#the pendragon table of elements

[thependragonwritersguild]

Prompt #14338

"Apples from the Dream Realm taste like nostalgia."

[someguyinc]

also just bc i realized there are 6 of them and i've had my little pony brainrot since i could see shapes and colors i'm assigning the elements of harmony to the bbc kotrt

arthur: magic/friendship

lancelot: loyalty

gwaine: laughter

percival: generosity

elyan: kindness

leon: honesty

[mask131]

Arthurian myth: Merlin (2)

A continuation of the loose translation of the "Merlin" article by Yves Vadé for the "Dictionnaire des Mythes Littéraires".

II/ Merlin in the Arthurian literature

As early as 1155, the Normand writer Wace transposed, for Alienor of Aquitaine, the “Historia Regum Britanniae” in French verse, in his “Roman de Brut”. He adds to the work the episode of the creation of the Round Table by Arthur, of whom Merlin will later become the prophet and the agent.

Merlin was barely mentioned by Chrétien de Troyes ; it is with Robert de Boron that he truly became the inspiration of the Grail’s knighthood. His work in verse, that contained at least the three romans known as “Joseph of Arimathea”, “Merlin” and “Perceval”, is partially lost in its original version, and it maybe even was unfinished. However, the prose translation of the “Merlin” was preserved, and seems to be quite faithful to Boron’s poem. The beginning of the roman takes back the motif of Merlin being born of an incubus demon, but it is now placed within a greater theological context: the demons wishes to produce an Antichrist, born of a virgin just like the Christ, in order to counter the Holy Incarnation. A demon managed, after some difficulties, to trick an honest young girl, but she immediately confessed her sin and she had the child baptized. From his father, the devil, Merlin received the knowledge of the entire past; and to counter this gift, God gave him the power to know the future. As such, Merlin is born with an universal knowledge. He uses it in the first months of his life to save his mother, threatened with burning at the stake ; then, at seven years old, he reveals to the usurper Vertigier the existence of the two dragons hidden under the foundations of his tower. He also reveals their meaning: the red dragon (Vertigier) will be killed by the white dragon (the young princes Pendragon and Uter, sons of the king Constant). Uter became king, and Merlin his advisor. He allows him to vanquish the Saxon during the battle of Salisbury, battle where Pendragon loses his life: Merlin had Stonehenge built in his memory, and Uter ruled under the name of Uterpendragon. A new element that would change the Merlin legend forever: it is through the idea and advice of Merlin that Uterpendragon has the Table of the Grail built, the “third table” after the one of Joseph of Arimathea, which itself was a copy of the table of the Last Supper. And, just like within Geoffroy’s work, it is thanks to Merlin that Uter can give birth to Arthur by uniting himself with the duchess Ygerne, that he marries soon after. Merlin raises Arthur in secret then he ensures his crowning and his rule. Merlin will keep assisting Arthur, so that both his kingdom and Christianity could prosper.

Visibly inspired by, if not written by, Robert de Boron, the “Perceval” of the Modène and Didot manuscripts give to Merlin a peaceful end, though an enigmatic one… After guiding Perceval through his quest, he announces the end of the enchantments within the Grail Castle. Once it is done, Merlin builds himself a home in the woods called “esplumeor” (a word with an unknown meaning). There, he escapes from both the flow of time and the sight of men, but he keeps making prophecies about what God asked him to reveal to humanity.

During the first half of the 13th century, two prose cycles formed themselves in France, each continuing Merlin’s story in a different way.

1) In the “Suite-Vulgate”, included within the greater cycle of the “Lancelot-Graal” or “Vulgate” (1215-1230), Merlin is the military advisor and strategist of Arthur in his battles against the barons that refuse his authority, then in his war against the Saxon, and finally in his feud against the emperor of Rome. Through Merlin, Arthur manages to marry Guenièvre, daughter of the king Laodegan, and he becomes the ruler in charge of the Round Table. But more importantly, it is here that Merlin encounters Viviane, the daughter of a lord named Dionas, at the edge of a fountain in the forest of Brocéliande. Wrapped around the tales of battles is a love story, during which Merlin allows Viviane to take away from him his magical knowledge. In order to keep Merlin all for herself, Viviane ends up capturing him within a “prison of air”, from where the prophet, now invisible, can still make his voice heard.

2) In the “Suite-Huth”, part of a cycle that was wrongly attributed to Robert de Boron, Merlin predicts the birth of Mordret, and the disasters caused by Balaain, the knight with two swords. It is Balaain that shall strike the “harmful blow” that will wound the king Pellehan and turn his kingdom in the “Terre Gaste”. Merlin is here much more involved in the adventures of the wandering knights than before. His role as an enchanter is put forward, as he is depicted commanding the wind, making the depiction of a dragon spit fire, open by magic the doors of a city, and preparing an enchanted bed that will remove from those that sleep within it their memory and their senses. The tale ends by the unfortunate love of Merlin and Viviane, which is a repetition of the love between Diana and Faunus. After bewitching Merlin, Viviane throws him into a vault whose stone cannot be removed. In his grave, Merlin screams one last time – and this last cry of the enchanter becomes the subject of an independent tale known as the “Conte du Brait”.

The first mention of Viviane is older than the “Suite-Vulgate”. She appears in the beginning of the “Lancelot” (or “Proper Lancelot”), under the name of Niniène, and she is depicted as a fairy of Bretagne that raised Lancelot in her wealthy domain hidden under a lake. Merlin appears here under a negative light. While his popularity is attested (it is said he was “so dreaded and so honored” by the people of Britany that all called him a “holy prophet” and common folks even called him a “god”), he is said to be “disloyal” and “deceiving” due to the nature of his father, and his knowledge is one of “perverse science”. The lady of the lake refuses his love out of wisdom, and she manages to trap him in “a cave within the dangerous forest of Darnantes”.

As such the character, that Robert de Boron tried to turn into the prophet of Christian knighthood, does not escape the ambiguity due to his composite origins, and which fits his genealogy, half-devil half-virgin. One can also see in his gift of shapeshifting a manifestation of his unstable personality, and of the contradiction of the several traits that compose him. This Proteus-like nature, certainly a remnant of the powers that were once attributed to the druids, allows Merlin to appear sometimes as a young man, sometimes as an old man, other times as a “woods-man/wild man”, and even as a great “branched stag”, as in the story of Grisandole (part of the “Suite-Vulgate”).

Built of successive additions, the tale of Merlin was reproduced, synthetized and translated, partially or entirely, by all the literatures of Europe until the end of the Middle-Ages. Even before 1250, the “Merlin” of Robert had been translated in the provençal language. The character also appears within numerous French verse romans of the 13th century: in “Fergus” (which places his lair in an isolated mountain), within “Le Chevalier aux Deux Epées”, within the “Roman du Hem”, within “Escanor”, within the “Roman de Silence” (where the Grisandole tale is found), and especially within “Claris et Laris”, which explains Merlin’s solitude by a crime he needs to expiate until his death. In the Prose Tristan (after 1240, Merlin takes care of Tristan, whose mother recently died, and gives him to a preceptor (just like he had done for Arthur in Robert de Boron’s text). Identified as a wizard, he builds a magical boat, the “nef de la joie”, for the king of Northomberlande. Outside of the knight-tales, a fairytale in verse of the beginning of the 12th century, “Du villain qui devient riche et puis pauvre”, also known as the “Dit de Merlin-merlot”, confirms the role among the “folk people” of Merlin as an embodiment of the supernatural.

The one that Dante called the “buon incantatore” was very popular in Italy, especially in relation to the work of Joachim of Flore. Among his apocryphal works there is an “Expositio Sibyllae et Merlini”. The tradition of Merlin as a prophet was enriched by a huge book of “Prophecies”, which mixed political predictions, sermons, and fictional stories. It was written in French between 1276 and 1279 by Venetian, probably a Franciscan. In the beginning of the 14th century, the Florentine Paolino Pieri mixed in his “Storia di Merlini” a tale of Merlin’s youth and the Italian translation of a part of the “Prophecies”. In 1480, Venice saw published six volumes of the “Historia di Merlino”, a great part also made of these prophecies supposedly made by Merlin.

In England, the “Merlin” of Robert and the “Suite-Vulgate” were recapped in a verse work known as “Arthour and Merlin” (1250-1300). Henri Lovelich gave an alternate version of this text in his “Merlin” (1430). A translation in Middle-English of the “Merlin-Vulgate” dates from the middle of the 15th century. Finally, sir Thomas Malory split the “Merlin” of Robert throughout the five first books of his “Morte d’Arthur”. This work, written in the prison of Newgate where Malory spent the last twenty years of his life, was printed in 1485 and constantly republished, and it ensured the fame of Arthur and Merlin within English-speaking countries.

In Germany, “Merlin und Seifrid de Ardemont”, by Albrecht von Scharfenberg (13th century) recaps Robert’s Merlin, with very important modifications (for example Pandragon and Uter are now the sons of Merlin). Other translations appeared in Holland. In Spain, the cycle of the pseudo-Robert de Boron was translated in the 14th century by the brother Juan Vivas, while the “Demanda del Sancto Grial” included a “Baladro del sabio Merlin”, derived from the lost “Brait de Merlin”. A Castilian version appeared at Burgos in 1498, and then another was published in Seville in 1535.

[ao3feed-gwainepercival]

Out of the Woods

by Merlinfirstlastalways

In which many strange creatures begin to show up in the woods outside of Camelot, and Merlin finds several more reasons to hate hunting.

Starts up after Arthur becomes Prince Regent, but before the events of 4x01.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Gaius,” Merlin started ask, a bit hesitantly, when he finally reached the tower, late that evening. “What all do you know about faeries?”

Gaius dropped a half-finished potion, turned several fascinating shades of red and pink before moving on to near-purple, and yelled at Merlin for being irreparably foolish for quite a long while before Merlin was able to get a word in edgewise and allowed to tell him anything more about the afternoon.

Words: 2131, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English

Fandoms: Merlin (TV), Arthurian Mythology & Related Fandoms

Rating: Not Rated

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: M/M

Characters: Merlin (Merlin), Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Gwaine (Merlin), Percival (Merlin), Leon (Merlin), Morgana (Merlin), Gaius (Merlin), Elyan (Merlin), Knights of the Round Table (Merlin)

Relationships: Lancelot/Merlin (Merlin), Merlin & Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Gwaine & Merlin (Merlin), Gwaine/Percival (Merlin), Gwen/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)

Additional Tags: Fae & Fairies, Fae Magic, Animal Transformation, Hunters & Hunting, Quests, Fairy Tale Elements, Fairy Tale Curses, Not Canon Compliant, Fae! Merlin, Merlin's Magic Revealed (Merlin), Changelings, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, pre-Series 4, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Curses, Folklore, Mentions of Myth & Folklore, Overworked Merlin (Merlin), Merlin's Neckerchief (Merlin), Everyone Knows About Merlin's Magic (Merlin), Competent Merlin (Merlin), Merlin Has the Brain Cell (Merlin), Gaius is So Done (Merlin), Gaius's Eyebrows of Doom (Merlin), Long-Suffering Leon (Merlin), Protective Knights (Merlin), Hijinks & Shenanigans, Merlin Needs a Hug (Merlin), faerie glamours, Elves, Powerful Merlin (Merlin), BAMF Merlin (Merlin), Merlin is a Little Shit (Merlin), Sassy Merlin (Merlin), Gwaine Being Gwaine (Merlin), Gwaine's Hair (Merlin), Protective Lancelot (Merlin), Supportive Lancelot (Merlin), Lancelot Lives (Merlin), Oblivious Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Himbo Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)

source https://archiveofourown.org/works/48828169

[fuckyeaharthuriana]

All the arthurian movies I watched from best to worst (imho)

Regarding my opinions and my taste: I am okay with low budget, bad special effects and even bad/weird acting, I prefer enjoyment over any kind of historical accuracy. I also enjoy cheesy movies, and I prefer characters over plot, and plot over the rest (pace, acting etc.).I tend to prefer movies that uses characters with a reason (ex. using Morgause as Arthur's sister versus using a random guy and calling him Gaheris just because it's an arthurian sounding name). I am also a bit Mordred fan.

