Hm I don't know specifically! For asks, I'm generally curious to know what people think, or their interpretations of my art and work since I find that interesting even if it's not always lined up with my intention. As for pairings, I am always a little bummed at the lack of any good Saladin/Richard or even rarer-but-more-basis, Al-Adil/Richard, since that was actually....my first ship intrigue JDFJFJSKDJ but I also understand why there's not as much bc generally western audience (including myself) isn't as versed about the Ayyubids and a lot of the Crusader Intrigue, even the positive stuff, has some goofy orientalism legend level all over it... Still, very unexplored area of character exploration for one of the most well known historical rivalries, for King of Unresolved Daddy Issues with King Condescending Dad Voice. I digress, however.

Other fun rare pairs -- PhillGeoff is always fun, Ive done a couple doodles but it's tough bc there's little to work with, but what does exist is very strong. Junior/Geoffrey is also underrated brother dynamic as I said in previous ask, Young Henry's kind of childishness and anxiousness combined with Geoffrey's unlikeable pragmatism and irreverence is a fun brother combination. Anything with Mercadier (literally scraping the pot as there is ZERO info), some Joanne/Berengaria is something id like to explore a bit more of (rare medieval Yuriz for me...) as well as John/Berengaria, in general getting a grasp on her personality and also giving her some love since Clearly she is NOT getting it from her dumbass husband

I don't have the info and I'd like to like. Invent something or dig into it more, but the mom weird distant dynamics between Queen Eleanor and Marie de Champagne id be curious to explore. I think both of them being instrumental to the rise of chivalric literature while also well, being the daughter that was Left Behind I think there'd be interesting dynamics there.

That all being said, I like hearing what other people are thinking about! My frame of reference is pretty limited, so it's cool to hear from other people.

LOL its always a fun shock when ppl put 2 and 2 together!!! The robin hood legends are probably the most recognizable ways people know them in pop culture (thanks Disney thanks Furries), and it's fun how they became very polar opposites of each other--John as the infantile greedy villain who is evil but like, in a very Entertainingly camp way vs. King Richard who is a very just and Upright knight and proper masculine warrior who Restores Order because True King Doctrine and all that. In that way, they become more oppositional storytelling tropes rather than reflections of historical people, so it's fun to see the roles they play whenever stories get retold.

TLIW is fun as a work because it's trying to be a bit more grounded, however you can see (especially in the og script) traces of who they will grow into. In those works, as well as stuff like in The Devil's Crown, you get a better sense of where they come from as people in history and see a lot more of their similarities seeing the relational environment they grew up in, as a culture, family, and time period

Richard especially is a figure who has been reimagined over the past century due to people feeling less uncritical about the Crusade Narratives, being more nationalistic ("he wasn't TRULY English!!!"), and of course getting a closer appraisal of what little we know of his personality (annoying, divisive, but generally admired) and possible non-heterosexuality (nuclear but very likely) . Similar with John, I think people have become a bit more, if not sympathetic, try to see him as more a human character reacting and making decisions in very specific contexts rather than just a twirly moustache villain.

It's all very fun to think about indeed! I love it when characters have "personas" or more an outside "image" of themselves that maybe is related to but maybe separate from how they see themselves. In medieval times especially, it's a blurred line between the self that you perform and want to be remembered as, vs the internal self, of which we will very likely have very little knowledge. Its very good fuel for the imagination XD

I've wanted to play around with more different Bible era yaoi stuff, and I've drawn some for it--specifically the sort of bronze age, Book of Samuel, David cycle era because I think the stories and characters feel really real and there's a lot to work with there, both traditionally (the David/Jonathan yaoiz is classic, tho I'm more of a Saul/David or Samuel/Saul dynamic enjoyer ...) I feel less confident I guess bc Id wanna do more research, but old dynastic stuff is very fun.

