Yuletide Fandom Promo 2024!

[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!


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

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Here are some areas you can cover:

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

<b>Media</b>:

<b>Approx length</b>:

<b>Where to find it</b>:
(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)

<b>What is it, in summary?</b>:

<b>What do you love about it?</b>:

<b>What sort of things are you likely to request for it?</b>:

<b>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?</b>:

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

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(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!

Comments

僕らのミクロな終末 | Bokura no Micro na Shuumatsu | The End of The World With You (TV)

[greendawn]

Title:僕らのミクロな終末 | Bokura no Micro na Shuumatsu | The End of The World With You (TV)

Media: TV show

Approx length: 8 episodes, 25 minutes each

Where to find it: In Japanese at https://www.amazon.co.jp/-/en/dp/B0B6QNXSW1 or streaming on https://www.viki.com/tv/39229c-the-end-of-the-world-with-you

What is it, in summary?: An asteroid is going to hit Earth in 10 days and kill everyone; Masumi goes to the library and runs into his ex, Ritsu, who shattered his heart and broke his spirit ten years ago. One thing leads to another, they end up on a roadtrip to take home a teenager who'd gone to the ex's house to commit suicide after the idol he adored killed herself. There are a lot of coincidences but also magical realism (outright magic? /has an asteroid-sized tinhat about this), so it all works. The story is very much about suicide and the effect someone's suicide has on their friends and family, and about choosing hope even at the worst time.

What do you love about it?: I love how the four roadtripping characters (broken-hearted Masumi, suicidal asshole Ritsu, superfan Yuma who was devastated by idol Madoka's death, and Madoka's crossdressing brother Meguru) support each other, fight and make up, and ultimately all make it home before the end of the world. I love the way magic works, both to end the world and save it.

What sort of things are you likely to request for it?: Missing scenes from canon, post-canon speculation (does the world end or not? What exactly is Yuma?), Ritsu/Masumi, Yuma/Meguru (Yuma finding Meguru's Instagram, or taking pictures...)

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 (IMO the manga is mostly the same as the show, but I'm not sure it's available in translation)

Content warnings (ie, rape, incest, racism, gore/violence): Suicide, suicidal thoughts, child abuse, homophobia, injury

みなと商事コインランドリー | Minato Shouji Coin Laundry (TV)

[greendawn]

Title: みなと商事コインランドリー | Minato Shouji Coin Laundry (TV)

Media: TV show

Approx length: 2 12-episode seasons, 25 minutes each

Where to find it: AFAIK it's only streaming on https://www.amazon.co.jp/-/en/dp/B0B64K4CZ1 (LMK if you want more information)

What is it, in summary?: Shin, a 3rd-year high schooler, finds out laundromat-owner Minato (a decade older) is gay and starts pursuing him relentlessly. Minato is haunted by his own shame over a teenaged crush on his male homeroom teacher. It's cute and has lots of manga-esque tropes (ye olde tripping onto someone and kissing them instead of having an urgent dental emergency), and the pacing can be slow and my GOD the misunderstandings, but it's fun and the actors work well together. I also enjoy the side couple, Shu and Asuka, who bond over Shu's special interest in architecture.

What do you love about it?: I like the characters! I'm aware people find Minato's inability to come to any decision without some catastrophe frustrating, but one of the things I like is how being out works for queer characters in canon. Shin's family seem totally accepting of him and his thirst for his laundromat owner; at school Shin and Asuka are kind of out to the one weird fujoshi classmate; and then Minato has been fiercely closeted his whole life and has huge problems with intimacy and desire (canon doesn't delve into why this is, so it's fertile ground for fic speculation) which leads to him always running away. I'm not a huge fan of labeling characters, but Shu reads to me as demisexual, working through confusion over his feelings with Asuka, Shin, and his uncle Takayuki. /my thoughts

What sort of things are you likely to request for it?: Post-canon Minato/Shin and/or Asuka/Shu, as they take further steps in their relationships. (telling the family? Celebrating holidays? Having friends over for dinner? Getting a cat?)

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 (if you have read the manga or light novels, hiiiii, I personally am fine with those canons or references to those canons (I've read 2 of the 3 the light novels, one anthology, and the manga to date and am *here* for the bodyswap and/or deaging shenanigans). If you've read the manga in translation, I'm aware it's behind the Japanese; lmk if you want me to fill in what's happening. I translated some of the recent online chapters on FFA.)

Content warnings (ie, rape, incest, racism, gore/violence): none that I recall

กฎแห่งรักดึงดูด | Laws of Attraction (TV)

[greendawn]

Title: กฎแห่งรักดึงดูด | Laws of Attraction (TV)

Media: TV show

Approx length: 8 episodes, 60 minutes each

Where to find it: *may require VPN to view* (each episode posted as 4 15-minute episodes is also available on the official YT channel; too many links to paste here, but if you want them, ask me!)
Ep1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyOgp815xC4
Ep2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9857NTh8ZM
Ep3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XRQa6gzavA
Ep4: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOr62-hHCag
Ep5: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_OjfWcdqxI
Ep6: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVro-4FM6A0
Ep7: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVAo_6sfq0w
Ep8: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8t91VTJCA2g

What is it, in summary?: Tinn's niece is victim of a hit-and-run; the driver's politician father tries to pay him off and bury the incident, but he's intent on getting her justice. Charn, the devious lawyer hired to deal with Tinn, gets in his own trouble with the politician and switches sides. Together they work to uncover the truth. (Or do they???)

What do you love about it?: Whump! Betrayals! Loyalty! Explosions and car chases! The main couple of Tinn/Charn is great, as are the side couples (Charn's best friend and her girlfriend; the politician's abused son and his bodyguard). The story can be lighthearted at times, but Tinn and his grandmother's grief over Tonkhao's death was also very real and present (as was Charn's grief and guilt over his mother). Charn's ex Nawin is a violently unhinged delight.

What sort of things are you likely to request for it?: Charn/Tinn getting in trouble again. Tan/Thee recovering and moving forward. Rose/Maya's wedding!

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): Child death, murder, gun violence, physical violence, child abuse

The Adventures of Tintin (comics)

[a_belladonna]

Title:
The Adventures of Tintin

Media: Comic books - both the black/white and the colourised versions.

Approx length: The black/white comics differ a bit in length, but are a bit over a 100 pages each. The colourised versions are 62 pages. There are 9* b/w comics (including the infamous "Tintin in the Land of the Soviets" & "Tintin in the Congo") and 22 colour versions (including "Tintin in the Congo"). Because Hergé, the author, died in 1983 the canon is closed; he didn't want anybody else to continue on the series after his death. Hence why I'm not including the unfinished "Tintin and Alph-Art", as it really only consists of more or less finished doodles and notes. The "finished" version floating around the internet is a bootleg version.

*However, for reasons unknown, only five titles have been published in English. But if you speak French, they're definitely all available in French.

Where to find it: In libraries and book stores. I can't remember if there was made e-book versions recently, either way the comics are best enjoyed as a physical media (European comic books are much bigger than American ones. Each Tintin-book is appr. 23,5x30,5 centimetres and are available in hard cover).
The Wikipedia article is also a good place to start, although it'll never beat reading the albums. ;)
Also, the series has been translated into more or less every language, including regional dialects. ;)

What is it, in summary?: A young, Belgian reporter travels all over the world and solves crimes, goes on expeditions, saves the day/his friends/the world...
In the beginning it's just him and his faithful dog Milou (Snowy in English), but as the series continued, the amount of stock characters grew, and from "The Crab with the Golden Claws" he's accompanied by Captain Haddock.