Monty Python and the Holy Grail

Camelot (musical, 1982 or the Vanessa Redgrave version) - this musical is one of my favorite musicals and one of my favorite arthurian adaptations. It makes Arthur a true protagonist and really put a lot of effort into showing how complex and important his dream is (also I love movies where a character has to renounce to something to protect an ideal)

Excalibur Kid (1999) - best trashy Connecticut Yankee movie, with Morgause as Arthur's sister and focusing on the protagonist convincing Arthur to be a king

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (cartoon) - the best adaptation of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

Sire Gauvain et le Chevalier Vert (French short) - the best non animated Gawain story at the moment

The Sword in the Stone

Sword of Lancelot (1963) - a classic Lancelot and Guinevere story, but probably because of the hawk-bearing Mordred and his plotting I really enjoyed it

A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (1988) - a great adaptation of the book with a girl as the protagonist. It has nothing too different from usual, but the protagonist is great and Guinevere has a much bigger role than usual

Morte d'Arthur (1984) - a movie of just scenes and an external narrator, but it is so well done and some of the scene (Mordred's betrayal!) are amazing

Excalibur (1981)

Merlin and Arthur the Lion King - a cartoon, so expects it to be very kids-friendly, but it still manages to be fun and also one of the two movies with a Mordred redemption

Dragons of Camelot - extra trashy, but has a very thigh pace and gives a lot of depth to the characters, mostly Guinevere, Morgana, Lancelot and Galahad. It's so bad that it's good.

Merlin and the Sword - an extra trashy movie, but there are so many plot points (Nimue and Merlin, Ragnelle and Gawain, Lancelot and Guinevere, Morgana) that it ends up being entertaining

King Arthur: Legend of the Sword - pretty fun, a lot of strange humorous pacing, but using Kay as a random name, and not enough arthurian elements, it was clearly made to be the first of a series and kept a lot of elements for the future that never happened

A Knight in Camelot - another good Connecticut Yankee adaptation, with an interesting twist at the end

Arthur and Merlin (2015) - historical based, very nice visuals but Arthur and Merlin are the only real characters in the movie (and the only arthurian characters) and it seems more like it is setting the scene for a bright future that never comes, also very slow

New adventures of a Connecticut Yankee - this is so low because it's in Russian and I don't know Russian, but the visuals are AMAZING

The Knights of the Round Table (1953)

King Arthur: Knights of the Round Table (2017) - not really arthurian characters just strange reincarnations, a lot of absurd plot points, but pretty fun and one of the two movies in existence to have a Mordred redemption. Also, aliens. Far too long.

Percival 2007 - it was in Portoguese so I could understand little, but it looked very dramatic?

Quest for Camelot - the cartoon! Probably this is my nostalgia bias

King Arthur - good actors, not boring, but also nothing special and mostly focused on Lancelot and Arthur

Merlin and the Book of Beasts - classic 'Arthur's daughter has to reclaim the kingdom', but it glossed over the whole Mordred thing.

Arthur's Quest - a classic modern reincarnated Arthur fighting Morgana

A young connecticut yankee in King Arthur's court - a bad movie but so so fun. It also has evil Galahad and an amazing Morgana

Prince Valiant -classic Valiant adventure with more Gawain

Prince Valiant (1997) - classic Valiant adventure

Merlin and the War of Dragons - the plot is all over the place, but it manages to put together Igraine and Uther with Merlin's backstory. The only interesting part is the whole Nimue vs Viviane.

Avalon High (2010) - this low for having butchered the novel and ending up with confusing the plot and the whole sense of the novel. Still, definitely fun to watch for the right public.

First Knight - not too bad, but a bit boring and a story already seen. A classic Lancelot/Guinevere.

Guinevere (1994) - this is a mediocre movie about Guinevere and a loose adaptation of Persia Woolley's books.

Merlin the Return - so bad but also weirdly fun, a part for extra sexist Gawain

A kid in King Arthur's Court - my least favorite Connecticut Yankee movie, mostly because I really disliked the protagonist and the pace

King Arthur: Excalibur Rising - very slow pacing, focusing on Owain (here Arthur's son) vs Mordred, but spends little time on the characters themselves and mostly on setting Owain's big sword revelation and stuff

Lancelot du Lac (Lancelot and Guinevere) - I hate this movie. It's the classic Mordred finds out about Guinevere and Lancelot, but all the characters appear pretty boring with the exception of Gawain.

The Spaceman and King Arthur - this is so high in the list because it adds something new to the usual Connecticut Yankee story. But it's bad and pretty sexist.

Camelot The Legend cartoon - they sing and it's very bad

Sword of the Valiant - which is this low for the absurd way the butchered Gawain and the Green Knight

Merlin of the Crystal Cave - mostly focused on child Merlin and his mother

Merlin (1993) - not really an arthurian movie, as it's a modern times reincarnated lady of the lake stopping a prophecy. Nothing too exciting

Un espanol en la corte del rey Artur - a musical

Arthur and Merlin: Knights of Camelot - takes itself too seriously, Merlin is in it just for 10 minutes, focusing on Arthur's self angst, a lot of plot-points that makes little sense

Lancelot: Guardian of Time - this movie is weirdly fun, but the bad outweighs everything else, especially the sexism

The Sorcerer's Apprentice 2010 and 2002 - just bad, I hated both this movies but I preferred the 2020 one.

Pendragon: Sword of his Father - worst movie EVER. This is not an arthurian movie, just Christian propaganda with Arthur in it. It also makes no sense arthurian-wise.

Movies not in the list because they are not out yet:

Kaamelott part 1

Green Knight

Green Knight: The Movie

The Legend of Sir Mordred

Fate Grand/Order the movie

Movies not in the list because I could not find them to watch them or had no time to watch yet:

Red Shoes and the Seven Dwarves (not watched yet)

The Kid who would be King (not watched yet, SORRY)

Kids of the Round Table (I watched it but I remember nothing)

Merlin's Magic 2013 (never found)

Gawain and the Green Knight (1991, to watch soon)

Connemara (not watched yet)

Gawain and the Green Knight (1973) (watched it but so boring that I remember nothing)

Perceval le Gallois (I've watched it too long ago to remember)

Studio One: Connecticut Yankee (I've watched it too long ago to remember)

A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's court (the 1949 a d the 1931 ones)

Lancleot du Lac 1970 (it's pretty, but only in French so I did not watch it)

Camelot cartoon 1999 (I've watched but I remember nothing of it)

A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (cartoon that I watched but don't remember)

Merlin: The Quest (never found it!)

the 9 movies pre 1921 because I could not find them or were in languages I could not understand

[grailfinders]

Fate and Phantasms #129: Artoria Pendragon (Archer)

Today on Fate and Phantasms, our fun in the sun continues as we make yet another Artoria Pendragon. Geez, we’re over 100 builds in and they just keep coming. How many of you are there?

...Wow that’s a lot of clones.

Anyway, Artoria’s known for two things- the existential horror of existing in over a dozen places simultaneously, and now, her skill with water guns. I choose to believe those are connected somehow.

Check out her build breakdown below the cut, or her character sheet over here!

Next up: Summer lovin’, happened so fast!

Race and Background

Again, there’s nothing new here. You’re a Human, giving you +1 to all stats. You’re also a Knight, getting History and Persuasion proficiencies.

Ability Scores

Your Charisma was already pretty strong, and thanks to Summer helping you chill out a bit it’s only gotten stronger. Instead of focusing on Strength, your mana bursts now empower you Dexterity for greater speed and avoiding other player’s shots. You’ll also need some Wisdom to spot enemies lying in wait. Your Constitution hasn’t been changed much by your class change, but your Strength did take a hit as did your Intelligence. It’s Summer, the one time you don’t have to worry too much.

Class Levels

1. Sorcerer 1: Thanks to your ranged weapon specialization this time around, being a paladin is completely useless for us! The good news though is that we can finally take a moment to appreciate your Draconic Bloodline. As the descendent of a white dragon, you get abilities related to Cold damage later on. You also double your proficiency in charisma checks against dragons. Your Draconic Resilience makes your sorcerer hit dice slightly less terrible, and you get a permanent mage armor effect, making your AC 13 plus your dexterity modifier.

On top of that, you get proficiency in Constitution and Charisma saves, as well as two sorcerer skills- Intimidation and Religion. You can really put the fear of god into people.

You also get Spells you can cast using your Charisma. Grab Frostbite, Shape Water, and Ray of Frost for the opening salvo, Light so you can still make your sword all cool and glowy without God helping out, Expeditious Retreat for a bit of speed, and Charm Person because there aren’t that many first level spells I really like for you.

2. Warlock 1: You wouldn’t be King Arthur without Merlin hanging on like a hair in a biscuit, so let’s spend this time to make you a Archfey warlock again. This gives you a Fey Presence that lets you force Wisdom saves on creatures in a 10 foot cube (DC 8 + proficiency + dexterity modifier) or they become frightened/charmed by you for a round once per short rest. You are the king of the britons wielding a deadly weapon, but you’re also in a bikini, so either one works here.

You also get Pact Magic, another spell list that also uses your Charisma to cast. This spell slot doesn’t mix with your other spells, so just use the normal spell tables to figure out how many you have.

You get Friends for more charisma shenanigans, Eldritch Blast for a quick and easy water gun (it’s force instead of cold, but that just means you’re blasting them really hard). For first level spells, Armor of Agathys ensures you get water all over the place when you’re hit. I told you to put a towel down before you sat in the car, but noooo... You also get a Healing Elixir to create a healing potion. Nobody will judge you if you take a sip out of your water gun. Actually I just saw its color, everyone will judge you. But it’s still healing.

3. Warlock 2: Second level warlocks get some Eldritch Invocations to customize your squirting experience. Lance of Lethargy makes your Eldritch Blasts slow down enemies when they hit once per turn by making their socks a bit squishier. Most people would call it rude to attack someone with a squirt gun when they’re clearly not ready, but you call it strategy. Like usual, we’re saving the other one for level 3.

You also get Protection from Evil and Good, because even if you’re not a paladin officially, you still gotta get some of the holy flavor in there.

4. Warlock 3: You’ve probably figured it out already, but your pact boon is the Pact of the Blade, allowing you to create a magical melee weapon as an action. Thanks to your Improved Pact Weapon, you can also make it a crossbow, if you really want an actual water gun. Regardless of its form it gets +1 to attacks and damage. You’re limited to two-handed crossbows though, so you won’t be able to dual-wield a gun and sword like in your NP.

You can also cast Calm Emotions, to cool down your allies and enemies alike with a little playful water. Don’t mix this up with your killing people water, that’s an easy mistake to make.

5. Sorcerer 2: Second level sorcerers are a Font of Magic giving you a number of sorcery points equal to your sorcerer level each long rest. Right now you can use them to recharge spell slots, or vice versa. This gets more interesting next level.

You can also cast Magic Missile now! it might not be cold damage, but it is very accurate.

6. Sorcerer 3: Third level sorcerers can use their sorcery points for Metamagic, adding extra effects to their spells. Right now you get two options, Distant Spell doubles the range of spells that involve attack rolls, making your water guns fire on par with most bows. Empowered Spell allows you to re-roll damage dice on your spell for some extra pumps before firing. Both of these cost 1 point.

You also learn how to fire a little wildly thanks to Snilloc’s Snowball Storm, launching cold damage in a 5 foot radius, dealing full damage to creatures who fail a dexterity save (DC 8+proficiency+charisma) or half as much if they succeed.

7. Sorcerer 4: Use your first Ability Score Improvement to round up your Dexterity and Constitution scores for better weapon attacks, a higher AC, and more health and concentration.

Your next cantrip is Blade Ward in case you miss raging, and you can cast Alter Self to give yourself a swim speed and water breathing. There’s other uses, but you can just ignore these.

8. Warlock 4: You get another ASI right away, so use this to become an Elemental Adept. Your spells now ignore resistance to cold damage, and all dice rolled for damage count as at least 2. Your water blitz skills grow by the day.

You can also Create Bonfire for a cookout after the match, or take a Misty Step for some extra speed.

9. Warlock 5: Fifth level warlocks get third level spells, and Spirit Shroud will allow you to add extra cold damage to your closeup attacks, and make your surroundings a bit more slippery for enemies.

You also get the invocation Eldritch Smite. Just because you aren’t a paladin doesn’t mean you can’t hit like one.

10. Sorcerer 5: Your Magical Guidance lets you spend a sorcery point to re-roll a failed ability check, because being a protagonist means never having to say “I got a nat 1.”

You can also cast Water Walk at this level to walk on water. This is more in-character than alter self, use this instead.

11. Sorcerer 6: You now have an Elemental Affinity for cold damage, adding your charisma modifier to cold damage caused by spells. When you deal damage with such a spell, you can also spend a sorcery point to gain resistance to cold damage. You’re probably the only person in the party in a bathing suit, water shouldn’t be an issue for you.

