#excalibur rising

[fuckyeaharthuriana]

mordred through time (movies, tv shows, opera and musicals)

Part 4: From 2014 to 2017

Other Parts: Part 1: From 1949 to 1981 -> here Part 2: From 1982 to 2002 -> here Part 3: From 2002 to 2010 -> here Part 5: From 2018 to 2023

For this part I just wanted to talk a bit about sympathetic Mordred.

Through time we started to see a more sympathetic Mordred. I think the first iteration in audio/movies/tv was the the Blind Guardian's song in 1995. For the first time we have Mordred as a protagonist, mainly lamenting of regret, pain and lonliness. While I do not know why they decided to focus on Mordred, it is also notable that writing a more sympathetic Mordred was already happening in novels, around the same time. I used the arthurian list of novels I made so I might have missed any, but at this time we have 1956 "The Great Captains" by Henry Treece, "Sword at Sunset" by Sutcliff, "The Wicked Day" (the first novel focusing on Mordred as protagonist) by Mary Stewart, 1982 "The Idylls of the Queen" (Phyllis Ann Karr), 1983 "The Mists of Avalon" (Marion Zimmer Bradley), Persia Wolley's 1987 Guinevere trilogy, 1988 "The road to Avalon" by Joan Wolf and 1988 "The Book of Mordred" by Hanratty all depicting Mordred as a more round character, as someone the reader can feel sympathy too or even enjoy or relate to.

A slighty sympathetic but still villanous potrayal can then be found in 2001 ("The Mists of Avalon" miniseries) but we have to wait till 2008 ("Merlin", BBC) to have a tv Mordred who is actually shown trying to do the right thing (at least for a bit), and working with Arthur. I think this is more due to the fact that "Merlin" often tries to depict villains' origins and motivations than a real conscious attempt to redeem Mordred or make him less villanous.

Other following examples are the kid movie 2010 "Merlin and Arthur the Lion King" and the album 2014 "High Noon Over Camelot" that positions Mordred in a co-protagonist role and fully allows the listeners to empathyze with him. The Fate franchise (the introduction of Mordred should be around 2012 in the novels) continues on this trajectory, making Mordred a main sympathetic and beloved protagonist in many of the adaptations.

2014 High Noon Over Camelot album by The Mechanisms: The song I used is "Peacemaker". The album has multiple arthurian characters sung by different artists, and Mordred is interpreted by Ashes O'Reilly. This is also the first time we have an explicitly queer Mordred (outside of novels), as Mordred is a trans man in this retelling. The story is a Western reimagining of arthuriana, and another case of a sympathetic Mordred - this time Mordred is more overtly sympathetic and even reconcile with his father Arthur at the end.

2011 recording of Albeniz's "Merlin": Piotr Prochera plays Mordred. This is another recording (no dvd, this has been shared by Piotr Prochera acor himself on youtube) of the "Merlin" opera.

2015 recording of "Le Roi Arthus": This opera is probably my favorite arthurian opera. It was created by Ernest Chausson between 1886 and 1895 and it is sung in French. Mordred is a bass and a classic villain, here jealous of Lancelot and the attention Guinevere gives Lancelot. This 2015 version was a modernized edition, with the knights depicted as modern soldiers. Mordred here is played by Alexandre Duhamel.

2016 Rex, youtube webseries: This series is on Severe Chill Studios' Youtube channel, with 48 short episodes. The series is a vlog of arthurian characters living in modern times (no reincarnations, just reimaginings). It follows Rex (Arthur) a student who is dealing with his abusive family and the brothers Merlin and Lancelot. Moore (Mordred) is Arthur's spoiled and arrogant friend (played by Daniel O’Sullivan). He lets Rex crash at his place for a bit, and is often depicted insulting his mother and calling her slurs. If you decide to watch this just know the series has some pretty heavy themes (a part from domestic abuse it also touches on terminal illness). Youtube link.

2017 Fate/Apocrypha: This is one of the many anime adaptation of the Fate franchise. Mordred is voiced by Miyuki Sawashiro. The Fate franchise is massive and deals with numerous spin-offs or even alternative realities to tell the tales of wars/battles for the Holy Grail mainly fought by Servants who are personification of historical/legendary figures. Fate/Apocrypha is based on a series of novel and is an alternative timeline to the previous Fate/Stay Night anime and also the first time we have Mordred in the anime. Mordred is here a Servant, they are the cloned-son of Saber (Arthur/Arturia, who is a woman) and Morgana. Their story is massive so let me just say I am using they/them for Mordred because the Fate series is very ambigous regarding theri gender. They are born as the close of a woman (Saber) and often referred with female pronouns through the series, they hate being called "a girl", and also hate being called "a boy". While I do not think the series was making an effort to actually depict a non-binary character, I do believe Mordred can easily be read as one.

