Omg now you've made me curious what this ship is...but solidarity my friend, I know what it feels like when you've latched onto a juicy dynamic and there's NO ONE to discuss with, double so if you're wary of a "fandom" and their behavior. However I firmly believe that mad Posting is really the way to go about it, even if u don't convert people u can make them intrigued and curious ....making memes and PowerPoints is where it's at. ..it's tough indeed if there's not a "media" to read or watch especially if there's major differences, I'm lucky to have good media but even then I def have my disagreements, such is the nature of historical RPF XD feel free to send more info about it if u like and also hang in there ....antis etc can be intimidating, and for historical subjects I can understand if there's a level of discomfort/etc bc it's zomg Real People, but there will always be freaks out in the world, i promise 💜

Well, I would say that first of all think about what you're prioritizing in the work. Do you want a piece that's mostly emotions/storytelling, or one that focuses and prominently displays specific visual details for the sake of historicity? Most pieces have a mix of both, but just like movies vs. history books/documentaries, there is usually a focus on one or the other. Think about the artist's strengths, what draws you to their work, and see if you can incorporate that into your request. If your focus is more on drama, and if you trust/collab with your artist, leaving a bit of wiggle room for artistic license can really make something cool! On the other hand, if you want to make something more clinical/specific, you'll want to be a bit more involved.

the main practical thing you can do for your artist is gather REFERENCE! if u compile it all yourself in a folder or something you will make their lives SO much easier. This is for me personally, but also if you are writing detailed descriptions, PLEASE add line breaks/bullet notes/paragraph breaks because it makes it much easier and faster to read and find information. For historical stuff, If you can't find like a good example of a particular garment, find something that's similar and include that as well (for example, even a model wearing a plain tunic can help with seeing how something might drape even if it's not Super Specific or bedazzled)

If your focus is on something Dramatic or emotional, finding movie stills or comic panels or poses, even drawing your own stick figure arrangement can help the artist visualize what you're going for and how to communicate the personality/relationship/etc.

Don't be afraid to ask for changes etc in the sketch stage--all artists have different TOS in terms of revisions, but most ppl taking commissions are glad to get corrections etc EARLY ON in the process, rather than later when it's more finalized and harder to change--remember, you ARE a customer and it's your job of course to communicate what YOU want, not leave it a guessing game on their end, which can cause frustration for everyone.

TLDR; BE respectful, communicative, and use lots of reference, not just for the visual details but for the feeling you want to get across from your piece. Also, if u like ur piece, feel free to leave a tip ;D

Ur exactly right!!! In fact I even drew a sticker of this...it's too small I think to offer on the store but I can include it as a freebie with anything else XD.

In the poem biography of William Marshall it actually refers to Philip as "more clever than a fox" and makes comparisons to emphasize his craftiness, so it's very appropriate XD

My other concept for him is some kind of sheep/ram, I think it would work well bc he can be a tiny cute lamb but then grow up and have the big hulking horns and dangerous Grumpy expression...prey-coded but very serious and dangerous when spooked.. This is inspired too by Bertran de Born's poems early on which compared Philip derogatorily with Richard, saying he's the "lamb" who weeps rather than taking charge.

Also for Richard he is obviously Lion but I think he can also be a tiny kitty too sometimes just stretching out and doing/hunting whatever he wants and acting soo important ... Not a tameable creature but with a purpose (also Orange...)

YESSS I drew a bit of them a while back but haven't got around to more! It's such good bad end Yaoi... Young haughty predestined prince with the legendary hero's name and maternal inheritance vs. literal comic book villain type....very tasty...

In all seriousness tho putting aside their cartoonish reputations, it's neat thinking about their kinship--before Richard died heiress after all, they did have interactions...I don't think it's implausible they had friendly memories together before All That. Also there's a bittersweetness of having one of the last surviving family members, for John who's finally gotten his crown but only after losing all his brothers, be someone necessarily be your enemy, instead of someone you can love and comfort...tragic and disaster all around (sexy)

I have a few! I really like Henry II/Thomas Becket, both bc of the movie (love Peter o toole 's incredible "angry omega in heat" energy he brings to an otherwise mediocre film). However my peak dynamic for them is less friends/lovers to enemies in that movie, and more the really fraught dads co-parenting to divorce situation with Henry Jr. Stuck in the middle. Becket himself was just as stubborn and annoying as Henry in other ways and I feel that wasn't portrayed as well in the movie. The Devil's Crown (1978) does a much more accurate job of portraying their dynamic, probably due to the freedom of having more episodes.

As for other ships, I do like Philip/Geoffrey a lot too--they def had a similar close affection before Geoffrey's death, and Philip's extensive grieving outburst at his burial is the first of a long line of what I call Odd Philip Behaviors that seem to break out of the norm of Philip's usual more restrained and formal attitudes and approaches to things. I think they're cute XD if a bit tragic--Geoffrey though I see as a bit too much of a sincere wifeguy to be as into it, but I love schemer4schemer yaoi a lot.

Other ships mostly are all other Richard ships because he's my fave and bicycle, and because people just CANNOT stop giving him boyfriends or boybestfriends in various media lmao, I will say one that is underrated (even by me, I haven't done much of it) is Mercadier/Richard--Mercadier was a loyal and brutal mercenary who was extremely loyal and devoted to Richard until his dying day, almost to a fault (murdered the boy who had shot the king, even after Richard pardoned him lol). I think the similarities and contrast in their personalities is very interesting, not much is known about Mercadier but there's a lot of room for imagination I think.

For non-Plantagenet ships, and to fast forward a bit in time, a friend of mine got me interested in the dramas of Frederick II of Sicily, who also has a variety of fun guys to ship with, lots of tragic bad ending stuff like Frederick x Piero Della Vigna (nothing like driving ur boybestfriend to suicide) but also if he was probably bisexual irl so lots of room for making up ships if u wanted to heh.

Of course there's also the rest of the incest stuff which I don't always actively ship but I think there's lots of cool room, especially for Henry II/Henry TYK which I think is PEAK Dadson material, unfortunately I'm not really primarily a Dadson Stan so I just keep pointing it out to feed those who are into it XD, ALSO I like a John/Arthur of Brittany for more Evil Bad Ending stuff (another thing where The Devil's Crown feeds us well...)

I also have a lil Cathar OC guy who I like to put in Situations but it's probably less "loving" in the "MLM" and more for torture porn BL than anything else. I find it hard to work originally in this space because the existing figures are already so interesting hahaa.

Anyways, I tend to have a pretty tight focus with my personal ships but I always like seeing other people's gay visions, both for education and excitement. I like of course looking for the historical queer corners of history since it's fascinating to see irl interpretations and examples of course, but also it's fun just to look at the weird intensity of the vassal and suzerain relationship and the intimacy that comes even in (and maybe because of) the imbalanced relationships of loyalty, money, and servitude.

This was a long answer but hope it was interesting!

Ooh that is very juicy indeed! Not as versed in the period but I always like power imbalances where it is a bit odd and era specific and doesn't match completely up to the modern day. In Roman slavery, a slave could be treated and provided for "well" but also still was kinda subhuman in liberties, but also having the responsibility and power over a young person is always a fascinating dynamic. Especially if it is someone who will grow up to be more powerful later...I haven't read much works that deal with this, and I understand a lot of people are squickish about aspects of slavery in general in the ancient world, but it adds a very interesting layer.