2019 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>:


For reference, last year's promo post!

This post on LJ

Comments

[amaresu]

FANDOM NAME:Stellar Firma
WHAT MAKES IT GREAT: a mostly improvised comedy podcast set in the far future about an employee of Stellar Firma Ltd, Trexel Geistman and his clone assistant David-7, as they design planets. Thrill at the weekly work review (every 5th episode) as we find out if David-7 will be recycled into Clone slurry and just how many feet Trexel can fit into his mouth while apologizing for poor performance.

Here's a snippet of world building from the first episode:

IMOGEN: In the year 2260, the Earth died, and the light of humanity went out. But then… someone found a light switch!

[STELLAR FIRMA LTD. THEME - A.K.A. UPBEAT ELEVATOR MUSIC]

IMOGEN: Stellar Firma Ltd. offered humankind a new way forward aboard their specialist fabrication vessels. There was no more luxurious, or available, way to escape the coming catastrophe. When presented with our new forward-thinking proposition, the former populace of Earth almost unanimously volunteered themselves and their genetic legacies to be permanent citizen employees of Stellar Firma Ltd. But wait! There’s more! When Stellar Firma Ltd. encountered the intergalactic business community, we were able to pivot our modus operandi and offer a high-grade environmental fabrication technology to the galaxy’s most desirable entities. Fast forward 900 years and we are still here and doing what we do best-- making your dreams come true. Stellar Firma Ltd.: With us, you’re on firm ground.

WHERE CAN I FIND IT?(optional):Where ever fine podcasts can be found or on the Rusty Quill website.

[larryhammer]

FANDOM NAME: "Robin Hood, Robin Hood, said Little John," Anonymous 1600s folk song

WHAT MAKES IT GREAT: It's got Robin Hood at Little John's request dancing before the queen "In a red petticoat and a green jacket / A white hose and a green-ah." And then warning his merry men not to do what he just did.

So, SO many questions.

And clearly Yuletide is the place to find answers.

WHERE CAN I FIND IT?: At the link above. Presumably asking the commenter could yield more details about the "the aging, yellowed folksong book." (And possibly whether it has an actual title.)

[larryhammer]

FANDOM NAME: The Earthly Paradise, William Morris

WHAT MAKES IT GREAT: Supposedly the longest completed poem in the English language, it's actually an anthology of 25 stories, two for each month of the year plus a frame narrative, loosely stitched together by a storyteller layer. Each month pairs a story from medieval European legend and one from Greek mythology, being related by two groups of older men, one descended from a lost Greek colony, the other a group of mixed northern European voyagers, to console their age and entertain the young.

Morris is very Victorian, in that he is a peculiar mix of pessimistic & optimistic and that does not believe terseness is a virtue; also, his stories are very much about the character growth of men as opposed to women. Within those restrictions, though, he is strikingly modern in his concern with framing and point of view, and forward-looking in his eroticism.

And it is a wellspring of striking poetry. Of striking NARRATIVE poetry. He is, in this book, most like Chaucer than any other predecessor.

And because of that concern for framing, there are a lot of layers to look through and decode and examine, in a way that fanfic is so EXCELLENTLY suited for.

WHERE CAN I FIND IT?: My preferred source is the William Morris Archive, which has older editions plus the relatively recent scholarly edition edited by Florence S. Boos. Archive.org also has several editions, and this site has a convenient ebook. (Project Gutenberg, bizarrely, has only part 2 of a three-volume edition.)

The Adventures of Lady No Kids: A Comic

[wiccanslyr]

FANDOM NAME: The Adventures of Lady No Kids
WHAT MAKES IT GREAT: The sheer amount of amazing story-telling potential!
WHERE CAN I FIND IT?(optional): Originally published in The New Yorker (Will McPhail - Cartoonist)

It's a one panel comic as seen here:

Re: The Adventures of Lady No Kids: A Comic

[libbi]

I was here for "lady no kids" with a top hat and find myself staying for the goose. I am already imagining the delightful crossover potential with "untitled goose game".