2017 King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table: 2017 was a wild year for arthuriana but nothing was as wild as this movie. The movie follows the life of some arthurian characters' descendant living in Thailand. Morgana and Mordred (banished in arthurian times) ended up in space, working with aliens, and are now back to destroy the descendants. The movie is full over dramatic close up, Morgana turning into a mecha, fighting scenes and more. Interestingly, given how ridiculous the movie is, Mordred is depicted as a sympathetic (almost) villain. He is played by Russell Geoffrey Banks.

2017 King Arthur: Excalibur Rising: The scene I used in the video is right at the start, as the movie is set after Arthur's death. While Mordred might seem sympathetic there he is actually a pretty violent villain for the rest of the movie. The story is focused on Owain (Arthur's illegitimate son) trying to take back the crown from Mordred and Morgana. Here Mordred (played by Gavin Swift) is Arthur's incestuous son with Morgana.

2017 Legend, youtube webseries: A webseries you can watch on Tufts University Television's channel (link here). The series has 7 episodes and an epilogue and is set in a university. Each student is an arthurian character, with Mordred (Morty) as the overly joking, friendly guy who is hiding some deep hatred and jealousy towards Arthur. Unfortunately I do not remember if Mordred is Arthur's half-brother or just a friend. Mordred is played by Yuval Ben-Hayun. The story and production were pretty good, so I recommend it!

2017 Mordred La Revolte: I cheated a bit as this movie is the end of a long webseries. The series started in 2013 and run till 2018 with two season and can still be found here on youtube. The series was created by Tommy-Lee Baïk (who also played Mordred) and is in French. Unfortunately I cannot really tell how arthurian the series is, but the plot does not mention other arthurian characters. If I am not wrong, la Revolte is simply S2 turned into a movie.

2017 Fate/Grand Order The stage - Divine Realm of the Round Table: Camelot: Part of the Fate saga but in the Grand Order timeline, this is a stage adaptation of one of the events in the videogame Fate/Grand Order. In particular, it should be the same story shown in the later movie Camelot part 1 as the full title is Fate/Grand Order THE STAGE - Divine Realm of the Round Table: Camelot Replica; Agateram. I will explain more about it in the next part of this Mordred series. Chihiro Kai plays Mordred.

[bluheaven-adw]

I snagged a spot with @iybms commissions for Palestine/Gaza, sent her all the Dark Excalibur references, and got this absolutely gorgeous art in return. Her art is just freaking stunning, and helps support relief efforts.

[archies-litterbox]

someone should've just snuck a gritshaka around jim's neck the second he started going "but without the amulet... am I still the trollhunter? 😔" in rise of the titans bc crispy jim would have locked the fuck in

[making-your-fave-in-fr]

Excalibur Umbra from warframe?

I made Excalibur Umbra from Warframe in Flight Rising!

M Mirror (Uncommon Light Eyes) Grey/Tapir | Obsidian/Striation | Sanddollar/Filigree

Faerie Rose Thorn Crown, Unearthly Onyx Ghastcrown, Black and White Flair Scarf, Faerie Rose Thorn Arm Tangle, Faerie Rose Thorn Leg Tangle, Faerie Rose Thorn Tail Tangle

[jae-in-a-trenchcoat]

A drawing based on @bluheaven-adw’s Dark Excalibur au!

Had a great time working on this

[shrimpsodas]

tumblr also gets to see my satbk dragons. arthur (excalibur sonic) lancelot merlina guinevere. more to come once i can afford it <3

[akane022]

can you all imagine if excalibur was the only way for merlin to die on? excalibur, forged on a dragon's breath and meant only for arthur, the sword that killed arthur's bane and merlin's shadow and could not protect arthur would also be merlin's end

[yyadream]

This is a sketch of a comic i want to do, if not maybe write a fanfic, idk still think about it. This going to be my Rottmnt x Soul Eater AU of the triplets silly adventures together. This is going to be based off the first Excalibur ep in Soul Eater. If you ever watch Soul Eater you’ll know what’s going to happen.

