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Please use this post to promote the fandoms you're interested in requesting, or ask for recommendations of canons that suit you!
Comment here with information about the canons you are thinking of requesting, or otherwise want to get people into!
Information you might include
Title
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?
Content warnings (ie, rape, incest, racism, gore/violence) - this is at your discretion and is not expected to be comprehensive
Some examples: Yuletide, Fandom5k
Please keep an eye on comments, as people may have follow-up questions about your canons.
You're also welcome to leave comments (anon or not) asking people to rec you canons that they are likely to request.
Consider letting people know if you're interested in specific media only, or have other restrictions.
Promoting your canons
Comment here with information about the canons you are thinking of requesting, or otherwise want to get people into!
Information you might include
Title
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?
Content warnings (ie, rape, incest, racism, gore/violence) - this is at your discretion and is not expected to be comprehensive
Some examples: Yuletide, Fandom5k
Please keep an eye on comments, as people may have follow-up questions about your canons.
Asking for recs
You're also welcome to leave comments (anon or not) asking people to rec you canons that they are likely to request.
Consider letting people know if you're interested in specific media only, or have other restrictions.
(no subject)
Date: 2020-07-18 11:53 am (UTC)Media: Novel
What's it all about?
• A sword lesbian and a necromancer lesbian IN SPACE!
• In a haunted house
• But also a murder mystery
• Really interesting take on necromancy, mediumship and the like
• An absolute rollercoaster of emotions
• Skeletons! Human skeletons, monster skeletons, so many skeletons
• Dark and messy F/F vibes
• Trust & trust issues
Content warnings: Body Horror/Gore, Major Character Deaths
The blending of genres makes Gideon the Ninth such a fun option for exchanges since it's great for angst, horror, dark fantasy, murder mysteries, ghost stories, romance, smut...whatever you fancy really!
(no subject)
Date: 2020-07-18 04:29 pm (UTC)Medium: Video game (FPS)
Length: Three games, each either 27 or 28 levels
Where To Find It: Aleph One (the games themselves); the Marathon's Story page (all game + manual text and meta/speculation); complete video Let's Play by Halved Studios; Marathon 1, Marathon 2, and Marathon Infinity video LPs by Rampancy
What's It All About?
The Marathon games are a trilogy of first-person shooters by the company Bungie (now best known for the original Halo games and the hybrid MMO/FPS Destiny), originally created in the mid-90s for Macs only, though the second game received a Windows port as well after its release. Later, Bungie released them as open source files through the Aleph One project, which brought them to Mac OS X, Windows, and Linux.
In the first game, you play as an unnamed security officer from Mars working for a human colony on Tau Ceti. On a trip up to the colony ship the Marathon, the security officer is ambushed by aliens called the Pfhor and by the AI Durandal, who's gone Rampant, but manages to escape to the Marathon. That's all in the manual prologue; the landing on the Marathon is where the actual game begins. At first you work for Leela, the Marathon's primary AI, as you both fight off the alien invasion, but Durandal continues to interfere and even takes over the defense of the ship in his own unique way. He establishes a connection with another alien race enslaved by the Pfhor, called the S'pht, and with your help frees them from the Pfhor's control and takes off in the Pfhor ship with them, leaving you behind to mop up the rest of the invasion with Leela.
In Marathon 2: Durandal, it turns out that parting was not such sweet sorrow, after all. Instead of leaving you with the colony, Durandal circled back, kidnapped you, and went on a hunt for the S'pht homeworld Lh'owon, where you wake up after seventeen years in stasis to help Durandal and the S'pht search for a way to effectively fight back against the Pfhor's empire and free the S'pht entirely.
In the third game, Marathon: Infinity - well, that's where things get a little weird... Filled with alternate timelines, shifting alliances, and the looming threat of Space Cthulhu eating the universe, it's not the easiest game to follow, but it's still a great conclusion that rewards thought and analysis (so it's a good thing there are already several years' worth of meta about it).
Why Do I Love It?
So many reasons! To start with, although it's certainly dated, the gameplay is fun and satisfying (ah, the feel of wielding dual shotguns! No other game has captured it for me), and there are different difficulty levels depending on whether you want a major challenge or to just run around feeling like a rampaging god of war. The graphics are also dated, but very solid for their era, and I'll defend the skyboxes of Lh'owon in Marathon 2 till my dying day for their alien beauty. The chapter/loading screens for Marathon 2 and Infinity are also fantastic, featuring the art of Craig Mullins. (The chapter screens for the first game are a bit more amateur, but still charming in their way.)
But even beyond that - the story and characters have captured my imagination (and my heart) since I was a kid first discovering them. There's so much fascinating worldbuilding and characterization throughout all three games, from the horrifying nature of battleroids* to the complex politics of the colonized solar system to the history and societies of the Pfhor and the S'pht to the grander mythology of the Jjaro and the W'rkncacnter, that there's always something new to explore. The AI characters are all such vivid individuals - Leela's bravery and ingenuity in her defense of the Marathon, Durandal's explosion into Rampancy metamorphosing into philosophy and ambition and conflicted feelings about humanity, Tycho's rebirth twisting him into full-blown yet pitiable villainy... God, I love them all so much! (And that's not even touching on Thoth's mystic alien AI deal.) There's so much potential in their relationships to each other, as well as in the different ways they treat the security officer, other humans, and the aliens around them. There's also Robert Blake, the poor beleaguered leader of the humans working with Durandal, and Tfear, the terrifyingly tactical and arrogant Pfhor admiral leading their forces in Marathon 2 and Infinity. And some of the one-terminal characters are surprisingly memorable - like F'tha, a S'pht in Marathon 2 who reaches out directly to the security officer to encourage them in their fight, and Re'eer, a Pfhor garrison commander who fakes death to spend more time on their hobby of comparative xenolinguistics.