Robot, Ninja & Gay Guy - A Web Series

[wiccanslyr]

FANDOM NAME: Robot, Ninja & Gay Guy

WHAT MAKES IT GREAT:It's a humorous and ridiculous 90 minute fandom (12 episodes under 10 minutes each) about a Robot, a Ninja and a Gay Guy living together as roommates with lots of potential for new stories and fun shenanigans!
WHERE CAN I FIND IT?(optional):

The entire series playlist can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWn8_ScCBNf4cwaI_v9VsvDaCOJ0krIOa&pbjreload=10

The Rook (tv)

[teaotter]

FANDOM NAME: The Rook (8-episode tv series)

Myfanwy Thomas wakes up on the Millennium Bridge with no memory of who she is and a note in her pocket from the person she used to be. This is a suspenseful thriller set in a world where people who have special powers (think: mutants) are recruited into government agencies or hunted down by international slavers.

(This show is very loosely based on a book by the same name. But where the book is a supernatural comedy, the tv show is very much a sci-fi thriller. Many book fans hate the show because it's so different.)

Watch the trailer

WHAT MAKES IT GREAT:

- Intense interpersonal relationships, loyalties, and shifting alliances

- All the usual mutant drama (traumatic power manifestations, social isolation, being hated and feared and hidden)

- So much competence porn! Especially for the field agents

- The push/pull between the need to trust people in the agency and the fact that everyone is keeping secrets

- Gestalt, one of the mutants, is a single consciousness in four bodies (three male and one female), with all the complications and weird social interactions that come from that

- Oh, and the plot actually holds together


WHERE CAN I FIND IT?: streaming on Hulu

Re: The Rook (tv)

[jaclynhyde]

I picked up the book for Gestalt, and I’m looking forward to watching the show after I finish!

[marmolita]

FANDOM NAME: Scoring Chances Series - Avon Gale

WHAT MAKES IT GREAT: If you love hockey RPF, then you will love hockey FPF! (Fake person fiction?? It's just fiction, there is no RPF here.) The Scoring Chances series by Avon Gale is a series of m/m hockey romance novels revolving around fictional minor league hockey teams. There are five books in the series and each one is standalone (though they are one continuous universe), fun to read, and hot af.

Here's a rundown of what you will find in these books:

• Breakaway -- hotshot rookie with terrible social skills/veteran enforcer from rival team
  
• Save of the Game -- rich boy lonely goalie/hot mess teammate who has more love than money
  
• Power Play -- coach who had a career-ending injury/coach who is the guy who injured him
  
• Empty Net -- out and proud goalie with past trauma/rival goalie who internalized being abused into being an asshole
  
• Coach's Challenge -- asshole coach/cocky player
  

There's romance, there's trauma, there's kinky (and not so kinky) sex, and a whole lot of fun.

WHERE CAN I FIND IT?: They're all available in kindle edition on Amazon: Breakaway, Save of the Game, Power Play, Empty Net, Coach's Challenge

[devilc]

{{{Flaily hands!}}}}

I love this series! My pimp post from last year with a few spoilers

And Xavier Matthews is the kind of guy Yuletide was invented for, because DOOD NEEDS HIS BOOK!

Shtisel

[lannamichaels]

FANDOM NAME: Shtisel

WHAT MAKES IT GREAT:

Do you like love stories where a guy keeps falling in love with women he's told he shouldn't fall in love with? Do you like people getting engaged a lot without getting married? Do you like people getting married on impulse without any warning to their families? Do you like it when their families don't know what to do about that having happened? Do you not care much about people-getting-married but care a lot about marriages and want to see a struggling one?

How about siblings? I can get you sibling rivalry! I can get you supportive siblings! I can get you a sibling they only ever mention once! I can get you an eldest daughter taking care of all her younger siblings and deciding she'd rather have a different family life to come home to, thanks!

And do you feel strongly about parent-child relationships? HAVE I GOT A SHOW FOR YOU. The main parent-child relationship that's on all the promo stuff is a rabbi dad and his elementary-school-teacher son, but that son really wants to be an artist and his dad slowly growing to being okay with it, sorta. There is also a mother-daughter relationship which goes through so many complicated things as the mother leans heavily on the teenage daughter for support and the mother's struggle to make sure the daughter doesn't have the same kind of life she did, without ever being emotionally vulnerable enough to tell her daughter that she regrets her lifechoices.

Did you say "I love grandmothers"? We've got a grandmother/great-grandmother in a nursing home and everyone's relationships with her! We have a very touching moment where her son can't convince her that something isn't a problem anymore and she can too do the thing she wants and then, when he fails, still finds a way to still give her what she wants while respecting why he can't just give her the experience she wants, because, due to memory problems, she thinks it's not possible. This show has an excellent grandmother!

