#so that's my lancelot opinion!

[gawayne]

if you haven't gotten lancelot for character bingo, then LANCELOT. if you have, then whatever morally questionable arthuriana woman you love most <3 (also p.s. when I reblogged that photo of the wet lil man on the beach I was like. this is tumblr user jetiisse's lancelot. he doesn't know it but that's what he is)

poor wet bastard is doomed to a life of suffering and doesn't even know it 😔✊

SO all lancelots are fun and i enjoy when he's horribly violent and tortured about it especially the way lou writes him, when i mess with him i tend to lean more into the sad pathetic angle with the violence as a bit of an afterthought. he is my biggest blorbo. i'll project issues i don't even have onto him. i'll give him issues that no one has ever had. he Has to be carried in a handbag otherwise he gets overwhelmed and starts trembling and barking at strangers. i'm sure we're all aware that he has chemistry with a lot of people but a/g/l is still my unrivalled favourite because i Need him to angst over it for like twenty years and then it turns out to be like not a big deal at all and then they're happy <3

okay Now i'm gonna get unhinged so everyone stop reading if u don't wanna hear about elaine (of corbenic) and lancelot's many mental illnesses. so obviously my favourite thing is when he's very very distressed and i think more media should lean into this plot point bc it's very interesting. one of toafk's best features imo was that white went fairly hard on describing how deeply lancelot was upset by his assault and how long that stuck with him. i also liked when guinevere was dismissive or downright cruel about his struggles, for one because lancelot thinks this is a reasonable response and for another because it hits to me like she's uncomfortable acknowledging the fact that her very best special knight Is vulnerable and Could vanish forever just because his brain doesn't work quite right. i also also liked when he almost hanged himself to avoid public embarassment <3

in conclusion my opinion is that he should and does suffer!

[fluffypotatey]

got bored so here's

Characters in BBC Merlin that i think had potential to add even cooler story arcs to the show if they didn't die/get ignored for the most part

in no particular order

Tristan & Isolde

Cornelius Sigan

Nimueh

Aithusa

Will

Alice

Freya

or you know, we just got more with the Ladies of the Lake

Elena

Vivian

Mithian

Mary the barmaid

Leon, Percival, Gwaine, Elyan, Lancelot

Deagal

[queer-ragnelle]

My joy in the work continues and increases. I think I have pulled an understandable character out of Arthur. And he has always been the weakest and coldest to our modern eyes. And if I can do that, the rich ones, Lancelot and Gawain, will be pure dreams to work with.

—John Steinbeck, excerpt from a letter to his editor, April 12, 1959

>

Sir Gawain is probably the most boring of Arthur’s well-known knights. What is there to say about Gawain? He’s not as strong as Lancelot, not as good as Galahad, not as evil as Mordred. Kind of not much of anything, really.

—Overly Sarcastic Productions, Legends Summarized: Arthur’s Knights

[not-rome]

idk as a gay man who once thought he was attracted to women, i feel like im certified to point out fictional characters who are just like me

[theroundbartable]

Arthur, at some point, probably: Merlin, I think I've noticed a pattern.

Merlin: a pattern?

Arthur: yes. All my knights are stupidly attractive. Now how did that happen?

Merlin: maybe you have good taste?

Arthur: we both know I only made them knights because you introduced them to me. Lancelot and Gwaine both appeared in your bed one day. What's up with that?

Merlin:.... Maybe WE have good taste.

Arthur: i certainly don't. I keep YOU around.

Merlin: ... Well, I guess then we can establish that I'm the one with the good taste and that means your opinion is shit. I am hot, actually.

Arthur: yet, i haven't made you a knight.

Merlin: yeah, so that you have every second of my undivided attention. I'd do the same thing. *Winks*

Arthur: *internally* don't tell him you pick his potential love interests for the knight position, so you can keep them in check and they now have to work for you, so they can't flirt with Merlin-

*out loud* well.... I'm a knight....and you serve me directly. Does that make me attractive, too?

Merlin: ...

......

Merlin: no.

[trans-cuchulainn]

you tend to write about irish mythology but at the same time you seem knowledgeable about other myths, so i was wondering if you could answer a question? my question is, would be offensive to create a version of arthurian myths but with most of the christian elements removed? christianity seems heavily baked into each and every arthurian story so i was wondering if it would be wrong, or outright offensive, to remove it?

i don't think it would be OFFENSIVE (christianity being a dominant religion so it's not like erasing a minority culture; the texts being literary rather than for religious purpose themselves means it's not like using canonical religious material – people share a belief system with the stories rather than believing in the stories themselves, barring probably a very few outliers; plus it's definitely been done before, tons of modern retellings don't engage with the christian aspects although frequently this is done in a boring way)

arthurian literature comprises a huge range of stories written over a huge time period for a variety of purposes. some of them are super duper christian. some of them are just kind of culturally christian because they're being written by christians within a christian context and that's what they know. some of them only have a light touch of it and some of them are dripping with it

i think whether it can be done effectively without leaving you with a story that no longer bears any resemblance to the story you started with depends very much on which stories you decide to retell. for example, a lot of the lancelot-grail stuff is extremely bound up in christianity and removing it without patching the holes is probably gonna weaken the story. now, you might want to reimagine them entirely within a new belief system. i would consider that to be patching the holes, as long as it's done carefully and effectively as with all worldbuilding. but just taking the story and excising the christian elements and not doing anything else is probably gonna undermine the story a lot

on the other hand there are other stories, particularly some of the romances (knights getting up to shenanigans in a self-contained story within an arthurian setting) where christianity is just the set dressing, and taking it out isn't going to leave such massive gaps; these would be easier to rework in a new context without needing to develop an entire belief system for the characters to be operating within. although tbh the whole of chivalric literature does rely on some pretty specific assumptions about hierarchies, loyalty, obligations, righteousness etc that are often bound up in, though not synonymous with, medieval christianity, so even there you do need to think about what is going to replace it

i would say if you're trying to keep a medieval western european setting, you can't really take the christianity out (of the setting, and really of the characters too in 90% of cases) without making it completely ahistorical. so it also depends if you're trying to retell it as in "i am reworking this story in a world and context of my choosing" (sure, do whatever you want) versus "I am producing a version of this text to introduce people to this story" (taking the christianity out makes it far less accurate and misrepresents the text, maybe don't do that)

i would also say that medieval christianity is much more exciting and weirder and often very different from modern christianity, and a lot of modern engagement with those aspects overlooks this fact and makes it boring and staid. but actually a lot of it's batshit and adds some fun colour to the stories in a way that can be enjoyable regardless of your personal beliefs about any of it. taking it out as many modern retelling seem to do often just makes the story more boring, so something interesting needs to fill the holes imo

so tl;dr. morally wrong, no, not in my opinion. narratively wrong, depends on the story and your purposes.

[patchwork-crow-writes]

Thoughts on Kris x Ralsei

This is so long I had to split it up into parts - this is Part 1, which looks into how the roles that Kris and Ralsei are given contributes to the idea of their romance. As more parts are written, they'll be linked below in this handy-dandy TOC!

Part 1: And They Lived Happily Ever After <- (You Are Here!) Part 1.5: I Believe Your Choices DO Matter Part 2: A Pair of Star-Cross'd Lovers Part 2.5: In Another World, We Could Have Been (Just) Friends

Okay, so.

Wanted to elaborate a bit on my viewpoint of this ship, because I don't think it's something I've ever really discussed before and I think it's actually a very interesting dynamic (or at least has the potential to be, depending on where the rest of Deltarune goes).

So, Kralsei is cute, isn't it? It's fun to hug the fluffy boy and watch him melt into incomprehensible stuttering and blushing. All the little signs he's really, really into Kris, all the cute little snippets of dialogue you can initiate with him, all the alone time they spend together, in both chapters... honestly, the game makes it hard not to root for this pairing.

And yeah, it's cute... in a very surface-level, don't-think-about-it-too-hard kind of way. But once you start thinking about it... hoo boy. There is. A LOT to unpack here. So much more is going on just under the surface, and once you see it, it's difficult to un-see it. And in my opinion, it makes the Kralsei dynamic so much more nuanced, more compelling, and potentially quite tragic.