You can also cast Haste now for even more extra speed and eldritch blasts.

12. Sorcerer 7: Seventh level sorcerers get fourth level spells such as Stoneskin. We’re not spending levels on barbarian this build either, but that doesn’t mean you should miss out.

13. Sorcerer 8: Use this ASI to bump up your Charisma for stronger and more damaging spells. You also get Watery Sphere this level. I don’t have a way to flavor this as a watergun technique, but there’s only so many cold spells so we can’t be picky.

14. Warlock 6: As a sixth level feylock you speed up a lot thanks to your Misty Escape. As a reaction to taking damage, you can turn invisible and teleport up to 60 feet away, once per short rest.

You can also cast Blink to become fast enough to be completely unhittable. At the end of each turn, you’ll have a 50/50 shot of vanishing into the ethereal plane. You’ll pop back in at the start of your next turn, or if the spell ends.

15. Warlock 7: Your final spell is the fourth level Elemental Bane, forcing a constitution save on a target creature. If they fail, the first time they take cold damage each turn they take extra damage as well, and lose resistance to the damage type. (It also works on other types of damage, but... come on.) You also have a Thirsting Blade, allowing you to attack twice with your pact weapon each turn.

16. Sorcerer 9: At ninth level your aim starts getting really wonky, turning your watergun into a Cone of Cold. It’s a cone, it’s cold. It forces a constitution save.

17. Sorcerer 10: With another metamagic option you get Twinned Spell, allowing for double the blasts at once.

If you really wanted to, you could cast True Strike. Or you could do something productive with your turn and go with Far Step, giving you teleportation as a bonus action each turn the spell stays up.

18. Sorcerer 11: Your sixth level spell gives you the nicest bikini magic can make, the Investiture of Ice. This outfit makes you Immune to Cold damage and resistant to fire damage, causes the area around you to become difficult terrain, and you can create cold blasts as an action, dealing cold damage and further reducing the speed of anything that gets caught in it and fails a constitution save.

19. Sorcerer 12: Last ASI, bump up your Dexterity. More AC, better weapon fighting, yadda yadda.

20. Sorcerer 13: Your capstone level nets you a seventh level spell, Plane Shift. I’m not entirely sure where that place you do your noble phantasm is located, but I’d bet the elemental plane of water will make a great substitute.

Pros:

Sorcerers are good blasters, and you show that off nicely. With haste and a quickened spell you can fire off three supercharged cantrips per round, or the powerful eldritch blast. Or, you can use other spells like Spirit Shroud or Elemental Bane to push your spell damage even higher.

Thanks to all that ice and water you’re sporting you’re great at slowing down creatures, controlling the tide of battle by controlling the tide.

Compounding on that, you’re pretty mobile thanks to those teleportation spells to pop you around the battlefield, making you a real nuisance to pin down.

Cons:

All three of those pros mostly rely on concentration spells, meaning you’ll have to pick which one you’re good at at any one time. You also run the risk of wasting spell slots by dropping them since we spent all your ASIs on feats and attack stats instead of constitution.

We got a lot out of multiclassing into warlock, but we also lost a lot, especially in regards to sorcery points. It’s a good thing you’re good a blasting, because you’re not good at extended fights.

If you could focus on either your sword or your water gun, you’d have a much easier time squeezing yourself into 20 levels. You dual wield though, so we have to split our attention.

[cosmosrival]

there it is! kama interlude analysis by a kama fan!

WELL. LIKE IT SAYS IN THE TITLE: this is just my own thoughts!! youre free to think whatever u want !! i am just putting my own knowledge into words because i genuinely love kama, and i would like for kama’s depth to be understood by the NA fandom a little more!! i try to stay as close as possible to their character in everything i do because i believe that the more in character they are, the funnier/more interesting content ppl will produce. 

and hopefully i understood them well ???!!!! HOPEFULLY ?!

i will be screenshotting the translated reddit post under this read more and stop whenever something i find interesting to develop pops up ! or else it’ll get way too long lol if you wanna read the interlude for yourself heres the link!

with that said, let’s go!!

kama’s interlude begins with guda passing the hell out because of exhaustion and then waking up in a dream sequence where kama treats them to some relaxing adventures, stuff to take their mind off heavy things!! first dream sequence is kama roleplaying a highschool setting where they’re dating.

i like this because they openly admit that its an illusion, breaking the immersion but as long as youre okay with roleplaying, they’ll continue it LOL  at some point, caesar mentions the student council president and arjuna appears behind him 

since this is an illusion that kama made, i’ve been wondering about the fact that the way servants conduct eachother in this interlude is mostly because that’s how kama envisions they would act in a highschool setting, in an amusement park and finally with eachother (mostly for confirmed couples such as siegbryn, consort yu and her hubby etc...). suzuka and sei being gyarus is obvious, but arjuna as the student council president... is so cute???!!! i MEAN IT FITS ?! THATS A GREAT IDEA KAMA!!!! ANYWAY

this is kama’s first monologue and since they’re primarily the god of lust, all of the more vanilla stuff they mentions such as sharing a pair of headphones embarrasses them since its so tame. ITS CUTE !!! kama expects you to be horny in class !! what are you doing thinking about hand holding !!! medusa saves u from that tho with a direct reference to her relationship with kama’s vessel 

this is interesting !! and reassuring !!! i think that kama as a character has a lot of depth and just reducing them to “sakura” would be a waste and this interlude shows how different they are from her. but they’re also similar! sakura went through a lot just like medusa says and kama does have trauma related to shiva. its not the same circumstances but the same kind of suffering which explains the nuance here. and what i like about chaldea is that there’s been multiple instances where its been proven that servants can grow thanks to their relationships with guda (most common example: leveling up your bonds) BUT ALSO, saint graph evolution (alts). and as a kama fan i’d like to see them happy someday and this interlude as a whole is proof of their healing/coping because of the time they spent in chaldea and how they interact with others. more on that later ! here, they don’t recognize medusa which is normal since they’re not sakura (someone else entierly), but...

they care about her ! because of sakura’s influence being a part of the servant called Kama(assassin). the difference here is important !! but i’ll come back on this in a bit. quick mention to the greek cupid <3 kamadusa nation we were fed (i clap by myself because im the only one who has 57575757557 kama rarepairs-----)

kama is a delinquent whos horny in class but still takes a few notes, enough to do well on their tests! and thats tea<3 smart horny lazyass !! theyre a gift

SO ARJUNA WAS OUT FOR BLOOD ????? ANYWAY, this is right after the actual fight against weirdo terrorists, and im happy to know that kama DOES enjoy a good fight (as proven in their voicelines as well) but theyre not a farming unit because it’d be too much work (single target NP..)...!!!!!!! lavish god of love.... 

FINALLYYYYYYYYYYY THE REAL DEAL !!!!!!!!!!!! “it feels wonderful to be your girlfriend” christ, kamadeva was so used to being a husband and a good lover, it reflected in their servant version.... but ree what do u mean by servant version???

I MEAN THE OBVIOUS !! kama explains it very well in the screenie just above ! 

“You know very well how servants work.”

KAMA ASSASSIN (the servant in your chaldea) is neither KAMADEVA or SAKURA MATOU or MARA. they’re a MIX OF PARTS OF THE THREE. creating an entierly new person(in this case, servant) !!!! it might sound like i’m repeating myself, but this is important!!!!!!!!! i will say this multiple times so people remember it !!! and if u already had this figured out: GOOD JOB I LOVE U !!!

Kamadeva (the god) has many stories, ones where he was born from concepts (dharma and shraddha), one where his parents are brahma and sarasvati, one where his parents are vishnu and lakshmi, stories about his reincarnation after his death where his parents are krishna and rukmini, his love with Rati and so on. We all know Sakura’s backstory since this is nasuverse. And Mara is a demon, an entity that tried to corrupt Buddha and prevent him from reaching enlightenment/stray from the path. Kama assassin has parts from all of these entities which explains why they have a vague longing for Rati, why they have a soft spot for Medusa and why they have an affinity with Kiara(and also like talking about corrupting u !). 

they then mention how a japanese highschool setting is fun and all i have to say is: i’m gonna make an indo fam delinquent vs student council au out of this one folks !!!!!!!! i gotta !!! 

OK next

TIME FOR THE SECOND DREAM SEQUENCE WHICH I WAS VERY VERY VERRRRRRRRRRYYYYYYYYYYYYY AFRAID OF BEFORE THE TRANSLATION CAME OUT.

THE PART WHERE KAMA ACTS LIKE YOUR CHILD.

well with their stage 1 it was expected but without the translation i have to say that i was scared shitless! because people hate thinking! and even if kama clearly tells you that it’s a charade, u know a JOKE. A DREAM SEQUENCE. DONT BE A CREEP. KAMA INTENDED FOR IT TO BE WHOLESOME. i know some ppl wont use their brains. but u know its fgo and degenerates are everywhere. 

anyways. family bonding time ensues until another monologue appears!!

exactly like before, kama mentions myths that belonged to kamadeva. Meaning that the Kama in our chaldea isn’t the Kamadeva we know and is not Pradyumna either but the fact that the writers chose to have kama acknowledge it is very reassuring !!! Because it means that they’ve chosen to make it a part of their (complicated) history. Kama says that Pradyumna is the myth about themself they know the least, once again proving us that the Kama in our Chaldea (Assassin) is a different entity and that they were summoned to the throne upon their death, the moment they were burned by Shiva’s flames and became Ananga, in any case they’re still familiar with all of their own myths. it allows us to keep heroic spirits separate from their original myths. Obviously! And in the case of pseudo-servants, it allows us to keep them separate from their vessels. Cuz this is a fanservice japanese game. Andddd the fandom likes forgetting this fact quite a lot i’ve noticed. As a person who loves thinking about tons and tons of headcanons for fun, this allows us a lot of space ! Because this is fate/grand order at its base. Nasuverse. 

I’m glad that the interlude explains it so clearly, it’s very good !! Because the majority of myths from every culture are confusing, family trees are confusing, names are confusing, powers and attributes are confusing... its a mess !!!! the fgo characters we know are just cut from their own respective timelines/historial figures so the writers can organize themselves more easily. Like cutting halves from a big cake. Kama (Assassin) is the Kama that died from Shiva’s flames and became the universe ONLY. In Nasuverse, Arthur Pendragon is a woman. Anastasia Romanov NEVER had a demon familiar named Viy in real life despite the creature being part of russian folklore. u know ! im russian i can testify dude !! 

hopefully everyone got this bc i wont be explaining this any further dude, its exhausting !!!!!! bangs my hands on the table !!!!! 

ANYWAYS kama mentions “eternal pain that turns [them] into ash” being their key element. Their trauma is at the center of their heroic spirit self, what they are as a servant. This suffering is tied to everything they do, why they’re so lazy, why they’re so lax, why they’re so detached from their job.  But they’re not detached from their role. And “job” and “role” have different connotations here. They refuse to work as a cupid because of obvious reasons. BUT. They’re not detached from their role as the God of Love, as the God of Passion. The embodiment of those feelings. This whole interlude is proof ! They’re giving u free therapy because they Love you. Passion. They feel your love. Passion. They acknowledge how much fun you’re having. How passionate you are about certain things. They might seem extremely detached and hateful, but they aren’t. They’re one of the most empathetic servants there is. And their ability to love everything, even the things they hate is what makes them so miserable. Because it’s a part of them. Because the concept of Kama in hinduism is linked to them. Be it lust or simply the passion born from anything you do where you’re enjoying yourself. (quote:  “ the term also refers to any sensory enjoyment, emotional attraction and aesthetic pleasure such as from arts, dance, music, painting, sculpture and nature “. R. Prasad (2008), History of Science, Philosophy and Culture in Indian Civilization )

... I’d like to say that this contrast with Mara is interesting. And that i’m glad the writers chose to add in Mara to the kama assassin Beast mix. 

Because the anger Mara feels can become a drivepoint for Kama. I’ve always believed that anger and sadness are two sides of the same coin, it’d explain how layered Kama is and how valid their emotions are. Constantly torn between love and hate. An eternal grudge (i don’t deserve to be hurt like this) and an eternal misery(maybe i do deserve to be hurt like this). 

i wish they were my roommate <3 oh fuck ree got emotional wait where were we.