If this sounds like your cup of tea, come on down to Shtisel, an Israeli family drama about a charedi family. Languages are Hebrew and Yiddish. There are two seasons and may someday be a third season and maybe an American version?

WHERE CAN I FIND IT?: It's available with English subs on American netflix. I am told it's also on Canadian netflix. If someone knows a way for me to check on which netflixen it's available, please let me know!

Re: Shtisel

[sonofgodzilla]

I am *so* up for watching this! Thank you!

Mr. Robot

[noalarms]

FANDOM NAME: Mr. Robot (TV)

WHAT MAKES IT GREAT: Well, right off the bat, I'd like to say that if you're looking for robots, there are none here. Sadly! But maybe what it does have will interest you...
Do you like obsessive, unhealthy relationships between enemies ala Hannigram or Villaneve? Do you like canonical gay and lesbian relationships? Do you like fucked up family dynamics and characters being haunted by their pasts? Do you like morally grey characters or shows where you're not sure whose side you should be on? Do you like unreliable narrators? Well, maybe Mr. Robot is for you!

Basically, the show follows a young hacker named Elliot, played by Rami Malek. He works for a cybersecurity firm called AllSafe, but they're a frequent client of a larger corporation called E Corp (which Elliot refers to as "Evil Corp") that Elliot detests because they control so much of the economy. Elliot's psyche is plagued by constant paranoia and delusions, and he deals with it and his social anxiety by constantly hacking everyone he meets. One night he's approached by a mysterious anarchist named Mr. Robot (played by Christian Slater) and invited to join a secret hacking society called fsociety and help them with their plan to hack E Corp and eliminate debt. And that's just episode one--things get way more complicated and exciting and the show has a lot of twists that you will not expect.

There are currently 3 seasons, all with about 10-12 episodes, 40-50 minutes each. The final season, season 4, premieres on October 6 of this year and the finale will be in late December.

WHERE CAN I FIND IT?(optional): It's available on Amazon Prime for free with your Prime subscription, or can be rented/ordered online.

Re: Mr. Robot

[cuddyclothes]

I cannot wait for October 6!

[skazka]

FANDOM NAME: The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters (yes, that Sarah Waters)

WHAT MAKES IT GREAT:

Wiser people than me have described the gothic novel (at least in its 20th century form) as the romance between a woman and a house -- if that's the case, The Little Stranger is a sort of fucked up love triangle that turns that model and its gendered assumptions inside out. Off the top of my head, I'd say Waters does a killer job echoing gothic literary precedents (Daphne du Maurier, Henry James, among others) without slipping into a pastiche -- the novel is a fairly serious treatment of postwar societal change and the British class system in the first half of the 20th century at the same time as it's a subtle and psychological ghost story pulling double-duty as a horror story about very human motives and resentments.

Faraday is a sensible country doctor returning to Hundreds Hall after a single boyhood visit decades ago only to find his fascination with the house reignited. The house's sole residents are the Ayres family, along with their perceptive teenage maid Betty whose uneasy complaints are the initial cause of Faraday's presence at Hundreds. Caroline and Roderick Ayres are the last two surviving children, both unmarried; Caroline's a sturdy ex-Wren left a little at sea in civilian life and Roderick's a once-boyish RAF pilot who's struggling to manage the family estate while still physically and psychologically recovering from serious injuries. The hot and haunted matriarch is struggling to maintain the family residence, but she has plenty of private grief on her plate due to previous losses, and there are considerations to the family's survival at Hundreds that extend beyond the financial into the house's dark past and uncertain future. Faraday generously/""""generously"""" agrees to assist the family with their medical and practical concerns, and somehow things just seem to get worse from there as he grows increasingly entangled. Queasy envy! Creeping horror! Wack sexual tension! Viable queer readings! Lots and lots of careful and atmospheric descriptions of crumbling creepy old houses!

WHERE CAN I FIND IT?: The novel should be widely available in various formats (including audiobook) and is still in print, published in 2009; in paperback it's around 500 pages. There was a recent (and good, imo) film adaptation released in 2018 starring Ruth Wilson and Domhnall Gleeson.

Elite

[fucktheg0ds]

FANDOM NAME: Elite (TV)

WHAT MAKES IT GREAT: For me, three things: it's sexy, addictive, and Spanish.

