yuletide | Yuletide Fandom Promo 2024!

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yuletide fandom promo

Yuletide Fandom Promo 2024!

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!

Cheju has started a spreadsheet for promo! Here's the link!

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!

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

Title: Beneath the World, a Sea - Chris Beckett

Media: Novel

Approx length: 288 pages

Where to find it: bookstores, libraries (seems hard to find in stores in the US, may need to get online)

What is it, in summary?: It's an alternate history SF novel! 100 million years ago, a meteorite struck somewhere in the Amazon. An alien ecosystem sprung up in the crater: a pink-purple jungle unlike anywhere else in the world, populated with creatures called duendes that provoke a terrifying psychological response in nearby humans. A Portuguese merchant sent a group of poor labourers and freed slaves into the jungle, hoping they would establish a society that would make the jungle easier to exploit when the Portuguese were ready to do so. In the 1990s, an English policeman goes to the jungle to stop the killing of duendes (recently classified as "persons" by the UN)...but the jungle and its inhabitants have a powerful effect on him.

What do you love about it?: The worldbuilding is fascinating. One of the characters speculates that the entire jungle (trees, birds, deer, duendes...) is one massive organism. I love the way the duendes break down the barriers in peoples' minds. I love the atmosphere of the jungle and the effect it has on those who live there. The jungle is surrounded by the "Zona," an area in which people don't remember what happened in there once they leave. It leads to fascinating discussions on identity, consciousness, subconscious urges, etc. I love the loosening the main character goes through. I love the way the jungle protect itself.

What sort of things are you likely to request for it?: Probably worldbuilding! I am very into the possibilities of the forest being all one organism and the way it protects itself. The duendes, the structures they build... They keep approaching humans even though the humans kill them. Why? Are they sapient in a way humans can't understand or recognise? (But just in case, I've also nominated the policeman, Ben, and the anthropologist, Hyacinth. I'll see how I feel -- I might also request their respective ways of relating to the forest.)

Content warnings: The author is a sociologist; structural problems with society and taking advantage of natural resources are big themes in his work. The whole premise of this novel relies on colonialism, imperialism, racism, and white entitlement to natural resources.

Title: The Mechanic (2011)

Media: Film

Approx length: 1h 33m

Where to find it: According to Reelgood (link here to The Mechanic on Reelgood), it's currently available to rent on Prime, Vudu and Apple TV, and is available for those with subscriptions to Fubo, DirectTV, and Roku (it was also recently on Pluto, so it does make it to FAST channels regularly).

What is it, in summary?: A revenge movie about a hitman/wetwork guy who takes on the son of one of his previous targets as an apprentice, due to guilt. Stars Jason Statham and Ben Foster. It's a remake of an

What do you love about it?: The mentor/mentee relationship, tinged with guilt and anger, as these two men not only learn to work together but become a well-oiled machine, while also keeping secrets from each other.

What sort of things are you likely to request for it?: Either hurt/comfort or a charged domestic scene between Arthur and Steve, because for me it's the tension of possibility that is the most delicious part of pairing them.

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?: It's just a movie, but I bet you could find a supercut or some loose scenes to pair with the wiki entry and get enough of it. Knowing the ending and watching how the two interact should give you enough flavour.

Content warnings (ie, rape, incest, racism, gore/violence): Genre-typical violence, there's a honeypot type scene, but it's mostly just guns and explosions.

Fear and Hunger title text

Title: Fear & Hunger

Media: Video games

Approx length: Two games, Fear & Hunger + Fear & Hunger 2: Termina. The number of play hours can vary greatly, depending on if you’re heading directly for one of the game’s many endings or if you explore everything you can.

Where to find it: Both games are on Steam, but you can only find them if you're logged in due to their ratings. Here’s a link to the first game and here's a link to the second game. Also, here’s a link to the game franchise’s Wikipedia page.