What do you love about it?: The well-executed plots, the historical context, the humour and the attention to detail in the drawings. (Hergé basically founded an entire school of drawing called "la ligne claire" - the clear line - which is marked by a certain, slight stylisation, all unnecessary "frills" are removed. Doesn't mean unsophisticated, almost the opposite. There's attention to detail, but in an elegant, minimalist way. For a famous example, check out the cover of "Destination Moon".)
That you can both read the stories with your slash-goggles on, or not.
Because of the then laws about shielding children from unwholesome content in comic books, Franco-Belgian comics from that time period are devoid of female characters that in any way could be construed as love interests, meaning that we have basically all-male casts navigating in all-male worlds. A notable exception in this series is the formidable opera singer Bianca Castafiore, "the Milanese Nightingale", who OTOH is portrayed as so much older than Tintin that not even the most zealous censor could claim she was his love interest. Instead the teenage boy just lives in a castle with a much older man whom he isn't related to by blood...

What sort of things are you likely to request for it?: Stories that fill out gaps in canon (of the "wonder what happened between this and that event in the story"-variety). Life at Moulinsart (Marlinspike Hall in English). I'm almost equally likely to request smutty/shippy fics as I am to request stories exploring the friendship between the characters.

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?: As I am an unapologetically shipper of Tintin/Tchang, you can more or less just go directly for "The Blue Lotus" and the magnum opus of the series "Tintin in Tibet" (with a side of page 5 in the following book "The Castafiore Emerald" where he receives a letter from Tchang). For "daily life at Moulinsart", read "The Castafiore Emerald".
In case of either Tintin/Haddock or the friendship between Tintin and Captain Haddock, I'd say the albums "The Crab with the Golden Claws", "The Shooting Star", "The Secret of the Unicorn", "Red Rackham's Treasure", "The Seven Crystal Balls", "Prisoners of the Sun" and "Tintin in Tibet" should cover it, more or less. (Along with "The Castafiore Emerald" for that glimpse of daily life, along with the beginning of "The Calculus Affair".)
As for the lovely late addition to the cast, Estonian pilot Piotr Szut, he appears in "The Red Sea Sharks" and "Flight 714 to Sydney".
Tintin's arch nemesis Rastapopoulos appears in "Cigars of the Pharaoh", "The Blue Lotus", "The Red Sea Sharks" and "Flight 714 to Sydney". Another antagonist, Müller, appears in "The Black Island", "Land of the Black Gold" and "The Red Sea Sharks".

The series can sort of be divided into different groups, depending on what you want to focus on:
"Tintin on his own": The early volumes from "The Land of the Soviets" through the first half of "The Crab with the Golden Claws". These are also the stories with the most visible inspiration from Real Life events (hello Bordurian dictator "Müsstler" in "King Ottokar's Sceptre"!)
"Tintin and Haddock go on fantastical adventures": From the second half of "The Crab with the Golden Claws" and onwards.
"Tintin and South America": "The Broken Ear", "The Seven Crystal Balls", "Prisoners of the Sun", "Tintin and the Picaros".
"Tintin and Eastern Europe": ("The Land of the Soviets"), "King Ottokar's Sceptre", "Destination Moon", "Explorers on the Moon", "The Calculus Affair".
"Tintin and the Middle East": "Cigars of the Pharaoh", "The Crab with the Golden Claws", "Land of the Black Gold", "The Red Sea Sharks".
"Tintin and the supernatural/fantastical": "Cigars of the Pharaoh", "The Blue Lotus", "The Black Island", "The Shooting Star", "The Seven Crystal Balls", "Prisoners of the Sun", "Tintin in Tibet", "Flight 714 to Sydney". (The supernatural/fantastical events in these stories range from "there was a natural explanation all along" to dreams of vengeful mummies, a yeti and aliens!)

Content warnings: The series can't always hide that it was created between 1929-1976. Especially the first couple of albums ("Tintin in the Land of the Soviets" through "Cigars of the Pharaoh") can be...interesting... to read in 2024. Keep in mind, though, that the first three albums were essentially dictated by the editor of the newspaper where Hergé worked, and that Hergé himself was very young at the time. (He was going on 22 when he began the series.)

From "The Blue Lotus" onwards he became more conscious of doing proper research, to a degree where he did several "George Lucas" on some of the albums, from not wanting "The Land of the Soviets" to be reissued, to reworking a couple of the albums. Most notable is "The Black Island" which was brought up to date in the 1960's, whereas it originally was set in a pre-war Britain. He also agreed to redraw a page of "Tintin in the Congo" for the Scandinavian publisher, so the rhino doesn't get blown up (! As happened originally!) but instead is scared off by a gunshot.
I'd also argue that one could read the early works and just as easily laugh at the old-fashioned, colonialist, anti-communist, views expressed there. Or they could be used as an argument for portraying Tintin as a violent brat, if you so please. ;)
As historical documents, however, I do think they should be read. Both to see how Hergé developed as an artist and a human, but also to see the views held by a colonial power in pre-war Europe.

It also should be noted that alcoholism is a pervasive theme once Haddock makes his appearance. He's at his lowest in "The Crab with the Golden Claws", but his thirst for whiskey (or other hard liqueur) plays a role especially also in "Red Rackham's Treasure" (where it's purely for laughs) as well in "Explorers on the Moon" where the result of his drinking is almost fatal. (Yes, it's a series where people sometimes die, although none of the main cast ever gets seriously hurt, and it's never graphic.)

Drug addiction and drug smuggling are also touched upon in "The Blue Lotus" and "The Crab with the Golden Claws". In the former we also see the inside of an opium den, although this being a very wholesome comic overall, it's probably the nicest and cosiest opium den you'll ever see. ;) (But we do see people lying on mattresses smoking opium/passed out from smoking. Although, again, the harshest facts are glossed over somewhat by the people smiling beatifically and looking like they just take a nap! *g*)

Also note that the stories I grouped in the "supernatural/fantastical"-category feature themes such as medically induced madness, a giant spider, human sacrifice almost taking place and one brief sequence where all the protagonists dream of a mummy coming alive.

But to round this off: The wonderful thing about this fandom is that you can choose a very kid-friendly "nobody ever dies"-approach or a grittier, more realistic take, and both views can be supported by the source-material. :)

My Sweet Devil (2003)

[stifledlaughter]

Title:
My Sweet Devil (2003)

Media: 3 Part Movie series (an hour and a half total, so just one movie divided up into 3 parts really)

Approx length: Hour and a half

Where to find it:
It is an out of print movie but there is an English subtitled version on archive.org. Full disclosure: It's my fansub I did after watching it unsubbed and loving it. I recommend searching on archive.org with quotations ("My Sweet Devil") as otherwise you get so many results.

What is it, in summary?:
A low-budget indie tokusatsu (practical special effects- think Godzilla, Power Rangers, original Star Trek) movie about a woman who gains demon powers in order to fight demons.

What do you love about it?:
It is so genuinely filmed and written even though the budget is an empty Ito En bottle and a handful of yen coins. The costumes are clearly where the budget went, and there are really great emotional moments, even amidst the cheesiness of 2000s tokusatsu. It feels like a snapshot of a time in how "I am cringe but I am free" it is.

What sort of things are you likely to request for it?:
So it has an open/ambiguous ending, so I'd love post-canon, but I also wouldn't mind "during-canon" where Maki and her mentor (I could not for the life of me remember his name so I guess we will make one up lol) fight more demons or just live life with the knowledge they have magic demon blood and what that means for them. Also Maki has a fellow female demon-fighting friend - what's her deal?

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?:
I recommend watching the whole "movie" (3 parts), it's only an hour and a half.

Content warnings (ie, rape, incest, racism, gore/violence):
BIG heads up on sexual violence - these sort of indie filmed tokusatsus featuring women unfortunately featured that a lot. While the archive.org versions are censored and thus a lot of the actual on-screen assault isn't there, it is either hinted at, or you see groping. An incubus (and the consent issues there) is a main villain. Also, fighting-genre typical violence and blood. First part of movie references an unspecified terminal illness that is cured.

Interview with the Vampire (2022) RPF

[sleepyquail]

Title: Interview with the Vampire (2022) RPF - Eric Bogosian/Assad Zaman

Media: TV show actor RPF

Approx length: Two seasons of 7 and 8 episodes for the show, but the RPF is spread across video and written interviews, insta posts etc. so unknown! Sorry, I'm not sure what to put for this one.