THE BASICS: Elite is a Spanish Netflix original series. There are two seasons so far, and a third has been announced for 2020. Each season has eight 50-minute episodes. For my fellow English-speakers, it's in Spanish with English subtitles, or you can watch it dubbed in English (no idea what that version is like though).

WHAT IS IT ABOUT?: Wikipedia describes it as a "teen drama thriller". After their school collapsed, three kids from working class families get sent to an exclusive private school. One of their classmates is murdered, so whodunnit? The story is pieced together by a flashback/flashforward structure, with each of the main characters talking to the investigator.

THERE'S SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE: If you like mysteries, you'll like the drama. If you like soap operas, you'll like the drama. This show has fucked up characters, some gorgeous scenery and costumes, cool Muslim characters (picture 1), brainy girls, forbidden love, a sweet and angsty M/M relationship (current OTP, guys), threesomes (picture 2), love triangles if you're into that, a bit of sibling incest if you're into that, distant parents, controlling parents, webs of lies and deceit, double lives, wild parties, etc etc you name it it's got it.





WHERE CAN I FIND IT?: Netflix.

WARNINGS: Homophobia and islamophobia. Death of a teenager. Incest.

[scripsi]

FANDOM NAME: All About Eve A movie from 1950 which won several Oscars, starring Bettie Davies, Anne Baxter, George Sanders, Gary Merill, Celeste Holm, and Marilyn Monroe.

WHAT MAKES IT GREAT: This is the movie which re-started Bettie Davies career, and she’s great here as Margo, a brilliant but aging actress who takes an interest in a young woman, Eve, who little by little starts to outmaneuver her, both in her private life as well as an actress. The rest of the cast is great too- especially George Sanders who bagged himself an Oscar for the role of the powerful but unpleasant theatre critic Addison DeWitt. It’s one of my all-time favorite movies and one I wish there was more of a fandom for.

I find most of the characters in this movie interesting. I like that even the “good” characters have flaws, and there are some interesting themes about ambition, desire, and happiness. There is also a strong subtext (this is a movie made under the Hays Code, after all), that Eve is homosexual. Not all of that has aged well, but it’s still an interesting movie well worth watching! And writing fanfic about; the movie ends on a rather ambiguous note, and there is room for prequels, epilogues as well as missing scenes.

WHERE CAN I FIND IT?(optional): I don’t know if it’s streaming anywhere, but it has been released on DVD and Blu Ray. You can find the script here.

[fabrisse]

FANDOM NAME: The Mrs. Crocombe Cinematic Universe
The title has been a joke among the commenters on the videos for awhile. We have been introduced to the dairy maid, the housekeeper, the gardeners, and Marianne her assistant.

WHAT MAKES IT GREAT: Considering how short the individual recipe videos are, we find out a surprising amount about life below stairs at Audley End House (and have some idea on what goes on with Lord and Lady Audley).

WHERE CAN I FIND IT?(optional): Someone seems to have put together a playlist:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLVs_e12CCcWDUfGdiHNQxnsfVx6WMqqVT

or you can just search on Mrs. Crocombe.

The Adjustment Bureau

[gwyn]

FANDOM NAME: The Adjustment Bureau (2011 movie)

WHAT MAKES IT GREAT:
- Based on a story by Phillip K. Dick

- Maybe angels, maybe something else, but they have a hand in controlling your destiny

- Anthony Mackie spreading sweetness and softness and twinkliness all over the place

- Hats! are a key factor in the story

- A really genuine-feeling het romance between Matt Damon and Emily Blunt as the focus but also a super-strong slash potential with Damon's character and Mackie's, as well as other ships if you like them. Emily Blunt is radiant.

- Some very Dick-like tension and creepiness about the Bureau itself and their roles in humans' lives. The movie definitely amped up a romantic aspect, but the there's still a lot of that existential dread Dick is so famous for.

- Terence Stamp, wonderfully sinister

- A politician's career being derailed by a youthful act of mooning reporters and getting in a bar fight, which in hindsight is so charmingly retro. Oh, those were the days.

- Fantastic New York City visuals that reads as a love letter to the city

- Great soundtrack

A wikipedia article is here, although that will give you spoilers. You can see one of the trailers here, although they've completed cut Anthony Mackie out of it and that's ridiculous, because he's super important. It's a minuscule fandom, so very little fic exists for it, which leaves craptons of possibilities for fic-writing.

