Yultide Letter 2025
Oct. 19th, 2025 09:26 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
corpsebrigadierYuletide Letter for CorpseBrigadier on Ao3
Dear Author,
Hello, author! Let me open by offering my thanks and enthusiasm that you've opted to write for one of these microscopic fandoms that have captured my imagination this year. This exchange has long been one of my favorite ways of interfacing with fandom, and I'm very psyched to see your creation for one of these canons so full of medievalesque violence and angst. I've done my best to offer some info as to what I find compelling about each one and to throw out some prompts and ideas, but please known that if my thoughts on these works aren't quite calling to you, I'm a firm believer in optional details being optional, and I would love to see what compels you as an author about the canons/characters!
Note: I am open to treats on ao3 and should have them activated.
[NOTE: This letter will be functionally complete at the time it is made public, but it may be tweaked through the end of sign-ups.]
General (DNWs, Likes, Opt-Ins) | Flesh + Blood | She is Conann | The Wizard's Shadow | Mini-Challenge Specific Prompts
• ageplay
• omegaverse
• pregnancy-related kinks (ex: breeding kink, worshipful focus on pregnant bellies, etc...); narrative explorations of childbearing, pregnancy, and reproduction more than welcome
• scat/emeto (unsexy mentions of vomit and feces are okay)
Opt-Ins:
• all archive warnings
• epistolary fiction
• non-linear narratives
• whatever person/tense is your jam
General Likes:
• angst
• bittersweetness
• black humor
• character death
• complex, messy, and/or toxic family relationships
• hurt/comfort
• illness and injury (plague and head bashing in particular)
• incest
• fever dreams
• existential despair
• non-kinky explorations of pregnancy, childbirth, and parenthood
• stoicism in the face of terrible things
• surreal imagery
• torture
• religious, mythological, and/or plant-based symbolism
• whump
Smut Likes:
• awkward, bad, or inept sex that's still enthusiastic
• blasphemy/sacrilege kink
• clothed or partially clothed sex
• drunk/drugged sex
• hate sex
• non-con/dub-con in general
• non-penetrative sex
• double penetration
• strangulation/breathplay
• violent sex
Yuletide-Affiliated Challenges I'm Up For:
• Crueltide (Darkfic)
• Drabbles (for Yuletide Madness)
• Interactive Fiction
• Wrapping Paper (Art Treats)
• Yuleporn (Smut)
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Where to Find It (and Canon Review Resources): This film is free to view (with ads) on Tubi.
Characters: I love all three characters for the different ways they are complicated and messy. I like Steven's single-minded nerdery that sets him at odd with the medieval era. I like Agnes' initial blunt interest in sexuality and her uncertainty as to her desires as she tries to game her position with regards to the two men with whom she's entangled. I love Martin's brutal nature contrasted with his constantly thwarted desires for stability/wealth/luxury. I feel everyone is very tropey and dramatic but a bit more complex and interesting than the archetypal roles of hero/villain/victim here.
Ships: All configurations involving some combination of Agnes, Martin, and Steven compel me. Agnes/Steven, Agnes/Martin, Agnes/Steven/Martin, Steven/Martin... there's either canonical fuckery or intense hatred and tension or both going on with all axes of this triangle, and I'd love an exploration of any of it.
If you want to write something more gen-adjacent: Obviously a lot of the film is concerned with the relationships between the three principal characters, but I'm also interested in the individual figures of each and the psychology behind them. I specifically picked OR matching for this film to offer a little more room for either ships including only two characters or for character studies in relative isolation, so please feel free to delve into these characters' interiority without putting all the focus on shippiness if gen is your jam.
If you want to write something shippy/smutty: I am very much down for smut, for canon-typical violence/dysfunction/messiness and for additional non-con/violence/awfulness beyond what's on screen. I am also very much down for feelings-focused explorations of what makes these characters tick in relation to one another and explorations of the trauma and brutality that fuels their interactions.
Canon DNWs: n/a
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Where to Find It (and Canon Review Resources): It's available for free (with ads) on Roku.
Characters: The phrase that really resonates with me throughout this fever dream of a film is "the most barbaric of all the barbarians" and I feel both nominated characters are contenders for the title. I love the exquisite violence and trauma in Sanja's initial capture of Conann and the turns by which Conann both commits to vengeance and then betrays that revenge--clearly shaped by her victimizer along multiple axes. I love Connan in general as a continually shifting woman committed to barbarism of increasing severity, and how her fifth incarnation is such a harrowing revisiting of the cannibalistic act that shaped her teen self. I love all the messy, surreal violence and passion of both characters all around.
Ships: Very much here for Sanja/Conann, both in its canonical realization as a (comparatively) mundane couple in the Bronx and in all its potentialities at other points on the spectrum of enemies to lovers. I'm also definitely very deeply enchanted by the kiss in the initial succession of 15 year old Conann by 25 Conann and feel this is a canon fully primed for selfcest.
If you want to write something more gen/gen-adjacent: This is such a deliciously weird film and there are so many fun ways to explore it. I'd love to see deeper dives into all that weirdness and explorations of the narrative's recurring themes. While not nominated, I want to note that I'm also very much down for Rainer as a prominent figure or narrator in fanworks and am open to him connecting dots and offering commentary if that's your thing.
