiple different entertainment companies. Some of these guys have known each other for years, and others only met on the show! When the group was created, they all moved in together but have yet to release a new album. Some are doing solo work, and 3 of the members do double time in a different group from their own company. Their dynamic as a group itself is super odd and intriguing!

Anyway. It's hard to like this group if you don't like the members themselves since I will admit the music they did on the show is like, unlistenably bad, so I'll give you the basics of who/what you're getting into:
> Cai Xukun: born in 1998, former member of SWIN which is suspected to have been disbanded, and is currently in a lawsuit with his former company over leaving. consistently voted #1 on the show, universally loved, bizarrely charming. loved universally. Currently the leader of Nine Percent.
> Chen Linong: born in 2000. Very shy, very positive, very smiley. Charmed the hell out of everyone with his audition. Had consistently high rankings every week.
> Fan Chengcheng: born in 2000. Another guy with consistently high rankings. Had a slightly rough start on the show, but worked hard to prove himself. He's Fan Bingbing's little sister, and worries a lot that people will/won't like him because of that. Super funny and charming.
> Justin (Minghao): born in 2002 (a baby). Was on an idol survival show the year b4 but didnt make the final group. Super chaotic, really funny, likes to disrespect his elders a little. He's very loud.
>Lin Yanjun: born in 1995. Probably one of the most well rounded trainees on the show talent-wise! Was the leader of his companies old group. He likes to ttell really bad puns and laugh at them by himself. He's also the dark horse of the group, and never made it into the top 9 until the finale! He doesn't get highlighted very much until the later episodes of Idol Producer, so you'll have to look out for him until then, but he's super likable and endearing. Will flirt with anything that moves.
> Zhu Zhengting: born in 1996. A leader in his companies other group NEX7. Prone to helicopter parenting his younger company mates. Super overdramatic and never funny on purpose but you'll love him. Famously caught doing face masks in the idol producer dorms by cameras every night.
> Wang Ziyi: born in 1996. One of few calming presences in 9%. He's known for looking kind of cold but is actually a big sweetheart and a hard worker. Also he's obsessed with holistic medicine. His charm creeps up on you.
> Xaio Gui (Linkai): born in 1999. Walking disaster waiting to happen. Total chaos. He is like a little frog. All you need to know is that the nickname xiao gui means imp / little ghost.
> You Zhangjing: born in 1994. One of few members with an actual grasp on vocal technique. Super fun and outgoing, likes to tease everyone. Well known for his big appetite. Also the only member from Malaysia!

WHERE CAN I FIND IT?: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCh7JA3CLNnpUMPolYY8Ev9A?pbjreload=10

The entire show is subbed in english on youtube. The episodes are painfully long so you will have to have a lot of time to get into this, but I had a lot of fun doing it, and you might too!

Shetland

[elfinessy]

FANDOM NAME: Shetland (TV)
WHAT MAKES IT GREAT: Lush filming in the beautiful wilds of the Shetland Islands, where DI Jimmy Perez heads up the small CID team. He lives on the island with Cassie, the daughter of his dead wife, and living close by is her father Duncan. Together they're trying their best to bring her up right. Each series of the show is a multi part story, but it's the characters, the relationships, and the setting which makes this such a special, gorgeous piece of television.
WHERE CAN I FIND IT?(optional): BBC1 during the winter months, iPlayer, iTunes, DVD

Re: Shetland

[rosehiptea]

I've been meaning to watch this, having a love for British mysteries/police procedurals in general. Not sure I could watch enough by Yuletide offer it but thank you for reminding me of it. (The first three seasons are on U.S. Netflix, by the way.)

[antonomasia]

FANDOM NAME: Undermarket Data - An Owomoyela
WHAT MAKES IT GREAT: Basic plot - an Upcity cop partners with a repairman from a poorer area to figure out why the internet got knocked out. It's a short story (less than 7k words) with some incredible worldbuilding and interesting characters.
WHERE CAN I FIND IT?(optional): http://www.lightspeedmagazine.com/fiction/undermarket-data/

[lilyophelia84]

sounds interesting! I can almost see the premise as a play, like The Zoo Story.

Log Horizon & Maoyu

[(Anonymous)]

FANDOM NAME: Log Horizon

WHAT MAKES IT GREAT: In Log Horizon, Shiroe wakes up stuck in the fantasy MMORPG he's been playing.

