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zoophagist · 1 year

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Do you have any hopes/predictions for the upcoming movie?

ooc;; predictions? maybe. hopes? ... in spite of much, yes :')

i'm already committed to see it, but i'm also worried about how it will be, given the trailer and the earlier comments from creatives about the hyper-violent comedy angle. i'm full of worry that they're going to go for that snarky superhero writing style and not embrace how truly weird and fun this could be...

but you want to know about hopes and predictions :) here are some of my thoughts!

i'm hopeful that there will be lots of references to dwight frye's incarnation of renfield, being based around the '31 film.

i think nicholas hoult was a really good pick for that type of renfield. i see it for sure just looking at his other work, and i do like him as an actor, so i'm hopeful that he'll bring an interesting characterization (but i do worry from the trailer that the script may be working against any acting chops he's bringing...).

i'm predicting a lot of marvel style action scenes that... honestly i don't want to see, but... will almost certainly take up a good chunk of the run time.

but i hope that we'll get some kind of interesting backstory for renfield too! pinning the movie on him and his relationship to dracula means we can make it a storytelling priority to explain how he met dracula, what he was like before that, and what exactly he feels about dracula

since they're going for some like... popeye angle of "eat bug, get super strength" i'm hoping for an absolutely bonkers explanation of that. like. it's not the choice i would have made for bringing in the bugs, but if we're doing it, please make it as freaky and fun as possible. please explain the bug powers.

hoping for some 'that's my wife' energy from his love interest. she is a cop, so that's not a great start :/ but i feel like when your male protagonist naturally has such wet cat energy, folks love to throw a kickass woman at him. and rolling my eyes though i am at the Implications™ of framing drac/ren as humorously pseudo-romantic and then giving renfield a female love interest who's Better For Him..... i do also enjoy the idea of renfield with a absolute powerhouse of a woman. but like. universal renfield is also one of the queerest coded renfields ever. and bi people exist (hello hi that's me) but that specific renfield is often seen as just... such a gay man, it just seems wild to give him a woman love interest. so. this aspect is probably going to be messy all over and i don't know if i'll be able to get into it given the weird vibes it may have of "pulled from my toxic GAY relationship by a good, wholesome straight love" but by god please at least let it have 'that's my wife"'energy if it's going to be there.

next hope is just "please god let me be wrong about the above Saved By Straight vibe and let it not be the case at all!!" i mean maybe... maybe he and the cop won't even date, who can say...

possibly i missed some verbage saying this outright, so if i'm stating the obvious sorry about it, but the trailer has some set dressing that implies they're set in new orleans (mulate's cajun restaurant) and i'm hopeful this will be a really fun place to drop dracula and renfield into! (maybe we get lucky and see a vampire chronicles joke?)

and i hope most of all that more casual watchers take away an interest in renfield and learn more about other versions of him! we're right on the heels of dracula daily so i know so, so deeply that more interest doesn't always mean good interest, and people come up with the weirdest takes about my favorite little flyman, but i'm hopeful at least it may turn a few more eyes onto other renfields. :) like me. :)

that's all i can think of at the moment, but i mean i have a myriad of thoughts stewing on this movie... i will be there on opening night, i'm gonna tell you that. so hope the followers are ready to hear about it. i'd also love to hear what others think we might see! please do share your own predictions either in the notes or in my askbox!!

#hey this new ask editing system? sucks! hate it! don't make me use this garbage new editor! anyway...#yeah anon thoughts and prayers for the movie i genuinely do want to root for it i'm not going to hate watch i want their success #but damn if they're not baffling me with some of their choices #||x LET ME ENTREAT YOU OH LET ME IMPLORE YOU! [ answered asks ]#[ renfield 2023 blogging ]#||x LONG AND AFAR OFF [ ooc ]

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ayellowbirds · 7 years

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World of Qarqa: to be drawn

This is a list for myself (and potentially for artists i may commission) of stuff i want to be drawn in the future to develop the setting of Cypora’s Guide to Becoming an Evil Queen, the fantasy world of Qarqa.

