[Image Description: A really crappy fanart comic of a scene from Karen Healey’s Guardian of the Dead. Mark Nolan looks very tired. He says “Just out of interest Spencer, If I don’t tell you everything you want to know, will you beat it out of me?” In the second panel Ellie Spencer says “no” in response to Mark. Next to Ellie Iris Tsang, a small young woman says “but I might. I’ve still got another shoe.”] Under our twin stares, mark sagged against the doorframe and tilted his bruised face to me. “Just out of interest, Spencer, if I don’t tell you everything you want to know, will you beat it out of me?” I jerked back. “No.” “But I might,” Iris said thoughtfully. “I’ve still got another shoe.” -Guardian of the Dead, Karen Healey

[Image Description: A really crappy fanart comic of a scene from Karen Healey’s Guardian of the Dead. Mark Nolan looks very tired. He says “Just out of interest Spencer, If I don’t tell you everything you want to know, will you beat it out of me?” In the second panel Ellie Spencer says “no” in response to Mark. Next to Ellie Iris Tsang, a small young woman says “but I might. I’ve still got another shoe.”]

Under our twin stares, mark sagged against the doorframe and tilted his bruised face to me. “Just out of interest, Spencer, if I don’t tell you everything you want to know, will you beat it out of me?”

I jerked back. “No.”

“But I might,” Iris said thoughtfully. “I’ve still got another shoe.”

-Guardian of the Dead, Karen Healey

[Image Description: Fanart of Iris and Ellie from Guardian of the Dead by Karen Healey] “This story is so sexist,” Iris said abruptly. She was working her thumbs into her palms in slow circles, no longer enthralled by mark’s voice. I nodded at her. “You get that in a lot of origin myths. the greeks go crazy for it.” Mark blinked. “You think it’s sexist? I always thought the bit where she told him to go away was empowering.” I snorted. “Sure. after the incest he initiated and lied about, she gets to hide underground and be the goddess of dead people.” -Guardian of the dead by Karen Healey Just an example of why this book is awesome. 

[Image Description: Fanart of Iris and Ellie from Guardian of the Dead by Karen Healey]

“This story is so sexist,” Iris said abruptly. She was working her thumbs into her palms in slow circles, no longer enthralled by mark’s voice.

I nodded at her. “You get that in a lot of origin myths. the greeks go crazy for it.”

Mark blinked. “You think it’s sexist? I always thought the bit where she told him to go away was empowering.”

I snorted. “Sure. after the incest he initiated and lied about, she gets to hide underground and be the goddess of dead people.”

-Guardian of the dead by Karen Healey

Just an example of why this book is awesome. 

[Image Description: Fanart for Guardian of the Dead by Karen Healey. A very rough sketch of four of the main characters on lined paper. Ellie, a larger girl with rumpled clothes is looking to the side with a skeptical expression. Mark, a tall boy with shaggy hair and a sad expression stands next to her. Iris, a neatly dressed and pretty Chinese young woman stands next to him holding what was supposed to be a shoe and looking angry. The character Kevin, a handsome young man, is next to her, half finished] So I haven’t been keeping up with Obscure Fandom Week very well but here have some character sketches from Karen Healey’s Guardian of the Dead. From left to right there’s Ellie Spencer, Mark Nolan, Iris Tsang and Kevin Waldgrave. So here’s the deal with this book. The deal is that it’s awesome. Here’s the description from Karen Healey’s site: At her boarding school in New Zealand, Ellie Spencer is like any ordinary teen: she hangs out with her best friend, Kevin; obsesses over her crush on a mysterious boy; and her biggest worry is her paper deadline. Then everything changes: In the foggy woods near the school, something ancient and deadly is waiting. So this sounds like very standard YA fantasy stuff, right? Wrong. Here’s what makes Guardian of The Dead awesome: A canon asexual character who is not a serial killer! Lots of play in gender roles (Healey has gone on record saying that Ellie was designed to play the typically masculine role and Mark the typically feminine role. And Kevin ends up playing damsel in distress for the majority of the book.  Non-western magic being the focus Really interesting discussion of race! The main character gets called out by others and herself when she messes up race wise Some discussion of mental illness and also its intersectionality with race! Lady frienships! Feminism! Discussion of female-on-male rape and how it is an actual thing that exists  Feelings! Lots and lots of feelings! Mark Nolan needs a goddamn hug So I love this book and you should too!