...But isn't that the plot of Sword Art Online (SAO), you might ask? It is, a bit. The three main differences in premise are that Shiroe & Co. 1. don't know why they're stuck, 2. are stuck with their avatar's body and 3. are very stuck because they can't die permanently - they regenerate. What this means is that instead of having a hero with a clear goal - win the game or die in it - you get a bunch of people trying to manage their city in a socially responsible way because they don't know how long they'll be there. One of the recurring struggles of the series is trying to keep everyone from falling into boredom, depression and civil unrest.

To put it another way, while SAO is a good vs. evil hero's journey like the Star Wars sequels (without the satisfaction of Leia killing Jabba the Hutt), Log Horizon is a little more like the prequels, if they were focused on Padme growing into her responsibilities as a leader and a political figure instead of Anakin falling prey to the corruption of the Emperor. It's management instead of action heroics (although it still sees its fair share of action).

There are a lot of really interesting things to explore as far as world building - they only touch lightly on body dysphoria, but there are people who were playing as characters with different genders, races, species, etc. and are now stuck in those bodies. The non-player characters (NPCs) in the game have lives and a history and the player-NPC integration is messy and fractious. The players are essentially immortal and have varying degrees of success at accepting their current reality - there's a weird mix of game logic and real life logic governing how the world works, which probably doesn't help. There are kids coming of age, and people trapped in cities and continents they were visiting in the game or in the real world.

There are a lot of interesting characters with undeveloped backstories, and plenty of canon crushes, but not a lot of canon couples (although one guy does marry an NPC and fall madly in love with her). Wide open for ships!

FANDOM NAME: Maoyu (or Maoyuu)

WHAT MAKES IT GREAT: In Maoyu, there's a prophecy that the Demon King and the Hero will war against each other, one will die and the cycle will repeat in their next iterations. This time around, the female Demon King (it's a job title!) is not having it. She convinces the Hero to join her (they Bond - it is pretty much a meet cute political marriage) to save the world through efficient agriculture practices, education, trade and a healthy understanding of the economics of war. It's short - only 11 episodes - and has a medieval European vibe with crusaders, an awesome nun-general, a three-fold witch, a slippery merchant, some pretty cool demons and an earnest hero who works hard to be a good ally.

WHERE CAN I FIND THEM?: Both of these animes can be found on Crunchyroll. Both novels are written by the same author and can be found at novelplanet, where there is a bit more content if you're interested.

Callisto 6

[joyfulfeather]

FANDOM NAME: Callisto 6

WHAT MAKES IT GREAT: Callisto 6 is a new RPG show by Geek & Sundry. It's a cyberpunk/superhero story set in 2119 LA, 40 years after a catastrophic earthquake changed the landscape and culture of the city. Six people, a mix of friends and strangers, find themselves dealing with sudden superpowers and unknown dangers in this powderkeg of a city. Eric Campbell is an amazing GM, and his players are so much fun: Amy Dallen, Gina DeVivo, Bonnie Gordon, Sam de Leve, Aliza Pearl, and Hector Navarro. It's still only a few episodes in, so you can jump in easily!

WHERE CAN I FIND IT?: www.twitch.tv/geekandsundry every Friday at 4 Pacific; the first ep is on YouTube here

[fairestcat]

FANDOM NAME: Philadelphia Story
WHAT MAKES IT GREAT: It's a romantic comedy starring Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant and Jimmy Stewart, which right there should be enough. Also, it's INCREDIBLY poly-friendly.

Tracy Lorde (Katharine Hepburn) is a Philadelphia socialite. She used to be married to C.K. Dexter Haven (Cary Grant) but they divorced two years ago.

Now she is about to marry the nouveau riche (and rather obnoxious) George Kittredge.

Macaulay "Mike" Connor (Jimmy Stewart) and Liz Imbrie (Ruth Hussey) are a reporter and photographer who work for a tabloid paper. They're assigned by their editor to infiltrate the wedding for an exclusive story. Their "in" is C.K. Dexter Haven, who introduces them as friends of Tracy's brother. Tracy doesn't buy it at all but for ~reasons~ she goes along with it anyway.