Where to find it: I went through my Eric/Assad tag on tumblr and compiled a collection of posts with the RPF Agenda - tagged with #zamasian primer! It has every article interview pertinent quotes, insta interactions, videos and photoshoots, gifs and images.

What is it, in summary?: A series of truly insane interactions between actors Eric Bogosian (Daniel Molloy in Interview with the Vampire) and Assad Zaman (Armand in Interview with the Vampire) which show no sign of slowing down. Seriously, they've been going for months now! And looking to continue in the show's between-season downtime.

What do you love about it?: How much they both clearly enjoy the others' company, how playful they are and how unhinged they are in interviews. Like, we have Assad telling Eric that 'our characters are going to fuck' when they first met, Eric telling an interviewer that his libido is still going strong at 71, Eric posting a selfie of them both on insta and another actor saying "room for a third?" and Assad replying "no." The list goes on! Also they're both super hot, and the way they look at each other in interviews (and the way Assad touches Eric when he's being spoilery!!!) is just so damn good. Plus I'm a sucker for age difference (Eric is 71 and Assad is 34) and there's just so much to explore.

What sort of things are you likely to request for it?: Eric/Assad basically anything tbh! I'd like to see more established relationship, so will be requesting that, as well as bottom Eric.

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 just look at my zamasian primer tag without needing to watch the show - the only context you might need is that Armand and Daniel in the books have a fucked up relationship, and many people are expecting them to go there in the show. This means there is relatively large character bleed potential! Their specific chapter in the books is in Queen of the Damned, but I haven't read it and don't think it's necessary.

Content warnings: RPF (real person fiction), large age gap (71 and 34), and also infidelity since Eric has been married since the 80s, although I personally take a I Choose Not To See It approach with that lol.

Supacell (TV 2024)

[hangingfire]

Title: Supacell

Media: TV

Approx length: 6 episodes

Where to find it: Netflix

What is it, in summary?: Five young Black Londoners from disparate backgrounds have two things in common: their families have a history of sickle-cell disease, and they are developing superpowers. Whether they know it or not, they're going to need to team up to unite against nefarious forces that want to exploit those powers.

What do you love about it?: A tightly-paced, solidly-acted take on the superhero genre. Not all the affected characters are immediately going to use their powers for good—for the most part, their first thought is how they can use those powers to handle the struggles in their own lives. Fair warning that S1 ends on a fairly brutal cliffhanger.

What sort of things are you likely to request for it?: General worldbuilding and backstories for some of the characters we see on the periphery; side stories for the main characters.

Content warnings (ie, rape, incest, racism, gore/violence): There's a fair amount of violence and some of it gets gory (in stark contrast to the PG-13 violence of your average superhero flick). Institutional racism is a major theme underlying much of the story.

The Game and the Candle - Eleanor M. Ingram

[gratiaa]

Title: The Game and the Candle - Eleanor M. Ingram

Media: Novel

Approx length: Just one novel, not very long (somewhere around 220 pages on my e-reader). There are a couple of Eleanor M. Ingram's short stories that theoretically may share a universe with this book, but they don't deal with the events or characters of the novel at all, so they're just fun bonuses.

Where to find it: Here at Project Gutenberg (includes a text-page version as well as downloadable epub versions)

What is it, in summary?: This is a semi-Ruritanian political drama and romance novel published in 1909 by an American pulp-magazine author who seems to have been fairly popular in her day but has fallen out of the public eye today, and it's fantastic! The lead is John Allard, a young American man from a formerly-wealthy family about to lose their home to a financial crisis, who doesn't have any skills or a profession but does have one criminal-underworld connection and a lot of optimistic confidence in his own ability to become a master criminal on the fly and make enough money to save his family. He goes off to do some crimes and soon lands in Sing Sing prison under an assumed identity, where he languishes in noble suffering until he is discovered by a very wealthy European aristocrat who recognizes him as the man he "knew very well" five years ago, when they spent an idyllic, romantic three weeks together incognito in an Italian villa without ever learning each other's true identities. The nobleman helps Allard escape from prison and then reveals that he is actually Feodor Stanief, nephew to the Emperor of a country that is not quite Russia but also isn't not Russia, a Grand Duke, and the new imperial Regent once his ailing uncle dies, since his cousin the Emperor's son isn't yet of age. Allard pledges his life and loyalty to Stanief and sets off with him into a dark and dangerous world of poisonous imperial politics, alliances and backstabbing, assassination attempts, the fear of coup or revolution, and the triumph of true love and steadfast loyalty over all the perils of his new life.

What do you love about it?: I don't even know if my summary above got across just how much Stanief and Allard love each other, because they love each other so much and everything they say and think about each other is just ridiculously romantic and intimate:

And Allard, rising to receive him, suddenly felt his heart quicken with a strange, familiar violence. "We Allards love more than other people," Robert had said. This was what he was giving Stanief, he realized with something like dismay,—that passion of fierce un-English intensity which considered nothing and made him its plaything. He had not meant to care like that again—

"Good morning, John," said the cool, faintly imperious voice; the warmly dark eyes met his.

Sighing, Allard yielded up the last resistance and gave his all.

"Your Royal Highness—" he murmured, and hated himself for the unsteadiness of his tone.

And it's not just on Allard's side: the imperious, proud Stanief admits his own feelings for his John (...did I mention he literally calls him "my John", and John calls him "monseigneur", and it makes me a little feral every time):

"The Emperor this morning asked me to add you to his household. It is more than I hoped to gain, that he should himself make the request; yet—"

They looked at each other, Allard startled and half dismayed, Stanief's velvet eyes less tranquil than usual.

"Yet I shall miss you, John," he concluded, his voice a caress.

The regret and the tone lay unforgotten in the closed room of Allard's heart. Years after, he could turn and find them there.

What attracts me so much, personally, is not just the love between them, but the intense loyalty and the even more intense power dynamics in their relationship, where Stanief is the lord who is owed unquestioning obedience and submission, and John is his beloved vassal who is owed courtesy and protection. It's an intensely intimate relationship that they both entered out of choice, not obligation, and stay in because they love each other beyond anyone else in the world. There's this amazing moment near the end, when Stanief anticipates being sent into exile once he hands over the reins of empire to his young cousin and tells Allard he should stay with the Emperor, who favors him, rather than become collateral damage in his downfall, and John refuses to leave him:

"I will stay with you. I can come here as I always hoped to do, giving to you, not asking. [...] It is my pride to have regained my independence, monseigneur; to be able to come to you, free, and offer to do your secretary's work, Vasili's, what you choose, but to do it as a service of love. Long ago, on the Nadeja, I lent myself to aid your purpose, to make it mine. And now you have carried it through; next week the Emperor will be crowned. Now I claim the right to return to you; the work is done."

"John—"

"You can not refuse me that," he cried. "You have taken my life and made it center around you, now you can not bid me tear that core out and go on."

As on their first night together, Stanief stretched his hand across the table for his companion's clasp.

"No," he answered lovingly, "we can not go on without each other. If you will stay with a sinking ship, come; I am selfish enough to let you."

*weeping softly* I'm so emotional about them and if any of this sounds like your thing, I guarantee you will be too. (And if you like this book, please step into my parlor and I will show you the selection of Eleanor M. Ingram's other books and stories I love, some of which also approach this level of slashiness!)

What sort of things are you likely to request for it?: Stanief/Allard - anything about them, their three-week romantic sojourn in Palermo, missing scenes during the novel, what their life looks like after the close of the story, with or without the presence of their canonical het love interests. Their love! It's everything! But we've also got Adrian, the teenaged Emperor, who is Machiavellian and proud and impetuous and devastatingly lonely, and his relationships with Stanief and with Allard (and with Stanief's wife, whom he's openly in love with and everyone knows it). Iría, the delicate wilting-flower Spanish princess who becomes a pillar of support for her forced-marriage husband despite their rocky start. Marya, Iría's loyal lady-in-waiting who refuses to leave her side and has a loyalty thing going on almost as big as Allard's. Dalmorov, our scheming but mostly incompetent villain who has such a weird relationship with Adrian -- what even is his deal! Bertie, Allard's tragic beloved younger brother, who deserves a fix-it of some kind and the chance to experience the opulent drama of his brother's new life. Vasili, Stanief's lieutenant and aide, this charming fun-loving young guy who is just here to stay out of politics and have a good time on a boat but has exactly the wrong boss for that goal... From chatting with someone else who's nominating this book, I think we'll have a varied set of characters to choose from -- something for every taste!

