#frustrated arthur

[pinkysberg]

arthur would get his pant loop stuck on a door handle and get mad at himself. john would get mad at the door. and this is how i outline their contrast in my head.

[koszmarnybudyn]

Arthur Lester doodle because he's in my brain like a parasite but drawing him is hard so hopefully this will break my artblock in regards to drawing him.

[chronicowboy]

"trust me just this once" merlin says like arthur hasn't trusted merlin with his clothes, secrets, heart, life, whole damn kingdom, etc

[floating-on-avalon]

It's the fact that Arthur was really considering letting magic back to save Mordred that maybe magic wasn't all bad. (Watch this growth be gone by the next episode.) But then Merlin has to open his mouth and day "there can be no place for magic in Camelot". I honestly believe he would have brought magic back if Merlin had supported that decision.

[emrys-merlin]

You're so right, Bradley:( And not only in the first series.

Arthur deserved better.

[sorizaza05]

AU where Arthur is a graphic designer and he needs to teach John how to use Photoshop

[xviruserrorx]

Insp

[strrwbrrryjam]

its funny that i write a post about respecting the female characters of rdr2 then i get recommended a post talking about getting a 'bad feeling' about mary taking advantage of arthur, the exact thing i was talking about

dude she asks you because it's a VIDEOGAME and you're the PROTAGONIST and she's an important character of the PROTAGONISTS PAST that gives him DEPTH - who else is she going to ask, uncle? she's a part of ARTHURS past

and then you're talking about her having some moral high ground when she does? i love arthur so much, but even i can't deny that between the two of them he has no moral high ground, he's an outlaw, a murderer who regularly steals from and beats and kills innocent people, while mary is a society woman

she isn't taking advantage of arthur at all, she comes to arthur for a variety of reasons, one of them being she's a widowed woman with a gambling drunk of a father, a dead mother, a dead husband and her younger brother leaving to join a cult, living in 1899 where women had limited rights and opportunities, especially in matters of finance and property ownership, her options for independence and support were severely contained and another because arthur is actually capable enough to save her brother from a dangerous cult that is planning to kill themselves, to wrangle up her drunk and likely abusive father, to rescue her mothers broach from a moving carriage.

and again, it bears repeating, that this is a videogame and her missions are OPTIONAL

of course, she's going to get mad when you tell her no because you are not only letting her dead mother's broach be sold but also signing her brother's DEATH WARRANT

she is incredibly grateful each time, thanking him profusely for saving her younger brother, she clearly still misses him, still loves him and still very much longs for a relationship with him despite their troubled past and arthur's outlaw status. her saying arthur will never change is more of a way to remind herself that their relationship would not work out, because arthur is still incredibly loyal to the gang that he prioritised over her during their relationship. even when mary asks, no, practically begs for arthur to run away with her from the law, from the gang, from everything, and arthur so clearly wants to, he still prioritised money and the gang over her, when mary doesn't need money, all she wants is arthur.

in the second mission, mary says "if i was fair to you, and a good person, i would have sold you out a long time ago," this is not only acknowledging her own flaws in this relationship, that she hasn't always treated arthur fairly, she's still incredibly loyal to him, as arthur is a wanted man, with a large bounty on his head, she could have him hanged if she truly was unfair to him, but she doesn't. the love she still has for him is still so strong. and arthur even admits to her being right about this.

despite the fact that mary still loves arthur and that the connection they share is still so strong, mary decides to choose herself and gives arthur the engagement ring she had kept in good condition for so long. she's constantly faced with the reality that arthur will never choose her over a life where death is around every corner. she learns that waiting for arthur is futile and damaging to her emotional health, so in the end, she chooses herself. she chooses to stop waiting and sends back the engagement ring (that she's kept for years, in good condition, that she could have sold because it's clear her family is struggling) and sends it back to arthur, a symbol of a relationship that will never find fulfilment. she prioritizes herself, even though it means letting go of the man she loves so dearly.

