yuletide | 2020 Yuletide Fandom Promo Post

Oh, it's only two so far? ACK. I mean, you could combine them for now. ;) I will admit to buying the English ebook single issues and then again the Germany print version, heeh. You could also try and ask them on twitter, it might take a few days but they usually answer such questions.

FANDOM NAME: Arm Joe

WHAT MAKES IT GREAT: It's Les Misérables as a Street Fighter-type game. Featuring such iconic characters as Valjean, Cosette, Marius, Eponine, Javert, Enjorlas, Robo-Jean, the literal personification of Justice, and some weird rabbit thing named Ponpon.

It's a truly unique and utterly bonkers take on the 19th century classic — Enjorlas can summon a barricade to fall on his opponent as a combo attack, Cosette can paralyze you with a kiss and then bring in her dad to beat you up, the entire cast crams into a teeny-tiny car for some reason in the ending screen…by all accounts it is terrible as an actual video game, since the characters are egregiously unbalanced and it's kind of buggy, but as a universe to play in? A delight.

WHERE CAN I FIND IT?(optional): You can download the game from the developer's site, though since it was made in 1998, I have no idea if it even runs on current systems.

You can also watch gameplay videos here, here, and here.

I shall hunt! Thanks for the rec, sounds right up my alley.

It's quite a thing! In a way the book it's based on is even creepier, so I prefer the movie. LOL a lot of people tell me this movie really creeps them out... it definitely is haunting! Quite imaginative too.

FANDOM NAME: Sleuth (Joseph Mankiewicz, 1972).

WHAT MAKES IT GREAT: Do you like elaborate mind games and detective work? Labyrinths and automatons? Exploration of the ever-shifting power dynamics between two male characters, through extreme and dark competition? Movies where plot twists actually serve the characterization so well it gives you direct access to the characters' twisted mind?

Sleuth is Joseph Mankiewicz's last movie, and it's so good it's become a bit mythical. The cinematography is incredible, the actors (Laurence Olivier and Michael Caine!) are amazing, and if you ask me, like everything Mankiewicz does, it's *extremely* gay (more on that later).
Olivier plays an aristocrat who's also a famous mystery writer. He invites fancy hairdresser Milo Tindle (Michael Caine) in his bizarre castle (with the assorted labyrinth, weird automatons, and puzzles everywhere), and casually asks him why he plans on marrying his wife. It's a dark comedy that turns into a potential tragedy.

So imagine: Laurence Olivier and Michael Caine playing chess and pool, cross-dressing, torturing each other mentally, competing about women but in reality about who's better at puzzles, all of this with an underlying sexual (imho) tension you could cut with a knife.

Now, why is it gay? I Mean:

The characters are both into this game so much it's the perfect ground for M/M. There's even a cross-dressing scene where they openly flirt with each other! Everything about humiliating the other by bragging about women and being better in bed, stealing a girlfriend and describing very precisely how they had sex, all of this is very suspicious to me. There is constant physical proximity, comments on the other's physique, everything. You really can't blame me for thinking those two need to get a room (and they have! millions of rooms in this castle!).

And even if you don't see it as slash material, the relationship between the two characters is just so layered and complex and fascinating it's still extremely inspiring. I cannot recommend this movie enough.

I am so ashamed that I've never seen this before. Bless you for spreading the world.

Hi! We're having a little trouble finding the character Drucilla Blake - could you give us a little more info please?

Hi! She appears only in the second book, The Englor Affair. Here's a screenshot from the search inside the book on Amazon showing an introduction with her first and last names (my copy is so old it's in HTML and therefore not very convincing for screenshot purposes):

Good luck, I hope you'll like it!

FANDOM NAME: Hera Lindsay Bird - Hera Lindsay Bird

WHAT MAKES IT GREAT: Everything!!! Hera Lindsay Bird is a New Zealander poet and this is her first published collection. Every poem is so relatable and her style is so unique. Her comparisons are wild. I would say give a try to a few poems to get a sense of her style: "Hate", "I knew I loved you when you showed me your minecraft world" or "Monica Geller" (Yes, it is about Monica from Friends). Wouldn't it be great to reexplore any of these? ;)

WHERE CAN I FIND IT?(optional): You can buy the book or you can find all her poems (or most at least) in her own website for free.

...I can't promise this will be in time for signups but I'm definitely checking this out, thanks for the promo!

Her website: https://www.heralindsaybird.com/poetry.html the glorious poem about the ex-girlfriends is also in there

I love this book! I don't know why it's never occurred to me before to ask/offer it for yuletide!

adding this to my watch list!

