#yvaintheadventurous

[avalonbards]

valentines art of bedwyr and arthur i did for my wonderful, amazing, perfect partner @yvaintheadventurous!

[queer-ragnelle]

@yvaintheadventurous COOK!!!

As a big enjoyer of both these character this RULES keep talking I love the sound of it!!

What’s your favorite Arthurian crackship?

Where did you first read about it?

No incest answers.

[avalonbards]

and then the one and only, arthur!

gonna answer this one first because i'm having arthur feels and i'm so happy you've given me a chance to talk about my boy, dear~

favorite thing about them: i mean, he's king arthur, what isn't there to love about him? haha but i think it's just how he keeps going no matter what, always pushing forward following what he believes is right and good. i know that's not exactly unique to the arthuriana, but something about how arthur does it has stuck with me the most. maybe it was the burden of kingship being forced on him from a fairly young age? i can sympathize with feeling like suddenly everyone has unrealistic expectations on you because of something out of your control. plus he wants to be good. he wants to be a good king, to show he's not just a ruler because of a magic weapon in a magic rock and some fuckhead wizard said so. arthur wants to be what his people need him to be.

least favorite thing about them: he's too willing to be the nice uncle when he should actually discipline his nephews when they need it. had he actually stepped in, stepped up and not let gawain get away without any consequences with his very obvious murder of pellinore, so much later grief could have been avoided. but arthur is too desperate to please his family, so he would turn a blind eye and at most just, weakly, said that all of pellinore's bloodline were under his protection. which uhhh didn't exactly work out now did it arthur?

favorite line: this bit from vulgate lancelot part 1 is so funny to me and i can't explain it. bisexual disaster arthur confirmed.

brOTP: is there really any choice besides with his own foster brother cai/kay? well, i guess also i really like arthur and guinevere being friends honestly. and naturally arthur and all his family members are one big brotp technically! i even like him and morgan to have a bond, however strained it may become.

OTP: unsurprisingly to anyone who follows me, it's bedivere/bedwyr x arthur. the beauty of the most loyal knight being in love with his king who loves him in turn but it must all be kept private? in a way it's kind of a mirror of guinevere x lancelot but i have a preference for arthur and bedi's relationship being one guinevere approved of and encouraged.

nOTP: any form of incest, i don't care which of his family members it's with i don't want it keep it away. aside from that? lancelot x arthur if it's not done as lancelot being a pining loser with one-sided feelings.

random headcanon: arthur looks almost exactly like his mother, even down to having a similar height as her, igraine was fairly tall for a woman in my writings but still this makes arthur pretty slight in comparison to most men his age. still, he's got a definite beauty to where only a few traits similar to uther show, the freckles across his cheeks when he's been in the sun for a while, the shape of his eyes, and his nose being the main features.

unpopular opinion: while i like the vulgate i dislike the way it opened a path for arthur being "villainous" or basically just there to be hated on by readers in later narratives. i prefer arthur to be a flawed but ultimately noble and good man who cares deeply about his kingdom and people and especially his friends and family.

song i associate with them: god okay so technically it's two songs so the first is "the moon will sing" by the crane wives (specifically this cover by annapantsu) because "Tell me once again / I could have been anyone, anyone else / Before you made the choice for me" is so arthur with his quiet resentment towards myrddin and even britain itself despite how much he loves britain and its people, which matches the rest of the lyrics. the other song is "flowers" by hana hope because of the lyrics "What else shall we let go / To live our lives the only way we knew / The birds are soaring in the sky / So high above us all, we who cannot fly" really suit him i would think.

favorite picture of them: these little doodles i did of my arthur! i'm actually working on another picture of him but for as much as i love him i don't draw him much kjfdnhb

[avalonbards]

🤎 multiple kisses / kisses all over / kiss after kiss for the gawain/lancelot/tristram mess

| 🤎 multiple kisses / kisses all over / kiss after kiss ah yes the disaster trio

"Y-You two..."

Lancelot whimpered, overwhelmed by his current situation. Tristram was behind him, pressing kisses over the collar of his shirt, marking a trail up and all over the Knight of the Lake's neck. And Gawain straddled his hips, kissing every inch of skin exposed through his shirt and across his face. It was far from unpleasant, really. And far from anything new all things considered.