OH YEAH

i think kama saying that they dislike being involved with other indian servants because theyre linked to shiva is a feeble attempt at trying to keep up a strong front because they still love them in the end. cuz that’s how kama is ! after a while they’ll get bored of bullying ganesha and ashwatthama. they’ll get interested in rama because their respective mythos are linked even if their servant selves have no connection. hell, at the end of the interlude they talk about parvati and how they themself changed and realized things. BUT OH WELL, THATS STUFF FOR ANOTHER POST HEHE thats just ree wanting kama to b happy yall move along !!

.....THIS ISNT A COLLEGE STUDENTS ROLEPLAY BUT ITS A CUTE JAPANESE COMPANY BOSS/UNDERLING SETTING AND ITS CUTE SO I THINK KAMA WEARING A PENCIL SKIRT AND POURING U ALCOHOL IS CUTE. CUTE.

further proof of kama’s overflowing affection and what i detailed above!! hopefully u all knew this one simply from reading this interlude/their profile page and dont need me to write it down for u. HOPEFULLY !!!!!

(I START BEATBOXING VERY RAPIDLY AND RUNNING TOWARDS YOU) KAMA IS A SADIST AT THEIR CORE AND I WILL NEVER STOP !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! they’re easy to fluster because theyre not used to being so vanilla, but whats underneath is how they truly are !! a beast turned servant, the sweetest sadist !! theyre very mature and this interlude is so well written (wipes my teears

this is directly linked to what i explained above, by burning you away, you’ll melt into nothingness just like they did. When they were the universe, they felt both everything and nothing. 

But was it really relief ... ?

... IT WASNT.

AND PARVATI SAVES THE DAY !!!!!!! phew!! thank u paru, it’d still like to be able to touch kama’s huge titties and i cant do that if i turn into ashes (falls down the stairs

ok she summoned lovey dovey canon couples to annoy kama since they’re exhausted of seein them!!

...............(I TAKE OUT A KNIFE) TAKE THAT BACK. DONT TALK TO THEM LIKE THAT. TAKE THAT BACK !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

ohhhhhh im obsessed i love when theyre angry<3 i love when theyre fighty <3 i think they should beat the living shit out of a boxing bag DAILY to let out some of this steam. they’d be a monster on the ring... aaa kama in training boot y shorts aa a .. .uughg hg ouu... (you all shove me into a locker)

ok this is interesting !! i think that the interlude showing us that parvati feels a semblance of guilt is character dev. proof for what i mentioned before!! in ookuu parvati felt quite ..unsympathetic to me, even if kama is a beast who wants to annihilate humanity, when u think about it, at their core their grudge is because of her and shiva’s betrayal. and here, she properly apologizes for making kama so upset. this is heartwarming to me since i dislike thinking that members of the indo fam hate eachother :( same goes for arjuna and karna, at some point i’d like for them to act like bros normally and finally be comfy. but anyways !!

u wake up from the dreams and da vinci, mashu and paru are here to tell u whats going on. But its fine bc u remember everything and u have to go thank someone for helping u out!!!

CUTE !!!!!!! THEY CARE ABOUT U !!!!!! but whether it be because of their role or because theres a deeper meaning is entierly up to your own interpretation because...

of what they say here. 

and here !! 

ohhhhhhhhh this is so important !!!!!!

this is actual proof of kama’s growth as a servant and how servants evolve in chaldea !! chaldea is not the same as a grail war, its a special, cut-off place and thats what makes it even more relaxing to think about. Everytime u summon a servant in ur chaldea u give them a chance to have fun with you, to have fun with other servants, to make amends, to start from scratch, to discover things they would’ve never known in their time (movies, video games, tons of different foods etc...), u give them a chance to relax. to grow !! this is the headcanon that im most attached to and im glad to see it be confirmed in the interlude of a character i love tbqh i had to stop and talk about that.

everyone say thank u kama !! can we roleplay a college roommate coffee shop slowburn au next time <3 

ANYWAYS if you’ve read it this far: thank you !!! im sorry if you expected something very serious, im not that type of person hehe im jus here to have fun and look at things i like, and the interlude itself was quite lighthearted and refreshing. By talking about the myths and all of kamadeva’s stories, the writers basically gave lore nerds a huge thumbs up like... “its ok now !! u can go ape now !! go be insane<3 love u<3″ and all of this kama characterization GENUINELY makes me so happy because i think they really needed that. kama assassin... (i blow a kiss to the sky) is a little mess of a servant... a god, human crumbs and a demon... a total mess... im in love with them...

..............tho now the wait for a summer alt where they interact with the entire indo fam begins (im sitting in a chair unmoving)(i have a gun in case minase begins acting gross

[thependragonwritersguild]

Prompt #14337

"It's a dangerous business, opening a book in the Dream Realm."

[twosentencereviews]

What “Cursed” gets wrong

So, Cursed isn’t very good. It’s not terrible, but overall I found it tedious and frustrating. And one of the things that I found most frustrating was its misuse of Arthurian canon.

Now, Arthurian canon is an interesting thing, because there is no official, original source. The historical figure of King Arthur may or may not have ever existed--but, once writers latched onto him as a legendary king, they started to add and embellish stories repeatedly. With so many hands touching the story over so many years, there is a lot of flexibility in how the elements relate to one another.

But, only to a point. There are some elements that are fundamental to Arthurian myth; to change these is to no longer have an Arthurian story. These elements include:

* King Arthur is the bastard son of King Uther Pendragon and Lady Igraine * King Arthur wields Excalibur, which he either pulled from a stone enchanted by his allied wizard Merlin, or was gifted by the fey sorceress the Lady of the Lake * King Arthur has a large number of Knights of the Round Table, including Gawain, Lancelot, Percival, and Mordred * King Arthur is married to Lady Guinevere, but she is cheating on him with Lancelot * King Arthur deals with Morgan le Fay aka Morgana, who is a fey sorceress, who is sometimes an ally and sometimes an antagonist depending on the story * King Arthur and his knights pursue the Holy Grail * King Arthur defended Britain against invading Saxons raiders (”viking” just means “raider”)

Now, you’ll notice that virtually everything canon about Arthurian myth has to do, unsurprisingly, with King Arthur himself, or at the very least his knights. Details about the Lady of the Lake and Morgan le Fey are lacking, and while Merlin has had lots written about him, there’s very little canon consensus beyond “is old, does magic”. 

So it’s very reasonable to want to retell the Arthurian legend from a fey point of view. And, because the Lady of the Lake is mostly just there to hand off a sword at the dawn of Arthur’s reign, her story is a good choice for a prequel. It’s an opportunity to explore the legacy of King Arthur from the perspective of the beings who made it all possible, adding to and recontextualizing it. 

That’s what I thought Cursed was going to be. But that isn’t what I got. Not even close.

* Arthur isn’t the son of Uther Pendragon, he’s not even the son of a noble. He isn’t rightwise born king of anything. He ain’t pulling no sword from no stone.  * Morgan le Fay isn’t fey, and she only starts being a sorceress near the end of the season. * Nimue’s only association with lakes is getting shot and dunked in one, and is instead given the confusing moniker “the Wolf-Blood Witch” despite only having one extremely clumsy fight with wolves that no one directly observed. * The magic sword isn’t called Excalibur and is evil for some reason (although it is correctly seen as a symbol of monarchical right to rule). * Guinevere is a Saxon viking, distinctly not a Lady * Lancelot is proper evil, not just an adulterous douche * Gawain and the Green Knight are the same person, rather than being one human knight and one fey * There are a lot of people of color running around for a story supposedly set in medieval Britain. (This isn’t a bad casting choice, but it does distance itself from the original.)

(Side note: a Saxon wouldn’t have an amulet of Sigurd. Sigurd is a Norse hero, not a Norse god like Odin. It would be like having an amulet of Heracles instead of Zeus. This doesn’t have anything to do with King Arthur, but it still irritates me.)

Worst of all, though, is the fact that the story makes Christians the enemy of the fey. Now, don’t get me wrong, in the real world there is an extensive and bloody history of Catholics suppressing Celtic and Norse religious beliefs in the British isles and beyond. But, crucially, this is not the way it’s presented in Arthurian myth. Arthur and his knights are the allies of both fey and Christian alike, respecting the power of both God and nature spirit. But by introducing the genocidal Red Paladins, and wanting not-king Arthur to be a likeable love interest, this makes it impossible.

This changes things enough that there’s simply no way to reconcile the existing legends with the story of Cursed. When a character is named “Arthur” or “Percival” or “Guinevere”, that tells us basically nothing about who they are--it’s a cheap allusion to an entirely unrelated work. But, because now I’m trying to keep both the original canon and the new canon in my head at the same time, it makes it significantly harder to follow than if they had just been completely original. My favorite characters in Cursed (Pym, Iris, and Father Carden) were invented whole-cloth, in large part because being free from expectations let me appreciate them for what they are, not who they used to be. 

[mask131]

Arthurian myth: King Arthur (1)

Loose translation of the article "Arthur (Artus)" from Catherine Rager's "Dictionnaire des fées et des peuples invisibles dans l'Occident païen" (Dictionary of fairies and invisible people in the Pagan Occident).

ARTHUR (Artus)

Mythical king of a cycle of romans, the tales of the Round Table, also known as the Matter of Britain, which blossomed throughout all of Europe from the 12th to the 15th centuries. Among those texts, we find numerous romans by Chrétien de Troyes, and The History of the Kings of Britain by Geoffroy of Monmouth, alongside its very loose translation Le Roman de Brut by Wace, itself rewrote by the priest Layamon in his poem Brut, and later, by Malory in his La Mort d'Arthur. Arthur was originally a historical warlord killed around 537 at the battle of Camlann, but he then became a super-human character identified to another Arthur, the great god of the pantheon of the Britons, and thus symbolizing the fight of the old kings of Great-Britain against the Saxon invaders.

The father of Arthur is the king Uter Pendragon who, despite his human appearance, seems to be a figuration of an Underworld king. He claims to be Constantine's descendant - the Celts, during this era, were Romanized. Arthur's half-sister is the fairy Morgane. As for his wife, the incomparable Guenievre ou Guinevere, her name means in its Welsh form (Gwenhwyfar, Gwenhwyvar) "white spirit", "white ghost". Some considered that Guenievre, who is recurringly kidnapped, is a resurgence of the Greek goddess Persephone. Their son, Llacheu, has the gift of second-sight/clearsight, as he knows the secret of material elements and of nature.

The relationships between Arthur and the Otherworld make him a magical character. In the roman of the Saxon Layamon, Brut, we see elves assist to his birth and gift him - he will be powerful, wealthy, generous and have a long life.

As many other heroes, Arthur receives his sword, Excalibur, from a supernatural creature. It is the Lady of the Lake that offers it to him. Indeed, the weapon he took away from its rock had been broken during a previous battle. Merlin, to replace it, brought the king to the shore of a lake, where an arm with white silk came out of the water, offering him the magical sword ornate with dragons - it is Excalibur, the Caladbolg of the Irish Fergus, a sword forged in Avallon. Before his death, the king will task sir Bedevere with bringing back Excalibur to the lake, where the mysterious arm appears again out of the water and takes it back. The Lady of the Lake always offers her protection to the king.

Arthur rides a black horse, a color associated to the realm of the dead: he can, as such, cross the waters that separate the afterlife from the realm of the living without his horse going wild with terror. The Book of Taliesin, a Welsh text of the 13th century, tells how the king went to the Underworld and brought back from it a magical cauldron (prefiguration of the Grail) which offers to knights an endless supply of food, but stays empty for the cowards.

Arthur is a purifying hero who gets rid of the monsters that plague the universe, just like Hercules, Theseus, Finn mac Cumhail or Cûchulainn. His first exploit was to kill the boar Twrch Trwyth which was ravaging Wales (Mabinogion of Kulwch and Olwen).

Once king, Arthur represents a solar-themed strength and wisdom. Advised by Merlin the enchanter, he establishes a rule of peace and justice (for twelve years according to some, for forty according to others), and presides at Carduel the Round Table, whose nature confirms that Arthus is both belonging to the supernatural, and an image of the Sun. His court can be found at Camelot - which might be Cadbury Castle, in the Somerset, but is before all the idealized town, the perfect city, the seat of knowledge, poetry and alchemy. The court keeps moving depending on the tales. The lord regularly sends his knights fight for just causes (and, after the Christianization of the legend, for the quest of the Grail containing the blood of the Christ), but himself rarely appears as a warrior. He sometimes even appears to figure a god of war who is above the mere battle, similarly to the goddess Badb.

