#HC┊▌❝ ˢʰᵉ ᵘᶰᵈᵉʳˢᵗᵒᵒᵈ ᵗʰᵃᵗ ˢʰᵉ ʷᵃˢ ᵐᵉʳᵉˡʸ ᵃ ᵖᵃʷᶰ ᶤᶰ ᵗʰᵉ ʷᵒʳˡᵈ ❞ ┊► ɢᴇɴᴇʀᴀʟ ᴛᴀɢ

[nimueriesa]

PELLEAS’ CHARACTERIZATION !!

If you smoosh various source materials together, you get a pretty sympathetic ( and yet simultaneously tiresome ) character in Pelleas. He doesn’t come from some great house, he’s not noble or rich. You’re also led to believe that he’s on the slower side, he’s not quick-witted the way some other knights are, he’s not charming or elegant like all the greats of his time. He stutters and stammers, which is one of the things that kind of puts Ettarde off of him. I’m also laying down the idea that he probably doesn’t know how to read or write either ; he’s never had any formal education because he’s never had any option but to be a serf or fight his way into being a knight. 

What he does have is incredible strength and resilience. I mean, this guy fights off ten knights a day for god knows how long, trying to catch Ettarde’s attention. ( Mind you, once he’d proven he could beat them, he allowed them to tie him in MANY, MANY embarrassing ways to his horse to be brought to Ettarde, just so he could see her. ) He ALSO initially met her at a tournament where he came out first place among FIVE HUNDRED participants. You could argue that he leans heavily on his strength bc it’s the greatest weapon he has in his arsenal. Even the other knights don’t take him seriously.

Obviously he’s a determined sort, and there’s the argument to be made that he does have a one-track mind because he really isn’t the brightest crayon in the box, BUT there’s evidence to suggest that he’s one to hold a grudge. Referred to as The Gentle Knight, he can’t bring himself to kill Gawain and Ettarde when he finds them sleeping together but he also doesn’t forgive them either. Every time he crosses paths with Gawain afterwords he wants to fight him and when Ettarde ( by way of Nimue’s magic ) finally falls in love with Pelleas, he’s just like: Nope, too late. I hate you.

Even though finding them together in bed made him tell his servants that he was going to lay in his own bed until he died and they could take his heart, half it up, and give it to Ettarde on a silver tray. Sooo, he’s also dramatic af.

WHY MY VERSION OF NIMUE WOULD ADOPT THIS STRAY !!

It really does pretty much boil down to him being a big sad puppy, and her feeling bad for him.

First of all Nim knows better than anyone else what it’s like to feel helpless and unwanted, before Avalon and Merlin she was basically right there in the same bit of mud. She was made fun of because she was ‘foolish’ but the idea of wanting to better herself was so gd preposterous that she was actually punished for it. ( Not to mention one of the variations of legend where Nimue gets kidnapped right in front of king and court and all they can do is fucking laugh about it...so there’s really no love lost between her Camelot’s finest despite her begrudgingly helping Arthur out post-Merlin. ) And I think she’d enjoy trying to teach him some of the things he doesn’t know, honestly. 

LOYALTY is also another big factor, I think it’s safe to say. Obviously he’s a great guardian and he’s diligent af, which are traits that Nim would cultivate for her own purposes but also already admires and respects in other people. So, basically it sets them both up to have someone on their side. ( BC let’s not fool ourselves and say that loneliness doesn’t have a major part to play in this. )  But post-marriage to Nim, Pelleas becomes a member of the Round Table and supposedly achieves the Sangreal, so make no mistake that there’s some teamwork going on there. 

Like, maybe he was/is a joke to the other knights but he’s the one that’s married to the Lady of the Lake. And that marriage simultaneously provides her with some small level of safety from other knights that would have otherwise tried to chase after her / pester her / whatever for glory and conquest. ( Also in some situations I’m ngl and say that I don’t see Nim tying herself to Pelleas through a ceremony that she doesn’t even really believe in just to keep herself from taking up with a less safe choice in potential partners bc AGAIN she’s also loyal af and that’s a pretty good psychological deterrent. ) 

And then there’s the whole thing about her ‘keeping’ him from most fights. Which easily translates to Pelleas seeming like a kept man ( which he kind of is lmao ) , but I would also set down the idea that things aren’t what they seem on that front either? Nim definitely keeps his hot headed ass from fighting with Gawain and she has a LOT of reasons to keep him from fighting Lancelot and from joining in the final battle, but as for the rest --- I think it’s just that the need to fight to prove himself isn’t as strong as it once was. Why uselessly spend that energy now that he doesn’t have to? And he doesn’t have to show off to Nimue or prove himself to her either because she already believes in him/knows what he’s capable of.

tl;dr --- he’s safe, they’re both lonely, maybe she doesn’t love him but they are good together and they are good for each other, which maybe means more than fireworks.