If you want to write something shippy/smutty: This film is so over-the-top brutal and indulgent, and I'd love some brutal and/or indulgent smut to accompany it. Please feel free to go as intense and weird as you want in portraying the characters' relationships and the world in which they transpire.
Canon DNWs: n/a
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Where to Find It: The book is available on OpenLibrary for loan if you have an account.
Characters: I love Miall (and I should note that--while there is a distinction drawn between them, I'd consider both the living Miall and his shadow to qualify as the same character). I love the graphicness of his murder in the opening chapters; I love his snark, bitterness, and cold pragmatism as a shadow; and I love all the angsty snippets of backstory we get as regards him Rhisiart, Tierce, and Ruane. He's such a delightfully tragic figure who keeps outliving (out-existing?) his own tragedy, and the mystery of his identity for so much of the novel leaves him a great figure to potentially explore in fanworks. I also love Rhisiart... as very evidently does Dexter and all members of the cast not affiliated with the political faction opposing him. I enjoy his straight-laced, insufferably honorable/guilty nature. I enjoy the fraught nature of his release of Tierce. I enjoy how very sad and gloomy he is over his snakebaby-slain wife and child and how resigned he is to die alone for most of his book. I feel there's a great occasion for angst and exploration with both brothers and great opportunities to explore their own personal tragedies in relation to the other's.
Ships: I will be forthright and state that I am absolutely down for Rhisiart/Miall, and I think adding some fraught incest to a novel filled with conflicting birthright/succession claims, royal politicking, and familial intrigue would be a great move. I'm also a-okay with some canonical Rhisiart/Ivy running in the background, and I feel that Crocken--while not requested--obviously has deep feelings as regards both brothers (either because they are his #1 friend crush in Amryn or because they are an eldritch shadow manipulating his actions) and would be down for Crocken/Miall or Crocken/Rhisiart or some intensely awkward Crocken/Miall/Rhisiart.
If you want to write gen: This novel is a series of unfolding mysteries, and while I adore its execution, there's so much that we only learn in bits and pieces over the course of the book. In genfic, I'd really love to delve into more of the angsty details that might emerge or the potentialities that might be explored post-canon.
If you want to write something shippy/smutty: I'm here for incest. I'm here for shadowfuckery. I'm here for incestuous shadowfuckery.
Canon DNWs: n/a
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General Art Likes: I like things with dynamic poses; things that are cute/cartoonish; things that do something offbeat and a little bit exaggerated/surreal; and things that are a little over-stylized and dripping with symbolic imagery. Limited palettes and starkly inked black and white pieces are close to my heart, as I am a rotten colorist and have an affinity for styles I could conceivably emulate. I also tend to like things that are desaturated or a washed out looking. As with my general likes, I am always here for religious imagery and for anything cool involving symbolically important plants (mandrakes, lady's mantle).
Flesh + Blood: Martin being linked to the unearthed St. Martin is a moment is hammered home relentlessly, and I feel there's a ton of potential here to re-imagine scenes from the film in relation to iconography of saints and martyrs. faux religious/medieval artwork here of any of the selected characters or pivotal scenes involving would be welcome. I would be interested in things like stylized takes on Steven/Agnes uniting via the mandrake, the burial of the stillborn child and the discovery of the living saint, or the moment in which Agnes is goaded to shoot the chained and injured Steven before the plague-infested dog meat hits.
She is Conann: The movie is a surreal fever dream of violence, cruelty, and longing, and I think it lends itself well to really experimental fanworks. Invent your own Conan incarnations! Invent your own setting! Experiment with new styles and mediums (I feel this film would be really interesting to work with in relation to collage, particularly in relation to Rainer's constant photography)! I think there's a lot to be done with images that explore Conann and Sanja through embracing, through violence, or through that initial act of the ingestion of a heart, and you should feel free to make art as weird as the movie.
The Wizard's Shadow: This is the one non-visual canon I've selected, and I'd love to actually see renderings of the characters as the artist envisions them. There's also a lot of room for doing cool stylistic things with animal imagery here too, given the significance of heraldic beasts and Miall's mortal status as a shapeshift. Lastly, if you want to really go wild with images involving shadows (The brothers in their youth casting shadows of their future selves! Juxtapositions of Rhisiart and Miall as Stormraker's rider at the climax! Cast images of animals and beasts!), please go really wild.
General IF Likes: I really really really like IF, and I'm always happy when I see it in exchanges. I'm a Twine person myself. While I am admittedly not an expert in things outside of it, I'm eager to play any sort of interactive fiction you wish to create in any sort of medium. I'm good for both Choose Your Own Adventure Style games and things that employ a parser, although I'd greatly appreciate a walkthrough in the case of the second one.
In terms of what I enjoy in IF, I really appreciate things that take advantage of unique or innovative mechanics, and I have a soft spot for games that acknowledge the pre-determined nature of their narratives and don't really try to be "fair." Having decisions that feel meaningful but that won't save you from a bad outcome are really up my alley, as are choices you make that result in different outcomes than you might like. My ideal game in any medium is one that provides me with a sense that I'm not being given precisely what I initially want, but that I'm not being treated unfairly or having things made difficult for the sake of being difficult. Don't be afraid to make something where there are no completely satisfactory endings.