What is it, in summary?: Two cosmic horror games that contain pretty much every horrific thing you can imagine. Steam describes them as “JRPG x Survival Horror”. You play as one of several characters as they try to outlast horrific circumstances. In the first game, you are one of four people trying to reach the depths of a cursed place called “The Dungeon of Fear and Hunger” while all manner of creatures try to get you. In the second game, which takes place 400 years later, you are one of several people who’re caught up in a strange Battle Royal game while stranded in a war torn city. Your objective in both games can be to merely survive, but it’s also possible to dig deeper into the magic and mystery around you, to try and figure out why things are as they are.

What do you love about it?: I’m a sucker for cosmic horror and game worlds that you only understand if you puzzle together in-game lore. I know these games, especially the first one, have several very obvious homages and/or pretty much copy-pasted characters from other media (*cough*BERSERK*cough*) but it has enough of its own style to be an interesting new things rather than a fan game with the serial numbers filed off.

What sort of things are you likely to request for it?: Worldbuilding! As interesting as I find the characters, I’d most of all love to learn more about what people think this mess of a world is like outside of the two main plots. What’s it like living in this world? Are there any places we as the audience would consider ‘normal’ to live? And what’s up with the Crow Mauler, how did he come into existence and what’s his true purpose? What’s it like to live through a change of the new gods? What’s a normal day like in this world? What is it like to connect to one of the new gods? One of the old?

Are there sections of canon (rather than the whole canon) that can be consumed by themselves to fulfill your requests, or that showcase particular characters and relationships?: If you don’t feel like playing the games, but you’re curious about the lore and characters, there are several lore videos and let’s plays up on Youtube. I’d recommend Super Eyepatch Wolf’s video about the first game as a good intro. Worm Girl has great story summary/lore videos for both the first game and the second one.

Content warnings (ie, rape, incest, racism, gore/violence): ALL OF THE CONTENT WARNINGS. Seriously. Especially if you’re playing the uncensored versions of the games. There is rape, violence, gore, body horror, suicide, racism, slavery, torture, cannibalism, child death, child abuse, heavily implied pedophilia and so on and so forth. You name it, it’s probably in these games. They’re full of horrific content to the point of parody.

Edited (Changed picture) 2024-09-29 21:12 (UTC)

Candela Obscura the Circle of Needle & Thread

Title: Candela Obscura

Media: Actual play/Live play video series

Approx length: There are currently 4 loosely connected “seasons”, each 3 episodes long (and each episode is 4-6 hours long). These seasons are called “Vassal & Veil”, “Needle & Thread”, “Tide & Bone” and “The Circle of the Crimson Mirror”.

Where to find it: Link to the official playlist of the show over on Youtube. All episodes and behind the scene videos are free to view.

What is it, in summary?: Our stories take place in the city of Newfaire, in a world similar to ours at the turn of the century, except for one thing: the supernatural is very real and insidiously aggressive. I say stories because we follow different groups who work to protect their fellows from horrors that bleed into reality from beyond. Each episode deals with a group of investigators having to solve a murder and/or disappearance before its cause wreaks more havoc. Unfortunately these people have to work in the shadows, as the powers that be either don't believe in or don't fear the things that threaten reality. They are Candela Obscura and they hope to survive another day to keep the world from breaking. Link to trailer for the show.

What do you love about it?: While I am a cosmic horror nerd, what I love most about this show are its characters. Don't get me wrong, the horror is delightful (please heed all content warnings) but the heart of the story lies with its characters and the mysteries they're solving. There are plenty of scenes and moments that seek to terrify, but there are also moments that focus on humor, friendship and dealing with the horrors you survive. Plus, the acting and improve is topnotch and the setting is queernorm.

What sort of things are you likely to request for it?: Though I love all the characters, those of The Circle of Needle & Thread are my absolute favorites and I ship the OT3 of Jean/Marion/Sean hard. I love to learn what people think happened to them pre-canon or in alternate timeline AUs (or completely AU stories with the characters put in a different setting).