Now, a disclaimer: it's fine to like this ship on a surface level. No real harm is being done, these are fictional characters and it doesn't matter what reason you enjoy it for - if it provides comfort to you and gets you through, then more power to you! This is more me sorting through my thoughts on the subject and is not a judgment on how others approach it. With that said, and in the spirit of full disclosure, this will go into slightly uncomfortable territory - picking apart the idea of destined love, the deconstruction of common romance tropes, how outside manipulation might play a part, and even the potentially incest-adjacent nature of the relationship. If you don't want to deal with any of that, you can stop reading right now, and that's okay. Please continue to enjoy Deltarune in the manner that is best for you, and thank you for your attention thus far :)

If you're still with me, then please click the read more and we'll get started.

Part 1: And They Lived Happily Ever After

The first thing you have to understand is that Deltarune is utterly determined to cram the notion of Kralsei down the player's throat. The game is not subtle about this in any way, shape or form. Everything from the narration, to the dialogue, to major game events, to item interactions, and even the roles that Kris and Ralsei play both in the story and the party, serves to reinforce the notion that these two are very likely to end up romantically involved with each other in some way.

Let's look at the characters first. Kris is portrayed as the noble knight - stoic, unwavering, courageous, a natural leader - clad in medieval-inspired plate armour and wielding a sword and shield. And Ralsei is the archetypal princess - demure, dainty, kindhearted, nurturing - who uses magic to heal his allies and pacify enemies.

I did not mistype there - Ralsei is a prince, but the characteristics associated with him are more commonly found amongst female healers in JRPGs. Think Fina from Skies of Arcadia, or Marle from Chrono Trigger (minus the temperment), and you might have an idea of what I'm on about.

Think of knights and princesses for a moment. Imagine St. George slaying the dragon to save a helpless damsel. Imagine Lancelot and Gwenevere. Robin Hood and Maid Marion. Link and Zelda. Squall and Rinoa. Every single fairy tale involving an imperilled princess and a knightly rescuer. For a more modern take, imagine The Bodyguard. Ness and Paula. I could go on, but then we'd be here all day.

Suffice it to say that there is a pretty entrenched tradition surrounding these archetypes - a male-coded, phsyically-adept, courageous, stoic, action-oriented figure, is paired with a female-coded, magically-adept (depending on the medium of course), less-physically-capable by comparison, emotional, and more passive foil. The (male-coded) knight protects and rescues, the (female-coded) princess nurtures and soothes.

It is a very, VERY emotionally-charged dynamic, by its very nature. Through their acts of service to their protectee, the Knight displays their devotion and care for the Princess, and is in turn emotionally-enriched and cared-for. There is a great deal of physical and emotional vulnerability between them, and it is therefore ideal for romance stories.

Look at Kris and Ralsei again, through this lens. Kris is immediately put into the role of Knight, and Ralsei quickly establishes himself as a classic Princess. Almost instantly, before you've even become aware of it, you've made the connection - they're going to fall in love, because that's what ALWAYS happens in these stories. Ralsei supports and encourages Kris, both in dialogue and in battle, and Kris...

...Kris, uh...

...they...

...hug Ralsei sometimes...?

...they... they give him a ribbon...?

...no, that can't be right.

But it is right, for two reasons. One, Kris doesn't have to do anything. The roles are already established, and Ralsei is playing his part like a pro. And two, Kris doesn't do any of those things in the first place - you do. It's the player who hugs Ralsei, who gives him the ribbon, who picks the dialogue options, who makes the connections. You're the Knight in this scenario, not Kris.

Because Kris doesn't get to make that choice. Kris has to do what you tell them to do. And many of us have already jumped to the conlusion that this romance is happening, becuase that's what always happens. The Knight and the Princess fall in love. They get married. They live happily ever after.

So we ship them, because hey, it's cute, and it's easy. I can't stress enough how easy the game makes this. I'm fairly convinced that Ralsei was designed by comittee, like the Funzo toy in that one episode of the Simpsons. Like he was created with the sole purpose of being the most disgustingly adorable, lovable, awkward little cinnamon bun that ever existed. Like he was created to generate the maximum emotional response in players. It's the cuteness response dialled up to 11, and we are almost hard-wired to want to protect this little bundle of fluff from any and all danger, because lookit how sweet and adorable he is! The glasses make his eyes look all big, his fluffiness is reminscent of that of baby animals, he stutters and fumbles his way through dialogue, and you just want to scoop him up and put him in your pocket or something.

And so, we're more than happy to fulfil the role of the Knight to Ralsei's Princess. Whether Kris actually wants to or not. Because it does become increasingly obvious that outside of our influence, Kris is still their own person, with their own goals and desires, but no real agency with which to pursue them. Would that we could know what they truly want, but we are never presented with an opportunity to find out.

The thing is, Kris is not particularly... knightly. They play pranks on their friends, they swipe sweet treats from their mother, they seem to enjoy getting a rise out of people, and particularly from Asriel, if the story about "dropping the lizard into the pit to jump higher" is any indication. They sleep through class, yet by Berdly's grudging admission they are the "third smartest in the class". The only reason they go to church is so they can drink the "sick fruit juice". They don't seem to have any issue with prank-calling their mom, while she's taking about them with their tutor, while they're standing just out of sight, while they're balancing a trash orb on their head.

Nothing about this behaviour screams "Knight." If anything, it would make more sense for Kris to have become a Rogue-type character upon entering the dark world. So the question remains - why is Kris forced into that role? And to what extent is the seemingly "fated" romance between Kris and Ralsei part of that role?

Folks, we have barely scratched the surface here. If I keep writing here this will become a novel, so I have to stop for everyone's sanity. But I will follow up soon, looking into the ideas of Purpose and Destiny and how they relate to Kralsei in-game. If you've stuck with me up to this point, let me just say thanks, because wow I wrote a lot here, and it's probably a bit rambly and says the same things two or three times, but I just. Had to get this onto the page in some way or another, so... here it is.

Thanks for reading, and see you in the next one :)

[etoilesombre]

Hey, do you guys want to hear a story? Let me tell you about the romance between Lancelot and Guinevere, as recounted in Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur.

So, I thought I knew the basics. I grew up reading modern versions of Arthurian legend that focused on other aspects, but had a general knowledge of the Arthur-Guinever-Lancelot love triangle. It didn't show up too much, but I assumed it was subtext in some other versions. What I picked up was that it was sort of pure, almost an ot3, and not the cause of a lot of problems. 

My friends. In this version it is NOT SUBTEXT, it DEFINITELY CAUSED PROBLEMS, and it is WILD. It is a true will-they-won't-they drama fest soap opera romance, and I need to share. So please, come on this journey with me.

[I’m looking at you, Black Sails fandom people. I need you to know that Flint canonically would have read this. He would almost certainly have also grown up hearing these stories. I’m not saying he’s Lancelot coded, but I am saying it's interesting that he would have been aware that was something it was possible to be.]

A couple notes, before we dive in. I am very much just summarizing what happened in the book. The thing is, the book is a million pages long and also in Middle English, and this is just one of many plots, which I think is why it's not more widely known. I will show some excerpts so you can get a feel for the text, but you don’t need to read them to understand the story. I'm referring to a version that is as close to the manuscript as I can find, though with spelling regularized. For real fun, see what the original looked like. Malory purports to be translating part of the French Vulgate cycle, which likely is where the character of Lancelot originates, but in fact he is doing much more than translating, and compiles other stories as well. Point being, when he says “so the French book sayeth” etc, that is the “book” to which he is referring. Because of my lack of knowledge about the language and cultural context, this lecture series from Mythgard Academy was absolutely invaluable to my understanding. I cannot recommend it highly enough. Inevitably, some of the opinions of the prof are reflected here. I do not have it in me to compare the scholarship of various medievalists right now, I just want to tell you about this DRAMA. 

Let’s start with a prophecy. When Arthur decides he wishes to marry Guinevere, Merlin advises him to take someone else, because if he takes her, she will betray him with Lancelot and it will destroy his kingdom. All of this is foretold, not only to us, but to Arthur himself. Of course he takes her anyway, and all is doomed from the start.

As we begin the main arc of this story (several books after the prophecy), Lancelot is widely acknowledged to be the best and most renowned knight of Arthur’s court. He is plainly and hopelessly in love with Guinevere, and she loves him in return. Arthur doesn’t have a problem with this - who wouldn’t love Guinevere? This sort of love is socially acceptable, so long as they do not sleep together, which would be treason. Arthur in fact seems to support their love, because it means that Lancelot will be Guinevere’s champion should she need one. This is a role Arthur himself legally cannot fill because he is the king, and so would have to be the judge. Lancelot is indeed a good champion for her, and fights for her when she is wrongly accused of murder. 