In general, though, feel free to use IF as a means to experiment and play around. I like IF a lot as a medium for fanworks because it can open up so many possibilities that aren't typical of most written or visual compositions. I'd love things that exploit the different ways one might feel when the medium forces a certain level of identification with a player character or that layer in ambiguity through multi-pathing and multiple endings.
Flesh + Blood: For all it's violence/sex/weirdness/schlock, the core of this story does have the basic functioning of a love triangle, and I feel IF is a means through which one could explore Agnes' thoughts and sympathies with regards to the two men laying claim to her in ways that emphasize one or the other. While I don't necessarily think the film lends itself well to something like a straightforward dating sim with the aim of definitively picking one or another, I think IF could be a fun place to explore the constrained nature of Agnes decisions and how they influence her relationships with both men.
She is Conann: This film, with its cascading versions of the protagonist and shifting setting, feels like it offers a great deal of potentials for IF. I think you could do a lot through mechanics that allow one to switch Conanns, through storytelling that allows you to skip or retread parts of logical narrative sequence, or through use of randomization to produce unexpected effects. I think a lot could be done with some of the more surreal writing prompts I pitched in this format, as well as with reexaminations of canonical scenes with new layers of interactivity added.
The Wizard's Shadow: So much of the real gutwrenching past events of The Wizard's Shadow are revealed piecemeal through dreams and visions, and I think this fragmentary form of storytelling would lend itself well to IF format. I can see further exposition on the fates of the characters via some new OC who dreams true, with the past betrayals and hauntings at Amryn being gradually revealed to an outsider in new circumstances. I could also see Crocken or Ivy getting additional pre-canon revelations they weren't expecting. Another tack one could take might be to recreate some component of Miall's investigation (potentially even drawing on his shapeshifting abilities which only come up very occasionally), and giving the reader the ability to more directly experience the unfolding horror of Kieron's nature and Rhisiart's tragedy.
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Dear Author,
Hello, author! Let me open by offering my thanks and enthusiasm that you've opted to write for one of these microscopic fandoms that have captured my imagination this year. This exchange has long been one of my favorite ways of interfacing with fandom, and I'm very psyched to see your creation for one of these canons so full of medievalesque violence and angst. I've done my best to offer some info as to what I find compelling about each one and to throw out some prompts and ideas, but please known that if my thoughts on these works aren't quite calling to you, I'm a firm believer in optional details being optional, and I would love to see what compels you as an author about the canons/characters!
Note: I am open to treats on ao3 and should have them activated.
[NOTE: This letter will be functionally complete at the time it is made public, but it may be tweaked through the end of sign-ups.]
General (DNWs, Likes, Opt-Ins) | Flesh + Blood | She is Conann | The Wizard's Shadow | Mini-Challenge Specific Prompts
General (DNWs, Likes, Opt-Ins, Etc...)
Do Not Wants:• ageplay
• omegaverse
• pregnancy-related kinks (ex: breeding kink, worshipful focus on pregnant bellies, etc...); narrative explorations of childbearing, pregnancy, and reproduction more than welcome
• scat/emeto (unsexy mentions of vomit and feces are okay)
Opt-Ins:
• all archive warnings
• epistolary fiction
• non-linear narratives
• whatever person/tense is your jam
General Likes:
• angst
• bittersweetness
• black humor
• character death
• complex, messy, and/or toxic family relationships
• hurt/comfort
• illness and injury (plague and head bashing in particular)
• incest
• fever dreams
• existential despair
• non-kinky explorations of pregnancy, childbirth, and parenthood
• stoicism in the face of terrible things
• surreal imagery
• torture
• religious, mythological, and/or plant-based symbolism
• whump
Smut Likes:
• awkward, bad, or inept sex that's still enthusiastic
• blasphemy/sacrilege kink
• clothed or partially clothed sex
• drunk/drugged sex
• hate sex
• non-con/dub-con in general
• non-penetrative sex
• double penetration
• strangulation/breathplay
• violent sex
Yuletide-Affiliated Challenges I'm Up For:
• Crueltide (Darkfic)
• Drabbles (for Yuletide Madness)
• Interactive Fiction
• Wrapping Paper (Art Treats)
• Yuleporn (Smut)
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Flesh + Blood
The Canon: This hornt-as-hell, shlocky, excessively edgy medieval film is a mess of trauma bonding, romantic mandrake harvesting, over the top violence, and grossly inaccurate portrayals of how the bubonic plague works, and it apparently inspired Berserk which then went on to inspire virtually everything else. I love it because its unrelentingly brutal and full of gloriously toxic and twisted dynamics between the three major characters. I also love it because it speaks deeply to my id and I think that more films should have Rutger Hauer groping somebody's fiancee in front of them while they are chained up in a spiked dog collar.Where to Find It (and Canon Review Resources): This film is free to view (with ads) on Tubi.
Characters: I love all three characters for the different ways they are complicated and messy. I like Steven's single-minded nerdery that sets him at odd with the medieval era. I like Agnes' initial blunt interest in sexuality and her uncertainty as to her desires as she tries to game her position with regards to the two men with whom she's entangled. I love Martin's brutal nature contrasted with his constantly thwarted desires for stability/wealth/luxury. I feel everyone is very tropey and dramatic but a bit more complex and interesting than the archetypal roles of hero/villain/victim here.