For a marvelous life, a prodigious end: in his Vita Merlini, Geoffroy of Monmouth tells how the king, killed by the treacherous Mordred, his nephew and likely incestuous son, is carried on a magical boat by fairies that came from the Atlantic (where the realm of the dead is located). He is accompanied there by the Lady of the Lake and by three queens: the queen of Northern Wales, the queen of the Terre Gaste, and Morgane. Healed of his wounds by the latter, he stays with her, the Lady of the Lake, and their six sister-fairies, in the island of Avallon, "The Isle of Apples", which is sometimes a name for the Sidh/realm of the fairies, sometimes synonymous with the Blessed Islands or Fortune Isles. In Layamon's Brut, it is elves that take to Avallon the dead king, and it is the elf-queen Argante that brings him back to life. In truth, he returned to the place he belongs to, this Otherworld where there is no death, no suffering, no decadence, but only youth, feast and joy. His people hope for his messianic return, either in times of war, or simply so that he can offer them wise advice. In Cornwall, king Arthur supposedly appears in the shape of a black bird with red-colored beak and claws.

Old texts from which Rabelais took his inspiration mixed together the legend of king Arthur and the one of the giant Gargantua.

In Guillaume Apollinaire's burlesque "Arthur roi passé roi futur" (Arthur, king past, king future, 1914), king Arthur returns, wearing a shining armor, to Buckingham Palace where Georges IX is ruling. After having tested the authenticity of the ghost, Georges IX abdicates and lets the throne return to the old lord of England.

[supernova1us]

My Gargoyles Reboot

Thanks to Disney+ I have been able to reconnect with one of my favorite childhood series, gargoyles.  Based on all the stuff I’ve seen while getting back into it, I decided to come up with my own reboot idea for the series.

This story focuses on the lives of the Camelot gargoyle clan. Like the original series it would see them thrust into the modern day and include fantasy, scifi and historical elements.

In medieval times, the abandoned castle cornwall is home to a large clan of gargoyles, led by atlas and astraea. However, the castles heir, the sorceress morgana, returns and claims it while killing most of the clan. The survivors flee and are taken in by the wizard merlin and he leads them in forming an alliance with king Arthur, morganas brother.  Believed to be creatures birthed by merlins magic, the gargoyles are welcomed and considered part of the Knights of the Round Table. Armored and armed, Arthur trusts them to guard Camelot during the night.  After a few years of peace, morgana returns and starts a war.  She poisons Arthur and extracts his strength and fuses it with her power to birth her son and champion, Mordred.

The holy grail is located by one of the clan to heal Arthur and the night before the final clash between armies, the gargoyles intend to attack and weaken the enemy. Morgana appears and curses the clan into permanent stone and merlin appears to battle her, with some of the clan destroyed in the battle. She is banished but merlin is weakened and must leave to aid Arthur in battle. He enchants the last 5 members of the clan to be freed upon arthurs touch. Arthur and his knights do triumph the next day but Arthur dies in battle, leaving the clan unable to be awoken.  Merlin, Mordred and the sword Excalibur all vanish from the world.

In the year 2010, the clan is suddenly awoken in new York city.  Their rescuer is a young business tycoon who is the last descendant of Arthur pendragon, fulfilling the enchantment. In a building modeled after Camelot, they are given a new home. Facing the dangers and mystery of the new world and old dangers returned, they attempt to find a place in the modern age.

 Camelot Clan

Atlas: the strong, brave and just leader of the clan, he holds true to the ideals of Camelot and Arthur. He still mourns his dead mate, wears knight garments and bears his old knights sword. Uncle of steel and boars, with dark grey skin.

Typhoon: cranky and standoffish elderly gargoyle, he is fierce but old fashioned. He has long been deaf before gaining a hearing aid in the present. He insists on still wielding his battle axe and shield.  White skinned with black tiger stripes.

Terra: a skilled and intelligent female gargoyle warrior, she becomes second in command and is the most comfortable in the modern world. She still wears parts of her armor over her cloths and wields a spear and laser pistol. She is bisexual and develops a crush on the human pendragon boy. Purple skinned

Boars: a fat and gluttonous gargoyle member. Though lazy, he is fierce in a fight and the most loyal and friendly of the clan. He wields a mace and has a close friendship and feelings for starlight. Blue skinned.

Dragon: a wild but loyal gargoyle beast of the clan. He has a taste for cat food and often bites typhoons tail. Dark green skin.

Steel: a young and impetuous clan member, he died in the past at Avalon and was reborn as one of the shattered but his will to live was strong enough that his spirit remained on earth. Driven by guilt, his soul was transferred into a robotic gargoyle body to rejoin the clan. Brother of boars and dark red skin/metal.

Le’ fleur: the cultured and kindly leader of a Paris based clan who have guarded notre dame for generations.  She ends up transported to new York by magic and develops a relationship with atlas, eventually becoming his new mate. Light purple skin  

 The Shattered: members of the camleot clan who were cursed but their stone forms were destroyed in the battle between merlin and morgana.  In the present day morgana raises them as vengeful spirits possessing their stone remains like golems.  They briefly attack their former clan before finding peace and moving on.

Astraea: skilled and compassionate co-leader of the clan and atlas’ mate.

Perceval(percy): a small and puny gargoyle and the one who found the holy grail. Brother of terra.

Beetle: a gargoyle beast

Bear: a muscular and powerful but mute female gargoyle warrior and former mate of terra.  

 Humans/others

Jackson Pen: the last in the line of pendragon, he freed the gargoyles with the aid of merlins journal. He is rich by inheritance and interested in mythical mysteries. He is 20 years old and has a mutual crush on terra.

Starlight: a street-wise and aloof drifter and biker who meets the clan and becomes their close friend, especially with boars. she later takes up uninvited residence at  the pen building.

Miss Xia: the attractive and loyal but strict aid to Jackson. she maintains his funds and affairs, spearheads covering up the gargoyles existence and giving the passionate Jackson needed reality checks. She is 36, a heavy cigarette smoker and has an unspoken attractio0n to atlas. 

Mordred: the ageless, magic-born champion of morgana. In the modern day he has the alias as a reckless millionaire and has menaced the pendragon family for centuries.  He seeks Excalibur for himself and to be free of his mother’s rule.

Morgana: the mad and megalomaniacal sorceress who seeks world domination and the destruction of the gargoyles and her half-brothers blood line.

Lancelot: once the champion and loyal knight and friend of Arthur, he is now a cold, world weary wanderer who has been forced to live through the ages and keep morgana and Mordred at bay.

Dagonet: the arrogant and selfish brother of atlas, he left Camelot searching for personal glory. He resents atlas for leading the clan to ruin and survived to the present day by being the ally and reluctant host to cronos. 

Hades: a supposedly polite and cultured but psychotic and murderous rogue gargoyle who hunts humans and other gargoyles for fun.  He has a weaponized, prostatic metal tail.

Maleagant: a former knight of the round table who turned to evil and became the demonic black knight

Titans: an ancient race of malevolent beings who ruled the primordial earth and seek to be free from imprisonment; lead by cronos.

[teaboot]

Ask Game)! (NOTE: Sorry @trashpandatreasures I'm answering like 6 years late but the important thing is I got it)

rule 1: always post the rules

rule 2: answer the questions from the person who tagged you and write 11 of your own

rule 3: tag 10 people and link them to the post

rule 4: actually tell the people you tagged them

Trashpandatreasures’s Questions

1- Who was the first person you met via tumblr? Uhhh it's been like 7 years I have no idea

2- Cats or Dogs? Cats and large dogs. I do not like tiny dogs.

3- Which element do you think you represent? Water, Earth, Air, or Fire? Uh... probably earth? I know it's not particularly elegant but I love art and basically everything I use is some kind of mineral pigment, metal, stone, clay, etc, so it really fits my needs best.

4- What is one talent you wish you had? A talent? I don't know, I'm fairly good at pretty much everything I've ever liked or had interest in... I suppose it would be fun to try acting? I'm very bad at anything make-believe, I get too nervous. Or maybe some form of gymnastics or martial art, I really admire people who can do those sorts of things.

5- What colour eyes do you think are most attractive? I have... never seen ugly eyes before. I kind of like every eye color. Blue is always pretty, and hazel and green and black, but mine are brown and I love brown eyes, too. I think maybe brown.

6- Favourite movie? Ohhhh dear. Oh dear oh dear oh dear. I love watching Ella Enchanted when I'm sick at home. Also Night At The Museum! And Princess Diaries.

7- Feelings towards Moffat? Jesus Christ this is an old ask

8- Biggest Fear? Squandering the opportunities I have to experience life and communicate my love for the people I share it with.

9- How many pillows do you have on your bed? Two.

10- The last time you felt completely lost? September 2018. I got trapped in a mall for six hours and couldn't find the exit.

11- All time favourite book? OOOOH Pendragon chronicles, Eragon, Cirque Du Freak, Harry Potter, Inkheart, the Percy Jackson series, Goosebumps books, The Chronicles of Narnia, the Fablehaven series, The Mortal Instruments series, the trilogy of The Golden Compass, The Lord Of The Rings, Alana the Lioness series, the Artemis Fowl series, the CHERUB series, the Alex Rider series, the Leven Thumps series, and oh, dear... the book.where that girl finds out she's an autumn fairy but her wings are flower petals? And that one with the changeling who finds out she's a troll. And the group of kids who come together and find out they all have superpowers? Oh, oh! And the one where that boy gets shrunk down by a witch and slowly turns to plastic, and saves the other plastic people by feeding them carrots. And The Legend of Drizzt, but only until it gets sad.

It's funny, I can't pick just one, and I can still close my eyes and see all the books on order in my old high school library, the way it used to be. Cirque cu freak on the lower far right by the tables on the right hand side, the ones about vampires all together in a clump on the low middle left on the left hand side, center row... GLASS, the thickest book on the fourth shelf, far right. FEED was a good one, just under that. Oh, and to the left was Hunger, I think? The series about those kids trapped in a city under a dome without any adults? That one was so good! And turn around, second from the floor, scan right... there, the girl whose brothers turned into swans, and she knit shirts from stinging nettles to turn them back. I loved that one, it was so sad.

I forgot how much I could remember. Thank you for bringing it back

My Questions

1. What's YOUR favourite book?

2. If you were a mythical or legendary creature, what do you think you would be, realistically?

3. What are the three creepiest animals you can think of?

4. What's the scariest urban legend you know?

5. Is there a superpower you DON'T want?

6. If you could choose between living under the sea and living in space, which would you pick?

7. If you could have any life at all, right now, no limitations, what life would you live? What would it look like

8. What is your greatest struggle?

9. What's your favourite kind of weather?

10. If you were a diety, what would be your domain?

Tagged people!!!

@melancholysage @ultra-strawberry-lemondae @joker-ace @pocketfullofpoetry @mage-hecked @skoni-tsigaweska @itsagifnotagif @teapotsahoy @dr-dendritic-trees @amuseoffire

[fuckyeaharthuriana]

I went through your links and I couldn’t find it (though there’s a good chance I missed it) but do you have like a beginner’s guide to Arthurian legends? I have like a basic knowledge from like pop culture, a few movies, a wiki hole I went down at work a few weeks ago, but there’s just so much stuff I don’t know where to start.

My links are a bit of a mess, and I think I put some beginner guides around that I cannot even find myself, haha. 

I remember that when I started reading arthuriana I focused only on one character. I think that was easier for me because I was really obsessed with him (Mordred, of course!), and I think there are different routes to approach arthuriana (also, be mindful that for me, approaching arthuriana = hobby =/= academic study!).

1) Option one is to follow a character of choice. In this case feel free to ask for more character specific recs, otherwise I have here a list of books I’ve read tagged by main characters and secondary characters. The Arthurian list of everything also has old texts (pre 1850) tagged by character! I think for me this was the easy route because I ended up absorbing a lot of other arthurian stuff in my desperate quest for Mordred content.

2) Option 2 is following the chronological order for old texts (main texts)! You can click on the arthurian list of everything where I added both characters, dates and download links for old texts, or you can check this post which has less texts but I put in bold my favorite ones (they also have download links)!

Personally, when I started I did a mix of option 1 and option 3, which is mixing up texts, just because I love novels and I really wanted to mix up my old texts with some modern novels and movies/tv shows.

3) Option 3 is mixing it up! Let me explain a bit better!

