#also SAGRAMORE I love sagramore

[lefresne]

researching byzantine reliquaries and thinking of my best friend perlevaus-verse guinevere...........

#el.txt #also SAGRAMORE I love sagramore

[queer-ragnelle]

Hi! I really want to read the vulgate cycle but I have a hard time staying focused when reading it. Are there any sections of the vulgate that are not as important to the understanding or able to skip? Thank you so much for making all these stories accessible and thanks for your reply :))

Hello my friend! This is a great question and one I get a lot. The Vulgate Cycle is long and daunting, but I can help you navigate it!

Firstly, here is the full Vulgate Cycle PDF collection for everyone to read. Secondly, I'll summarize what you can do, and elaborate below a cut.

TL;DR

If reading a PDF, use CTRL+F to find your favorite character's name/stories.

If reading a physical copy, utilize the index (located at the very end of the Post Vulgate) to find them.

Discover chapters of interest from the summary page (also located at the very end of the Post Vulgate).

Skip The History of the Holy Grail and begin with The Story of Merlin or Lancelot I.

Now, let's break down the ways you can navigate the Vulgate Cycle step by step.

CTRL+F

This option will certainly be less effective if your favorite character is a prominent one such as Lancelot or Gawain as they appear a million times. However, if you want to learn more about someone else, say, the Lady of the Lake, you can search her up and find every instance of her appearance. Like so.

Index

In the very back of the final book of the Post Vulgate, there's an Index listing every named character [Ex: Gawain], location [Ex: Orkney Isles], entity [Ex: Holy Spirit], animal [Ex: Gringalet the horse], and language [Ex: Hebrew] mentioned in the entirety of the Vulgate Cycle. There you'll find a list of which book/chapter/page they appear in. Here are all the mentions of Gawain's horse in The Book of Merlin.

Chapter Summaries

Each book of the Vulgate Cycle has a Table of Contents with the chapter numbers and long, descriptive titles. That alone may give you an indication of what you want to read. However, at the back of the Post Vulgate, right before the Index, there's a list of every chapter in the Vulgate Cycle with a summary of events. That will give you more detail and may help you decide if you want to read in full.

Skip

If it sucks, hit da bricks. The beauty of the Vulgate Cycle is that you don't need The History of the Grail or The Book of Merlin to understand what comes later. I enjoy them because History gives a ton of background to the religious themes the Grail Quest will eventually explore and sets up all the motifs way in advance and Merlin has the Orkney Bros as well as Yvain and Sagramore as kids which is fun. But the fact is you can begin with Lancelot I and you won't be lost. Lancelot I was written first, Merlin is a prequel, so it's optional, and the motifs of the Grail Quest are going to be heavy handed when you get there anyway without the added stuff from History. That's hundreds of pages you can skip if you want to! Norris J. Lacy, the head editor, and his translation team did a phenomenal job with footnotes throughout, so if a character off-handedly refers back to something, you can rely on them to leave a little note at the bottom for you to refresh your memory with. It'll even give you a chapter/page number if you want to refer back yourself. Here's a footnote referring to Agravaine's unnamed amie [his ladylove] who helped wing woman her sister to romance Gawain. That was 4 chapters prior to this moment.

So there are plenty of ways to navigate the Vulgate Cycle and make it more digestible. That being said, it's translated so beautifully by Lacy and his team, that it reads like a modern novel. I have no doubt that once you get started, you'll become invested, and find it much easier to work through than you first thought. It's long-winded and character dense but it's fun. I do hope you're able to read it and understand why I love it so much! Thanks for this ask and I hope this helps. Have a great day!

#arthurian legend #arthurian legends #arthuriana #arthurian mythology #arthurian literature #the vulgate cycle #the vulgate #vulgate #post vulgate #quotes #resource #reading recommendations #my post #ask

[gellavonhamster]

assigning each straw hat pirate a knight of the round table

because I am currently obsessed both with One Piece and Arthuriana; not any kind of serious AU material, just silliness; I Wrote This for Me but You Can Read If You Like

Luffy: Arthur, not due to any similarities in characterization but purely on the functional level - the boy king, the inspirational leader and, as Sun God Nika, a mythical figure believed to return when people need him the most

Zoro: Lancelot, the perfect warrior who embodies that post that's like "it's not my fault that my love language is acts of service and all I know how to do is kill". There is no Queen Guinevere here, so all the undying devotion is aimed at the king instead. Canonically has massive tits. Mihawk is thus implied to be the Lady of the Lake, and I think that's hilarious

Nami: hear me out: Kay. Sharp-tongued, rather cynical, but loyal to a fault to his king/adopted little brother. Nami as part of the Coward Trio vs. Kay being unlucky on quests and generally the butt of the joke. Isn't known to be a great warrior but occupies an important position (navigator vs. seneschal) that keeps the ship/court going. Besides, looking from the opposite direction, I just think Kay deserves to be the hot girl

Usopp: Usopp, sweetie, I'm so sorry, but I gotta say Tristan. Because Tristan is constantly lying about his identity in the most ridiculous manner possible and it somehow works. That part in Le Morte d'Arthur when he's asked what his name is and goes "Tramtrist" and no one suspects a thing even though "Tramtrist" is just "Tristram" with syllables switched around has big Sniper King energy. Also, can't forget the beautiful blonde healer girlfriend

Sanji: oh, that's the easiest one. Gawain. The Maidens' Knight, the ladies' man, a great warrior and one of the king's closest and most trusted men. If you put together Gawain's characterizations from different texts, from SGATGK to Le Morte to the Vulgate & Post-Vulgate to Chrétien de Troyes to everything, you end up with a contradictory character who is simultaneously the best and the worst guy you'll ever meet, which is how I often feel about Sanji, tbh. Would totally fight at a tournament on behalf of a little girl. Has some kind of an epic gay thing with Lancelot

Chopper: Yvain. Son of a sorceress - ah, pardon, a woman of science; associated with animals; known to be nice and kind (the Vulgate Cycle describes him as the one "whose heart will be filled with every kindness"). Occasionally goes insane in the woods (Monster Point), but, like, who doesn't

Robin: try as I might, I can't pull any direct parallels out of my ass, but I do think that narratively she can be seen as kind of a quasi-Mordred. Since her very childhood she was proclaimed to be bad news and expected to eventually cause a catastrophe, but where Mordred, whom no one tries to persuade the prophecy doesn't define him, ends up becoming exactly what he's expected to become, Robin has people who support her and trust her even after witnessing her be the bad guy in the past, so she never becomes the evil others expect her to turn into

Franky: Sagramore the Desirous (or the Unruly, depending on the text/translation) is a big, strong, good-natured knight who probably has low blood sugar needs to have a snack after fighting because otherwise he'll pass out, much like a certain cyborg needs his cola. In the Post-Vulgate, he and Mordred were raised together, which can be linked to Frobin's fates being intertwined since childhood, because I've Connected the Dots (you didn't connect shit)

Brook: I wanted to pick a character of the older generation who nevertheless isn't a mentor figure to Arthur, and I struggle to think of a better option than Pellinore - not the predatory piece of shit in the medieval texts, but the eccentric but loveable old man in Camelot (1967). Brook is also on a quest focused on an extraordinary beast! Only he's not hunting it, he's trying to get back to it because that beast is his friend 🥺

Jinbei: I honestly don't remember if he counts as the Knight of the Round Table, but I am hereby appointing him Ector - Arthur's adoptive father and one of the nicest parental figures in Arthuriana (and probably one of the nicest people in Arthuriana, period). I've also considered Galehaut for the "(partially) non-human ruler who allies himself with Arthur" angle, but that would imply Jinbei/Zoro and I'm not ready to deal with that.

#one piece #monkey d. luffy #roronoa zoro #cat burglar nami #god usopp #black leg sanji #tony tony chopper #nico robin #cyborg franky #soul king brook #jinbei #gella talks one piece #talk talk talk #initially this included a line about sagramore being a himbo & franky being a genius engineer easily mistaken for a himbo #but i ctrl+f'd through a couple of volumes of the vulgate & i can't find what prompted me to think of sagramore as a himbo. besides Vibes #wouldn't wanna throw unwarranted accusations around

[mooremars]

Camelot 2023 Act 1 ramblings about the music and book and also the visuals again because turns out 3,000 words wasn't enough.