On the ships front, while the nature of the games makes shippy interactions a bit difficult, there still manages to be some excellent fodder! Most especially for the security officer with Leela, Durandal, and Tycho - Leela works very closely with the security officer in the first game and appears to think highly of them; Durandal kidnaps and manipulates them but is also fascinated by them, grows to rely on them and trust them, and does things like sign a farewell terminal "Love and kisses, Durandal" and tell the security officer "Good-byes were always hard for me. You know I'll never let you go"; Tycho is primarily obsessed with destroying Durandal (which is pretty shippy, too, in a very fucked-up way) but also takes a lot of pleasure in using the security officer to do so and in ordering the security officer around. Then there's Bernhard Strauss, the mysterious scientist whose experiments on Durandal led to the entirety of the first game - Strauss and Durandal's relationship is always interesting to play with, as is Strauss's knowledge of the security officer's true nature. And if you're more into all parts of a ship having physical bodies, there's potential with Blake and the security officer, or F'tha and the security officer, or some nastiness with Tfear or another Pfhor and the security officer...
Tl;dr: They're fun games with a cool story and cool characters and endless opportunities for shipping, worldbuilding, adventures, canon-divergent AUs, crossovers/fusions, and anything else you could want to write or draw!
*It was the 90s!
Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal
Date: 2020-07-18 06:39 pm (UTC)Approximate length: 146 eps over two series (Zexal/Zexal II, both 73 eps each). Standard anime episode length.
Where to find it: The first 29 episodes are available subbed on the official site! After that, you're on your own in the wilds of less legal options. The official site and Crunchyroll do both have the whole series dubbed, but YGO dubs continue to be, uh, less than ideal from an adaptation point of view.
What is it?
It's a YGO spinoff series (though it's entirely stand-alone, and no previous knowledge of YGO is required)! Featuring a cute genki protagonist (Yuuma) with the standard-YGO-protag absent parents and his glowing alien companion from another dimension (Astral) that nobody else can see, who are trying to collect cards that contain the fragments of Astral's memories (the Numbers cards). And which possess regular people who pick them up, because that's fun. There are also various other parties trying to collect the Numbers cards for their own reasons, including a guy trying to collect them in order to heal his sick little brother, and a set of siblings trying to collect them for the sake of their father's revenge. Later on, there are also more extradimensional aliens! And fun with reincarnation! For a given definition of the word 'fun'.
What do you love about it?
Zexal has a pretty big focus on family, theme-wise, and it does its fucked-up families in a way I absolutely adore. I think it's also the best YGO series by far in terms of pacing - there's some rushing in the second season that's a shame, but overall it tends to strike a pretty good balance with regards to both duel pacing and plot pacing. It has a fairly large cast, but it handles it well! And there's a lot to play around with in terms of both character-focused works (both gen and shippy!) and fun plot stuff, especially because it leaves off on an open-ended 'everyone's off on a new adventure' note.
In terms of ships specifically, because of the large cast there are a lot of fun dynamics to play with. We've got characters who used to be parts of the same whole! We've got rivals-to-friends-to-enemies(-to-lovers?)! We've got a recurring villain and the protag who thinks they're friends/wants to be his friend even after the villain reveal! We've got two guys who definitely have strong bitter exes vibes in the first season! We've got a guy devoted to his absent leader with great past-life angst! We've got the two gigantic dorks who keep calling themselves the other's Number One Fan even when they're enemies!
(Also: if you like incest ships, which I do, the fucked-up family dynamics in Zexal make for so much fun incest angst potential.)
What sort of things are you likely to request for it?
Ship-focused content of pretty much any kind! I have some fun fucked-up ships for Zexal - my main go-to is Kaito/Heartland (so, 'grumpy big brother who'd do anything for his sick little brother/the terrible mayor, who he works under and takes orders from'). Other things I'm potentially planning to request include a sibling incest ship (between two of the brothers in the 'collecting Numbers for their father's revenge' family mentioned above). And the big Number One Fan dorks I mentioned, because they have a great enemies-to-friends-to-enemies arc in the show that's great to play with from an angsty POV, but they're also both giant losers at heart and great for fluff.
Thief
Date: 2020-07-18 08:03 pm (UTC)Media: Video games
Approx length: There are three games in the series, Thief Gold, The Metal Age, and Deadly Shadows. Each game takes about 20 hours.
Where to find it: It's available on Steam (and probably GOG). It's worth keeping an eye out for the Steam sale, because all three games are almost always reduced to less than a pound each. It will probably need patching (I know the cut-scenes don't play out of the box if you get Thief Gold from Steam), but it's very easy to do (start with a patch called TFix for Thief Gold).
Are there sections of canon (rather than the whole canon) that can be consumed by themselves to fulfil your requests? There's an excellent wiki (https://thief.fandom.com/wiki/Thief:_The_Dark_Wiki) which comes in really handy. In the first two games, the story is mostly told through cut-scenes which are all on Youtube, although there is some additional worldbuilding in the levels themselves, and it's handy to play them a little to get a feel for the world.
(no subject)
Date: 2020-07-19 11:26 am (UTC)Media: Web novel/light novel/manga. The web novel and light novel have a few slight divergences, and both are ahead of the manga version which is what I mainly follow.
Approx length: The manga version is currently less than 40 chapters
Where to find it: It's available on NovelUpdates, and the manga version is on Mangadex
What is it, in summary?
Kusuriya no Hitorigoto is a mystery series set in a fictionalized version of Imperial China. The MC is an apothecary named Maomao who works in the imperial harem. Especially in earlier chapters, it's her knowledge of medicines, poisons, and diseases that help her to solve various mysteries relating to the harem. The male lead is Jinshi, a highly-ranked noble tasked with overseeing the harem under the Emperor's orders.
What do you love about it?
Maomao is a great protagonist! Her wit is as sharp as her tongue, and she's delightfully single-mindedly focused on poisons and medicines. She let herself be bitten by snakes so she could test out antidotes on herself and build up poison resistance. She's in cloud nine over being a food taster because she has the chance to eat and drink different kinds of poisons. Her idea of an ideal present is a box full of cordyceps-infested insects. Maomao is unapologetically weird and pragmatic and she's very fun when put next to a lot of the other characters, who are mostly all weirded out by her.
And the mysteries are all really interesting! Admittedly, I'm far more intrigued by the ones that directly make use of Maomao's medical knowledge rather than some of the more general mysteries. But the different cases she investigates are generally short, fuel for interesting character developments, and directly tied into a deeper ongoing plot regarding the political situation that's very intriguing to uncover piece by piece.
