yuletide | 2022 Yuletide Promo Post

Welcome to the Fandom Promo post, everyone!

Here's where you get those eyes on your fandoms for sign-ups!

Share what makes your Yuletide fandoms the shiniest and why you love them. A big part of Yuletide is how small our fandoms can be, and this is a good way to make sure other people know what gems there are out there!

NEW: We've made a register! There is now a searchable Google spreadsheet index of the canons promoted on this post. Go ahead and add yours or any you see that are missing! We hope this helps connect people up with canons of interest to them.

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Title:
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Media:

Approx length:

Where to find it:
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What is it, in summary?:

What do you love about it?:

What sort of things are you likely to request for it?:

Are there sections of canon (rather than the whole canon) that can be consumed by themselves to fulfil your requests, or that showcase particular characters and relationships?:

Content warnings (ie, rape, incest, racism, gore/violence):
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Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Title: Fitchers Vogel | Fitcher’s Bird (Fairy Tale)

Media: A classic fairy tale, as told by the Brothers Grimm.

Approx length: The version I’m linking below is 1,380 words.

Where to find it: In a wide variety of collections, in print, ebooks, online, recorded, in many languages … the version I’m using as a basis for my requests is right here.

What is it, in summary?: Apparently this tale is classified as a variant of Aarne-Thompson-Uther type 311, The Heroine Rescues Herself and Her Sisters, though it’s also very close to Bluebeard (ATU 312), with the theme of the forbidden chamber and the blood that won’t come off.

In the story, a wicked sorcerer named Fitcher wanders around the countryside kidnapping girls and carrying them away with him in a sack. He tests them by giving them an egg to carry at all times, the keys to his house, and an order not to enter a forbidden chamber - which they always do, and always drop the egg in a pool of blood in their shock at what they find there. With the bloodstain as evidence of their disobedience, Fitcher punishes them by dismembering them and leaving their bodies in the forbidden chamber.

However, when he kidnaps three sisters in sequence, the youngest outwits him. She leaves the egg behind when she explores the house, so it is returned to him unstained. She’s able to revive her dead sisters, trick Fitcher into carrying them home on his back, and escape his house disguised as a bird while he goes to prepare for their wedding, leaving a skull decked in bridal veils in a high window as a decoy. Ultimately, she sends her family to set fire to his house with him and all his “wedding guests” inside.

What do you love about it?: It combines the dark, bloody mystery of Bluebeard with a story of unequivocal female agency (no vestigial brother characters riding to a last minute rescue) and positive female/sibling relationships; all things I enjoy very much. I also enjoy its array of weird details, from the youngest sister reassembling her sisters’ bodies (and bringing them back to life) to the inconsistent avian theme (the egg, the bird disguise). It’s just begging to be expanded on, explored, and adapted. The wedding guests ask the third sister, disguised with feathers, about Fitcher and his wedding.

What sort of things are you likely to request for it?: I’m going to request a retelling/elaboration on the story, with fleshed-out characterization and perhaps exploration of various themes. I’m interested in a take that plays up the darkness and horror vibes, or one that leans into strangeness more than fear, or any number of possibilities.

Are there sections of canon (rather than the whole canon) that can be consumed by themselves to fulfil your requests, or that showcase particular characters and relationships?: No, but it’s an extremely short (and free, public domain) canon.

Content warnings: I mean, it’s a fairy tale; it’s both extremely violent and told in a sparse, dispassionate style. But: Violence, murder, dismemberment, kidnapping, imprisonment, misogyny, and I guess necromancy?

Edited 2022-10-15 21:34 (UTC)