Are there sections of canon (rather than the whole canon) that can be consumed by themselves to fulfill your requests, or that showcase particular characters and relationships?: All the “seasons” stand on their own, so you can watch one without having seen the others first. Anything I'll request will be explained in the three episodes in the Needle & Thread season.

Content warnings (ie, rape, incest, racism, gore/violence): It's an improvised cosmic horror show, so please keep that in mind while watching. There's plenty of body horror, horror related to mental illness (or that follows in similar footsteps but deals with magical parallels with similar symptoms), medical horror, gore, violence, the list goes on. The show also deals with the horrors of war and doesn't shy away from discussing and showcasing plenty of social horrors (e.g. poverty, discrimination, etc).

Edited 2024-09-29 21:58 (UTC)

Killjoys cast lineup

Title: Killjoys (TV)

Media: TV show

Approx length: 5 seasons, 10 episodes each season.

Where to find it: It’s on a number of streaming services, but which depends on where you live. It’s also available on Blu-ray and DVD. Here’s a link to its Wikipedia page

What is it, in summary?: A science fiction series that follows two bounty hunters (nicknamed ‘killjoys’) as they try to keep out of trouble and fail utterly to do so. Dutch, our main character, tries to avoid a past that’s rapidly catching up with her, while the planet she’s chosen as her new home is brewing with rebellion and her best friend’s brother comes back into his life in the most dramatic of ways. Keeping to the fairly simple life of a killjoy will get harder and harder as the world changes around them.

What do you love about it?: It’s a show with a beginning, middle and end where you can tell the whole story was planned out from the very beginning. There is plenty of foreshadowing that actually pays off and the ending is an actual ending, leaving room for more stories but tying together all on-going story threads introduced since season 1. Also, if a character is said to be really good at a certain thing, they are, and the setting is a queernorm world!

What sort of things are you likely to request for it?: My favorite characters are side-characters (Fancy Lee and Alvis Akari) and I will be requesting any kind of story that includes them (pre-canon, mid-canon, post-canon, AU, etc etc).

Are there sections of canon (rather than the whole canon) that can be consumed by themselves to fulfill your requests, or that showcase particular characters and relationships?: If you watch season 1, I think you’ll get at least an outline of who Fancy Lee is and a good look at who Alvis Akari is. The prompts I’ll write in my request will likely spoil parts of the other seasons though.

Content warnings (ie, rape, incest, racism, gore/violence): It’s been a while since I rewatched the whole show, but these are the general warnings I can think of, off the top of my head: Violence, indentured servitude, slavery, colonialism, war, mind control/possession/creatures taking over people’s bodies and minds, abuse, class discrimination, self-harm.

Hello! Would it be possible to get a bit more information about what is included in Psyche Corporation and how it forms a single narrative or universe, please? We put up a query on the admin DW - https://yuletide-admin.dreamwidth.org/117431.html - and it would be really helpful if you could discuss it with us there so that my co-mods see the reply.

Hi! I actually replied to the queries page a few hours ago! Please let me know if I did something wrong and you don't see my reply.

Hello! We had a question about the character you nominated - would you be able to discuss that with us at the admin community please? https://yuletide-admin.dreamwidth.org/117431.html

Title: House II: The Second Story (1987)

Media: Movie

Approx length: 1hr 28m

Where to find it:
House II is free with ads on Youtube Movies. Justwatch.com also lists several places to watch it based on your region. It looks like it's on Shudder, for example.

What is it, in summary?:
House II is a horror/adventure comedy film about a man named Jesse (Arye Gross) who moves into his ancestral home and begins encountering bizarre supernatural phenomenon. He eventually links the phenomenon to a magical crystal skull that his great great grandfather had looted decades ago, and the man who he betrayed in order to keep it. Although it's the second movie in the House series, House II is a standalone story! The series is only connected by the basic premise of being supernatural horror set in a house. That said, it's only rated PG-13 and there aren't many scenes that are played for scares. Check out the trailer to get a feel for the tone!