Ships: All configurations involving some combination of Agnes, Martin, and Steven compel me. Agnes/Steven, Agnes/Martin, Agnes/Steven/Martin, Steven/Martin... there's either canonical fuckery or intense hatred and tension or both going on with all axes of this triangle, and I'd love an exploration of any of it.
If you want to write something more gen-adjacent: Obviously a lot of the film is concerned with the relationships between the three principal characters, but I'm also interested in the individual figures of each and the psychology behind them. I specifically picked OR matching for this film to offer a little more room for either ships including only two characters or for character studies in relative isolation, so please feel free to delve into these characters' interiority without putting all the focus on shippiness if gen is your jam.
Specific Prompts
• I'd love to see some more exploration of Agnes pre- or post-canon. She's obviously intrigued by sex and sexuality in the lead up to her kidnapping/rape, given her frankly abusive demands of Kathleen and her willingness to eat some semen-borne magical reagents with Steven to ensure a love match. I'm interested to see how her notions of romance and intimacy developed prior to actually being faced with betrothal and sexual violence. I'm also curious as to how she conceives of herself post presumed marriage, particularly as she internalizes the connection between her new father-in-law and the motivations of Martin's men. Her glance to Martin escaping the castle at the end of the film is also so packed with unspoken sentiments, and I think beyond the straightforward reading of it in relation to the fraught nature of her relationships with Martin and Steven, there's also room to think about her enabling of Martin's escape in terms of her transition back and forth between class/social positions from a bandit's lady to a once more respectable noblewoman.
• Steven's nerdtastic inventions are one of the goofier parts of the film, but I earnestly would enjoy an examination of his character as a man a little outside of his time, grappling with the treacheries of his class and the superstitions of his era and how his actions (joining in his father's extortion of Hawkwood via Clara, mass poisoning a castle full of people including a child) sometimes align him with the brutality of his father and his betrayal of the mercenaries. I feel like the most shallow reading of Steven would position him as the hero, and I'd love to see things that complicate that--that look to how he does and does not embody what's wrong with the nobility of the day and how his scientific line of thinking impacts that.
• Martin is such a compelling mess of a character, clearly wronged and clearly wronging others. As with Steven and Agnes, if you're in a more gen mood here, I'd love for more pre- and post-canonical reads of this character, how he came to be the sort of person he is, his yearning and desire for the better life represented by possessing somebody like Agnes, his reactions to or thoughts on his failed shot at fatherhood with Celine, his thoughts on his associations with sainthood following the discovery of the statue, or his feelings about the aftermath of his escape. I love this character to death and would like to see anything expanding on the ways he's simultaneously sympathetic and detestable.
• I'd love to see some more exploration of Agnes pre- or post-canon. She's obviously intrigued by sex and sexuality in the lead up to her kidnapping/rape, given her frankly abusive demands of Kathleen and her willingness to eat some semen-borne magical reagents with Steven to ensure a love match. I'm interested to see how her notions of romance and intimacy developed prior to actually being faced with betrothal and sexual violence. I'm also curious as to how she conceives of herself post presumed marriage, particularly as she internalizes the connection between her new father-in-law and the motivations of Martin's men. Her glance to Martin escaping the castle at the end of the film is also so packed with unspoken sentiments, and I think beyond the straightforward reading of it in relation to the fraught nature of her relationships with Martin and Steven, there's also room to think about her enabling of Martin's escape in terms of her transition back and forth between class/social positions from a bandit's lady to a once more respectable noblewoman.
• Steven's nerdtastic inventions are one of the goofier parts of the film, but I earnestly would enjoy an examination of his character as a man a little outside of his time, grappling with the treacheries of his class and the superstitions of his era and how his actions (joining in his father's extortion of Hawkwood via Clara, mass poisoning a castle full of people including a child) sometimes align him with the brutality of his father and his betrayal of the mercenaries. I feel like the most shallow reading of Steven would position him as the hero, and I'd love to see things that complicate that--that look to how he does and does not embody what's wrong with the nobility of the day and how his scientific line of thinking impacts that.
• Martin is such a compelling mess of a character, clearly wronged and clearly wronging others. As with Steven and Agnes, if you're in a more gen mood here, I'd love for more pre- and post-canonical reads of this character, how he came to be the sort of person he is, his yearning and desire for the better life represented by possessing somebody like Agnes, his reactions to or thoughts on his failed shot at fatherhood with Celine, his thoughts on his associations with sainthood following the discovery of the statue, or his feelings about the aftermath of his escape. I love this character to death and would like to see anything expanding on the ways he's simultaneously sympathetic and detestable.
If you want to write something shippy/smutty: I am very much down for smut, for canon-typical violence/dysfunction/messiness and for additional non-con/violence/awfulness beyond what's on screen. I am also very much down for feelings-focused explorations of what makes these characters tick in relation to one another and explorations of the trauma and brutality that fuels their interactions.
Specific Prompts:
• I'm game for explorations and expansions of either Agnes' relationship with Martin or with Steven or with both, and I'm game for explorations of romantic feelings or canon-typical fraught/violent sex with either character. I'm here for Agnes silently comparing the two in warped ways post-marriage. I'm here for Steven/Agnes catching a stolen moment while he's chained (possibly immediately after wandering away naked with Martin for a presumed encounter). If you're really gunning to get weird, I'll note that I'm here for plague sex if you want to do an AU where the principals come down with a case. Really just go hard in the same vein as the film with either canonical relationship, and I'll be very happy.