I have here the old “How to start arthuriana” post with mixed up old and new texts (here is another “How to start”). To summarize it, I do think that the main “old texts” that people cite and use as references are  History of the Kings of Britain (Geoffrey of Monmouth),  Four Romances (Chrétien de Troyes) and  Le Morte d'Arthur Volume 1 + Volume 2 (Thomas Malory) (with Sir Gawain and the Green Knight  and  The Wedding of sir Gawain and dame Ragnell if you are interested in Gawain).

Mixing them up with good novels for me was a plus, because I love seeing how stories are re-imagined. What helped me at the beginning was reading novels that encompass the whole of Arthur’s life, from his birth to his death, adding various re-interpretations within. This ended up putting in my mind a vague order of the main arthurian themes and elements that are used and re-used. Some examples are:

Sword at Sunset (Sutcliff), if you like historical novels

The Once and Future King (White)

Guinevere trilogy by Persia Woolley

Merlin trilogy by Mary Stewart + The Wicked Day (Mary Stewart)

The Pendragon (Catherine Christian)

Firelord (Godwin)

Warlord Chronicles (Bernard Cornwell), also historical

Any of Mike Ashley’s short stories collections

Some character specific good novels:

Arthur: Sword at Sunset (Sutcliff) or The Great Captains (Treece) which is Welsh inspired

Morgana: I am Morgan le Fay (Springer) or Morgana (Rio)

Guinevere: Persia Woolley’s trilogy or Queen of Camelot (McKenzie)

Bedivere: The Pendragon (Catherine Christian)

Kay: Exiled from Camelot (Baldry) and Idylls of the Queen (Karr)

Gawain: Down the Long Wind (Bradshaw)

Mordred: Idylls of the Queen (Karr) or The Winter Prince (Wein)

Lancelot: Guinevere novels tend to have good Lancelot, otherwise there’s Vansittart’s Lancelot or Lancelot by Gwen Rowley

Ragnelle: Gawain (Gwen Rowley)

Percival: Corbenic (Fisher)

Lady of the Lake: Here Lies Arthur (Reeves) or The Book of Mordred (Velde)

Merlin: Mary Stewart’s trilogy

Agravaine: Camelot’s Blood (Zettel)

Galahad: Blessed Bastard (Lehman) but it is hard to find!

Regarding tv shows and movies, I have written here a list of arthurian tv shows in order of my personal preference, with small explanation to why, but I do think for someone who is diving into arthuriana the classic tv shows and movies are:

The Legend of King Arthur (BBC) tv show

Camelot (musical, any version)

Monty Python and the Holy Grail

Excalibur (1981)

The Sword in the Stone (Disney)

The Knights of the Round Table (50s movie)

Merlin (1998) miniseries

The Mists of Avalon miniseries

Plus, here is a list of movies divided by character and a list of tv shows divided by character.

Other nice and fun arthurian things to start are:

This amazingly funny Legends summarized video

For any “Who is who???” Bruce’s dictionary is an amazing resource

I hope this helps! :D

[johnskleats]

Beautiful Fool

That Great Gatsby!Merther AU, ya’ll.

@the-once-and-future-love @arthur-of-the-pendragons @the-fated-dragoness @pretty-pendragon

He had only wanted a little space to himself. That was natural enough, Gaius had said, provided he be mindful to keep sharp whilst on holiday. Privacy was recipe for secrets, his mother had said, get too used to it and risk a doomed marriage. What his uncle failed to understand was that this was not, in fact, a holiday, and his mother, bless her, would have to come to terms with his preferences. Whomever he found as a companion, eventually, would favor a similar life to his- that was what made a household, after all -harmony. “Find a woman who hates flowers,” he had jested, “and lake houses, and sunsets.” Merlin had been grinning. His mother had not. “Specifically task her to woo me, see if I give it up.”

“Give what up, Merlin,” mother had sighed.

He had only gotten so far as opening his mouth before Gaius boxed his ears in scolding. Mother fussed over supper. Merlin set the table. All was as it had always been in their little house on the corner, only in his room, there was a suitcase by the door, and the drawers were empty, and nothing was as it had been, really, at all.

And now he was home, where a new always would forge itself. Even as he had told mother to her bleary-eyed face that he would visit often and call yet more, Gaius had watched the lie weave through his lips as it was spun. His brow had been stern, but understanding. As always, he neglected to stop him spouting words that dug graves; Merlin couldn't blame him, as whatever came to him, he would probably deserve in one way or another. Yet, here he was: Camelot Isle, renting out a minuscule gardener's cottage that overlooked the harbor. His backyard, backwoods rather, lead into the gardens and courtyards of the looming mansion next door, Pendragon House, the full and dreary history of which he had gotten in his tenancy letter. Merlin had skimmed it. As his personal contract with the cottage was in no way connected to Pendragon House, originally servant's quarters or not, he had no interest or attachment to its grounds whatsoever. Because he lived here, he preferred not to be treated as a tourist, though the thought crossed his mind that the rent was fixed where it was for a purpose. The possibility of poor neighbors hadn’t crossed his mind. Between himself and whomever occupied the mansion, they had the isle to themselves; whatever it was that rendered his house so cheap couldn’t be so bad.

Merlin, on the porch of his new-to-him, two-room-with-a-bathroom-and-a-patio house, drank in the character of his little abode through a lens of intentional whimsy. It had windchimes nailed to the wood frame of the awning, bits of Cola bottles and seaglass turned in the lake and hung up with cord. The step into the living room and kitchen area was high and gnarled, and in his rounds about, Merlin had tripped on it no less than three times; his bedroom, the aforementioned second room of the two-room-with-a-bathroom-and-a-patio house, was a splotched lavender color, unevenly applied rose wallpaper fading and peeling away at cracks in the corners of the walls. His favorite part of the bedroom was probably the curtains, orange and visible, with their thick plumes of dust and heavy shadow. They were hideous. They were his.

Between his house and his neighbor's stood a dock leading out to a pier, at the end of which was a signalling bell. It was here that Merlin’s attention was drawn when with a peal of joy, the bell, chimed with the wind, his permanent glass fixtures tinkling with it and all the leaves sounding applause through the boughs of the canopy. A chill cut through him, and Merlin retreated inside to weather the surely impending storm. Awaiting him was a house of his own, just as cramped as his mother’s and far less comfortable, made sweeter and more welcoming by the name on the lease.

Merlin was a third of the way through chipping the grime from his stovetop when the first cracks of thunder rent the air. He jolted in surprise, butter knife clattering to the tile, and, shakily, took up his task again. The sound of pouring rain had deafened him to all other stimuli, and the sense of exposure rattled his bones. With the panes trembling in their frames and shutters fluttering, clamoring against the sides of the house along with the waving branches and pelting rain, wind whistling through the waterspout with the gush of overflow, he felt swallowed inside a void. The house was empty, save for himself. A new always, he supposed, being safe, unscathed, while simultaneously so utterly immersed in what his mother lovingly referred to as trouble. It filled him to the brim with the kind of excitement that makes boys leap from cliff faces to the sea, the kind of adrenaline that demands to know whether or not he could make the jump. The chaos scraped at his safehouse as the wall of his own skin, itching. It called to him like a siren song and, oddly, his heart ached. Merlin had longed to be alone, but the magic had followed him anyway.

Forlorn, he closed again the beaten shudders.

--Merlin opened them again.

There, in the earth driveway leading up to his neighbor's abode, was a car, the likes of which Merlin had only ever seen on magazine covers in stores. Yellow, canary yellow like rain slickers, yellow like bananas and technicolor and his mother's good dress stared back at him, obscured by black mud and torrents of water coursing along the body of metal. Outside the vehicle was a man of equally astounding quality, although less from the fact that he was soaked through to his designer shoes with water-dark hair in his eyes, and more so that he stood outside apparently his car, mixing himself in what was about to be ankle-deep mud. The moment Merlin had registered that the man was trying to push it out of its rut to no avail happened to be the same moment that the man had given up, throwing up his hands and kicking at the white-faced wheels with petulant abandon. The car wasn't hooded, rather open, actually, and the man looked away, paced, fumed as it rapidly took up water. Much longer in the road, which was flooding quickly, and the vehicle may not be operable at all.

Merlin, despite his brain telling him quite avidly that this would somehow change the course of his day, if not his life, in a way that would render him devoid of control, took it upon himself to don his raincoat, nevermind the boots, there was little time, and help the remarkable stranger.

When Merlin dashed out his front door, the look of surprise and relief he expected left much to be desired. Instead, he saw bewilderment and agitation, characteristic of a man who has had a very, very long morning. The man was shouting at him. Merlin was shouting back, but both voices were carried away in the storm, leading to a mutual agreement to shut up and push the car. He was struck with regret at his choice in priorities; his raincoat did him little good, as the exertion and laboured movement lead to water penetrating and eventually inundating his upper half, while he suspected galoshes would have done him much good indeed, in place of the cold mud oozing beneath his heels and riding up his socks. In several short pushes of combined effort, plus one big push, the buggy was out of the worst of the puddle, and arguably fit to go again. Still too loud to speak much, Merlin offered a thumbs up, and the man blinked at him, surprised again, although it may have been to chase away water clinging to his lashes still blindingly. Merlin gave that close-lipped, polite smile that offered immediate exit to limited acquaintances to urge him forward and out, but when the strange man, a drowned cat in a suit, continued to look at him as though transfixed, Merlin decided to make an executive decision on part of the universe.

He turned, and went inside.

The man watched him go, Merlin could feel it like the prickle of lightning in the sky, but he dared not look back, not even out his ugly curtains until he was certain his guest was gone. When he opened the shudder for the third time that rainy first day, it was to a flooded, murky street made to a mud pond in front of his house, and a long trail of tire tracks he could trace like a piece of string to the gates of the beautiful Pendragon House.

-

The first of the letters arrived the following morning. Merlin had only barely begun updating his address, most of his mail sure to be forwarded by his mother in the coming months, but this first letter, addressed to him, was from someone he was vaguely surprised but not astounded to hear from. Arthur Pendragon, his landlord. He could assume it was just like the last few he had received, informative snippets about his tenancy or more fluffy introduction to the place he was so privileged to live in, and so he paid it little mind. Merlin set it aside. The man with the yellow car crossed his mind once or twice, but only in passing. He hoped he had made it wherever he was going without much more trouble, even if it was his own fault for leaving such a valuable possession vulnerable to the elements like that.

He spent the day cleaning and tidying, much as he had the day before. The sunny sky and renewing smell of rain set him in a mood of rebirth, of new beginnings, and everything in his cozy fixer-upper was an opportunity to make something lovelier than before. He had a day or two yet for his holiday before he would have to call into work, and until then, he intended use his time wisely.

The wallpaper was the first thing to go.

With the night came the smell of drying paint and the sound of cars passing his house one after another, the chatter of excitement and the glare of filtered, colored light. Merlin would have shut it out if he could, but to close the window would be to suffocate in paint fumes, his beauty rest be damned. He wanted a good night's sleep, not a hangover. In the earlier hours of the evening, he had thought this would be an eight to ten kind of affair. Then the music started, a whole brass band, it sounded like, and he knew he was in for something interminable.

Merlin rolled around his cluttered living room, everything from the bedroom shoved into it whilst his paint aired out. He perched on his loveseat, did a lazy summersault out of his pillowfort, baked cookies to warm the house, even put on his own record as though to spite Pendragon House for its inconsiderate racket. The latter was to no avail, and he turned it off after a few minutes; the clash of melody was giving him a headache. He checked his watch- almost three in the morning. He was agitated enough to round up; at most, he had dozed a little under two hours between nine and now, fifteen minute increments interrupted by raucous laughter and what he assumed to be drunkards skinny dipping in the lake. He wished he didn’t know, but again, his windows were all wide open, and if anything killed him, it would be curiosity, followed swiftly by this miserable Arthur Pendragon.

Just then, Merlin remembered the letter he had received this morning. Was it a notice? He could find it in himself to be less put off if he had been warned- at least then it would be his own fault. Eyes shot, he fumbled with the heavy envelope until the seal popped- who wax-sealed their letters? -and squinted to make sense of the elaborate script.

Hereby invited...party...courtesy of Arthur Pendragon…

That was about all he got out of it, and all he really needed to read. Merlin tossed it aside with a huff and, exhausted, covered his ears with  throw pillows.

-

The letters kept coming. The parties kept happening. The house was coming together.