What do you love about it?:
I was first drawn in by the fun 80s fantasy romp of it all (and Arye Gross' floppy 80s hair). What brought me back to watch it again and again was Jesse's relationship arc in the film. He begins as an orphan, reconnects with his heritage and family, develops a closer relationship with his best friend, sheds an inadequate romantic attachment, and ends up riding into the sunset with his new found family. Like, objectively speaking Jesse's life has been destroyed beyond recognition by the end of the movie - but it's a happy ending.

What sort of things are you likely to request for it?:
I'm particularly interested in post-canon adventure or romance featuring the three characters who go off together at the end of the movie. I would love OT3, but also ship Jesse with either of the others alone, or the three of them as a platonic unit.

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?: No

Content warnings (ie, rape, incest, racism, gore/violence):
There is some gun violence and other fighting, but imo the main issue with the film is its unnuanced portrayal of the Aztec people. It shows the protagonists fighting off a group of Aztec men trying to perform a human sacrifice, and then the woman they saved just sort of tags along with them afterwards.

Ahhhhhh!! I'm so happy you nominated this! I love the play and the movie; I hope it gets ficced.

Sweet dreams you caaaan't resist

This has been my favorite ad campaign of all time since I was a kid. I don't know what a fic would look like, but I want to see it.

Sorry about that, I guess we crossed over! Thanks for commenting there!

Title: Princess Napraxine by Ouida

Media: novel

Approx length: 19th-century Victorian triple-decker novel

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?: no

Link to detailed promo post and where to find the novel

Title:
Hear Me Cry (CBS Schoolbreak Special) (1984)

Media:
Short film / movie

Approx length:
30 minutes

Where to find it:
on youtube and the internet archive. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAmi8WB0o4w.

What is it, in summary?:
Two teenagers in the 80s find they have more in common than their preconceived notions of each other as the "jock" and the "nerd". They form a suicide pact, but only one dies.

What do you love about it?:
Angsty, edgy, and extremely 80s, but not dismissive or (entirely) tasteless. Probably one of the earlier sympathetic film depictions (made for adolescents) of what makes a suicide. I also love the nerd and jock dynamic, and how they become sort of secret friends, united by this one feeling they can't share with anyone else. At times it makes me cringe, but that's a part of the 80s charm. I think there's a lot of angsty fanfiction potential here, and even more angsty slash potential. Plus Siouxsie and TSOL being 80s sadboy music was pretty hilarious.

What sort of things are you likely to request for it?:
Slash, definitely. I would like to see an ending where the character who dies is talked out of it by the other (maybe for slashy reasons...?). Or some 80s typical homophobia followed by comfort, of course.

Are there sections of canon (rather than the whole canon) that can be consumed by themselves to fulfill your requests, or that showcase particular characters and relationships?:
Ehh, not really. You could theoretically skip the scenes with their parents but that does take out a lot of context.

Content warnings (ie, rape, incest, racism, gore/violence):
Suicide, obviously. There's also a confederate flag on one of the characters' walls (that is never mentioned, just extremely out of place).

Hmm... I am greatly intrigued...

Title: i_am_puma and i_am_cheetah (Web Series)
(YouTube RPF Real Puma Fiction, haha)

Messi

Media: Web Series / YouTube channel

Approx length: You can get the gist by watching a few videos (although you may become hooked and watch many more)

Where to find it: https://youtube.com/@iampuma?si=0aib1dVYGOK2Z9tB

(Gerda's channel: https://youtube.com/@iamcheetah?si=ewmFL3_13N6MRYOL)

What is it, in summary?: A YouTube channel dedicated to the life and activities of Messi the puma (cougar, mountain lion). Messi is a rescue animal born in a Russian zoo in 2015. Because he was born fairly sickly, the zoo sold him to a petting zoo. This is where his human parents met him. Messi is a very special cougar. His nature is very gentle and sweet, unlike his wild brothers. This is part of the reason why he was able to go home with Sasha and Masha (they acknowledge that most cougars could not live the way Messi lives and warn that people should not try to make a pet out of your average cougar). The zoo was considering euthanizing Messi because he needed so much medical care. Sasha and Masha saved his life by adopting him.