But still Lancelot felt almost overstimulated and all they had been doing was kissing!

Tristram laughed, a puff of warm air that tickled his ear. Hands at his waist gripped tighter, preventing any movement and earning a whine from Lancelot. Gawain laughed now, languidly stretching himself across his front to kiss the knight from Parmenie over his shoulder.

All Lancelot could do was gasp and moan as they both focused on a side of his neck, his hands flying up to grip Gawain's sides.

"You're both," he groaned as Tristram's teeth nipped right below his jaw, "terrible! Awful! Cruel teases...!"

"Oh, yes, we're just horrible," came the drawl in a familiar Orcadian accent, Gawain's lips curving into a smile against his skin. "Truly, we're just here to torment you, Lancelot, and not that we're all enjoying this."

"Such a shame," Tristram sighed, "I suppose if we're so unpleasant then it falls to Gawain and I to entertain ourselves without you?"

"Don't you dare."

It was too bad they couldn't do much more than kiss right now, all of them being required to attend tonight's dinner in short order. If they had the time Lancelot would have rolled to pin both beneath himself. For now he simply huffed, knocking his head gently against Tristram's own, hands gripping Gawain's back now tight enough to feel the binding the man wore under his shirt.

"Just shut up and kiss me, you two, and I'll return the favor later."

[avalonbards]

💙 drunken kiss / tipsy for tor and agravain because i think it's funny and agravain will try to kill him.

| 💙 drunken kiss / tipsy oh agravain is 100% going to try to kill him, but tor will say it's worth it

Tor liked to think of himself as a reasonable, mature man.

He didn't do anything unnecessary. For the most part he tried to get along with everyone. When needed he would scold Aglovale and Drian despite their higher statuses than his own because he was still, unfortunately, their older brother through a shared father. Hell, he even tried to get along with the children of King Lot, though of them all only Gareth was willing to return the effort.

Gawain always ignored him when possible, seemingly disinterested in interacting with anyone unfortunate enough to bear Pellinore's blood.

Gaheris did whatever Gawain chose to, following in his elder brother's footsteps like a puppy. It was almost cute, in Tor's opinion. Mordred would rage and snarl at him, spouting off hateful words as soon as Tor would step close, only to always be silenced by Gareth's bright smile upon their face. The twins almost always together, and nearly always did Mordred (reluctantly) go along with his sibling's decisions. Which left just one of the five.

The one that was Tor's personal favorite just for his reactions.

He couldn't help but tease Agravain, deliberately saying things that would make the younger man's head snap towards him as fast as an owl's. The way those amber eyes would light up like two hot coals from fury and indignation was too funny to ignore!

Which led to the current predicament.

With a sigh Tor set his cup of ale down, watching what would have been an ordinary disagreement with anyone besides Gawain and Lamorak begin to unfold into a full-blown argument. Gareth stood between the two sides, shoving each one back with a furious scowl on his face. Dinadan was standing up, ready to get involved if need be, and in the doorway stood an exhausted looking Bors, Lancelot, and Lionel. Likely finished with a round of training only to see the drinking had started early in the feast hall tonight.

All of this Tor watched over folded arms now, enjoying the buzz of good ale and good wine under his skin. But his eyes were drawn constantly towards Agravain the most, even if briefly they flicked over to where Bors hauled Mordred back with a hand on the other man's shoulder and a whispered word in his ear after Mordred said something that made Gareth look like she was contemplating his death.

A thought struck suddenly. An idea.

"Hm..."

Humming to himself, Tor pushed himself out of his chair. Unsteady, but did he really did to be?

Making his way over to the bunch was easy enough, aside from a slight stumble or two. Tor grinned at Agravain once he was within arm's length of the man, winking down at him and earning himself a disgusted scowl.

"What do you want? Come to side with your brothers, Pellinore spawn?" Agravain hissed, voice low as to not draw his youngest sibling's ire

Tor laughed, shrugging. "No, not at all. Y'know I think it's so stupid that you're all keepin' this going."

Oops.

That was too honest, if the affronted look he was given was anything to go on. But still, Tor's eyes were drawn down to Agravain's lips, the thought taking a new turn. Worst that could happen would be a beating, right?

He'd dealt with worse.