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, it's just one novel so very self-contained!

Content warnings (ie, rape, incest, racism, gore/violence): Like many old books, The Game and the Candle contains content that upholds the era's inequalities and the author's biases. The big one for this novel is classism (the wealthy and nobility are beautiful/refined/noble/natural leaders, the lower classes are ugly/stupid/coarse/naturally submissive), but also some racism, a lot of institutional sexism, and pro-monarchist/imperialist politics.

Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (1974)

[gratiaa]

Title: Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (1974)

Media: Movie

Approx length: 2 hours

Where to find it: Available to stream for free (with ads) on Tubi and PlutoTV, or for rent/library-loan/etc. wherever you normally find your movies!

What is it, in summary?: A buddy crime caper/road trip flick/absurdist dark comedy/romantic tragedy starring Clint Eastwood and a very young Jeff Bridges in the title roles. Thunderbolt is a quiet, literary retired-ish bank robber living a peaceful life in hiding as a country preacher. Lightfoot is a happy-go-lucky runaway youth living his best life as a drifter, con artist/thief, and cheerful nexus of chaos. They run into each other (literally!) when Thunderbolt's past catches up to him in the form of his former bank-robbing partners looking for revenge, form an instant bond, and end up going back to the scene of Thunderbolt's last robbery to recreate the crime and get away with the money this time.

What do you love about it?: THE ROMANCE. These guys are as blatantly in love as it was possible to be in a mainstream movie in 1974. There are token nods to heterosexuality here and there, but they barely register next to the levels of mutual admiration, trust, and loyalty between Thunderbolt and Lightfoot. There's Thunderbolt noticing the color of Lightfoot's eyes at their first meeting and making a point of complimenting them, a repeated biblical reference to the "leopard lying down with the kid" that really drives home the innuendo, crossdressing as part of the heist that's not as played for laughs as one might expect from this era and leads to a great moment of them pretending to be a couple, Thunderbolt's loner solemnity melting under the sunshine of Lightfoot's smile, the line "We're good together" is said very early on, they drive off into the sunset toward a beautiful mountain vista together at one point like newlyweds going on honeymoon... it's just an astonishingly sweet love story for the type of movie it's in and I am head over heels for the whole thing.

What sort of things are you likely to request for it?: THE ROMANCE. I would love a fixit for the ending (semi-spoiled below a cut at the bottom of this comment) where the pair of them can somehow have a happy future together, or something set during the movie that turns the subtext into text, or a coda to the canonical ending that explores the question posed by the movie's theme song, "Where do I go from here?". I just need more Thunderbolt/Lightfoot or Thunderbolt&Lightfoot in my life and I would be delighted with anything.

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, it's just the one movie!

Content warnings (ie, rape, incest, racism, gore/violence): Lots of violence, injury with blood, animals in peril, era-typical sexism and homophobia,

character death spoilers

on-screen but non-graphic Major Character Death, with three of the four major characters dying by the end including one half of Thunderbolt/Lightfoot :'(

. Please comment if you need further details on any of this to decide whether it's for you, I'm happy to give more specific warnings and spoilers!

Chuubo's Marvelous Wish-Granting Engine

[penguinzero]

Title: Chuubo's Marvelous Wish-Granting Engine

Media: Tabletop RPG (with a supplemental novel)

Approx length: Core book is 554 pages (plus index); the main campaign, The Glass-Maker's Dragon, is 551. Other supplements are shorter, but this is definitely a hefty game.

Where to find it: The game and all supplements are available at DriveThruRPG. All of them are linked to from the official wiki.

What is it, in summary?:
Once upon a time, the world ended.

It happened quite quickly. The sun was killed -- murdered by her lover, the Headmaster of the Bleak Academy, a place beyond creation dedicated to tearing down all of existence. As the sun died, the world was engulfed in the Outside, a haze of meaninglessness that meant nothing made sense any more, causality was forgotten, and people were lost in confusion forever.

One place survived, though. It's called Town, and it lies on the shores of Big Lake. It's a peaceful, pastoral place, for the most part. People live quiet lives, fishing or attending School. Sailors chart courses into the Outside, trying to understand it and bring meaning and sense back to the world. The families that run the local shrines perform rituals to purify the dust that drifts in from Outside and turn it into useful things. Very dramatic, swashbuckling, talking rats live on the rooftops and battle the Mysteries, terrible monsters that are mostly metaphors but still also very real.

And in Town you'll also find a group of curious friends, centered around a perfectly ordinary boy named Chuubo. He built a machine that grants wishes, which is a perfectly ordinary thing to do, and every week gets up to new shenanigans with a new wish -- or deal with the consequences of wishing with the help of his friends. (It turns out wishing for ice cream can be surprisingly hard to get right, for instance.)

There's his best friend, Seizhi Schwann (who's recently become aware he didn't exist until Chuubo wished for a best friend, and he's very anxious someone might find out). There's his arch-rival, Leonardo de Montreal, master of Nightmare Science, who tore out his heart to rekindle the sun, and who is obviously a far greater person than Chuubo, who he is absolutely not friends with. There's Jasper Irinka, daughter of the sun, who fell to earth when her mother died and is still trying to understand the human world and its mysterious things like 'money' and 'love' and 'sneezing.' There's Natalia, product of a super-soldier program in Russia who must deal with the trauma it caused her (and also a golden serpent which may actually be her heart terrorizing the city), and Miramie (who was once a monster who tried to destroy the world but now just wants to run a small art shop and cafe), and Rinley (a troublemaking kid who's got the powers of a hero from a tall tale), and several others.

And together, they might fight giant glass serpents or undertake heroic quests or go explore the edges of reality. They might face off against the Bleak Academy, which still lies beyond creation hoping to finish destroying everything. But they might also just spend time together, being friends and having arguments and coming to terms with their traumas. And that might actually do more for the world than all the heroic quests ever could.

Chuubo's Marvelous Wish-Granting Engine is a very unusual TRPG by Jenna Moran. The mechanics are heavily focused on the storylines the characters are expected to undertake -- you don't get XP for fighting monsters or finding treasure (usually), but for doing things like sitting on a rooftop watching the sunset with your best friend, trying to avoid talking about what's really bothering you. Or for fixing up that old house on the corner that no one's taken care of in too long. Or for blackmailing your dog into learning martial arts.

While you can create your own characters, it also comes with a very charismatic set of pregenerated characters that fans have latched on to, and whose stories are tied deeply in to the mysteries and wonders of the setting.

What do you love about it?: I've been a huge fan of Jenna Moran's writing for many years now, and Chuubo's is possibly one of her best works. It's mechanically innovative in ways that few RPGs have equaled, but it also has a built-in setting and style that is just immensely emotionally evocative.

The characters are all amazing, and I love each and every one of them. The arcs of their stories, especially in The Glass-Maker's Dragon, lead them through struggles with their identity, struggles to connect with each other, and often trauma and loss, but then likely take them through the other side and show that trauma isn't the end. Even if they end up at the Bleak Academy, drawn into despair, they can still get better.

And there's a surprising amount of customizability to the characters, giving a lot of options to make them your own while still keeping their core nature. Just using options stated in the books, for instance, Natalia might be a boy named Antony, or instead of a Russian super soldier she might be a French vampire, or a Spanish masked adventurer, or the exiled princess of a highly-advanced African kingdom. But whatever her origins, the core of her story will still be exploring the way her troubled past has distanced her from her emotions and the people around her, and how she heals from that.

