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

Shadowstone Park: A 15-Minute Cartoon Fandom

[rocknroll1968]

FANDOM NAME: Shadowstone Park (3 eps total)

WHAT MAKES IT GREAT:
Do you enjoy worldbuilding, talking animals, vivid character development, sci-fi, post-apocalyptic settings, or butt jokes? How about all of the above?

Quick Synopsis:
Shadowstone Park is a very short (~15 min total) unfinished YouTube cartoon series about a bizarre alternate universe where animals have become self-aware, a mysterious illness is killing off their community, and the only safe-haven they know from the calamity that has befallen the rest of the world (read: the human world) is quickly crumbling.

More to intrigue you:
The show is hilariously fully, maintaining a jokey and lighthearted tone that softens the harshness of the underlying setting and story. The characters are colourful and goofy, with individual quirks that make them lifelike, and they possess a charmingly childlike quality, just as I would imagine many animals would if they suddenly developed human-like self-awareness.

The plot and world surrounding the characters are crafted with a deft hand, giving us all sorts of little hints about the complex backstory that brought us here. We get tantalising tidbits suggesting possible supernatural or extraterrestrial influences on the world, and there is a spine-tingling undercurrent of horror and gore that hints at what direction the plot will go in later episodes.

Why should I watch Shadowstone Park?
If you love to worldbuild, the short and unfinished quality of this series will leave you with a whole lot of decisions to make about where to take the story and how to explain all the strange facts that are established in the three episodes. And if you love to work with rich, three-dimensional characters and their relationships with each other, you'll have plenty to choose from!

One-sentence character bios (avoiding spoilers):


Lark the cat and Pecan the pelican.
Lark is a smart, practical, and level-headed little guy who loves his community and will do what it takes to help his neighbours during the crisis.
Pecan, Lark's best friend, is as strong and capable as she is interested in helping with the work Lark does in their community.


Nil, the god-knows-what.
Nil, presently a ghost, is a possibly delusional, possibly dangerous individual who nevertheless is willing and able to offer guidance to Lark and Pecan, since s/he's been in this world a very long time.


Crush, the harpy eagle.
Crush, a friend of Lark and Pecan, is a powerful and passionate person who is losing her mind to the terrible illness that's sweeping the park.

Ready to jump in? Shadowstone Park

[st_aurafina]

FANDOM NAME: Moonbase Theta, Out (podcast)


WHAT MAKES IT GREAT: It's short, it's queer-friendly, it is clever and suspenseful, and you can mainline S1 in less than two hours while your hands are occupied with less entertaining things.


QUICK SYNOPSIS: It's near future, and Roger Bragado-Fischer is the communications officer on Moonbase Theta which is shutting down due to corporate reshuffling. Each episode is a short progress report, as Roger deals with long-distance bureaucratic bullshit as Earth's growing population and dwindling resources cause tension. Roger is fussy and particular. He negotiated a small section of each report to send a message to his husband who lives back on Earth in the Rio-Sao Paulo enclave back on Earth.

It doesn't sound like much but it's tense and full of love and the actor playing Roger has a wonderful voice and manner. Season two has just started, and they have recruited more actors so we're getting to know the rest of the moonbase crew - there's a trans character, aro and genderqueer characters, and while it's all very much in the background, I really love the presence. And there's an AI called Tumnus.


WHERE CAN I FIND IT?(optional):
The podcast is here: Monkeyman Productions: Moonbase Theta, Out

If you don't like audio format, there are transcripts for all the episodes. (Not for all the S2 teasers, though.)

Each episode is less than ten minutes long. There's a supercut of the whole of S1 here, it's an hour and 43 minutes: MTO Combined Season 1

Here's list of characters (though it's only Roger in Season 1): MTO – Cast and Crew

And a S2 teaser where the actors talk about their characters: New S2 Promo – Meet the Voices!