And then there are SHENANIGANS, and a LOT of flirting between Hepburn, Grant and Stewart, (and between Stewart and Imbrie), and Tracy's completely delightful little sister Dinah (who I sadly couldn't nom because I ran out of character slots) and class issues, and a drunken midnight swim. It's a love triangle (I'd say it's a love quadrangle, except the guy she's actually supposed to be marrying never stands a chance), but Grant and Stewart's characters genuinely like and are nice to each other throughout, so really it's my all-time OT3 of OT3s.


WHERE CAN I FIND IT?(optional): Available to buy in all online retailers, and Amazon and iTunes both have it to rent as well.

[(Anonymous)]

This is my all time favorite movie. So many delightful scenes. I'm glad to see it nominated!

A Taste of Honey - Kai Ashante Wilson

[keerawa]

FANDOM NAME: A Taste of Honey - Kai Ashante Wilson

WHAT MAKES IT GREAT: This award-winning novella is a canonically m/m romance set in a fascinating world that straddles the line between fantasy and science fiction. It's an emotional roller-coaster, with an innocent young man forced to choose between following his heart and following the dictates of his family, culture, and conscience. I laughed, gasped, cried actual tears, and was left, in the end, with a sense of deep satisfaction. Try it!

WHERE CAN I FIND IT?: Your local library, bookstore, or purchase an e-book.

Re: A Taste of Honey - Kai Ashante Wilson

[wiccanslyr]

Oh! Does this actually feature POC as protagonists?!

[geckoholic]

FANDOM NAME: 탐정 홍길동: 사라진 마을 | Phantom Detective (2016)
WHAT MAKES IT GREAT: It's a movie about a hard-boiled young detective setting out to kill his archenemy and unintentionally bonding with said archenemy's little granddaughters instead. No romance subplot, a rich backstory behind it all, I watched it last night (spontaneous nom is spontaneous) and laughed and cried and it's great fun and the universe it unveils offers a lot of potential for fanfic.
WHERE CAN I FIND IT?: I watched it on Amazon Prime, but I think it's only on there for a few more days. In my region, at least, please do check for yourself just in case if you're interested!! And it's out on DVD.

FANDOM NAME: 镇魂 | Guardian (TV)
WHAT MAKES IT GREAT: Look. When you hit play on the first ep and see the exposition reel to explain the setting, you'll ask yourself wtf you're doing. Do ignore that and keep watching. The show is a bit... uh, cheaply made, shall we say, but the story is good and the chemistry of the two leads is INCREDIBLE. It's based on a webnovel which is more explicit about the romance between them than the webseries, but even so, the relationship that builds between the main characters is wonderful, full of trust and protectiveness even as they dance around a couple of big secrets.
WHERE CAN I FIND IT?: on youtube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdRj_d7_skE&vl=zh-CN)

FANDOM NAME: In These Words - Guilt Pleasure
WHAT MAKES IT GREAT: I'll be honest with you, this (web) manga is explicit and contains triggery material, so please do inform yourself about that before you jump in (feel free to ask in the comments) but if you don't mind that kind of content then it's well worth a read for the twists and turns of the story. I won't say much more because, trust me, go into this unspoiled if you can take it. Ohh and also, the art is amazing. AMAZING.
WHERE CAN I FIND IT?: http://www.guiltpleasure.com/ and it's also available in print in some countries.

[schneefink]

Yess, Guardian! Absolutely seconding the rec. It has outstanding h/c, and so much of it.
Which Guardian characters did you nominate? I completely forgot to check, but I would love to see/possibly write fic about Da Qing.

Inspector O - James Church

[gramarye1971]

FANDOM NAME Inspector O - James Church

WHAT MAKES IT GREAT
Do you enjoy police procedurals, or detective noir? Then meet Inspector O, a police investigator for the Ministry of People's Security in Pyongyang, the unloved local policing force of North Korea's capital city. Yes, North Korea -- James Church is the pseudonym of a former Western intelligence officer who has extensive experience in the region, and has drawn on his work to write this unique series.

For the most part, Inspector O is responsible for looking into cases that fall on the fine line between police work and state security, which in North Korea has a lot of overlap. An unidentified foreigner found dead in the city's elite Koryo Hotel, a daylight bank robbery (quite possibly the first in Pyongyang's history) that looks like it might be an inside job...these are the types of cases that land on O's desk. They are also the types of cases that the higher-ups almost never want to see actually solved, so O frequently ends up working not only against the criminals but also against the entire bureaucratic machine -- a daunting prospect, in a country like North Korea.