• "I think that more films should have Rutger Hauer groping somebody's fiancee in front of them while they are chained up in a spiked dog collar" is a statement I stand by, and that scene did a lot for me. If somebody were--however--to take this clear example of a guy using a woman to convey his feelings of domination/sadism towards a rival and cut up the middleman (middlewoman?) to just have Martin sexually agressing directly at Steven, I would be very much a-okay with this.
• If you want to bring to life the nightmarish very bad idea of a full on Agnes/Steven/Martin threesome (either really occurring with some hearty dosage of coercion/non-con or playing out within Agnes' imagination as she meditates on the issue of "choosing"), I'd really very much be down.
• I'm game for explorations and expansions of either Agnes' relationship with Martin or with Steven or with both, and I'm game for explorations of romantic feelings or canon-typical fraught/violent sex with either character. I'm here for Agnes silently comparing the two in warped ways post-marriage. I'm here for Steven/Agnes catching a stolen moment while he's chained (possibly immediately after wandering away naked with Martin for a presumed encounter). If you're really gunning to get weird, I'll note that I'm here for plague sex if you want to do an AU where the principals come down with a case. Really just go hard in the same vein as the film with either canonical relationship, and I'll be very happy.
• "I think that more films should have Rutger Hauer groping somebody's fiancee in front of them while they are chained up in a spiked dog collar" is a statement I stand by, and that scene did a lot for me. If somebody were--however--to take this clear example of a guy using a woman to convey his feelings of domination/sadism towards a rival and cut up the middleman (middlewoman?) to just have Martin sexually agressing directly at Steven, I would be very much a-okay with this.
• If you want to bring to life the nightmarish very bad idea of a full on Agnes/Steven/Martin threesome (either really occurring with some hearty dosage of coercion/non-con or playing out within Agnes' imagination as she meditates on the issue of "choosing"), I'd really very much be down.
Canon DNWs: n/a
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She is Conann
The Canon: I first saw this film a year or so back and was completely haunted by it. I love both of its grotesquely uncomfortable cannibalism scenes. I love the conceit of murdering your old self to bring in the reign of a new self. I love how artsy and hot and indulgent it feels. I love the surreal weirdness of the whole narrative, which never explains the time hopping nature of Conann's later incarnations and never apologizes for it.Where to Find It (and Canon Review Resources): It's available for free (with ads) on Roku.
Characters: The phrase that really resonates with me throughout this fever dream of a film is "the most barbaric of all the barbarians" and I feel both nominated characters are contenders for the title. I love the exquisite violence and trauma in Sanja's initial capture of Conann and the turns by which Conann both commits to vengeance and then betrays that revenge--clearly shaped by her victimizer along multiple axes. I love Connan in general as a continually shifting woman committed to barbarism of increasing severity, and how her fifth incarnation is such a harrowing revisiting of the cannibalistic act that shaped her teen self. I love all the messy, surreal violence and passion of both characters all around.
Ships: Very much here for Sanja/Conann, both in its canonical realization as a (comparatively) mundane couple in the Bronx and in all its potentialities at other points on the spectrum of enemies to lovers. I'm also definitely very deeply enchanted by the kiss in the initial succession of 15 year old Conann by 25 Conann and feel this is a canon fully primed for selfcest.
If you want to write something more gen/gen-adjacent: This is such a deliciously weird film and there are so many fun ways to explore it. I'd love to see deeper dives into all that weirdness and explorations of the narrative's recurring themes. While not nominated, I want to note that I'm also very much down for Rainer as a prominent figure or narrator in fanworks and am open to him connecting dots and offering commentary if that's your thing.
Specific Prompts
• If you want to do an exploration of Conann's initial hatred of and captivity by Sanja without veering into shippy territory, I'm game for all the whumpage and angst that segment of the story contains and would love explorations of Conann's introduction to barbarity via Sanja's brutality. "Barbarism" as a concept is at the heart (lol) of this story, and it would be fascinating to unpack at greater length Conann's traumatic impetus towards her role as Barbarian.
• The bookending of the major incarnations of Conann we see with cannibalism episodes was particularly compelling to me, and it would be fascinating to have the fifth incarnation at age fifty-five reflect back on the pivotal moment in which her fifteen year old self was made to eat her mother's heart as she prepares to compel others to eat of her own flesh. What does Conann think about this circle of events and about the degree to which she has/has not assumed Sanja's mantle?
• While I'm not precisely interested in a crossover, as I'm not familiar with the original Conan or Red Sonja canons in great detail (although I'll happily look things up if details are included), it's clear these two women are Mandico's surreal reinterpretations of popular pop cultural figures, and the narrative has the sort of bonkers dream logic where there's the potential they could realize their relationship to these icons. If you want to do something weird and experimental in which these women encounter, learn of, or otherwise react to their inspirations, I'd be down for it.
• If you want to do an exploration of Conann's initial hatred of and captivity by Sanja without veering into shippy territory, I'm game for all the whumpage and angst that segment of the story contains and would love explorations of Conann's introduction to barbarity via Sanja's brutality. "Barbarism" as a concept is at the heart (lol) of this story, and it would be fascinating to unpack at greater length Conann's traumatic impetus towards her role as Barbarian.