Lancelot is deeply chivalrous, in a way that seems sincere. This is a great place for a first excerpt, a conversation with a Random Damsel Lancelot has been helping:

‘Now, damosel,’ said Sir Lancelot, ‘will ye any more service of me?’ ‘Nay, sir,’ she said, ‘at this time, but almighty Jesu preserve you wheresoever ye ride or go, for the most courteous knight thou art and meekest unto all ladies and gentlewomen that now liveth. But one thing, sir knight, me thinks ye lack, ye that are a knight wifeless, that ye will not love some maiden or gentlewoman. For I could never hear say that ever ye loved any of no manner of degree, and that is great pity. But it is noised that ye love Queen Guenivere, and that she hath ordained by enchantment that ye shall never love no other but her, nor no other damosel nor lady shall rejoice you; wherefore there be many in this land of high estate and low that make great sorrow.’ ‘Fair damosel,’ said Sir Lancelot, ‘I may not warn* people to speak of me what it pleaseth them; but for to be a wedded man, I think it not; for then I must couch with her, and leave arms and tournaments, battles and adventures. And as for to say to take my pleasance with paramours, that will I refuse, in principal for dread of God. For knights that be adventurous should not be adulterers nor lecherous, for then they be not happy nor fortunate unto the wars; for either they shall be overcome with a simpler knight than they be themselves, or else they shall slay by unhap and their cursedness better men than they be themselves. And so who that useth paramours shall be unhappy, and all thing unhappy that is about them.’ 

So after doing his Knightly Deeds for this damsel, Lancelot asks if she needs anything else. She says no, but you are lacking one thing, which is the love of a woman. It is rumored that is because Guinevere has through sorcery made you love only her, and that causes all of the women great sorrow. In reply Lancelot makes this speech about how he cannot have a wife or paramour and be a good knight, but everyone thinks it is at least in part because his love is reserved for Guinevere.

Now, throughout the book his chastity DOES notably cause all of the women great sorrow. Everyone wants to sleep with Lancelot. Literally he is kidnapped by the four most beautiful queens other than Guinevere, and they say he has to choose one of them as a lover (not even a wife, a lover) or else die. He says he would rather die, though in the end he escapes. This is just an example, truly it is a recurring problem for him. He is, at one point, tricked into sleeping with a woman with whom he conceives his son Galahad (as was prophesied, it's a long story and the romance is only part of it. It is worth mentioning that something similar happens to Arthur, which is how Mordred is sired.) When Guinevere learns that Lancelot has been with someone else, she is angry and banishes him from the court. They still love each other and eventually reconcile. 

So, Lancelot goes on the quest for the holy grail. But he fails, specifically because while he is outwardly dedicated to God, in his private heart he is still dedicated to Guinevere. And so he makes a vow to renounce his love for her, acknowledging that it is beyond measure (beyond what is right, even if they have not technically done anything wrong.) However when he returns to Camelot, he cannot keep this vow, as we see. 

Then, as the book saith, Sir Lancelot began to resort unto Queen Guenivere again, and forgot the promise and the perfection that he made in the quest. For, as the book saith, had not Sir Lancelot been in his privy thoughts and in his mind so set inwardly to the Queen as he was in seeming outward to God, there had no knight passed him in the quest of the Sangrail, but ever his thoughts were privily on the Queen. And so they loved together more hotter than they did beforehand, and had many such privy draughts together that many in the court spoke of it, and in especial Sir Agravain, Sir Gawain’s brother, for he was ever open-mouthed. So it befell that Sir Lancelot had many resorts of ladies and damosels that daily resorted unto him to be their champion: in all such matters of right Sir Lancelot applied him daily to do for the pleasure of Our Lord Jesu Christ. And ever as much as he might he withdrew him from the company of Queen Guenivere for to eschew the slander and noise, wherefore the Queen waxed wroth with Sir Lancelot.

He and Guinevere start spending a lot of time alone together, and so there are rumors circulating about them in court. In order to put a stop to the rumors, Lancelot starts paying other women attention and doing more good knightly deeds for them. Guinevere is terribly jealous, but he tells her it's for their own good, and also tells her about the vow he made, and his concern that their love is beyond what is appropriate. She is devastated, and weeping banishes him from the court (again). 

Lancelot then rides in a tournament, disguised. (Why? Because this is simply a thing knights do.) To make it an effective disguise he takes the token of a woman, the sleeve of the fair maid of Astolat to wear on his helm. When she discovers that he was only using it for the disguise, and he does not indeed love her, she is so heartbroken that she says if he will not marry her or be her lover, she will die. He refuses, on the grounds that love must not be constrained and should arise from the heart, and offers her a thousand pounds a year instead if she marries anyone else. Properly insulted by this, she does indeed die. She has her body sent in a boat to Camelot, with a letter in her hand, saying that she died of her love for him, that he would not return. 

Seeing this, Guinevere reconciles with Lancelot, presumably reassured by the fact that he would let this very beautiful much younger woman die of her love rather than being with her. She insists that from now on he will not fight in disguise, and will openly bear her token. 

Then Queen Guenivere sent for Sir Lancelot, and said thus: ‘I warn you that ye ride no more in no jousts nor tournaments but that your kinsmen may know you; and at these jousts that shall be ye shall have of me a sleeve of gold. And I pray you for my sake to force* yourself there, that men may speak you worship. But I charge you as ye will have my love, that ye warn your kinsmen that ye will bear that day the sleeve of gold upon your helmet.’ ‘Madam,’ said Sir Lancelot, ‘it shall be done.’ And either made great joy of other.

It is important to keep in mind that, to this point, there is no textual evidence that they were sleeping together, and a great deal of evidence that it was important to Lancelot that they not cross that line. There is much less evidence that this is important to Guinevere.

So then one fateful day in May, Guinevere goes picnicing with an entourage of knights. They are captured by someone else who is in love with Guinevere, and taken back to his castle, but she manages to send a message to Lancelot. At the castle, she insists that her knights sleep in her bedchamber on the grounds that they were wounded in the battle when she was captured and need tending, but truly she wants them there to keep her captor from raping her. 

Lancelot arrives to rescue her, and the person who kidnapped her agrees to give her back in the morning. She tells Lancelot to visit her room in the night. He climbs up to her window, which is barred. They have a heartfelt reunion and she says she wishes he could come in to her. He acquiesces and breaks the bars to get into her room, cutting his hand to the bone to do so. Despite the profusely bleeding wound and the ten other men sleeping in the room, they at last do sleep together, in this passionate blood covered consummation. He sneaks back out and replaces the bars.

In the morning, the man who kidnapped Guinevere comes in and sees blood all over the bed. He accuses her of being unfaithful to the king, saying she lay with one of the knights who had been sleeping in her room. She denies it, but it is very clear that she did sleep with someone who was bleeding. 

Lancelot says he will fight to defend her from this accusation, which is right and proper because he is her champion. In this story people take trial by combat and oaths before God very seriously, especially Lancelot. He really does try. So he swears an oath that he will prove with his life that Guinevere did not sleep with one of the wounded knights who lay in her room. This of course is TRUE, but only on a technicality. Lancelot, having slept with her himself the night before, is also the one who defends her honor after. I love this story so much. 

Instead of fighting him, the kidnapper takes Lancelot captive. In captivity he encounters ANOTHER damsel who insists that sleep with her in order for her to help him. He refuses, still faithful in his heart to Guinevere. Eventually she settles for him holding and kissing her, which is not across the line of appropriateness apparently, giving us some idea of where that line is drawn. Anyway, Lancelot gets out, fights for Guinevere and wins. There are indications that he feels like he barely dodged a devine bullet. 