Messi was born during the world cup, so he and his siblings were named after famous soccer (football) players. He was named after Lionel Messi. One of his favorite games to play is chasing and batting a ball around, so he lives up to his name.

This sweet puma would never be able to live in the wild. Messi would die without regular medical check-ups and vitamin supplements. First, he was born with a cystic bladder condition that needs to be monitored. Second, his body doesn't seem to make vitamin D very well. When Messi was a baby, he suffered with rickets because of his vitamin D deficiency. Sasha and Masha take him to a veterinarian who can help monitor the cystitis and give him vitamins in his food. They found a dog trainer who also had experience training bobcats; this trainer helped Messi learn to walk so the damage done by the rickets would heal as much as possible. Messi also learned a few commands there. Today, he is a much healthier and happier adult cougar.

I know this request could be controversial for some people who are opposed to people keeping wild animals as pets, but I feel Messi is a special case. His human parents take such good care of him and do everything they can to make sure he is happy. You can tell how much they love him in every video. In this case, I feel that the way Messi lives represents the best way for him.

Most of Messi's videos are in Russian with English subtitles.

What do you love about it?: Messi is such a beautiful, cute, and smart animal that he's an absolute joy to watch. His channel regularly melts my heart.

What sort of things are you likely to request for it?: Messi's thought process as he goes on adventures. (Anthropomorphism)

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?: Not really? I will discuss some of Messi's personality traits in my letter. I've been watching this channel for at least a few years now.

Content warnings (ie, rape, incest, racism, gore/violence): No. If a cougar living in a house offends you no matter what the circumstances, you will want to steer clear of my request.

A few favorite videos:

Messi and the robot vacuum
https://youtu.be/xEiz_-G9sNg?si=Vge_ZfbSRpY1yBDg

Sasha plays ball with Messi
https://youtu.be/fwrly_tYLwU?si=M6FKCc1Ysv9xy_40

Messi chills on the couch while his parents make fun of his position (no subtitles)
https://youtube.com/shorts/MlbKuvC0t2w?si=j1dx2uA6-tPN0zhw

Most adorable puma ever
https://youtu.be/4FlpckCpzXI?si=qM3IZgMwdloprLyT

(Gerda is a cheetah rescued by the same couple. I'm not planning to request her being in my story, but I felt her presence should be explained.)

Edited 2024-10-03 06:02 (UTC)

Title: Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical

Media: video game

Approx length: a few hours? I don't think I ever timed it, but you could play it in an evening. (probably two if you play the DLC as well)

Where to find it: on gog or Steam (It is currently on sale on gog)

What is it, in summary?: It's basically a musical visual novel. In addition to the usual visual novel gameplay, you also make choices during songs that alter how the song goes.

You play Grace, a twentysomething musician whose band is holding auditions one night when, after the other members have left, a woman shows up, hears Grace singing, and does an audition for her alone. Later that night, she shows up at Grace's apartment, stabbed, and dies in her arms. After she does, a light floats out of her body and enters Grace.

She discovers this has made her a Muse, as in the kind from Greek myth. Further, several of the Greek gods still exist in this way, as a sort of energy they pass on to mortals. She is also accused of murdering Calliope, the muse she met the night before, and must clear her name. As the new muse, Grace can inspire people to start singing and you can use this as part of your investigation.

If you play the optional DLC, you play that as Orpheus, the bard from the myth. He's still around and has discovered he can leave Hades, but isn't sure what to make of this second chance at life.

What do you love about it?: I love mystery games, for one, and I also love gods in the modern day stories. This one is really well done, too. The characters are very compelling and I love some of their designs. And, of course, I really love some of the music. (I bought the soundtrack, too.)

