#lancelot taking care of baby galahad

[disabled-battlekukku]

what if galahad and lamorak weren't in satbk because they were babies at the time the shit was happening

[livewireprojects]

Sonadowtober 2024 Day 15

Day 15 was swords

This pic is pre-Sonadow & takes place when Venice is a baby possibly an one year old. At this point only those close with Sonic are aware that Venice is Sonic's son with Rouge, Knuckles(both having a baby daughter of their own), Big, Vanilla & Tails helping him with preparing to become a single parent.(Eggman caused Mephiles to disappear when Sonic first became pregnant & Sonic at some point was forced to accept he might be dead) Outsiders are made to believe he's started babysitting Venice with Vanilla helping him when needed.

Something led to Shadow ending up staying the night at Sonic's with Sonic finally feeling like they're close enough to admit Venice is his son & the father is possibly dead thanks to Eggman. Sonic decides to show Shadow a room he keeps items from past adventures as mementos so Shadow can see a replica sword of Caliburn who Sonic still thinks about. While Shadow already respected Sonic he feels even more respect for Sonic after this "sleepover" & can't help but feel like they're alike thanks to having lost many people that they were close with.

I kind of imagine Sonic has a wooden replica(maybe metal or some other material, he can still use it to fight but it's still used for display) he made of Caliburn, this was kind of inspired by a fic were Shadow was caring for Sonic while Sonic was sick & Sonic mistook him for Lancelot.(LINK) Sonic had a replica of Caliburn because after his adventures in Camelot it felt like something was missing without Caliburn.

There's a non-Sonadow fic called "Once a King, Always a King" were the knights due to Eggman end up in Sonic's time & go for him for help before searching for their swords who escaped so Eggman couldn't use them. In the fic Sonic is reunited with Caliburn but it's Caliburn from modern day & not from the knights' time which allows Sonic to keep his sword/friend instead of having to say goodbye when the knights return home. I was almost tempted to be inspired by that to let Sonic have Caliburn but then I realized like with Zonic & Scourge I wasn't sure what to do with him so he's not here.

Back on topic I imagine Sonic has a replica he built of Caliburn so he can in a way have him around in a sense. I imagine he likely has a dagger that can turn into a sword so he can use a sword again(with it also being portable since swords are tricky to carry around all the time) but it's not as detailed & this is going off topic. I also imagine Sonic has a room somewhere that he keeps some cherished mementos of past friends/adventures so he can keep the items safe which is why he doesn't wear Chip's collar as a bracelet after Sonic Unleashed. I don't have a design for the room so this looks a little lazy, I just wanted to show some of the items like the replica sword, Chip's collar/necklace & the seashell bracelet Amy made him in Sonic X.(I have the bracelet hanging but he likely put it in a more safe area later)

I'm also not sure if I mentioned this but I imagine Sonic and the Black Knight took place in the past with their history being changed over time & some things lost to time so people don't realize the Round Table was a group of mobians. I also imagine one of Sonic's adopted parents'(Sonic Underground) possessions that survived is a large painting of Lancelot with Coraline(my OC/alternate universe Sonic who is Lancelot's wife & Galahad's mom) in armor which was Sonic's favorite painting as a kid. He's likely taking it back to his memory room when he finds out about the location of his adopted parents' burnt down house were the cellar/bomb shelter is.

Link to Sonadowtober theme list

[blackthornv]

TWP: my arthurian headcanon - Interlude

Ok, i meant to do part 3 and then the interlude but the interlude goes better near pt.2 so...

Warnings: 1) You better show some respect for my boy Tavvy. 2) He is just a sweet little baby. 3) All Blackthorn Siblings will plot your death if you disrespect him.

I know, i know, he won't be a major character in The Wicked Powers BUT HE IS A MAJOR CHARACTER IN MY HEART SO BE SILENT WHILE I RANT.

Octavian Blackthorn, seventh of the Seven Blackthorn Siblings: my lovely Lancelot of the Lake. Lancelot is commonly known as Guinevere's affair, the bright knight with a pristine record until he fell for his Queen. He had a strong connection with the Holy Grail but ultimately failed in achieving his full glory due to his earthly sins.

In part 1 i used the Black Book of the Dead as an allegory for the Holy Grail, and compared Ash to Galahad because they were the only ones to survive its powers - and become and elevated being after that connection. In LM, Octavian was targeted to be the final sacrifice the prophecy required. However, he is deprived from that (horrible) faith by his family - his own earthly connection, here, storge instead of eros.

But my main argument is this: as a young child, Lancelot is left orphaned and the Lady of the Lake takes him as her pupil and raises him in her own domain. Her influence it's the first to shape his character.

When we first meet the Blackthorns, Octavian and Drusilla are not there. Emma, Julian, Mark, Livvy and Ty are in the same room (Helen has already been introduced and is abroad) when Sebastian invades the Institute: this is the day Andrew Blackthorn dies. Emma runs to find Dru and Tavvy when she realizes what is happening and this is how we are introduced to them: Drusilla is 8 years old and is trying to maintain hold of a heavy sword to protect her baby brother from harm, doing her best to keep her composure for the sake of a scared 2 year old Tavvy, even though at the time she hadn't started her training yet.

Now the Blackthorns are officially war orphans. Octavian and Drusilla are the very last of the Blackthorn family, oftentimes in the company of each other. When Tavvy is taken by Malcom in LM, Dru is the one with him (until she was convinced to leave); when the twins leave to their own adventures, Dru is the one tasked to take care of him; in the majority of the last book Octavian's actions and behaviors are influenced by Drusilla's own actions and behaviors.

At last, i'll leave you with the part that broke my heart (and Dru's):

“No!” Tavvy wailed as Dru pushed him toward Maryse and the red front door of the Graymark house. “No, ’Silla, I want to go with you! NO! ” he shrieked, the word tearing her heart as she let go of him and backed away.”

[achirding]

WIPtober 20: King’s Champion Future Snippet 2

Of course Lancelot would describe holding a baby in terms of weapons. The worst part of it is that these instructions make perfect sense and Shadow understands exactly what he needs to do.

Lancelot doesn’t even ask if he’s ready, just starts shifting Galahad into his arms. And for a brief moment, Shadow feels a stab of panic deep in his heart he’s never felt before.

“Wait, wait-“ Shadow protests a little too loudly, trying to pull away but there’s nowhere to go, he’s already pressed against the wall. Those instructions were terrible and didn’t cover how tightly he was supposed to squeeze! What does he do if the baby starts to cry or squirms, and he doesn’t want to do this and can’t be responsible-

His brain short circuits as Lancelot accommodates Galahad’s little head in the crook of his arm. The baby feels too little and too light and too delicate, like a porcelain doll. It doesn’t feel like he has a good enough grip, but the last thing he wants to do is break anything by pinching or squeezing too hard.

“If you bite him, I’ll kill you,” Lancelot warns him, darkly, settling back against the wall as he watches warily, “And his mother will do far worse.”

“I didn’t bite you!“

“Mggh,” Galahad’s entire face scrunches up with an unhappy groan at Shadow’s volume, one tiny fist raised in the air like he’s angry. The little hedgehog opens his mouth impossibly wide, looking like he’s about to scream-

“Shit.“

It’s instinctual to pull Galahad against his chest, tiny face pressed into his rib cage. Shadow can feel his heart thunder in his chest, beating like it’s trying to burst out, and distantly wonders if that can truly be soothing. Galahad rubs his face against the tuff of white fur with an unhappy sound, fidgeting as he tries to get more comfortable, one ear crushed against Shadow’s chest.