Guinevere and Lancelot return to Camelot. Finally the rumors about them are true, the deed has been done, but of course nothing appears particularly different as there were already rumors about them. Two knights, Mordred and Agravaine, who have been intriguing against Arthur already, go and tell Arthur that Guinevere is being untrue to him. Here is his response: 

‘If it be so,’ said the King, ‘wit you well, he is none other; but I would be loath to begin such a thing but I might have proofs of it. For Sir Lancelot is a hardy knight, and all ye know that he is the best knight among us all; and but if he be taken with the deed he will fight with him that bringeth up the noise, and I know no knight that is able to match him. Therefore, and it be sooth as ye say, I would that he were taken with the deed.’ For as the French book saith, the King was full loath that such a noise should be upon Sir Lancelot and his queen. For the King had a deeming of it; but he would not hear thereof, for Sir Lancelot had done so much for him and for the Queen so many times that, wit you well, the King loved him passingly well.

Arthur says he will not hear of this without proof, because if Lancelot is accused and allowed to fight he would beat anyone. And, it is said that Arthur had some idea of the affair, but would not credit it because Lancelot had done so much for him and Guinevere, and he loved Lancelot greatly. 

So, one night when the king is away hunting, the two accusers contrive to catch them in the act, with a group of twelve armed knights. They do find Lancelot in Guinevere’s chamber, but the text is notably, pointedly vague about whether they are actually in bed. In any case, Lancelot asks for a trial. The knights say no, they have caught him and so may kill him. He is Lancelot, so he kills all of them instead, save one (Mordred) whom he leaves wounded. Lancelot flees, intending to return to rescue Guinevere and take her to his own castle to protect her from Arthur’s wrath. He maintains her innocence, and still intends that they will all reconcile.

Guinevere is to be burned at the stake (normal in this situation). Lancelot rescues her from the burning at the last moment, killing a number of knights of the round table. Arthur seems to blame the accusers more than Guinevere and Lancelot (for good reason; keep in mind that the romance is a subplot, there is a great deal of political intrigue going on.) Now a war will begin, whether anyone wants it or not, because of the people Lancelot killed. Lancelot takes Guinevere to his own castle. Battle lines are drawn, and Lancelot and Arthur confront each other in the fighting:

And ever was King Arthur about Sir Lancelot to have slain him, and ever Sir Lancelot suffered him and would not strike again. So Sir Bors encountered with King Arthur; and Sir Bors smote him, and so he alit and drew his sword and said to Sir Lancelot, ‘Sir, shall I make an end of this war?’—for he meant to have slain him. ‘Not so hardy,’ said Sir Lancelot, ‘upon pain of thy head, that thou touch him no more! For I will never see that most noble king that made me knight neither slain nor shamed.’ And therewith Sir Lancelot alit off his horse and took up the King and horsed him again, and said thus: ‘My lord the king, for God’s love, stint this strife, for ye get here no worship and I would do my utterance. But always I forbear you, and ye nor none of yours forbear not me. And therefore, my lord, I pray you remember what I have done in many places, and now am I evil rewarded.’ So when King Arthur was on horseback he looked on Sir Lancelot; then the tears burst out of his eyes, thinking of the great courtesy that was in Sir Lancelot more than in any other man. And therewith the King rode his way and might no longer behold him, saying to himself, ‘Alas, alas, that yet this war began!’

So Arthur tries to slay Lancelot, but Lancelot, the better fighter, refuses to slay him and indeed when Arthur is unhorsed Lancelot forbids that he be slain, and gives him his own horse. Arthur weeps for the honor that is in Lancelot, and laments that the war began. 

The pope intervenes and tries to negotiate an end. Lancelot confirms that he is willing to return Guinevere to Arthur, and says he has always been willing to do this and will still defend her honor, but that he does not feel he can do so because Arthur has listened to liars and been misled, and he had more reason to take her away than the accusation of adultery - he does not trust she can be safe in that court, with things as they are. 

Eventually they do make a deal, with some assurances, and he surrenders Guinevere to the king. He kisses her openly, says that he will leave, but should she be in danger or ever again accused of being untrue, he will fight for her as he always has. He departs the court forever, to much great sorrow, and returns to his own lands. 

The war continues - eventually Mordred seizes the throne, Arthur kills him in battle but is mortally wounded himself and passes to Avalon. Following the king’s death, although her love would no longer be adulterous, Guinevere retires to a convent rather than reuniting with Lancelot. He seeks her out, and this is her reaction: 

Sir Lancelot was brought before her; then the Queen said to all those ladies, ‘Through this same man and me hath all this war been wrought, and the death of the most noblest knights of the world; for through our love that we have loved together is my most noble lord slain. Therefore, Sir Lancelot, wit thou well I am set in such a plight to get my soul health; and yet I trust through God’s grace and through His Passion of His wounds wide, that after my death I may have a sight of the blessed face of Christ Jesu, and at Doomsday to sit on His right side;* for as sinful as ever I was, now are saints in heaven. And therefore, Sir Lancelot, I require thee and beseech thee heartily, for all the love that ever was betwixt us, that thou never see me no more in the visage. And I command thee, on God’s behalf, that thou forsake my company; and to thy kingdom look thou turn again, and keep well thy realm from war and wrack. For as well as I have loved thee heretofore, my heart will not serve now to see thee, for through thee and me is the flower of kings and knights destroyed. And therefore go thou to thy realm, and there take ye a wife and live with her with joy and bliss. And I pray thee heartily to pray for me to the everlasting Lord that I may amend my misliving.’ ‘Now, my sweet madam,’ said Sir Lancelot, ‘would ye that I should turn again unto my country, and there to wed a lady? Nay, madam, wit you well, that shall I never do, for I shall never be so false unto you of that I have promised. But the self* destiny that ye have taken you to, I will take me to, for the pleasure of Jesu; and ever for you I cast me specially to pray.

Rather than rejoicing in Lancelot’s presence, Guinevere laments that their love brought about the downfall of the Arthurian court, and the deaths of the knights of the round table and King Arthur. She calls upon Lancelot, by all the love that was ever between them to leave her presence, telling him to marry someone else if he wishes and see her no more. Lancelot replies that he wants no one else, and that he will respect her wishes, but will also renounce the world and join a religious order. He asks Guinevere for a final parting kiss, which she denies him. 

When Guinevere lies dying of illness, Lancelot sets out to go to her, having had a vision. She knows of his coming, and prays to die before she sees him, because she cannot bear it. She dies a half hour before he arrives, leaving instruction that he is to tend to her body, and then lay it to rest beside that of her lord King Arthur. Lancelot does this with great sorrow, and after ceases to eat or drink, and within weeks is dead himself. 

And there you have it, the love affair that doomed Camelot.

HUGE DISCLAIMER: Any and all mistakes or misinterpretations are my own. This is what I gathered, but I am not a medievalist. I am barely an interested layperson. I’m just a random fic writer who got obsessed with research for a story, and had to share this tragic mess. 

[elegantjellyfishwerewolf]

Why I don't like "Wizards"

In general, I think that the "Stories of Arcadia" began to slide after the release of "Three from Heaven", but more on that later. In this post there will be many comparisons of "Wizards" with "Trollhunters" due to the fact that they are a direct continuation.

1. The first thing I didn't like was that the narration was too fast, and if this is still acceptable in the first series, then in the rest such narration begins to annoy, because it does not allow you to delve into the story and concentrate on at least one action.

For example, already in the second series, a lot of things happen: the arrival at Arthur's castle, the interaction of Claire and Morgana, the acquaintance of Jim and Deya, Steve becomes a knight, the trolls escape from Camelot. Of course, there are episodes in which the narrative goes normally, for example, in 4 episod, but basically the story does not have the ability to concentrate on one moment and continues to throw out new information to us.

2.The second problem, for me personally, is the characters. 1. I really didn't like that Steve's intelligence was cut so much, he wasn't a very smart character before either, but he could still come up with interesting ideas to solve problems (for example, when in the second season he guessed to use umbrellas to help trolls), but then they made a complete jerk out of him who, throughout the entire viewing, only irritates with his tantrums. If you remove him from the series, literally nothing will change, because his "knight's arch" didn't really lead to anything. After the battle of Kilahed Bridge, he says he will continue Lancelot's cause and bring back the Knights of the Round Table, but in the end he did nothing of it. 2. Another character who, in my opinion, has become worse in "Wizards" is Claire. I'm the only one who thinks that in the two weeks she spent in Camelot, she became too good at using shadow magic, considering that she studied with Douxie, who himself said he didn't understand anything about shadow magic. And even after becoming such a professional magician, for some reason she still can't guess to open a portal under Jim and only then, after escaping from the fortress of the Secret Order, try to bring him to his senses, BUT NO! Instead, she tries to convince Jim to enter the portal himself, and when she tries to open the portal under him, Morgana has already arrived by then, and she has to retreat. 3.The third character is Douxie. I immediately say that I do not hate him, the only thing that confuses me is his age. He is 900 years old, just think about this figure! And with all this, he behaves like a teenager who is 18-19 years old. The authors are trying to show us that he has changed since the events in Camelot by showing his younger version, but these changes can happen in a maximum of 2 or 5 years, BUT NOT IN 900 YEARS!!!! While watching it, the thought did not leave me that it was a 900-year-old man who, for some reason, continues to behave like a teenager.