WHERE CAN I FIND IT?(optional): No one has it streaming so you have to purchase it, but it's available from all the usual US sources, and might show up at libraries on DVD. If the trailer or sound of it intrigues you, I have a *koff* copy I've made available, and will happily share the link if you click through and private message me (or comment here with an email). Right now, Cinemax is showing it in the US, so you can catch it there on demand if you subscribe to that service.

[scripsi]

FANDOM NAME: Gwendoline Courtney: Elizabeth and the Garret Theatre. Alternative titles: Stepmother, Those Verney Girls

WHAT MAKES IT GREAT: A fandom for those who want something cozy and where everyone ends up happy. This book was released in 1948 as a “girls book” and have been my ultimate comfort read since I was ten. It's about four sisters aged 10-17 who has to deal with their father sudden re-marriage. Convinced stepmother is always awful they set out to make life difficult for the unwanted intruder but finds out Nan is actually a lovely person whom it is very hard to hate. The book is also about the sister’s love for theatre; their Garrett theatre production of The Taming of the Shrew is an important part of the book. As is delicious teas and the transformation of anything dull and boring in the sister’s home into something lovely and comfortable.

WHERE CAN I FIND IT?(optional): Girls Gone By released it with it’s original title, Stepmother and illustrations last year. It can also be found in libraries and used-book stores.

[burglebezzlemen]

FANDOM NAME: Hive Mind - Janet Edwards

WHAT MAKES IT GREAT

Amber lives in a 26th-century underground Hive city/arcology. The citizens of the Hive are conditioned to fear the Outside, and at 18, the Lottery process sorts Hive citizens, determines what level of the Hive they will live on for the rest of their life, and imprints each person with all the knowledge they need to do their perfect job — a job they will love to do, and that will help their Hive the most. 

Unfortunately for Amber, Lottery has a very different path for her. Amber's rare telepathic gifts mean there's only one job her Hive can give her: hunt down criminals before they can harm others — and before they can shatter the carefully-protected illusion that the Hive is perfectly safe. 

Amber's talents bring her into all different parts of her Hive world — and some areas outside of it — and allow her to see a wide variety of people's experiences through their own eyes. While the Hive does many things Amber finds troubling, including keeping strict control of information and imprinting its citizens' minds, it also guarantees safety, healthcare, food, enjoyable employment, and many other benefits for all of its citizens, from the elites on Level One down to the pipe inspectors on Level 97.

The series may appeal to people who enjoyed Anne McCaffrey's Talents series, and are interested in an updated take on telepathy; people who like J. D. Robb's In Death series, but want more telepaths; and anyone who likes telepaths, complicated world building, and
mysteries.

The books, like the Hive itself, are accepting of differences and include characters with a variety of disabilities; gay, lesbian, and bisexual characters; and characters of color. For those who love world building, the series scatters a number of hints about how the Hive system came to be, and why humanity had to take refuge in this new underground world.

The Hive Mind series currently has three books and an optional prequel novella. The series is ongoing, but the next book likely won't be out until after the Yuletide writing period. 

WHERE CAN I FIND IT?(optional): The books can be found wherever ebooks (and print books) are sold. The first four chapters of the first novel are available to read here.

[lady_ragnell]

FANDOM NAME: The Tom Corbett, Space Cadet book series by Carey Rockwell

WHAT MAKES IT GREAT

Tom Corbett, Space Cadet was something of a cultural phenomenon in the 50s, starting with a TV show and including all manner of merchandise, including some tie-in books that very much stand alone as a series without knowing anything about the show (which is good, because the show did not age half as well as the books have).

It's a boys' own adventure type science fiction romp, about three young men who are a team at the Space Academy, training to become officers of the Solar Guard in a world where much of the solar system has been colonized by humans (and there are dinosaurs on Venus). They get pulled into adventures much bigger than cadets really should, but they always come out okay, and they make for a great team. Plus every book contains at least one instance of at least one member of the team being imperiled and the other two taking care of him, if hurt/comfort is your jam.

Tom Corbett is, of course, our team's leader, a good person who's got a plan in any crisis and who is just squeaky clean enough that he might be a little annoying if he didn't also enjoy getting into shenanigans with his friends.

Roger Manning is snarky, always getting himself into trouble, and the "astrogator" of their three-man team, Tom being the commander. He's something of an antagonist for most of the first book, before he just turns into the member of the team most likely to mouth off and get in trouble.