Also, the main campaign is explicitly a retelling of the Enuma Elish (the Mesopotamian creation myth), but with teenagers instead of almighty gods. Which I can't help but be impressed by.

What sort of things are you likely to request for it?: I'm likely going to be asking for explorations of the relationship between Jasper and Natalia, two very different characters who are likely to clash, and yet have character arcs that can bring them together. Shipfic preferred, but gen entirely acceptable.

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'd be tough. You could get most of the information you need just by reading The Glass-Maker's Dragon, but that's still a pretty hefty commitment. The novel, Fable of the Swan is shorter and gives a great feel for the setting, but doesn't focus much on the characters I'm nominating. Browsing the wiki might be the best way to get a feel for the game and see if you want to commit to reading it.

Content warnings (ie, rape, incest, racism, gore/violence): Not a whole lot, but there's underlying trauma in some of the characters -- Jasper's mother was murdered by her father, Natalia had a strict and cold childhood that turned her heart to ice, Seizhi has existential anxiety because he knows he shouldn't really exist, and so on. Nothing worse than you might find in, say, a Studio Ghibli movie, but still worth noting.

The Monster Prom series

[22degreehalo]

_{Above image from Monster Camp!}

Title: the Monster Prom franchise (including the OG game as well as Monster Camp and Monster Roadtrip, and the upcoming Monster Con!)

Media: solo/multiplayer video game (Monster Prom and Monster Camp are dating sims while Monster Roadtrip is a survival sim)

Approx length: ??? (one playthrough can take as little as 45 minutes; seeing ALL content...is not a realistic aim!!)

Where to find it:
Available on PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox; all are available digitally, but Monster Roadtrip is not yet available in physical format. See here for all your necessary Monster Prom links. I don't see any similar pages for the other games, but they should be easy to find if you click through?

What is it, in summary?: A wacky, dark comedy party game with a lot more than first meets the eye!

In more detail: the franchise revolves around a constantly-growing group of monstrous young adults as they attend prom (in what looks like an adults-only high school?? IDK man roll with it), squee over their nerdy passions, try to smooch one another, conquer enemy kingdoms and violently subdue their enemies, and just maybe ~fall in love~.

In the first two games, you play as one of a group of four playable characters (with more available as DLC) and try to win the heart of your favourite from a set of love interests via raising your stats and triggering semi-randomised events and choosing the best options. In Monster Roadtrip, two of the initial love interests (Scott and Polly, a werewolf and ghost) go on a roadtrip; it's up to the players to make sure they don't run out of supplies as they travel from place to place, and ultimately get enough to reach one of the final destinations. (Dating is also possible, too!!)

But even though these sound like very different genres, the core of the game remains the same: reading through the incredibly ridiculous, strange, and sometimes sexy adventures this cast gets up to. Winning or losing isn't really the main point, as even the 'wrong' choices can be super funny, and the games have metric buttloads of easter eggs and hidden content for you to seek out; seeing new things and unexpected stuff is the real joy!

What do you love about it?: This is a rare series that for me really balances a number of wildly different tones super effectively: it's a comedy, and you'll spend most of your playthrough laughing and picking dumb choices, but the creators really want you to genuinely care about and like and fap to these characters, too! In between the ridiculousness there's just enough real heart to bring it all together and let you get really attached to this world and group of friends!

It's also really nice how both progressive this series is in terms of inclusivity (some characters are canonically trans and/or nb, every PC is by default pansexual, there's a side aro/ace character who as an aro/ace myself I think was written really well), while also being incredibly sex-positive! It's both a sex comedy and sexy, with the creators selling official body pillows and commissioning NSFW artists to promote their games.

And, just: the characters are so fun!! Many of them are based on stereotypes like the insta thot, but it's all super affectionate and feels self-deprecating rather than critical. Like, the most popular character, Zoe, is an eldritch monster trans girl (voiced by a trans woman!) whose OTP is Naruto/Garfield, and as ridiculous her deal all is, it's also equally relatable :'D Like everything else about the game, it's satirical but also incredibly sincere! And there are sooooo many great characters and ship possibilities, not just with what's possible to do in game but between the love interests and NPCs as well!!

What sort of things are you likely to request for it?: My faves (which I typically ship in any combination, though I do have some especially big ships) are Oz, Vicky, Zoe, Miranda, and Dahlia... meaning that I'm going to have to choose who to leave out :'D I mentioned shipping but these characters are so fun that I also love to read gen about them, whether canon-typical comedy or diving into some of the more serious stuff the game only briefly goes into!

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?: There are a bunch of really great, really fun playthroughs available to watch on Youtube, some even by the official voice actors of the characters! Here's one such example!

If you do buy the game, you'd only really need to do a playthrough or two to get a sense of whatever characters you're interested in, and then mayyybe check out the wiki for any backstory revealed in hidden events if you're touching on anything serious?

Content warnings (ie, rape, incest, racism, gore/violence): Loads and loaaaads of comedic violence. But the developers try to avoid anything that hits too close on real-world abuse, sexual assault themes or bigotry. Monster Camp and Monster Roadtrip both have settings that can allow you to filter out certain categories of content including bodily fluids/gross stuff, really extreme sexual references (e.g. the event in Roadtrip that is literally just about you fucking a kaiju)(I did it 😎), or characters designed to reference real-life shitty groups (such characters are almost always just meant to be cathartically kicked around, but they can kill the vibe).

Masks: A New Generation (ttrpg)

[kitkaos]

Title:
Masks: A New Generation

Media: roleplaying game (ttrpg)

Approx length: the core rulebook is 240 pages, but the intro to Halcyon City and playbooks are probably enough to get you started and are only a handful of pages

Where to find it:
Masks is a Magpie Games rpg and available at their webshop. There's also some freebies you can download from their website. I also found the rulebooks a bit cheaper at DriveThruRPG (If you have Problems downloading, you can also just DM me).

What is it, in summary?:
A giant robot is smashing down Main Street.
Your best friend tried to kiss you.
Your mom thinks your grades need work.
Your mentor thinks your team is bringing you down.
Oh, and your costume is ripped.
Just another day in Halcyon City...
Masks: A New Generation is a superhero roleplaying game in which a team of young heroes fights villains, saves lives, and tries to figure out who they are — noble paragons? Dark avengers? Or regular kids? All against the backdrop of Halcyon City, the greatest City in the world.

What do you love about it?:
Teenage angst! Superhero shenanigans! And all of it rolled into one extremely fun game! Imagine Young Justice meets Young Avengers meets Scooby Doo meets just About any teen movie you can think of!

What sort of things are you likely to request for it?:
I'm a sucker for emotional Conflict, which can be both shippy or gen. I also love the worldbuilding in this one.

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?:
The playbooks, of course. Plus a couple pages about Halcyon City.

Content warnings (ie, rape, incest, racism, gore/violence):
It's a teenage superhero game, so not really (except what the GM makes of it)

Er der nogen?/Anyone there?

[a_belladonna]

Title: "Er der nogen?" ("Anyone there?" - it's their own translation, so I guess it counts as the official English title)

Media: TV show

Approx length: Eleven seasons, of 6-12 episodes each. Each season is of varying length:
S1: Ca. 5h 42mins (including a Halloween and Christmas special)
S2: Ca. 7h
S3: Ca. 5h
S4: Ca. 3h
S5: Ca. 3h
S6: Ca. 3h
S7: Ca. 7h plus 2 hours unedited livestream
S8: Ca. 3h
S9: Ca. 3,5h plus 4 hours unedited livestream from two locations
S10: Ca. 4h
S11: Ca. 3,5h

Where to find it:
All the seasons (as well as their podcasts/vlogs) are available on YouTube. I don't know if closed captions are available, though.
Seasons 1-5
Season 6
Season 7
Season 8
Season 9
Season 10
Season 11
The podcast (also available on Spotify if that's more your thing)

All the seasons are also available on TV2 Nord's homepage (at least if you're in Denmark, I don't know if the videos are geo-blocked.)