FANDOM NAME: The Invisible Library series by Genevieve Cogman. Six novels in the series so far, and they’re very quick reads.

WHAT MAKES IT GREAT: The heroine, Irene Winters, is a Librarian at an inter-dimensional Library that collects rare or unique books from different worlds. (This often requires stealing the books, or using otherwise shady means to acquire them when they can't be simply bought or bartered from the owner.) By some vaguely explained mystical mechanism, this allows the Library to help worlds maintain a balance between order (represented by dragons) and chaos (represented by the Fae), which keeps those worlds hospitable to humans. In pursuit of this goal, Irene has a lot of very action-packed adventures on multiple worlds in different time periods, cultures, and chaos vs. order levels. She is assisted by Kai, an apprentice Librarian who's also a [SPOILER] and Peregrine Vale, a Sherlock Holmes expy from an alternate steampunk Victorian London where Irene makes her home base. There's a growing cast of supporting characters, mostly Fae and Dragon as well as some fellow Librarians, and also an arch-nemesis. It's all incredibly tropey, and pretty much all the tropes are ones I love.

In addition to the great characters, this series is a fanfic writer’s dream. Pick your favorite historical period, past or future, and your favorite geographic location! Add whatever level of magic/supernatural you like! Or add giant robots if you’re into that! Make it steampunk or cyberpunk or totally mundane! Whatever setting you like to write in, such a world can exist in these books and Irene and co. Can go there.

WHERE CAN I FIND IT?(optional): Most book sellers and libraries should have them.

FANDOM NAME: Dial H for Hero WHAT MAKES IT GREAT: What would you do if you could become any superhero for just an hour? The catch? Who you become is absolutely random. Do you remember the old rotary phones? One of these is basically the main protagonist of this 2019 short comic series. It's red and whenever you dial it, you become a completely new hero - of course, always with their new and original secret origin. But beware, you can become addicted to dialling! This 12-comic run under the imprint of Wonder Comics has its roots in an old DC Comics series where readers could submit their comic hero concept and if it was well thought out, it would be featured in the next issue of Adventure Comics - which I just find an absolutely charming idea. In the 2019 series, Miguel Montez is a kid who was rescued by Superman once and ever since writes imaginary letters to his great hero. He is an orphan working in his uncle's All-mayonnaise-themed(!) food truck. That is when the H-dial finds him - and when he meets Summer Pickens, who actually convinces him to get out of their small backwater town. And that's how an adventure of epic proportions begins. It's a story with a lot of heart, a story about growing up and what it means to be a hero - and there's even a cute little meetcute subplot. ;) WHERE CAN I FIND IT?(optional): There are two paperback volumes combining all 12 issues available anywhere you get your comic books from. e.g. Amazon: Vol. 1 (https://www.amazon.com/-/de/dp/140129443X/ref=sr_1_2?__mk_de_DE=%C3%85M%C3%85%C5%BD%C3%95%C3%91&crid=2BOPE0QP0E3NK&dchild=1&keywords=dial+h+for+hero&qid=1601832672&sprefix=dial+h+for+her%2Caps%2C244&sr=8-2), Vol. 2 (https://www.amazon.com/-/de/dp/1779501765/ref=sr_1_1?__mk_de_DE=%C3%85M%C3%85%C5%BD%C3%95%C3%91&crid=2BOPE0QP0E3NK&dchild=1&keywords=dial+h+for+hero&qid=1601832672&sprefix=dial+h+for+her%2Caps%2C244&sr=8-1)

I'm sorry, that was me (don't have a DW account - find me at KitKaos

ao3 )