He forgets how to breathe when Galahad opens an eye to look blearily at him. He stares right back, feeling a cold sweat break out over his entire body as he desperately hopes the baby isn’t about to cry.

Damn it.

But Galahad just smiles. A sleepy little smile as his eyes drift closed again, nuzzling into Shadow’s fur with a soft sigh. The baby unconsciously rests his tiny fist just over Shadow’s heart, looking incredibly comfortable and without a care in the world.

Shadow didn’t use chaos control, but it feels like time froze. It takes a small eternity for his heart to slow down and for his shoulders to lose some tension. Never fully relaxed, he can’t, but enough so that Shadow doesn’t feel quite so... brittle.

[anitabyars]

Overview

Brain meets Beauty in this sparkling, fresh take on the classic Bringing Up Baby – if Jane Austen had written it! A romantic comedy with a dash of chaos featuring the most ill-behaved poodle in Regency London, by New York Times bestseller Suzanne Enoch.

Michael Bromley, Duke of Woriton, has a passion, but it’s not for chasing ladies or gambling till dawn. No, his is the far more dangerous pursuit of the science of chemistry. He may be a tad eccentric, but he can navigate a society ballroom, and manage a polite conversation—if he must. He’s certainly capable of taking care of his aunt’s perfectly behaved poodle, Lancelot, while she’s on holiday.

Elizabeth “Bitsy” Dockering, third daughter of a viscount, is enjoying her second, spectacular Season in London. She is a Diamond of the Season and is adored by all—and especially by her precious black poodle, Galahad. To everyone else, however, Galahad is a demon dog. So much so that Bitsy’s most insistent beau and particular victim of Galahad’s bad manners, has hired a thief to steal the dog, clearing the way for his suit.

But none of them can plan for a chaotic encounter in the park, resulting in lost notes, a soaking in the Serpentine and an accidental dog swap…and Lancelot being kidnapped instead of Galahad! Determined to locate the dog, Michael isn’t thrilled to be saddled with a flighty female insisting on helping—except that Bitsy has a great deal more sense than he expected. And a sharp tongue to match. Still, what’s a scientist to do but continue to pursue an outcome, however unexpected it may be? But chemistry is all about attraction, and this is one formula with some hilariously romantic results.

My Review

4⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I was eagerly awaiting this story and it didn’t disappoint. I was completely captivated by this intriguing, fun, entertaining, opposites-attract, slow burn, regency historical romance.

Michael Bromley, the Duke of Woriton, was a man who spent his time doing science experiments, instead of dealing with Society and Ton events. When his Aunt leaves to go visit a friend she leaves her beloved poodle Lancelot with him. Walking in Hyde Park with her dog, this grumpy Duke finds himself wet and in the serpent river after a run in with the beautiful, sunshine “Bitsy” Lady Elizabeth Dockering the diamond of the season and her poodle Galahad.

What follows is an accidental dog swapping, a dog napping, and an unlikely partnership. As well as a villain in their midst!

This was filled with witty banter, snarky barbs, stolen moments, mystery and pounding hearts. This story had me laughing out loud and smiling as this story and their romance swept me away.

This story was filled with fantastic characters, from the hero and heroine to their precious pets and the secondary characters. All being crafted so well that it you either loved them or disliked them. Will these two opposites solve the mystery that has brought them together? I adored this delightful story!

I requested an early copy through NetGalley and this is my voluntary honest review.

[ash-and-books]

Rating: 1/5

Book Blurb:

Brain meets Beauty in this sparkling, fresh take on the classic Bringing Up Baby – if Jane Austen had written it! A romantic comedy with a dash of chaos featuring the most ill-behaved poodle in Regency London, by New York Times bestseller Suzanne Enoch.

Michael Bromley, Duke of Woriton, has a passion, but it’s not for chasing ladies or gambling till dawn. No, his is the far more dangerous pursuit of the science of chemistry. He may be a tad eccentric, but he can navigate a society ballroom, and manage a polite conversation—if he must. He’s certainly capable of taking care of his aunt’s perfectly behaved poodle, Lancelot, while she’s on holiday.

Elizabeth “Bitsy” Dockering, third daughter of a viscount, is enjoying her second, spectacular Season in London. She is a Diamond of the Season and is adored by all—and especially by her precious black poodle, Galahad. To everyone else, however, Galahad is a demon dog. So much so that Bitsy’s most insistent beau and particular victim of Galahad’s bad manners, has hired a thief to steal the dog, clearing the way for his suit.

But none of them can plan for a chaotic encounter in the park, resulting in lost notes, a soaking in the Serpentine and an accidental dog swap…and Lancelot being kidnapped instead of Galahad! Determined to locate the dog, Michael isn’t thrilled to be saddled with a flighty female insisting on helping—except that Bitsy has a great deal more sense than he expected. And a sharp tongue to match. Still, what’s a scientist to do but continue to pursue an outcome, however unexpected it may be? But chemistry is all about attraction, and this is one formula with some hilariously romantic results.

Review:

He's a Duke who's only real passion is chemistry and she's the Diamond of the season, they're exact opposites but find themselves thrown together when they accidentally swap dogs and now they're facing a dognapping, unexpected feelings, and relentless suitors. Michael Bromley is the Duke of Woriton and is only interested in chemistry, he doesn't really care for ladies or gambling, but when his aunt asks him to take care of her poodle, Lancelot, while she's on vacation he agrees. Elizabeth "Bitsy" Dockering is the beautiful daughter of a viscount, she's extremely popular and in her second Season in London, and has tons of suitors who would do anything for her. Elizabeth's true love is her poodle Galahad, but Galahad really really is troublesome and hard to handle, and to everyone else he's a demon. Michael and Bitsy run into each other when Galahad runs into Lancelot, and they both end up swapping their dogs by accident. One of Bitsy's suitors is tired of how much trouble Galahad is and hires a thief to steal the dog so he can pursue Bitsy, the only problem is that he didn't realize the dogs had been swapped and he accidentally stole Lancelot instead. Bitsy and Michael must now work together to find their dogs, figure out who would do this, and work out the growing feelings between them despite their rocky first meeting. This book really was not for me, I had hoped it would be a fun and cute historical rom com but it had really missed the mark and I found myself struggling to read it through til the end. Bitsy is an annoying, spoiled, and unlikable protagonist, she does grow by the end but honestly, I did not like her at all. I didn't feel the chemistry between Michael and Bitsy at all and honestly, would have preferred if they just ended up as friends. Michael had more chemistry with chemistry then he had with Bitsy. I wasn't that invested in the story or the characters and didn't care much for this book at all. While this one didn't work for me if you enjoy historical rom coms with dognapping and multiple POVS, and a opposites attracts couple, give this a go, maybe it'll work out better for you then it did for me.

*Thanks Netgalley and St. Martin's Press, St. Martin's Griffin for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

[theredandwhiteknight-if]

Mordred: *shows up*

My Lancelot: a baby?

Galahad: *shows up*

My Lancelot: TWO BABIES?!

About to become a mother of two, hope the ROs like milfs

Mordred and Galahad will be so happy to have your Lancelot! Mordred has only had their mom (who they’re very attached to, but who has been busy ruling Lothian and tends to go off on her own a lot) and siblings who left for Camelot when they were a child. Galahad was partially raised in a convent and will be very excited and relieved that their parent wants to have a relationship with them. Get ready to have some very adoring and loyal children. They’ll still be very chaotic though so get ready for problems as well.

It’ll definitely put you in Gawain, Agravaine, and Guinevere’s good books. Gawain and Agravaine already feel super maternal to Mordred and will be happy someone else is also there to take care of and protect them as well. Guinevere will also be really happy about your and Galahad’s close relationship since she adores her ward and already views them like her own child. Galehaut adores children and Morgan and Sybil definitely like milfs.