Also this was David Gaider's post-Dragon Age project and it has some great voice actors, including Anthony Rapp, Laura Bailey, Ashley Johnson, and Erika Ishii. You know, if that means anything to you, but it was a big part of why I first backed the game on kickstarter.

What sort of things are you likely to request for it?: Some shippy stuff, but also some gen exploring more about the gods and their relationships and lives both pre and post-game.

But also I was not the only nominator, so I don't know what others might want.

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?: Not really

Content warnings (ie, rape, incest, racism, gore/violence): There's some dark themes and violence, but nothing graphic.

Edited 2024-10-04 22:49 (UTC)

Title: Formula E RPF

Media: Sports RPF

Approx length: 10 seasons with about 10 (approximately, varies by season) 40-ish minute races each

Where to find it: Seasons 1-10 are available to watch for free with english commentary on the Formula E website (you need a free account but you can sign in with google/apple)

A documentary about FE titled And We Go Green was filmed during season 4 (need to be logged in to youtube to watch)

Since season 7 a series of short videos (10-15 mins each) called 'Unplugged' following the drivers around was uploaded on youtube: Season 7, Season 8, Season 9.

Season 11 will have its first race during Yuletide's creation period (dec 7th).

What is it, in summary?: It's a racing series with electric cars that race mostly around street circuits. Despite a lot of the drivers coming from F1 and the general comparisons between F1 and FE, they are quite different.

What do you love about it?: I love how chaotic the races and the fight for the championship can end up being! And for the drivers, I am terribly fond of the various friendships that have spawned over the seasons and how those bonds are influenced and influence the on-track interactions.

What sort of things are you likely to request for it?: Any shippy combination between the three nominated characters, or anything dealing about the high and lows of being a professional ~~sore loser~~ athlete.

Are there sections of canon that can be consumed by themselves to fulfil your requests, or that showcase particular characters and relationships?: Season 4 is the first season to feature all three nominated characters, and has both Sam and Jev's championship battle and Jev and André as teammates; if you have the time to watch only one season, S4 would be a good choice as it showcases both the atmosphere and the relevant dynamics nicely. (Though I'd recommend watching S5, also, if only for round 5)

One thing of prior knowledge that I think is necessary, however, is Jev's history in F1. A brief, non-exhaustive tumblr post about it (TW: discussion of eating disorders).

Sam and Jev have raced since S1 and will race in S11. André only raced in FE from S4 to S9. Jev has won the S4 and S5 championships.

Sam/Jev: Were teammates during S2, and in direct fight for the championship in S4, with Sam coming third and Jev winning the title. The video of their Disneyland trip when they were teammates at Virgin is very cute, and so is this gifset of Sam jumping on Jev's back or just Sam picking Jev up in celebration in the S4 Punta del Este race.

André/Jev: #jeandre, the portmanteau they use to describe themselves is probably the most popular ship in the fandom, and there's a lot of shippy content for them, like the 'sharing a bed because of hotel reservations mixup' video or the hands on thighs pic or them being silly as teammates. They were teammates from S4 to S6.

Sam/André/Jev: Please enjoy these pics of the three of them celebrating after the S4 prize ceremony and the video of them being dancing.

Sam/André: S5 race 5, where they collided and André lost the chances of winning his first FE race because of that. They don't have as many interactions as Jev/André or Jev/Sam but their different approaches both to Jev and to racing are interesting.

Content warnings: Crashes (non-fatal, but mentions of fatal ones), injuries from said crashes (Sam, mostly), discussions of eating disorders. Also, all the three of them are/were in committed relationships with other people.

Illustrations of Yonge are notoriously bad so here's Jo, who ghostwrote this post.

