Recbox for beanboy

[beyondthealgorithm_mod]

Username: beanboy

Preferred Genres: fiction, poetry, feminist & queer stuff, action

DNW Genres: horror

Preferred Media Types: books, tv shows

DNW Media Types: none

General Likes: feel-good, women with swords, found family, explicit queer & BIPOC representation

General DNWs: animal harm / death, rape, ambiguous endings

Fandom Preferences: all of the things listed and just new content?

Requests for Content Warnings: rape and anything non-consensual (even if its consensual noncon), animal harm

Examples of Media Enjoyed: Community, Pacific Rim, The Queen's Gambit, Letterkenny

Examples of Media to Avoid: None

Streaming Services I Can Access: Hulu, Netflix

Languages I'm Comfortable With: English

Comments

Rec: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power

[nowrunalong]

Hi there, beanboy!

I feel like I’m about to rec you something that is popular enough you have likely already decided whether you will or will not watch it, BUT. It touches on basically all of the things you mention liking, so JUST IN CASE you have no opinion on this one yet, I'll try to sway you!

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power is an animated series on Netflix. The show is complete at 5 seasons. It is a kids cartoon, but I think it’s easily enjoyed by adults, too. I mean, I enjoyed it! :’D Girl finds magic sword that turns her into a superhero, and then fights evil! With friends! (But evil isn’t always black-and-white.)

It’s got a diverse cast of characters (and the voice acting cast is pretty diverse, too, which I think is uncommon for American animated series), including more queer characters than you can shake a stick at. Superpowered princess wives! Adorable gay dads who work in a library! Nonbinary shapeshifter character who uses they/them pronouns! Main ship is F/F friends-to-enemies-to-friends-to-lovers! And even more characters than that! There are literally too many to list off the top of my head.

No content warnings here as it is a kids show. It does deal with some serious topics including some mind control scenes, but due to its rating, there is no graphic or sexual content at all. Also, one of the characters does acquire a cat, but iirc nothing harmful ever happens to them within the show. <3

All-in-all, it's a feel-good story about friends, and family, and families of choice, and how good friendships actually require that people put in effort, and how everyone deserves to be loved and to be treated with respect, and ALSO being queer is super chill and normal. (I'm SO thrilled that shows such as this one are being created for kids, especially. I know it would have been such a positive influence on my own life while I was growing up.)

It’s full of action! It's full of heart! I highly recommend it! :D

Re: Rec: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power

[fangedtracks]

Hi nowrunalong,

I have seen some content related to She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, but I haven't really formed an opinion on the media. I did see a comic about how empowering the representation was in the show!

I'm really intrigued by the "But evil isn't always black-and-white" bit because I think something that does turn me off from kid shows is the fact that everything goes well for the heroes, which is a totally valid way of writing a child's show, but it's just not something I want. However, this part of the show seems really interesting and it seems like it opens the door to some thought-provoking moments.

I cannot believe how diverse the cast is, especially for a kid's show! Just based on the representation in this show, this seems like something that I would enjoy.

I'm currently watching Letterkenny right now because a new season just came out, but I'm close to finishing it and I definitely need something else to fill in my time. This sounds absolutely perfect to what I'm looking for! I'll probably start it within the week (depending on my course and work load). Thank you so much for the recommendation; you have successfully swayed me to be interested in this show!

Re: Rec: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power

[nowrunalong]

Yay, I'm so glad I could sway you! For a kids show with a good-vs-evil set-up, I thought it did a great job of creating three-dimensional characters on both sides. The "evil" side comprises a lot of characters that have varying relationships to their mission - it's not just "world domination for the sake of world domination", you know? It's vengeance/violence as an unhealthy method of coping with abandonment, it's sticking around because of loyalty to a friend, it's sticking around to manipulate other people on the same side, it's Trying to Be the Best At Being the Worst in order to impress someone, etc... and because each character has such different personal motivations, there is space for them grow and change within the narrative. Several characters switch sides over the course of the show, and fighting friends makes things more complex, too.

I really hope you'll like it!!

[flowersforgraves]

Hi there,

I have a couple books to recommend!

1) Fonda Lee's Green Bone Saga. This is a modern fantasy set in the fictional country of Kekon, where jade is power and family is everything. It's been described as a crossover between a Hong Kong gangster film and a political drama, and I would strongly recommend it if you like complex power dynamics, well-considered worldbuilding, and strong women. While it's a fantasy setting, the books touch on race within the setting in a really powerful way, including one of the protagonists struggling with his mixed-race identity. The same protagonist is also gay and in the second book has an ongoing relationship with another young man. The series also explores violence and anger and power, and how each can manifest differently. The first book is called Jade City, and while it's not exactly feel-good, I think it's a strong story that you might appreciate.