Qarqa is a high fantasy setting based on two key sources of folklore: Jewish, and North American. Because of that, it differs strongly from your usual elves & dwarves Tolkienesque fantasy setting in many ways, but also deliberately uses aspects of those as a base—there are people living in Cypora’s world who think that the universe works according to rules we might recognize as those of a tabletop RPG like Dungeons and Dragons.

New commissions will depend on how much i receive in weekly donations (more info at this link).

Characters

Cypora Schenk: the protagonist. A tavern-keeper’s daughter. A transgender girl; pale-skinned with a too-slim body hardened by work & later training set beneath a large and unruly puff of curly auburn hair. Codes as Ashkenazic/Persian mix.

Alícha de Matos: the deuteragonist. An orchard owner’s daughter. A transgender girl, short and athletic with a martial artist’s build. Usually wears high-waisted denim trousers and a dark green jacket from a naval uniform, with mulberry-hued trim added and the coat of arms of Martıkoy sewn onto the front (see below). Codes as Sephardic.

Acantha: the corn dolly. A feathertop; a being made of corn husks and straw in the likeness of a modestly-dressed young woman almost constantly smoking a long-stemmed pipe. Wields an old scythe and a beaten but well-sharpened hay knife.

Adara: a sister-in-law. Strale’s wife.

Aletheia: a maid. A tall golem made of wet clay, which serves to keep the innermost areas of the dungeon in working order.

Almaz: an adventuring warrior. Dark-skinned and heavily armored woman with finely braided hair kept in a tight, high ponytail. Later: harder, colder, with a false eye made of gold and scars around it.

Astruc: a swashbuckler. Androgyne grandchild of Zalema, a chubby and bouncy type who likes to make their presence known with flashy displays and bold actions. Wears lots of colors, beads in their hair. Codes as mixed ancestry.

Bang: the tinker. A yeahoh; a kind of bigfoot notable for a broader frame and darker fur. Disguises himself as merely a tall, hirsute, & full-bearded human by wearing leather traveling garb that covers most of his body. A transgender boy, younger than he seems at first.

Earsel I: a dead emperor.

Enosch Schenk: an elder brother.

Fagim Fossoyeur: an undertaker. A single father trying to do the best by his daughters, glad they have good friends.

Guta Schenk: an tavern-keeper. Cypora’s mother, short and exceptionally strong. Codes as Ashkenazic.

Ishvi Med: Keturah’s baby brother.

Ivorde Consley: a dead businessman.

Joia-Douce Bleustein: a loup-garou.

Keturah Med: the beekeeper. Daughter of a family of mead-makers, chubby nerd with an interest in all arthropods. Very dark-skinned, with an especially voluminous afro. Wears reinforced beekeeping garb as armor. Codes as Beta Israel.

Libet Schenck: a middle sister.

Licoricia Fossoyeur: the angelspawn/naphil. Daughter of an undertaker and an angel; brown skin and long, loosely braided hair kept back in a low ponytail. Her eyes are an unnatural blue not found among mortals, and more of them open all over her body (and in the air beyond it) when she is agitated. Armed with a sharpened shovel. Codes as an African-American Jew.

Madrona: a witch. Acantha’s creator, a wise old bubbe in a simple gray dress, usually hunched over so much that her full height of nearly two meters is not apparent. Codes as Litvak.

Melisende: a healer. A lutin, voluptuous and mature at about 2′3″, able to take the form of a white cat.

Musa (formerly Marx in early drafts) Schenk: a tavern-keeper’s husband. Codes as a Persian Jew.

Orangella Fossoyeur: the demonspawn/mazik. Daughter of an undertaker and a shedah (demoness); her feet look like those of a giant chicken, or maybe a dinosaur. Noticeably paler than her sister Licoricia or father Fagim. Codes as a biracial African-American & Ashkenazic Jew.