[Image Description: Fanart for Guardian of the Dead by Karen Healey. A very rough sketch of four of the main characters on lined paper. Ellie, a larger girl with rumpled clothes is looking to the side with a skeptical expression. Mark, a tall boy with shaggy hair and a sad expression stands next to her. Iris, a neatly dressed and pretty Chinese young woman stands next to him holding what was supposed to be a shoe and looking angry. The character Kevin, a handsome young man, is next to her, half finished]

So I haven’t been keeping up with Obscure Fandom Week very well but here have some character sketches from Karen Healey’s Guardian of the Dead. From left to right there’s Ellie Spencer, Mark Nolan, Iris Tsang and Kevin Waldgrave.

So here’s the deal with this book. The deal is that it’s awesome. Here’s the description from Karen Healey’s site:

At her boarding school in New Zealand, Ellie Spencer is like any ordinary teen: she hangs out with her best friend, Kevin; obsesses over her crush on a mysterious boy; and her biggest worry is her paper deadline. Then everything changes: In the foggy woods near the school, something ancient and deadly is waiting.

So this sounds like very standard YA fantasy stuff, right? Wrong. Here’s what makes Guardian of The Dead awesome:

  • A canon asexual character who is not a serial killer!
  • Lots of play in gender roles (Healey has gone on record saying that Ellie was designed to play the typically masculine role and Mark the typically feminine role. And Kevin ends up playing damsel in distress for the majority of the book. 
  • Non-western magic being the focus
  • Really interesting discussion of race! The main character gets called out by others and herself when she messes up race wise
  • Some discussion of mental illness and also its intersectionality with race!
  • Lady frienships!
  • Feminism!
  • Discussion of female-on-male rape and how it is an actual thing that exists 
  • Feelings! Lots and lots of feelings! Mark Nolan needs a goddamn hug

So I love this book and you should too!

[Image Description: Two fanart sketches of The Midnight Charter by David Whitley. The first is of Lily and her friend Benedicta, linking arms and walking together. Ben is overly enthusiastic and excited and Lily is quietly amused. The second is of Lily and Theo looking at each other. Lily is smiling sadly and Theo looks very tired] Last set of fanart for The Midnight Charter. These are two of my three favorite scenes in the book. The first is an illustration of this exchange: Lily looked into Benedicta’s face, so bright and cheerful, and gave in. After all, she did have something to celebrate. “All right,” she said, taking Benedicta’s arm, “But you’re trading for the candies. I can’t stand them.”“Only if you agree to try one of the games.”“Games? What kind of games?” “All sorts! Honestly, don’t you ever have any fun?”“I help cut off people’s limbs for a living, Ben…” Yay friendship~ The second is an illustration of the last scene that Lily and Theo have together in the book which I don’t have a transcription of and is also very spoiler-ific so I wouldn’t share it even if I did but it was a beautiful scene and I just want Lily and Theo to be together forever, not as a couple because ew pedo and also Lily is totes my aromantic asexual queen, but just as partners and friends and people that clearly care about each other a lot a lot a lot.

[Image Description: Two fanart sketches of The Midnight Charter by David Whitley. The first is of Lily and her friend Benedicta, linking arms and walking together. Ben is overly enthusiastic and excited and Lily is quietly amused. The second is of Lily and Theo looking at each other. Lily is smiling sadly and Theo looks very tired]

Last set of fanart for The Midnight Charter. These are two of my three favorite scenes in the book. The first is an illustration of this exchange:

Lily looked into Benedicta’s face, so bright and cheerful, and gave in. After all, she did have something to celebrate.

“All right,” she said, taking Benedicta’s arm, “But you’re trading for the candies. I can’t stand them.”

“Only if you agree to try one of the games.”

“Games? What kind of games?”

“All sorts! Honestly, don’t you ever have any fun?”