Astro is an orphan brought up on Venus (where, I cannot stress this enough, there are dinosaurs) and while he's not particularly academically gifted, he's a brilliant engineer who can come up with a solution to any mechanical problem their ship, the Polaris, can throw at him. He and Roger spend a whole lot of time snarking at each other.

There are other regular characters, most notably Captain Stephen Strong, the officer in charge of their unit at the Academy, and the one woman in the Solar Guard (sigh, the 50s), a scientist named Dr. Joan Dale, but those three are our heroes.

Overall, it is optimistic pulpy sci-fi, in short easily-digestible books!

WHERE CAN I FIND IT?

Happily, seven of the eight books are available for free on Project Gutenberg! (And the eighth removes Roger, from what I hear, so where's the fun in that?) Since each book stands alone quite well, I'm putting an asterisk by the ones I think are best, since as with series like Nancy Drew or the like, "Carey Rockwell" means "whoever they could assign to write that book" and quality varies. All are worth reading, but if you're pressed for time, the starred ones are a good place to start!

1. Stand By for Mars*
2. Danger in Deep Space
3. On the Trail of the Space Pirates*
4. The Space Pioneers
5. The Revolt on Venus*
6. Treachery in Outer Space*
7. Sabotage in Space
8. The Robot Rocket (not on Project Gutenberg)

[enchantedsleeper]

FANDOM NAME: The Mighty Grand Piton

Because here he comes, the protector of Caribbean islands
Put him to the test, he will bring the best, the Mighty Grand Piton!

The Mighty Grand Piton is a short film by The Line animation studio about a young British girl, Connie, who travels to the Caribbean Island of Saint Lucia for her school holidays with her family. There, she accidentally awakens a giant robot buried under the Twin Piton mountains on the south of the Island.

This robot seems compelled to protect Saint Lucia but his origins are mysterious. No one knows where he came from or how long he’s been there. During the many years he’s lain dormant, The Mighty Grand Piton became nothing more than the stuff of legend.

WHAT MAKES IT GREAT: Giant mecha! Young female POC main character (in contrast to the usual boy-and-his-robot story tradition)! Caribbean setting! Anime-style action adventure! What's not to love?!

The Mighty Grand Piton is a minute-and-a-half short conceptual film, so you can consume the entirety of the canon in less than two minutes, but it leaves you wanting SO MUCH MORE. The creator, Wesley Louis, is planning a bigger story (you can read about that in an interview with him here) but for now, this small but perfectly-formed project is all we have to go on. This is what fandom was made for!

Some more points to persuade you: The animation and visuals are gorgeous and combine a fully-realised, beautiful Caribbean island setting with bombastic, fun anime action. The music similarly blends traditional Saint Lucian folk music with an AMAZING anime-style theme song that just makes you want to jump up and go on adventures! The film itself hints at so many possibilities with island exploration, an evil mastermind (or two), robot-on-robot fights and more. I've been waiting nearly five months to nom this for Yuletide and now I'm on a mission to persuade everyone else why it's awesome. :D

WHERE CAN I FIND IT?: You can watch the short film and view concept art and character designs on The Line Studio's website, and listen to the full theme on YouTube (it's also on Spotify). There's also some more material, including fanart, to be found on Twitter.

[fhionnuisce]

Please bear with me, a friend is in the hospital right now. I'm not able to write a lot right now but I previously pimped this fandom so will include a link to that.

FANDOM NAME: Gabriel (2007)
WHAT MAKES IT GREAT: I wrote a whole pimp post for smallfandomfest a few years ago, and it's here. https://smallfandomfest.dreamwidth.org/785988.html
WHERE CAN I FIND IT?(optional): The special features that tell you a lot about the film. It's not the easiest to find (by a long shot). It's an Australian film on DVD. I'm not expecting a ton from this nomination but I am determined to nominate it.

[sartorias]

FANDOM NAME: I Will Never Let You Go

WHAT MAKES IT GREAT: It's a Chinese drama that is so very much fun until the last few eps. It is CRYING OUT for fix-it fic. Crying. Or I'm crying.

What we have is an apparent orphan who enjoys begging in the streets with her uncle. She gets rescued by the infamous Lotus Knight, but shrugs it off. When she ends up finding out who her family is, she gets into all kinds of trouble with her beggar attitude. I haven't even gotten to the guys yet! It's mostly just a fun romp nearly all the way through. Nobody else seems to have seen it but me, sigh. But I keep hoping someone else will write fic to fix that ending.