Pesche Schenk: an eldest sister. Tall & sturdily built, her curves cover working muscle. Widely admired for her healthful looks and dedication.

Poncella de Matos: an apple orchard owner.

Raduard: an adventuring mystic. All narrow angles, thin-lipped and pale eyed.

Ravid: a sibling-in-law. Libet’s spouse.

The Rear Admiral: a monster. A giant cecalia clad in a naval uniform sewn together from ships’ sails, dyed green and set with ornaments of gold thread. It had a cluster of barnacles in place of a beard, and kept its hair in the most filthy matted parody of dreadlocks you could imagine outside of a folk music festival. Its tentacles were disproportionately thick compared to its upper body.

Scoloaster Spitznogle: an undead. A vampir, wrapped in a shroud and with too-long nails; her sharp teeth are exposed by her lack of lips.

Shiaroc pla Aurm: a lizard woman. Distinguished by abundant scars and light stripes, as well as an unusually thick tail. Wears a high-collared heavy leather jacket and skirt as armor, reinforced with slats of exotic hardwoods.

Shokh: the Schenk family’s reliable old ox, a great and powerful critter. Reference “Belted Galloway” breed.

Simham: a spice trader. A handsome but anxious young man who has traveled a long way and thinks very highly of Enosch.

Strale Schenk: a second brother.

The Old Goat: an overlord. A gigantic goatman who served as the first overlord of Dungeon #1540, two and a half meters tall but very slender. He soaked his fur in pine tar to stick bits of flint in it as armor, and wielded an axe that magically dripped blood, together with an enchanted lantern.

The Stranger: a visitor. A “phantom monster” that observes the inhabitants of Dungeon #1540. Reference the Flatwoods Monster.

Toiba: a boss. The leader of the kapelyushniklekh, she wears a fine bowler hat decorated with a plume of feathers that doubles her height.

Tomer Med: Keturah’s father. A man with a very large belly, full cheeks, and exceedingly long dreadlocks.

Toussaint: a prophet. A mothman who believes he is the envoy of the goddess Misfortuna, whom nobody has ever heard of.

Vivard: a novice. An inexperienced adventurer who took to the lifestyle as a means to rise above his station as an orphan.

Dom Xandre Nunos: A restaurant owner. A famously skilled arm-wrestler fond of challenging rowdy patrons.

Zalema: An old salt. A man built like the timbers of an old dock, sturdy and weathered, and gay as the day is long. Codes as Romaniote.

Tzufit Med: Keturah’s mother. A tall woman with very dark skin, and high cheekbones.

Groups of People

People of the Land: the general term for any of a number of ethnic groups united by shared history as former nomadic peoples and many common religious and cultural standards. Code as Jewish; “Imperialized” code as westernized/assimilated, “Outlanders” code as nomadic and more warlike.

Anakim: humans descended from giants, usually bearing one or more disproportionately overgrown body parts.

Anasha: Westerners among the People of the Land. Code as Middle Eastern Jews.

Djente: People of the Land from the equatorial coasts. Code as Sephardim & related groups of Jews.

Dungeon Explorers’ Union of Martıkoy & Kósta Estridia: a recently formed organization, contentious and constantly at risk of splitting into smaller groups.

Guildniks: the Guild of Inspethian Adventurers and Associates, a more formalized organization. Members are well-equipped and expected to be presentable, receiving polished membership badges reflecting status & level of contribution to the Guild.

Haints: dybbuks and gilgulim, all the incoroporeal or semi-corporeal spirits of the living who linger beyond the grave. The exact distinction between the two types is a matter of debate, so many gloss them both simply as haints.

Icosans: the ethnic group making up the Icarian Empire’s ruling class. Tend towards exceptionally pale skin, often flushed, or discolored bluish-grey by trendy alchemical treatments; small noses and thin, colorless lips.