(If you like it and want to squee, or you're a fan of podcasts in general, I've been talking about MTO and other shows at podcastjoy)

[wiccanslyr]

FANDOM NAME: Hilda the Plus-Sized Pin-Up - Duane Bryers (Illustration Series)
WHAT MAKES IT GREAT: Pin up, red head, plus sized lady, great art, so much potential for stories... what's not to love? Hilda's lust for life and her unashamed nature in seeking out even the smallest of adventures with exuberance is so completely evident in each piece and I adore everything about them! The happiness and joy contained in each of works in this series is infectious and they always make me smile.
WHERE CAN I FIND IT?(optional): Some examples:








You can find a larger collection here: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.653547017991559&type=1&l=5126ca78c8

There is a little blog write up here including with a few illustrations not in the above collection: http://www.messynessychic.com/2016/08/02/americas-forgotten-pin-up-girl/

Desert Peach!

[sailorkitty]

This canon takes place on the German side during WWII.
While nazism is never shown in a positive light, the reccer understands if this is a deal-breaker from the get-go. Therefore, the majority of this rec is at my journal.

FANDOM NAME: Desert Peach
WHAT MAKES IT GREAT:

-Out and proud gay hero! During the 1940's!

-Love story featuring Gentlemanly Camp gay Colonel x Jerk Ace Pilot!

-Slice-of-life/shenanigans! Boys being friends! Euro-comic style adventures! But with beefcake

-Underground comic from the 90's with absolutely stellar inkwork!

-Army stories! But without the blood and guts and 'glory' bits. (For most of canon, anyway). Only the funny 'stuff we did in the barracks' qualify. Like accidentally drugging your superior!

-Characters who are relatable, funny and will make you cry. And want to punch them.

-Flamboyantly, fabulous main character who can be tough when he needs to be(Which isn't often, because he's so good at being nice).

-Lighthearted and campy! Well, mostly. Can be very serious when it needs to be, and doesn't pull any emotional punches.

-Unashamedly female gaze. Pretty boys drawn for maximum pretty. Uniforms. Jackboots. Pants? Ultra tight. Did I mention that a whole episode takes place in drag?

-Creative and colourful army banter and shenanigans straight from an ex-servicewoman (the author/artist, who is also a left-wing pacifist involved with gay rights.)

Longer rec(With art samples) over here, at my journal: https://sailorkitty.dreamwidth.org/6551.html

[shinsengumi]

FANDOM NAME: Do Not Say We Have Nothing - Madeleine Thien

WHAT MAKES IT GREAT:
If things you like include...
- Standalone books
- With a framed narrative in some places
- And a huge focus on music and metaphors in others
- Set in and around the time of the cultural revolution in China

Then you might like Do Not Say We Have Nothing by Madeleine Thien. It's not a book I'd recommend rushing through and it's not the easiest story to summarise, either, but it's a book that I've really enjoyed and hope others will enjoy too.

Here's Wikipedia's handy summary:
"There are four main eras that the novel focuses on, though they do not necessarily occur in chronological order. The first involves Big Mother Knife, her sister Swirl, and Swirl's husband Wen the Dreamer during the land reform campaign and the executions that were involved. Secondly is the era focusing on Sparrow, Kai and Zhuli during the Cultural Revolution which centers around the Shanghai Conservatory and their experiences there. Thirdly is Sparrow and Ai-Ming, his daughter, during the Tiananmen Square protests and aftermath. Finally, the last era is the "present" which is Marie discovering her connection to all these stories."

The era in the book I was especially taken with took place at the Shanghai Conservatory, although I also really enjoyed following Swirl through her struggles. I found it poignant, moving, and full of beautiful phrases.

WHERE CAN I FIND IT?(optional):
Consider picking up or ordering a copy from your local book store or library. It may also be available as an e-book.