It can be found on Viki, and other sites that show Asian serials.

[rsadelle]

FANDOM NAME: Quest for a Maid by Frances Mary Hendry

WHAT MAKES IT GREAT:
Back of the book summary:

When I was nine years old, I hid under a table and heard my sister kill a king.

Meg's sister Inge is a witch, and the spell she uses to kill King Alexander sets in motion a power struggle which threatens to tear Scotland apart. When Meg is chosen for the perilous journey to bring the rightful queen home to rule, she finds herself challenging Inge's power, and discovering more strength in herself than anyone knew she had.

Some other plot points that may intrigue you:
- As a child, Meg saves Davie Spens from drowning. Davie has a harelip, and no one but Meg can understand him. Their fathers betroth them and Meg moves from her father's Norwegian-style hall and into the Spens house to learn from Mistress Spens.
- While living with the Spens, Meg uses her smarts to save Peem Jackson, a cottar's son who helped save them from drowning, from his cruel overlord. Peem then becomes Meg's devoted manservant.
- Meg's father builds them a boat, and Master Spens teaches them to sail.
- There are fun sailing adventures!
- Meg, who speaks Norse, goes with the party to fetch the Maid of Norway, the rightful heir to the throne.
- There are seafaring adventures, and intrigue!
- Meg, Peem, Davie, and Marie, the Maid, become a found family.

This is a children's book, so it is a quick, easy read if you want to pick up a great historical novel with an engaging girl protagonist.

WHERE CAN I FIND IT?: Worldcat shows holdings at many libraries. IndieBound can help you find a copy at a bookstore near you.

[akamarykate]

I love this book! I have used that opening line as an example of how to start a novel in every writing class and workshop I've taught. Thank you for reminding me about this one--I will definitely re-read and think about offering/requesting.

[nonesensed]

FANDOM NAME: Let's Play CYBERPUNK RED - Polygon's Overboard (Web Series)

WHAT MAKES IT GREAT: Do you like lovable bumbling characters? Do you like silliness? Do you like murder mysteries that includes ridiculous technology? Then come follow the borderline-incompetent adventures of fixer Dapper Dasha, kind and strong Burger Chainz, and the awkward tech-savy forum moderator Vang0 Bang0 as they solve a murder! A wonderfully over-the-top and hilarious cyberpunk tabletop RPG oneshot that requires little to no knowledge of cyberpunk or dice RPGs. 2 hours of fun!

WHERE CAN I FIND IT?(optional): You can watch the whole thing here on Youtube for free :D

[bring_me_sugar]

Trailer

FANDOM NAME: Bang Bang Baby (2014)

WHAT MAKES IT GREAT: This is one heck of a heartbreaking movie - and funny, and strange, and cracky - and warning before you go any further, it includes, in its twist ending, some triggery things, which I'm going to spoiler block here, but PLEASE be aware of them if you're going to watch the film.

Date Rape, Body horror, Spousal Rape, Spousal Abuse, Unwanted pregnancy, shotgun wedding, murder

On its surface, Bang Bang Baby seems to be Psycho Beach Party Meets the Fly - it's about Stepphy Holiday, an about-to-graduate high school teenager residing in Lonely Arms, whose dream of winning a New York based contest and singing alongside her idol, Bobby Shore.

Those dreams are dashed when her father refuses to let her enter the contest, but on the night of her prom - just as a chemical leak at the local plant begins - Bobby arrives in town with his agent, his car breaking down right outside Stepphy's house. Naturally, she volunteers her home to him while he waits for his car to be fxed. As Stepphy and Bobby gets closer, the mutations of various local townfolk get worse - and begins to effect Stepphy as well, just as Bobby proposes.

Most of Bang Bang Baby is a rollicking good time - if you like Little Shop of Horrors, you'll like it. IF you like Psycho Beach Party, you'll love it. As I said above, this has a gigantic dark twist, all of which and which I can lay out in a spoiler cut in a comment if anyone wishes to know about it. I love the double-layers of the realities the film presents us - some call it Lynch Meets (Jules, Earth Girls are Easy) Shears, and I can't help but agree with them.