I cannot possibly recommend anyone actually read this because it is so absurdly, comically long but I needed to get some feelings out. Also it's in two parts because apparently Tumblr has a maximum character count and I hit it.

Overture

• Firstly, female conductor, we love to see it

• I love overtures and entr'actes and this show's is so good

• Shoutout to the orchestra

• I have never experienced a bad Broadway orchestra but still doesn't mean they do not deserve serious praise

• Does just the instrumental of Camelot make me very emotional and think about fundamental human goodness?

• Yes, this show did its job

• The end of the If Ever I Should Leave You part is just permanantly in my brain as the part during bows where they point to the orchestra

• Whatever the music that plays as everyone starts walking onstage is epic

• The vibe is set and I'm ready

Act 1 Scene 1: A hilltop near the castle at Camelot

• I've said it once and I'll say it one thousand times, I am obsessed with the way they've used the space in this show

• I love that they can walk up the back of the stage, I love that they have the stairs in front, I love that they've got so many exit and entrance points

• Sorry to the actors who probably had to do a lot of running around but it was fun for me

• As much as I like spectacle, I don't inherently prefer it over this kind of more minimalist thing

• But I do feel like they did a good job at conveying scale and drama even though the set is extremely minimal

• "I have the exact same amount of information that you do" just immediately starts the show off on the right foot

• This is a new take and I was here for it instantly

• And such a funny way to deliver a ton of exposition, this will be the first of what will become the prevailing theme of my rambling which is I adore Sorkin's writing beyond measure

• Merlyn's delivery drenched in sarcasm for every line is perfect and we clearly see where Arthur gets it from

• Specifically "do you know what calamity means?"

• But also "things in England are changing too fast"/"words that have never before been spoken"

• Establishing Sagramore in a funny way that becomes so serious by the end

• We jump right into the Sorkin dialouge rhythm and it feels so right

• There's the perfect amount of everyone overlapping each other and finishing the other characters' thoughts

• And also the jaunty music when most of the guards leave, like I don't exactly know why it sounds like that since it doesn't fit but I love it anyway

• I know it's part of at least the movie's score but like to me it's still strange, I've been calling it clown music in my head

• The difficulty finding the king exchange and also the pheasant hunting exchange are so funny and set the tone so well

• Can you see I'm attempting not the write out every line of dialouge?

• But also I love that we get this little build to Arthur to wonder what the hell is going on with this guy

• Because if you're me, you've come into this show with basically the association with JFK and that's it

• So I had no clue and was curious

• The knights have like mostly terrible points but Sagrimore's delivery of "snear all you like but five minutes ago we were at war with that girl's county and tomorrow I'll be swearing an oath to protect her with my life"

• He's not wrong

• The knights are so good, the actors are perfect

• Every bit of casting is inspired and those three are no exception

• "Arthur get the hell out of the tree"

• Again with no context, the tree really got me

• "Hiding, I'm obviously hiding" - I am instantly in, the delivery on this line is so funny

• Okay fine I was in from the way he said hello, also a hilarious delivery

• My roommate brought up immediately how effective it is not to have him do a British accent and how it again just makes Arthur relatable - genius

• Whatever voice he's doing is a perfect choice

• Also young Arthur is so much the right choice it's staggering to me that they ever did it any other way

• They thread the needle so perfectly of Arthur being young but not in a way where he's like an incompetent child

• Which I feel like is actually how some of the other versions with older actors still managed to come off

• But this Arthur is just young and trying

• "My mouth disconnects from my brain"/"I've witnessed that"

• As like a character note, I love that exchange but I also was worried this was gonna be what it usually is, which is a male character who cannot treat a woman like a human person

• But no, Arthur has absolutely no problem with that, his mouth only disconnects from his brain when he's trying to confess feelings and that is 1000% more endearing

• "Years of tutoring in philosophy and law, why didn't you ever teach me about love and marriage?"/"You're not marrying for love and there's nothing about it that can be taught."

• To which my roommate that I dragged to see this twice and who has just been forced to talk about this show with me, maintains that perhaps you could maybe convey that relationships are about communication

• That lesson might've helped just a bit

• "You're not marrying for love" like Merlyn is trying to warn Arthur and he sure did not listen

• "They should be reading" Arthur babe they literally can't, it's the Middle Ages

• Also the establishment of no magic is so deftly handled

• Arthur complaining that people think that dragons are real and you get exactly what this world is

• I love that I Wonder What the King is Doing tonight becomes his noble king music

• Also I just absolutety love any time anything has a recurring musical theme it just lights up some part of my brain every time

• The yelling of "he's scared" and all of the subsequent lyrics in that spot is again hilarious and just very good characterization

• Also the delivery of the slaying a dragon part whatever that singing accent is I love it

• Actually the way he sings all the parts where he's imagining what other people are saying

• The other characters have a lot of songs that are gorgeous and require some incredible vocals and songs with fun lyrics and fun performances but not at lot of them get to infuse this much personality and character into the songs through just the delivery

• Don't know if that's from the original or not but it's one of my favorite characters introductions I've seen in a bit

• From what I've seen this is definitely an escalation of previous versions and I adore it

• He's so annoyed, he hates this shit so much and he's so funny

• I mean also lots of credit to the lyrics because they are obviously very funny

• I love this song a lot

• Arthur's "shhhhit" when he realizes that he's managed to run into his future wife

• The multi-layered complication line, so quintessential Arthur

• The contrast between the gorgeous Julie Andrews channeling singing and Genny's brashness in her movement and dialouge

• Like obviously that's already in the lyrics but the book and direction just stretches it

• Everyone knew Phillipa Soo was going to be perfect and she is

• A lot of my strongest impressions are about Arthur

• Because I had no idea who the actor was and because in the limited amount of adaptations I'm familiar with of this whole story, Arthur is the bad guy or a good but extremely boring guy

• But I knew going in that I was gonna love Guenevere and Phillipa Soo even if I've never seen her on stage before

• So it was unsurprising

• Like my expectations were sky-high and she's so talented in every way and the writing for Genny is so good that she exceeded them anyway

• And she's so damn funny

• Obviously the whole rescued in the wood bit is already just a good joke and I'm honestly impressed with how funny the original songs are

• I am a sucker for the thing in stories where we know what's going to happen because they've been told so many times

• When they have a character say something the audience knows is foreshadowing

• "Cause a little war" is what I'm thinking of in this moment but there are tons and every time it's a hit with me

• The delivery of the clause one bit is perfect and her backing Arthur into falling on the bench and then just turning around and back to angelic singing

• The turnaround from the aggressiveness to the extremely soft and feminine singing is brilliant

• "The more knights slaughter each other, the fewer there are to slaughter the rest of us"

• The exchange about the dowry still being in the carriage

• Their deliveries are so funny

• They immediately bounce off of each other perfectly

• And Genny not even escaping with the dowry she's supposed to be using to buy her freedom, amazing

• "What is power uuuused for? That is a very interesting question."