“I help cut off people’s limbs for a living, Ben…”

Yay friendship~

The second is an illustration of the last scene that Lily and Theo have together in the book which I don’t have a transcription of and is also very spoiler-ific so I wouldn’t share it even if I did but it was a beautiful scene and I just want Lily and Theo to be together forever, not as a couple because ew pedo and also Lily is totes my aromantic asexual queen, but just as partners and friends and people that clearly care about each other a lot a lot a lot.

[Image Description: Fanart for the book The Midnight Charter by David Whitley. It shows Lily, a young woman of color who is supposed to be 12 but actually looks 18 because the artist can’t art properly, learning over to help teach Mark, a young white boy who kind of looks 12 how to read from a big book] More fanart for The Midnight Charter for Obscure Fandom Week. Lily teaching Mark how to read. Also I cannot draw 12-year-olds.

[Image Description: Fanart for the book The Midnight Charter by David Whitley. It shows Lily, a young woman of color who is supposed to be 12 but actually looks 18 because the artist can’t art properly, learning over to help teach Mark, a young white boy who kind of looks 12 how to read from a big book]

More fanart for The Midnight Charter for Obscure Fandom Week. Lily teaching Mark how to read. Also I cannot draw 12-year-olds.

[Image description: Fanart of the book “The Midnight Charter” by David Whitley. Simple character sketches of the characters Lily, Mark, Ben, Lily again, Ben’s brother whose name I can’t remember but I know starts with an “L” and Doctor Theophilus] So I can’t draw 12 to 14 year olds but my first contribution to Obscure Fandom Week ‘11 is The Midnight Charter by David Whitley. It’s a children’s/young adult novel that’s the beginning of The Agora Trilogy. I haven’t yet gotten a chance to read more than the first few chapters of the second book and the third isn’t out yet. Here’s the amazon summary: In the city-state of Agora (or “marketplace”), everything is for sale and all goods and services can and must be traded or bartered. Children are property until they come of age at 12, and those who are poor are sold like any other commodity. Two such children are Lily, an orphan who enters into a service contract with old Count Stelli, an astrologer. Most of Mark’s family dies of the plague and his father sells him to Doctor Theophilus, son of the Count. Their lives intersect and diverge when they switch places. Lily questions the values of Agoran society and sets up a free shelter for citizens needing help. Mark is drawn in to intrigue and mystery as he becomes a prominent fortune-teller. There is a sense of darkness and danger at the heart of this society, which is embodied in the Midnight Charter, a document that predicts the coming of the Protagonist and the Antagonist, and that suggests that these two figures, possibly Mark and Lily, will alter their world forever. So the plot in this book is kind of ehhh nothing special. The world building is interesting and I’m interested to see how that plays out in the next books. But really you should read this book for…well mostly just for Lily. She’s a very lovable character and super mature for her age but it’s very believable and she just really wants to help people but at the same time she has her own issues and makes mistakes but over all she’s just awesome.  I found it interesting how in the first book all my sympathy lied with Lily and didn’t really care too much about Mark but within the first chapter of the second book I was like “Wow Mark has a point [spoiler] was a dick move Lily shame on you even though I still love you and understand all your motivations.” So overall this book isn’t fantastic but it has enough really good moments that made me really happy. Also I read Lily as Aromantic Asexual and ship her in queerplatonic relationships with everyone.

[Image description: Fanart of the book “The Midnight Charter” by David Whitley. Simple character sketches of the characters Lily, Mark, Ben, Lily again, Ben’s brother whose name I can’t remember but I know starts with an “L” and Doctor Theophilus]

So I can’t draw 12 to 14 year olds but my first contribution to Obscure Fandom Week ‘11 is The Midnight Charter by David Whitley. It’s a children’s/young adult novel that’s the beginning of The Agora Trilogy. I haven’t yet gotten a chance to read more than the first few chapters of the second book and the third isn’t out yet.