"How dare you-?!" Agravain's snarl turned into a startled and offended yelp, muffled by Tor's mouth pressing hard against his own. It was a short kiss, if it could really be called one. But Tor enjoyed it for those few seconds it lasted until a fist slammed into his cheek, sending him crashing to the floor. Laughing the whole time as Agravain stood over him, face dark with rage and brilliantly scarlet. Dead silence came from the others, and all Tor could do was laugh.

Laugh and say, with a smile that was just a bit bloody from where his teeth cut into the side of his cheek, "You're awfully cute when mad, Prince Agravain."

Definitely worth it.

[tboymordred]

@yvaintheadventurous come collect your man

stuck at my desk waiting for work assets to come through does anyone have a little knight (or adjacent) they would like me to draw 🧍‍♂️

[avalonbards]

💖 rough kiss / hot and heavy / making out for some emrys and caius action

| 💖 rough kiss / hot and heavy / making out ohhh thank you so much for this prompt dear it's time to spread the ambrosius x lucius sr agenda

The privacy of an actual room was something he was still growing used to after so long.

Ambrosius sighed, reclining against the sides of the wooden tub Uther had none too subtly shoved into his newly acquired rooms here in Vortigern's fortress. Ordinarily it would hold hot water, steaming and dotted with sweet smelling herbs for bathing. But right now? It held only cold water for soaking his right arm, the burned tissue and tense muscles only feeling relief with the touch of cold water. The less severe burns along his back and side had already been tended to, soothing ointments made by Igraine already rubbed in before fresh bandages were applied. Now he sat on the floor, taking comfort in the rugs that covered the reed mats that stretched across the room, except for the hearth of course.

It had been months and he was still struggling to come to terms with all he had learned, in addition to training his left arm to take the place of his right now.

He was Ambrosius Aurelianus, son of Constans... And he was also Emrys, son of Gwendolyn and half-brother to Vortigern. Of course, he thought with a wry smile, Emrys was just the name Igraine, and Vortigern, had started to call him after his stunt with nearly dying. The very stunt that left his right arm unlikely to ever fully recover. A small part of him wondered if it was a joke between them. Whatever it was, Uther scowled each time it happened within earshot of him. And Caius... Caius... Emrys felt a warmth bloom within his heart as his thoughts went to the Legatus. Or would it be former Legatus? Now there was something to puzzle over later. Risking his life to pull Emrys' near-death body from the collapsed building he had ended up in, flames licking up his side. And he'd carried the smaller man the distance from their destroyed castrum to Vortigern's camp, shredding his own clothes to form makeshift bandages to hold the arrows in Emrys' torso still. Shaking his head, Ambrosius pulled himself from the memories with the sound of a knock against his door.

"Enter," he called out, raising his arm from the water to flex stiff fingers slowly.

As if summoned by mere thoughts, Caius stepped over the threshold to smile warmly at him. Emrys hummed in greeting, unconcerned with his state of undress as his lover closed the door behind him.

"I wondered where you had slipped away to after training," Caius smiled, seating himself on the floor, hands reaching to gently tug Emrys into his lap. Had it been anyone else practically manhandling him, they both knew this would have ended with blood drawn. Instead, Emrys allowed himself to be pulled, shifting so he straddled the man's hips for comfort. Easier to face him like this than to look up, or strain his neck looking to the side or behind. "...We could treat this better back in Rome, Ambrosius." It was said as a mere whisper, those dark green eyes lingering overlong on Emrys' arm. Not pity, he knew pity. Caius would never pity a fellow warrior, but that somehow made the look of concern all the worse. The thought agitated him, exhausted by the constant concern everyone threw his way. He was alive. He was alive, was that not enough?

Scowling, he reached up with his left hand, gripping the curls at the base of Caius' head to force the man to look at him, not his injuries.

"...Rome can go to hell," he muttered before slamming his lips against Caius' mouth, swallowing his surprised and amused grunt. This was much better than having to put up with worry and care. The touch of gentle hands, feather-light pressure on his back and shoulders served only to frustrate though. Emrys pulled back, ducking his head to sharply bite at the space under Caius' jaw, earning a high-pitched moan.