4.Morgana. After The Wizards, I hated her. The authors tried to make her an ambiguous character, but in the end they created a bunch of plot holes. In Wizards, she says she wants to help all magical creatures, but in Troll Hunters, when Angor asked her for help, she tricked him into serving her and killing Merlin's champions. She also stole troll children and used creepy experiments to turn them into changelings (also against their will). Yes, even in the series itself, she contradicts herself when she gives Gunmar a sword that can control the mind. 5. The secret Order. I have no doubt that the authors came up with these characters only when they were writing the script for "Wizards", and that they did not exist initially. Because after the battle on the Kilahed Bridge, they say they will now try to change the world. AND THEY DECIDED TO DO IT ONLY AFTER 900 YEARS!!! SERIOUSLY!!!!!! You say that they have been recovering all this time, but I will say that only Belrog needed to be restored, and the rest of the Order members could try to carry out their plan to steal the seals alone. AND WHERE WERE THEY WHEN GUNMAR AND MORGANA ARRANGED ETERNAL NIGHT?!!?! I very much doubt that magicians of their level would not have felt such a strong release of magical energy.

3.Plot holes. There are too many of them! Literally in every episode I noticed one or another plot hole. Of those that were very noticeable: 1. Deya could not be the first hunter because Kanjigar said that troll hunters tried to kill Gunmar many times, but never won. 2. Morgana couldn't create a changeling in a couple of days, which also grew so fast. 3. When the moment came to conclude a deal between Angor and Morgana. 4. Creeper's poison created the Order of Janus, changelings could not create an order in a couple of days, and Morgana could not create such a number of changelings. 5.In the third season of trollhunters there was shown the battle of Merlin and Morgana and it had happened not only in another place but also there was no Douxie on the scene. 6. Blinky said that the confrontation between Merlin and Morgana lasted for centuries, as a result, it happened within a couple of days.

There were also many minor inconsistencies in the plot: 1. The battle on the Kilahed Bridge was different from the one we were shown in the third season of "Troll Hunters".

2. The design of the Deya is different from the statue in the forge of heroes.

3. WHY THE HELL CAN MORGANA OPEN PORTALS WITHOUT A STAFF?! Then why didn't she just create a portal in the finale of the third season and fly out of it? 4. The process of creating the amulet is different from what we were shown in the third season.

5. Where did Belrog get the staff of shadow if it was destroyed in the finale of the third season? AND WHERE DID THIS STAFF GO AFTER THE EIGHTH EPISODE?!! 6. The hand that is used to create the amulet is also different from the one that was shown to us in "Troll Hunters".

7. During Morgana's incarceration, she was wearing a helmet and a raincoat. 8.Wendel's appearance is also different from the one that was shown to us in "Troll Hunters".

(This is probably going to sound like a quibble, but why didn't Jim react to Draal in any way?)

And this is the main reasons why I can't perceive wizards as a direct continuation of the trollhunters series.

4.Of course, there were moments in this show that I liked, for example, the acquaintance of Blinky and Aarrg, the storyline of Merlin and Douxie, but, alas, the cons in this show outweighed the pros for me.

[gellavonhamster]

I wanna start reading Arthurian…..where should I begin

*rubs hands* oh excellent

I'd say one way would be to pick characters or events you'd like to read about the most and start with the texts focusing on them. @fuckyeaharthuriana has a lot of lists of different works, including those sorted by character (links in the blog description). Then, if you decide you enjoy Arthuriana in general, you can move to other texts. Another way would be to start with something well-known and short. I believe Sir Gawain and the Green Knight fits the bill well. The translation linked is more like an example, because there's a lot of them, and I frankly don't know which to suggest best; the one I read is by Bernard O’Donoghue, but I can't find it online. I've also heard very good things about Tolkien's translation - understandable, because duh, Tolkien - but haven't read it (yet). The works of Chrétien de Troyes are also very good and readable and imo very well represent what a medieval romance is. My favourite is Yvain: Knight of the Lion, and I haven't read his Perceval yet, but I liked all the other of his romances too. (Ok, maybe not Erec and Enide, but that's because I found the main character very annoying)

I've compiled a small list of Arthurian texts I recommend before when answering a similar ask, and I still stand by it, except, taking into account what I've read since then, I'd also add La Tavola Ritonda - an Italian Arthurian romance mostly focused on Tristan and Isolde, weird and violent but also very enjoyable, in my opinion, Parzival (vol. 1, vol. 2) by Wolfram Von Eschenbach - a German romance and my favourite version of the Grail story so far, and Lancelot-Grail aka the Vulgate Cycle + the Post-Vulgate. I'm not sure starting with the latter is a good idea, though, because it's five huge volumes, very readable (except for The History of the Holy Grail. You can skip that, if you ask me) and with a great impact on the later Arthurian texts, including Le Morte d'Arthur, but HUGE, it took me half a year, lol. (Le Morte is also long and often drier in style, but still not THAT long). But I simply had to mention it because it's such a foundational work. A part of the Vulgate Cycle has been adapted by Patricia Terry and Samuel N. Rosenberg as Lancelot and the Lord of the Distant Isles or, The Book of Galehaut Retold. It's short and beautiful, and you don't need to be familiar with the rest of the Vulgate to read it.

Oh, and if you're interested in more modern retellings, Idylls of the Queen by Phyllis Ann Karr is an episode from Le Morte d'Arthur retold as a murder mystery solved by Kay and Mordred, and it's amazing. Also The Squire's Tales series by Gerald Morris is a lot of fun, kind of for a younger reader but very well-written and funny, even though some of his choices regarding certain characters drive me up the wall a little bit.

Also, here's a great site by @tillman with a lot of links to various Arthurian texts!

[sneakyboymerlin]

random ask inspired by your post about gwaine being merlin's ride or die and how he was the only knight who went to see merlin released in 5x07. first of all so many points being made. second of all your tags about how leon probably led merlin's arrest were validating for me personally as someone who has always found leon a bit annoying. or at least, who's always found the accepted idea that leon is like this beacon of morality and goodness as really boring, canonically unrealistic and unimaginative. this is an unpopular opinion but i do kind of feel like the fandom's idea that all of the round table knights love/protect merlin is somewhat exaggerated. and esp irt to leon, i think it's potentially interesting to explore the way his loyalty to the throne, his personal code of chivalry, and the ideals he likely grew up with as a noble-born child of uther's camelot interact with each other. then again i truly do understand why no one wants to give him much thought as he is basically just a piece of stale white bread.

Gwaine is Merlin’s ride or die! There’s truly no one quite like it besides Will or maybe Lancelot. But what makes Gwaine unique here is a combination of beliefs/behaviors:

Gwaine never knew about Merlin’s magic! He saw how special he was without his gifts and his destiny. He saw it before Arthur’s life was in danger, just from being around him under casual, non-life-threatening circumstances.

Gwaine’s loyalties aren’t divided—or at least, as far as they are divided, he’s already prioritized Merlin above his other loyalties (whether that’s Arthur, Eira, Gaius, and by extension, maybe the greater good…)

Gwaine always implicitly trusts Merlin, even when he himself doesn’t have all the information… even when Merlin admits to Gwaine’s face that he is lying to him. This is why he assumes that Merlin is right about Gaius in 4x07, despite having no evidence. It’s also why he lets Merlin go in the Valley of the Fallen Kings. And it’s why he was the only one who believed Merlin didn’t do it in 5x07, as evidenced by his appearance in the cells.

The only time Gwaine questions Merlin is when Merlin is potentially endangering himself. He doesn’t ask any questions about why Merlin needs his protection in the Valley of the Fallen Kings. He only asks what they’re there for when Merlin tries to send him away.