If you want three babies, you can also grow pretty close and take a more parental role to Ywain in Morgan’s route

[fluffypotatey]

Squires being named after older knights/relatives is definitely plausible and not at all uncommon, considering there's, like, three Isoldes and four or five Elaines, and that's why people had epithets or bynames like "Bors the Elder" and "Bors the Younger" or "Elaine of Astolat" and "Elaine of Corbenic."

So we have Lucan the Observant, Nathan the Uppity, Bedivere the Smaller, and Roland the Stabby (yes to Galahad being Lancelot's favourite squire) and may I also put forth for consideration:

Gareth and Gaheris, twin brothers who regularly switch knights and are still waiting for someone to notice.

Dagonet, simultaneously the funniest and meanest mf in the squad, he will Vicious Mockery your ass into dust, try him, and knock your teeth out if that doesn't work.

Andred, (who is totally not related to Tristan, whaaat??, and definitely wasn't snuck in by Elyan, nooooo) who has absolutely taught his bros how to pick locks and pockets and steals Agravaine's stuff all the time.

And Loholt, who...may or may not be a Druid??? Nobody's really sure, they've never seen a tattoo, but it might be somewhere private, who knows? Again. Not their problem. And he's fun.

anon making me open old notes of mine at 7 in the morning dw this is not an inconvenience ily <3

i see your gareth and gaheris twins and raise you gwaine and leon are the only knights who notice. gwaine encourages the switching and even helps in confusing his other knights for the fun of it. leon is too tired to handle something as minor as a stunt like this, so he let's them off scott free. (lucan calls it nepotism because they're his little cousins, but gaheris tells him to shove it and stop being jealous).

bedivere, aka beddy, aka the baby of the group. he abuses his title as the youngest and the squires hate/love him for it. they got themselves into trouble? beddy bats his eyes and the knight don't lecture them too much. training is more grueling? beddy only does half of it because percival felt bad ("HOW DARE HE MESS WITH SIR PERCY'S BLEEDING HEART!!!" "roland let it go" "NEVER HE WILL RUE THE DAY--")

andred sends correspondence letters for elyan and the letters are just him rambling on about his life as a knight to tristan and isolde. tristan is conflicted because he's proud of his surrogate son but also upset that he's a knight of all things. although alternate idea: elyan takes andred in after the s4 finale because tristan is wracked with grief and cannot care for andred the way he and isolde used to, so elyan offers to take the boy in and raise him to be someone they can be proud of and T^T

dagonet and nathan are rivals

nuff said

we also have feirefiz a squire from a distant land who is somehow related to percival but the specifics are hazy. everytime the kid talks about his homeland it only adds to the mystery and confusion because "did you say you had a sword made from diamonds????" "yes, yes, the sword is an heirloom, what's not clicking."

BORS MY BELOVED he worships the ground lancelot walks in and wishes to be the best squire to ever squire. he is ruthless with his pranks and some squires question where his ideas come from.

[queer-ragnelle]

An Arthurian adaptation need not resemble its source when the creator cares about thoughtful storytelling and themes. This transcends medium and genre. I’m not a snob about “accuracy” so much as a stickler for adherence to the respect of one’s audience through sustained narrative quality.

Examples forthcoming.

Camelot 3000 comic is set in the far future. Everyone is reincarnated. Tristan is reborn as a woman, and has to overcome dysphoria and questioning of sexuality in order to properly embrace their new life with Isolde, another woman. Kay explains that he was unruly all those years ago to deflect criticism off of Arthur and direct it at himself, an attempt to subtly aid his brother in maintaining a positive public image. Guinevere is a military commander whose role in the love triangle remains intact aside from the ending. The fellowship of the Round Table are battling aliens while grappling with their new identities and personal journeys. It concludes after Arthur dies, and Guinevere reveals to Lancelot she is pregnant, but doesn’t know by who. He says he will love the baby regardless. So they escape their doomed fate of the medieval source.

Monty Python and The Holy Grail movie (and musical) takes one of Arthurian Legend’s darkest and most tragic stories and retells it as a comedy. Every trope is subverted to an extreme. King Arthur’s supremacy and the conventions of his story are constantly challenged. Serfs question the Divine Right of Kings and “didn’t vote for” Arthur. The Black Knight denies his inevitable defeat, suffering “but a flesh wound,” until he’s nothing more than a torso and a head. French sentries refuse Arthur’s appeals for entry and mock him from the battlement. Meanwhile Galahad endures the Castle of Maidens only through the help of a queer-coded Lancelot (which becomes explicit in the musical when he marries a man). Not only a complete reversal of their medieval roles, but conflict from Guinevere and Elaine is entirely absent (except in the musical which includes a character named Sir Galahad’s Mom). The group then faces the Bridge of Death. Lancelot contrasts his medieval counterpart yet again by answering a simple question and succeeding, OC Robin the Not-Quite-So-Brave-as-Sir-Lancelot fails an absurdly challenging one, followed by Galahad’s failure of another easy one. It ends with Arthur and Bedevere searching for Lancelot, and ultimately results in their arrest by the police.

High Noon Over Camelot is a folk album that retells the story as a dieselpunk western. The three Pendragons—sheriff Arthur, quick-draw Guinevere, and sharpshooter Lancelot—run Camelot as a polyamorous throuple. The love triangle conflict is turned on it’s head which opens the story up for exploration of side characters and their niches. Arthur’s daughter Morgause is not killed by the Ghouls (Saxons) as he thought but instead raised by them, eventually transitioning to Mordred. The Hanged Man, a robot named Merlin, gives three prophecies: Arthur’s son is alive, Gawain’s hatred of the Ghouls is unjust, and Galahad the preacher should sit in the Siege Perilous. Only Galahad heeds the prophecy. Driven mad by the power of the Siege Perilous, he has visions of the space station’s imminent danger, which can only be helped by restarting the GRAIL system on board. So the Pendragons depart with the Grail Knights, leaving behind Mordred and Gawain in charge of Camelot. Mordred tries and fails to pass a peace treaty between Ghouls and Camelot when a fight breaks out and Gawain goes berserk. A hopeless Mordred ends up abandoning his convictions and heads for the space station. He corners the Pendragons as they reach their goal, the Grail Knights having fallen to get them this far. Mordred kills Lancelot and Guinevere, wounds Arthur, then ejects him into space inside a life-pod. Lastly he crashes the station, killing everyone on board and himself.

The Knights of Breton Court is a trilogy by Maurice Broaddus that retells King Arthur’s story in a modern inner city American setting. Street hustler King attempts to reconcile a group of drug dealers, gangbangers, and well-meaning but lost street kids into a uniform front. All kinds of issues arise to comprise his vision, sometimes borne of character flaws within his crew and sometimes otherworldly forces. In some ways, this series could’ve stood to divert even further from the medieval literature that inspired it, as it suffers from the same pitfalls causing modern readers to drop antiquated literature. The meandering plot, inconsistent pacing, and multitude of characters can read nonsensically to someone unaccustomed to the style. The central thread, King [Arthur] and his goal, is sometimes lost. In trusting Broaddus, I think this criticism relates not to his ability as a writer, but can be traced and attributed Le Morte d’Arthur. Regardless, that’s neither here nor there. The point is that The Knights of Breton Court’s shortcomings are unrelated to its divergence from medieval sources. Although it’s not my favorite, it illustrates beautifully how far a novel can stray while keeping itself firmly under the retelling umbrella. The Indianapolis setting and reimagined personas for the knights is it’s greatest strength, but would be fundamentally broken if Broaddus had stripped it of its original essence. They are intrinsically linked. Also Kay is an unfriendly Rottweiler.