"Ambrosius," the emperor-to-be huffed, digging his fingers more firmly into Emrys' back, "You're still-"

"If you say I'm too injured for this, then I'll go find that damn mage and take him up on his offer," Emrys snorted between careful bites and kisses along Caius' neck and jaw. An empty threat, of course, Myrddin set off his instincts like they were two territorial beasts forced to coexist. Not exactly the sort of man he'd consider kissing once, even less fucking.

But it worked all the same, as the world spun before his eyes for a second before Emrys found himself on his back, staring up at Caius for just an instant before lips were on his hard enough to cut against his teeth slightly. A pleased hum escaped him, swallowing the taste of blood, legs hitching up to wrap around Caius' hips to keep the older man close. Gasps for air mingled with the moans as they kissed, the stitching of the Legatus' tunic rubbing roughly against his skin, but it only served to make the experience better, in Emrys' opinion. Slowly, reluctantly, the men parted just enough to properly draw breath, a string of saliva connecting their lips.

"You will not. Never. I forbid it, Ambrosius, you're mine, not Myrddin's." An order. Normally he would chafe against it but...

Emrys laughed, feeling more alive than he had in the days since he had woken up.

"Then you had better make marks he can see and not turn a blind eye to, Caius."

[avalonbards]

❤️ first kiss / realization for bedi and arthur!

| ❤️ first kiss / realization aaaaa my boyssss thank you for letting me write about them dear

The campfire was burning low.

Barely more than embers at this point, until it flared up as Arthur stirred the kindling with a stick. Kay was asleep already, retreated to his bedding after a long day of travel across rough wilderness. Understandable, really. Especially after the unintended detour through a bog to chase after one of their horses that Myrddin had deliberately spooked.

Likely to teach some sort of lesson, though Arthur had yet to understand what it could be.

Aside from the mage's obvious displeasure with his decision to journey across the lands rather than to head straight for the castle of Camelot. But he didn't want to go to Camelot. Didn't want to meet the dying king that ruled Logres in name only because Arthur knew there was little the man had done to care for the kingdom. Especially not in the valley he had lived his whole life. Of course, only Bedivere was privy to those thoughts.

Speaking of...

Golden eyes rose from the dancing flames, meeting dove-grey. Bedivere had insisted he could handle this watch alone, but Arthur refused to allow it. They so rarely got any time to themselves even before the sword he now carried at his waist that any chance that could give him time with the older man was something to cling to. Even if Bedivere would shake his head at him in exasperation. Like they were still children and Arthur was trying to sneak into his and Kay's lessons instead of going to his own. An indulgent smile on his oldest friend's face each time. But they weren't children now, were they?

A small frown as he shuffled his feet against the grass.

Bedivere and Kay, at least, were not children. Kay was twenty already, three years into what should have been his knighthood. And instead he was following his little brother around the countryside all because of some magic sword in a rock. It made Arthur feel guilty, though he barely showed it when he could help it. His brother would take it as pity instead and that would lead to an argument for Bedivere, nineteen and an older brother, to have to intervene in.

At seventeen, Arthur knew he was technically an adult as well now.

He'd technically become one three years ago, if Myrddin was any judge. But he didn't care for the mage's words, his cold dark eyes. So Arthur tried to ignore him. Still...

"You're lost in those thoughts of yours, Arthur," Bedivere's chastisement was gentle, drawing the younger man's attention from the spiral he'd found himself in. "Aren't you supposed to be on watch with me?"

His lips were turned up into a smile, and that of all things was what made blood rush to Arthur's cheeks.

"I- uh... Well..." Really, one would think it would be easier to talk to someone he had been in love with for as long as he could remember! But Arthur stumbled over his words like a fawn struggled with its legs all the same. "Just, um, listening for any threats?"

"Mmhm." The way Bedivere drew the hum out was as damning as if he were to have called Arthur out directly. "And we're to pretend that your listening just so happened to require staring at me unblinkingly?"

Hm.

Unfortunate.

"...Yes."

"Hah."

Arthur huffed at Bedivere's laugh, enjoying the way it softened his features, the way he closed his eyes and let his long eyelashes spread against his cheeks for a moment. Slowly he inched around the fire, stopping once their shoulders bumped. Bedivere opened an eye, amusement clear in his face, and tugged Arthur's hands into both of his.

"You're half-frozen. How are you always cold unless it's summer?"