• The bookending of the major incarnations of Conann we see with cannibalism episodes was particularly compelling to me, and it would be fascinating to have the fifth incarnation at age fifty-five reflect back on the pivotal moment in which her fifteen year old self was made to eat her mother's heart as she prepares to compel others to eat of her own flesh. What does Conann think about this circle of events and about the degree to which she has/has not assumed Sanja's mantle?
• While I'm not precisely interested in a crossover, as I'm not familiar with the original Conan or Red Sonja canons in great detail (although I'll happily look things up if details are included), it's clear these two women are Mandico's surreal reinterpretations of popular pop cultural figures, and the narrative has the sort of bonkers dream logic where there's the potential they could realize their relationship to these icons. If you want to do something weird and experimental in which these women encounter, learn of, or otherwise react to their inspirations, I'd be down for it.
If you want to write something shippy/smutty: This film is so over-the-top brutal and indulgent, and I'd love some brutal and/or indulgent smut to accompany it. Please feel free to go as intense and weird as you want in portraying the characters' relationships and the world in which they transpire.
Specific Prompts:
• I am very much down for barbaric noncon between Sanja and Conan in her earlier life phases, with all the violence and extremity that the film revels in. The logic of how things work in this world is very fluid, and I'm game for straightforward rape, erotic cannibalism, or swordfucking of either the lethal or non-lethal variety (time/reality are fluid and even if Conann goes on to have multiple other incarnations later, this doesn't meant she can't be bitten/stabbed/fucked to death a little first).
• I am also open to gentler, less hyperviolent examinations of the characters in Conann's later incarnations, especially insofar as they play with memory. The conceit of Conann's aging process is such that the actual whys and wherefores of Sanja and Conann's courtship are obscured and we--as audience--see them go from enemies to lovers in a blink of an eye before they surrender their memories and transpose themselves to the Bronx. Looking into this giant gap between them--especially if you want to play around with Conann's infidelity with Rainer, the one entity who knows the cohesive whole of her lives--feels like there could be compelling potentialities.
• Conann's first kiss is with her future self before her future self kills her and that's very hot. Conann's foremost lover in this narrative is the woman who traumatizes and humiliates her and that is also very hot. I think that Conann/Sanja/Other Connan(s) exchanging some degree of kissing and/or violence has the potential to be super duper extra hot!
• I am very much down for barbaric noncon between Sanja and Conan in her earlier life phases, with all the violence and extremity that the film revels in. The logic of how things work in this world is very fluid, and I'm game for straightforward rape, erotic cannibalism, or swordfucking of either the lethal or non-lethal variety (time/reality are fluid and even if Conann goes on to have multiple other incarnations later, this doesn't meant she can't be bitten/stabbed/fucked to death a little first).
• I am also open to gentler, less hyperviolent examinations of the characters in Conann's later incarnations, especially insofar as they play with memory. The conceit of Conann's aging process is such that the actual whys and wherefores of Sanja and Conann's courtship are obscured and we--as audience--see them go from enemies to lovers in a blink of an eye before they surrender their memories and transpose themselves to the Bronx. Looking into this giant gap between them--especially if you want to play around with Conann's infidelity with Rainer, the one entity who knows the cohesive whole of her lives--feels like there could be compelling potentialities.
• Conann's first kiss is with her future self before her future self kills her and that's very hot. Conann's foremost lover in this narrative is the woman who traumatizes and humiliates her and that is also very hot. I think that Conann/Sanja/Other Connan(s) exchanging some degree of kissing and/or violence has the potential to be super duper extra hot!
Canon DNWs: n/a
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The Wizard's Shadow
The Canon: This was my absolute favorite novel at around age twelve, and I revisited it recently to discover that twelve-year old me had great taste. There's so much to love about this canon: fraught sibling relationships, cool takes on magic, a harrowingly violent opening chapter, an enchanted snakebaby gunning for the throne. I really love all the tropes Dexter is dealing in in this novel and I love how this piece ended up as a standalone entry in her world with the promise of Crocken and Miall enjoying future adventures never explored in a sequel.Where to Find It: The book is available on OpenLibrary for loan if you have an account.
Characters: I love Miall (and I should note that--while there is a distinction drawn between them, I'd consider both the living Miall and his shadow to qualify as the same character). I love the graphicness of his murder in the opening chapters; I love his snark, bitterness, and cold pragmatism as a shadow; and I love all the angsty snippets of backstory we get as regards him Rhisiart, Tierce, and Ruane. He's such a delightfully tragic figure who keeps outliving (out-existing?) his own tragedy, and the mystery of his identity for so much of the novel leaves him a great figure to potentially explore in fanworks. I also love Rhisiart... as very evidently does Dexter and all members of the cast not affiliated with the political faction opposing him. I enjoy his straight-laced, insufferably honorable/guilty nature. I enjoy the fraught nature of his release of Tierce. I enjoy how very sad and gloomy he is over his snakebaby-slain wife and child and how resigned he is to die alone for most of his book. I feel there's a great occasion for angst and exploration with both brothers and great opportunities to explore their own personal tragedies in relation to the other's.