What is it, in summary?: A ghost hunting/paranormal investigation show. Set in (mostly) Northern Jutland, featuring many famous, haunted locations. Made by a couple of 30-something lads who've known each other since their childhood and who've been raised on equal parts horror movies and Jackass.

What do you love about it?: That it takes place in the part of Denmark that it does - we're a small country, yet Northern Jutland (and other rural areas) are often overlooked in favour of the capital region. Which is unfair, as Northern Jutland also has a rich (and blood-soaked) history.
That the hosts, underneath their banter and pranks, take the job seriously. They do want to see if all the old ghost stories are true. If anyone really is there. (The title is what they always call out when they enter a room.)
The two main hosts, Mikkel and Nicolai, are actually recreation centre teachers and social education workers, meaning that they discreetly infuse the show with some children-level historical knowledge.
That the show is much less high-strung than their American counterparts. The hosts don't get scratches from unseen entities or any of the like. There are weird, unexplained noises, fog in places fog shouldn't be, and impenetrable shadows. Spooky in a weirdly cosy way, perfect for curling up in the sofa with a quilt and hot chocolate.
The humour, and that these tattooed and caps-and-sneaks-wearing younger men aren't afraid to show when they get scared and have to give up. (In one memorable scene Mikkel gets so scared that he hides in a hotel kitchen crying and tries to buy himself some time by drinking a glass of water)

What sort of things are you likely to request for it?: Fic, mostly. If someone feels inspired by all those old manors, bunkers, burial mounds and churches and want to draw something, I wouldn't mind that either.
Explorations of friendship and companionship, of the thoughts one might get when fumbling one's way across a pitch-black attic with only a tiny night vision camera as guide.
What might happen when you perform a ritual to trap a spirit inside a bottle and bring that bottle home? What if something attaches itself to you or your camper-van? (They claim their camper-van got an extra occupant at one point.)
Facing your fears, and doing so on camera. How it feels when your lifelong friend locks the door behind you with a cackle, leaving you alone in a dungeon that's rumoured to contain a dreadful beast?
How it's one thing to hype yourself and others during the day, and how everything changes once it gets dark.
Sceptics having to realise that it's one thing being a sceptic at home, with the lights on, and another when you're inside a 400 year old manor at 2am, and the lights are off.
Or perhaps what it looks like from the other side, if we go with the idea of ghosts existing (and being somewhat sentient). What do these people from the future (the ghost's future) look like? Do the ghosts even understand what they're saying? (16th-17th century spoken Danish differs quite a bit from modern Danish.)

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?:

Most definitely! Not all seasons are equally interesting. Seasons 1-3 and 9 are the best, IMO. Sadly Nicolai had to leave the show due to personal issues before Season 9, and the show got two new co-hosts Trine and Kasper (a married couple, both actors and hosts of another ghost-story podcast). But this year I've only nominated Mikkel and Nicolai from the main cast, so the seasons with Kasper and Trine can be skipped.
Since I'm nominating two guests from Season 11, their episodes are also a good place to start. Those would be S11:E2 and S11:E3.

Content warnings (ie, rape, incest, racism, gore/violence):
Their language isn't the most safe for work, especially not for English-speaking people. They're prone to liberally sprinkle "fuck!" into much of what they say or exclaim, haha.
("Fuuuuck! Fuckfuckfuck!" is not uncommon for them to shout when things get a bit too intense)
So I guess I'd recommend watching the episodes with headphones on if around others.
They do pull pranks on each other from time to time, mostly of the "get the other trapped in a dungeon/drawer in a morgue/chained to a wall/buried alive*"-variety, so if you suffer from claustrophobia, I could imagine those scenes would have to be skipped.
Other than that it's a quite laid-back show (yes, they have a big fanbase with the tweens here. Yes, despite their language.)
In S3:E12 they visit the old Viking ring castle Fyrkat on a mission to encounter their Viking ancestors. A local warlock sacrifices a rooster and offers them a dodgy brew, so I guess that episode contains a bit of gore/cruelty to animals and implied drug use. (I know the man, it's definitely not just chamomile tea he fed them.)

*In S2:E1 Mikkel is buried alive in a coffin out in a dune. Yes, covered by sand and all. The others hadn't thought of researching how long oxygen lasts inside a coffin. By pure chance they google it while he's out there and realise they have to get him out, like, now. Nothing happened to him, but they learned to do their research beforehand.
But there's a reason the show comes with a "don't try this at home"-disclaimer".

Asterix the Gaul (comics)

[a_belladonna]

Title: Asterix the Gaul

Media: Comic books

Approx length: Albums 1-24 are the "classics", written and drawn by René Goscinny & Albert Uderzo together. 25-33 were made by Uderzo alone, after Goscinny's death. Albums 35-39 (and counting) are being written and drawn by other authors and artists. I'm a bit of a purist in this regard, and don't really consider the albums from 35 onwards canon.(Considering how God-awful the last Uderzo-album is, I also prefer to pretend it doesn't exist! *g*)
New readers will have plenty of fun with albums 1-24. Every album is 48 pages, so they're a relative quick read.

Where to find it: Libraries and book stores

What is it, in summary?: A satirical, humorous take on life in France (Gaul) in first century BC (every story apparently takes place in 50 BC...)

"All of Gaul has been occupied by the Romans... Well, not entirely..."

We follow the eponymous Asterix, his friend Obelix and the rest of the Gauls in a little village in Brittany as they refuse to bow to the Romans, led by Julius Caesar. (The reason why they're able to withstand the Romans is that they have a magic potion that gives them superhuman powers. The Romans, of course, would like to get their hands on it. Hi-jinks ensue.)
The Wikipedia article is a good place to start.

What do you love about it?: The humour, the way current, 20th century events get poked fun of through a historical lens. The names (Roman or Gaulish) that are based on puns. The meta-level, where the characters sometimes seem aware of their own place in history. And the fact that despite all this, deep down, Goscinny & Uderzo did do their actual research, so we might see Asterix and Obelix running across a field with a historically correct plough in the foreground - right after they've visited an office, where the "intercom" consisted of Pygmies running from room to room.

What sort of things are you likely to request for it?: Mostly fics about Asterix & Obelix' friendship and relationship in general and what might have happened during their adventures. I've tried, but I can't ship them. Whether it's because of their cartoonish proportions (which makes it rather difficult for me to see them as sexual/romantic beings) or because I just really like the way they're portrayed as brothers of different mothers (they're born in the exact same moment, on the exact same day), I don't know.

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?: The thing about this series is that you can more or less read the albums in whatever order you'd like (except for the first album). Every album is a finished story, and it's only the main cast (the Gauls of the village, Caesar and Cleopatra) that are recurring characters. Even the Roman troops in the garrisons surrounding the village change from album to album.
If I have to recommend just some titles, it should be album 10 through 21, as they're all incredibly solid, compelling stories. But also "Asterix and Cleopatra" and "Obelix and Co." are to be recommended.

Content warnings (ie, rape, incest, racism, gore/violence): None, it's a very tame series in that regard. It's very much an all-ages canon. An adult reader might pick up on some darker implications that are written between the lines, and one could argue that the setting only appears so carefree because we see it from the POV of people with access to superhuman powers. Because in the stories where our friends leave the village (or outsiders come to the village) we get glimpses of a harsher, more "realistic" world where people are killed, punished or enslaved - but it's only ever mentioned.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (Movie 2024)

[aelisheva]

Title: Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (Movie 2024)

Media: Feature film

Approx length: 104 minutes (or 1 hour 44 minutes)

Where to find it: Now playing at your local theater.

What sort of things are you likely to request for it?: Fic about Astrid and Jeremy, two characters who only appear in this film. SPOILERS BELOW for the rest of this post – since this is still a relatively new film.