"No idea, really," Arthur quipped, smiling crookedly as he unconsciously moved closer. "Guess you could try holding my hands to warm me up?"

Bedivere laughed again, leaning down to rest their brows against each other. "Aren't I already doing that, Arthur?"

"You are... But I want it to last longer," Arthur mumbled, bumping his nose against the other's with a slight shift of his head. A hum was all he got in response, before slowly Bedivere's fingers slid between his, interlocking. Entwining. It made his heart race. "Bedi..."

"Arthur," Bedivere whispered, slowly ducking his head to press what was unmistakably a kiss to Arthur's lips.

It sent a thrill through him.

So much so he clumsily returned what he was too embarrassed to admit was his first kiss as best as he was able. It was messy, awkward, but the sight of Bedivere's warm smile, his left hand freed from Arthur's grip to clutch his hip and tug him closer, was enough for Arthur to feel pride instead of shame.

"That was..." Wonderful. Perfect. Everything Arthur had dreamed of since he was a child and more? He could hardly find a descriptor.

"Mm. A first." Bedivere chuckled, nipping Arthur's lower lip at the pout it earned him. "We'll have to keep it up, yeah?"

Oh.

Arthur liked the sound of that.

[avalonbards]

💘 fake relationship / mutual pining / dared to kiss for erec and hector uwu

| 💘 fake relationship / mutual pining / dared to kiss oh boy oh boy! these two disasters!

It had been approximately one month since Erec had last been able to even catch sight of Hector.

One long, horrible month.

All because Sir Lancelot had learned of their mutual feelings and reacted...poorly. Ridiculously, in Erec's personal opinion. They were all adults in this situation, and Hector was the one who had initiated it in the first place! And yet Lancelot acted as though the very idea of his half-brother being within the same room as Erec was an affront! But he could hardly confront the man. The gap between their skills was too large to ignore and the prince of Dumnonia had little doubt an argument could quickly spiral into an unplanned duel.

Or joust.

But still, it was unbelievable!

So he had whined to Bors and Lionel, hoping one of the two could rein in their cousin's behavior. Only for Lionel to simply laugh at his plight and Bors... Bors had met his gaze with that unnerving stare of his and asked just one thing.

"Are you a coward who will merely give up and roll over rather than being clever, Sir Erec?"

Which brought him to his current predicament. Clinging to the ivy that climbed the walls of Tintagel Castle, hoping desperately that his feet didn't slip as he climbed towards what he knew was Hector's window. Finally his fingers managed to grip the windowsill, hauling himself up...

And right into Hector's awaiting arms with a surprise yelp.

"I was wondering when you were going to come by, my sweet prince, but typically one comes through the door!" Hector laughed, sweeping Erec into an embrace he could only return with just as much eagerness, laughing breathlessly himself.

"Yes, well, I had to be clever to get around your brother, sunshine," Erec sighed, cupping Hector's cheeks in his hands. "Forgive me for taking so long?"

"You are forgiven... if you kiss me already."

Well, who was he to deny that?

Erec laughed, pressing his lips to the other man's without delay, swallowing his pleased sigh. It had been too long for both of them, he supposed, as they sank to the floor, unwilling to part for more than the second it took to breathe.

[avalonbards]

🖤 kissing while crying / goodbye kiss / desperation for that palamedes/tristram despair

| 🖤 kissing while crying / goodbye kiss / desperation oh this one's gonna hurt thank you dear

"You swore."

Palamedes knows his voice is raw with pain, with heartache, and he doesn't care. Desperately he searches Tristram's face, trying to find any traces of the man he had known in those heterochromatic eyes. But there was nothing, none of that warm light the prince had come to expect.

It was as if something had happened, some piece had been moved across an invisible board.

Tristram had gone away to fetch Yseult for his uncle with words and promises of love upon his lips for Palamedes, and he had returned with nothing. Oh, he had been friendly enough, that was true. But it was the friendliness of strangers. Not the love they had been nurturing between them. Palamedes took a deep breath, fists clenching so hard at his sides that his nails cut deep into the flesh of his palms. Brangaine had looked at him with despair when the three had entered the hall, but only now did the prince understand why.

"I made no oath, Palamedes, you know this. Hearts can change," Tristram's response is calm.