WHERE CAN I FIND IT?(optional): It's purchasable at most streaming movie outlets for $2.99

Score: A Hockey Musical

[(Anonymous)]

FANDOM NAME: Score: A Hockey Musical (2010)

WHAT MAKES IT GREAT:
This is the best worst movie you will ever see. This joy of a terrible movie features 20 original songs in 92 minutes, cameos by most B-list Canadian celebrities, semi-synchronized dancing, rhyming "baloney" with "zamboni", and a song literally titled "Boyfriends".



Full promo post with many gifs here: https://whetherwoman.tumblr.com/post/188037972671/an-ode-to-the-best-worst-movie-score-a-hockey

WHERE CAN I FIND IT?: On the youtubes: https://youtu.be/QTdv4lAzvHE?t=58

[aurilly]

FANDOM NAME: Psmith by P.G. Wodehouse

WHAT IT IS: A series of four--quite short!--novels about a hilarious, eccentric, badass, dandy hero in early 20th century England. Think 'The Scarlet Pimpernel' with lower stakes, but even more charming eccentricity and homoeroticism (I know, right?!). In almost every book, Psmith ends up throwing himself on his sword in various hilarious ways for the benefit of his best friend, Mike, who is a non-eccentric, everyman cricket star.

WHAT MAKES IT GREAT:
Do you like identity porn? Do you like satire? Do you like completely devoted, self-sacrificing best friends who are immensely shippable? Do you like odd couples? Do you like stories set at dreamy English castles, with bonus mysteries, heists, and action scenes? Do you like angst with a happy ending? Do you like exquisitely pyrotechnic celebrations of the English language? Do you like to laugh? Do you like breathing? If you answered 'yes' to any of the above, you will like these books!

This series often gets recced as a good example of the English boarding school genre; however, only the first book takes place at school. The rest put the boys in a variety of locales and situations. There's truly something for everyone, and no need to read all of them, or to read them in order.

The greatest draws of the series are:
• Psmith himself – Psmith's dialogue is unparalleled in gentle, eccentric hilarity. The guy talks non-stop and it's always so weird and funny and charming. But then, when necessity demands, he will very calmly, very elegantly, very sexily take you down and make you squirm. If you go after Mike, he will destroy you and blandly pretend that he had nothing to do with it. He's an eccentric genius, but a really nice example of one. He's a snob about everything except people, whom he likes no matter their class.

• Odd Couples – Mike is the opposite of Psmith in terms of dialogue and temperament. Watching their back and forth is beautiful. Even better is how deeply mastermind Psmith respects and constantly compliments Mike's simple, straightforward contributions. The wonderful thing is how the narrative never makes him the butt of the joke, or treats him as bland foil. One of the reasons this is my favorite series is because, unlike in his other books, Wodehouse allows Mike to wallow in so much believable ANGST, which makes Psmith's sly resolutions all the more satisfying.

• The writing – In addition to the dialogue, the plotting, specifically in Leave It to Psmith, is AMAZING. Even aside from the character of Psmith, this is one of Wodehouse's most satisfying, perfectly crafted masterpieces.


WHERE CAN I FIND IT?:
All four books are free for legal download on Gutenberg HERE. The order is:

• Mike & Psmith – classic boarding school hijinks | meet-cute | devoted roommates | so much loyalty porn, gah
• Psmith In the City – living and working in London | devoted roommates | even more loyalty porn
• Psmith, Journalist – Psmith vs NYC gangsters | gun fights | running a newspaper | a ridiculously shippy Ch2 & Epilogue
• Leave It to Psmith – country estate hijinks | identity porn | jewelry heist | comedy of errors

Jump in with whichever one has a setting or trope that you like! I personally started with 'Leave It to Psmith', which is a masterpiece, and then read 'Mike & Psmith' and 'Psmith In the City'. But you can start with any of those three. They each work as standalones. I'd read 'Psmith, Journalist' last.

If, after reading these, you find yourself (like me) equally in love with Mike as with Psmith, try the prequel called simply "Mike", found on Gutenberg here. It's a classic boarding school novel about Mike before he met Psmith. I wouldn't recommend starting with it, since it's not as interesting as the Psmith ones (and therefore might bore you and make you stop before you get to the good stuff), and it isn't remotely necessary to understand the later ones.

I know a lot of people consider writing Wodehouse fic very intimidating ; however, this is not Jeeves. Mike's canonical 3rd person POV is incredibly straightforward and simple. I promise. Please? Pretty please?

[nonesensed]

I've been meaning to give this series a read for a long time, but haven't been able to find it anywhere until now. Many thanks to you for the links! <3