Title: The Heir of Redclyffe by Charlotte Mary Yonge

Media: long Victorian novel

Approx length: 600+ish pages, longer depending on the format as Yonge's books are out of print and digital editions are varied

Where to find it: Project Gutenberg, alongside many of her other works, but other editions can be found at your local library, on Amazon, and on the Internet Archive.

What is it, in summary?: You may remember this book from Jo March crying over it in Little Women. Extremely, ridiculously popular in its day but mostly forgotten now, The Heir of Redclyffe is a story in the bonkers-yet-grounded Victorian vein following the fortunes of the Edmonstone family. We've got the parents, then Laura, Amy, and Charlotte, the daughters, Charles, the only son, and crucially Guy, the estranged cousin who comes to live with them. Also Phillip, another cousin, who sucks (affectionate?) Our plot concerns the family "curse" surrounding orphaned Guy Morville, from a branch beleaguered by bad character and tragic events, who is trying to get a fresh start and moral redemption (which he doesn't really need, because ultimately he is a total sweetie pie). He's staying with his cousins in their big nice house, and while many dramas happen - gambling! estate inheritance! secret romance for one sister and not so secret romance for another! dangerous fevers! trying to be a Good Christian! - we spend a ton of time just getting to know this family, their rhythms and relationships, flaws and everyday habits. This man explains it as good as it can be explained!

What do you love about it?: Yonge is masterful at writing big families who are charming and warm in such a sincere, affectionate, specific way, and the Edmonstones are one of her best. Whatever moralizing, and be forewarned there is a lot even for a High Church author of her era, whatever wild and melodramatic plot twists, her work is grounded in people with well-realized personalities. It's hard to read about the Edmonstones and not want to hang out with them in Hollywell House.

Yonge also prioritizes to an extent that's rare to see even today, the inclusion of disabled and especially chronically ill characters in her fiction. She wrote a truly absurd amount of books and there's an Invalid in almost every one, included within the units of families/friends and not seen as burdensome...

What sort of things are you likely to request for it?: ...and here it is Charles, who is chronically ill and an ambulatory user of cructches/a wheelchair post tuberculosis of the hipbone as a child, and who I want everybody to love, because he is not just (ugh) Great Rep but simply a top tier character. He's prickly, well-read, spoiled, bitchy, and listless but also incredibly meta-aware of the ridiculousness of what's going on around him and fearless in calling it out. Charles has a biting wit and keen intelligence and sense of humor, and is a great brother and son who loves his family very deeply, but when we meet him he's a teenager who is feeling purposeless. Gradually, we see him grow up and come into his own through his devoted friendship with Guy, not becoming saintly, or nicer, but just maturing and figuring out what he's capable of and wants to do with his life. He's everything you would not expect a disabled character of this era to be, and even commentates on this periodically. There is a moment where he is very sick and doesn't take opium for the pain for just long enough to excoriate Phillip in full lucidity, then is like, okay I'm good. He rules.

I'd personally love to read anything about him, his life and work, and his relationships with his sisters, and the fact that he's not included in any marriage plots but also not explicitly excluded from them (ex: nobody says he can't marry, and in fact Yonge marries off quite a few of her invalids). I think you can easily read him as ace and/or queer which would be fun to explore.

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?: Not really, which is somewhat a reflection of how it's never been adapted in any form, but I will use this section to mention the wild fact that there is an actual out-of-print fanfiction sequel the plot of which is quite spoilery, written in 1944. (note that the link is missing the very end of the book) Just as an artifact created in reaction the original book in a very different time it is so fascinating.

Content warnings (ie, rape, incest, racism, gore/violence):
Death, Victorian novel disease, period-typical attitudes towards everything, haunted abusive family legacies, etc etc.

Title: Dave's Spokesman

Media: Web Video

Approx length: Probably under an hour if you watch all of them; the original video is only 4 minutes.

Where to find it: Start here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FeOZhw-ukso&list=PLV_qemO0oathL1flVEebCu5b8Qr0BY36N&index=4&pp=iAQB and be sure to watch the post-credits scene; it adds extremely important context to everything that follows.