FANDOM NAME: Dial H for Hero
WHAT MAKES IT GREAT: What would you do if you could become any superhero for just an hour? The catch? Who you become is absolutely random.
Do you remember the old rotary phones? One of these is basically the main protagonist of this 2019 short comic series. It's red and whenever you dial it, you become a completely new hero - of course, always with their new and original secret origin. But beware, you can become addicted to dialling!
This 12-comic run under the imprint of Wonder Comics has its roots in an old DC Comics series where readers could submit their comic hero concept and if it was well thought out, it would be featured in the next issue of Adventure Comics - which I just find an absolutely charming idea.
In the 2019 series, Miguel Montez is a kid who was rescued by Superman once and ever since writes imaginary letters to his great hero. He is an orphan working in his uncle's All-mayonnaise-themed(!) food truck. That is when the H-dial finds him - and when he meets Summer Pickens, who actually convinces him to get out of their small backwater town. And that's how an adventure of epic proportions begins.
It's a story with a lot of heart, a story about growing up and what it means to be a hero - and there's even a cute little meetcute subplot. ;)
WHERE CAN I FIND IT?(optional): There are two paperback volumes combining all 12 issues available anywhere you get your comic books from. e.g. Amazon: Vol. 1 (https://www.amazon.com/-/de/dp/140129443X/ref=sr_1_2?__mk_de_DE=%C3%85M%C3%85%C5%BD%C3%95%C3%91&crid=2BOPE0QP0E3NK&dchild=1&keywords=dial+h+for+hero&qid=1601832672&sprefix=dial+h+for+her%2Caps%2C244&sr=8-2), Vol. 2 (https://www.amazon.com/-/de/dp/1779501765/ref=sr_1_1?__mk_de_DE=%C3%85M%C3%85%C5%BD%C3%95%C3%91&crid=2BOPE0QP0E3NK&dchild=1&keywords=dial+h+for+hero&qid=1601832672&sprefix=dial+h+for+her%2Caps%2C244&sr=8-1)

All the movie you recommended look great, I'll try to have a look!

I'm so happy to remind people of this book! I think it could make for some interesting Yuletide fic. :)

Brilliant, thank you!

FANDOM NAME: The Five (TV)
WHAT MAKES IT GREAT: It's a British mystery thriller miniseries -- 10 episodes total -- that's fast-paced and soapy and twisty; if you're into mystery thrillers at all, you should definitely check The Five out. From Wiki: The Five sees "childhood friends Mark, Danny, Slade, and Pru reunited when DNA evidence left at a murder scene is revealed to be that of Jesse, Mark's younger brother, twenty years after he disappeared while playing in the park with the four friends." Is Jesse not dead, then, as everyone but Mark and Jesse's mother presumed? (Is the serial killer who confessed to the murder full of shit?) Is Jesse a murderer himself? How did his DNA show up at this crime scene? Where has he been for the last 20 years? SO MANY QUESTIONS. SO MANY QUESTIONS WITH FUN ANSWERS (unless you're not into fun answers, ha?)! [spoiler] SPOILERS, in case the cut didn't work: I love that the show ends on a happy-ish note. I don't know what I was thinking, starting a show like this during a pandemic, because the thought of Jesse's being dead or evil -- both of which seemed likely -- was seriously bumming me out. (His poor mum! Mark!) But. BUT. AHHH. /SPOILERS.
WHERE CAN I FIND IT?(optional): Netflix, in most countries (incl. the US)!

FANDOM NAME: The Courtship of Eddie's Father (TV)

WHAT MAKES IT GREAT: The humor and the warm relationship between widowed dad Tom Corbett (played by the late Bill Bixby) and his young son Eddie (Brandon Cruz). The humor comes mostly from Eddie's schemes to fix up his Dad with various pretty women so that Dad will remarry and he can get a new mom, but what I love most about the show is how loving and real the father/son relationship is. Tom is very warm and patient and tender with Eddie, but he's not perfect, and when he makes a mistake he owns up to it. Similarly Eddie is a good and kind kid, but he gets into mischief like normal kids do.

My favorite parts of the show were always the little father/son talks at the beginning and end of each episode, where they talk about various topics ranging from the silly to the serious.

Also great is Miyoshi Umeki as Mrs. Livingston, the housekeeper who keeps the household running and provides a surrogate mother figure to Eddie.

The show also had some amazing guest stars who later became stars in their own right: Cicely Tyson as a classmate's mom that Eddie tries to fix up with his dad; George Takei as Mrs. Livingston's suitor; Pat Morita as the father of one of Eddie's classmates; and a very young Jodie Foster who steals the show as a female bully who has a crush on Eddie.

WHERE CAN I FIND IT?(optional): It's available for sale on dvd or on Amazon Prime. Sorry, no free streaming that I know of, although there are a lot of short clips on YouTube.

This is a nice compilation of the Season 1 opening sequences that includes the father/son talks and the theme song, which I love:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4sLl0ll4nQ

FANDOM NAME: Bioshock Infinite
WHAT MAKES IT GREAT: Weird AU opportunities! Gruff Troy Baker-voiced main character! Steampunk! Alternate history! Questionable science!
WHERE CAN I FIND IT?(optional): It's pretty cheap on Xbox 360/PS4 now (comes in the Bioshock Remastered package). It's also not a very long game overall! Plus I'm sure there are Lets Plays out there.