Gwaine is the only one who’s still alive when Merlin needs him 💀💀💀 so by deduction…

Anyways, 5x07 is one of those rare episodes where it’s actually interesting to look at Leon! (Non-canon events notwithstanding—I once played a good game of Merlin-themed DND where someone made Leon interesting which, in the spirit of this post, is an impressive feat).

Now, in my personal opinion, Leon’s significance is over-inflated by fandom in the sense that the attention and depth his character receives is highly disproportionate to what we see of him in canon. I think the reason that Leon isn’t included much in canon isn’t because he’s being screwed over but, simply, his characterization narrows down what roles he can fit into.

His unquestioning loyalty to the crown means that he’s unlikely to ever prioritize protecting Merlin, and it shows that he has no issue with the ban on magic. Therefore, he fits well in 5x04 when he worries that Arthur is risking too much on his quest, and in 5x07 when he has Merlin arrested on the word of his queen alone. These two episodes provide a great contrast to Gwaine’s respective roles in them, where he stays behind when Merlin is injured in 5x04 and releases Merlin from the dungeons in 5x07.

This is why I posit that Gwaine and Leon are the perfect foils to each other. Both of them are unquestioningly loyal, protective, and caring towards the person/people they prioritize. However, for Gwaine, that person is Merlin, a “mere” servant, while for Leon, it’s the royals.

Gwaine’s devotion is towards his best friend—one irreplaceable person—while Leon’s is more of a distanced loyalty that follows a line of heirs (though Leon does show some preference to Arthur and Gwen, despite his steadfast loyalty to Uther). Leon also strikes me as a very methodical, rules-adhering fighter, which contrasts Gwaine’s more resourceful, bar brawl-based style.

And let’s never let ourselves forget that Gwaine and Leon’s first-ever interaction was when Leon—under Uther’s orders—arrested Gwaine for protecting Merlin! It’s a miracle they can tolerate each other on quests and patrols.

This difference seems to be the source of their tension in 4x08 as well. Under Lamia’s enchantment, Leon calls Merlin “nothing but a servant,” which Gwaine apparently takes offense to despite also being enchanted against Merlin:

Leon: Why don’t you watch what you’re doing?

Gwaine: Why don’t you watch your damn tongue?

Leon: You’d do well to learn some manners.

Gwaine: Nothing I can learn from you, Leon.

At this point, Leon has said nothing in this scene for these remarks to make much sense. However, Leon’s last line before this is where he insults Merlin. And as we know, Gwaine is no fan of nobles who devalue people for being servants.

So, imo, if you want to bring out Leon’s full potential: instead of turning him into a clone of Gwaine, fans can take his loyalty towards the royals to the exact opposite extreme. As Gwaine takes Merlin’s side, Leon takes Arthur’s >:)

[caram3lla]

I just couldnt merge the two series so I made separate ones. To be fair, I haven’t really read 4koa so my opinion may be misguided but whatever (and I also haven’t watched 7ds in a while also, so…) PLEASE hear me out anyway😭🙏

I don’t have much to say about favorite character, I’m literally in love with Howzer and I’ve never loved a character as much as him. for Chion, he’s just an asshole and that’s enough for me. He has a lot of potential as a character and I’m really excited for him in the series, I would not be his friend IRL though because he would literally be the worst person to be around. And you know what, everyone can hate him but I will always appreciate him😚💖Gilthunder, Diane and Donny are runner ups for fav character!

To be honest, I don’t TOTALLY dislike Ban but…idk. I don’t like him very much, but not only for the very obvious Elaine related reasons. Something he did at the beginning of 7ds kinda stuck with me, when he tried to kill Meliodas to get Elaine back. I guess it’s supposed to be, like, heartbreaking that he wants his woman back so bad he’d kill his best friend???? Mid battle???? Like girl this is not about you rn😭 Idk if my friend tried to kill me to get her boyfriend back, I think I’d have to kill her idk that’s just me😭 and I’m really sorry to the Ban fans because I know he’s a good character and I get that he becomes a better friend later, that scene just stuck with me though

I feel like this might not be a super unpopular opinion but I didn’t really like Escanor at first. Ig I just didn’t really care about him. I like his night time self, he’s very sweet and dorky. The thing I like about SUPER confident and cocky characters is them getting taken down a notch, which he was, twice, so it’s fine. For Tristan, I’m so sorry but I really didn’t care for him at all😭 Before I read most of the scenes with him in it, I thought he was SOOOO bland and boring. Like, he was just nice, and loved, and that’s it. He seems like a character that thinks everything is his fault, which isnt a problem with him or his character, I just don’t really like characters like that. I like that he looks more like Elizabeth, I think that’s nice. Anyway I like him now and I think he’s more complex than I thought before!

I dislike Guinevere for the obvious reasons that everyone hates her for so I don’t have much to say😭I guess to cover the least favorite ship category, I don’t like her and Lancelot together and that one scene was super weird. I like her design tbh, she’s super cute, but yeah…

I honestly don’t dislike Veronica, I just like her design more than her herself😭She’s super caring and sweet, and loyal, just very abrasive sometimes. When she interacts with people and her family especially, you can tell that she really cares, even if she’s kinda mean. Anyway I love da bob and her dress, it’s very cute😌 on the flip side, I like Tioreh herself WAY more than her design. I honestly cannot pin down what I don’t like about her design, I just really really don’t like it😭 I’m sorryyyyyy

For the fav ships, I don’t have too much explaining to do (I’m gonna keep saying that and I’m lying every single time). For Gilthunder x Howzer, I just really love the friends to lovers trope. Although a One-sided! Howzer x Gilthunder is probably more realistic. Anyway I love their friendship as it is :) To be honest I never liked rivals to lovers until this Chion x Donny phase I have going on right now, I have no explanation for this I just think they’re cute.

Elizabeth is super sweet, and honestly I don’t mind her voice, she is such a caring friend. Jade is just like, the most normal character I think ever so I would be his friends irl, probably😭

I would NOT be friends with Gowther, I feel like he would expose me so often, and like, one of my biggest fears is that someone is reading my mind, so he’s literally my nightmare, and I don’t wanna know him😭

Anyway I’m done yapping now, thank you for reading this if your at this point lol

[nonsensical-axobott]

I just rewatch Merlin season 1 of Merlin.

Here are some thoughts and notes, for anyone and writers.

• Merlin was reckless with his magic and his actions. He never sits to think how stuff is going to affect everything in the future.

He made the document for Lancelot without stopping to think that if only one person from that house visit, sent a letter of was in the city his plan would be doom, and Lancelot will pay for it. Same with Gwen's dad a LEAVING A GLOWING BAG IN HER HOME. It's ok if you want to cure him, but take away the evidence!!!

• Arthur did trust Merlin, he just wanted enough evidence to bring stuff to his father (because he wouldn't listen)

• Uther was a bad king, he killed everyone that was related to magic, but at the same time he didn't. He cared more about being King (power), rather than being a good ruler.

Also, maybe Uther was a normal king, and It seems bad just because If a politician tries to be like that it would be seen as a terrible person and would damage his public image today. Kings can be bothered by that, but it's not like people can do much if they don't like Uther.

He killed the person that offered inn to a sorcerer (that didn't even know, it was a service they provided to anyone), but not the daughter of the men that was saw doing sorcery (Gwen's dad and the alchemist).... They live in the same home. Also, if you say something that he didn't like he wouldn't listen to it, he prefers to throw everyone in the dungeon rather that acknowledge that everyone else has a valid opinion) That's why Arthur did hide stuff from him. Also, It took one incident so Uther completely trusts a new medic with everything. It was so weird because even if someone is a better healer than Gaius, the old man has a lot of knowledge about the kingdom that you can't replace. wtf is wrong with Uther.

• Arthur defended magic multiple times, saying that they deserve a fair investigation/court process. Even if he thought Magic was evil, he was rational about it. He just knew what he was told, but was open when magic proved to be good

He was grateful with Will, with the orb in the cave. He was open to proceed with the test in the unicorn fiasco.

• Merlin didn't care about murder when it was the enemy, he killed multiple people in season 1 without remorse. He killed bandits like flys.

• Since the first "lucky tree" that helped Arthur in battle, he never saw that as something weird.... He always thought it was luck. My price, you're so blind and oblivious.