What sort of things are you likely to request for it?
Definitely casefic! I'd love to read some sort of adventure that Maomao and Jinshi have to puzzle out together. Maybe one that deals with some behind-the-scenes political maneuvering considering Jinshi's circumstances. Jinshi doesn't often get to take charge during the mysteries since Maomao does pretty much all of the detective work, so something where he might have to flex his political muscles would be fun.
Content warnings
- Discussions of rape (Maomao grew up in a brothel)
- Some cases Maomao investigates involve infant death
(no subject)
Date: 2020-07-19 06:16 pm (UTC)Media Book (it's the first of a trilogy, and arguably the best of the three)
Where to find it: Amazon, both as a physical book or ebook.
What it is and what I love about it:
There aren’t that many books where the aliens have won, and won for good, and the ones that do exist focus more on the heroic human resistance than on the part of the population that has resigned themselves to their fate. The Course of Empire is, as far as I know, the only one that doesn’t only do that, but also has one of the aliens as the main character, depicting much of the story from his point of view.
And the aliens in this book are marvellous! Complex, truly alien, consistent, with a unique outsider view of Earth and humans, and completely unapologetic in treating us as their subjects. I read somewhere that the relationship between them and the humans was inspired by Britain’s colonization of India, and I can see that — we are a vassal species to them, and the very fact that we were defeated justifies their treatment of us in their eyes. The twist is that they once were a slave species themselves, so they have a very... pragmatic attitude towards the concept.
There is a human resistance, but it’s scattered and internally divided, and usually outmatched by the aliens, with no hope of liberating the planet. That is also the opinion of the vast majority of humans, who just try to keep their head down and survive, and who don’t give a damn whether their taxes are collected by human or alien bastards. But what I found most interesting were the jinau — human auxiliaries in the service of the Jao, the alien conquerors. Ed Kralik, one of the major characters of the book, is a former member of the US military, who chose to enlist with the jinau after the war was well and truly lost.
The book doesn’t side with the rebels or with the collaborators/colonized, as it mostly tells the story from the viewpoint of the new alien liaison who is meant to take over from the old governor of the planet, which is really refreshing. I don’t want to give away the whole plot, but there is some good stuff for fanfic in there — from the political side, to the romance between Ed Kralik and the daughter of the president (yes, there still is a president of the United States, even if the position is now mostly ceremonial), and even some angst and whump (the aliens capture a rebel and “retrain” him... to the point where he chooses to stay with them when he has the choice to leave).
(no subject)
Date: 2020-07-19 06:16 pm (UTC)Media/Length: YA novel trilogy that begins as a tropey political thriller and evolves into a multigenerational conspiracy with a side order of secret society.
Accessibility: The print, digital and audio books are available through library services where I live, but I am not sure about non-North-American availability. The print version has been out long enough that it is pretty sourcable secondhand.
For a more general overview, the series does have a wiki, which contains major spoilers for each book.
What's it about?:
I AM SO GLAD YOU ASKED.
1. She is not crazy. 2. Her mother was murdered. 3. Someday she is going to find the killer and make him pay.
In the first book, All Fall Down, Grace is sent overseas following a lengthy hospital stay to live with her grandfather, the American ambassador to a fictional Mediterranean kingdom. In short order she accuses Dominic, the Prime Minister's distinctively-scarred bodyguard and her mother's childhood sweetheart, of murdering her mother three years ago. She and her new friends run surveillance on Dominic to prove his guilt, but when her friends discover Grace has an established habit of accusing various scarred men of the same crime, to the point that she spent time in the hospital to be treated for it, they wonder if they can really take her word for what she saw that night.
All Fall Down is pretty genre-standard YA suspense. However, at the end it takes a bit of a turn and the second book, See How They Run, is where all my favourite Ships of Questionable Morality really have their roots. Which is to say, you probably should read the first book to better understand the second, but it's the second book that will help make sense of most of my prompts and general unbridled enthusiasm for mostly non-canonical pairings and more-ings.
Why I love it:
It just has so much beautifully over-the-top everything. The city is a character in its own right, all ancient and gaslit and mortared-together with secrets. Grace is bitterly defensive and untrusting, with an affinity for jumping from high places at the least advisable times and a tendency to get herself drugged, kidnapped and/or menaced with forced marriage (third book is a TRIP). She is utterly irrepressible, despite being beleaguered by the attentions of taciturn, overprotective men of both age-appropriate and rather-less-so varieties. I ship her with both sorts, and also with her brother: the mutual adoration between them gets me right in the chest even before it takes a dive into life-threatening hurt/comfort territory. Her recollections of childhood pining after the chance to follow him and his best friend (her canonical brooding overprotective love interest) lay that foundation pretty well, and the stoic loyalty both boys have for each other rounds it all out into a nice potential OT3.
For equally inappropriate non-canonical shipping needs, I also enjoy Grace/Dominic. She inherits his fixation on her mother, whom canon takes great pains to assure us she resembles. He has an extensive collection of surveillance photos of them both which he stares at for hours at night, and spends a lot of time following her around the city with and without her being aware of it. In one weirdly intense and intimate scene he stitches her up when she gets stabbed, and he assures her, quite calmly, that he could not possibly be responsible for one particular murder because if he had killed a man who hurt her, they would never have found the body.
I'm a fan.
What I plan to ask for:
Action/adventure, slightly casefic type stuff, mostly. For the larger group of all three teenagers plus Dominic I usually ask for bickering road trip dynamics with a side order of external menacing antagonist, historic AU optional (lot of Renaissance potential, here). For Grace and Dominic I am open to something shippy that explores them steadfastly not dealing with how messed up that would be, or anything platonic that digs into how genuinely odd and intense what does develop between them already is. Again, I'd love an external antagonist there, mostly because I love seeing people frantic to protect each other. While I have not previously requested anything explicit for this series I'm certainly not opposed; just not exactly sure how to prompt for it yet.
Also, if you did pick it up and ended up liking it enough to also request it, just wanted to note that I am definitely planning to offer it, too.