Staple stuff of noir: the immediate crime, the overarching conspiracy or coverup behind it, the cop or detective who fully understands what he's up against but nonetheless tries to get to the bottom of it out of sheer stubbornness or some other internal motivation. All familiar enough. But Church has crafted an interesting protagonist who works well within his unusual setting. O is the grandson of a revered anti-Japanese resistance fighter and the son of parents who were killed during the Korean War, a lineage that makes it possible for him to flout certain written and unwritten rules of North Korean society. He almost never wears his badge with Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il on it -- a transgression that would have severe repercussions for an ordinary citizen -- and his grandfather's pragmatism has given him very little interest in ideologies of any kind. At the same time, he's quick to take offense when any foreigner denigrates his country, and more than one foreign intelligence operative finds out that O is not a person to be trifled with. He's able to embody the contradictions of the genre rather well. And the secondary characters (including the women, who aren't just femmes fatale or other noir-ish stereotypes) also are good about driving the plot, whether you're hoping for them to get out alive or eagerly waiting for their comeuppance.

In the later books of the series, the location shifts out of Pyongyang, and Inspector O shares the spotlight with his nephew, Major Bing -- a Chinese-Korean officer who operates in the border region between North Korea and China, attempting to keep a lid on the smuggling, human trafficking, and other illegal activities that are rampant in the area. Bing is a thought-provoking character in his own right, not quite as ready to buck the system as O is but equally devoted to maintaining his personal integrity in deeply corrupt social and political structures.

As might be expected from the subject matter, the series can be pretty brutal at times. For instance, the first book, The Corpse in the Koryo, ends in a veritable bloodbath, and the second one, Hidden Moon, sees O caught up in an interrogation scene that doesn't gloss over the physical and psychological torture elements. But if you're interested in a mystery or police procedural series that's a little out of the ordinary, and have more than a passing interest in North Korea, the Inspector O books are worth investigating.

WHERE CAN I FIND IT?
There are six novels in the series, which are relatively easy to acquire through the usual book channels. (My local library had several of them to start with.) Major Bing makes his first appearance in the fifth book in the series, A Drop of Chinese Blood. James Church occasionally publishes short 'conversations' with Inspector O on the 38 North website -- I recommend going back to the beginning of the conversation series. These little snippets were enough to draw me into getting the first two books from the library.

Re: Inspector O - James Church

[rosehiptea]

Not sure I could finish them in time for Yuletide but these sound great. Thanks for the rec.

The Bright Sessions, Leviathan - Scott Westerfield

[(Anonymous)]

FANDOM NAME: The Bright Sessions
WHAT MAKES IT GREAT: Therapy for the Strange and Unusual. Explores what happens when you have people with super powers, who don’t want to be super heroes. As well a mysterious and threatening government agency who have far less morals than they should.
WHERE CAN I FIND IT?(optional): Wherever you get your podcasts from

FANDOM NAME: Leviathan Series by Scott Westerfield
WHAT MAKES IT GREAT: Dieselpunk WW1 where the English powers use fabricated monsters, while the Germans use traditional mechanical robots. Follows Deryn Sharp: A girl who’s only dream is to go back into the air. Of course, to do that she has to enlist in the royal airforce. As a boy.
WHERE CAN I FIND IT?(optional): Ask your library, or local bookstore. It’s also available as an E-book

Re: The Bright Sessions, Leviathan - Scott Westerfield

[(Anonymous)]

Yay, love The Bright Sessions

Campaign, Blades in the Dark, Seven Kingdoms Trilogy

[minnarr]

FANDOM NAME: Campaign (Podcast)

WHAT MAKES IT GREAT: Do you like Star Wars, but a mixture of silly and sincere? Found family, complicated family, three-men-and-a-baby-in-space? Come sit down with Campaign Podcast, which is nearing the end of its (now years-long) Star Wars campaign. The main run of the campaign is about a kimono-wearing scoundrel, a bounty hunter with a penchant for wigs and makeup and a little bit of a dark side, a sad-dad (uncle) former clone trooper, and an Indiana Jones-style archaeologist who does not want to talk about her exes, thank you. Together, they are raising a five-year-old Force sensitive and a space wolf and trying to get back into contact with the Rebellion (and mostly running into scrapes along the way). There's also Evil Campaign side-arcs, about the antagonists, who are their own weird found family; and a Patreon-only Side Trip (pre-series shenanigans with the archaeologist, her best friend Tap, Thrawn, and assorted ridiculous other Chiss). I have just realized I've nominated two characters from the Patreon-only part. I'm sorry. I love them.