Jeremy is the love interest of Astrid Deetz, Lydia's daughter. During their first kiss, Astrid smiles for the first time in the film's runtime! Then she notices that the pair are floating off the ground of his attic – he was a ghost this whole time who died around the year 2000! I thought this would then turn into a cute romance subplot, like a teenage and gender swapped version of 'Corpse Bride.' But instead he turned out to be a murderous villain. I'd love to see an AU where Jeremy isn't evil and they get up to wacky goth hijinks together as a couple....OR if you do want to go the canon route of him as evil, a fic of Lydia (and Beetlejuice? Or her ghost dad Richard?) attempting to cheer up Astrid post-breakup could also be fun.

If the Juletide challenge runs again this year, I've always headcanoned Lydia as Jewish due to her actress Winona Ryder. Something about her or Astrid or Astrid's dad at Chanukah could be fun.

SMPLive

[conar]

Title: SMPLive

Media: Livestreamed Minecraft series

Approx length: Not measurable, but you don't need to watch everything.

Where to find it: "Starter pack" playlist of highlight videos

What is it, in summary?: Improvised Minecraft sitcom that centers on the bizarre daily lives of the characters. A hilariously incompetent duo of conmen, lawsuits over stolen items and ugly houses, a rivalry over a music disc, hunting each other down for sport, "server cops" abusing their power in strange and unnecessary ways... Just pure hysterical nonsense 24/7!

What do you love about it?: There are fun elements to the world to expand on - the court and server cop system, hits, the audience, the various shops at Spawn... If you like Hermitcraft, it's basically an R-rated version of it.

What sort of things are you likely to request for it?: Joko/Cooper shipfic, they're my favorite duo. I also really like Poke and James. Also worldbuilding stuff, maybe Tekkit spinoff stuff or assassin event stuff.

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 watch a specific streamer's videos of their POV to just get their happenings.

Content warnings (ie, rape, incest, racism, gore/violence): Series is 5 years old and some jokes aged poorly, r slur is used occasionally. A few creators (CallMeCarson, Wilbur Soot) later turned out to be abusers, but the series can be enjoyed without watching their videos or them being major focuses.

The Familiar - Leigh Bardugo

[aelisheva]

Title: The Familiar - Leigh Bardugo

Media: Novel

Approx length: 380 pages

Where to find it: At your local bookstore or library.

What is it, in summary?: From Goodreads – "A highly anticipated historical fantasy set during the Spanish Golden Age."

There are only like 5 fics of this book on AO3 as of writing, but that's why I'm here to campaign for more.

What sort of things are you likely to request for it?: Anything about the romance between Luzia and Santángel – there are so many fairytale tropes or magical-soulmate-bond tropes already woven into their story and its ending. If Juletide runs again this year, I would love to see more fic about that aspect of our heroine's identity.

Content warnings (ie, rape, incest, racism, gore/violence): This book takes place during the reign of King Philip II of Spain, in the late 1500s, which also saw violence from the Spanish Inquisition and from conquistadors across the "New World." These are discussed in text, but are not the main plot line.

Buddy Daddies (Anime)

[naryrising]

Title: Buddy Daddies (Anime)

Media: Anime

Approx length: 12 half hour episodes

Where to find it: Crunchyroll

What is it, in summary?: Two assassins experience accidental child acquisition! Kazuki (cheerful blond guy hiding traumatic backstory) and Rei (antisocial dark-haired guy with an undercut, also hiding traumatic backstory) are roommates and also hitmen. One of their targets turns out to have a four-year-old daughter, Miri, and they wind up taking her in because they don't know what else to do with her. Comedy ensues as they do their best to parent a little girl!

What do you love about it?: I love "oops we have a kid now I guess"! I love Kazuki and Rei's relationship as it develops over the course of the show. I love how they both have terrible tragedy in their pasts, but cope with it very differently, and how they support one another through growing into their new roles. Miri, their acquired daughter, is an adorable character as well :3

If you like Spy X Family, but wish Yor and Loid got to do more murders, you might like this show!

What sort of things are you likely to request for it?: Found family, friends to lovers, parenting mishaps, smut for Kazuki and Rei

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): Some violence due to the fact that they're assassins, past child abuse and character death.

สามเราต้องรอด | 3 Will Be Free

[naryrising]

Title: สามเราต้องรอด | 3 Will Be Free

Media: TV Show

Approx length: 10 50-min episodes

Where to find it: It's available on GMMTV's official Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLszepnkojZI56CIqVZKRs0fxJ3YxjNnm2

What is it, in summary?: A stripper (Neo), a club hostess (Miw), and a mob boss's son (Shin) wind up on the wrong side of the mob after a series of unfortunate events, and go on the run together. As they hide out from those trying to kill them, they develop feelings for each other.

What do you love about it?: Canon poly relationship canon poly relationship canon poly relationship!! I really like each of the characters in the main trio, they have complex personalities, goals, lives independent of one another, and the dynamics between them are interesting. I especially like that it doesn't lean too heavily into jealousy-based conflict between them (there is a little bit but they get over it pretty fast).

What sort of things are you likely to request for it?: OT3 relationship development, smut.

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): Violence, attempted rape by stepfather in Miw's backstory, deaths of secondary characters.

야화첩 | Painter of the Night (Webcomic)

[naryrising]

b>Title: 야화첩 | Painter of the Night (Webcomic)

Media: Manhwa

Approx length: 133 chapters, complete

Where to find it: Officially, Lezhin Comics. Feel free to contact me if you have difficulty finding it, though!

What is it, in summary?: In the Joseon era, a young low-born painter, Nakyum, is renowned for his erotic gay artworks. A debauched young nobleman with a terrible reputation, Seungho, decides to capture him and force him to become his private painter. Over time their relationship grows and develops, and they have to overcome many obstacles to finally be together for good.

What do you love about it?: First of all, the art style is gorgeous and the sex scenes are intense! I love the incredibly toxic and dangerous relationship at the center of the story, I love the gradual reveals about why Seungho is the way he is, and I love him finally trying to make up to Nakyum for how he initially treated him. I also really love the secondary characters Jihwa (Seungho's jealous former lover) and Mumyeong, the assassin he hires to try to have Nakyum murdered, and the side relationship that develops between them.

If you like some delicious Stockholm Syndrome dubcon toxic yaoi, this is perfect for you!

What sort of things are you likely to request for it?: I really want to know what happens to Jihwa and Mumyeong after they go off together? I feel like the main ship has plenty of development in canon but I'd love to see more about the side pairing! Of course I wouldn't object to additional main ship material either!

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): Yes, so many. Just off the top of my head, non-con and dub-con, violence, kidnapping/imprisonment, falling in love with your kidnapper, homophobia/homophobic language.

皇叔 - 大风刮过 | The Imperial Uncle - Dà Fēng Guā Guò

[naryrising]

Title: 皇叔 - 大风刮过 | The Imperial Uncle - Dà Fēng Guā Guò

Media: Novel

Approx length: about 450 pages

Where to find it: The official English translation is published by Peach Blossom House: https://www.peachflowerhouse.com/store/p/the-imperial-uncle (also available from Amazon and other booksellers generally)

What is it, in summary?: Prince Huai (Jing Chengjun) is the Emperor's uncle, a cutsleeve who just wants to live a comfortable life. However, he is viewed by most of the court as a suspicious, manipulative, treacherous villain. He tries to make himself seem non-threatening and supportive to his nephew, but it's difficult to repair his reputation. When he's brought into a conspiracy against the Emperor, he decides this is his opportunity to bring it down from within and finally be redeemed... but it doesn't go as he planned.

The story is told in first person, from Prince Huai's point of view, and he is often biased or ignorant of some things, which makes for an interesting plot. He has two potential love interests for much of the story, Yun Yu, a scheming but charming courtier who is likewise part of the coup conspiracy, and Liu Tongyi, an intelligent, upright, and virtuous court official who Chengjun thinks is far too good for him. Although I felt like I knew which way the romance would wind up going, I still wasn't totally sure until nearly the end, which is a tribute to how well developed his relationship is with each of them and how both are interesting characters in their own right.

What do you love about it?: Court politics, family and interpersonal drama, complex relationships, queer love. I enjoyed both the love interests, and honestly would have been happy for Chengjun to end up with either one of them.