[laughingpineapple]

FANDOM NAME: Pyre
WHAT MAKES IT GREAT:
Truly the apex of the well-trod "wizard basketball with reading, in purgatory" genre. Half quick'n'dirty arcade fantasy sports game, half visual novel, all great. It's by the team behind Bastion, Transistor and Hades, so you know that visuals and music are top notch and also there's some guy who narrates what you're doing with gusto. Pyre is the most hopeful of their games and goes all in on the road trip and found family tropes among the dozen or so characters making up the core cast. The writing manages to pack a lot of characterization into the many slice-of-life scenes that connect the most disparate teammates and the worldbuilding is fun and colorful without being overwhelming. Here's a cool trailer!





WHERE CAN I FIND IT?(optional): Steam, Epic store, PS4. A full playthrough takes 20ish hours and you could lose every match and still get to a satisfactory ending (you could say it is not the Dark Souls of the wizard basketball with reading in purgatory genre)

[el_staplador]

FANDOM NAME: The King of a Rainy Country - novel by Brigid Brophy, first published 1956

WHAT MAKES IT GREAT:

This starts out as one of those post war women's coming of age books, with bedsits and coffee and slightly suspicious jobs. But it breaks out of that form when the narrator and her sort-of boyfriend/definitely flatmate discover a picture of the girl she kissed at school in a pornographic book. So they set out to find her...

It's very funny and also very sad, and I never know whether I want more of the same or all the fix-it, but if you like mid-twentieth century British literature with canon queerness this could be one for you.

WHERE CAN I FIND IT?(optional): Various publishers have put this out over the years. It should be pretty easy to pick up a second-hand copy online.

18th Century CE Frederician RPF

[raspberryhunter]

FANDOM NAME: 18th Century CE Frederician RPF
WHAT MAKES IT GREAT: Would you like a fandom with all kinds of canon slash tropes (mean abusive dad who might have been suppressing his own slashy tendencies, tragic love story with loyal best friend)? Would you like a fandom about a magnificent bastard royal figure who is a modernist and reformer (and very much into freedom of speech and religion) for his time but also likes to invade various territories for fun and profit? Would you like a fandom with interesting, layered female characters, including a woman who becomes Empress despite all of Europe thinking this is hilarious being that she's a WOMAN?

Let me introduce you to Frederick the Great / Friedrich II / "Fritz" fandom! Boy/adolescent Fritz is beaten and publicly humiliated by his father (Friedrich Wilhelm), and his boyfriend (Peter Keith) is deported when his father catches them. He falls in love again, and he and his new boyfriend (Hans Hermann von Katte) try to escape, but dad catches them and executes Katte in front of Fritz's very eyes. Katte's last words are some variation on, "I die for you with joy in my heart!"

Fritz earns his freedom by marrying a woman (Elisabeth Christine), whom he sees... approximately once a year, for dinner. He eventually becomes king when his father dies, at which point he turns out to be pretty much a spectacularly magnificent bastard. On one hand, Voltaire reports on Fritz' liberal tendencies that he said, "In this country, there is freedom of conscience and penis." On the other hand, Fritz also goes around breaking treaties and invading people on paper-thin and/or really zero justification. Hilariously, he first writes the Anti-Machiavel, basically saying "You should definitely positively not break treaties and invade other people just because you can," and then a whole three months later invades Maria Theresia's province of Silesia, just because he can. (Later he tells his people to go look for a historical claim to Silesia, which they find.)

Maria Theresia, meanwhile, fights three wars with Fritz, after which he gets to keep Silesia. Also during which she meets with Fritz' favorite sister (and former ally against their father) Wilhelmine, thus leading to Fritz getting upset and a three-year estrangement between Fritz and Wilhelmine (!) So there's lots of family drama in this fandom too, and female friendship!

And I haven't even gotten into the snarky Voltaire/Fritz frenemy ship!

WHERE CAN I FIND IT? (optional):
The best primer for this for a total beginner is probably selenak's primer on this as a TV show, complete with imagined fanon responses. selenak and mildred_of_midgard have been gracious enough to welcome me to their fandom by telling me all kinds of wacky stories about it; I have links here, including links to Wilhelmine's memoirs.
A hilarious summary of the War of the Austrian Succession is here. Parent up twice for an explanation of the "Pragmatic Sanction."