These examples offer thought provoking changes while utilizing the framework of existing characters and their established dynamics/traits to subvert or deepen the meaning behind them. For all the differences between the adaptations and their shared source material, it works, because the creators committed to the bit. This isn’t to say all retellings toe that line effectively.

Cursed is a novel and Netflix series written by Tom Wheeler, illustrated by Frank Miller, and produced by them both. Considering the amount of involvement these two had on both the book and series, it’s safe to assume their creative control was absolute, and each of these mediums fully realized their vision for the story. However, regarding Miller and Wheeler as storytellers with a vision implies they are creatives. It assumes a passion for the project, some semblance of personal expression through art, which is unsubstantiated by the artificial depth of significance displayed in Cursed. The series was green lit before the book even published, so that should give you an indication of the true motivations behind this retelling. It wasn’t made for the love of the source material realized through an artist’s unique perspective, but quickly drawn up and produced to capitalize on the joint products as much as possible.

I will spare everyone a long-winded review of this wretched book and show. They fulfill none of the promises made in the back cover blurb and series description. It’s an insult to the audience’s intelligence. But the point is, the Arthurian elements are not integral to the story, but rather recognizable set pieces and props artificially painted on like a brittle veneer. They exist solely to capitalize on what Miller and Wheeler hoped was an existing audience without the need to develop worthwhile story and attract an audience on their own merits. What they’ve done feels not like inspiration or transmutation, but appropriation of something they neither respect nor care to understand. That is the stipulation, for me, to garner enjoyment from a retelling, regardless of how far it strays from the sources it claims aspects from. An artist must comprehend their material, their muse, their emotional connection to the piece in order to properly manipulate and utilize it. Miller and Wheeler are not artists and their lake is a puddle.

[pseudofaux]

Hello sue. Can I plz request

for the kings taking care of their triplet babies? (Mc just gave birth and she needs to have some bed rest because the babies were born with magic powers or something) 2 prince and a princess. Kwkckwkxk babies are so adorable and I wonder how will they handle all the chaos (like crying because diapers are full or hungry lol) thank u:))

Hi! ♥️♠️

So this is way, WAY out of my wheelhouse, but I appreciate you asking, and I am a sucker for babies and for Lance/Alice/Ray. I'm going to try, with the upfront admission that this is not ground I feel like I have very solid footing on. I'm sorry if these are not in line with what you had in mind; I will think hard on what you've written me and try my best!

(Requests are CLOSED, I am filling asks from earlier this year. I will put up a masterlist when they are all posted. Thank you for reading... just 12 more after this one!)

♥️♠️👑🍼

The thing is, they are both army commanders and kings. They've faced the magic tower. They've faced each other. They’ve faced the recent difficulties of Alice's pregnancy. All those things have made them stronger and better at knowing what to do. But they are just two men, and against three newborns they have found themselves not only exhausted but hopelessly outnumbered. They do not have enough arms. They have no idea what to do.

Madeline always, always wants to be cuddled, and she will settle her sweet head of dark hair on Lancelot's chest if she is in the sling, but only as long as he is going up or down stairs. George sleeps harder-- he's the best sleeper, of the three-- but when he wakes up he wants to eat and then be held at a precise angle or he will scream baby bloody murder. Galahad can be left safely on his own for a few moments, he is a sweet and calm baby for longer than the others seem to be able to manage, but his easygoing nature is in constant peril of being upset by a delicate tummy, so he needs a lot of patting and love.

They don't want Alice up and out of bed yet. She needs to recover, and she deserves to rest. The fathers try to give each other breaks, but one versus three proves even more difficult than two versus three. They think, distantly, that they used to be able to do that math easily.

…It is not long at all before they have to call in reinforcements.

Thankfully, Uncle Jonah seems to settle Madeline beautifully, and Uncle Sirius remembers having baby siblings so he is a godsend with Galahad. Poor George is passed from well-meaning uncle to uncle until Harr finally comes to visit, and he brings Loki with him. It's Loki who simply has the build to keep little George happy laid right against his shoulder, nuzzling his head like a kitten from time to time.

After that, the days become a little easier, because they have the help (and the arms). But the triplets all seem fascinated by the moon and unwilling to sleep for long when it is in the sky. Nights remain difficult until Ray and Lancelot are shuffling through the hall of their home and Zero finds them. He scoops all three of the babies into a quietly squirming bundle in his arms, orders the kings to go bathe and get into bed with their wife, and takes the babies to the large window at the other end of the hall. They all look at the moon until six pairs of tiny lashes begin to meet, over and over, until they stay met. When Zero quietly brings the babies back into their room, Lancelot and Ray are already asleep on either side of Alice in bed.

She is not, though. She gives him quiet, sincere thanks, and holds out her arms for her children. Zero is able to roll the boys into her arms, and settles Madeline into the space between Alice and Ray, where it looks like their daughter is meant to be, anyway.

"I'll be right outside if you need anything," Zero says. She thanks him again, already smiling at her sons, and repeats her thanks once more just before he closes the door. He stays on the other side all night, enjoying the moonlight flooding into the hall from the window and the soft, soft lullabies coming though the door at his back.

[gigilefache]

So this au. I said I was gonna post some of the updated story stuff for it so I'll just do that.

So this au is based around the concept of Kirby's species being of a powerful, other worldly, angelic origin.

This au is also mostly a backstory au, so there is no big change to the canon settings, rather a backstory setting. This setting being the realm of "The Aether." The puff home dimension. 

The dimension is a paradise area. It is inhabited by only puffs. The main central area of the Aether is a towering star shaped plateau, encompassing forests with a wide variety of nature, bodies of starry/galactic water, snowy mountains, and artificial towers made of unknown materials. Outside of the main plateau are floating isles and other large pillars reaching up to the high heavens, but they're just there to look cool. At the center of the plateau is an even taller tower, reaching so high it barley pierces the barrier of the dimension, and all other dimensions can be seen from there. The tower is known as the Skyview Tower, and it's peak is called "the Peak of Yonder Otherworlds." This peak is also rests a mirror. Using the purest forms of the four elements on this mirror can summon the Mother Orb. But she's mean, so like, don't.

There are four levels to The Aether, and each one is mainly inhabited by a different type of puff.

The bottom level is the Silent Outskirts. It's incredibly dark, due to the sky being blocked by storm clouds. Despite it's darkness however, it is home to a lot of bio-luminescent plants and crystals. There is a lot of interdimensional trash here too, stuff that accidentally pours in from other dimensions like candy wrappers, shattered mirrors, rammen packs, stuffed animals, and the occasional corpse.

The level above that is the Titanous Terrain. This level is located on the part of the plateau just above the storm clouds. It is inhabited by soul puffs, and makes up a majority of the realm’s natural beauty.

Above that is Angelic Area where the heart puffs reside. And it's all in the clouds. The only solid ground being floating platforms and high reaching pillars. It's very peaceful. Many aspects of this area are actually mechanical though, specifically the floating isles.

The level above that is the River of Heavens. A twilight sky area inhabited by dream puffs. There are many constellations here, as well as edible star fragments. The river has a fountain of dreams vibe to it, complete with bio-luminescent artifacts like in Silent Outskirts.