*Content note* - Multiple characters, including Grace, are treated by other characters as unreliable due to their mental health history. A couple scenes in the third novel are set in a very isolated mental hospital used as a kind of prison for somebody who doesn't need to be there; that section includes an attempted drugging and kidnapping of Grace and her boyfriend by medical staff.
Sector General
Date: 2020-07-21 01:52 am (UTC)Media/Length: 12 Books (1957-1999) – Many of the books are collections of short stories, each featuring a case-of-the-week medical mystery. Most books/short stories are standalone, although they reference things from earlier books. I would say you can jump in most anywhere, although starting from the beginning if rewarding to see the characters grow throughout the series. The characters I'm requesting have most of their development in the first 6 books and Mind Changer.
Where to find it: Amazon
Summary: A hospital in space! Sector General is a giant hospital that has the ability to treat any kind of alien, no matter what kind of planetary environment they need. The first six books follow the career of Dr. Conway, who starts as a wet-behind-the-ears newbie to his eventual rise as Chief Surgeon, as he tackles a number of strange cases. Later books have POV characters of aliens, a patient at the hospital, and O'Mara, Chief Psychologist. The books feature a lot of alien biology/evolution and first contact scenarios. The doctors use Educator Tapes to download the knowledge of alien doctors into their brains before performing on alien patients; unfortunately, the personality of those doctors are downloaded too, which means a human doctor might find his caterpillar alien nurse sexier than his human one! The series also features the Monitors, a Star Trek-like organization that helps with First Contact situations and planet-sized surgery operations. Conway also has a stint as the doctor on an ambulance ship that rushes to the scene of disasters.
What do you love about it?: Everyone is so earnestly trying to do good. The conflict comes from the medical mysteries and sometimes cultural misunderstandings, but everything turns out alright in the end. I really enjoyed the characters and the exploration of alien medicine. I also love the logistics of such a massive hospital serving patients and doctors of such a wide range of alien physiologies. The books do a great job of showing a lot of different aspects of healing (from dietitians to religion to psychology to surgery) but there are still a lot of areas left to explore in fic.
What sort of things are you likely to request for it?: Tropey shipfic for the most part, especially of the H/C variety. I ended up shipping O'Mara/Conway hard, and there were a lot of minor characters I'll request threesomes for. The books definitely have avenues for medical exploration that weren't covered that would be fun to see in fic. If you do end up interested in this canon, I will definitely be offering this fandom too.
A Dark Room
Date: 2020-07-21 01:35 pm (UTC)Media: Video game
Approximate length: Playtime varies depending on your style, luck, and how complete you want to be, but probably at least 4 hours
Access: This can be played on a browser for free or on mobile for $2 USD, both iOS and Android. The game also has a wiki! There are some playthroughs on YouTube, too, but I haven't watched them and can't recommend a specific one.
Version notes: The mobile version has an additional play route. In the browser, you have to build huts and collect villagers. In the mobile, there's an option not to do that. It's slower, but it also changes the story in significant ways. (But I also recommend playing both a huts and no-huts run, in that order, if you get the mobile version.)
Play tips: I highly recommend playing this while avoiding story spoilers, but exploring the map is easier if you check out the perks wiki page.
What is it, in summary?
This is an unfolding text-adventure game. You wake up in the titular dark room. When you make a fire, another character appears. She's a builder, and as you progress, she can make things and build structures. Once you trade for a compass, you can begin exploring. You have to fight a lot, but you also discover a way off the apparently dying planet…
The slow reveal of how bad off this world is and why, exactly who you are, and what all that strange alien alloy is for, is a lot of fun. There are wait times built in as you wait to accumulate supplies, and it takes some time to get used to, but you also have infinite lives! So even if you die (and you will die. a lot.) you can re-supply and keep wandering.
The story is revealed in tiny bits and pieces. Isn't it kind of odd that nearly everyone you see attacks you on sight? Why exactly is this world so barren? Why does the Builder look so sad when you ask her to build more huts, for more villagers? And what's all this weird alien alloy for? It's sparsely told, but leaves a lot of room for worldbuilding and other speculation.
What sort of things are you likely to request for it?
The main characters are the Builder and the Wanderer (you). The Builder is specified to use she/hers, but I have no preference for the Wanderer's pronouns - it's up to you. I ship it, either in a genuine relationship way (a no huts run) or in an unrequited and possibly obsessive way on the Wanderer's part (huts run). I have a slight preference for a no-huts run narrative, but will definitely be leaving prompts that can work for a huts run. I like adventures, wilderness exploration, hurt/comfort, worldbuilding, and getting together.
I'll be requesting art and fic! I would love to see some fun with worldbuilding and character description/design (there are no visuals in the game). I would also be interested in interactive fiction for this canon.
Additional game: There's also an iOS-only game made by another person called The Ensign, which is focused more on map exploration, fighting, and contains additional but entirely optional story background. It costs $2 USD.
(no subject)
Date: 2020-07-21 04:36 pm (UTC)Media: TV Show
Approx length: 8 episodes, each one is roughly 50 minutes.
Where to find it: Netflix. If you don't speak French, I highly recommend watching the original with subtitles rather than the dub, but you do you!
What is it, in summary?
A French horror series about a successful novelist who decides to quit writing the books that made her famous. Emma Larsimon based the books on her childhood nightmares about a witch, the eponymous Marianne. Unfortunately for Emma, Marianne is more than just a figment of her imagination and she's not happy that her infamy is being cut short. The death of a childhood friend draws Emma back to her coastal home town of Elden, where she must confront Marianne and her past.
What do you love about it?
Horror tropes, many done in fresh new ways! A female lead who is complicated and not always likeable but not a Badass Woman stereotype! Found family! Realistic portrayal of teenagers! Mireille Herbstmeyer gives a horrifyingly wonderful performance! There's a lot of underlying themes of trauma and friendship and forgiveness, also dysfunctional relationships and how they can't always be fixed, which I appreciated. Plus Camille and Emma are so cute!
What sort of things are you likely to request for it?
