fate-magical-girls

[fate-magical-girls]

Maybe neither? Imperial Roman succession wasn't based on hereditary primogeniture, no matter how many times emperors tried to make it happen. Dynasties were short and typically had more tenuous ties, like brothers, uncle/nephew, or even father-in-law/son-in-law.

The summaries I've seen call Grisandoles/Avenable's husband Julius Caesar. The closest name to that among Emperors of the relevant time period would be Julian Nepos. His reign, like many of the later Western Emperors, was short and chaotic. He ended ousted from Rome and ruled a rump state in Dalmatia before he was finally assassinated. To add to the morbid comedy of it all, his Dalmatian Roman empire actually outlasted the "real" Roman Empire in Rome, which was dissolved by the Ostrogothic king Odoacer.

So likely Lucius Tiberius was one of several pretenders to the throne in the wake of Romulus Augustulus' (the final Western Emperor) capture and Julian Nepos' exile, struggling over Rome with Odoacer and later Theodoric the Great. Grisandoles could've been in the previous generation, but she wouldn't necessarily be related to Lucius in any way.

So here is a Vulgate Cycle question: do you think the female knight Grisandoles/Avenable is Lucius Tiberius' mother or his wife?

[fate-magical-girls]

Beatrix Potter

Writer, illustrator, conservationist, natural scientist

For the inaugural Arcade Feature, I'm excited to tell you about Beatrix Potter. Most people (including me) know her best for her picture books-

-which have sold over 250 million copies since they were published in the early 1900s.

Fun fact: In 1903, Peter Rabbit was the first fictional character to be made into a patented stuffed toy, making him the oldest licensed character.

But what really caught my attention is the work she was doing before Peter Rabbit came along.

Beatrix Potter had a scientific eye for detail, and was able to faithfully depict the world around her. In particular, she was interested in mycology.

In 1897, she put forward a paper to the Linnean Society in London... but as a woman was not allowed to be a member of the society nor attend the meeting when her paper was read. When the society's members did not pay much attention to her work, and fearing her samples to be contaminated, Potter withdrew her paper, which became lost. Only after Potter left hundreds of mycological artworks to a museum in the Lake District, UK, on her death in 1943, were her scientific talents recognized... Potter's precise and beautiful paintings and drawings of fungi are now helping modern mycologists in their efforts to identify species.*

Potter eventually moved away from books in favor of land management and farming. She was a prize-winning sheep breeder and a prosperous farmer, and bought several farms surrounding her own to preserve the unique hill country landscape. Much of that land now constitutes the Lake District National Park.

Keep an eye out for more Beatrix Potter throughout the month of February.

All Arcade Feature Posts

* Fry, C., & Wayland, E. (2024). Introduction. In The Botanists’ Library, The Most Important Botanical Books in History (1st ed., pp. 9–10). introduction, Ivy Press.

[fate-magical-girls]

so quite a lot of people expressed interest in a guide to lion dance! and since the lunar new year is coming up in a couple weeks, which means everyone’s exposure to lions is probably going to increase, i figured i’d go ahead and make it! right click + open in new tab to fullview, etc etc, i hope it’s helpful, although if you only take one thing away from this powerpoint, it’s this: lions are not dragons

disclaimer: i learned fut san style at an american university, and the senior members of the troupe were almost all from hong kong and taiwan, so most of my knowledge is drawn from what they taught me. lion dance varies widely depending on the style and the country of origin, and many schools do things differently! this is just an attempt to establish a baseline and give you a really basic intro to one of my favorite art forms. :)

[fate-magical-girls]

My takeaway from the Welsh Dialogue of Melwas and Gwynhwyfar

Melwas, aka Maleagant. The villain of Knight of the Cart, abductor of Guinevere, enemy of Cai, Arthur, and Lancelot depending on the version of the story you read. His typical image is that of a malignant and powerful fairy knight...but in the Welsh Gwenhwyfar gives him NO RESPECT.

Dialogue of Melwas and Gwenhwyfar A

Dialogue of Melwas and Gwenhwyfar B

[fate-magical-girls]

for that bit about ambrosius in that post you made about him seeing the past and future, do you have a source by chance, because i'm very interested in that.

and also about kay being tristan's advisor! never heard of that before in a text. please and thank you for popping out of the blue.

Ambrosius becomes a mysterious oracular child in Nennius' Historia Brittonum.