But it feels wrong.

It feels all wrong...!

Breathing shakily, Palamedes tears his gaze from the younger man to the fountain in King Mark's courtyard. What had happened? What could have made all of this change so suddenly? Had he stepped into a dream? Some curse of the Fair Folk people often warned him of in this island?

Maybe, a dark part of his heart whispered, it had never been true.

Palamedes hated how much he wanted to listen to that voice of doubt.

There was really only one way to test it, wasn't there?

Tristram was saying something, but it was muted beneath the ringing in Palamedes ears. Unimportant nonsense, probably. Before he knew it he was moving, gripping the front of the younger man's shirt in one hand, the other cupping his jaw. And Palamedes kissed him, tasting salt and despair and something bitter and raw that reminded him of pomegranates. But there was no response, save for the hitch in Tristram's breathing.

The surprised hands shoving at his shoulders, and he let himself be pushed back, eyes dropping to the floor.

He really had been quite the fool, hadn't he?

Palamedes smiled bitterly as he watched Tristram's boots turn and leave, leaving him behind once again. A hand raised, touching the small woven bag he wore under his shirt, where a lock of the man's hair rested.

"How pitiful I've become," he murmured, slumping against the railing, sinking to the floor.

[avalonbards]

lancelot for the meme, for the laffs.

oh boy oh boy it's my favorite disaster who doesn't think about consequences!

favorite thing about them: he's not a good person and i think the narrative is very much aware of that for the most part and i do find that fun. he's selfish, doesn't think about the people his behavior affects whatsoever and is always shocked when his actions have consequences in the funniest moment ever. he's the embodiment of the "oh no my hubris!" meme

least favorite thing about them: how the narrative twists itself around him to make others worse to make lancelot seem more favorable. vulgate arthur being just...such a massive bag of dicks for no reason other than to make the affair seem justified is ughh

favorite line: "describe my armor at court and they'll tell you who i am." - it's so rude and funny honestly ndfjhbdsjm from vulgate lancelot part 4

brOTP: is it cheating to put him with his actual brother? i guess it may be haha- but i guess after hector it would have to be what he had with gareth before the...murdering.

OTP: lancelot x guinevere, lancelot x gawain, lancelot x gawain x tristram

nOTP: lancelot x elaine, just...no ew keep that away from me.

random headcanon: he's probably among the only ones in arthur's court, the others being tor and percival, who doesn't know a word of latin. not that he's uneducated but the lady of the lake taught him briton and gaulic and even cornish and scottish gaelic, not latin.

unpopular opinion: a lot of his "madness" fits aren't true madness, in my opinion, but more lancelot running off in a panic/frenzy over being face with an outcome he didn't plan for or want to happen. the only one that may have been genuine was when he learned of galahad.

song i associate with them: the theme for the moon from stella glow, it just hits right.

favorite picture of them: this silly drawing i did of him shbhjsdv

[avalonbards]

tumblr user avalonbards mabi, named after the mabinogion, tell us what your favorite branch is

gjxjgxkgx so very formal!

but aaahh my favorite branch of the mabinogion? man that’s like trying to make me pick a favorite arthurian legend! haha but ah no in all seriousness i do have one in particular i like the best.

branch 2: the children of llyr.

it’s got this mix of familial love, romantic love that turns to cruelty, loyalty, grief, and horror that i genuinely enjoy. manawyddan (as the version i read spells his name) is great and branwen…

oh branwen you poor sweet girl you deserved so much better.

there’s a reason the story i write with taliesin has him mourn the siblings so much, and branwen most of all.

[avalonbards]

| @yvaintheadventurous tragic that you couldn't meet her son (and daughter sometimes) because your brother is a fuckface

the absolute pain that no matter how much good ambrosius does, no matter how close he is with igraine and gorlois, no matter how much he tries to rein in uther...

he is always going to die being unable to stop what will happen, and he'll never be able to meet igraine's children beyond her and gorlois' only child, morgan.

uther is truly the biggest fuckface followed in close second with myrddin because they absolutely ruin all of ambrosius' hard work.