• Genny just immediately knocking Arthur's socks off

• Trying to write out some of the word deliveries he does is so hard but there are a few that absolutely kill me

• They've known each other for five minutes and they're already having a debate

• "I've known kings, I'm daughter of a king so marrying a king doesn't have the same allure for me that it apparently has for you"

• She just speeds through those words at the end and it's great

• "They run to here" is another bit of hilarious delivery but I also love the contrast it sets up between Arthur trying to be kingly in a way that doesn't fit versus later when he does it his own way

• I could listen to them go back and forth saying why for ten minutes

• Genny's incredulousness when he says the weather

• I can't remember but I think she's walking away and then just turns to stare at him in absolute confusion

• Like he's so ridiculous that she can't help but engage

• I did a quick bit of intermission math and we know this takes place seven months before the Lusty Month of May which is obviously happening in May

• So Arthur is literally singing to Genny about how there's no winter until December while at best - assuming the one month later and six months later are rounded up - it is snowing at the absolute beginning of November

• More likely October

• No wonder Genny thinks he's full of shit

• His improv did not pan out

• This is a joke for me, thank you Aaron Sorkin

• Do love that canonically, Arthur is in fact singing the song Camelot - that he just made up in a panic - what a dork

• Genny's little interjections of skepticism are all so funny

• Also just instantly establishing her as someone you love

• She's perfect

• But my favorite is "my escape is time sensitive, do you understand that?"/Arthur still singing/"no he does not"

• These actors are both hilarious, the amount of stuff required of musical theater actors continues to blow my mind

• Like not only to do the whole singing, dancing, and acting thing but then you have to convey it to a whole theater but also not overact to the people up close and be able to do comedy and drama how

• I was in practically the back row up top and not a good view but extremely close (like seeing the actors spit close) on the side for the under 35 tickets and then also in very good seats and the performances by literally everyone never felt too much or not enough

• "Are there any other people in these woods you could recommend?"

• Also this moment which is the cutest thing you've ever heard

• Do I remember exactly what happened? No. But do I know it was adorable? Yes.

• "And we have poets in France"/"Oh yes of course... But do you?"/Genny angrily naming French poets/"Understood" and he's already singing again

• The entire performance of this song and especially getting her to sing along, so charming in the most annoying way

• But also she's sort of into it which is cute

• I do see on YouTube that there was a bit more to this French poets discussion which was probably right to cut but I am delighted to find literally anything new

• Sidebar

• I have been known to have issues with staying present when I watch things and not letting my mind start wandering. And one of the reasons I knew Camelot was good the first time was that I was totally engaged the whole show. But the last time, I did have the one moment where a thought popped into my brain during this song that completely threw me out of it

• And that thought was "this Barbie has taken a carriage ride to hell" after Genny says that line and like why brain?

• (For the record Genny and Arthur are both Barbies. They are everything. Lance is just Ken. Perfecting his body and soul is his beach. He is Kenough. Arthur and Genny have a terrible day every day. Lance only has a terrible day if Arthur and/or Genny look at him.)

• (I believe I have come up with a combination of words that have never been spoken before and perhaps a genuinely new opinion on a thousand year old legend)

• (In a bad way)

• Anyway

• The pure chaotic comedy of the knights finding Arthur and Genny freaking out is not something I can articulate but I adored so much

• Phillipa Soo is stealing the whole show in this one

• Does Genny come out of her hiding spot with her mouth wide open before she gets on the ground or am I misremembering?

• "We call that a sin of omission your majesty"

• With no remose "oh we call it that too"

• "Were you never going to tell me?"/"No I was going to get to it"/"When?"/"After I told you about the weather"

• Not a single bit of remose again

• I don't have anything to say, I just think the exchange is very funny

• I love not making Arthur any kind of royalty, he is truly just some guy

• Like I'm reading The Once and Future King and Arthur's lineage is so weirdly complicated and I just don't care, I like him as some guy

• "He discovered he didn't have his sword because I left it at... a house, that doesn't matter, that's my fault"

• Now that's a line that is funny on time one and fills you with dread afterwards

• The most exasperated "I was just going to borrow it for the day"

• Something about the delivery of "when I opened my eyes the square was filled with people shouting god save the king"

• Like Arthur never actually says out loud that he didn't want to be king but Genny gets it right away

• "I see you now, you're just a boy wearing a crown you never wanted sitting atop a throne two sizes too big"

• Just an absolute cutting response but Arthur doesn't take it that way at all, he's so earnest

• She reads him to filth but it doesn't even rattle him, he just takes it because it's true

• Gorgeous writing in what she says and his response

• "But provenance has put us both here, both of us highness and want it or not we are commanded to wear that crown and to grow into that throne"

• Chills, the delivery is outstanding

• We finally get King Arthur

• And Genny being convinced, all it took was one genuine moment and she's ready to engage

• Then Arthur again just taking so passionately about what he wants Camelot to be

• No wink, no sarcasm, no shame

• This show is unabashedly sincere and optimistic and I love it

• Genny falls in love with Arthur, I fall in love with Arthur, Genny falls in love with Camelot the idea, I fall in love with Camelot the show

• Everyone including the audience and Arthur were already in love with Genny for Phillipa Soo reasons so there's no moment for that one

• I feel like the trope-y thing would be to have Genny be a cynic here but no, she's just as much of an idealist as him

• She put up a little front of cynicism at the beginning but as soon as she gets the option of hope, she's choosing it instantly

• "Or you can stay. And together we may discover if power might be harnessed as a force of good"

• Like he's instantly treating her as a partner in this endeavor

• And I Wonder What the King is Doing Tonight playing under it so beautifully and then the seamless musical transition back to Camelot is so perfect

• I am music stupid so I wish I had something to say about it but your songs have got to be tight to flow that way

• "I don't know if I'm worthy" also just a heartbreaker

• We don't really get to hear anything about Genny's life in France but she's clearly very opinionated and competent and I wonder if besides the whole wanting romance and adventure thing

• She also had an idea of what the life of a queen is like

• After all she's the daughter of one

• And she didn't imagine having this kind of role in actual ruling and doesn't know whether she can live up to this ideal that Arthur has set

• Like maybe she thought the only way she'd get to impact the world was knights killing each other over her or being the cause of a war, at least that's something

• But now she has a chance at more and she's grabbing it

• Genny singing the reprise is so beautiful thematically - it makes me a little teary just watching her instantly be like I see your dream and understand it and I want to be part of it but via some of the best singing maybe ever

• Such an amazing recontextualization from the original

• I've seen little clips of this reprise from 1961 and this one just feels warmer and more meaningful because it's about the ideals and not them confessing love at first sight

• And somehow more romantic

• They're instantly established as a team who share intellectual and philosophical similarities

• To so quickly convey that and make it believable

• It not only cements their relationship but makes them characters you root for

• And then the sounds of people coming in as soon as or maybe even before they get to finish singing together, like it's their world and they're falling for each other but there's no time, they're king and queen now and that will always supercede their relationship

• Also something about the moment when Arthur introduces her to the court just also really gets me

• "She's nice... some of the time"

• It's cute how smitten he is with her, all of her, immediately

• "Something about her makes me want to be a better king" (so Arthur is actually capable of expressing a romantic thought, don't get used it it)/"She's very attractive"/"Oh she is but it's not that"/"Arthur"/"Well it's not just that"

• I love the way they flip the speech Arthur gives Genny from the original about not feeling like a king until now meeting her

• But now that they've actually gotten to know each other a bit and it's after she's agreed to stay it actually makes sense here

• I do also love that even though he can't manage it to Genny's face, he does feel completely comfortable expressing his feelings about her to Merlyn

• The "oh she is" is so cute, he's so excited

• The music under his conversation with Merlyn before he starts just monologuing, very ominous

• I'm obsessed with it

• "We finally have peace" is another line delivery that I just need to sit and think about

• The joy of it, the relief

• Again the idea that Arthur has been a king at war this whole time

• Merlyn mentions, as part of a joke but still, almost as soon as we meet Arthur that he's fought armies

• He's not optimistic about the world because he hasn't seen conflict

• He's more determined because he sees what it does

• Channeling best man in all fiction Waymond Wang this is how I fight energy and that's very my shit

• Very much my shit might be a slight understatement

• It might not be surprising to learn that Arthur is my favorite thing about this show, they revamped this character so well

• So much of my life was spent in the media age of male anti-heroes and I love that we've returned to a point of male heroes

• Arthur idealistically talking about how they can finally start making Camelot for everyone and Merlyn walking off stage while the ensemble sings I think the part from the cut song and I assume some new stuff that's very Medieval church music

• So so good

• "What do I do next?" so eager and then just the emotional drop-off to his scared little boy when it becomes clear what's happening "Merlyn?"