even though it's incredibly heartbreaking to her, given that she mentions when she's with arthur, the world feels right, she chooses self-respect and empowerment instead. despite the love she still holds for arthur, she decides to value herself and makes a choice that honours her own well-being. highlighting the strength and resilience she has gained throughout the story.

mary is an important character that adds to the depth and richness of the story and to arthur's character. her complexity mirrors arthurs, where she grapples with her own struggles and desires. she is not as one-dimensional as you portray her. dismissing her and portraying her in such a negative light does nothing but show how misogynistic you truly are.

also, the members of the gang don't like her for a variety of reasons, susan suffers from a bad case of internalised misogyny and believes that mary has ideas above her station, dutch sees mary as a threat to arthurs loyalty, only wanting arthur to be loyal to him, john, marybeths and tilly's perception of mary is heavily influenced by the emotional turmoil arthur suffers after interacting with her, because he still deeply loves her and yet the two of them cannot be together due to his loyalty to the gang. it's important to remember that out of all the gang members, abigail thinks fondly of her.

[chirp-a-chirp]

MC: *Looks hopefully at Isaac* Isaac I—

Isaac: *Looks awkwardly but passionately at MC* MC I—

Dazai/Arthur/Sebastian: Hi MC!

Me: *Throws phone across the room* Stop interrupting them for God’s sake!

[shima-draws]

[coinlockerrbaby]

"Perhaps an ideal way of life leads to an ideal way of death (it would be good to be you, but I'd rather be dead.)"

[cinnabon-sweetroll-tiramisu]

Morgana: *bursts into Merlin's room* Merlin!

Merlin: *falls off the bed* WHAT THE FUC—

Morgana: Arthur's in trouble!

Merlin: *tired and irritated* When isn't he? If you would excuse me my lady, I'm going back to sleep—

Morgana: He drank a lust potion!

Merlin: okay...ask Gaius to brew the remedy for it, now please leave—

Morgana: *shakes her head* Gaius said the remedy is true love's kiss.

Morgana: *stares meaningfully at Merlin*

Merlin: *looks suspiciously back at Morgana*

Merlin: *slides back into bed* No. Nuh huh. Not happening—

Arthur: *bursts into Merlin's room, eyes alight with lust* Merlin.

Merlin: *falls off bed a second time* OH FOR FUC—

[bluejayblueskies]

on the one hand i really enjoy romantic john/arthur esp. in nuanced ways where it explores like. what does romantic love mean for john, who maybe hasn't experienced it before? what does a romantic relationship look like when the two people involved share one body? what are arthur's feelings about being with another man, and how does the time period he grew up in influence those feelings?

but on the other hand, the fact that canonically john and arthur aren't in a romantic relationship and won't be in the future is very important to me (and i know a lot of other people as well). a large part of it is of course that as an aromantic person, it's so refreshing to have the main pairing in a piece of media be both a) extremely close and intimate with each other, as well as loving one another and b) not involved romantically. body sharing aside, relationships like john and arthur's are rare in media, and it's really nice to know that it's going to stay that way and isn't going to 'take the next step' [derogatory] into a romantic relationship at some future date.

even from a non-aromantic perspective (because i'm not trying to say that either john or arthur are canonically aromantic, just that it's nice that i can headcanon them that way and it fits into the canon narrative), a platonic relationship (and esp. one between two men!) being the main focus of malevolent is a choice i'm really glad harlan made. i'm not going to delve too much into this because his explanation is better than mine, but essentially, two male characters being vulnerable with one another and putting their trust in one another while not being romantically involved is something i definitely think we could use more of in media as a whole.

finally, i wanted to talk about the 'and yet you love him' 'i suppose so' dialogue between arthur and the king in ep. 20. (i think about this exchange a lot y'all--one of the best moments of the podcast imo.) 'love' is such a romantically charged word, especially when used in situations similar to this in other pieces of media. for complete transparency, the very first time i heard this scene, i thought it was meant to be romantic love because that's the kind of weight i ascribed to 'love confessions' based on the precedent set by other media and by real life as well. (i consider this moment a love confession because it's the first time arthur uses that word to describe his feelings toward john, even if he himself doesn't actually say it--literally a confession of love.)