• Merlin was able to move stuff without words, just his intentions. I would like to believe that using spells to do the same things would need to be more efficient.

Like, less draining, or more effective, or more controlled, or more specific. It has to be a reason why he uses spells for something that he did without much effort. The only thing that I can think of as an example is when Merlin moved his boots when he was hiding in Morgana's room, he didn't drag those, he made them quietly walk towards him.

• Arthur did tell Merlin that he saw him as a friend.

• Arthur and Merlin ate rat meat, and It seems that Morgana and Gwen did too. Do with that info what your creativity wants to do.

• Uther was supposed to die on season 1. It seems that Arthur was supposed to be king not long enough after Merlin arrived at Camelot. Merlin saved his ass so many times, even when Kilgharrah told him multiple times to let it be.

• Merlin knows a spell to bring to life statues and pictures. I'm still on season 1 but I don't remember him using that spell even again....

• Morgana was just as sick as Arthur about the bullshit of Uther. Arthus train though was "I need to be better than him", and Morgana was "We need to hurry his last breath". Arthur has hope, Morgans has desperation.

• In season 1 It looked like everyone was kind of flirting with the opposite gender. Merlin was looking with idiotic eyes for every woman, everyone was pairing Morgana and Arthur to the point of jealousy. It's weird, I need to reach the point where Arthur has eyes only for Gwen and Merlin always remembers Freya.

• ALMOS EVERY CHAPTER HAS SOME SORCERER/MAGIC TRYING TO HURT UTHER/ARTHUR/MORGANA, it's not weird that Arthur bought Uther ideas, even just a little. I'm surprised he's that cool about certain situations in season 1.

I have more thoughts but it's 2 am and I'm tired.

Sorry for any errors, it's late, I'm tired, and English is my second language.

[queer-ragnelle]

is there any text or tumblr post that dives into the ways in which sir lancelot is insane? like a freak? i’ve read a couple extracts ab him giving the idea that he was effed up a bit and like a whole murderbot with raging feelings of hatred and love? i would like to know more ab the crazy things he does or says that make ppl go “this man is a freakazoid”. also i adore your blog thank you for making sumn this nice!

hi there!

i'm unsure if you mean excerpts from medieval sources in which lancelot is "mad" or academic articles dissecting those instances...but i have both for you lol now a disclaimer: i'm neither a medievalist nor a psychologist, so all i can offer you is the raw material and my opinion. while we shouldn't "diagnose" anyone of the past as we do now, lancelot isn't a real person, so i think that affords us a little more freedom to speculate about him, and more importantly, what it is he represented: a medieval anxiety surrounding trauma and the resulting mental toll. info and sources below a cut. huge content warning for self harm and suicidal ideation.

Academic Sources: Medieval Attitudes Towards Mental Illness by Edith A. Wright, Of Metal and Men by Julie Singer, The Enemy Inside by Brian Burfield

Medieval Sources: The Knight of The Cart by Chréiten de Troyes, The Vulgate Cycle edited by Norris J. Lacy

so for starters, let's establish what it is people are responding to when they discuss lancelot's mental instability. the character first appears in "the knight of the cart" by chrétien de troyes, and right from the getgo, lancelot exhibits a lot of mental distress, up to and including, a suicide attempt.

from his inception, lancelot was unwell. at another point, he appears to disassociate so completely, he forgets his own identity, and loses perception of his body.

now you may have noticed that the text always links lancelot's episodes to his fixation on guinevere. we'd be here forever if we incorporated the way medieval authors offset the blame of their protagonists' deteriorating mental states onto the fault of a woman (see also: yvain/owain's madness when laudine/countess divorced him, tristan's madness out of longing for isolde, etc.) whereas when a woman shows upset, it's never attributed to her lover, but a shortcoming within herself. so for the sake of staying on topic, we'll focus on lancelot's symptoms as they are, rather than trying to unravel the middle ages-sized knot of misogyny that is the fictitious root of these madness episodes. "medieval attitudes towards mental illness" by edith a. wright discusses this trend in depth.

i'm going to be focusing on "the vulgate cycle" as my main source of lancelot's madness as he has multiple distinct episodes in that text written in excruciating detail that we can discuss. generally speaking, lancelot is presented as an extremely anxious individual that's highly susceptible to outside influence (whether that be guinevere's, galehaut's, etc.) but that in and of itself is not necessarily indicative of mental illness so much as a rarely explored introverted quirk of his personality. as discussed in "of metal and men" by julie singer, it seems lancelot's at his most confident when operating as an anonymous knight and therefore not subject to the scrutiny of societal expectation.

this, however, can develop in extreme ways when lancelot is pushed past his limits, and he succumbs to a berserker-like state neither his friends nor family can shake him from. while imprisoned at saxon rock, lancelot has to be segregated from the other prisoners, despite galehaut begging to be housed with him, the jailers refuse as lancelot's psychosis is so intense that he'd kill his fellow hostages and thus neutralize the enemy army's advantage. lancelot's refusal to eat exacerbates his symptoms. [Lancelot Part II, Ch. 71. Lancelot’s Madness and Cure; Defeat of the Saxons and Irish; Lancelot, Galehaut, and Hector Become Companions of the Round Table]

this psychotic episode continues even after lancelot is freed. eventually guinevere is forced to lock him alone in a room to protect the others, as he continues to attack anyone who comes near, including his own younger cousin and squire lionel who had attempted to talk him down and was struck. lancelot only recovers after his adoptive mother, the lady of the lake, arrives and utilizes strikingly modern de-escalation techniques, such as referring to lancelot by his childhood name to ground him, administering some medicine to help him sleep, allowing him uninterrupted rest, and then bathing him. (this is tinged with medieval mysticism, of course, but you get the idea.) the lady of the lake then instructs guinevere on how to care for him thereafter. once lancelot awakens from his magic/healing-induced coma, his sanity is restored.

it feels important to note here that, once lancelot regains his senses, he feels ashamed of his behavior, and worries that his mental instability would cause guinevere to love him less. but she assures him that she loves him and is committed as long as they both live. even in medieval times, people recognized that a strong support system was of utmost importance for the mentally ill to thrive.

lancelot is, for the most part, stable for a time after this, contented to live at sorealis with galehaut (and guinevere for a bit as well). but growing restless, lancelot leaves galehaut's company to go adventuring. through some misunderstanding, galehaut believes lancelot had died, and thus dies of heartbreak himself. on discovery of his beloved's tomb, lancelot grieves so bitterly that he intends to kill himself on the spot. [Lancelot Part IV, Ch. 120. Lancelot Discovers Galehaut’s Casket and Defends It; Lancelot Rescues Meleagant’s Sister]

it's here that a messenger of the lady of the lake arrives. the lady had been informed by her oracle that this would happen, so acting quickly, she sent someone to intervene. the messenger takes the sword from lancelot and immediately gives him a task, one that would exhume galehaut and bring his body to where lancelot would eventually be buried beside him. in the short term, this prevented lancelot from harming himself, and in the long term, guided him toward shifting gears long enough that he eventually overcomes his grief through completion of his lady's instruction.

the next time lancelot is driven mad is after he is beguiled by elaine of corbenic into bed with her at camelot. (this is the second time, galahad had already been conceived). [Lancelot Part VI, Ch. 176 Lancelot and Arthur Go to Gaul; Claudas Abandons Gaunes; King Pelles’s Daughter Deceives Lancelot; Guenevere Expels Lancelot]

at this point, lancelot is beyond the reach of even his mother, the lady of the lake, so this psychotic episode persists for many years. he's declared missing and all of the knights set out in search of him, to no avail, and he is assumed dead. lancelot, meanwhile, survives the winter by attacking people and stealing their resources. [Lancelot Part VI, Ch. 178 Lancelot’s Madness and Subsequent Cure]

eventually, while lancelot is subdued in a deep sleep, a pair of charitable brother knights, recognizing that lancelot is unable to care for himself and a danger to those around him, successfully transport him to their castle. they don't know who he is. they keep him chained for safety but feed and clothe him. during this time, lancelot mutilates himself to be free.

eventually, lancelot is calm enough to be freed from his bindings, and lives with the brothers in this way for two years. he eats little and completely loses touch with his identity and the reality of the world around him.