Merlin had painted the outside a soft blue and rigorously cleaned the white trim, although he left the knobbed stair and wind chime as they were. The living room and bedroom were a brisk white, the curtains had been washed- Merlin didn't have the heart to throw them out -and he had livened up the space with a new dining table, a novelty painting of a farmhouse, and a little potted plant. The teakettle was operable, and life was good.

Still, the invitations came. Invitations to day trips into the city, rendezvous on the yacht, tours of the estate, and at the end of each was a reminder of the inevitable nightly house party.

Merlin had received seven now, and other trinkets had started to accompany them in little red boxes. A birdhouse. A teacozy. A brass watch, at least he hoped it was brass. All in all, it was unsettling, but Merlin had managed to put it out of his mind. It was thoughtful, and probably born of guilt, although, if Arthur knew he was a terrible neighbor, Merlin wished he would just start being a good one instead of perpetuating this compensation nonsense. It was the ninth night, and the eighth letter that finally convinced him. It had come in a box that was shaped frighteningly like a necklace from Tiffany’s, or some other such bizarre place, and Merlin had opened it with pallor and trepidation. The letter was on top, he could only guess its contents, but beneath that, in the box itself, was a simple, soft, blue...scarf. There was no price tag, no note, for when he did open the envelope, it was only his name in that elegant script he had come to be so familiar with. Somehow, that was enough.

Merlin made yet another executive decision.

He would attend one of these parties, only one, and put an end to this strange outreach of companionship. He was willing to make passing friends, would allow teatime some afternoon or another, but this gift business would stop, and by the stars and stripes, they would be on a mutual last name basis. No more of this dear Merlin business, no signed Arthur. It would be Mr. Emrys, Mr. Pendragon, chatter about the water pressure, the Sox game, and no more.

-

Merlin was unfit to be there. He didn't only feel that way, but was, surrounded by people he saw glimpses of in movie pictures and heard on the radio, talking about their careers and mixing brandy in their sequined dresses and tight suits. Even amongst those closer to his own economic class, college students wasted out of their minds, he didn't feel at ease. There was no theme, no center, no purpose to their frivolity- only music, loud and frenzied, and glittering champagne, dancers, fireworks above the tower raining stars into the lake. Whoever he spoke to told him something different; Mr. Pendragon was a prince, an actor, a war hero, a famous doctor, a mob boss. Not once did he hear Arthur. No one seemed to know him, or where he was, if he even lived in the house bearing his name, if he intended for there to be a shindig tonight. Apparently, the gates opened and people came, from everywhere, and no one was ever turned away.

No one was ever invited.

That put a knot in his stomach like nothing else, and he kept a white-knuckle grip on his little box of unsolicited gifts. He would find Arthur, if he could, and return them, explain himself if there was air left in the atmosphere. He would apologize. He would leave. The stars fallen into the lake would stay there, extinguished, and Merlin would soundproof his bedroom. The next letter he got, he would pack his things. The overwhelming sense of impending change, so much like doom, made his heart beat heavy and his teeth ache.

He had meandered for two hours, and like Persephone in the underworld, dared not partake. Unlike her, he could leave whenever he pleased, even if it didn't feel like it just then. The pull of destiny made him stay put, and with every passing moment, he was tempted to throw caution to the wind and join the fray.

Four hours in. Midnight. Merlin felt a tap on his shoulder and turned, the band meeting crescendo to the coo of a love song and the stars bright overhead, a moment of stillness and light, he stared, caught in the blue eyes of Apollo himself. He wished he had had something to drink. Heart fluttering in his chest, he half listened to the man welcoming him with a smile, leading him by the shoulder to somewhere more private where they could talk, and yes, he did have a lot on his mind, and indeed, the decorations were splendid. The click of a door brought him to his senses.

“What’ve you got there?”

They were in a study lined with chestnut bookshelves, each full of old, decorative books and ships trapped in bottles. The man who Merlin recognized as Mud Man With the Yellow Car had seated him on a plush lounge, black leather that squeaked faintly when he moved and smelled particular, but good. Its arms were too wide for his comfort, and he felt small. The man, much neater than when Merlin had last seen him, placed a cold glass in his hand.

“Just water,” he assured amiably.

Mindlessly, Merlin broke his vow and sipped.

Arthur Pendragon was a tall, broad man, who knew his way around a suit. In private now, he had shucked his coat to a hanger and loosed his ascot, red, to leave it hanging about his neck. He had never seen a man in suspenders any color but black or brown before, but for the sake of fashion, Merlin compelled himself to understand one's need for scarlet, if only to pair with a white suit. A white suit that looked fantastic, mind.

His host was watching him bemused, as if he knew what Merlin was here for. Merlin certainly didn't. He swallowed.

“Is that for me?” Arthur probed again. All eyes went to the repurposed gift box in Merlin’s hands, suddenly thrust into Arthur’s, who took it with mild surprise. Opening it, the look of someone enjoying a marvelous and delightful game was lost to one crestfallen. In the box, was a birdhouse, a teacozy, and a brass watch. Arthur closed the box. Had he continued to paw through it, he would have found the stack of letters, each written in this very study. Merlin, feeling like he was intruding on a private moment, was relieved that he had stopped there.

“Would you like a drink? I'd like a drink,” Arthur hummed, and he was gone again, opening wine.

“So you're not a gift person,” he said cheerily. A new glass found its way into Merlin’s hand. “Or a, how do you say, luxury adventure person,” he was starting to feel guilty, “or a party person--”

“You don't even know me,” Merlin heard himself say. The half empty wine glass he didn't remember drinking set itself on the table. Everything about this night was shiny and ethereal, his whole body abuzz with newness and golden warmth. He didn't know he had passed four hours wandering this house, drunk on art and a myriad of mismatched strangers, didn't realize he had spent almost half an hour drinking with the mysterious Arthur Pendragon in his private study, didn't know how he had gotten to the point where he could hear the words coming out of his mouth but couldn't understand who on earth had put them there, but here he was, and, “You don't know a thing about me.”

Arthur furrowed his brow and stared into his glass, the box far from forgotten on the coffee table. “I know you like the color blue,” he said quietly. “I know you like to watch birds. I know you like to work with your hands when you could call someone instead.”

Merlin, at once feeling too big for his skin and yet very small under the pressure of Arthur’s attention, watched him carefully. He watched his body language, stiff even in as casual a position as he was, legs crossed and leaning. He watched his lips, red from the worry of teeth and wine, round themselves about his words, saw his eyelashes cast shadows on his cheeks.

“I know you don't mind helping strangers,” Arthur was saying. Merlin’s mouth was dry and his water was gone. Arthur was watching him now, too. His eyes were blue, bluer than anything, his jaw was sharp, his shave was close and he could smell his cologne and Arthur was saying, softly, “I know your name,” and then, “Merlin,” and then.

Hook, line, and sinker.

“We know each other plenty well,” returned the easy smile. The moment was gone just like that, leaving him breathless, as though he'd been kissed. Arthur hadn't kissed him, though. He hadn't touched him aside from the occasional brush of fingers exchanging a glass, hadn't tried to breach the distance. He was still talking. Merlin wondered how his a smile didn't reach his blue, blue eyes. “But you've avoided me quite avidly, I would say. I was starting to get ideas when-”

“--When?”

“Beg your pardon?” Arthur flushed red, not expecting the question. He was used to Merlin’s silence, had no way of knowing how unusual it really was. Perhaps he had rehearsed parts of this conversation. Regardless, he disliked being thrown off guard.

“Ideas. I've been here a week, when could you have possibly found time to get ideas?”

Arthur was incredulous.

“You'd be surprised to find I do have a brain, you know,” he seemed about to continue, but Merlin glowered. Arthur began again.  “...Ideas about you?”

“The Queen,” Merlin answered dryly.

“Victoria or Elizabeth?”

“Mary.”

Arthur winced, and poured more wine.

“You pushed my car,” he murmured. “No one asked you, there was no proposed reward, you just came out in your loafers and helped me.”

Merlin thought back to that night, the sniffles he'd had the remainder of the evening, the mud he had to mop up the following day. “I help people who need it,” he corrected. “The ‘who’ makes no difference to me.”

Arthur toasted him halfheartedly. “‘Sure know how to make a guy feel special, don't you?” His host glanced back to the box of rejected gifts, rejected friendship, and again, Merlin felt a pang of guilt. The distant sound of the party made its way to them, a bass beat that had always been there but had still managed to be forgotten. The clock read two.

Merlin took a drink.

“What do you want from me?” His glass clinked against the wood of the table.

“Are you flattered?” He frowned in confusion. Arthur repeated himself, clearer and more distinctly. “Are you flattered, Merlin?”

“I…”

Merlin didn't know. Why was he here, he thought, what brought him into this situation? Why had he set out tonight, bent to break his promise to his mother? Why did he insist on following that drag of purpose clutching his heart, leading him into danger such as this?

“...I am.”

There was a breath, Arthur waiting for a ‘but’ that didn't come. Again, Merlin was caught in the gaze of an Adonis.

“Would you come back?” Arthur’s tone was low, wistful, concealing. His look didn't waver, daring Merlin to lie, staring into his heart or perhaps just enjoying what he saw- both concepts he couldn't understand. “If I let you go tonight, home,” he sighed, every word sounded like a sigh now and the world was a void, “would you come back?”

The implication that his landlord might not permit him to leave should have been disturbing. Much of this should have been, in fact, he ought to have reported it or left or something--

“Yes.”

What.

“Yes?” Arthur smiled.

What are you doing?

More than smile, he beamed. He tried to hide it but couldn't, the relief overwhelming his composure and Merlin was damned if he saw anyone more beautiful than Arthur Pendragon was in that moment.

“...That's all I wanted,” he said simply.

Merlin was damned.

He knew then that if he took even the smallest amount of momentum towards Arthur, he would do something they would both regret. He would lose a potential friend, although an odd one, of his an admittedly lousy, endearing neighbor. He could always say he had been drunk, which he was, a little- he wasn't -and bank on Arthur being the same- sober, that is -and maybe, maybe then he could get away with it. Dangerous thought, danger, danger--

“Will you stay tonight?”

His heart leapt to his throat to choke him, treacherous thing.

“...Until the party is over?”

The clock read two fifteen, Merlin unabashedly eyeing those red, red lips.

He made an executive decision.

He left.

[webcricket]

Castiel Imagine

Imagine: A grace-less Castiel doing his darnedest to take care of you when you're sick.

[A/N: Based on an ask from @81mysteriouslyme - “Just thinking: how would human!cas take care of a sick reader? Like sick sick. I reckon he’ll be insanely sweet and adorable but also a complete dork. Out of desperation he would also call Sam and Dean for help as he realizes he really has no idea what he is doing.”]

The plague - he read in an alarming article hyped in the headlines just last week in the Lebanon Daily Star that the black death pandemic that wiped out half of Europe in the 14th century is experiencing a renaissance resurgence in house pets populating the southwest. Mad-cow disease. You do enjoy a cheeseburger almost as much as Dean with the added benefit of table manners. Ebola. The trip to the zoo several weeks ago where Castiel insisted on spending hours in the primate exhibit observing the monkeys fills his heart with foreboding.

The list of fatal ailments he discovered in a Websummon search after plugging in your symptoms stretches endless in seriousness and judging by the patients populating the Doctor Sexy reruns Dean plays between cases in his man cave, it seems like humans stricken suddenly by dire disease is a daily occurrence to be expected.

Cas is convinced you need a team of specialists caring for you in a fully-equipped quarantine ward rather than a grace-less angel who burned the toast he tried to make you to calm your upset stomach … twice. You settled for crackers straight from the cupboard after he carried the smoking toaster into the bedroom, fingers singed black, eyes apologetically glassed, and hair frizzed on end after attempting to extricate an annihilated slice of bread from its fiery confines with a fork while the appliance was still plugged in. At least the flickering lights had nothing to do with a supernatural foe.

Disregarding the fragility of his own immune system at present, the one-time soldier of the Lord perches on the mattress beside you; irises glaze in concern as he gazes at your shivering sweat-drenched figure thrashing fitfully beneath the thin white bed sheet. The aforementioned list nagging his thoughts, he brushes the saturated tendrils of hair aside from your temples to check for small pox lesions. Relieved to see none, he lays a tender touch upon your forehead.

Wakened from tenuous sleep when his palm presses to your dampened brow to test the temperature, your whine of protest rapidly devolves into a congested cough. Given his lack of angelic aptitude, he can only guess at the sweltering height of the number.

“I’m sorry,” he apologizes, the soft smile he usually reserves for you inverts into an anxious frown when the fatigued hollows of your watery eyes resolve on him. “You were having another bad dream.”