A meeting took place the next day for the purpose of putting him to death. Then the boy said to the king, "Why have your servants brought me hither?" "That you may be put to death," replied the king, "and that the ground on which my citadel is to stand, may be sprinkled with your blood, without which I shall be unable to build it." "Who," said the boy, "instructed you to do this?" "My wise men," answered the king. "Order them hither," returned the boy; this being complied with, he thus questioned them: "By what means was it revealed to you that this citadel could not be built, unless the spot were previously sprinkled with my blood? Speak without disguise, and declare who discovered me to you;" then turning to the king, "I will soon," said he, "unfold to you every thing; but I desire to question your wise men, and wish them to disclose to you what is hidden under this pavement:" they acknowledging their ignorance, "there is," said he, "a pool; come and dig:" they did so, and found the pool. "Now," continued he, "tell me what is in it;" but they were ashamed, and made no reply. "I," said the boy, "can discover it to you: there are two vases in the pool;" they examined and found it so: continuing his questions, "What is in the vases?" they were silent: "there is a tent in them," said the boy; "separate them, and you shall find it so;" this being done by the king's command, there was found in them a folded tent. The boy, going on with his questions, asked the wise men what was in it? But they not knowing what to reply, "There are," said he, "two serpents, one white and the other red; unfold the tent;" they obeyed, and two sleeping serpents were discovered; "consider attentively," said the boy, "what they are doing." The serpents began to struggle with each other; and the white one, raising himself up, threw down the other into the middle of the tent, and sometimes drove him to the edge of it; and this was repeated thrice. At length the red one, apparently the weaker of the two, recovering his strength, expelled the white one from the tent; and the latter being pursued through the pool by the red one, disappeared. Then the boy, asking the wise men what was signified by this wonderful omen, and they expressing their ignorance, he said to the king, "I will now unfold to you the meaning of this mystery. The pool is the emblem of this world, and the tent that of your kingdom: the two serpents are two dragons; the red serpent is your dragon, but the white serpent is the dragon of the people who occupy several provinces and districts of Britain, even almost from sea to sea: at length, however, our people shall rise and drive away the Saxon race from beyond the sea, whence they originally came; but do you depart from this place, where you are not permitted to erect a citadel; I, to whom fate has allotted this mansion, shall remain here; whilst to you it is incumbent to seek other provinces, where you may build a fortress." "What is your name?" asked the king; "I am called Ambrose," returned the boy; and in answer to the king's question, "What is your origin?" he replied, "A Roman consul was my father."

-- Historia Brittonum

By Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Brittanniae, this story was transferred to Merlin. This is actually why so many adaptations state Merlin's childhood name was Emrys -- it's the Welsh form of Ambrosius, and it comes from transferring Ambrosius' knowledge of the buried dragons and their portends to Merlin.

Kay as Tristan's confidante comes from this Welsh fragment called the Ystorya Trystan. The earliest forms of Tristan and Isolde exists in two fragmented poems from the authors Beroul and Thomas of Britain. The Thomas version is the "courtly" branch, which has been sanitized according to the tastes of the medieval upper class. Beroul's version is the "common branch", also sanitized from the original oral legends, but to a lesser degree, and as a result, it preserves more British Celt story motifs. Though fragmented, the episodes preserved in the two versions show both follow the same rough framework as the one present in Gottfried van Strassburg's Tristan, Prose Tristan, and the Old Norse saga version of Tristan and Isolde, give or take some Vulgate Cycle elements. In the Welsh version of the tale, whether adapted from a foreign (Pictish? Irish? French?) original or actually being the original, the focus is on Tristan and Iseult eloping and eventually making their way to Arthur's court, corresponding to episodes in the Beroul version where, after the lovers spend a while hiding from Mark in a forest, Isolde undergoes a chastity test with Arthur present as a witness. The friend and confidant role is given to Cai Hir, who is Sir Kay. The name "Kahedins", given to Tristan's best friend and brother-in-law, is believed to be a corruption of "Cai Hir".

So in all likelihood, whatever language the original Tristan legend was in, Sir Kay was intended to be the one who assisted Tristan and Isolde in eloping away.

[fate-magical-girls]

Good morning 🌞

[fate-magical-girls]

King Anguish of Ireland, Isolde/Esyllt's father, potentially identified as Oengus Mac Nad Froich, first Christian King of Munster. Eyllt's mother potentially identified as his cannibal wife Eithne Uathach.

Arthur and Gwenhwyfar have children. Their most important son is Llacheu/Loholt.

MERLIN HAS A SMALLER ROLE. His main relevance plot-wise is immediately after Arthur's reign, where he fights against his sister and his brother-in-law (and their vassal, Peredur/Percival) and accidentally slays his nephew.

Both Ambrosius and Uther Pendragon are magical in their own right. Uther shapeshifts and Ambrosius has a form of omniscience where he knows the past and future.