Emma/Camille is by far my favourite ship for this show. Camille is Emma's long-suffering, flick-knife-carrying assistant. I love her, and hopefully, you will too. She and Emma have wonderful chemistry and I was sad that they didn't get the ending I felt they deserved.
In fact, my least favourite thing about this show was the ending, and I'll definitely be requesting fix-its for that. But I'm also interested in AU takes and shippy stuff.
Are there sections of canon (rather than the whole canon) that can be consumed by themselves to fulfil your requests?: No
Content warnings: Suicide, blood and gore, rape, child death, animal death, torture, scary horror stuff.
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q99hib0zS2M
The Dresden Files - TV Show
Date: 2020-07-21 07:16 pm (UTC)Media: TV show
Approx length: Just one season, with 12 episodes.
Where to find it: It's fairly easy to get hold of and is currently on Amazon Prime in the UK.
What is it, in summary?: A short-lived adaptation of Jim Butcher's Harry Dresden novels about a PI in Chicago who's also a wizard.
What do you love about it?: This series got a lot of criticism for not being a close adaptation of the novels, but personally I love it, and I'm gutted it didn't get a second season. It's a fairly loose adaptation, but I quite like that it does its own thing. I loved all the characters, and was hugely invested in the Harry-Bob relationship, particularly towards the last few episodes of the series, when they really started to bump up the loyalty kink to ridiculous levels. And if they improved on the books in any way (although admittedly I've only read the first couple of novels), it was the changes they made to Bob. It was worth it for that alone, IMO. :D
What sort of things are you likely to request for it? Mainly case-fic, worldbuilding, horror, character studies, genfic, and ship-fic. Shipwise, I like Harry/Murphy (m/f) and Harry/Bob (m/m), but I'm also here for intensely loyal Harry & Bob and for complicated Dresden-Morningway family dynamics.
(no subject)
Date: 2020-07-22 01:49 am (UTC)Media: Single Movie
Time commitment? 1 hr 36 min
Where to find it? Available on Amazon for $5.99, streaming for free on Pluto TV, whatever that is.
What is it?
The official blurb is, "In a violent, futuristic city where the police have the authority to act as judge, jury and executioner, a cop teams with a trainee to take down a gang that deals the reality-altering drug, SLO-MO." To go a little more into that, the trainee is a psychic, and the head of the gang is a scarred up, former prostitute Lena Headey. Karl Urban plays Dredd, the experienced Judge, and acts ferociously with the quarter of his face that's visible. It's something I originally watched expecting it to be a big dumb action movie, and it's actually a tightly plotted, surprisingly clever action movie!
What do you love about it?
Cassandra Anderson!! Idealistic psychic trainee undergoing a trial by fire and coming out tempered and strong!! This is one of my favorite dystopias ever, because the movie has a very narrow focus but the world is entirely built out (the benefit on being based on decades of comics but not feeling the need to fit everything in, I suppose!). It's compared to The Raid a lot, with the same feeling of a small group moving through a single building, so if you've seen and liked The Raid, there's that.I'm really all about the big three mains -- Dredd, Anderson, and MaMa, the villain. MaMa is a different sort of villain than women tend to get to be, especially ones who have done sex work: she's vicious and calm and quiet and not at all sexualized (except by me, because Lena Headey). Dredd hits a lot of fun repression/law and order/seething fury buttons and is very fun in contrast to both Anderson and MaMa.
Basically: do you like repression? Violence? Non-sexualized female leads? Interesting worldbuilding and dystopias? You might like Dredd!
What sort of things are you likely to request for it?
Anderson, worldbuilding, and case-fic. I've requested Dredd in a.... large amount of exchanges, so if you want to look at some of my previous requests, my dreamwidth is exclusively exchange letters.
Content warnings: Violence, drug use, one brief scene of imagined rape
The River
Date: 2020-07-22 06:09 pm (UTC)Media: TV Show
Approx length: One series, just 8 episodes
Where to find it: It's available from Amazon Video
What is it, in summary?: It's a horror series about a documentary film crew travelling up the Amazon in search of a lost explorer. The whole thing is found footage, with the whole boat being fitted out with cameras, and each of the episodes deals with a single horror film trope. Creepy ghost girl! Demonic Possession! Zombies! And they're all waiting to be encountered up an extremely isolated bit of the Amazon for, um, some reason. It's ridiculously contrived, and I loved it to absolute bits. The season finale is a little abrupt, but otherwise it works well as a standalone, although there are a few unanswered questions to explore.
What do you love about it?: Aside from finding it charming how all out they went on such a ridiculous concept, I loved all the characters. I'm a big horror fan, and it was fun seeing all the horror tropes come up and seeing how they were worked into the overarching plot. The found footage aspects were really nicely handled too.
What sort of things are you likely to request for it?: A mixture of shipfic and gen, with a strong emphasis on horror. For shipfic, I'm particularly fond of various permutations of the Clark/Tess/Emmet triangle at the centre of the series, whether as a triad or just focusing on one or more of the three arms of the triangle. I'm also probably going to request art as well as fic, and in that case I'd love to see something that captures the found footage aspects of the series. Also, for a series that's so incredibly tropey, I'm a little disappointed that they didn't follow through on the Agatha Christie-style 'Who shot Character X' set-up towards the end of the season, so I'd love to see case-fic along those lines.
(no subject)
Date: 2020-07-22 08:10 pm (UTC)Media/Length: Visual Novel (a free one!! it's free!!!). It's roughly 88k, one play through will probably take you about an hour to an hour and a half. You can find it here on Steam, or here on itch.io. (nb: only for Windows and Mac; but Linux users could probably try it under Wine)
What is it?
A fantastical/atmospheric horror visual novel with multiple endings, optional romance paths, an intriguing story and loads of worldbuilding potential, and a really lovely soundtrack. The main character is Kikka, and she and her guard compatriot Bemelle are looking to try and get across the haunted lake. The Guide is the only one who knows how to navigate the maze of bridges linking the two sides of the lake; unfortunately, Margret has already booked his services for tonight and the Guide doesn't like taking too many across. Lu is a mystery waiting for you on the bridges - did he try to go it alone, or did the Guide leave him behind?