The last setting is within Skyview Tower. It appears very tall and monstrous, but it's actually pretty cozy, and each floor is different. The first few floors have gardens, pantries, bedrooms, and even an observatory. Once you climb the floors though it gets more eerie. There are stained glass windows in empty rooms, galleries with moving paintings, prophetic tapestries, mechanical floors that make lots of noises, and a big bedroom/playroom that is really dusty with a creepy music box vibe going on. There's also a couple rest areas.

There are four categories of puffs, each being based on the elements of dark, dream, heart, and soul. However, the characters Kirby, Void Termina, Meta knight, Galacta Knight, Morpho Knight, and the Mother Orb (character specific to this au) are in none of these aforementioned categories because they are culmination of all four elements.

There different types of puff and their defining traits are as follows:

Dark: dark/shadow colors. Have glowing eyes and cheek blushes. Can have glowing horns or antennae. They have mouth eyes that glow in the dark.

Dream: colors you would see in a twilight sky or sunset. Have glowing features like horns or antennae, but they can also have glittery wings or fins. They have star shaped cheek patterns. sometimes they're even cats.

Heart: very small. These puffs don't have glowing features, but they can fly. They are pastel in appearance, and have heart shaped cheek patterns. They are also cuddly.

Soul: see copy abilities. Yeah that's them. Except they are just a bit goopy, like fresh paint.

All encompassing (chaos): Kirby and Void are both all encompassing, as well as the Mother Orb, which created all of the puffs. Defining features are hunger and bastard tendencies.

There are also light puffs and glass/mirror puffs. Both are found inside of Skyview Tower. The mirror puffs act like guards, while light puffs are mostly servants/messengers.  

The Mother Orb, also named Twinkle Popo ,is the creator of all puffs except for Meta Knight, Galacta Knight, and Morpho Knight. She appears as a big bright Kirby with a tiny face, rainbow markings that extend from her cheeks and throughout her body like veins, wings like the SA sparkler or the dragoon, and a halo. However she is actually the entire dimension, in that every part of the realm is connected to the Mother orb. The mother orb created all puffs, but Void was created using her direct essence. So void is essentially her son.

Because Void was stolen by the ancients, the Mother Orb got really pissy, so whenever they tried to come back for more stuff she "confronted" them. After Void was sealed, she cried for ten thousand years. Eventually her tears turned into Kirby, another direct descendent.

The Mother Orb was a lot more controlling of Kirby, and kept them locked up in the tower for a little bit. After a while Kirby just kind of decided "fuck this" and left the dimension entirely.

The Mother Orb also doesn't speak. She's just bass boosted Kirby. She loud.

Meta Knight, and by extension the other orbular star warriors, were genetically made to be the strongest warriors. Meta knight the only one made with all encompassing matter, while the others like Sir Arthur, Percival, Galahad, and Lancelot are each made of a specific type of matter.

Galacta Knight was made to essentially be an avatar of all matters, so they are also lab grown. They were made to specifically take care of void. And by take care I mean kill. But after they did that Galacta got put in the timeout crystal.

Morpho Knight was created by Necrodeus with all encompassing matter, and is actually more powerful than him. But because he's a little bitch baby he turned Morpho into a butterfly. They have an agreement that if Morpho takes enough souls to the underworld then they will get their real form back. They won't keep this promise. Sometimes they visit the Aether and they tell Galacta about it.

There are guardians throughout the Aether that watch over the purest forms of the four elements. They also act as guardian figures to the puffs of that area. But this is all they do.

That's it though. Hope this Au is to your liking. Tell me if there's anything I can do to improve on it, or just tell me your thoughts on it. Thank you for reading.

[c0rpsedemon]

i am curious, as someone who’s only exposure to arthurania was reading jane yolen’s young merlin as a child, would you mind saying why hnoc is a bad adaptation? i’m super curious but no worries if not <3

this has been sitting in my inbox for months bc i kept telling myself i needed to write a full essay with proof from medieval lit to make myself feel smarter.  however, since i’ve recently lost all credibility bc i can’t articulate points to save my life, and since i’ve realized that i could answer this in a just a couple paragraphs, now seems like the right time to answer this ask. sorry for the wait.

under a cut bc length

also warnings for mentions of racism bc this is hnoc we're talking abt and sexual assault bc this is med lit we're also talking abt

the basic problems are pendragon polycule itself, the story beats of the album, the fridging and lack of characterization of morgan le fay, the clear influence of pop culture arthuriana, and whatever the fuck happened with gawain/e.

pendragon polycule is... just not a good take.  there’s a bit in the lancelot-grail abt arthur viewing lancelot like a son (and lancelot not giving a shit abt him).  also arthur knew his parents for years before lancelot was even born.  plus lancelot just Doesn’t care abt him and i can’t stress this part enough.  arthur repeatedly tries to have guinnevere killed, mostly in the lancelot-grail, and guinn didn’t really have any say in marrying him bc she was a teenager.  lancelot and guinnevere is a lot better but that’s not saying much.  guinn doesn’t exactly treat lancelot too well... like at all, BUT it’s not intrinsic to their relationship and is completely caused by medieval misogyny and i’m all in favor of modern retellings saying fuck that.  but also lancelot has multiple pseudo-canon boyfriends (this is med lit after all), and one pseudo-canon husband so like... there were better options.  (also lancelot’s husband is basically in a lavender marriage with guinnevere’s maybe girlfriend who most authors just eventually forget abt as the story progresses).

this next one is a problem with a lot of modern arthurian works bc the inclusion of elayne of astolat is too much to ask apparently.  the grail quest isn’t tied to the fall of camelot, it just happens to be one of the last grand adventures the knights of the round table have.  the event that traditionally sets off the fall is the death of the maiden of astolat/the lady of shalott/elayne of escolat/she has a lot of names, her story has a few variations but usually she either is cursed to stay in a tower and weave and only be able to see the outside world through a mirror positioned across from her window, until lancelot rides by and she rushes to see him out of the actual window and her mirror shatters, setting off her death, or she lives with her father and brothers and takes care of lancelot bc he was injured for a time and she gets to go on adventures to find him and she’s friends with gawaine and she dies bc lancelot rejects her and this version’s a lot more fun but also more happens which makes it harder to explain.  the way her story ends however, is that she dies after she makes arrangements for a glorious boat to drift from astolat to camelot carrying nothing but her dead body and a letter explaining that she died of love for lancelot du lac and the court mourns the death of such a beautiful and young maiden (her age varies a lot but i’ve always read her as a young teenager at most).  but the important thing is, camelot is doomed from the moment she washes up on its shore bc she’s an omen of the end and has symbolic meaning and all that, the maiden of astolat washes up on camelot’s shores, the court mourns the loss of a maiden in her prime and she marks the end of camelot’s prime as well, morgan le fay reappears after being presumed dead and warns arthur of guinnevere and lancelot’s affair, aggravaine and modred conspire to bring lancelot and guinnevere’s affair to light, they succeed but lancelot escapes, guinnevere is to be burnt at the stake and lancelot rescues her, killing aggravaine, gaheris and gareth (gawaine’s brothers) in the process, gawaine drags his uncle and camelot to war bc he was driven mad due to the loss of his brothers, lancelot accidentally kills gawaine, his best friend and maybe boyfriend (i have RECEIPTS), and gawaine forgives him on his detahbed while lancelot and guinn rejoin arthur, meanwhile modred, who practically had the throne handed to him, usurps and invites the saxons in, camlann happens, and camelot is destroyed.  no where in there is the grail quest.

