yuletide | Fandom Promo 2023!

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!

EDIT: WE HAVE A SPREADSHEET! Thanks to Jaclynhyde we now have a spreadsheet you can access HERE.

Here are some areas you can cover:

Title:
Please put your fandom's title in the subject of your comment, too. This helps people find your promo again.

Media:

Approx length:

Where to find it:
(If giving links, please only link to legal sources. You may want to encourage people to contact you directly if they are having trouble finding a canon and you can give them tips)

What is it, in summary?:

What do you love about it?:

What sort of things are you likely to request for it?:

Are there sections of canon (rather than the whole canon) that can be consumed by themselves to fulfil your requests, or that showcase particular characters and relationships?:

Content warnings (ie, rape, incest, racism, gore/violence):
This is at your discretion and is not expected to be comprehensive

(Bonus options: What are you thinking of requesting for this? If you're thinking of nominating worldbuilding, what sort of worldbuilding topics might people explore?)

Useful tip (Not required, but helps people if they want to engage with your fandom!):

- It's best to make each fandom its own entry with its own title in the subject line! That makes it easier for people to find/see what you're promoting! Don't worry about 'spam', that is the entire point of this entry and you're using it exactly as intended.

Previous fandom promo posts can be found at this tag!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Title:
14th Century CE Lithuanian RPF

Media: RPF

Approx length: It's a bottomless well of historical sources and various fictional interpretations of the past events. Wikipedia gives some examples of the portrayal of these characters which you may find inspiring

Where to find it:
Wikipedia has an article about each of the characters I nominated for the fandom that is Vytautas the Great, his mother Birute, his wife Anna the Grand Duchess and Ulrich von Jungingen, the (future) Grandmaster of the Teuton Order.

What is it, in summary?:
A super interesting historical period of a big military conflict that brewed for years and is soon coming to a resolution. There are cultural differences and a strong religious conflict at its bases. The politics of the times are so tangled it's hard to keep track of whose on whose side at the moment.

What do you love about it?:
I love this period in history in that corner of Europe for the similar reasons I appreciate the Silmarillion for xd. It's basically one big family drama ruining whole nations on its way (or bringing them to glory, depending on whose side you're on).

Are there sections of canon (rather than the whole canon) that can be consumed by themselves to fulfil your requests, or that showcase particular characters and relationships?:
Please don't worry if you get lost in all the dates and places Wiki articles cover. The most interesting event from all this chaos for me is something that is ready to turn it into a fic I think. Namely the story of Vytautas' escape from Kreva castle with the help of his wife (and, as rumour has it, dressed in her robes) into the Teutonic lands. Ulrich was not yet a grandmaster at the time but I'm sure he was an ambitious man who could use Vytautas' appearance in great need for future potential benefits.

The story of the infamous escape is mentioned in the shortest article on Wikipedia, the one about Anna ;)

What sort of things are you likely to request for it?:
Frankly, I am not that interested in exact dates or historical accuracy. You can even write an AU if you wish, changing who won which battle ;)
What I'd love you to explore is the connection between the characters. Don't Vytautas and Anna act like Lord and Lady Macbeth? Or maybe Ulrich could play a Lancelot's role to the crowned couple?
Alliances and treaties were so often made and broken I'm sure these guys knew each other pretty well. Were they as close as friends or even closer, like enemies? ;))
I included Birute too, because she's a fascinating figure. I think she was already dead at the time of Vytautas' escape to the Teutons but what is fanfiction for if not meddling with the timeline a bit. Besides, she was rumoured to be a witch. I'm sure she could manage to survive somehow.

Content warnings (ie, rape, incest, racism, gore/violence):
There is some (not really) incestuous marriage of Vytautas to his second wife after Anna's death that Wikipedia article mentions.
There is a severe religious conflict and pagans are persecuted. Pagans, from their side, may still practice some human sacrifice but it may just be an enemy chronicle writer's propaganda. Either way, you may encounter some gory descriptions in the internet vastness.
There is an uprising and then a war and a lot of people die.

Ulrich dies in the Battle of Grunwald.

The most horrifying event, I think, is the death of Birute who was drowned, at least according to some sources.