Here’s the amazon summary:

In the city-state of Agora (or “marketplace”), everything is for sale and all goods and services can and must be traded or bartered. Children are property until they come of age at 12, and those who are poor are sold like any other commodity. Two such children are Lily, an orphan who enters into a service contract with old Count Stelli, an astrologer. Most of Mark’s family dies of the plague and his father sells him to Doctor Theophilus, son of the Count. Their lives intersect and diverge when they switch places. Lily questions the values of Agoran society and sets up a free shelter for citizens needing help. Mark is drawn in to intrigue and mystery as he becomes a prominent fortune-teller. There is a sense of darkness and danger at the heart of this society, which is embodied in the Midnight Charter, a document that predicts the coming of the Protagonist and the Antagonist, and that suggests that these two figures, possibly Mark and Lily, will alter their world forever.

So the plot in this book is kind of ehhh nothing special. The world building is interesting and I’m interested to see how that plays out in the next books. But really you should read this book for…well mostly just for Lily. She’s a very lovable character and super mature for her age but it’s very believable and she just really wants to help people but at the same time she has her own issues and makes mistakes but over all she’s just awesome. 

I found it interesting how in the first book all my sympathy lied with Lily and didn’t really care too much about Mark but within the first chapter of the second book I was like “Wow Mark has a point [spoiler] was a dick move Lily shame on you even though I still love you and understand all your motivations.”

So overall this book isn’t fantastic but it has enough really good moments that made me really happy.

Also I read Lily as Aromantic Asexual and ship her in queerplatonic relationships with everyone.

So for obscure fandom week here’s what I have to choose from:

  • The Farsala Trilogy - Hilari Bell
  • City of Thieves - David Benioff
  • The Killer’s Tears - Anne-Laure Bondoux
  • Guardian of the Dead - Karen Healey
  • The Book of Flying - Keith Miller
  • Storm Thief - Chris Wooding
  • Poison - Chris Wooding 
  • The Haunting of Alaizabel Cray - Chris Wooding
  • The Midnight Charter by David Whitley
  • Jonny Quest

And then not totally obscure by still far too obscure by my account: 

  • The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
  • The Princess Series - Jim C. Hines
  • Graceling - Kristin Cashore 
  • The Leviathan Series by Scott Westerfeld 

Except some of these I should probably reread first, like Chris Wooding’s book and probably the Book of Flying and Graceling and the Farsala Trilogy. God I need to reread the Farsala Trilogy. If it is not as amazing as I remember I will cry. Giant crocodile tears all down my face and I will never be consoled because my childhood will be broken. 

Also Jonny Quest but I don’t have time to rewatch that/those series right now. 

OCT 16 - OCT 22 IS OBSCURE FANDOM WEEK!

mooncactus:

gangbanglerfish:

kobakoba:

Is there a series out there that you absolutely adore, but for some reason no one else has ever heard of it? A series that, no matter the character or pairing or scenario, you get so excited to see art/fic of because you can’t believe there’s anyone besides yourself or your circle of friends that has actually heard of it? Or maybe you’re looking to broaden your horizons and want to try watching/reading/playing something new.

If so, then OBSCURE FANDOM WEEK is for you!

From Sunday, October 16 to Saturday, October 22 I’d like to invite everyone to join me in producing content for those little known fandoms. Once each day during Obscure Fandom Week, I’ll be drawing a piece of fanart for 7 different series that I’d like to promote. However, feel free to create whatever kind of content you’d like! (Art, fic, music, amv, fst, sculpture, cosplay…. anything is welcome!) You can post once a day or twenty times a day, participate every day or just one day, promote that one special obscure series or as many as you can think of!

Along with the content you develop, please include the title of the series and tag your work #OFW2011 !!! You don’t want to go through all the trouble of creating something for people never to see your work or learn what it’s from! Also feel free to include a synopsis, links to where people can find the series if it’s available online, or personal reviews on the series.

The point of Obscure Fandom Week is to give everyone an excuse to make content for that series that no one has ever heard of and to spread the love and get people interested in things they never knew they needed in their lives! I hope all of you will join me during Obscure Fandom Week!

Even if you don’t think you’ll participate, please reblog and spread the word! I’m sure some of your followers would love to join!

do you think Tenchi Muyo is obscure enough

please tell me it is

every week is obscure fandom week in my house

(but this sounds fun and i should participate! debating where I should do sort of obscure (leviathan, princess tutu) obscure (chaos walking, skulduggery pleasant) or REALLY obscure (enola holmes, the secret series)