morgan le fay is honestly the most questionable part of the album bc there’s not a single text where she dies.  like....  at least with eurydice in udad she died in the original... there’s no basis for morgan dying.  also she is NOT modred’s mother and anyone who tells you otherwise is a liar, she interacts with him once in the vulgate bc she had three of her nephews over and that’s IT.  it’s a horrible take which originated in the mists of avalon by marion zimmer bradley who is an honest to god monster for reasons i don’t want to trigger tag this post for.  also she’s one of the most dynamic and thought-out characters in the entire canon and they just made her a watered down morgause (modred’s actual mother, morgan’s sister, canonical milf)... there was no reason for it to be her apart from the fact that she’s more well known......

pop culture arthuriana is,,, one of my least favorite things.  no, morgan wasn’t modred’s mother, no, morgause wasn’t abusive but her husband sure was implied to be, no, aggravaine didn’t kill his mother, that was gaheris, he loved his mother, you’re only saying that bc he has a reputation as the “evil” orkney, no, the once and future king is not a good descriptor for arthur, stop making me read it, no, morgause wasn’t the one to initiate the thing with arthur resulting in modred, no, lancelot and arthur weren’t friends, no, tristan wasn’t a self-centered asshole, tennyson is a fucking liar, no, galahad didn’t have sex or want to, he’s one of the first ever explicitly asexual characters out there, no, galahad’s conception was NOT consensual, lancelot was tricked, and no, elayne of astolat wasn’t galahad’s mother, she’s implied to be younger than him.  those are just the big glaring ones, but i swear it’s bc of arthuriana’s reputation as a mythology and the connotations belonging to that word (no one true canon (which is true but there are still things that just AREN’T canon, not completely written down, passed by oral tradition) that causes ppl to see mediocre modern texts and go “oh. well this is abt as close to the original as i’m going to get” and don’t bother to look into so much as malory (who i only name bc he’s one of the most well known medieval authors with the most commonly used storylines, don’t read malory kids, he’s a mediocre-at-best writer even by medieval standards).  the big perpetrators of modern arthurian tropes are the books the once and future king by th wh*te, who is a shitty person and lets it bleed into his writing (which isn’t like... nice to read or anything, seriously why do ppl love this book so much it doesn’t have redeeming qualities), and the mists of avalon by marion zimmer bradley (it’s poorly written, the story is a mess, and mzb is honestly a monster and one google search will tell you that), and unfortunately the writings of tennyson, which are mostly good but he clearly didn’t read the povest (a later text that’s also my favorite, known for significantly improving ppl’s opinions on tristan, isolde and co.) before deciding he hated both tristan and isolde and he has HORRIBLE takes on them.  high noon over camelot is SEEPED in pop culture arthuriana and i think it would have been so much better if the band had read so much as a SUMMARY of the events of le morte.  it’s evident in the song “the once and future king” bc it’s,,,, literally named after one of the worst books in existence.  it’s shown in the morgan le fay thing, and it’s shown in the pendragon polycule thing.  and hell, i think you can even explain away the lack of elayne of astolat with pop culture arthuriana, bc ppl have had bad takes on her ever since th wh*te combined her character with that of ela*ne of corbenic, and the band probably went “huh, let’s write lancelot’s abuser out of this” and they would’ve been right to do so if that’s who elayne of astolat was.

the final big issue is gawaine, the closest thing the genre has to a protagonist, he’s pretty much canon bi and, in some texts, arospec, he’s a dashing knight of great reknown and he derails every romance to steal hearts, commit murder, and make out with every knight and lady mentioned.  and in hnoc he’s... racist.  that’s it.  it’s,,, almost completely unfounded by the arthurian canon and shows a major misunderstanding of his motivations (like i said earlier, he wants to avenge his brothers bc there’s a reoccuring motif of how much the orkneys value family).  i say almost bc in one text it’s his motivations for killing palomydes but i’ve never heard it mentioned by name bc that’s just what it’s known for.  most arthuriana fans just look away from it except when critiquing hnoc but that one text is an outlier, shouldn’t be counted, and i highly doubt the mechs made hnoc gawain how he is bc they found this text.  it’s just a bad text.

hnoc has,,, quite a few more minor issues, such as villainized ladies of the lake (their ONLY crimes were sealing away merlin bc he tried to assault teenage nimue/ninniane (proto-nimue/vivianne from the vulgate), and that one time vivviane/ninniane kidnapped adopted baby lancelot), assigning brain to merlin (y’know,,, the predator who helped arrange the [redacted] of arthur’s mother and tried to assault a teenager,,,) although merlin is portrayed in a positive light throughout modern arthuriana so i don’t think they knew, giving a song to pellinore, who my perception of has been forever altered bc i was introduced to him through malory and the explanation of torre’s conception, which you can just look up “sir torre arthurian” to find out abt if you can’t just Guess, if they wanted a song abt the questing beast palomydes was Right There AND has been associated with the questing beast for longer, but once again i don’t think they knew.

also namedropping a bunch of knights in the fiction is... it Suggests a bigger world full of all these other stories but they just don’t work bc the world of hnoc wasn’t designed in a way where the appearance of half these characters would make sense.  like,, tristan is referenced as dying in the grail quest in the same sentence as bedevere (one of the characters who is known for almost always surviving), but tristan Isn’t one of the knights who dies on the grail quest, his possible deaths (ignoring the potentially happy ending of the povest for a second) are either being murdered by his uncle, king mark (bc mark married tristan’s gf to try and get tristan killed and also to spite him), bc he was driven into a fury bc of tristan and isolde’s affair, or he’s injured and only isolde (the best healer in the world) can save him so he sends for her and if the ship he sent for her is supposed to fly white sails if she’s there, or black sails if she’s not, and the ship flies white sails but his wife (also named isolde) says it’s black sails (the why depends but usually comes down to jealousy), and so he gives up bc he thinks all hope is lost and usually succumbs to his injuries, either way isolde dies of a broken heart over his body.  there’s no way for the tristan and isolde story to play out like it’s supposed to in the world of hnoc, just as there’s no way for any story with gawaine (and Oh Boy are there a lot of stories with gawaine) or pretty much anyone else, without severely altering the canon.

of course, there are still parts of hnoc i like a lot, most of the music i adore and i just like the idea of space cowboys and the secret good hnoc that lives in my head.  and it has one of my favorite characterizations of galahad, even though galahad hnoc is nothing like galahad arthuriana.  it’s not GOOD but i like it and it’s fun to turn my brain off too, and i’ll always value it as my introduction to arthuriana.

also there are modern arthurian tropes i do like such as characters being genre-savvy/knowing they’re fictional/knowing they’ve done this before (which hnoc does wonderfully!) and bedevere-as-the-storyteller (everyone say thank you lord tennyson).