Here's a playlist containing several more of them: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLV_qemO0oathL1flVEebCu5b8Qr0BY36N

And if you wish to seek out more there are others on YouTube not in the playlist.

What is it, in summary?: A parody of local news featuring an unnamed reporter who gives a less-than-helpful newscast while also advertising various odd businesses run by a guy named Dave.

What do you love about it?: The sheer confusion of it all! You can sort of tell what's happening with the events being reported on, but it's presented in this way where you're left wondering how exactly we got into this situation.

What sort of things are you likely to request for it?: I'm curious about the worldbuilding-- what is it like being on the production crew of this show? How did Dave and the Spokesman get mixed up with each other? Who is *watching* it? What is the guest-finding process like, since we can tell that the guy who did go on the show voluntarily has never seen it before? How conscious is the Spokesman of the way he comes off to other people?

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?: "What's Going On?" is really the only one essential to watch (again, as long as you watch all the way through the post-credits scene); everything else adds to the joke ("What's Going On Inside?" in particular), but the first one really does encapsulate everything.

I watched this after seeing a fandom promo post last year and I loved it. If you wrote that post, thank you!

I love these books. For me, the most striking and memorable thing is the magic library where Lirael works; it's pretty fic-worthy.

FYI Your link to archive.org is broken, though it was pretty easy to delete the extraneous characters and get there.

Title: The Order (2019)

Media: TV Show

Approx length: 2 seasons, 10 hour-long episodes per season

Where to find it: Netflix

What is it, in summary?: A TV show focused on a college student attempting to infiltrate a magical secret society known as the Hermetic Order of the Blue Rose, stumbling into a mess of werewolves and dark magic.

What do you love about it?: It's fun! Reminiscent of the Magicians in tone regarding magical college shenanigans, and I'm very fond of how it does connections between characters (the werewolves particularly are a fun time as a found family who are fucking around and finding out). I enjoy the magical secret society aspect a lot as well. It's not a great show (like. Disclaimer that I actually think it is kind of horrible) but I think it's a lot of fun.

What sort of things are you likely to request for it?: Genfic with Alyssa or Gabrielle or Lilith, messy F/F pairings conceptually, ensemble fic with stupid college students, exploration of the Hermetic Blue Order and Vera specifically, etc.

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?: You can probably watch only 1 season rather than 2!

Content warnings (ie, rape, incest, racism, gore/violence): Mainly just violence!

Edited 2024-10-05 08:34 (UTC)

Title: The Magicians - Lev Grossman

Media: Books

Approx length: 3 books, each medium-sized

Where to find it: Anywhere you would normally legally purchase or borrow a book. Please contact me directly if you're having trouble obtaining it.

What is it, in summary?: A series of novels centered around a protagonist who attends a magical college and afterwards falls into a Narnia-equivalent world.

What do you love about it?: The mechanics of magic and the atmosphere of magic are handled well— it treats learning magic like learning a language, and I enjoy that a lot. There's a lot of weight and gravitas to the execution of magic; I'm fond of the worldbuilding overall. Beyond that, I'm always taken aback by the depiction of depression and how personal and honest it feels, as well as how you can feel the light come into the series as the protagonist recovers in the third book.

What sort of things are you likely to request for it?: Anything involving Alice, especially post-canon.

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?: No

Content warnings (ie, rape, incest, racism, gore/violence): Mainly just the depiction of depression!

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Page 16 of 19

Yuletide Fandom Promo 2024!

Beneath the World, a Sea - Chris Beckett

The Mechanic (2011)

Fear & Hunger (Video Games)

Candela Obscura

Killjoys (TV)

Re: Psyche Corporation (various songs)

Re: Psyche Corporation (various songs)

Re: The Angel Islington

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Re: Psyche Corporation (various songs)

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Formula E RPF

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Dave's Spokesman

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The Order (2019)

The Magicians - Lev Grossman