Janam: People of the Land from the far west, notable for a rich musical tradition. Code as Indian (specifically Kerala) Jews.

Kindaunkeyt: easterners among the People of the Land. Code as Ashkenazim & related groups of Jews.

Mondiens: an ethnic group closely related to the Icosans. Code as northwestern European gentiles.

Sebat (pending rename): far southerners among the People of the Land. Code as Jews of African ancestry.

Valley Union: the Adventurer’s Union of The Lower Alstuc Valley. More rag-tag and informal, the few Union Halls being somewhere to cut the dust and rest your boots rather than a proper meeting-place.

Zombies: humans brought back from death on a “budget resurrection”, not truly alive but more resistant to death. White-eyed and often showing grievous wounds that would fell a living being.

Objects/Places/Things

Aleftav: the traditional abjad used among the People of the Land, also called “the Old Script”.

Arms of Martıkoy: Murrey, a gull displayed argent.

Alícha’s Axes: paired light axes weighted & honed for combat instead of work.

Bitternut Hollow: a village in the hills. Reference Appalachian communities, Juhuri, Georgian Jews.

Alícha’s Bow & Arrows: a short bow and a bundle of finely made arrows, made from reforged & recarved magical amulets. Crossroads: a small village named simply for being centered upon the crossing of two ancient major roads, a popular stop for both travelers and adventurers.

Dungeon #568: The Sea King’s Castle. Formerly the Sixth Battle Squadron of the Icarian Imperial Navy, a set of enormous ironclad vessels interlinked with bridges and chains, warped into the form of a floating fortress. The central vessel is shaped into a likeness of an impossibly vast & monstrous octopus.

Dungeon #1532: The Inspeth Delve. Former site of Inspeth University, a dungeon populated by monsters associated with academia and the strange sciences formerly studied at the university.

Dungeon #1540: The Timber Barony. Former home & business of Ivorde Consley, a dungeon built around the processing and sale of lumber both conventional and exotic. Outwardly resembles a fortified town with walls of living trees integrown to form a barrier.

Endless Cauldron: produces an infinite reservoir of thin, nutritious porridge.

Vivard’s Espada Ancha: a short, broad, double-edged sword with a D-shaped hand guard

Ever-Burning Lantern: an enchanted lumber-camp lamp that always produces light.

Flying Canoes: enchanted small boats. Difficult to maneuver due to the lesser resistance of air compared to water.

Golden Beehive: a magical mead-producing fountain.

Alicha’s Hatchet: a plain, utilitarian, but reliable small axe.

High-Stepping Boots: Cowhand-style leather boots set with designs of birds and feathers in rich colors on a black-dyed background. Enchanted to allow flight by creating propulsion from the heels.

Los Soldados: the barren coast north of Martıkoy, with abundant jagged rock formations.

Martıkoy: a coastal town mostly set on the slope leading to the shore and wrapping around a wide, peaceful bay. I had a weird mix of San Francisco and Sleepy Hollow in my mind when I was writing scenes there.

Mirror of the Distant Eye: a small hand mirror enchanted to allow two-way communication via other mirrors produced at the same time, even over great distances.

Seed-Grown Shelter: a permanent shelter in the form of a live tree with a hollow large enough for several people to fit within, grown from a single magic seed.

Sharkspawn Sack: a leather bag full of shark teeth that conjures a magical shark made of whatever material the bag is thrown against.

Cypora’s Shepherds’ Axe: a ciupaga made for work rather than show, sturdy with a good axe head and a sharp steel point at the other end.

the Stafroph: the Icosan alphabet.

The Stone Rooster: an oversized granite carving of a chicken, enchanted to crow thrice when Dungeon #1540 has a new overlord.

Vuègbòrd: “Void-Boundary”, the sword of Almaz. An impossibly sharp short sword, so dark that it reflects no light whatsoever, making it appear two-dimensional at first.

Windknot: rope or cord tied with a special magical knot that conjures a powerful wind when untied.