• Stunning performance

• I think Arthur falls to his knees at some point but I'm already doubting

• The "what the hell do I do now?"

• Perfect scene ender

Act 1, Scene 2: The King's study - one month later

• The transition music between scenes is always good

• It's gonna be a struggle not to just quote this whole scene

• "Arthur, please call me Arthur" is so desperate like he has no one now, no actual human connections to him as a person instead of a king now that Merlyn is gone

• And then asking what she was called back home, he wants connection so badly

• And probably he still feels guilty for taking her from her home to be his wife

• "I was a royal princess, I didn't have friends"

• Well there is a reason they're both terrible at relationships

• I also love the way Phillipa Soo says Arthur in such a stilted way at the beginning of this scene and it becoming more natural every time she does it

• Genny telling him he's not attending to his duties with enthusiasm like she is not the least bit afraid to challenge the king a month in

• Love to see it

• Arthur's "I beg your pardon" when she asks about cortesans and the look he gives her

• "My father kept his women, his extra women, in their own wing of the palace. Where are yours? Might they cheer you up?"

• Genny the proactive problem solver

• Also something about the way she says extra women makes me laugh

• "I don't have extra women, I'm a married man. You were at my wedding" perhaps one of my favorite deliveries and lines in the whole show

• Genny's point of view in this scene is very interesting

• Like she does bring up that it's his legal right instead of dropping the whole thing and that's a choice

• Does she think he's lying about not having cortesans and reminding him that she is legally obligated to be cool with it so to be honest?

• Or is she just baffled by Arthur and his choices because this is a normal thing for a king to her?

• Or maybe since she already has feelings, she's trying to balance her own expectations to not get hurt?

• Possibilities

• "I'm aware of my legal right in that regard and I assure you I have no intention - oh my god - no intention of exercising it"

• Specifically the delivery of oh my god but the whole thing, he is so offended

• "And making the world into Camelot, are you abstaining from that too or will men at honor continue to plunder villages and take, rape, and kill whatever they please?"

• Genny

• Genny you are a hero

• She's so smart and fierce and unafraid to stand up to Arthur

• "I didn't make the world"/"You make a part of it"

• Arthur being so defensive and Genny calmly holding her ground

• She's taken to her new role so well

• And then Arthur admitting he doesn't know how to proceed without Merlyn, I love the way he builds trust in her in this scene

• "What would he say?"/"He'd say my god you're the slowest student anyone's ever tried to teach"/"Well I can convincingly say that"/"It's good that you mock me, kings should be mocked from time to time, it brings people pleasure. But for the record it's no fun for the king"

• Genny sounding so pleased with herself, Arthur getting out another sarcastic response

• Also what a lie, it is fun for him

• Mocking each other and public policy are their love languages

• "He once explained why but I got distracted because a white tailed eagle flew right by" with the most excitement and boyishness

• And then starting to go off on a tangent about eagles

• Never change Arthur

• I just think it's sweet the way she redirects him because she's fully committed herself to the idea of Camelot and her role in it

• "Pace freely at your own pace"

• Another brilliant line and delivery

• Channeling some Mary Poppins here

• Genny getting Arthur to think is so good

• "You had to pace and comcentrate to arrive at that?"/"It's hard to imagine why your country was willing to part with you"

• The proposition/resolved structure of this scene is very good

• And also that he starts with this pessimistic tantrum about human nature and Genny guides him back on track

• It's a great relationship moment but it also lets Arthur have some struggle and lets Genny be for Arthur what he was for her in the first scene

• Arthur collapsing on the floor and muttering "extra women" like wow he cannot handle being thought of as not a good person

• "That's it?"/"Wait"/"I wasn't going anywhere"

• Her being on the floor with him, gently pushing him

• He can't even maintain cynicism for more than a few minutes

• Them building the idea of the round table together, this is peak romance

• I can't just quote this scene in its entirety but every moment of it is a delight of them passing ideas back and forth

• "Isn't it also about the law?"/"It is"

• A standout delivery

• I love when they're working out the wordings like they make each other better

• "The law will be the stone upon which this rock - the rock upon - wait the church?"/"Have mercy"/"The law will be the rock upon which this church is built"/"Nothing can be more important"/"Nothing can be as important"

• This is what I love about Sorkin's writing

• The way that he has characters discuss ideas

• Like everything is an exciting discovery

• There's no singing in this scene but it has so much rhythm and is so compelling when in another writer's hands it would be boring and forgettable

• I broke out a chunk but it's so dense there are so many words and I love each one

• Genny counting down to his return, she already knows him so well

• Again I am trying not to type out every line

• I think they both yell for the page but I'm actually not sure, either way they are so excited and yelling something

• The new book has done so much to deepen their relationship, I adore these idealistic little nerds

• Arthur cannot contain himself

• His attempt to cool things down for himself by taking his hands off her face and then "you were very helpful, thank you"

• Smooth

• Convincing

• Definitely professional and platonic

• Truly do not know how Genny does not realize he's in love with her at this point but she sure is not gonna get better at that

• "And I suppose France too"/"I know that hurt"/"A little bit" and then he laughs it's adorable

• They're both so giddy here

• "Arthur I did already know that about you, that you were a decent fellow"/"I'm glad"

• They're in love. They are so in love.

• Arthur has taken on Genny's tone for the word inspiration when he talks to the knights

• "You've invited the French" every time Sagramore says it, it's just as funny

• "We may not be born equal"/"We are not sire" (with so much contempt)/"So our laws will make us equal" (with no room for disagreement)

• The immediate conflict

• And we see Arthur being a king and taking a hard line which we don't get to see much in this show and I love it

• "What about God's laws?"/"Not. Our. Jurisdiction" like are we sure this is not actually from the west wing

• I'm internally cheering when I hear it, I love this line far too much

• It's funny but also authoritative and kingly

• I get that some people do not vibe with Sorkin's style and that's fine but I very much do

• This show is so for me it's kind of incredible it was not made with that purpose

• A Sorkin character who would love Sorkin's work, I just adore it

• And according to the funniest line from any review I read, also has Sorkin's haircut

• That just lives in my brain because it's funnier than any piece of media criticism I will ever hear

• The knights already dissenting is very good but also that they don't fully agree yet with each other

• They build it in immediately and that's such a good choice, it makes every escalation feel totally plausible instead of the knights just easily falling for Mordred's bullshit

• Dinadan quoting Plato's ideas and saying how they're the well-educated people who should be in charge is great

• I love that the knights get to be characters and have thoughts

• Their constant vacillating between loyalty to the king and loyalty to the power structure they benefit from

• One of my favorite running tensions

Act 1, Scene 3: The countryside outside of Camelot - six months later

• The performance of C'est Moi is so funny

• Going 100% immediately

• Jordan Donica was just as perfectly cast as everyone else

• The lyrics are so funny and then he is just so loud

• His little whispered "C'est Moi" after the second verse while posing is so much funnier than it is on the cast recording

• "Had I been made the partner of Eve/we'd be in Eden still" is my favorite lyric

• The scream on clean destroys me

• Lance is always at a 10 and he's so delusional, I'm obsessed with him

• There's so much loud breathing in this performance which I love

• And whirling his sword around the stage

• "Beware enemies of Arthur do you hear me beware, from this moment you answer to me" while Arthur is literally unconscious behind him, this is comedy

• "You raised your sword to me"/"Oh I was saying hello"/"I did not know that"

• Lance is not sorry at all and it's hilarious

• He's just on another planet compared to everyone else and I love it

• Also Arthur so pure, just seeing a random person and trying to say hi

• Like you're the king of the country, you do know many people are not exactly going to be friendly, right?