Summary:

Donnie and Leo made a bet that one of them is more worthy to pull Excalibur. Frida tagged along to record their humiliation in case one or neither isn’t able to pull the sword.

Frida can’t pull the sword because she’s a weapon too, while her brothers are Meister.

Other than Excalibur and the fairy, I thought about bringing other Soul Eater characters.

[fuckyeaharthuriana]

84/100 random arthurian screencaps Bedivere and Kay (Excalibur Rising)

[bluheaven-adw]

Thank you tumblr for absolutely destroying image quality. Freaking wtf?

Some more Dark Excalibur AU

The Knighting of Steve Palchuk

We all agree that Steve needed a better arc than what RotT gave him. He deserved a chance to be a hero, a path that he started in Wizards before it fizzled out into being the comedic relief. Wizards set everyone up as the better generational mirrors to Camelot. Jim to Arthur, Claire to Morgana, Douxie to Merlin, Toby probably to Galahad, and Steve very obviously to Lancelot. I've said at the start that no one comes out of this AU unscathed, so while Steve gets the heroic redemption, it comes at a cost, one that pulls on that parallel.

RotT in the Dk-E still happens, I'm not letting everyone get their happily ever after at the end of Wizards. But I'll be damned if I end it with Toby and so many others dead, and Jim pushed into a timeline reset. You can thank Steve for that. It's because of Steve that Toby lives. Steve goes with Toby in the Taco truck, and it is Steve that yanks Toby out of the way of the collapsing debris. But Steve becomes pinned himself, resulting in the loss of his arm. An act of selflessness and bravery, valor and sacrifice, that earns him the title of First Knight of the Roundtable of New Camelot. An equal advisor, responsible for not only the protection of Camelot, and those Jim has claimed as his (which is everyone, human, troll, changeling, down to the last gnome), but also finding and training new knights, those who value all life and are willing to fight to protect it, and want to see the worlds of man and magic together in harmony instead of hate and fear.

And so we come to the Knighting of Steve Palchuk. This isn't just pomp and meaningless ceremony, this has true weight and meaning to both Jim and Steve. Jim pulls on Excalibur's magic, his voice resonating with ethereal power, creating a bond of trust and loyalty that goes both ways, only formed if given willingly. Knight to his King, King to Knight, both to the protection of all worlds and their peoples. Jim's eyes light up in tandem with the blade as the power of Excalibur and Nimue courses through him, flames licking along the blade's edge and into Steve. Steve's armor reflecting this bond as the magic burns through him.

And like Lancelot, Steve will get a fully functional prosthetic arm. There will be hardship, adapting to this new reality. But Steve has become a hero. A man of courage... far from his highscool self. A survivor, who will fight with everything he has.

Rise now, Sir Steve, First Knight of the Roundtable and New Camelot.

Closeups below

Notes: some of the descriptive wording around the ceremony itself came from a discussion about Jim using Excalibur for the knighting, and are used with permission of Sakon76, who is a much better writer than I.

Expect more if Steve's story at a later time.

[cyavillaarts]

Rogue

Anna Marie Raven

X-Men ‘97

[books-to-add-to-your-tbr]

Title: Camelot Rising

Author: Kiersten White

Series or standalone: series

Publication year: 2019

Genres: fiction, fantasy, retelling, romance, historical fiction

Blurb: Princess Guinevere has come to Camelot to wed a stranger: the charismatic King Arthur. With magic clawing at the kingdom's borders, the great wizard Merlin conjured a solution: send in Guinevere to be Arthur's wife...and his protector from those who want to see the young king's idyllic city fail. The catch: Guinevere's real name - and her true identity - is a secret. She is a changeling, a girl who has given up everything to protect Camelot. To keep Arthur safe, Guinevere must navigate a court in which the old - including Arthur's own family - demand things continue as they have been, and the new - those drawn by the dream of Camelot - fight for a better way to live. And always, in the green hearts of forests and the black depths of lakes, magic lies in wait to reclaim the land. Deadly jousts, duplicitous knights, and forbidden romances are nothing compared to the greatest threat of all: the girl with the long black hair, riding on horseback through the dark woods toward Arthur...because when your whole existence is a lie, how can you trust even yourself?