Pendragon is Uther's personal epithet. And for that matter, so is Gorlois/Gorlassar. Unless you follow Geoffrey of Monmouth to make Gorlois his own individual.

Taliesin, Menw, Eddilig the Dwarf, and in some late sources Tristan are the main magicians at Arthur's court. Gwyn ap Nudd and Gwythyr ap Greidawl also tag along.

Morgan Le Fay likely does not exist, but if she does, she wouldn't be hostile to Arthur. In all likelihood she's his physician.

On making a Welsh version of the entire story of King Arthur:

No Lancelot and No Affair. PERIOD. And absolutely no compromise or cheating on this one: you cannot turn anyone else (coughBediverecough) into a Lancelot analogue. You must sacrifice the Love Triangle completely - no "duty vs. love" drama. You're going to have make do without that conceit. You must exercise your own creativity and forge a different dramatic conflict for Arthur and Gwenhwyfar, if at all.

Supplementary to the above: Divorce is legal.

Arthur is at the forefront. Sometimes, Cai, Gwalchmai and Bedwyr is the focus of a particular adventure, but Arthur is a Man of Action, who often outdoes his own warriors. And in particular, he may not even be a King - he may even just be a military chief (Wleddig, Ameraudur or Dux Bellorum), freeing him up to rove around.

Giants, not fairies, as the primary supernatural race Camelot interacts with. Next to that, Saints and Deities come afterwards.

On the legal side: Celtic Law is Tort Law - a weregild system is at play, known as Saraad (Insult/Honor Price) and Galanas (Injury/Homicide Price). Livestock as a measure of wealth. Inheritance system is Gavelkind (although tribal politics may come into play. See Tanistry).

Emphasis on Poetry, Song and Poetic Speech. Englyns are recommended. Bards as serious authority figures.

Be liberal with the supernatural. Mystical items are always fought over and Knights have cyneddf, or mystical abilities.

The Grail Quest has to be whole sale rewritten and given a new mythos: it's either "The Raid on the Otherworld" where the story is about the capture of a mystical Cauldron (Preiddu Annwfn). AND/OR. It's the Peredur version of Perceval, involving a Severed Head instead of a Grail - Maybe its Bran the Blessed himself! - and possibly a battle with the "Nine Sorceresses"

Exceptions to the "No Affair" rule: Medraut and Melwas. The former requires commitment to Traitor!Guinevere and the latter ends with Arthur winning and taking back Guinevere, whether Melwas lives or not.

The Fall of Camelot - There 3 options for how it should unfold without Lancelot: a) defaulting towards Historia Regum Britanniae's version of events. b) the Gwenhwyfach feud. And c) Non-Traitor Medraut ending. The first, similar to the No Affair exception, requires commitment to Traitor!Guinevere. The second involves establishing Gwenhwyfach as a character in her own right. The third and last is the most difficult: the writer must concieve a sufficiently satisfying third party as an opponent for Arthur and Mordred for a tragic last stand.

Optional for the above: Iddog Cordd Prydain as an instigator for the hostilities between Arthur and Medraut

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Optionally:

The fairy knight Edern ap Nudd can be used as either lover or abductor for Guinevere, even if his story only exists in fragmentary form.

King Lot (Llewddwn the Warlike) and King Urien aren't among the kings rebelling against Arthur. Lot in particular is a trusted advisor throughout and becomes one of Arthur's primary generals, given the privilege, alongside two other chieftains, to never serve under another commander during a campaign. Urien Rheged outlives Arthur and continues fighting Saxons.

Gawain/Gwalchmai potentially dies on his sea voyage after being heavily wounded after a battle, pretty much his classic death. But there's another potential death where he gets executed by his subjects for being a bad ruler. (Though not so much through mistreating them as not being able to adequately deal with various disasters.)

Cath Palug is a major foe. Kay kills it after a hard battle. Arthur might try to kill it and fail.

Bonus Tristan and Isolde challenge:

The elopement and forest exile is the main focus. There is NO prolonged affair and deceiving of Mark, except maybe for the incident where Tristan leaps into Isolde’s bed and drips blood there, forcing them to escape their death sentences.

The Morholt is a supernatural creature: a hostile giant or even shapeshift in monster. Also highly likely he eats children.

There is NO Governal or Kahedins or Bragaine.

There is NO Brittany exile for Tristan or characters from Brittany, like Isolde of the White Hands.

SIR KAY is Tristan’s confidant and assists him in eloping with Isolde and receiving asylum from Arthur.

Kay’s lover (later wife) Golwg Hafddydd is Isolde’s handmaiden and confidant and cupbearer who poured the love potion.

Divorce exists.