Id also love to get into like roman era first century Mediterranean stuff again at some point since that was one of my original interests (also because of Bible/New testament stuff). However idk in a way I feel the classical era fujos are already so prominent and prolific and the amount of info is so much and so intimidating that I don't feel like I have much to add, I just kind of enjoy it from the sidelines. I think Christian history as well as goofy Christian myths about history are very....full of yaoi potential lol, especially very early stuff. I have a sort of Roman shota sort of scenario stuff I've wanted to play around more with, except the (mild) drawing I did kept getting me BANNED so I'm nervous bc it feels like it's cursed and cursing me. Reminder I need to watch I Claudius at some point so I can get that sweet sweet Devil's Crown-esque goofy serious theatre and also see John Castle in a historical role again...

Not historical yaoi but more historical Yuri...id be interested in reading more about Brunhilda and Fredegund and their feud since it's huge GIRLS R FIGHTINGGG energy and also cool to learn more about the Merovingians. Yes this is because of that anime that never got made...also bc while I enjoy all the rhaenicent stuff I always feel like I want to go back to the "source" of wild (possible) info, (like empress Matilda, and these gals)

These are all very European centric, but I also think tbh any older civilizations I'm curious to learn about it's possible to yaoify....good yaoification tho I feel requires not just a love of the boy x boy but also an understanding of cultural restrictions and taboos and gender dynamics so you know exactly how ppl conform or don't conform and how the "boy"ness adds to the boy x boy (or girl x girl) depending. I feel a lot of western slash, and even like, Japanese yaoi etc likes to use Christianity or Catholicism as a basis of restriction to rebel against (once again paraphrasing Mari Kotani: "in order to get the narrative pleasure of freeing yourself, you must first be tied up") . But what about cultures and environments where that isn't the dominant restrictive force? Or in which restrictive forces take on different cultural norms and expectations? That's what's fun about historical settings, is how you're forced to recontextualize what "deviance" is.

Funny enough, I've read a lot of BL but not a lot of historical Japanese stuff, which is also something I'd like to dip into some time to better Understand some of the cultural origins and formative works.

As for other periods, generally I'm less keen to fandomify stuff that's more recent since that gets into more dicey territory for me, also it feels like once you know TOO much about people especially in a post printing press era, it kind of kills the mystique a bit. Also I'm a little personally afraid of what if my brain DOES latch onto like 20th century politicians or something I feel my personal internal historical rpfethics would need to be reformed all over again ... I think sometimes more taboo or questionable/"too real" topics can lead to good works, but it can be volatile and for me I think it's good to have a layer of sensitivity XD Kudos to the people who can make it work, the David Finchers of the world I guess, but I enjoy a creative buffer zone of mystique and contested historiography

It's not something I'm super versed about, but one thing that was interesting to me was watching (https://youtu.be/lrPnx5P7SsA?si=-CJ5MCqDjaGvymLZ)[Premodernist's video] about meat preparation and preservation in medieval/pre-modern times! It was to counter the myth that medieval people used spices to "cover up the taste of rotten meat" which is one of the many things I just kinda took for granted as a ye olde medieval thing. It's kind of cool learning how people raised food animals and the timing of slaughter and food prep, and how pre refrigeration people kept perishables fresh or cured them, and how even tho the "need" for it has maybe lapsed due to refrigeration technology, it survives in culture and tastes. Anyways I'm hungry for some salami now...

Glad you can enjoy my work! And that's totally fair, shota stuff isn't for everyone and it's good to enjoy what you like on ur own terms. I'm always glad when people can appreciate my various niche thoughts and hope maybe you've found some cool things to read and watch along the way!

I will say (just to take the general opportunity, not a dig at u anon) I like joking about the "18+ Legal Adult" thing, but when it comes especially to the medieval drawings I do find it a rather arbitrary way to categorize them. Aside from being fictional drawings and writing that are perfectly legal in the real, current world, I feel the situations I like to explore especially in the medieval time period are interesting bc of the very different standards and reactions of what what was considered legal, acceptable or taboo, etc--especially when things get muddled with regards to strict nominal hierarchies and intense social power dynamics.

This isn't to dismiss any feelings of discomfort or skeeviness, since I think that's definitely an essential part of it (and for some ppl like me, part of the aesthetic and appeal) but it's something I think about a lot.

All in all just wanted to share some thoughts, and once again thanks a lot for the support!