• "I honestly thought I was more recognizable to the French"

• "Have you changed your Francs to English shillings?"/"Why?"/"This man's face is on money"

• Arthur subtly trying to tell Lance what's happening but the word subtle is not in Lance's vocabulary

• "I'm underwhelming in person"

• Says the man that keeps making French people instantly fall in love with him in the woods

• "My security detail... right in the nick of time"

• "I beg your majesty to forgive for me for by forgiving me I'll suffer even more"

• Lance is screaming the whole time

• I don't know how he does it

• "But my strength comes from purity of spirit"/"What was that?"/"Purity of spirit, my personal relationship with the almighty, he favors me"/"I'd keep that to yourself"

• I can't write it out but this

• And this is about to have to switch out for the rest of the show so like even more screaming somehow

• He's so funny, it isn't reasonable

• Also love that his language is the least modern of them

• It fits

• Seems like some of his lines come directly from the original book and it works amazingly

• "Be a faultless example to children" is another iconic delivery

• Also Lance asking for a mission, incredible

• He just plays everything so straight and it's perfect

• Like not a single acknowledgement of the ridiculousness of this character

• Arthur will literally get a concussion to avoid a social function, relatable

• "Until you came along and whacked me in my head"/"AND FOR THAT I BEG YOUR HARSHEST PUNISHMENT"/"Nope, nope, we're not going back to that"

• Yes the all caps is necessary, Lance is always speaking in caps, if he lived in a time a cell phones all of his texts would look like that

• And Arthur's tone when he responds

• When Lance starts singing again and then Arthur just says nope so many times

• This is their whole relationship

Act 1, Scene 4: A park near the castle

• This scene is just a magnificent Phillipa Soo showcase that we have been blessed with

• Like she is just so talented and I am blown away

• There's a reason Lusty Month of May is the song they have the most out there

• "The birds and the bees with all of their vast/amorous past/gaze at the human race aghast" is my favorite and she does it so perfectly

• Also the intro music just exactly captures that buzzy spring feeling

• My roommate and I both had the experience where the first time we saw the show, none of the music stuck with us

• And then the second time, all of the sudden it burrows into your brain

• This burrowed first because of course, it's so vibrant and lovely

• The original music is so good and somehow the transition from the more modern dialouge into the songs is seemless

• Genny has two missions: justice for all and bringing sex to England

• Look there's none in her own marriage and she needs an outlet, make those people kiss, it's all you have

• Genny's so fun and adorable in this song and it's perfect and I have no notes

• I'm just gonna go watch the today show performance and bask in it, this is the most classic Broadway musical sequence in the whole thing

• I love the idea that she's inviting all these normal people in and the beginning of the knights absolutely hating it

• "Be right quieter"

• And when they refer to Genny as a guest in the country

• The original is very and everyone loves her and I love that there's this tension where the people with power don't like her but everyone else does

• They say all the quiet parts out loud in this scene

• The show needs the knights so badly to show the discontent growing over time

• But they still respect tradition enough to enforce respect for the queen on Pellinore

• "I've only lived here a short time"/"Oh and you're already the queen, well done"/"I really had nothing to do with it"

• "Full of youth he was but brooding over problems that would confound Solomon. Ever met him your majesty?"/ "Constantly, he's my husband."

• With such affection ahhhh

• "You must be Morgan Le Fay... oh how he'd go on about the loveliness of Morgan Le Fey, her unsurpassing beautiful"

• Genny getting emotionally slapped in the face, it hurts so much

• The first crack in their relationship because they couldn't talk to each other...

• "I'm glad that nice young man found a nice young lady"

• Why does this make me feel things?

• I love the royal music every time

• "As you were everyone, pick grapes, eat flowers, or uh the other way around"

• Arthur and Genny's little catch up about Pelli is very cute, we don't get to see them be cute for a while after this so I just want to appreciate it

• Lance having no social awareness and continuing to make proclamations while Genny could not care less and is actively trying to speak to someone else, brilliant

• Genny and Arthur just waiting for Lance to stop talking after she keeps being interrupted and then Genny rushing out her lunch invitation and Arthur rushing out his response

• Arthur immediately wanting to run ideas by Genny, she is crucial to the development of Camelot and it's very much not a secret

• Arthur's "uh oh" when Lance is doing some casual misogyny

• "That sounded like a friendly exchange of pleasantries"/"It was not"

• No fucks for Genny today

• I wish I could one day know the translation of Genny and Lance's friendly exchange of pleasantries

• "Who would serve as the standard?"/"Oh certainly not me your majesty"/"See no hubris"/"My standards are much too high"/"Dammit Lance"

• "Have you achieved perfection milord?"/"Please say no"/"Of course I haven't your majesty"/"Good"/"Refining the soul is an endless struggle... but physical perfection"/"No"/"Yes"/"Go back to speaking French"

• "And in your quest for spiritual perfection have you considered the value of humility?"/"Ah something we should all consider. In fact let's take two minutes of silence to consider the value of humility."

• The dialouge between the three of them is so funny in this scene

• The ship is sinking and Arthur is just there with a tiny bucket while Lance and Genny keep creating giant new holes

• Genny calling Lance a jackass is both hilarious and also so valid

• "She already has an affectionate nickname for you"

• We have officially reached the beginning of the end, well we had some nice moments

• Like imagine if Pelli didn't start going on about how in love Arthur was with Morgan and then Arthur didn't show up with his new best friend who immediately implied women were too stupid to engage in government

• Genny was having a no fucks day and was probably ready to do a stupid thing and maybe that stupid thing was her husband

• A true tragedy

• "And with humility I"

• Dinadan's line deliveries are so dry and good

• And Genny's laugh

• "And whom will the three of you want to impress?"/"We want to impress the king too."/"Ah yes English men"

• I love the knights, they've all got their own little comedic touches in this song

• Gaslight, gatekeep, girlboss Genny

• Take Me to the Fair is a masterpiece

• I don't know what constitutes a hot take about this show because there are 5 people talking about it

• But my hot take is that as much as Lusty Month of May is a brilliant and amazing song

• This is actually the Phillipa Soo tour de force

• Her fake crying is so good

• There are so many good flourishes in the singing

• Same thing I feel about I Wonder What the King is Doing Tonight, Phillipa Soo is just enhancing every line with her hilarious delivery

• Also this sound

• Sagramore is always operating at 50% more intensity than the rest of the knights and it's perfect

• Him having to be held back by the other two when Genny sings to him

• It's involuntary at this point that I turn my head back at French during this verse

• His very loud delivery of "I swear to you the challenge will be met"

• "Sirrrr Liiiiionel"/"Ma'am"/"Ugh"

• And when she gives his chest a little slap after "and young du Lac"

• Perfect

• And her laugh-cry at the end of Lionel's part

• Their faces when she touches them are also just very confused and funny, she is not good at this

• I love when the knights are singing together, bringing up Lance really has wrapped them around her finger

Act 1, Scene 5: The King's study - the night before the tournament

• "You know that it's your move right?"/"I did not know that. I'll need to alter my strategy now"

• Honestly so relatable I suck at chess, Pelli is the best

• "If we're to care about justice, we need to care even more about injustice"

• Just a good little Sorkin nugget

• Pelli refusing to understand any of Arthur's ideas, excellent

• "Do I understand that you intend to be history's first king to yield power?"/"Oh now you're catching on"

• I do just love Arthur so much

• And the delivery of "she wrote what you just read"

• He's so pleased to inform Lance that Genny's writing treatises about justice

• Pelli's smug little "it's your move" like that's correct, no one is allowed to not respect women in Arthur's study

• "He's had you in checkmate for an hour and a half"

• Arthur's patience is astounding, Lance should be taking notes while he's perfecting his spirit

• "Would you like to play me or do you ever do anything but perfect your soul?"/"No I also perfect my body"

• Again just perfect deliveries and honestly so much respect to the new book for making Lance even more irritating but eventually more human too

• I am not dragging Lance, this is a compliment

• Just the way Jordan Donica plays it completely straight without being able to detect sarcasm is hilarious

• "The arrangement I'm in is called a marriage, having some fun would be called treason. And finally I hate his breathing guts."