Why I love it:
I initially picked this up for treating purposes in another exchange but oh nooo, it pulled me in so hard. I feel like it has that effect. It's a really well-done, beautifully put together VN. It's well-written, the music is haunting, the art is pretty, and some of the characters (okay, mostly the Guide) have really ambiguous morals and motivations.
What I'll request:
More worldbuilding about the monsters in the lake and the lake itself. The Guide and Lu and their ultimate motivations. Everything Kikka, whom I love ❤️
Are there sections of canon (rather than the whole canon) that can be consumed by themselves to fulfill your requests?
There are tons of playthroughs on youtube that are pretty comprehensive, some with the narration read out by the player, some without. Here's a full Guide romance route starting here, and here's Lu's starting here. Lu has a separate ending starting here and there are these bonus events (the separate endings and the bonus events are unlocked once you finish all paths, which give more worldbuilding information to Guide and Lu as characters but are also mostly for funsies and not as serious).
Of course, you can also simply play it through yourself and make sure you pick the choices corresponding to the romance you want. Here's a walkthrough from the game devs!
Content warnings:
There's no on-screen violence but the text can get gory at times - on occasion it does lean into the horror aspects. Also, it's not possible to save everybody: some people will drown and be eaten by the monsters in the lake.
promo: Lost in Space 2018
Date: 2020-07-22 11:15 pm (UTC)20 episode tv drama available on Netflix. Final season expected, but probably not till 2022. The first season is on dvd.
what it is: a family is stranded in outer space, where they must confront the dangers of nature and space, and extraterrestrial robots. A reboot of Lost in Space from 1965, which itself is a take on classic novel Swiss Family Robinson by Johan David Wyss.
longer: A true family show, not just in the sense that you could watch it with kids, but also everyone from the eleven-year-old character to the forty-somethings has their own emotionally age-appropriate and plot-relevant storylines. (Probably has too much danger for the very little viewer, but that's it for content warnings.) There's action-adventure but the underlying mood is optimistic and a bit of a love letter to space travel. (It reminds me of original MacGyver in that it has lots of very earnest science-y problem-solving.) All the female characters are strong and awesome, especially Molly Parker as Maureen Robinson.
fannish appeal: It's a great canvas for gen space adventures and family feels. Has a charming ship of reconciled married people, and a fun jaded rogue/prim princess ship. Toby Stephens as a hot, grumpy papa bear. I do recommend sticking it out past the first ep, if you can!
contains: Two season 2 episodes contain some light flickers.
promo: The Musketeers (2014)
Date: 2020-07-22 11:23 pm (UTC)30 episodes on Hulu in the US, Netflix in Canada, I'm not sure about elsewhere. On dvd/blu-ray. Complete. Rated 14+.
what it is: tv drama that ran from 2014-2016, adaptation of Les Trois Mousquetaires/The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas.
longer: Takes place in 17th c France, featuring 3 of the King's Musketeers in dashing outfits and their new friend d'Artagnan. It's a fun and sometimes funny swashbuckling adventure show. Also great if you like team feelings? Teamwork and friendships built on distinct characters that play off each other in different ways? Political intrigue? Romance? Sassy ladies joining the adventures? One of the musketeers is a BIPOC which is always nice in a historical.
fannish appeal: Fanworks wise it's great for gen adventures, intra-team slash, angsty and adorably earnest canon het with a lot of different kinds of of pining.
It had a brief moment in 2014/2015, so there's a decently-sized repository of completed fic to dive into.
contains: attempted sexual assault comes up on a decently regular basis
(no subject)
Date: 2020-07-23 05:51 am (UTC)https://www.baen.com/the-course-of-empire.html
(no subject)
Date: 2020-07-23 08:05 am (UTC)Re: The Dresden Files - TV Show
Date: 2020-07-24 05:29 pm (UTC)I remember LOVING Bob! You're right that it was such a strong change to book!Bob but really paid off.
Hylics
Date: 2020-07-24 09:29 pm (UTC)Media: Two video games for PC (the second game is available for Mac, the first is Windows only)
Approx. length: 2-4 hours for the first game, 10-12 hours for the second
Where to find it?
* The first game is $3 on Steam and itch.io
* The second game is $15 on Steam and itch.io
What is it? Hylics is a duology of short indie JRPGs created by a claymation artist. It's been popularly described as "a playable prog rock album cover," or "help, I'm having a fever dream in RPG form." Quick selling points:
* Cool-ass stop-motion clay graphics!
* A cool-ass prog rock soundtrack!
* Main characters with unique and memorable designs and personalities! While there's not a lot of Hylics fic, there's a metric butt-ton of fanart on Tumblr and even Pixiv, because everyone loves these characters. :D
* A fascinating, surrealist fantasy world with just enough breadcrumbs of plot and backstory to inspire tons of theories, headcanons, and worldbuilding.
* There's a reason both games are rated "Very Positive" and "Overwhelmingly Positive" on Steam!
An introduction to our cast, from right to left in this picture: Wayne, our protagonist, who's on a mission to take down the tyrannical king of the moon, named Gibby. Wayne and Gibby apparently have some history together, but we aren't privy to the details of it. Somsnosa, Wayne's friend, who runs a ranch and has the power to control insects. Dedusmuln, a soft-spoken but intrepid archaeologist. And Pongorma, the last knight of a long-defunct prestigious legion, who shut himself away from the world until Wayne came calling.
What sort of things am I likely to request for it? Ships! Worldbuilding! Shippy worldbuilding! Worldbuild-y shippiness!
But really, Hylics is such a fun canon in that there's so much you can do with it. The world and the characters in it are so odd and rich, and while you do get a plot, nothing is ever spelled out straightforwardly, and it leaves so much room for headcanons. I just. Love these weird clay people so much, and I want to read about them. About their backstories, how they feel about their world, their lives together...everything!
There are three ships in particular I'm fond of.