WOW that was longer than expected, i feel very passionately abt this, when i was planning to write a fully sourced essay i meant to include a bit at the bottom with recommendations to get into better arthuriana and i think i’ll keep that in this post.

if you like hnoc for the arthurian music i’d like to suggest heather dale’s arthurian music to you, she does occasionally fall into the trap of modern arthuriana (some parts of lancelot and arthur being close, morgan as modred’s mother), sometimes she’s just wrong (galahad at lancelot’s trial, a lot of tristan and isolde), and her stuff is kinda straightwashed sometimes (sir gawain and the green knight, for example) but i’d be lying if it wasn’t catchy, and it’s not quite as bad as hnoc adaptation-wise.  culwch and olwen is pretty accurate (albeit abridged bc culwch and olwen has SO many tangents), as is lily maid (it’s abt elayne of astolat!).

if you liked hnoc for king arthur... in space! then may i recommend to you my own fanfic? it's not posted yet but the second i finish writing the first chapter i'm going to make a Big Deal out of it that'll be impossible to miss!

if you want to learn abt arthuriana through tumblr-osmosis like i did at first, i’d like to recommend the love of my life @acegalahads, first and foremost (it’s me on a sideblog i’m just obsessed with myself), and i can’t recommend my arthuriana mutuals over there, @/gringolet, @/merlinenthusiast, @/jcbookworm, @/elayneofshalott, and @/elaineofascolat (the elayne urls have been popular recently), also i know for a fact that my mutual-in-law, @/itonje makes great arthuriana posts that i look forwards to whenever i open the tag.

here are a few good reference posts, a quick guide to the characters, a guide to characters of color, and a much more comprehensive intro to arthuriana post with even more texts linked to it.

if you want to ease into med lit, i’d like to introduce you to pre-raphaelite poetry, alfred lord tennyson and william morris are my favorites, although tennyson can’t be trusted with tristan and isolde.  the poem the lady of shalott is basically a rite of passage for arthuriana fans, although when it comes to tennyson’s writings abt elayne of astolat, i prefer lancelot and elaine, which is part of his much larger story, idylls of the king.  for morris, don’t trust what he says abt aggravaine killing his mother, but my favorites of his are sir galahad, a christmas mystery, which sounds like a shitty disney sequel, and palomyde’s quest, which i blame for my love of palomydes (that and the one bit of the povest where he asks tristan to be his greatest enemy and that he wants nothing more, gay ppl,,,,).

if you want to read abt lancelot and his husband, there’s the lancelot-grail cycle, which i believe was taken off of archive dot org and i think i found it on @/tobeisexhausting’s blog but don’t quote me on that.

the povest, which was a religious experience for me and i can’t reccomend enough if you want to like tristan and isolde, is here, i don’t know who scanned it but i think i found it on @/lanzelet’s blog

the dutch texts are just good in general, here’s a link to their section of a(n unfinished) site for hosting various texts by my former mutual @/reynier (who’s no longer on tumblr).  i’d like to recommend lancelot and the white hart specifically bc it’s mainly just just gawaine being gay for lancelot.

if you want older works, here’s my scan of the history of the kings of britain, and here’s culwch and olwen and pa gur.

oh wow this is even longer than i thought it would be so i’m going to wrap this up by saying that i always love to talk abt arthuriana more than anything if you have any questions or just are curious!

[rayne-storm]

Day 7! Do you have a favorite trait about your characters? Physical, personality, or otherwise?

This is a really interesting question, and took me a good deal of time to come up with!

Arthur - his kindness. My Arthur is compassionate nearly to a fault, and truly believes in the best in other people. This can absolutely be a weakness, but those around him that love him ensure that he knows how much his caring is valued.

Guinevere - Her spirit. She is fierce and independent, but she also has such a capacity for love! She loves so hard, matching her husbands' deep affection for each other. She loves children and playing with them, loves baking and needle arts, but she also loves wielding a bow as tall as herself.

Lancelot - I love his soft side. Yes, he is arguably the greatest warrior in the land, a fierce opponent who is passionate about weaponry and engineering them, but he is also a doting husband and father. There's a softness about him that only those closest to him get to see. He wants to show Galahad what a truly good man, father, and husband can and should be, even if he's still figuring it out. And, I cannot stress this enough, he was raised by merfolk and is half-siblings with a sword.

Kay - I'm still largely figuring him out, but so far, I love that he becomes an automatic grandfather-y figure to the boys (and any kiddos in Camelot). He is in generally cold and blunt, but he has one weakness: babies.

Tristan - his wit, and his uncanny ability to see the best in any situation. He is the Pippin to Gawain's Merry.

Gawain - not to be Undertale on main, but his Determination. He is deeply loyal, and will do anything he can to keep the people he loves safe and happy.

Merlin - his endless patience. While many adaptations choose to show him as this grumpy old man with no time or patience for anything or anyone, who just sort of feels obligated to be there for... Reasons? My Merlin is fascinated by humanity, and particularly their capacity for curiosity. He loves to answer questions (within reason), and to demonstrate his abilities, and even teach others what he can. He works extensively with Mordred and Gawain, and is always so proud of them!

Morgana - her strength. Like Guinevere, she is fiercely protective of her son and Galahad, and her new children with her husband (which is a story for a new day). She has frequently been sort of acted upon in her life, tricked into conceiving Mordred (if you've ever seen/read Mists of Avalon, it was a very similar situation), ignored or abused by the adults in her life growing up, and had to be the advocate for a mother who was at times catatonic with grief. She is in a healthy, safe place now, and is not about to let anyone else go through that if she can help it.

Mordred - his gentle spirit. He was born to be this mighty warrior, this magical high priest to save all of the fey from oppression through magic and violence, but that isn't what he has become. He is caring, loving, skittish, always concerned for others. He is just. He's a good boy.

Galahad - his joy. He takes after Tristan in this regard, where he can fight and will defend his loved ones, but would much rather stay home and nalbind a hat or gloves for his beloved Mordred, or his family, or learn magic with Merlin. He is a happy boy, and his title of "The Pure" comes not from some convoluted notion of purity in regards to sexuality or anything, but rather from his bright spirit.

Sir Kalitrab - I mean, he's basically a badass version of the Jolly Green Giant, but more than that I cannot say.

Special Guest Uther Pendragon - absolutely nothing I hate this stinky bastard man.

[tillman]

Sorry about this sad question( i remember you said that the grail quest is sad) pls infodump about lancelot and galahads relationship since i mostly see bad takes about them in both modern books and fanfictions. Do they have other interactions other than the boat scene? And also including about the du lacs family if its okay? since i cant stop thinking about them after you post about them the other day.i know about the orkney bros but not the dulacs and i havent read the grail quest

eowhtfije god. yeah ok. its. ok yeah listen no one has any good takes on the du lacs for some reason when the entire family’s dynamic is way simplier than the orkneys. ill get into the grail quest in a sec cus i know ive talked about taht one before but ok. ok.

the main point of the orkneys being so close and so willing to do QUITE LITERALLY anything for each other is the fact growing up they had no outside figure besides their mother (and i guess lot for the older few, but hes less important to the family dynamic as a whole and more just gawains personal shit). so you have 4 (gareths too young and has an inherent mistrust of most of his brothers) already traumatized children sent to war too quickly and who really only had each other for emotional support and any sense of togetherness. so from this, the 4 literally only have each other. thye know nothing besides each other, and thus will do anything to make sure the others are ok.

this is different from the du lacs who, though in the same boat as the orkneys as 3 kids raised as brothers by one central mother figure, had outside influence and a mother who fights to be there and supportive of them. the du lacs do anything for each other, yea, but the thing is bors and lionel are willing to stand up for morals on top of this. both are willing to call each other and lancelot out when something is wrong, and are willing to help each other make a change for hte better, which is something the orkneys never really learned how to do in a sense? whatever. in short they r all SUPER SUPER close and thus from that have a sense of comradry not as ride or die as the orkneys, but more like. open and willing to talk about shit instead. 

wehn galahad is add to the equation shit doesnt really change, besides the three going full dad mode over baby. bors is repeatedly shown as fighting tooth and nail to protect galahad and watch over him, and lancelot is shown time and time again trying to be there for him emotionally in a twisted mirror of how the lady is there for him. he tries to be what he needs, and though lancelot is not an emotionally responsive person, is almost alwyas seen as making sure galahad is respected and emotionally ok (see boat scene and the scene galahad first gets to court). while lancelot and galahad dont have that many interactions, the few they do are exclusively positive with lancelot either bragging about galahad to others, quite literally crying over how proud of him he is, or him asking over and over if galahad is ok with what is happening, and if he chose this path himself (this DEEPLY ties into galahads personal themes of freedom and destiny but lets not get into that).