What sort of things are you likely to request for it?: Well, love triangles can be solved by post-canon polyamory, of course! Or if not, then more post-canon sweet shippy fic would be delightful too.

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): Some very light incest implications that are mostly pining/unrequited (and depend on what you consider incest anyway...)

Zerophilia

[kitkaos]

Title:
Zerophilia

Media: movie

Approx length: 90 minutes

Where to find it:
I couldn't find any streams of the movie, but since it's old and niche, the DVD or BluRay is probably pretty cheap
(Funnily enough the movie still has an official Website here)

What is it, in summary?:
Gender shenanigans! Fluid sexuality! Trashy teen rom com with a lot of queerness!
The movie is about Luke, a young man who discovers that he has a genetic condition which will cause a change of sex following each orgasm.
Zerophiliacs do not exist, but the conviction and daring of this feature-film debut by Martin Curland inspires belief in the impossible. On a solo camping excursion, Luke (Taylor Handley) loses his virginity [which activates his zerophiliac genes], a person with the ability to change sexes during the throws of sexual excitement. This perpetuates all sorts of confusion and panic when Luke, as Luca (Marieh Delfino), finds that he's no longer attracted to [only] Michelle (Rebecca Mozo) but [also] to her mechanic brother Max (Kyle Schmid). Sydney (Gina Bellman), a doctor and expert on Luke's very-rare condition, only confuses matters, telling the young man he must either live with his zerophilia or "lock" his sex by getting physical with another zerophiliac. Possibly the most homorific teen comedy ever made, Zerophila pushes a liquid view of sexual identity that's excitingly inquisitive about our personal sexual fantasies and hang-ups. The androgynous features of the super-cute cast befit the subject matter, but Curland's visual style is not as amorphous as his ideas. ...Still, while Curland's mind may move faster than his kino-eye, the story's conceptual imagination and flourishes boggle the mind―so much so the film should come with a surgeon general's warning: may cause gender confusion. (--Slant Magazine)

What do you love about it?:
It's trashy, it's queer, it's fun! And it opened my eyes to fluid gender identity nd sexuality way back when. ;) I love the cast and the chemistry between all of them.

What sort of things are you likely to request for it?:
Max/Michelle/Luke/Luca - the whole confusing and Wonderful relationship shenanigans that can ensue

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?:
I don't think so, but the movie itself isn't that long anyway

Content warnings (ie, rape, incest, racism, gore/violence):
I guess what Sydney is doing with Luke is pretty manipulative and rather dubcon territory; all in all the movie's definitely NSFW

ラッキーセブン | Lucky Seven (TV 2012)

[kitkaos]

Title:
ラッキーセブン | Lucky Seven (TV 2012)

Media: Japanese TV series

Approx length: 10 episodes of 45-60 minutes each + 1 Special of 120 minutes

Where to find it:
Sadly, it's currently only streaming on Amazon.jp here

What is it, in summary?:
It's one of those typical Japanese detective doramas, but with its great ensemble cast and some fast-paced action scenes, it's much more than that.
Shuntaro Tokita is 28 years old, unemployed and unmotivated. One day after spending a night with a girl, he realizes he's being spied on by detectives (Teru Nitta, Junpei Asahi and Asuka Mizuno), who were hired by the girl's husband to find out if she was having an extramarital affair. He chases one of them all the way to the offices of Lucky 7 Detective Agency. However, the boss of Lucky 7 Detective Agency, Toko Fujisaki, sees Shuntaro's talent and ability and offers him a job as a detective at Lucky 7. He accepts.

What do you love about it?:
Eita! Jun Matsumoto! Risa Naka! The found-family vibe of the detectives. The love/hate bromance between Shuntaro and Nitta.

What sort of things are you likely to request for it?:
The love/hate bromance between Shuntaro and Nitta.

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?:
I don't think you have to watch all 10 eps + SP to get the gist of the series.

Content warnings (ie, rape, incest, racism, gore/violence):
The fight scenes and cases can at times become a bit violent, but nothing too bad.

Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar

[luna]

Title: Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar

Media: An Indian Hindi-language series

Approx length: 8 episodes, each about an hour long

Where to find it: On Netflix in the US

What is it, in summary?: A lavish historical melodrama about the lives of tawaifs (elite dancer/singer/courtesans) in 1940s Lahore, during the Indian Independence movement.

The story centers on the women of Shahi Mahal, especially Mallika, the mistress of the house (after a brutal rise to power). She has two daughters: Bibbo, a gifted singer and secret revolutionary, and Alam, a dreamy aspiring poet who falls in love at first sight with a young nobleman. Meanwhile, Fareedan, the previous madam's daughter, arrives in Lahore with her sights set on revenge. Enter: seduction, betrayal, violence, elaborate schemes, traumatic reveals and a bloody fight for freedom.

What do you love about it?:
Firstly, the aesthetics! The sets, the music, the costumes are all absolutely gorgeous. The whole series is just stunning to look at. This intricate world of the tawaifs as a culture, and the way each individual character has her own complicated feelings about their role in society. Most of all I love the intensity of the relationships between the women (most men in the series are basically props), whether they're being monstrous or gossipy or (rarely, pricelessly) tender to each other.

What sort of things are you likely to request for it?:
- Mallika and Fareedan: they are so unspeakably horrible to each other, but they're also so clearly each other's mirror. Toxic equals. I would love more of their verbal sparring, or spying on each other's performances, or just living rent-free in each other's heads.
- More of Bibbo and Alam spending time together, what it was like for them as little girls, how Bibbo got radicalized, etc.
- A dive into any of these characters' inner lives and what they think about each other that they can't say.
- Queer subtext--the show is ripe 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?: No.

Content warnings: rape, murder, suicide, gun violence, police violence, period-accurate imperialism.

Time Princess

[kanna_ophelia]

Time Princess

Media: Mobile phone game

Approx length: very long, if taken as a whole. Individual "stories" are a few hours, but being mobile games are subject to slow-down mechanics (energy, clothes crafting, raising companion bonds) - youtube playthroughs are by far the quickest way to consume a story

Where to find it:
Bri's Youtube Channel has a lot of playthroughs. I'll be requesting characters from Have You Seen Claudia? - Chapter One and Chapter Two

What is it, in summary?: Time Princess is a mobile dressup game with a heavy emphasis on crafting, events and minigames. The general idea is that the player character (Emma ) is similar to Sam from Quantum Leap in that she leaps into characters in stories in different time periods and helps the heroines survive their life crises, starting with Marie Antoinette. There's a meta-plota about saving the Story Kingdom from encroaching darkness. You breed cute kitties.

Like a surprising amount of dress-up games, the stories can contain mature, dark and violent content.

The characters I am requesting are from the story Have You Seen Claudia?. Emma leaps into a young architect in Chicago during the World Fair, who embarks on a search for her missing sister and gets caught up with a young female mystery writer, a handsomee butcher's boy -- and real life serial killer H. H. Holmes.

What do you love about it?: Pretty clothes, but for the sake of Yuletide, I really enjoy the twists and turns of the stories. For HYSC? specifically, I love Edith and her independence and search for her sister, the devoted eccentric Layla, and Layla's rivalry with Joshua over Edith's attentions. It's a delicious Gothic tale with great characters.

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

f/f - Edith/Layla, because Layla is so clearly and adorably in love with and jealous of Edith

gen - Edith & Layla being dauntless investigators on other mysteries, with or without Joshua's assistance. (If you're aware of the twist ending, I am open to canon divergence on that).

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?:

Each story is more or less independent, but requires unlocking. HYSC? is a pretty "easy" story in terms of crafting, but doing at least part of Marie Antoinette first helps. Youtube playthroughs are the easiest source of story.

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

For HYSC? - murder, kidnapping, torture, blood, mind-breaking, children in peril, refrences to gore, possible implied sexual violence, real-life killers (H. H. Holmes and Marion Hedgepeth) - other warnings such as eating disorders and sexual assault apply to other stories.