Remarriage exists.

Tristan and Isolde marry after Mark is tricked into giving her up during Arthur’s arbitration. (He wants her on leafless nights, but evergreens exist.)

Find a way to bring about the Black Sails, everyone dies ending regardless.

On making a Welsh version of the entire story of King Arthur:

No Lancelot and No Affair. PERIOD. And absolutely no compromise or cheating on this one: you cannot turn anyone else (coughBediverecough) into a Lancelot analogue. You must sacrifice the Love Triangle completely - no "duty vs. love" drama. You're going to have make do without that conceit. You must exercise your own creativity and forge a different dramatic conflict for Arthur and Gwenhwyfar, if at all.

Supplementary to the above: Divorce is legal.

Arthur is at the forefront. Sometimes, Cai, Gwalchmai and Bedwyr is the focus of a particular adventure, but Arthur is a Man of Action, who often outdoes his own warriors. And in particular, he may not even be a King - he may even just be a military chief (Wleddig, Ameraudur or Dux Bellorum), freeing him up to rove around.

Giants, not fairies, as the primary supernatural race Camelot interacts with. Next to that, Saints and Deities come afterwards.

On the legal side: Celtic Law is Tort Law - a weregild system is at play, known as Saraad (Insult/Honor Price) and Galanas (Injury/Homicide Price). Livestock as a measure of wealth. Inheritance system is Gavelkind (although tribal politics may come into play. See Tanistry).

Emphasis on Poetry, Song and Poetic Speech. Englyns are recommended. Bards as serious authority figures.

Be liberal with the supernatural. Mystical items are always fought over and Knights have cyneddf, or mystical abilities.

The Grail Quest has to be whole sale rewritten and given a new mythos: it's either "The Raid on the Otherworld" where the story is about the capture of a mystical Cauldron (Preiddu Annwfn). AND/OR. It's the Peredur version of Perceval, involving a Severed Head instead of a Grail - Maybe its Bran the Blessed himself! - and possibly a battle with the "Nine Sorceresses"

Exceptions to the "No Affair" rule: Medraut and Melwas. The former requires commitment to Traitor!Guinevere and the latter ends with Arthur winning and taking back Guinevere, whether Melwas lives or not.

The Fall of Camelot - There 3 options for how it should unfold without Lancelot: a) defaulting towards Historia Regum Britanniae's version of events. b) the Gwenhwyfach feud. And c) Non-Traitor Medraut ending. The first, similar to the No Affair exception, requires commitment to Traitor!Guinevere. The second involves establishing Gwenhwyfach as a character in her own right. The third and last is the most difficult: the writer must concieve a sufficiently satisfying third party as an opponent for Arthur and Mordred for a tragic last stand.

Optional for the above: Iddog Cordd Prydain as an instigator for the hostilities between Arthur and Medraut

[fate-magical-girls]

#nothing quite as character-establishing as listing off your personal property as things you'll never give up in a million years#an insult and a compliment in one

Honestly though, that’s still freaking smart of Arthur. He’s a (frivolous) bard, he knows the bard rules and he hangs out with fairies to boot. He KNOWS that certain people will use technicalities to abuse a lord/host’s generosity and create big problems, so he takes that option off the table right away.

(Source: Culhwch and Olwen)

King Arthur demonstrates his great talent as a bard by skillfully weaving together this very subtle remark.

You can almost hear teeth grinding in the background.

[fate-magical-girls]

This literally is the principle that many cursed swords across cultures operated. Many times, the heroes wielding them weren't keen on drawing the sword to murder people, and would just rather keep it sheathed.

For example, the shieldmaiden Hervor retrieved the cursed blade Tyrfing by staring down the ghost of her father. There's an episode where she warns a certain arrogant warrior not to touch her sword or make her draw it because if it's drawn, the blood-curse compels her to kill him (and he didn't listen, so off went his head).

So honestly, handling cursed swords is just a skill issue.

So y’all know the classic edge trope of “my blade cannot be sheathed until it has tasted blood”? What if a magic sword that has that requirement, except it’s sort of inverted. A sword that, instead of being inhabited by an evil spirit which once awakened cannot be lulled back to sleep except by blood sacrifice, was inhabited by a benevolent spirit who would not allow the sword to be drawn unless bloodshed were the only possible solution. A sword whose power could never be misused because it would only allow itself to be used in situations where it was justified. What about a Paladin who spends their entire journey fighting with a sheathed sword, incapacitating but never killing or maiming. The party believes that the Paladin has taken an oath of no killing, until they face the big villain. And it is in that moment, and that moment alone, that the sword will allow itself to be drawn.