* Gibby/Wayne (M/M): "I forgive you for destroying my [palace]. From this world's matter, I'll produce a better one, and perhaps even allow you a space there." - Gibby, to Wayne
I can never resist a good hero/villain ship. Especially since we get these tiny, tantalizing hints that Wayne and Gibby were close to each other once, and Gibby did something to Wayne, but like with the rest of the game, we never get a solid answer to the details of that past relationship. Not only is it rife for pre-canon exploration, but as the above quote indicates, Gibby gives us a perfect jumping off point for some bad-end canon divergence.
* Somsnosa/Wayne (F/M): Friendship? More like friend ship, am I right?
We technically don't know the extent of Wayne and Somsnosa's relationship. For all we know, they could canonically be going out already! What is clear is that, in a world that can feel profoundly lonely to both the player and the player character, Somsnosa is a warm and familiar presence who clearly knows and cares for Wayne, and vice versa. This is emphasized in the sequel, where Wayne and Soms can have conversations on their airship. While mundane, they demonstrate a closeness that's refreshing in Hylics' otherwise unfamiliar environment (e.g. Wayne complimenting Somsnosa on her new skull-hat, or Soms mentioning she knew Wayne would like an item, so she picked it up for him). They're just. They're cute together, okay?
* Wayne/Somsnosa/Pongorma/Dedusmuln (M/F/M/???): OT4! OT4! OT4!
As I've said, all of these characters are so easy to fall in love with, and I can't help but ship them all together. At the beginning of the first game, all four are isolated in their own way. Wayne lives alone outside a city and is one of the few people unaffected by [SPOILERY THING REDACTED], mentally dividing him from much of the population. Somsnosa also lives on her own, in an even more isolated area, and is visibly depressed until Wayne visits and brightens her mood. Dedusmuln travels on their own, and seems incredibly excited to get to join Wayne on his journey. And Pongorma, the last of his kind, literally locked himself inside a vault for who knows how many years. By the end of the first game, the four of them aren't just helping Wayne on a mission, they're hanging out and playing in a band together. They're good for each other. <3
Also, for all of these ships, there's the fact that the characters are in-universe made of clay. Like, it's not just the art style. Many of them are also very not-human. There's a whole new facet of xeno possibilities here, that's all I'm saying.
Content warnings: There is a tiny bit of body horror (mainly in the death states, where the protagonists' faces get mangled or melt off and expose their skeletons), but it's contextualized in the characters being clay, so it doesn't come off as gory as it would with actual flesh-and-blood people.
(no subject)
Date: 2020-07-25 03:00 am (UTC)Media/Length: 22-episode single-season TV show. Cancellation lends itself to a mildly frustrating finale.
Accessibility: No longer on Netflix, but if you browse with an American IP address you can stream the whole series for free on the CW site.
What's it about?:
Cassie moves in with her grandmother after her mother dies in a definitely-not-accidental fire, quickly meets a lot of very pretty girls and a couple pretty guys who are weirdly invested in getting to know her, and learns that she, in common with the rest of them, is a witch. Their parents were members of a magical circle before a bunch of them also died in definitely-not-accidental circumstances, and the kids' determination to unravel the secrets their few still-living parents are keeping from them puts them on a collision course with several parties who'd like to see them dead for good.
Why I love it:
It's a typical CW program of its era. Everybody is so unreasonably attractive and over the top with their drama, the magic is fun (though some of them have to pretend it's not, for vague plot/conflict reasons), and fucked-up families abound! Fucked-up families are my thing. In Chance Harbor if your dad or aunt or granddad or whoever isn't currently risking their life to save you, they're probably trying to kill you. Sometimes they even do both! Just to mix it up.
There's also an impressive round robin of ship potential here, both canon and otherwise. I think it's fair to say Faye in particular has chemistry with ... almost everybody? Guys and girls alike. Faye/Diana was the fandom femslash juggernaut, and there's certainly shipbait for it, but I also like Faye/Cassie. I mean, she leans in over Cassie like she wants to lick the magic right off her, and I'm just here for that. Hats and panties off to Phoebe Tonkin.
What I plan to ask for:
Possibly Jake/Diana (they're not canon but they're such a played-straight set of bad boy and good girl that I can't resist) and possibly some assemblage of the kids. In addition to nominating the show itself I also nominated a crossover between TSC and Justified (specifically, two characters from TSC and two from Season 2 of Justified, so if you were not familiar with Justified but feeling kind of curious about making magic in Harlan County, you'd only have to watch that season to get the gist).
Melissa and her mother Sophie Ann were where I settled with the nomination, mostly because Melissa has the least detailed family backstory in the show and therefore the most potential for roots outside Chance Harbor. I am certainly planning to offer that crossover set, and I'm also thinking of throwing another crossover set in when nominations reopen, particularly for Diana & Jackie (characters from TSC and Justified played by the same actress) that I would request and/or offer.
For the crossover I'm very interested in playing with folklore and magic and family backstory. For the purely TSC requests I would be looking for more canon-style shenanigans and/or historic AU (Victorian witches and table turnings interest me, as does a magical Regency AU for Jake/Diana).
*Content note* for SO many dead parents. A ton. You see some of them die. One also ends up in something like a living coma. There are also a couple episodes where little snakelike demons embed themselves under people's skin and can be seen moving around, so a tiny bit of body horror there.
Promo: A Solitary Blue
Date: 2020-07-25 06:43 am (UTC)Media: A children's novel from 1983
Approximate Length: 190 pages in regular print or 250-300 pages in larger print for young readers, 8 hours and 22 minutes in audio format
Where to Find It: Widely available in print, ebook and audiobook from libraries and bookshops.
What It's About
Jeff Greene is seven years old in the 1970s when his free-spirited mother abandons him for the counterculture movement, leaving him with his father, a deeply reserved university professor ill-equipped for single parenthood. Jeff and his father, whom he refers to as The Professor, settle into a life of mild and mutually puzzled dysfunction for several years until two incidents fundamentally alter the way they relate to each other.
The first is that The Professor—Horace Greene to his colleagues—is befriended by Brother Thomas, a monk who teaches Theology at the college where he teaches History. Brother Thomas begins visiting the pair at home and soon smacks some sense into Horace with regard to his parenting skills, becoming a much-needed bridge between father and son. The second is that Jeff's mother reappears to invite him to spend the summer with her. As Jeff reconnects with his mother, he gains unexpected insight into both of his parents' lives and starts on the journey to clarity about his own.