[Many thanks to selenak and mildred_of_midgard, most of whose words these are.]

I Ship My Adversary x Me

[qikiqtarjuaq]

FANDOM NAME: I Ship My Adversary x Me

BASIC PREMISE: Wei Yanzi, a third-rate actor in the Chinese entertainment industry, stumbles onto a shipping fandom for himself and another actor (Gu Yiliang) while trying to escape from the flame wars and negativity. He's so taken with this group of fans who actually see him as a good guy instead of an enemy/rival of Gu Yiliang that he falls head-first into fandom and becomes actively involved in trying to provide shipping fuel and the fans' daily dose of fluff.

WHAT MAKES IT GREAT:

1. Hilarious, self-deprecating protagonist who is not afraid to roast himself for his awful acting skills.

2. A very fun, meta view of fandom and shipping that comes from a genuine place of love. Sure, there's drama and fighting, but Wei Yanzi honestly has a lot of fun in fandom and sees it as a fantastic escape.

3. Really sweet build-up for a very cute m/m couple. Gu Yiliang is so fond of Wei Yanzi and treats him so well, while Wei Yanzi is fiercely protective of Gu Yiliang (and also fanboys like a pro on the inside while around him).

WHERE CAN I FIND IT?: English Translation (19 Chapters so far) | Original Chinese (47 Chapters)

There's also an audiodrama (in Mandarin)! Season 1 | Season 2

If you want something light-hearted, funny and short, this book is for you! The English translation has slowed down and won't catch up to the completed book, but it's not a plot-heavy book, so the first 19 chapters are enough to showcase the premise and the fluff and the humor.

Black Cat (Comics)

[sirvalkyrie]

FANDOM NAME: Black Cat (Comics)
WHAT MAKES IT GREAT: Competent female cat burglar with the ability to cause bad luck in others robs the most secure places in the Marvel Universe all in working towards the goal of getting the score of a life time. Don’t know Marvel Comics? That’s fine as the comic tells you what you need to know about anyone that shows up in relation to the plot and the main character.
WHERE CAN I FIND IT?(optional): Comixology

[primeideal]

FANDOM NAME: Children of the Star - book trilogy by Sylvia Louise Engdahl
WHAT MAKES IT GREAT: Cool worldbuilding, interesting takes on science and religion, a complex antagonist in the first volume, not-so-stealth crossover with some of the author's other SF in part III.
WHERE CAN I FIND IT? (optional): Available for purchase on Smashwords https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/374758 and probably also some libraries!

[rosehiptea]

FANDOM NAME: My Days of Mercy
WHAT MAKES IT GREAT: Centered around a canon f/f relationship, great acting by Kate Mara and Ellen Page. It's about two young women who meet at a death penalty protest, but they are on opposite sides.
WHERE CAN I FIND IT?: There are various places online to rent it, including Amazon.

[doranwen]

FANDOM NAME: Cybergeddon

WHAT MAKES IT GREAT:

- Hacking! (It's like The Fugitive, just with hacking)

- Lead female character who is totally awesome in both her computer and physical skills (there's a bit of taking down some feds who are guarding her)

- On the run and trying to prove her innocence!

- Stars Missy Peregrym (known for Stick It, Rookie Blue, and recently FBI)

- It's a webseries! Nine segments, each is 10 min, so total watching time is about an hour and a half, making it easily doable in a short time.

WHERE CAN I FIND IT?(optional): Amazon

If you can't do Region 1 and you can't find it at your local Amazon (or anywhere else), send me a PM.

[doranwen]

FANDOM NAME: Alphas

WHAT MAKES IT GREAT:

- It's like X-Men x Heroes but better.

- Diverse cast, with multiple female regulars, one of which is played by an Afghani-American actress. (See pic below of core S1 cast.)

- One of the characters is autistic and is an integral member of the team. (There's some excellent exploration of disability and neurodivergence.)