A fever dream to be exact. “S’okay.” You manage a strained sigh, throwing off the well-meant layers of extra warmth he piled on your extremities while you slept. Despite his inept nursing skills, there’s something reassuring about having him here as you drift in and out of consciousness. Muscles stiff and aching, you regret the loss of insulation, seized by a renewed wave of chills.

He frets over the hem of the wool blanket, fumbling his fingers along the scratchy fabric and tucking it again beneath your thighs. He doesn’t like seeing you wracked by shivers, at least not sickly ones. “Are you hungry?” he asks, feeling a burden of utter uselessness to ease your suffering in his human state. While you slept he looked up a video demonstrating how to make toast in a frying pan; going so far as to bookmark it for reference, he’s optimistic of his ability to mimic the task. If that doesn’t work, he has one requiring an iron to use as backup. And there’s always the can of chicken soup he discovered in the pantry if he wants to do battle with the microwave.

The thought of swallowing anything of substance sets your stomach churning precipitously upward. Rocking to your side, you assume the fetal position to suppress the rising pressure and prepare for the worst.

If Cas had any sense about what was coming or fondness for his sneakers, he’d do the same. “Sorry,” he repeats the sentiment because he truly is, “I-” He’s not certain what he wants to say. The fact is, without his divine gifts, he’s out of his element. Deciding on a silent show of support in lieu of syllables, he lays a hand soothingly to your side, smoothing across the shuddering landscape until the nausea naturally subsides.

The distraction helps. Cas sticking it out when you must look and smell God-awful means the world to you because it’s evidence of his love. It’s one thing to say those three little words, another to dance them in a tangle of passion, but being there when you’re at your worst, that’s the real definition of devotion.

For Cas, it’s not enough. He wants to do better; to be better - for you, so you get better. Losing you, it would be his biggest failure and one he isn’t sure he could survive.

Digging into his hoodie pocket, he retrieves his cell, closes the open web page of the sickness symptom checker, flicks through his short contacts list, and calls Sam on speakerphone.

“Hey, Cas. What’s up?” Sam answers.

“Y/N’s fever,” Cas murmurs, pausing his caress at the peak of your shoulder to squeeze, encouraging you to lie on your back. “I suspect malaria.”

“It’s not malaria,” Sam snorts, intuiting the former angel consulted the internet for a diagnosis.

Sam’s probably correct. You haven’t traveled to a tropical or subtropical region ever so the odds of exposure hover in the region of extremely unlikely; unlikely, although not impossible. “Websummon suggested-”

“It’s not malaria,” Sam insists, unleashing an airy snicker.

“Gimme the ph-” The phone emits a static buzz as Dean steals it from his brother to slam it to his ear. “Look buddy, the last time we were in tropical paradise sippin’ cocktails was never.” The elder Winchester’s voice bellows confirming Cas’ own inner argument against the diagnosis. “Sam’s right. It’s just the flu or something simple. Y/N’ll be fine in a few days.”

It occurs to Cas if you do survive it’s high time for a vacation. First he needs to get you through it. Perhaps a call to Rowena would have been more helpful, but then there might be the nastiness of personal favors owed and he’s not certain, lacking celestial clout, what he’d have to trade for your life or if influenza is reason enough to involve a witch. All the anxiety emerges as a rasped, “But-”

“But nothing. There’s Tylenol in the first aid kit, two every 4-6 hours until the fever breaks,” the hunter advises. “And, Cas?”

“Yes?”

“Angel mojo or no, you got this.” The call disconnects.

“He’s right, you know,” you mumble weakly, garnering his attention; gravel inflammation grates your tonsils as you speak. Clammy cool fingers wrap his wrist until the phone falls forgotten from their flexing tips with a bounce on the bed.

“About the flu?” Cas’ brow crinkles in confusion. When you attempt to sit up, he props a pillow behind your back and ensures you stay covered and warm.

You shake your head, coughing into the crook of your arm. “No, about you,” you croak. “You being here, I already feel better.”

A smile curves at the corner of his mouth, flattening the fretful lines of his features; his eyes gleam so brightly blue you can’t tell if it’s the fever muddling your senses, or a tiny speck of grace still simmering somewhere within the seraph.

Castiel tag list:  (Closed, if you’d like to be removed please let me know!)    @jeepangel  @sammiesamness  @willowing-love  @roxy-davenport  @blueicevalkyrie   @im-the-nerdiest-of-them-a11  @thesugargalaxy    @bluetina-blog  @dont-trust-humanity  @afanofmanystuffs  @honeybeetrash  @bucky-thorin-winchester  @superwholockz   @tistai  @wordstothewisereaders  @gill-ons  @mrswhozeewhatsis  @marisayouass  @stone-met   @castiel-savvy18  @samualmortgrim  @trexrambling  @magnificent-mantle  @kdfrqqg  @xdifsx  @moon-and-stars-cas   @rockfairy  @peaceloveancolor  @unicorntrooper  @anisolatedship  @itsilvermorny  @aditimukul  @kudosia  @goofynerd-67babylove  @uninspirationalsonglyrics  @mishascupcake   @mishapanicmeow   @praisecastielamen  @roseyhxnt  @jessikared97  @let-the-imaginationflow  @warriorqueen1991  @jenabean75  @alisonkenway  @anotherwaywardsister  @luciathewinchestergirl  @morganas-pendragons  @heyitscam99  @fangirl-and-stuff  @selahbela  @realgreglestrade  @splendidcas  @pointlesscasey  @lovelyangelofasgard  @i-larb-spooderman  @thewhiterabbit42  @thelostverse  @castieliswatchingoverme  @beccollie18  @dragonett8  @dixie-chick  @jtownraindancer   @carowinsthings  @pixiedusts @laqueus-ludovicus  @passionghost  @sherlockedtash88  @futureparent  @gabbie7-11  @myfandomlife-blog  @dreamerkim  @missjenniferb  @lexininja  @samael-has-arrived  @shamelesslydean  @earthtokace   @spookysculderfiles  @neaeri  @justanormalangel  @lone-loba  @supernaturalymarvel  @lilrubixx  @wings-and-halo  @thehoneybeecastielfollows  @musiclovinchic93  @81mysteriouslyme  @jessiekay2010  @the-bottom-of-the-abyss

[lover-of-midnight]

Is there a way out - chapter 23

Rating:

Explicit

Archive Warnings

Graphic Depictions Of Violence

Rape/Non-Con

Categories:

F/M

M/M

Fandom:

Merlin (TV)

Relationships:

Arthur/Original Male Character

Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)

Merlin & Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)

Leon & Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)

Leon & Morgana (Merlin)

Leon/Morgana (Merlin)

Side Morgana/Leon

Characters:

Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)

Merlin (Merlin)

Leon (Merlin)

Morgana (Merlin)

Gaius (Merlin)

Balinor

Additional Tags:

Alternate Universe - Dark

Dark fic

Dead Dove: Do Not Eat

Rape/Non-con Elements

Rape Recovery

domestic abuse

Suicide Attempt

Depression

Arranged Marriage

soul mates

Non-Traditional Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics

Non-Consensual Touching

Omega Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)

Alpha Merlin (Merlin)

Alpha Uther

Beta Morgana

Beta Leon

Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics

forced bondage

Prince Merlin (Merlin)

Queen Hunith

King Balinor

Language:English

Arthur watched silently as the dragons landed in the courtyard. The week had flown by. He watched as Merlin made his way up to the queen and king.

How they embraced each other and the knights that are in relationships how they moved together to their wives and for some husbands. How they hold onto each other, just for a moment letting it sink in, that they have some extra time together.

Morgana gave half a smile as she stood next to Leon. They were holding hands and for a moment the future looked less bleak than it did a week ago. Both of them are worried about what Uther would do when he finds out that Arthur is in Mercia but when the time comes they would hopefully be able to deal with it.

Without harm coming to Arthur.

Morgana watched silently as Merlin went to introduce Arthur to his parents. The smile on his face was genuine and the look of happiness on their faces made Morgana relax slightly. She could see that Arthur would have a family here.

And hopefully, in time, he would regain the confidence he had before he presented.

Arthur hid slightly behind Merlin. The king and queen looked friendly but he had seen that sort of masks before. How they would treat people kindly in front of others but as soon as a person is alone with them, another side of them showed up.

The queen’s blue eyes were alight with laughter. Arthur could see the wrinkles around her eyes and mouth. When she saw Arthur she almost pulled him into a hug. She always wanted to have more children but unfortunately, it just wasn’t something that could be done.

Hunith opened her arms, Arthur got the sense that she wants to hug him, but at the same time, he believed that if he stepped away from that the smile would stay and she would still be so welcoming.

Balinor shooked Arthur’s hand. His face was set more sternly but it was easy to see that he was a man many adored. “Welcome to Mercia. I hope you find your stay here good.” His voice was rough and almost loud but how friendly it sounded threw Arthur almost for a loop.

“I trust that you will join us tonight for dinner?” Balinor could see how shifty the omega was. He knew it would be a long and hard road that lays in wait for them both. But hopefully, they would be able to work through any issues that may arrive.

“Yes, Sire.” Arthur easily fell into a more submissive pose.

“There is no need for that son. We are Balinor and Hunith to you as well.” Balinor had softened his voice so that the rest of the court couldn’t hear them. He gave Arthur a warm smile before he fully turned to his son.

“Show your guest to there chambers and then come and give a rapport, please.” With a last nod to Arthur and Merlin. He turned to Hunith holding his arm for her.

Balinor watched as Hunith walked into the council room. Her dress was shifting behind her. Without even thinking about it he stood up, holding his hands out to her. She would always be the most beautiful omega he had ever seen be.

“Darling.” His voice softened slightly as he looked at his queen.

Hunith gave him a soft smile. His hand was rough on her own. But this was the one place she had always felt save and loved.

“What are you thinking about?” Her voice was serious, she could easily see after so many years when Balinor was worried about something.

“I am worried about our son. The omega saw so much. The path they would need to walk would take years, if not even longer. He would want to settle sooner or later.” The last part worried him the most.

Merlin had always wanted a big family of his own, and from what Balinor could see that might not be something that would realise.

Hunith was silent for a few moments. “He would wait. And he would be patient. Not because that is the only duty that he could ever do against Arthur, but because he had already fallen head over heels for him. He would love Arthur to the moon and back.” She gave Balinor’s hand a tight squish.

They were both worried about the same stuff. But she had seen today that Merlin already loved Arthur. Sure the road forward will be riddled with stones but they would be able to work through it of that she was sure.

Barley five minutes later there was a firm knock against the door. Balinor easily allowed entrance. He watched with pride as his son strode into the room.

With a hand, all three sat around the table.

“What had happened in Gawant?” Balinor kept his voice easy. He trusts Merlin’s judgement when it comes to making sure that diplomatic would be kept at all costs.

“Robert was executed utilizing rats eating him alive. A lot was going back and forth but peach treaties are still sighed and there was no talk of war or retaliation. Off course, someone was put in place to make sure if there would be a threat that we would hear of it first.” Merlin was relaxed in his parents' company.

Even though this was an important matter, they understood the value of beginning a family. Not just someone talking up to his superior. But people who loved each other no matter what is beginning thrown there way.

“And the omega? Is he alright?” Hunith was the one to ask the question.

Merlin was silent for a moment. His eyes softened slightly and all pretence was thrown to the wind. He could still see the broken body when they first got to Gawant, how much magic was needed to heal the injuries.

“I healed his injuries when I first got there, it was horrifying. Truth be told I was surprised that he managed to fight that long. He still has nightmares, and fast movements startle him. He prefers to keep to himself.” Merlin gave them a short run down.

They would need to know that it wouldn’t be easy to support him. But at the same time, this wasn’t his story to tell. He could only be there for Arthur and give him time to heal.

Be a shoulder if he needs to cry on and also an ear when he wants to talk.

Arthur walked silently through his new chambers. It was slightly bigger than the one in Camelot. He could see the door leading to Merlin’s room.

He sat down on the edge of the bed. He could feel his heart trying to climb out of his chest. A part of him knows that this was irrational. There was no need to fear the people here, but another part screamed at him. That he needs to be on watches.

That anything can happen at any moment.

Arthur forced himself to take a deep breath.

This wasn’t like the time at Roberts, hell this is even better than the last few years in Camelot. He had already seen omegas training to be knights. And there was some in the knights' corps as well.

So why on earth couldn’t he sake this feeling that something is off.