What I Love About It
Jeff is a sweet and thoughtful young protagonist whose quiet coming of age makes for a satisfying read, but what I love best about this book are the rich and complex details about the adults in his life that often lurk just beyond his full understanding. The Professor in particular develops from a distant cipher to a drily funny man with his share of deep vulnerabilities who had this book been written later might have been placed more explicitly in the context of the autism spectrum. His friendship with Brother Thomas and the changes it brings about for both men in the background of Jeff's story made me glad I revisited this old favourite as an adult.
What I'm Likely to Request
Oh, Horace Greene/Brother Thomas all the way. Whether it's the careful courtship between an awkward historian and the monk who considers leaving the church after befriending him, backstory or future-fic, or the two undertaking some sprawling interdisciplinary academic project that turns into unexpected adventure, I love the idea of them in a romantic relationship.
Other Info
While A Solitary Blue is the third book in The Tillerman Cycle, you don't have to read the first two to pick this one up. Jeff plays a supporting role as a friend and love interest to a main character in much of the rest of the series, but this is the only book that focuses on his childhood and home life.
(no subject)
Date: 2020-07-25 04:05 pm (UTC)Medium: Book
Approximate length: One volume, not very long (100-150 pages, if memory serves)
Where to find it: Local libraries or bookstores
What is it: A 1963 novel (and Hugo winner) about a Union soldier, Enoch Wallace, who is granted immortality in exchange for running what is basically an alien train station out of his home.
What I love about it: It's worth a read completely for the premise, which had me from the start, but in addition, it's also just a lovely book with clean, vivid prose that paints a fascinating picture of a vast and varied intergalactic society that Enoch gets to be a small part of. I love Enoch's open and curious and accepting attitude toward it all and the friendships he makes, particularly his friendships with Ulysses (the alien who first offers him the job) and Lucy Fisher (a local deaf and mute girl who ends up key to the overarching plot).
What I would request: Worldbuilding! So much worldbuilding! There's just enough sketched out and enough tantalizing hints at the greater universe to be fun to explore, especially with the way the station works and the immense variety of aliens who travel through it. Outside POV (human and/or alien) of the station and Enoch would be fantastic, or episodic worldbuilding - "5 Times Enoch Was Given Gifts He Didn't Understand + 1 Time He Figured It Out" is practically canon already, I'd love a ton of that kind of thing. More of Enoch's various guests, more of his friendship with Ulysses, maybe an AU where he helps Lucy out earlier and she decides to apprentice herself to him and learn how to run the station, or some postcanon adventures for both of them - there are a surprising number of possibilities!
Content notes: It was written in 1963, so there's some occasionally dated language/attitudes.
The Luminous Dead
Date: 2020-07-25 08:16 pm (UTC)Media: A stand-alone sci-fi book with a f/f ending
Length: ~400 pages, or 14 hours in audiobook
Access: Your local library or wherever (e)books near you are sold. The audiobook version was also good.
What is it, in summary?
Gyre knows caving - or, well, she knows pseudo-caves. But what's a little resume lying when this job pays so well? If she's ever going to escape this planet, track down her mother, and find somewhere green, Gyre needs this money. The funding is absolutely there: The self-contained environmental suit she's given is top of the line. Even if it is unsettling to think about going weeks without touching her own skin, and eating through a tube in her abdomen.
Sure, it's not the best sign that her support team consists of one person, Em. And it's definitely not a … good sign that Em is resistant to speaking to her, is hiding information (and bodies), and is willing to use that top of the line suit to drug Gyre without warning because "it was in the contract." It's quickly apparent that this isn't a mining company looking for minerals. Em has her own obsession, and cavers' contracts have death clauses.
Can Gyre trust Em? Absolutely not. Is she going to turn back for the surface? It's complicated. And… is someone following Gyre? No. That has to be impossible. The only other things down here are hallucinogenic fungi and giant Tunneler worm monsters. Not ghosts. Not people. Right?
What sort of things are you likely to request for it?
Caves!! Caving peril would be a lot of fun. I love caving adventures, and complicated, messy ships. It feels like this book was laser targeted to me specifically. This canon is also great for hurt/comfort, and loyalty and competence kink. And I'll be leaving prompts for both good and dark endings. I'll be requesting both art and fic.
Warnings
Gyre lives, but has a rough time of it. We also learn about previous and much less successful expeditions. General warnings for: Non-consensual drugging, hallucinations, injury, abdomen injury (Gyre's suit features a feeding tube which at one point becomes partially and painfully dislodged), limb loss, death, and dead bodies.
Motherland: Fort Salem
Date: 2020-07-25 11:07 pm (UTC)Media - Live-action TV
Approx length - 10 ~45min episodes (renewed for a second season, but it won't be out by the time exchange reveals)
Where to find it - Hulu, Amazon Prime, ???
What is it, in summary? - In the present day of an alternate history where witches became a branch of what would become the US military to end the Salem witch trials, three (female) cadets are drafted and learn to use military magic, primarily against a witch terrorist faction that believes that the witch draft is slavery.
What do you love about it? - It combines my interests in fantasy and female military canons, there are a TON of interesting, deep, and diverse female characters (barely any men to speak of; I'm pretty sure all or most episodes dramatically fail the reverse Bechdel test), the alternate history is super interesting, and the lead couple is canon f/f between one of the cadets and another soldier who's secretly an infiltrator from the terrorist faction. (I don't even ship it myself, but I'm glad it's there, and there are lots of shippy dynamics between other f/f or f/f/f groupings).
What sort of things are you likely to request for it? - Well, we have a nice bit of hiatus before the show comes back, and I would love to see (and write, fwiw) a plotty continuation starting from the series finale, or possibly historical adventures with the immortal witch general and other people she served with in the past. My OTP is a non-canon pair that I'm excited about loyalty-kinky vibes for, but I'm here for gen too.
Content warnings (ie, rape, incest, racism, gore/violence) - repeated use of magically compelled suicide; some body horror; violence, though I don't recall it being particularly gory?