Creatures

Angels: agents of the divine, awful and strange with too many eyes or wings, or arms or mouths, or all or none. Known classes include the Harisot (the “Ruinations”) and Rekbaim (the “Vehicles”)

Axehandle Hounds: Sturdy, long-bodied canines with short legs and sharp metal axes for muzzles. They supplement much of their diet with wood.

Beach Beasts: monsters commonly associated with marine & island dungeons, a twisted mingling of mammalian, avian, and reptilian aspects. Reference the Montauk Monster.

Cecaelias: humanoid above the waist, with the tentacled end of an octopus, squid, or cuttlefish where the legs should be. Often dress after the manner of Icosan naval officers, they appear to have a sense of ranks.

Dogs, Talking: some dogs talk. It makes it easier for them to own stuff, like clothing, jewelry, and so forth.

Duendes: little people, mischievous and uncanny, often subtly integrated into human society. Average around 60 centimeters in height.

Feathertops: Wrought sewn together from the stuff of scarecrows, animated with a feather amulet and an enchanted smoking pipe. They are more extroverted than golems.

Fishmen: Icarian soldiers twisted into piscine forms, with huge dark eyes and scaly skin.

Goatmen: feral humanoids with the heads and legs of goats and shaggy-haired bodies of great strength.

Golems: Wrought made of wet clay or other flexible materials, usually in humanoid form. They tend to take things literally, and speak so little that most think them incapable of it.

Globsters: animate masses of undead marine life congealed into a gelatinous form.

Goblins: silvery-skinned, bat eared creatures that are highly resistant to injury. Reference the Hopkinsville Goblins.

Kapelyushnikles: Miniature people notable for mischief and wearing excellent hats of all kinds, and great skill in the care of draft animals. Knee-high to a toddler; each one speaks with a distinct accent with little to no relation to the others.

Lizard People: Towering, broad-bodied and long-necked beings with dark scute-covered forms and long tails, paired with shaggy manes of hair. Reference pelycosaurs.

Loups-Garous: else called Volkelaks, humans able to turn into tremendous, powerful wolves.

Lutins: Shapeshifting little people, often taking the form of rabbits or cats. About as big on average as a cat on its hind legs.

Mazikim: the result of demons and humans having children, mazikim tend to have features of both, and sometimes neither.

Mothmen: often mistaken for a lesser kind of angel, these enigmatic beings stand above the tallest humans and have great, glowing red eyes. What appear to be otherwise featureless faces conceal wide mouths lined with tiny, very sharp teeth. Reference pterosaurs (esp. Anurognathus) and owls.

Nehashim: dragons; a wide and mutable class of creature where even among siblings they can range from great whale-serpents to creatures almost indistinguishable from humans.

Nephilim: the children of angels and humans, they tend to have notably beautiful features and incredibly strong bodies, while bearing at least one overtly monstrous physical trait.

Sei’rim: antelope-hoofed creatures of the wilderness, vain demons fond of forcing or coercing humans into serving them as if they were gods.

Shedim: demons of shadow, looking in their true form like gray-skinned humans with the feet of fowl or dinosaurs. They are masters of shapeshifting, and craft smoke and shadow as humans do with metal and wood.

Shreteles: especially tiny people, barely as tall as a fist, notable for their magic of abundance. The ones in question dress as lumberjacks.

Vampirs: living dead that thirst for human blood, they have strange powers but a number of weaknesses. They tend to have flushed features and a ragged, filthy appearance.

Wrought: the broad class of golems, feathertops, and other intelligent automata that do not require human intervention for long-term activity. More finely crafted wrought are not distinguishable from living beings unless injured.

Yeahohs: a kind of bigfoot, dark-furred, heavily muscled, and with sharp teeth.

Miscellaneous Critters: Agropelters, Devil Dogs, (Jersey) Devil, Hodags, Snallygosters, Tailypos

#Cypora’s Guide to Becoming an Evil Queen

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