Idk, this image set my mindwheels a-turning.

But do y’all see the vision?

[fate-magical-girls]

I couldn’t reboot it for some reason

[fate-magical-girls]

Your feelings alignment charts are brilliant, why do they so efficiently summarise the batfamily relationships. Will there be one for Babs?

The Feelings About Barbara Gordon Alignment Chart

Bruce, Damian, Stephanie, Duke, Jason, Tim, Cass, and Dick versions. Realistically Dick + Cass should be like a bajillion miles higher and to the right if space allowed it. I'm very biased towards 2000s Babs so these may not be true nowadays, but these are the relationships I wish she had. And for the very last time, open to change!!

I've now done everyone in this chart, so this series is officially over! I'm including a blank alignment chart under the cut in case anyone wants to make their own:

[fate-magical-girls]

Well, I know what I'm gonna be drawing!

Terrible art idea Dietrich von bern dressed like Marlene Dietrich

due to last ask I have been thinking about Mr von bern but he is not the first Dietrich to come to mind for me because I am classic cinema brained so I tend think famed actress Marlene Dietrich first then Dietrich von bern second so this ending up leading to a horrible mental image I must unleash to the unsuspecting public.

[fate-magical-girls]

Leodegrance all but disappears from the narrative LONG before Camlaan...which is also odd. It seems like his main contribution is to give Arthur a wife and a magic table.

I wonder if this is some remnant of Guinevere being on the supernatural side of Arthuriana. Ogfran/Leodegrance the Giant gives up his daughter and magic table, and then retreats back to whatever lair giants are supposed to live in and no longer interacts with the human world.

Has anyone else noticed how both the Kingdom of Cameliard and the Lady of the Lake practically have no role or influence in the Fall of Camelot?

*Especially in the earlier French versions - Malory at least mentions Nimue being part of the Arthur rescue crew. This doesn't happen in the original French (Unless its the mysterious woman with Morgan that Griflet doesn't recognize. But Post-Vulgate doesn't mention her, however). But the question is: What was Nimue doing in all that time?

[fate-magical-girls]

Joke answer: She was too tangled up in Merlin and/or Pelleas drama. Alternatively, she was charged with preparing Avalon for Arthur's arrival and had to hold the fort, if she wasn't part of the evac crew.

Serious answer: Really no idea. It seems Camlaan itself is always SERIOUS BUSINESS with almost no magic elements whatsoever until the very end, when Arthur goes to Avalon. It's like a harsh reality that wakes the reader up from the dream of Arthuriana.

Has anyone else noticed how both the Kingdom of Cameliard and the Lady of the Lake practically have no role or influence in the Fall of Camelot?

*Especially in the earlier French versions - Malory at least mentions Nimue being part of the Arthur rescue crew. This doesn't happen in the original French (Unless its the mysterious woman with Morgan that Griflet doesn't recognize. But Post-Vulgate doesn't mention her, however). But the question is: What was Nimue doing in all that time?

[fate-magical-girls]

Dietrich is honestly two Theodorics for the price of one -- there was a Visigothic king named Dietrich who was contemporary with Attila and served under the actual enemy of the Nibelung princes, Flavius Aetius. He's just so, so EXTRA!

And he just pops up everywhere! Even Charlemagne was his fan! (Or well, a fan of the historical Theodoric the Great)

In your opinion, what is the absolute worst thing about Dietrich Von Bern? Or is his entire existence just a disaster? (And I say this as a fan of the Dietrich-Volsung-Nibelung mythology cycle)

oohh no not my very first ask being hijacked by Mr von bern

It’s the nonsense timeline and the hilarious medieval interpretation of the goths and Huns (seriously turning the Theoderic the great from invader to exile is pretty funny ) .but js between you and me I don’t hate Dietrich I just find him funny. I wish had more to say I had not read the saga of Dietrich von bern or the Nibelung in a very long a time .(and since I’m not a German speaker my experiences with von bern texts have been limited to the Nibelung and the sagas)

[fate-magical-girls]

Her only "crime" is cussing out an insurance representative with an oblique reference to current events. This is one case where I can say it's ridiculous she was even arrested.

you guys made luigi mangione trend for days and I need to see the same energy for brianna boston. she is a 43 year old mother of three who ended a phone call with blue cross blue shield (after being denied a claim) “delay deny depose, you people are next” and is now being held under a 100,000$ bond and could face FIFTEEN years of prison if charged. she has no weapons, her record is clean, and yet she is being held behind bars. they are afraid of the public and are trying to subdue. do not let them!!!! be outraged that our freedom of speech is being threatened!!!!! deny defend depose! free brianna boston!