- There's lots of wrestling with moral questions, and team members being there for each other, and people being flawed and redeeming themselves.

WHERE CAN I FIND IT?(optional): Amazon (Region 1) or eBay (also Region 1)

[ambyr]

FANDOM NAME: House of Eternal Return - Meow Wolf

WHAT IT IS: The House of Eternal Return is an immersive art installation in Santa Fe, created by the artist's cooperative Meow Wolf. But wait! Don't stop reading just because you can't get to Santa Fe! The bulk of the narrative can be pieced together from various multimedia sources available online.

Where do I start with explaining the story? Once upon a time in the 2010s, there was a family who had psychic gifts, a family that liked exploring and experimenting with the fabric of the space-time continuum. And then one day their experiments broke that continuum, ripping a hole in the multiverse. What became of them? We don't know. All that's left is their house and the documents they left behind.

Or should I start further back? Once upon a time, at the very beginning of the universe, all was One: a single note of perfect harmony. Then discord entered the picture, and beings that once existed as a unity discovered--and hated--individualism. They craved reunion, but couldn't achieve it. As a second-best alternative, they created order, and built a society in opposition to the Anomaly, the seething mass of chaos and creativity that had formed in their splintering. The two sides fought a hot war--then a cold one. And now Earth is a frontier in that cold war between the forces of the Charter and the Anomaly. The Anomaly has infused humans (the family above in particular) with gifts, powers, a drive for creation. The Charter is concerned that those gifts, and the chaos they engender, may spell the end of the multiverse.

The Charter may be your stereotypical bad guys, obsessed with order and control--but based on what's left of the Pastore/Selig home, the Charter may also be right.

(Oh, yeah, and there's a whole other storyline, set in the 2060s, that's just launched this year.)

WHAT MAKES IT GREAT: The bones of the narrative--the backstories of the characters, their abilities and interrelations--are fairly well established by the various faux documents (linked below), but the exact details of what happened on the evening of March 17, 2016, (and what its long-term consequences will be) are left open to interpretation. The House of Eternal Return is a puzzle with a thousand plausible answers--exactly the kind of thing fan fiction is great at exploring.

A BRIEF CAST OF CHARACTERS:

Emerson Selig: Grandfather. Sonic researcher. Once resurrected a hamster.

Jean Selig: Grandmother. Very recently deceased. Has prophetic dreams. May in fact be the Anomaly.

Piper Pastore (nee Selig): Daughter of Emerson and Jean. As a child, could see all multiverse alternate realities simultaneously. Processed this by painting. Lost her powers in an accident; still paints.

Lucius Selig: Piper's twin brother. Gained the ability to astrally project himself as part of the same accident that took away Piper's powers. Founded a cult, drew the attention of the Charter, and was stripped of his powers. Wants them back.

Nicolae Pastore: Piper's husband. Also a sonic researcher.

Christian: Lucius's boyfriend. Betrayed him to the Charter.

Morgan Pastore: Piper's daughter. Talks to plants, calls small animals like a Disney princess, has empathetic powers.

Lex Pastore: Morgan's twin brother. Super-genius. Extremely unhappy with the fact that, as he and Morgan grow up, they also naturally grow apart. Determined to find a way to defeat death. A little too open to his uncle's self-serving suggestions on methodology.

Nimsesku: The family hamster. Bionic, immortal, an agent of the Charter.

WHERE CAN I FIND IT?(optional):

Fair warning that many of these sites have been rendered deliberately difficult to navigate--after all, the multiverse is disintegrating. Don't be afraid to call any phone numbers you find on any of the sites, either--many of them have recorded messages that are worth hearing.

The Charter: Contains an enormous amount of information, but expect to get a lot of "errors" and requests to sign in over and over again. It's the Charter. They're not here to be helpful or friendly. (Most of the useful narrative information can be found by clicking on the two-column symbol in the left navigation menu and selecting the various character names.)