Ships: I will be forthright and state that I am absolutely down for Rhisiart/Miall, and I think adding some fraught incest to a novel filled with conflicting birthright/succession claims, royal politicking, and familial intrigue would be a great move. I'm also a-okay with some canonical Rhisiart/Ivy running in the background, and I feel that Crocken--while not requested--obviously has deep feelings as regards both brothers (either because they are his #1 friend crush in Amryn or because they are an eldritch shadow manipulating his actions) and would be down for Crocken/Miall or Crocken/Rhisiart or some intensely awkward Crocken/Miall/Rhisiart.
If you want to write gen: This novel is a series of unfolding mysteries, and while I adore its execution, there's so much that we only learn in bits and pieces over the course of the book. In genfic, I'd really love to delve into more of the angsty details that might emerge or the potentialities that might be explored post-canon.
Specific Prompts:
• Almost everything we hear about the House of the Falcon is in snippets and dreams, and the revelation as to who Miall is and what his history is with his legitimate brothers comes very late in the narrative. There's so much here to explore with regards to these characters boyhoods and youths, and I'd love to see more of Rhisiart and Miall interacting as children or in the lead-up to or aftermath of Miall's failure to join his brothers in battle on account of the iron in swords.
• Conversely, there's so much room post-canon to explore how both brothers--neither of whom end up as dead as they anticipate by the stories--might still regard one another after having acclimated to their changed fates. I'd love to see how Rhisiart's reign over Amryn functions alongside Ivy and what it might be like to have an occasional merchant adventurer and his shadow at court--the strangeness of growing old with a remnant of his brother remaining static, and perhaps casting an occasional familiar animal on the wall.
• I'd also be fascinated to see expansions on the bits and pieces of the lead up to Miall's death--a chance encounter or moment of interaction where the two brother's can meet under the shadow of Rhisiart's grief or Tierce's suspicions regarding Kieron: something to really hammer home the feeling of betrayal Miall has upon not being rescued. It might also be interesting to delve a little into any interactions with or knowledge of Cailin and Eydyn Miall had and how he regarded his sister-in-law and nephew.
• Almost everything we hear about the House of the Falcon is in snippets and dreams, and the revelation as to who Miall is and what his history is with his legitimate brothers comes very late in the narrative. There's so much here to explore with regards to these characters boyhoods and youths, and I'd love to see more of Rhisiart and Miall interacting as children or in the lead-up to or aftermath of Miall's failure to join his brothers in battle on account of the iron in swords.
• Conversely, there's so much room post-canon to explore how both brothers--neither of whom end up as dead as they anticipate by the stories--might still regard one another after having acclimated to their changed fates. I'd love to see how Rhisiart's reign over Amryn functions alongside Ivy and what it might be like to have an occasional merchant adventurer and his shadow at court--the strangeness of growing old with a remnant of his brother remaining static, and perhaps casting an occasional familiar animal on the wall.
• I'd also be fascinated to see expansions on the bits and pieces of the lead up to Miall's death--a chance encounter or moment of interaction where the two brother's can meet under the shadow of Rhisiart's grief or Tierce's suspicions regarding Kieron: something to really hammer home the feeling of betrayal Miall has upon not being rescued. It might also be interesting to delve a little into any interactions with or knowledge of Cailin and Eydyn Miall had and how he regarded his sister-in-law and nephew.
If you want to write something shippy/smutty: I'm here for incest. I'm here for shadowfuckery. I'm here for incestuous shadowfuckery.
Specific Prompts
• As I mentioned, I'm down for incest/incestuous desire. Miall coming into the House of the Falcon as a stranger and becoming the protector and sparring partner of his tragically sickly brother destined for heroism and kingship is such a deeply compelling dynamic and I'd love to see that relationship pushed to in extreme and obsessive directions, potentially underscoring Miall's seeming hatred and continued protectiveness as a shadow.
• Crocken is so deeply into Rhisiart. Just meets the guy, meticulously learns everything about his tragic past, and determines they need to be bosom chums while he attempts to thwart multiple assassination attempts upon him. Turning this from a friendship into something with a romantic/sexual dimension would not be difficult and would add the additional deeply weird twist of Miall having to tag along and react (or even potentially comment).
• Crocken/Rhisiart is already weird and uncomfortable enough, given the former's attachment to the miserable ghost of the latter's brother, but I think it could be even more awkward still if rendered as Crocken/Rhisiart/Miall in a fashion where the shadow is experiencing/acting on some past desire. >:] This is also a perfect scenario in which the presence of unseen hands could be felt in a close encounter and the weirdness of shadowfuckery could be explored.
• As I mentioned, I'm down for incest/incestuous desire. Miall coming into the House of the Falcon as a stranger and becoming the protector and sparring partner of his tragically sickly brother destined for heroism and kingship is such a deeply compelling dynamic and I'd love to see that relationship pushed to in extreme and obsessive directions, potentially underscoring Miall's seeming hatred and continued protectiveness as a shadow.
• Crocken is so deeply into Rhisiart. Just meets the guy, meticulously learns everything about his tragic past, and determines they need to be bosom chums while he attempts to thwart multiple assassination attempts upon him. Turning this from a friendship into something with a romantic/sexual dimension would not be difficult and would add the additional deeply weird twist of Miall having to tag along and react (or even potentially comment).