uhhhh mariners revenge song came on and i kinda spaced out and forgot what iw as saying but basically in short: they love each other very much and all of the du lacs have a rlly weirdly close bond that i never really see get talked about which is sucks cus i like them a lot. bors lionel and lancelot were fucking raised as brothers bro. how is that never touched on. also this doesnt reach out to a lot of lancelots other cousins (ie bleobris or the other 50 i cant remember rn) cus all of them suck? and also none of them really truly seem to care for lancelot and instead use his name as a “hey guess who IM related to” instead. 

id also include hector but hector has no personally outside of existing (go king give us nothing!!!) but iashchor in the povest loves his brother very much which is very wonderful. i love iashchor. galahad doesnt show up much in it but he is tehre but iashchor in the few sections he appears is described as having a huge heart and is willing to drop everything to help his brother and his stupid boyfriend <3 luv iashchor. 

anwytatys yeah bro the du lacs love each other so fucking much and are willing to call each other out and do EVERYTHING for each other so i honestly think theyre the better family :-/ sorry orkneys. u guys just left gareth there. even he resorted to the du lacs. oh man speaking of that how fucking cute is that. gareth was like yeah i dont trust gawain or my brothers <3 lancelot can u please adopt me. and he did. god. thats a weird pattern tho lancelot can not stop adopting children and then getting the shit kicked out of him by them. what a man. lancelot has not one in his life won a fight against someone younger than 17. 

ok im done im done my head is hurting owrg8et49pu3owithgfwgb4f i hope this makes any sense at all 

[epic-summaries]

Fantasy Book Review - The Warlord Chronicles by Bernard Cornwell

I’m going to only review books I liked or loved. Partly because why would I want to think more about the books I didn’t like? But mainly because I want to put some positivity in this terrible world.

The Plot

It’s King Arthur, okay Warlord Arthur because it’s a plot point that he is not a king. Bare bones plots, Derfel is a monk in the care of Queen Igraine and Bishop Samsun. Queen Igraine commissions Derfel to right of his friend Arthur. The rest of the books are the story of Arthur threw Derfel’s eyes. It starts with the birth of Mordred, the true born grandson of Uther. Before Uther’s death, Uther has some of his men, which includes his bastard son, Arthur, take an oath that they will protect the young prince. Uther dies. Britain goes to hell and Arthur goes through a lot of trouble keeping his oath. The Anglo-Saxons are attacking Britain and there are others who want the throne. Also, Merlin and Nimue want to bring back the Old Gods of Britain. And you know where it’s going eventually, because it’s Arthur. You know it’s going to end with Mordred vs Arthur (I still cried like a baby).

I have a feeling if you didn’t read the Welsh Arthur you would look at the plot and think that it was a very unique and fresh take on Arthuriana. It has some of the pop culture Arthurian stables; like the Arthur, Lancelot and Guinevere love triangle. But for the most part it takes from the Welsh and the historical annuals. The treasures of Britain is a plot point. Loholt and Arm are in the story! Culhwch is in the story. I’m very happy that the Welsh Arthuriana was getting some love. However that being said, there are still twists and turns on the way to the end of the story. Some twists and turns were good, and in Excalibur some were weird. Other than Lancelot’s character I didn’t dislike one twist on the story, though, it worked very well with the story.

There is a theme of Christianity vs Paganism which is meh to me. It was the only part I didn’t like and it’s the reason that Enemy of God was my least favourite of the books since that was an important theme of the novel.

Tone and Style

The series is written as Derfel himself is writing it years after the events of the story. Derfel is thankful a fun narrator. While I’m sure he is writing the story trying to be as unbiased as possible, his biases to come out, like whenever he talks about Lancelot. I’m glad he’s unbiased because it is entertaining. He made me laugh and he made me cry and he made me cheer and he made me boo. After some of the characters I put the narration as one of my favourite parts of the story.

Cornwell is going for a more ‘historical’ Arthur by placing him in 5th-6th century Britain. It is gritty and brutal at points. The brutal and gritty are never overwhelming because Conrwell does not forget to be hopeful and to show the good in life and people (something I wish more pieces of media would remember).

I would call the genre of this series historical low fantasy. I have no doubt that there is magic in the story but there is very little of it. For the most part, magic is just mundane tricks. .

The Characters

For a ‘historical’ Arthur it’s very weird that Kay, Bedevere and Gawain are not characters. Well, Kay is mentioned and Gawain is sacrificed then his zombie does some cool stuff in battle and not so cool stuff with Olwen.

My favourite characters are Arthur, Culwhch and Nimue (even after spoiler things happen in Book 3.)

Derfel: I’m still convinced he’s in love with Arthur. He’s my fourth or fifth favourite character.

Ceinwyn: Despite being Derfel’s common-law wife and official love interest, I don’t have much to say about her. She had her moments, like when she went eff you to Lancelot and decided marriage was not for her. She was at her best in the Winter King.

Arthur: I LOVE YOU!

Guinever: I wish I had more of you because you could have been my favourite character.

Culhwch: He’s basically Kay and I loved him.

Aelle: I didn’t mind him. He was hatable when he needed to be but he had moments where I was like okay you’re not the worse.

Lancelot: Fuck you. ‘Nough said.

Galahad: Aka the token good Christian. He’s good and pure. :)

Mordred: Brat but not in a good way. I hated him as much as Derfel wanted me to hate him.

Merlin: I have mixed feelings, because I would go from I love you and then he would say something sexist and I’m like meh.

Nimue: She’s smart, magical and great. Sure she goes crazy at the end and joins Mordred but she’s still great.

Morgan: I like her.

Samsun: I dislike him but not as much as Derfel wanted me too.

Tristan: I enjoyed him, I usually do. But he’s mainly on this list so I can say that death scene was insane. Poor Iseult. Fuck you Mark. And isn’t Tristan famous for beating someone in one on one combat? Yeah, I’m pretty sure that’s something he’s famous for.

Igraine: LOL! She makes me laugh, especially when she’s like but that’s not how the bards tell it.

There are more but I don’t want this to be too long.

Conclusion

I would say The Winter King was my favourite, then Excalibur for the weirdness and lastly the Enemy of God.

When Cornwell finishes The Saxon Stories, I will be reading that series. Or maybe my mother and I will watch the Netflix show… we have to finish the Medici one.

[orneryknight]

Baby Galahad Headcanons

Because @messofamulti unknowingly caused a brainstorm.

Garanwyn hadn't hit puberty when he was brought to Camelot as a 15 year old boy. Though tall for his age, he hadn't grown to the 6'4" that he would be in three years time and looked somewhat effeminate because he was still pretty much a kid.

He had really thick black hair that went past his shoulders. It was a lot like a chinchilla's, if anyone had one for reference. He had to cut it just a year after joining the knights, because it became unmanageable, especially under a helmet, even despite his fondness for tying it back in a low ponytail.

He took any opportunity for pranks and general insolence early on. He didn't like the new environment and chose to rebel in order to show it.

He loved the books that were available to him at Camelot, as well as learning magic, and it seemed like he might become Merlin's apprentice until his hopes were dashed and he was taken on the Grail Quest by Lancelot.

Galahad could be tempted with food or the promise of books/learning new magic, which got him in trouble a few times.

In the very early days, Galeas was relegated to care taking duties on quests. He cooked, tended wounds, and made sure the horses were fed. Though he was trained in swordfighting, he had not yet gained enough experience to participate fully in battle. Still, he impressed the other knights with his penchant for good cooking, finding herbs, and casting minor spells for pain relief, healing, and even entertainment.