I Hear Music from Outer Space: Nicolae Pastore's blog

The Power of Positive Mechanics: Lucius's cult's homepage (just wait a while, it will eventually load)

Various videos, including Selig-Pastore home movies, Emerson's video diary, and some rather odd PSAs from "local" television.

Charter Clock Room Audio: The spoken word piece that loops in a room at the center of the installation.

Material related to the new 2060s storyline: The Rift video series, Techstream.

If you're willing to shell out actual money, Meow Wolf sells a Narrative Bundle that includes Piper's diary and a couple of newspapers that contain useful information about the family's final days. If you're not willing to shell out money, it might still be looking at that link and at least reading the sample pages.

If you want a glimpse of the installation itself just to get a sense of the ambiance, try searching YouTube for Meow Wolf Walkthrough.

(n.b. Most people refer to the House of Eternal Return in shorthand as Meow Wolf, but as Meow Wolf plans to open installations in multiple other cities over the next few years featuring different narratives, I'm hoping to get a tag made for the specific name of the Santa Fe installation just to prevent any confusion in future years.)

The Strange Case Of Starship Iris (Podcast)

[jaggedwolf]

FANDOM NAME: The Strange Case of Starship Iris (10-episode podcast)

WHAT MAKES IT GREAT:

Tropey sci-fi, canon f/f, and found family feels galore! Basically the crew of a small ship is investigating a government conspiracy. There are so many things I love about this show.

Everyone on the crew is great. There's delicious loyalty kink, funny banter, sweet romance, and a good group of friends struggling in very unfair circumstances. Sci-fi and great character dynamics means there's great jumping off potential for all kinds of fic. Did I mention there are purple aliens?

WHERE CAN I FIND IT?(optional):

Wherever you get your podcasts. If you don't like the audio format, there are transcripts around, and I've collated the links here

Agatha Christie's Poirot

[crantz]

FANDOM NAME: Agatha Christie's Poirot
WHAT MAKES IT GREAT: Oh this is a delightful series starring David Suchet as the titular Poirot as he solves crime after crime with his little grey cells. He's pompous, fussy, and sweet in his own ways.

In the earlier seasons, he hangs out with Arthur Hastings, who is a decent enough friend but very much the blustery Englishman. Poirot genuinely likes him though, when Hastings comes back after a long trip away, Poirot insists Hastings stays with him ('to protect you from the auburn haired beauties!') until his apartment is ready.



And he LOVES the drama.




Here we see a classic Poirot reveal, where he gathers everyone into a room and declares 'AND ONE OF YOU IS ZEE KILLER' because he's a messy bitch who lives for drama.

The character is a lot of fun and the mysteries are, well, Christie mysteries so fairly clever. The episodes are the length of a tv movie.

From The ABC Murders:

Poirot: I did not say it earlier, Hastings, because it might be misconstrued as self importance, a trait I dislike more than any other
Hastings: *silent stare*
Poirot: Hastings?
Hastings: oh right, of course

WHERE CAN I FIND IT?(optional): On various streaming platforms (such as Prime tv) and you can purchase it from various vendors like iTunes. However, you will have a devil of a time finding anything before season 6. My screencaps, above, from the ABC Murders were from files I 'acquired' long enough ago the statute of limitations is up now, okay.

Smith (the 2006 TV show)

[ruuger]

FANDOM NAME: Smith (the 2006 TV show)
WHAT MAKES IT GREAT:

Smith is a show about a group of professional thieves who team up to pull a big heist, starring Ray Liotta, Virginia Madsen, Jonny Lee Miller, Simon Baker, Amy Smart, and Shohreh Aghdashloo. It was cancelled after just seven episodes, but what exists works quite fine as a mini-series.