• Setting up the consequences we know are coming with a little joke, I like it

• "Well be sure and give us clear skies tomorrow when you're arranging things with god tonight"

• Savage, I don't like most of the original dialouge but we had a winner with this one

• Her delivery just elevates it

• "No one could refuse your wish"

• The gall of Lance to say that like that in front of Arthur like he is shameless

• "Why do you have to bait the man?"/"I dislike him, I thought I was making that clear"

• Genny is so relatable

• Their first fight and Arthur's already insulting the French, I'm not sure why he thought this was going to go well

• Arthur trying to delicately ask Genny to withdraw her permission from Dinadan

• He's trying to have this conversation as her husband and not her king but Genny is not even having it a little

• Genny explaining that she already gave permission for all the knights is so funny

• I know they're basically the original lines but ya know, sometimes Lerner nailed it

• "It will seem to the entire court as if you are rooting for his downfall and championing his defeat."/"The only reason it will seem that way is because I'm rooting for his downfall and championing his defeat."

• "He's going to embarass those three. These are not men who take well to embarrassment."

• Like Arthur already knows exactly who his knights are

• He knows that they don't exactly match up to his ideals

• The delivery on "will you withdraw your permission" is also spot on like Arthur is ready to exit this conversation right now

• Also on "if I do will you forgive me"

• Like he knows that's not happening

• "Not as long as I live, no"

• Perfect riff on the original book's line

• Arthur doing some investigating on Genny hating Lance like he knows before she even does

• Ouch

• And then him starting to get frustrated when she's not answering like babies' first fight is not going well

• "Because he needs to be brought down to earth... literally not metaphorically"

• Like she has yet to be wrong

• "Merlyn never taught me how to handle a woman"/"You didn't read the book?"/"There's a book? No I can see from your face that there's not a book. Though maybe in France they would have published something, no I can still see on your face"

• We love a Genny dripping with sarcasm moment

• And Arthur being an idiot nerd

• He's so so stupid

• Another one of my truly favorite lines and deliveries, he is so excited that he completely forgets he's mad at her for a second and then pouting when he realizes

• "If the king wishes me to withdraw my permission, let him so command... nope, then I will bid you goodnight"

• The aggressiveness on her daring him to command her is so much

• Perfect

• I love her nope, a little power play

• Because she knows he won't and he knows he won't and she's happy to remind him of that they both know that and then leave

• His silence is doing so much work too

• Damn this scene is good

• "And before I go to bed as a gesture to Lancelot and to you, I'll pray it's over quickly"/It will be"

• They're so mad, I love it

• "There should be a book"

• Grumbling sullen Arthur is very funny even if How to Handle a Woman is lowkey the worst song

• And Arthur's worst impulse, which the narrative knows because it plays under him talking about vengeance and what he's entitled to later

• Like they do a good job recontextualizing it but it's still not the best

• Just hearing him sing the word threaten is kind of jarring, I cannot even slightly imagine this Arthur even thinking it once

• In my opinion they should've just cut it, I'd gladly take more Sorkin dialouge instead

• I do appreciate the way they scaled back this music in the rest of the show

• Because it's all over the second act of the movie, Arthur and Genny's theme if you will

• Like even during their last conversation

• Because they're not the love story so their theme isn't really a love song

• But then here, they play it under Arthur's worst impulses at the end of act 1 and banish it which is so smart

Act 1, Scene 6: A grandstand - the next day

• The music coming into this scene and when Arthur and Genny show up, again fantastic

• The outright hostility between the knights and Lance, they turned it so far up in this version

• Pushing him down and shit

• I love Athur and Genny showing up and getting to see them actually be king and queen and have their over-the-top outfits and crowns in this and the last act 1 scene because it's so removed from who they are the rest of time

• Arthur's speech at the beginning trying to glorify them not having the tournament and how great losing is and having to be stopped by Genny

• He's trying so hard and his speech is not good

• The fact that she basically tells him to stop and his response is fine like I think he forgets that he's actually in charge

• I love a sword fight

• The movement, the drama, the loud clanging...

• I am but a humble girl raised on the Pirates of the Carribean movies

• Dinadan being a dick before the fight with "and now for your lesson sir"

• The way Lance knocks the sword out of Dinadan's grip and makes him pick it up before defeating him, such an asshole move

• I truly can't tell if Lance has just such a superiority complex that he doesn't realize what parts of his own behavior are making people dislike him or he's just so stuck in his toxic little mindset that he doesn't care if people hate him for it

• I kind of feel like Lance is so into his specific notions of the world that even he doesn't really know why he acts the way he does

• "Dinadan seemed very inspired by your kerchief, should we continue?"

• "You know he almost had him, right up until the moment he never stood a chance"

• Their fight being played out by proxy while Arthur makes snide comments and they give each other looks is good shit

• Sagramore's scream, he's always going so hard

• The fact that Arthur fighting instead of Lionel is new for this

• Genius

• So good

• The dialouge around it is good too

• The temptation to just transcribe the whole thing is so strong

• Commanding Lance to pick back up his sword like damn

• I love seeing this new side of Arthur

• He can and will fight and he's good at it

• "I know what a damn baguette is"

• His little bit to Lance about it just being about morale is very good

• But also he can see what's going on even if Genny can't so is it?

• The fact that he may well have won the fight if it wasn't for a cool bird, what a man

• Fun fact about me, I didn't even see the bird or realize that's why he got distracted until the last time

• He and Genny are like very much not in a good place this moment but he will let it slide to point out a bird

• Arthur's fall is very good

• Can you tell I think this scene is also very good, I've only written it like twelve times

• The fact that they're letting people fight with swords and there isn't a doctor for 12 miles, amazing planning by everyone

• The bit of everyone thinking Arthur was dead and him sarcastically correcting them is amazing 100% of the time

• "He put life back into him" is just consistently hilarious

• "I'm not wanted here Arthur"

• With the most heartbreaking delivery

• Aw we finally see Lance have some shred of being an actual person

Act 1, Scene 7: The castle terrace - on the evening of the same day

• I Wonder What the King is Doing Tonight intro-ing into this scene

• "Well you got me there" being screamed is perfect

• Pelli sensing that something is bothering Arthur, their relationship is very sweet

• Pelli describing the way Genny and Lance were looking at each other, what a shit stirer

• "It may be the only way to get him to stay"/"Maybe it's best if you let him go"/"Let him go?"/"Maybe it's best"/"Why is that?"/"Well...You said yourself, morale"

• Like she's trying to protect them but she won't say it

• For obvious reasons

• But it's confirming what Arthur already suspects

• And just drawing them further apart

• Another great her silence is doing so much work moment

• The entire telling Lance he's being invested discussion is so intense

• So much anger simmering in Arthur that can't help but come out in the line deliveries in the beginning

• Genny refusing to engage and turning her back to the whole thing

• "I'm sure he'd like to hear it from another child of France"/"This is my country now"

• Oh boy I love this exchange

• Like she's trying, she's trying so hard

• And I don't know what the fuck Arthur is thinking with that one, in what way could she possibly respond that's not going to be bad for him?

• Arthur leaving them alone like whyyyy

• And then Arthur giving Genny back her bloody kerchief, fuck

• All is very much not forgiven here

• "God dammit Pelli, I wasn't dead"

• Genny making it clear she does not believe Arthur was dead, I appreciate that she's also very clear on the fact that their world is not magical

• I wonder if Lance does think he willed Arthur back to life

• Probably

• "Don't ever say it out loud. Neither of us can ever say it out loud"

• This was another straight up gasping in the theater moment

• The entire conversation between Genny and Lance is so good and tense

• And the delivery on that line just feels like getting punched in the gut

• Phillipa Soo is amazing

• I love that she won't let them say it, that she's fighting it

• And the way she cuts him off, the way she makes him agree to not say it

• This is the intense love she wanted and it doesn't need to be said which is exactly what she needed to feel from Arthur but didn't get

• Also Lance just trying to confess his feelings the first second he can is just such an interesting character choice

• Like the truth is his purity of the soul bluster doesn't hold up to the slightest temptation

• He's ready to betray Arthur the second he leaves the room

• It's all a front

• Not intentionally, like he believes the things he says he believes

• But he can't keep to it

• I think he's so drawn to Arthur because Arthur actually has the qualities he's proclaiming define him

• But I don't even think Lance knows any of this about himself

• At least not until later

• He's just impulsive

• Which is I think what makes him an interesting character to me but also makes his motivations hardest to decipher

• Before I Gaze at You Again is such a stunning song

• And watching Phillipa Soo just emote for the whole time

Act 1, Scene 8: The great hall - on that evening

• All the music that starts this scene is brilliant

• "I'll never disappoint you"/"I know"

• I just...