• Crocken/Rhisiart is already weird and uncomfortable enough, given the former's attachment to the miserable ghost of the latter's brother, but I think it could be even more awkward still if rendered as Crocken/Rhisiart/Miall in a fashion where the shadow is experiencing/acting on some past desire. >:] This is also a perfect scenario in which the presence of unseen hands could be felt in a close encounter and the weirdness of shadowfuckery could be explored.
Canon DNWs: n/a
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Extra Challenges
Art Prompts (for the Wrapping Paper Challenge)
General Art Likes: I like things with dynamic poses; things that are cute/cartoonish; things that do something offbeat and a little bit exaggerated/surreal; and things that are a little over-stylized and dripping with symbolic imagery. Limited palettes and starkly inked black and white pieces are close to my heart, as I am a rotten colorist and have an affinity for styles I could conceivably emulate. I also tend to like things that are desaturated or a washed out looking. As with my general likes, I am always here for religious imagery and for anything cool involving symbolically important plants (mandrakes, lady's mantle).
Flesh + Blood: Martin being linked to the unearthed St. Martin is a moment is hammered home relentlessly, and I feel there's a ton of potential here to re-imagine scenes from the film in relation to iconography of saints and martyrs. faux religious/medieval artwork here of any of the selected characters or pivotal scenes involving would be welcome. I would be interested in things like stylized takes on Steven/Agnes uniting via the mandrake, the burial of the stillborn child and the discovery of the living saint, or the moment in which Agnes is goaded to shoot the chained and injured Steven before the plague-infested dog meat hits.
She is Conann: The movie is a surreal fever dream of violence, cruelty, and longing, and I think it lends itself well to really experimental fanworks. Invent your own Conan incarnations! Invent your own setting! Experiment with new styles and mediums (I feel this film would be really interesting to work with in relation to collage, particularly in relation to Rainer's constant photography)! I think there's a lot to be done with images that explore Conann and Sanja through embracing, through violence, or through that initial act of the ingestion of a heart, and you should feel free to make art as weird as the movie.
The Wizard's Shadow: This is the one non-visual canon I've selected, and I'd love to actually see renderings of the characters as the artist envisions them. There's also a lot of room for doing cool stylistic things with animal imagery here too, given the significance of heraldic beasts and Miall's mortal status as a shapeshift. Lastly, if you want to really go wild with images involving shadows (The brothers in their youth casting shadows of their future selves! Juxtapositions of Rhisiart and Miall as Stormraker's rider at the climax! Cast images of animals and beasts!), please go really wild.
IF Prompts
General IF Likes: I really really really like IF, and I'm always happy when I see it in exchanges. I'm a Twine person myself. While I am admittedly not an expert in things outside of it, I'm eager to play any sort of interactive fiction you wish to create in any sort of medium. I'm good for both Choose Your Own Adventure Style games and things that employ a parser, although I'd greatly appreciate a walkthrough in the case of the second one.
In terms of what I enjoy in IF, I really appreciate things that take advantage of unique or innovative mechanics, and I have a soft spot for games that acknowledge the pre-determined nature of their narratives and don't really try to be "fair." Having decisions that feel meaningful but that won't save you from a bad outcome are really up my alley, as are choices you make that result in different outcomes than you might like. My ideal game in any medium is one that provides me with a sense that I'm not being given precisely what I initially want, but that I'm not being treated unfairly or having things made difficult for the sake of being difficult. Don't be afraid to make something where there are no completely satisfactory endings.
In general, though, feel free to use IF as a means to experiment and play around. I like IF a lot as a medium for fanworks because it can open up so many possibilities that aren't typical of most written or visual compositions. I'd love things that exploit the different ways one might feel when the medium forces a certain level of identification with a player character or that layer in ambiguity through multi-pathing and multiple endings.
Flesh + Blood: For all it's violence/sex/weirdness/schlock, the core of this story does have the basic functioning of a love triangle, and I feel IF is a means through which one could explore Agnes' thoughts and sympathies with regards to the two men laying claim to her in ways that emphasize one or the other. While I don't necessarily think the film lends itself well to something like a straightforward dating sim with the aim of definitively picking one or another, I think IF could be a fun place to explore the constrained nature of Agnes decisions and how they influence her relationships with both men.
She is Conann: This film, with its cascading versions of the protagonist and shifting setting, feels like it offers a great deal of potentials for IF. I think you could do a lot through mechanics that allow one to switch Conanns, through storytelling that allows you to skip or retread parts of logical narrative sequence, or through use of randomization to produce unexpected effects. I think a lot could be done with some of the more surreal writing prompts I pitched in this format, as well as with reexaminations of canonical scenes with new layers of interactivity added.
The Wizard's Shadow: So much of the real gutwrenching past events of The Wizard's Shadow are revealed piecemeal through dreams and visions, and I think this fragmentary form of storytelling would lend itself well to IF format. I can see further exposition on the fates of the characters via some new OC who dreams true, with the past betrayals and hauntings at Amryn being gradually revealed to an outsider in new circumstances. I could also see Crocken or Ivy getting additional pre-canon revelations they weren't expecting. Another tack one could take might be to recreate some component of Miall's investigation (potentially even drawing on his shapeshifting abilities which only come up very occasionally), and giving the reader the ability to more directly experience the unfolding horror of Kieron's nature and Rhisiart's tragedy.
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