WHERE CAN I FIND IT?(optional): A podcatcher near you, or here. The Patreon, if you're so inclined for extra story, is here.


FANDOM NAME: Blades in the Dark (Roleplaying Game)

WHAT MAKES IT GREAT: In such a small book, there's a lot of world and character hooks that get my brain going. It's a dark industrial fantasy world, like a post-apocalyptic Victorian London but with more ghosts and other eldritch beings. The sun is broken. The dead no longer rest; their spirits must be burned away by the Spirit Wardens, or else their ghosts will return to feed on the life essence of the living. The great lightning barriers protect the citizens of Duskwall from the horrors in the Deathlands and the Void Sea. And inside, a pressure cooker: various factions vying for power, from covert machinations of Duskwall elite to warring gangs in Crow's Foot to restive Skovlanders, still bitter about the Unity War in which they were defeated and viewed with suspicion by their neighbors. There's stories everywhere, and a hell of a lot of atmosphere. (Player characters are part of a gang of criminals trying to carve out their own place with daring heists and maneuvering with the other factions).

WHERE CAN I FIND IT?: There's some basic world info towards the back of the free-to-download player's kit, but if you're into RPGs and this sounds up your alley, the rulebook is fantastic. Also, there's a good handful of actual plays out there, including one run by the game's designer.


FANDOM NAME: The Seven Kingdoms Trilogy - Kristin Cashore

WHAT MAKES IT GREAT: Lots of strong women with lots to reckon with, exploration of the harm the last generation did and young characters finding their place in the world, and finding people to trust when that can be rare. A lot about families, and some interesting tension within those when politics gets involved.

WHERE CAN I FIND IT?: Your local library or fine bookseller. There are three books, Graceling, Fire and Bitterblue. Most of my nominations are from Bitterblue, and that stands okay on its own, but I enjoy all of them.

Re: Campaign, Blades in the Dark, Seven Kingdoms Trilogy

[aetataureate]

Oooh, love Graceling. Just recommended it to my younger sister, and now she's a huge fan too--it's a fun, slightly obscure one to pass on to the next generation.

Aristasia

[tristesses]

FANDOM NAME: Aristasia (ARG) (Warning: TV Tropes link)

WHAT MAKES IT GREAT: Oh gosh, how to explain Aristasia? It started out as a philosophy, grew into a few novels and short stories, turned into a worldbuilding experiment on Second Life, then part of those Second Lifers branched out and formed a quasi-religion around it (unrelated to the canon I've nominated, though), and then it sort of died out - at least, I can't find much activity around Aristasia these days.

Okay, you might be saying, that's cool, but what the hell is it? Well, Aristasia is basically a femslash-only BDSM AU with a fetish for femininity and domestic discipline. It's set in a world where there are no men, and the only sexes are blondes and brunettes (and in case you were wondering, anyone of any race can be either sex). Blondes are ultra-feminine, considered frail but also very smart and precious - if you're familiar with A/B/O, think of them as the omegas of a traditional A/B/O 'verse (except without heats or breeding kink). Brunettes are the opposite: the tough ones, the leaders of the family and the protectors of the blondes. (Gender essentialism is a big thing in Aristasia*.)

The world of Aristasia is different from Earth. Instead of locations corresponding to distance or physical location, they correspond to time periods in Earth history (or, to Aristasians, Earth history corresponds to Aristasian locales). For example, the province of Kadoria corresponds to the 1940s, and has the 40s aesthetic and culture, while Arcadia corresponds to medieval times, and all the provinces lie somewhere in between. This leads to a lot of fun worldbuilding when it comes to making all these disparate time periods work together in one country!

As for the BDSM part? There is a huge emphasis on spanking/caning/domestic discipline as a way to establish power dynamics not only in a relationship or in a household, but across the country. It's one of those AUs where kink is commonly accepted - although, interestingly, making it sexual is taboo in Aristasia (so of course, I'm planning on requesting a lot of smut - the more taboo the better!).