[slaughter-books]

Day 26: JOMPBPC: Best World Building

[brittanybwrites]

This is my curse.

[max-imumbooks]

The Excalibur Curse (#3 of Camelot Rising Trilogy) by Kiersten White

Okay, here's the thing. This book had the most potential out of all three. You know, book one is the setup, you don't really know what to expect. Book two was a disappointment, but it ended on a really good set up for book three. Guinevere was on her own, ready to seek out other sorceresses for answers-- she was perfectly poised to come into her own, both as a woman and a magic user. So when this installment fell flat, the disappointment was... considerable.

I mean, we met MORGANA for cripe's sake. Finally. Yet she was used for nothing but to be mouthpiece for Guinevere attraction to Mordred. Which, considering I never saw the point of the love triangle, did absolutely nothing for me. They could have had Morgana serve as a mentor, or at least an unintended guide for Gwen's magic abilities, since Guinevere is notoriously hesitant about her abilities. So, a waste there.

There's also the matter of Guinevere's origins. Well, we find out. Aaaaaaaaand...... Guinevere promptly becomes a wet blanket. They could have really explored the philosophy of life and identity with the revelation, but it immediately just jumped to Guinevere wanting to undo herself. The back two-thirds of the book are all about her friends and loved ones trying to explain to her how important she is, and she ignores ALL OF THEM. Cuz fuck them, right? She doesn't falter in her decision, for once in the entire series, and it's the one time she should have.

They spent all this time building up her relationships with these people, and they ultimately mean nothing. It bugs the hell out of me, and makes it feel like I wasted my time.

I dunno if I could recommend this to anybody. The first book alone would be fine, if only it wasn't set up to be a series. I guess it could be read as a standalone, but it introduces some plot that isn't resolved until book three, so I don't know if it would be all that fulfilling.

That said, the book did do something right-- they made Merlin an absolute monster. FINALLY someone gets it right.

Rating: 2 stars

[captainfairygodmother]

Well now I need OP's opinions on the Immortal Sir Leon theory

on the topic of widely accepted fandom headcanons that aren’t actually canon i have to be so annoying here but immortal merlin is not canon... i admit the theory has relatively strong supporting arguments in the show like his near death experiences that arguably could be interpreted as him dying and coming back alive or his name “emrys” or the fact that in the finale he was shown to still be alive in the present day. But none of this confirms his immortality at all.

- he is a very powerful magical being and is very hard to kill, yet so are many other powerful magical creatures in the show, as well as the high priestesses, and they were all still ultimately killable. even in the mortaeus poison episode where his heart briefly stopped, it didn’t stop long enough for him to definitively be dead; real people in real life without magic have gone longer without a heartbeat and still survived… the best argument for his immortality is maybe him surviving the dorocha’s touch when gaius said no mortal man could, but even that isn’t definitive proof, bc emrys’ power is unprecedented and he could very well be the first and only mortal to ever survive the dorocha’s touch, he is after all the exception to so many rules. it proves that he is harder to kill than anyone else, due to his powerful magic protecting him, but not that he is unable to die.

- he canonically grows very very old but this too can be attributed to his abundance of magic. nimueh grew unnaturally old too.

- his name “emrys” meaning immortal also doesn’t prove anything as this usually isn’t interpreted so literally in the legends. it’s usually understood as his legacy staying alive forever through tales of his power and influence…

and as for my personal reasons for being kind of opposed to this immortal merlin theory. it’s first of all mostly the fact that it really just cheapens everything he goes through in the show lol. his own survival despite the dangers he faces is due to his determination to stay alive to fulfill his destiny, it’s thanks to his own stubborn perseverance and skill and yes, often luck. but not his literal inability to die. i feel like this theory really devalues his extreme struggle and the fact that he really was on the brink of death sometimes…

it’s infinitely more compelling to me that he’s ultimately still a mortal man. i prefer to think of his continued survival as hard-earned, and as a genuine wonder! he could have genuinely died so many times but he didn’t and he deserves most of the credit for it!

and on top of that, the complete inability to die is so deeply fucking depressing? never being able to die? i love a good tragic story but him outliving everyone else and staying behind alone (which is canon) is heartbreaking enough, i feel like the least i could do is allow him to die and rest at Some point…

so basically to me he’s only immortal in the sense that old age probably won’t kill him, but mortal in the sense that other things could. if not regular means then definitely excalibur.