And why am I reccing it? Because it's a really entertaining show, and I say this as someone who usually hates heist plots. And also because HOLY HOMOEROTIC SUBTEXT, BATMAN! Simon Baker and Jonny Lee Miller play Jeff & Tom, the team's logistic expert and resident muscle, and they have the kind of a relationship that slashfic was invented for.



https://youtu.be/A982LZptctE?t=303

For the record, this is the *first* scene that Tom and Jeff have together. It only gets slashier from here (and their relationship is a major focus on the show, meaning that there's a whole episode where they basically just argue about their living arrangements).

WHERE CAN I FIND IT?(optional):

I don't think this has been available anywhere since it aired ten years ago, but the whole thing can be found on Youtube in hot-so-high definition:

https://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=347593327F8A2A5A

[issenllo]

FANDOM NAME: HIStory 3 - Trapped aka HIStory 3 - Trap, and combinations thereof

WHAT MAKES IT GREAT:
Brash cop falls in love with a gang boss. C'mon, who doesn't like that!

Spoiler-free synopsis:

A bit of preamble: the HIStory series is a series of BL (boy's love) web drama produced in Taiwan. As the number indicates, this the third one so far by the same production team, and it's also the longest (10 episodes) and with a fairly well-developed plotline. Perhaps not the most original, but it's still damn entertaining.

Meng Shao Fei, a cop, has been investigating/stalking Tang Yi, the young boss of Xing Tian Meng, because Tang Yi is the sole survivor of a shootout four years ago that saw Meng's mentor and Tang Yi's adoptive father both dead. Tang Yi, in the meantime, has his own plans for revenge. Eventually Shao Fei realises that he has fallen in love with Tang Yi, and as secrets from the past are revealed, Shao Fei and Tang Yi get together.

The secondary couple is absolutely adorable: cop Zhao Zi and Jack, who appears as Tang Yi's bodyguard/enforcer, and are a foil to Shao Fei and Tang Yi's more serious and dramatic love plot. There's another couple, Hong Ye (Tang Yi's adoptive sister) and Gu Dao Yi.

The combination of action, adventure with a m/m plotline made many viewers sit up (including me), not to mention that the actors all look really appealing, and there's very little angst about the m/m aspect of it. (Well, it's BL after all.) But it does make the series really fun to watch and on a personal note, it's eaten my brain a little.

WHERE CAN I FIND IT?(optional):

I think it's on Viki?... ETA: Trailer

[ambyr]

FANDOM NAME: Temper - Nicky Drayden

WHAT MAKES IT GREAT: It's a stand-alone speculative fiction novel featuring a world where everyone is born part of a pair of soul-bonded twins who are compelled to stay within proximity to each other. The seven Virtues (and corresponding seven Vices) are aways split between twins, meaning one twin is always more virtuous than the other--and society looks down on "lesser" twins. That's unfortunate for our protagonist Auben, who has an unusually unbalanced 6/1 split in his brother's favor. He's condemned to a life as a member of a permanent underclass, always in his brother's shadow--and that's before he starts hearing voices and experiencing possession by what may be evil incarnate. . .

But don't worry. Auben has it all under control. He has a plan to resolve the situation . . . or rather a series of plans, each more absurd and laughably terrible than the last. (After all, his brother has all the Virtues--including Due Diligence and Humility.) In the process of trying to save himself, he may just manage to tear his society apart.

Contains: soulbonds, twincest, boarding school, afrofuturism, intersex and transgender characters, acrobatic librarians, and increasingly raunchy penis jokes.

WHERE CAN I FIND IT?: Anywhere books are sold!

FEVER PITCH

[innie_darling]

FANDOM NAME: Fever Pitch (1997)

WHAT MAKES IT GREAT: Colin Firth and Mark Strong . . . might finally get to play happy boyfriends! Seriously, if you're in need of seeing these two happy (so, not Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy) and together (so not Before I Go to Sleep, and the Kingsman films are out of the running), this might be the canon for you! If you can ignore what an illogical and humorless pill the main female character is, there's so much to play with. Paul (CF) and Steve (MS) are genuinely close - they hang out regularly, have shorthand/inside jokes with each other, borrow clothing from each other, and are brothers in that peculiar sorrow of having your team (Arsenal) disappoint you time and again. Surely every fan can relate to that?

