yuletide | Fandom Promo!

Yay, love The Bright Sessions

I did not think about nominating an RPG session, the Blades in the Dark setting is so cool. Also Campaign is amazing.

FANDOM NAME: Avernum (aka Exile)
Why two names? Well, in the 90s, indie game developer Spiderweb Software released the Exile trilogy of RPGs. Since then, the games have been remade twice, under the new name Avernum. They all tell the same story, with very minor changes to dialogue and character names, etc. The main differences between each version are the graphics and gameplay.

WHAT MAKES IT GREAT: A great old-school RPG, with a fantasy setting just a little bit out of the ordinary. There’s the usual swords and sorcery trappings, but the land of Exile/Avernum is a hellish system of subterranean caverns that the evil Empire who rules aboveground uses as a penal colony for all its petty criminals, rebels, and misfits, all eking out a precarious existence and fighting the various beasties who already live in the underworld. You follow the fortunes of various bands of adventurers as they explore this strange new world, make allies and enemies among the other denizens of the caves, drink lots of mushroom beer, rebel against the iron might of the Empire, and, finally, find a way back to the surface world.

It’s a great story, with lots of quirky humour, some cool recurring characters, and it wears its worldbuilding just lightly enough that there are loads of enticing gaps just begging to be filled in with fanon!

And it’s addictive. Very addictive. I don’t even want to think about how many days of my life I’ve lost to these games. With (mostly) non-linear storytelling, plenty of sidequests, and a great big game world to explore, you’ll find yourself getting happily lost for hours on end ("just one more dungeon, honest!"). There’s tons of replay value, too.

Oh, and it has Giant Intelligent Friendly Talking Spiders who sometimes give you spider kisses. If that doesn’t entice you, nothing will.

WHERE CAN I FIND IT?: All of Spiderweb's games can be purchased via their own site. For the Avernum games, you can download free demos, and the entire original Exile trilogy is available to download for free.

The newest trilogy is also available on Steam and GOG. GOG also sells the first Avernum trilogy as part of a package. (This package includes Avernum 4-6, a follow-up trilogy to A1-3, but I've never played those.)

All games are available for Windows and Mac. The new trilogy is also available for iPad.

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.

FANDOM NAME: Tales of the Otori - Lian Hearn

WHAT MAKES IT GREAT: This is a five book series: an original trilogy, a sequel and a prequel. It's a fantasy adventure story in a pseudo-Japanese setting, with lords and ninjas and romance and battles etc. The trilogy has its flaws (I could have done with way less love-at-first-sight romance) but it's overall a good story and also does interesting things with loyalties and where one belongs etc, and overall I like it a lot. (Bonus, many queer characters, including the bisexual hero.)

And then there's the sequel, "The Harsh Cry of the Heron," set sixteen years later, which is great. It takes the actions and mistakes and flaws of the original protagonists and shows the consequences, it introduces a variety of great new characters, it looks at an entire country and its large cast and shows how everything is connected, and what happens when things start unraveling. My favorite characters were the "next generation" and how they are shaped/influenced both by their parents and families and and which abilities they have and what choices they can and cannot make. It gets quite dark at times but does have a hopeful ending.

WHERE CAN I FIND IT?(optional): As books or ebooks.

FANDOM NAME: Hell Gate - A. E. Housman

WHAT MAKES IT GREAT: This is a short narrative poem in which an unnamed speaker travels to the gates of hell, recognizes one of the two doorkeepers (Sin and Death) as a woman he has a past with, and then recognizes one of the armed guards marching on the walls as Ned, a soldier he has a past with -- whereupon Ned shoots Satan, and he and the speaker escape and return to the living world. Which is hella plot for just over 100 lines with loads of atmosphere.

Needless to say, there are layers and layers of love triangling or OT3ing that can be teased out of this. It is awesomesauce, people. That the story may, like much of A Shropshire Lad, reflect on Housman's relationship with his university roommate, Moses Jackson, only adds to the interest.

WHERE CAN I FIND IT?: It was originally published in Last Poems, which is available on Project Gutenberg, or here's the text on its own.

FANDOM NAME: La Clemenza di Tito | Clemency of Titus - Mozart/Massolà/Metastasio

WHAT MAKES IT GREAT: Mozart's shamefully under-appreciated opera seria has misunderstandings, love-pentacles, loyalty-kink, distraught arias as the heroine/villainess wrestles with herself over whether to let her boyfriend be executed for a (failed) attempt to assassinate his best friend that he undertook on her orders... loads of fun early modern Mirror For Princes pageantry on the nature of severity and mercy and the qualities of kingship, a surprisingly compelling b-couple, a token bass who isn't so much evil as the voice of raison d'état, and, perhaps best of all, most of the male characters were written for mezzos, so there's scope for as much queer and/or genderqueer subtext (or actual text) as you want to include or ignore.

WHERE CAN I FIND IT?: You can read the libretto HERE There are a number of live performances available in full on Youtube.