FANDOM NAME: Xenosaga
WHAT MAKES IT GREAT: Religious allegory! Really strange science! JRPG shenanigans! OUTER SPACE! Aliens! Some creepy/horror stuff!
WHERE CAN I FIND IT?(optional): This is a PS2 game series and admittedly it's LONG but again, Lets Plays. I'm pretty sure there's some anime/manga nonsense out there too.

FANDOM NAME: Peter Darling (book by Austin Chant)
WHAT MAKES IT GREAT: TRANS PETER PAN! Also gay! Honestly what more could you want? It's a fast read too.
WHERE CAN I FIND IT?(optional): right here

FANDOM NAME: Cheias de Charme, aka Sparkling Girls
WHAT MAKES IT GREAT: It's a show about three domestic workers who become overnight popstars when their amateur music video making fun of their bosses goes viral. Rosario, a singer who dreams of stardom while working as a cook; Cida, an ingenue raised as a child laborer after her parents died; and Penha, a housekeeper trying to pay off her useless husband's debt while heading a legal battle against her abusive former boss, form the girl group Empreguetes, inspired by Destiny's Child. They first meet in a jail cell after each had an incredibly chaotic day, and feeling they were united by fate, make a pact to rise up in life together. Meanwhile, Chayene, a washed-up celebrity desperate to regain her fame, will do anything to crush their dreams...

It's bright, it's gaudy, it's sparkly, it's full of catchy music, it has genuinely heartrending moments of emotional devastation, social commentary about boss/employee relationships and classism, legal drama, popstar drama, campy fun absurdity, and most importantly: LOTS of incredible adult women in pretty much every role from protagonists to villains to comedy relief, and who each have entirely distinct personalities, motivations and character arcs, and whose most important relationships are always with each other. I mean there's some dudes there too, because if this novela has one major flaw it's the hetsiness, but you know what? The ladies are all extremely shippable. If you're thirsting for some F/F OTPs that aren't teenagers, you will definitely find at least one of them here. (my personal recommendations are: Penha/Lygia, Chayene/Rosario, Chayene/Socorro, and Cida/Brunessa, but there's plenty of characters to go wild with. I made a list of every named female character and ended up with 70 names, almost all of them at least semi-regulars, and the core cast is also large.)

Check out the opening theme for a pretty good feel of what this show is about!!

Also here's some screencaps:
the show's logo, Cheias de Charme in gold and pink letters over a sparkly purple background, decorated to look like a music stage.

WHERE CAN I FIND IT?: Globoplay.com has the original Brazilian Portuguese run. It's a subscription service to watch the complete episodes. It was also broadcast in other languages, notably Spanish under the title "Encantadoras", and English as "Sparkling Girls" only in Africa by the channel Nina TV. If anyone knows where to find these dubs, please let me know! The original show has been unofficially uploaded to other websites but as far as I'm aware, no fansubs exist. ~~except for the one I'm working on~~

FANDOM NAME: The Unspoken Name by A. K. Larkwood

WHAT MAKES IT GREAT: Epic fantasy full of high drama, swashbuckling, lesbian romance, and lots of low comedy and hilarity. Also, almost everybody is queer!

Not convinced yet? Our cast of characters includes an orc priestess turned assassin, several terrible elves, a snake goddess killed by her own people, a menacing god whose only goals in life are to live in a mountain and eat a child every 14 years, and a magician from a country where magic is regulated to within an inch of its life.

The worldbuilding is basically the best parts of Dragon Age without any of the worst parts. Plus, portals.

WHERE CAN I FIND IT?(optional): Available in ebook, audiobook, and print formats.

2020 Yuletide Fandom Promo Post

Re: In These Words - Guilt Pleasure (Manga/Webcomic)

Arm Joe

Re: In These Words - Guilt Pleasure (Manga/Webcomic)

Re: The Prestige (2006)

Sleuth, Mankiewicz, 1972.

Re: Sleuth, Mankiewicz, 1972.

Re: Sci-Regency Series

Re: Sci-Regency Series

Re: In These Words - Guilt Pleasure (Manga/Webcomic)

Hera Lindsay Bird - Hera Lindsay Bird

Re: Score: A Hockey Musical, nominated by whetherwoman

Re: Hera Lindsay Bird - Hera Lindsay Bird

Re: Quest for a Maid

Re: Year of the Rabbit

no subject

Dial H for Hero

Dial H for Hero

no subject

Re: Quest for a Maid

Re: Sci-Regency Series

no subject

no subject

no subject

Cheias de Charme | Sparkling Girls (TV)

no subject