WHERE CAN I FIND IT?(optional): if this trailer piques your interest, hit me up - I can make the movie (and English subtitles) available to you!

[doranwen]

FANDOM NAME: Women's Murder Club (TV)

WHAT MAKES IT GREAT:

- Four female leads! (EASY Bechdel test pass, and readily lends itself to f/f for those inclined)

- Together, they fight crime!

- A great mix of drama and comedy with a little mystery thrown in.

- Only one season! (13 episodes - easy to binge watch - and it's on Youtube to boot!)

- Stars Angie Harmon of Rizzoli & Isles fame, in a role that's actually not that far off from Jane Rizzoli. If you're an R&I fan, you'll definitely want to check this out!

WHERE CAN I FIND IT?(optional): Youtube! (Also less-than-legal sources, of course - Amazon does sell a DVD set but it's just DVD-Rs, so not the best quality; there are no professional DVD sets to be had.)

[doranwen]

FANDOM NAME: Black Sash

WHAT MAKES IT GREAT:

- Short show! Only six episodes, easy to watch.

- On Youtube! Accessible to (hopefully) all.

- Martial arts and teens dealing with tough problems - plus a father (Russell Wong) who was falsely accused of a crime and spent years in prison as an innocent man. Now he's got a daughter he's forbidden to see, and he's a father figure to several who don't have one.

- Stars a much younger Missy Peregrym as one of the teens (pre-Stick It).

WHERE CAN I FIND IT?(optional): Youtube!

[doranwen]

FANDOM NAME: FBI (TV 2018)

WHAT MAKES IT GREAT:

- Great law enforcement / procedural show.

- Lead characters are played by Missy Peregrym (who is an amazing actress, of Stick It and Rookie Blue fame) and Zeeko Zaki, an Egyptian-American actor (rare to see an actor of Middle Eastern descent playing a good guy - and, according to one article I read, the first time ever on Western network TV to have an Arab-American actor be the lead! done very well here and his character is fantastic).

- One of the supporting regulars is played by Ebonée Noel, whose character started as the main analyst for the team—great portrayal of a highly intelligent female PoC! (She's commented on that in interviews, that she likes being able to inspire younger viewers by modeling a smart and competent woman who looks like them.)

- Dick Wolf show, with ripped-from-the-headlines episodes, handled sensitively and with nuance.

- Avoids political bias while dealing with complex cases.

- Main characters in S1 dealt with grief and PTSD, which the show addresses (but leaves plenty of room for lots of fic). S2 has only just begun but has some exploration of identity, with the male lead being a Muslim FBI agent investigating a case in his home community.

WHERE CAN I FIND IT?(optional): It's a CBS show, but you'll have to take it from there. It's a current show, with one season of 22 episodes already complete (season 2 premiered September 24). You can see the trailer for season 2 here.

I Medici (TV)

[selenak]

FANDOM NAME: I Medici/ Medici: Masters of Florence (first Season) and Medici: The Magnificent (Second Season)

WHAT MAKES IT GREAT:

- immensely entertaining historical melodrama, awesome costumes, gorgeous setting (Renaissance Florence) and interesting characters

- great shipping potential for both m/m (mainly second season) and m/f (mainly first Season)

- scheming, backstabbing, murders both historical and invented

- leading actors include Richard Madden (Game of Thrones), Bradley James (Merlin), Daniel Sharma (Teen Wolf) as well as Sean Bean (second season)

- leading actresses include Annabel Scholey (as Contessina de' Medici, in both seasons the awesome matriarch to end all matriarchs) and Sarah Parish (als the older version of Lucrezia de' Medici, her daughter in law and protege, in the second season)

- has only two short seasons (eight episodes each) so far (the third and final one will start to be broadcast in November), thus is easy to binge

WHERE CAN I FIND IT?(optional):

- on Netflix (at least in some countries), Sky (other countries) and on DVD.