Edited (html fail) 2018-09-21 20:29 (UTC)

Rats!! It worked when I posted. Sorry. Try this:

https://www.remember-wenn.dreamhosters.com

Username: rememberwenn
Password: pittsburghelkhartcomstockrobberts

Yes indeed, it's a GOLDMINE. *_*

Ah, I only nommed Zhao Yunlan and Shen Wei.

YES ME TOO, I can't wait to see how she'll keep spinning Ali's story. And I'm really really interested in how Nahri will keep playing her cards from here on out. Super excited for the next part. :D

(I would so not mind that either, yup yup, fully on board with that.)

I'll keep my fingers crossed that someone else nominated my favourite cat :)

FANDOM NAME: A Place of Greater Safety - Hilary Mantel

WHAT MAKES IT GREAT: A rich novel about the French Revolution, focusing more on the characters than on the history, though there's plenty of both. Political and romantic intrigue with the highest stakes. Ride-or-die friendships tested by war! Enemies forced to work very long nights together! Canonical queerness and open relationships! Camille Demoulas and Georges-Jacques Danton are kind of like the Gallic Alexander Hamilton and George Washington, with extra swagger and style, a little more bloodshed and lots more wine. Even their wives know they're kind of in love. Together, they fight--well, not crime, but just about everything and everyone else. Especially the incorruptible Robespierre, who also happens to be Camille's boyhood friend ~~with a barely repressed crush on him~~.

It's a long book, but it's luscious and transporting and sexy and thoughtful. Pay no attention to the guillotine in the corner.

WHERE CAN I FIND IT?: at Amazon or wherever books are sold, borrowed, traded, etc.

Was that the one where in season 1 it's all, "There are aliens secretly plotting to take over the Earth, we have to stop them!" and then it underwent a complete genre shift between season 1 and 2, and became, "The aliens have taken over the Earth! Fight the alien overlords!"
???

FANDOM NAME: France is a Feast (Alex Prud'homme & Katie Pratt)

WHAT MAKES IT GREAT: Julia Child in a tube top! Julia Child's husband Paul was an artist and photographer. This book collects a selection of his photos from their time in France, the period during which Julia learned to cook and during which Julie & Julia and My Life in France are set. We get to see Julia before she was famous, enjoying rooftop picnics and playing with her cat, Minette. We also get photos of her and Paul together and Julia with her (even taller) sister, Dort. And there are a few photos of Julia in her tiny Parisian kitchen. I love this window into the private Julia and her relationship with Paul. There is also text accompanying the photos that tells some of Paul's story, which is romantic and intriguing. Paul Child was a twin and led an interesting life. Julia was not the first love of his life. He lived for years with a divorcee 15 years his senior, Edith Kennedy, who passed away a few years before he met Julia. Paul and Julia met during their WWII era service in the OSS, the precursor of the CIA.

WHERE CAN I FIND IT?(optional): Book is available on Amazon, but you can see a selection of some of the best photos in this Bon Appetit article:
https://www.bonappetit.com/story/julia-child-never-before

FANDOM NAME: The Witch Family (by Eleanor Estes, 1960)

WHAT MAKES IT GREAT: This is an incredibly charming old-fashioned children's book that I read as a kid in the German translation (Die Kinder die Hexen zaubern konnten). It was hands-down my favourite book as a kid. I have no idea how well-known The Witch Family has been in the English-speaking world. The book comes with two girl protagonists, Amy and Clarissa, who draw pictures, and those pictures become real. The story starts with Amy banning Old Witch onto a barren glass mountain which she can only leave on Halloween. The book features a female fantasy world, where there are no men – the Witch family is Old Witch, Little Witch Girl and Weeny Witch. The book has also mermaids, Easter bunnies, a school for witches (!), a spelling bumble bee ... There is exactly one fic for this "fandom" on AO3. But it totally could be huge if only some producer discovered this book and made a movie of it. :) The publisher's pitch: A Halloween classic about the power of make-believe.

WHERE CAN I FIND IT?: On amazon and I assume in libraries or used book stores.

Yes exactly, there's a nice balance between mystery and romantic tension that is frankly hard to hit when writing these kinds of stories. And I love that it's not just about the mystery or the romance, it's also about Bea finding herself after shoving all of those parts of herself in a box out of fear of her family. These books really hit a sweet spot for me that I didn't know was lacking (I have read A LOT of regency over the last few years, like more than I read during my last regency binge I think but that's down to giving up and getting KU).

file under: "things I did not know i wanted until this very minute"

Oh man, this was one of my favourite movies as a child/youth! I re-watched it often on VHS when I was sick and had to stay at home from school. :3

♥!!!

FANDOM NAME: Chéri Hérouard - Works
WHAT MAKES IT GREAT: Chéri Hérouard painted a whole series of mermaids for La Vie Parisienne, characterised by their playful, elegant style and how clearly the personality of the mermaids comes through. Adopting fast to the modern world, many of them are fascinated, or possibly obsessed, by legs and feet and shoes, (eg here or here), and they are generally found either hanging out with each other, or gazing longingly at smartly dressed young woman. (Even here, where the text suggests they are calling out to Ulysses, the visual image implies it is Penelope they are summoning).
WHERE CAN I FIND IT?: Right here!