• Like we the audience know but also the characters sort of all know and they are determined not to let it happen but that only makes it happen anyway

• Ugh those lines are a little nothing but they're everything

• I have the YouTube clips of Richard Burton's version of this and it does just indicate how well they've modernized

• Theater has changed so much so the pacing of 1961 compared to this is kind of fascinating

• This is also actually the writing I think is the best from the original and it is so fascinating to compare the two versions which I'm sure someone has done and I want to read it because there is so much to say

• It's so bold to close act 1 with a speech instead of a song

• I had no context coming in so they had me in the first half, I wasn't sure if this was Arthur's turn into the villain moment

• Once again I'm just like pointing to the whole speech and yelling how good it is

• Whoever decided this belonged on the cast recording is my personal hero

• This is just on my normal spotify playlist and as long as I'm not reading, I will not skip it

• But I love the idea that in the original book Arthur starts out by declaring his love for Genny and Lance and in this version it's like he's actively talking to the audience to defend himself

• To say he's not some stupid optimistic kid, that he sees everything we have

• Comes out swinging

• I can't explain how much "proposition: I am not a befuddled king" shook me, I was ready for shit to go down and I love it as the opener to this

• The pause before "whom they love", the sadness in it

• "And she didn't choose whom she married"

• Like Arthur can never get rid of that guilt

• The push and pull of this entire thing where he will try to make an argument with himself that everything is fine but the bitterness keeps seeping in until there's no rationality left

• Trying not the write out the whole thing but the rhythm of it, the pacing, this performance is spectacular

• The way the audience startles when he starts screaming

• Like he's having his back and forth rational debate with himself and finally we see him lose that control

• And it is the good shit

• I can't explain how much I came in with no context for this show and how much this completely threw me in the best way

• We're finally a glimpse of what's happening inside Arthur's head, to see the way he's been holding so much back from everyone else

• I love that he's still yelling at Merlyn, not exactly sure what I want to read into that, I feel like there are a few lines of thought

• "Am I not entitled to a man's vengence?"

• Perhaps my favorite line in the first half

• Every line is sort of my favorite but I guess let's settle on this one

• Because the original is "I demand a man's vengence"

• And same sentiment but entitled is so much more toxic

• Like the thing about this magic-less universe is that Arthur wasn't destined for some greatness and so he pulled the sword from the stone

• He wasn't owed something, he didn't deserve it, it just happened and he chose to rise to the challenge

• And this is the first moment he's decided he might be entitled to anything

• And then he does a 180 into deserving nothing

• "Proposition: I'm not a man, I'm a king"

• Like wow so much to unpack psychologically there

• I mean he and Lance have very much the same problem of trying to suppress their own humanity but the reasons are so different

• When Arthur switches into his idealistic mode and they start playing I Wonder What the King is Doing Tonight because he's being kingly, literally gets me every time

• The entire thing is so good, I love the second half so much

• "I wasn't trained for this"

• I love the running theme of Merlyn training Arthur in all of these important skills but never teaching him how to handle emotions and relationships and uh maybe he should have

• There were perhaps some limits to Merlyn's wisdom that set Arthur up to fail

• Because he's been king since he was barely out of childhood

• He never got the chance to have normal, equal relationships where he could figure shit out

• So instead he just pushes it all down because he's not wrong in that he doesn't get the luxury of following his emotions

• I love every second of this scene

• I love every line, every delivery, every movement

• Like it is a hard ask to make an actor just walking around the stage monologuing compelling in a musical and this is so so compelling

• Just on the whole of this show, I don't know that I've ever been so blown away by a stage performance as I was watching Andrew Burnap and this scene is just a perfect encapsulation of why

• Whatever he's in next, I will go

• Okay real talk something about this man's face just renders it unrecognizable to my brain so more than likely I'll see something and be like wow that person was amazing, who was that and then it will turn out to be him

• I say specifically because I happened to be watching Under the Banner of Heaven the whole time I've been having a Camelot obsession and how did I find out he was in it? I happened to see his name in the end credits four episodes in...

• But anyway I will at least try to know whatever he's in next so I can go on purpose because this performance is living in my brain and I don't think it's leaving

• I do make fun of previous versions of this show for casting people who are clearly not musical theater actors in this role but actually I do think casting actors who do straight plays does add so much as long as they aren't terrible at singing

• All of which to say again that I do think this was some of the most perfect casting I have ever seen

• Basically the statements you can tell Andrew Burnap is not a musicals person and you can absolutely tell Phillipa Soo and Jordan Donica are absolutely musicals people

• Are both extreme compliments to the people that decided on this casting

#i was going to say time to be unhinged again #but Camelot has had me unhinged for a while #so time for me to somehow be more unhinged #unhinged 2: electric boogaloo #It's so funny because the week after I saw Camelot for the first time I saw something else atrocious with my friend #and as I was walking out of the theater complaining to my friend #I said it was funny how I had like 30 minutes worth of things to say about this show I hated #but nothing to say besides that I loved it about Camelot #well apparently accidentally seeing it three times closing week demolished the floodgates #there may to be some more audio clips added in to truly make this my 'remember what it felt like to see this show' #thing to look back on #I just needed to get the thoughts out my head and put them somewhere #or at least most of them #because I have so many #I think I actually have even more thoughts about the changes but a part of my brain is like well you'll never see the true original #so you can't have a true opinion #Camelot Musical #I don't know if this will end up in the tag #but like there's only five of us there so let's just call it keeping the tag alive #this is just part 2 of my extremely earnest love letter to this version of this show #thank you aaron sorkin #it's like 50% direct quotes and 25% filler words so maybe I can pretend it isn't actually that long #we're choosing to ignore this is only half #This Barbie can't shut up about Camelot

[shadowveileds]

wanted connections

Malakai Westmore — OLDER BROTHER: brother who always looks out for him and kind of taught him everything he knows they are close and this was the brother Kai was closest to but when kai died they had a hard time reconnecting due to kais death and yet kai was still around as a ghost so things were different but they're still there for one another it just feels different and more distance between them now

OTHER SIBLINGS (BIOLOGICAL BROTHERS): (abuse tw, brainwashing tw) he comes from a lil culty family where they believed in some really weird shapeshifter shit and kinda fed it to their kids where animal shapeshifters are like the best species and it's a lot of elitist but also like... religious abuse, forced solitary confinement, ugly gross things !!! but i imagine it's all brothers and there's a weird hierarchy uGh it's gross and its the worst but the boys secretly looked out for each other until their dad got sick and died /: the mom was never the same and gave up all the beliefs and barely leaves her room bc she went into catatonic schizophrenia and now lives in a medical ward and they would visit her sometimes bc that's still their mom but they were essentially brainwashed to think weird things and have a lot of healing to do. all of their last names would be Westmore! first names are up to you but none can be older than the older brother connection above! ROMANTIC SHIP: can be any gender <33 and kai is up for any type of person so i think most charas would work.... maybe there could some type of forbidden love vibes to it idk we can go wild lol

Eitan Mars — SIBLINGS (ADOPTED OR FOSTER): big ass family with lots of kids and they all have cool unique names because the mars family is weird! like cheaper by the dozen type shit lol where parents got together when eitan was young so they grew up in a tall house with like five stories and constantly had people coming in and out and it was messy and wild and full of energy and fairy magic everywhere and filled with lots of love and support so! there would be a few kids from before the parents got together then a few kids after so the before kids (like eitan) would have the last name mars and the after kids (younger than eitan) would have a hyphenated last name with Mars and something that you decide or completely something you decide it's up to you EXES: someone that eitan has dated in the past but they have broken up and their dynamic and reason is up for plotting and the ex-partner can be any gender(: i just need more exes for this loser bc he would have dated ppl in the past haha