[avalonbards]

a rare moment of peace with bors and his older brother lionel, their hair actually out of the usual intricate braids and high ponytails of their ancestral traditions.

featuring my partner @yvaintheadventurous's lionel design

[avalonbards]

i should make a pinned post so hi! hello! i’m mabi and i’ll be posting art, arthuriana, and fic updates here! since this blog is a sideblog i do ask that you remember that tumblr barely lets sideblogs exist. so i am unable to send or respond to dms and i cannot send asks save through anon.

i follow from @ofdeedsglorious so don’t be alarmed with that please

there’s a lot of plotting i do with my partner, @yvaintheadventurous, and it shows up in most of all my writing and art pieces for the arthuriana. partner's writing: cenisa's writing

i take fic and art commissions over on ko-fi so check it out here.

[queer-ragnelle]

Hi avalonbards.

I’d rather have this conversation in DM, which are always open and we can still move there if you’d like, but I’ll reply here since you tagged me and we can go from there.

I gather this is about this post where I added my thoughts in reply to @mordredpendragon and @yvaintheadventurous regarding Geraint's treatment of Enid in The Mabinogion.

I stand by my statement that calling Geraint a "dumbass," and insinuating his lack of communication somehow lessens the harm he caused, is indeed dismissive of how his treatment toward Enid was unpleasant to read for Cain. A character or person's intent or circumstances are irrelevant when their actions are harmful. In highlighting what motives may be behind Geraint's actions, that is indeed justifying his behavior. As for the comparison between Enid and Branwen, I'm aware it was intended as a contrast. The reply said, "if you want to read about an abusive marriage, to compare the differences, read branch 2 that goes over what branwen went through." which is why I said, "comparing Enid’s abuse to Branwen’s abuse to insinuate that Enid’s doesn’t count because the other is worse is not really helpful."

In any case I'm not arguing with anyone. And I'm certainly not dogpiling. I reblogged a single time with my response and that was it. The post has been reblogged from me a single time with some tags. There's no ill-intent here whatsoever. We're all just having a discussion about a text we read. I'm not responsible for anyone but me. If anyone is getting additional messages over this or something you're interpreting as "dogpiling," I have no knowledge of that. I have no control over other people.

Whether or not anyone here likes the character is irrelevant, I just wanted to make it clear in my reblog that I wasn't responding to any implied favor for the character. I don't care. Gawain is so much worse than Geraint by raw body count standards and I love him. What I took issue with and responded to was a reblog on Cain's post expressing negative feelings about something he read, yvaintheadventurous's reblog addressing Cain by name, and then explaining why they believe Cain's interpretation, and the feelings associated with it, are misinformed. "He's not hurting her, his threats are hollow." I didn't agree with that.

Nothing I've said or done was uncivil, even if we disagree on things. And you certainly don't tell me what to do. Like I said, I'm more than happy to talk with any of you in DMs. I'm sorry if my reply hurt anyone's feelings, but it was certainly not intended to be hurtful, and accusing me of reading things in bad faith and dogpiling in a publicly tagged post is in really poor taste. As of right now I have no DMs or asks from anyone about this, only this post. So here's my reply.

We can end it here if you want, there's no hard feelings. I'm sorry this has caused such a ruckus. Just let me know what you folks would like to do and we can go from there. Take care and I hope you have a good rest of your day.

In regards to Geraint and Enid, I personally believe it's wrong to start the story without being able to put aside your own predetermined biases. I believe this about many stories. I set my feelings aside and read from a scholarly perspective. That being said, Geraint is an idiot, yes. A dipshit, in fact. I do not like him as a character, let me make this clear from the start.

I do not like Geraint and I understand perfectly why many dislike him and dislike the story.

However.

At no point did I see anyone dismiss anyone's feelings of discomfort over Geraint's behavior. At no point did I see anyone saying his actions were justified. At no point did I see any suggestions for comparing Enid and Branwen beyond to show the differences in their situations.

I don't like to get involved in discussions.

I often swallow my words when I wish to disagree and argue. But starting a dogpile, however unintentional it's starting to become one quickly, on my partner out of an apparent and likely unintentional as well bad faith misinterpretations of their words in a civil discussion? I cannot abide this. I will not abide it. I won't stand by and let it happen. Feel free to argue with me on their behalf, I don't care. I can debate for days.

But do not start this kind of behavior over, again, a civil conversation.

@queer-ragnelle