La Sirène et La Parisienne (La Vie Parisienne cover 19 August 1916) (C. Hérouard - works)

La Pêche Aux Sirènes (La Vie Parisienne cover 21 June 1919) (C. Hérouard - works)

La Ruse d'Une Sirène (La Vie Parisienne 1921) (C. Hérouard - works)

La Sirène/La Saison A Potinville-Sous-Mer (La Vie Parisienne 1922) (C. Hérouard - works)

FANDOM NAME: Cinderella, a ballet with music by Prokofiev and choreography/staging by Matthew Bourne (nominated as "Cinderella (Bourne)")

WHAT MAKES IT GREAT: Bourne is known for his innovative stagings of classical ballets, most famously his Swan Lake with an entirely male flock of swans. In this Cinderella, the classic story of a mousy girl with romantic dreams is transposed to the London Blitz. The overture begins with dancers clustered together as if waiting for a raid to end, interspersed with images of the bombings and the aftermath. The charming prince is now a pilot who's suffered some unnamed trauma and is injured, and it's unclear how much of the story is a dream or fantasy. Oh, and the fairy godmother is an Angel, an impossibly dapper man in a white three-piece suit that evokes parachute silk. His powers may extend far beyond a nice dress and a carriage made out of a gourd. Other parts of the story have changed too; Cinderella's father is still alive (a veteran of WWI) and she now has a whole host of step-siblings who range from hilariously petty to definitely creepy. (One of the step-brothers is gay and gets a little side romance of his own.)

It's just a moody, melancholy, gorgeous take on the story, a meditation on finding scraps of love and beauty and hope to sustain oneself through terrible times. I'd love to see what authors do with it and how they would translate the movement and music into text.

WHERE CAN I FIND IT?: Someone has helpfully put the pro-shot version onto Vimeo here: https://vimeo.com/250171228

I agree so much and I’ve read all three books. Imo the series gets better and better. I’m going to do my own promo and include it ‘cuz there are things I like that you didn’t mention. :)

FANDOM NAME: Alpennia Series by Heather Rose Jones
WHAT MAKES IT GREAT:
Yes, this is a series centered around wlw, but I think it’s relatively light on the Romance, and def. of the fade to black sort (hello fanfic pwp opportunities!). It is definitely historical with a smudge of fantasy thrown in for good measure. The thing I love about it is that it is a book about found family. About pushing the boundaries of what is expected for women in society at the time. The cast of characters grows in meaningful ways as the series progresses, imo gathering steam and becoming more whole with each book.
WHERE CAN I FIND IT?(optional): Check out the 3 ebooks from Bella Books (Which is the cheapest buy option for ebook set). Also available on Amazon and my Library has all three as well. Heather has done a TON of worldbuilding and historical research which she shares with her readers on her website. This is a great resource for anyone that likes a lot of references and is interested in the details. Also check out the back issues of her newsletter Alpennia Gazette.
Oh, (minor spoilers) also check out these fanart portraits that were done for the first two books.

FANDOM NAME: She-Hulk (comic) written by Mariko Tamaki.
WHAT MAKES IT GREAT: It’s a 3 trade competed run so quick and easy to catch up on. Jennifer Walters v She-Hulk is a beautiful arc for Jen Walters and I think the last volume ended in a satisfying place. This is an emotional run, more self processing Jen’s trauma than solving crimes/doing superhero things. There is also a great best friends (women supporting each other)/found family message between Jen and Patty Walker (Hellcat) that could be strictly friends or def. enough subtext for Patty/Jen or friends with benefits situation.
WHERE CAN I FIND IT?(optional): Amazon:Vol 1, Vol 2, Vol 3. My library also had all three and I’m not sure what ComiXology or the like might have.

Edited 2018-09-24 06:56 (UTC)

FANDOM NAME: Misty Morgan by Stephen Cosgrove
WHAT MAKES IT GREAT: This is part of the Serendipity series, which is known for having simple morals for children and the style of their adorable illustrations. But the Misty Morgan book has an utterly weird atmosphere and plot that counters the expected sweetness, making it more memorable to me. There's a princess who is a slave to time and takes care of a castle full of clocks that seemingly has no one else living there. Her best/only friend is a unicorn named Morgan who doesn't speak in this book and likes to play outside. Just, what? It's a five-minute fandom since the book is small, but none of what I said gets explained and is intriguing fodder for fanfics. And there's more mysteries within the mist in the title...
WHERE CAN I FIND IT?(optional): The series is pretty well-known, so it should be available where you can find old children's books.

Hopefully!!

Fandom Promo!

Re: The Bright Sessions, Leviathan - Scott Westerfield

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

Exile | Avernum

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Tales of the Otori

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Re: "City of Brass", S.A. Chakraborty; Gallow & Ragged series, Lilith Saintcrow

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A Place of Greater Safety

Re: Roadstergal on LJ and AO3

France is a Feast

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Re: TWO MORE THINGS TO CRY OVER

Re: To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar

Re: A Place of Greater Safety

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Alpennia!

Alpennia & She-Hulk (Tamaki’s run)

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