2)Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse. This book is post-apocalyptic (the current USA has been flooded and dissolved) in a sense, but it's really more about the ending of apocalypse in a lot of ways. The story follows Maggie, who is a Diné (Navajo) monster hunter. She uses her cultural heritage and connections to fight against both outside and internal threats, and is a really strong exploration of an Indigenous future. For content warnings, there are mentions / implications of rape, but nothing 'onscreen.' There's also some animal harm/death in the context of hunting for food, and the trickster god Coyote is involved in some fights in his animal form. In book 2, there is offscreen dubiously consensual body modification, though I'm not sure that's exactly what you wanted CWed. Please feel free to come talk to me about this series if you have any other questions!

[fangedtracks]

Hello!

1) You had me at "strong women"! I definitely appreciate this recommendation, and I'll be adding it to the top of my reading list. The style being a mix of Hong Kong gangster film and a political drama is especially intriguing, but I feel like I could get a lot out of the way the book touches on race, but also how violence, anger, and power can manifest differently. Thank you so much for the recommendation! I am currently reading two books right now, but I'll try to slip it in into my next cycle of reading.

2) Okay, so I LOVE that the main character is a monster hunter. That's super cool, but I really love the development of using her cultural heritage to fight. I'll definitely be putting this on my list, but I may need to dive in a little deeper into researching this book due to the implications of rape. However, I can't not ignore how interesting the premise of using one's cultural heritage to fight against threats, especially being a monster hunter. This sounds like another book that is super intriguing in the way that it is written, but opens the doors for more thought-provoking moments. Thank you for the recommendation! I might need to put this on my list for a rainy day / when I'm up for it, but it sounds incredibly interesting.

[(Anonymous)]

I would like to recommend Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld (Comic: 1983) W.I.T.C.H (Comic: 2001-2012), Tokyo Mew Mew (Manga: 2001-2003), Stargirl (TV Show: 2020), Young Avengers (Comic: 2005), Anything by CLAMP, and Motherland: Fort Salem (TV Show: 2020), as all have either powerful female characters, queer representation, BIPOC representation or all three.

[fangedtracks]

Thank you so much for all of these recommendations!

I haven't heard the majority of these, but I have heard of Stargirl and Young Avengers, both of which I have dipped my toes in, but due to time constraints, I haven't been able to really dive deep into.

I appreciate this wide range of recommendations (with respect to the media, time it's produced, and subject matter), and I appreciate you taking the time to recommend these to me. I'll definitely be putting these on my "check out" list!

[lets_call_me_lily]

Hiya, not sure if you've already come across her, but Tamora Pierce?
Her Tortall universe spans 3 quartets, each with a different female protagonist (the first one is more sword, the second is more sorcery). She also has the Emelan universe, which has a different magic set-up, and multiple quartets there, too - that universe has an even stronger found family vibe. She's got some queer characters, but they're not so explicit. Fair dinkum, some people don't like the fact that a lot of her relationships have quite large age gaps; she sees it as being part of the medievalish era that her writing is set in.

Hopefully she's new to you and you enjoy!

[fangedtracks]

Hi! Thank you so much for recommending me this author.

Her writing definitely sounds like something I would be interested in, but wouldn't pick out for myself.

The variety of female protagonists is something I greatly appreciate, and I really do love a found family vibe.

I'll definitely check out this series, but I might have to do more research / a deeper dive into her stuff because I also don't love large age gaps (something I forgot to mention in my DNW), but the premise of the book sounds interesting, so I /might/ be able to overlook it.

Thanks for taking the time to recommend me this author!

[lets_call_me_lily]

You're most welcome!

Yeah, I completely understand - I suggest you start with her Emelan universe in that case, because that one doesn't have any age-gaps relationships at all.

It's the Tortall one with the age-gaps - it was written first, and you can be assured that there won't be any large age-gaps in any of her latter work. The age-gap relationship is specifically present in the Immortals quartet, and there is a much milder one in the Alanna quartet which I didn't take much notice of because I wasn't really focussed on figuring out the years between the characters (7 yr difference) when reading that quartet). If you like her style, then try the Tortall 'verse and see if you can overlook it or just skip the Immortals quartet - it's not a huge focus of the books.