finding out that it wasn't was a 'huh, interesting' moment for me, because i just hadn't really seen anything like it before! there was no precedent! hearing a love confession used in a context like this, where arthur's love for john is narratively important and something that can be used against him but is also platonic, not romantic, just ... it blows me away every single time i relisten to this episode.

in conclusion: i love them <3

[vickyvicarious]

Fascinating how in a novel told only through written (or transcripted audio recording) communication, so much happens because of a failure to communicate. I know this is nothing new and we've been saying it for weeks, but it really is tragic...

Mina doesn't tell Lucy about what she has seen her do, because she doesn't want to add to her stress and make the sleepwalking worse

Lucy's mother doesn't tell Lucy about her illness, because she doesn't want to intrude on her happiness before the wedding

Mina doesn't tell Lucy's mother about Lucy's sleepwalking, because she doesn't want to make her illness worse

Lucy doesn't tell Mina about the full extent of what she remembers or feels, because she doesn't want to believe it is anything more than bad dreams or pre-wedding stress

Jonathan doesn't tell Mina about what happened to him, because he wants to leave it in the past and prefers to imagine he was just crazed than to have to confront if it was true

The reason for every single miscommunication, or rather failed communication, is the same. It's always about love. Their deep care for and desire to protect one another are exactly the things that end up putting themselves in danger longer.

This latest example is the crowning jewel of all of that, because... it's so so explicitly driven by love. Jonathan doesn't hide the truth from Mina. Instead he gives her the opportunity to learn everything, but asks her not to.

Him giving her that choice, and her choosing to respect his wishes by sealing up the journal - with her wedding ring, calling it her wedding present - is one of the most beautiful expressions of trust and love so far in this whole book. Not even just that; they show so much respect for one another here. It turns what could have been just straightforward Jonathan hiding information away into instead the two of them sharing a secret, or rather sharing a wilful ignorance of a secret, together.

And, fittingly with the building trend of everyone's care being used against them, this is the worst omission yet. If Mina read his journal, if she told Jonathan what has been happening to Lucy, if they talked about all their fears and stresses, they would realize what's been happening. They could try to stop it sooner.

But because Jonathan wants to leave it all behind, and because Mina is trying to support him and do the same by not worrying him when he's still recovering, Lucy continues to be deeply vulnerable.

Dracula, whose 'love' is a twisted and violent perversion that changes and corrupts the recipient's very nature. Dracula, who thrives on manipulating and abusing any expression of trust or vulnerability, who enjoyed and went out of his way to keep lying to Jonathan long past when it was necessary. Dracula, whose very presence in the story serves to twist all these well-meant secrets born of love and trust into incredibly ironic and dangerous failures.

Dracula is free to feed.

[drunkengodsofslaughter]

i do think that the whole “arthur’s bane is himself” simply cuz he trusts people to be slightly annoying. simply because he does have reasons to trust these people!!!! merlin is his best friend and someone that he’s know for YEARS so yea of course the shock is there. morgana had been in camelot for YEARS (way before merlin) and while yes they did argue he literally had no reason to suspect that they were actually siblings and she wanted the crown. agravaine was his uncle on his mother’s side who would mention arthur’s mother and did show kinship in that department. guinevere grew to love him and takes on being one of the first people to see arthur for arthur. she stands up to him even when she is afraid. modred is one of his knights. someone who swore to protect arthur and that’s his JOB! lancelot (while yes he was a shade and etc) was also one of his knights. someone who swore to protect arthur! and also lancelot is his friend. like arthur legit did have reasons to trust these people and idk why but it does put a bad taste in my mouth when people say these types of things that arthur is tooo trusting and etc. because it’s a tv show so yes we know what’s happening but arthur has a limited view and from what he can see before all these betrayals is that he did have reasons trust them!!!

[nextstopparis]

arthur + his people