*Here's the caveat about this fandom: Aristasia was originally born from a group of women who were dissatisfied both with feminism and with masculinity; their ideal world was one of pure femininity, adhering to many of the social sensibilities for women from the Amazons until about the 1950s - except with no men. So there is a distinct anti-feminist, anti-male bent to it. I personally just...disregard that and all the real-life parts of Aristasia because the 'verse is otherwise My Kink(tm), but please keep it in mind if you choose to dive in!

WHERE CAN I FIND IT?(optional):

The bulk of the canon is at Aristasia.net. I've compiled some quick links to the most important parts (imo), although please look around the site for more info.

What is Aristasia?
Intro to the world of Aristasia (see the main Aristasia.net page for links to each province, which include the mentions of the characters I've nominated)
Aristasian geography
Aristasian terms
Aphroditism - aka the femininity kink
The three forms of Aristasian submission

(Disclaimer: I wasn't involved in any aspect of Aristasia; I'm a latecomer who just wants to read fic about it.)

Have questions? I have answers, probably! AMA!

[thegirlwiththemouseyhair]

One I'm considering using my third slot for...

FANDOM NAME: The Extraordinary Adventures of the Athena Club by Theodora Goss (book series)
WHAT MAKES IT GREAT: So, these two books mash up classic Gothic Victorian literature and give a voice to the neglected/absent/silenced women of texts like Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Frankenstein, and The Island of Dr. Moreau. The daughters of literature's mad scientists and monster-makers fight monsters, are monsters, solve mysteries, eat cake, and discuss 19th century women's politics. It's like The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and Penny Dreadful but done much better IMO and with a feminist focus on women telling their own stories and supporting each other. I cannot recommend these books highly enough, and would frankly like to see anything else in this world, 'pastiching' the author's pastiche of Victorian Gothic.
WHERE CAN I FIND IT?(optional): Amazon, Kindle, or your local library, probably.

I'd have to change one existing nomination (was scared no one else but me has heard of these books) to add this before the 20th. Please let me know if there's any interest!

[(Anonymous)]

I had nominated this last year, and then unfortunately didn't have any request slots left to request it as a fic! I haven't had a chance to read the second book yet - saving it for an upcoming flight - but I'd be interested! What characters were you thinking of nominating?

[(Anonymous)]

I'm deciding whether or not to nominate this because I'm not sure if anyone else has read the books!

FANDOM NAME: The Wode Series by J. Tullos Hennig

WHAT MAKES IT GREAT: It's a queer historical fantasy retelling of the Robin Hood series! It's a five book series, with the first four books already out and the fifth book tentatively being released in 2019. Robin Hood and Maid Marian (Robyn and Marion, respectively, in this version) are brother and sister and keepers of the old religion and ways, and Gamelyn, the future Guy de Gisborne, becomes friends with them and lovers with Robyn and is torn between duty and love toward them and toward his new religion and ways. Over the course of four books, it follows a similar trajectory of the folk tale you know, but there's a lot of betrayal and action and adventure, and a lot of mutual pining.

It shares a lot of similarities with The Mists of Avalon in the sense of old religion versus new, expected relationships versus relationships built on love, strong female characters, magic versus non-magic, etc. It's very sex-positive for a novel set in the 12th century, and there's definitely inclinations of poly relationships.

WHERE CAN I FIND IT?(optional): Amazon, Kindle, eReader download via a library

[joyfulfeather]

That sounds *amazing*.

The Chicago Center for Supernatural Support

[jedi-penguin.livejournal.com]

FANDOM NAME: The Chicago Center for Supernatural Support (Twenty Percent True Podcast: Season 3)

WHAT MAKES IT GREAT: The Twenty Percent True Podcast presents weekly stories that are a unique mixture of strangeness and the prosaic everyday-ness of 2018 Chicago, each given as quick slice of life moments. In the first two seasons, the author, Carolyn Rahaman, focused on a different monster or mythological being, and they were great. This season, however, every story is linked together which gives her the chance to really develop her characters. A wide variety of creatures come to the Center for Supernatural Support and are all welcomed by the cheerful and efficient staff. It's wonderful!

WHERE CAN I FIND IT: Where ever podcasts are found! Or you can link to your favorite supplier here (http://twentypercenttrue.blogspot.com/p/the-twenty-percent-true-podcast.html)

Re: The Chicago Center for Supernatural Support

[jedi-penguin.livejournal.com]

My html skills are made of fail.