but one day, lancelot looks out his tower window and sees a passing boar. he's compelled to follow it and departs the castle of the brothers without a word. he ends up in a battle with the boar which he barely survives. a holy man happens upon him and tries to administer healing, but lancelot attacks him.

after this the holy man flees and enlists the help of some men-at-arms, who assist in capturing lancelot and forcibly strapping him to a litter to be drawn away. ultimately, despite the best intentions, lancelot's condition only worsens.

i'm going to make a brief aside here as this reminds me of an article i read detailing a similar situation which occurred in real life. in "the enemy inside" by brian burfield, john of ancaster suffered mental distress as a result of the war in france, subsequently inflicting harm on himself and others. in this case, it was his father that restrained him into a horse-drawn cart, and brought him to a place of healing which was revolutionary of the time period, as friar bartholomeus recognized the connection between trauma and mental distress without attributing it to demonic possession, thus attracting many people in need of help to his monastery for treatment. so there is, at least in part, historical precedence of similar occurrences.

anyway, back to lancelot. he eventually flees from his intended caretakers yet again and wanders to the town of corbenic. there the children recognize his madness and begin to harass him, throwing stones and sticks, until he's incited to retaliate and wounds anyone who crosses him. eventually he wanders into the castle itself. the courtlings recognize he's mad, and feed him scraps. satiated, he literally curls up and sleeps on the floor like a dog. it's this, at last, that allows him to begin the slow recovery to wellness.

finally, after all these years, someone recognizes lancelot for who he is. none other than elaine of corbenic.

she tells her father pelles and he concocts a plan to capture and cure lancelot using the power of the holy grail. so as the times before, they wait until lancelot falls asleep, and bind him up. then at long last, his senses are restored.

when lancelot awakens from his stupor, he knows not how he got there, but begins walking upright and talking coherently again. he implores pelles to explain how he came there. once up to speed. lancelot is grateful no one but pelles and elaine recognized him. now let it be made clear that while lancelot's psychotic episode had finally concluded, he's not otherwise alleviated of mental anguish. he's still depressed about his banishment from logres and camelot, and deeply ashamed of his many years spent mad. thus he requests of pelles to live somewhere far away, where no one but pelles and elaine will ever recognize him.

so an island with a castle is located on which lancelot can live and he, together with elaine and a small court, go there to stay. lancelot loses his knightly abilities and instead takes up the daily ritual of subjecting himself to painful memories of logres, which then in turn bring him "relief" and "comfort". an apt description of rumination and self harm.

eventually, lancelot sends a secret message back to the land of logres intended to entice people to the island to fight him so he can relive the glory days.

in the end, it's lancelot's own half brother hector along with young and newly knighted perceval who find lancelot on the isle of joy. hector tells lancelot that the queen summons him, and lancelot immediately prepares to leave. on hearing this, galahad tells his grandfather he'll go and lodge in the abbey run by his great aunt, so that he might be nearer to his father. [Lancelot Part VI, Ch. 179 Hector and Perceval Find Lancelot, and They All Return to Camelot; Galahad’s Arrival Is Announced]

and with that, lancelot reenters society with his brother and son, which kicks off the grail quest in the subsequent book. that's a lot of info and reading, but all this to say that yeah, lancelot is known for his mental instability, to say the least. thanks for the ask!

[dekusheroacademia]

Deku vs Kacchan part 2 as a trial by combat

My main life passion is King Arthur and medieval literature, so when I read Deku vs Kacchan part 2 it was clear to me that this was a trial by combat resolution. I have noticed a couple of comments here and there, of people who seem to not understand the point of Deku vs Kacchan part 2 at all, or even what it meant for Bakugou's character, so I thought I would write the summary of what I could get from it, and the most likely (in my opinion) explanation of what the whole thing means.

This is just from Bakugou's side, given that Deku's side of those chapters are a bit more complicated (he is confused as he never knew what was going on in Bakugou's anger filled head).

First of all, what is a trial by combat?

It was simple a trial, a way to demonstrate something (who is right and who is wrong) by combat. There is a A side, and a B side, and two fighters, each representing one of these two sides. Whoever win demonstrates that their side is correct.

Usually this was for something unrelated to fighting ability. Ex. Did my wife cheat and slept with you? (classic Lancelot and Guinevere situation), Lancelot says nope, and he wins, so nope it is.

In Deku vs Kacchan part 2 we have something more attached to the "strength" of the characters, so a combat to get the right answers make a little more sense.

Now, what are the two points, and what is the question?

Bakugou's question is "Which one of us has the correct way to admire All Might?" and the two sides are:

A) Bakugou's side: focusing on dominance/strength, winning over saving

B) Deku's side: empathy, kindness, focusing on saving

They both admire All Might but in two different ways. For Bakugou these two ways are not compatible, impossible to co-exist, only one of them is correct. In a trial by combat, if Deku wins, then (B) is correct, if Bakugou wins then (A) is correct.

The problem here, is that Bakugou has more information that can suggest to him a possible answer. In particular, we know that Bakugou's way of admiring All Might had led him to a bunch of negative consequences: being saved by Deku, being not chosen as successor, failing the first combat against Deku, failing the license exam, getting kidnapped, having to be saved again. And of course, being the cause of All Might's retirement. So he feels guilty, and he already can sum up that his way (A) of admiring All Might... surely cannot be correct, because look at what led him to.

I think this is why Bakugou wants to use this trial by combat to demonstrate to himself that he is correct in his guilt, he was the one being wrong, and this is why we see him surprised or even mad at having won:

Because now he has these two conflicting points:

Trial by combat says he won, he is correct

Actual life consequences say he is not correct

So now that Deku lost, what does this mean? I think this conflicting answers can only be resolved in completely nullifying Bakugou's way of seeing the world. He can only accept that this is not a correct way of identifying an answer, that winning and force are not the only way to go, but also their two modes are not as incompatible as he thought, maybe not ALL of his mode of admiration was incorrect.

This also reminds me of Javert from Les Miserables, someone who also saw everything in black and white, and that had to face the crumbling of "black/white incompatibiliry" of different ways of seeing people and the world (sadly, it did not end well for him).

[themuselesswriter]

Top, Bottom or Switch

Okay so the other day I was thinking (and you know that's never good) about Daniel Sharman's most famous characters and for some reason I have a theory that lots of his characters are bottoms in bed, so you guys will have to suffer my classification! Lorenzo De Medici This is the only character that I think of as a top. He seems like an expert at what he's doing, he always initiates the sexual interactions and he seems like the type of a guy who would come from a work day and be like "here love, let me take care of you for the rest of the night" and besides, he is kind of a hoe and his vibes are dominant.

Kelly Lord he is the type of guy who would be like "I'm an alpha dog bruh" but he is secretly a bottom, but he is the type of bottom that doesn't like to admit that he is a bottom if that makes sense? Like, he would throw in a fit but he would end up being a bottom, he would enjoy it, then feel ashamed or shy about it and he doesn't show this side of him unless he really trusts their partner cause he would be afraid that it would slip and his family would know and make fun of him.

Lancelot Du Lac (The Weeping Monk) Oh he screams bottom. Like, he wouldn't think about taking a sexual partner until he's out of the paladins' reach and when that happens, he would be too overwhelmed by all the decision making and the changes, so he would have a hard time expressing that he wants to be taken care of in the bedroom and that being a bottom gives him a sense of comfort and familiarity, he would even try to fake being a top to his partner just to please them but his partner would eventually figure it out.

Isaac Lahey In my humble opinion, Isaac is a switch. He initiates sexual interactions, he is confident, egoistic and loves the look of pleasure on his partner's face when he is getting it right so he would be a top leaning. However, there are days where his past hunts him and he feels the most vulnerable, on these days, he would prefer to be a bottom and have tender sexual interactions instead.

Troy Otto My man is a bottom and no one can convince me otherwise. He gives off top vibes in life but bottom vibes in bed, he is kinda oblivious when it comes to sexual interactions, his partner would need to initiate them (I have theory that Troy is a virgin, okay?!) and like, he would experiment a little but settle down to enjoying being taking care of in bed because it is such a precious feeling that he rarely gets to experience, to be looked after, loved, treated well, so yeah, he's a bottom.

Anyhooo, thank you for sticking around for my TedTalk! Next Episode: what type of fruit are you based on your favorite Bridgerton quote:'). Also, do you guys have different theories about these characters or different ones?