Aristotle Sloane — ENEMY & PAST HOOK-UP: where they just do not like each other anymore maybe they never liked each other but they have hooked up because they were both hot lol so maybe ari regrets it maybe they were drunk or whatever but now ari can't stand this person

Nereus Pan — SISTERS (ADOPTED, FOSTER, OR BIOLOGICAL): i imagine nereus has a ton of sisters of different ages and he's the only boy lol the sisters can be older or younger than him but they all have the last name pan to keep up appearances

Sagramore Delacour — ROMANTIC SHIP: can be any gender <33 and sage is up for any type of person so i think most charas would work.... maybe friends first tho?? dare i say a lil bit of a slow burn if we want?? lol the partner could struggle with being hurt in the past paired with sage's want to give them a better life and is willing to shower them in love with affection and compliments it could be really cute

Octavia Mercy — VAMPIRE/HUMAN: a relationship with a human male. where we can portray the changing and difficult aspects of a relationship between a vampire and a human. we can explore immortality and forbidden love and also be melodramatic asf and sappy and romantic and uGh he would be a feeder and he is her favorite human yes pls i feel like it could give: the one who hates absolutely everyone x that one ray of sunshine that they love with all their heart

#wanted connections

[glatisants]

nobody asked for this but my personal goal is to name all the unnamed women in arthuriana and especially the moms

#characters whose moms i’ve named: sagramore. palamedes & bros. lamorak & bros #currently working on: tor’s mom. perceval’s mom. morien’s mom #ALSO i named the 3 women who hang out with ywain gawain and morholt bc i love them <3 #hm i’d also like to settle on names for perceval’s sister & bagdemagus’ daughter #medieval authors are really like. let’s name every minor male character even if it’s shit like egglame or gaswain or yvain no. 8 #but even lowkey significant female characters are left nameless? it’s wild #distant sounds of baying hounds

[oswinsdolma]

Proving all the Knights of the Round Table have magic part 3: Elyan

I've seen quite a few people headcanon Elyan with magic before, and it's definitely one of the more popular magic!knights hcs, so I apologise if I accidentally hijack anyone else's points xx

The most obvious indicator of this is the fact that Elyan leaves Camelot a year before Merlin arrives. This is about the same age Morgana's magic shows itself, so it would be natural to assume he left because he began showing signs of being a warlock, Camelot's laws being what they are.

It is also implied that Elyan left fairly abruptly, with Gwen having no idea where he went. He may have left in a hurry because somebody might have noticed him, and not told Gwen or Tom for fear of putting them in danger.

Perhaps in a darker note, he didn't say where he was going because he was ashamed of his magic and didn't think his family would accept him.

Gwen says that "[Elyan] always seems to be in the wrong place at the wrong time". Maybe accidents happen around him because he had trouble controlling his magic and found it increasingly difficult to cover for. This could be another indicator as to why he left.

Elyan didn't return to Camelot even for his father's funeral, and while he expresses his guilt, he doesn't give sufficient reason why: the reason? He may not be able to tell Gwen because he was still scared to return with magic.

When Gwen reveals her relationship with Arthur, Elyan is skeptical, and maybe even a little panicked. After all, would your sister falling in love with someone with the power to set you ablaze not be a terrifying concept to anyone with magic? But when Arthur comes to rescue them and proves himself to be slightly less of a prat than he may think, he tentatively agrees to return home, though I suspect this is mainly for Gwen's sake.

When the immortal army invades Camelot, Elyan manages to stay hidden and fight off some soldiers. Note that he is the only one of the group within Camelot with no Knights' training, which begs the question: how did he manage to escape? The answer could very well lie with magic.

Again, in The Darkest Hour, he is one of two knights that survived the meeting with Morgana. He is one of the more inexperienced knights as well, which suggests that he may have aided himself magically in the fight.

When faced with a seemingly unbeatable threat, Elyan says to Arthur: "tomorrow, we fight in your name, sure. For freedom and justice in this land." Now there is a lot to unpack here, but if we break it down, firstly there is the fact that Elyan places is emphasis on "your" when addressing Arthur. He has previously made a statement about the Pendragon crest, but in this moment, it seems that he cares more about Arthur than this. This is clearly indicative of the fierce bond between Arthur and the core knights, but it could be more than that: the emphasis of "your" is specific to Arthur, but perhaps more importantly, it is an exclusion of Uther. In his time, Arthur has made mistakes, but he has generally been more sympathetic towards magic than his father, and this may be Elyan's subtle way of acknowledging that.

In addition, the words: "for freedom and justice in this land" could just be in reference for Arthur's abilities as king, but this is a deep speech and one would assume it has a deeper meaning. Freedom and justice are two things that have not been afforded to those with magic for a long time. Uther's twisted "justice" involved executing anyone who disagreed with him and anyone who could be vaguely affiliated with sorcery. As for freedom, Arthur has created a fairer kingdom than his father, but magic users still live in fear. Combined with the earlier stress of "your", this is indicative that Elyan too believes that Arthur may one day come to bring peace to anyone who is born with magic.

This last point also has the implications that Elyan knows of the Once and Future King and surrounding prophecies. Though he is described as a troublemaker by Gwen before he comes to Camelot, he keeps his head relatively low upon arrival. Perhaps in the time he spent travelling, he sought help from magical communities, e.g. the druids, who helped him control his powers. This would also explain his vagueness about his whereabouts and lack of contact during the years he was missing.

I could go on about this quote but we'll leave it there for now.

Before he is overtaken by the power of the Lamia, Elyan is vocal in standing up for Merlin. This could be because he knows what it is like to be shunned by society. Magic could be a reason for that. (Also I fully believe that the only reason the Lamia didn't try and take over Merlin was because she was scared of the extent of his magic, not just because he had magic.)(and the merthur reasons when I'm in the mood)

Then Elyan falls sick, before the others begin to show symptoms. Maybe the Lamia sensed some magic and decided he was more trouble than he was worth.

Elyan was not raised by druids, and does not have the same powers as Merlin so wouldn't have sensed the power of the shrine, at least not too strongly. When he first sees the spirit though, he is genuinely sympathetic, even before the murderous intent takes hold.

In the Dark Tower, Elyan is consumed by his need to find Gwen, convinced that he is to blame for her capture. This could be survivor's guilt (and to an extent, probably is), but it is equally probable that Elyan believes that he should have used his magic to protect her.

Going off on a slight tangent here, the theme of "I have magic so it must have a purpose" within warlocks/sorcerers in the show is a) not a healthy mindset and b) uncomfortably common. Elyan may have latched onto the idea that he must use his magic to protect Gwen to convince himself to stay in Camelot, and with that conprmino, he began to fall apart. His behaviour is almost identical to Merlin's fervour regarding Arthur at this point, and it's fairly disturbing that these characters adopt this mindset that is Not Good For Their Mental Heath, Please Get Some Therapy.

Elyan dies. It's heartbreaking, and he does so trying to save his sister. But what is interesting is his funeral. When most main characters die, they are given a funeral in Camelot, e.g. Uther, Lancelot (the first time). But then Freya and Shade!Lanceot (and later Arthur) are set to rest in the Lake of Avalon. The difference between the two is that the lake funerals were arranged by Merlin, and those laid to rest there can somehow be affiliated with magic.

Now I'm not saying that Merlin knew about Elyan's magic, because sometimes he can be really not very perceptive about that (though it's always fun when fics cheerily toss that out the window because it's fun goddamnit-), but I don't believe he was entirely oblivious. Think about it: there are two of Arthur's closest friends canonically hiding magic from him and it's fairly probable that they'll pick up on Elyan's magic at some point. Even if it's just little things like his sympathies with magic or gentle arguments about the way mages are treated. There are so many avenues to explore with this it's overwhelming-

I also think Elyan may have picked up on Merlin's magic later in the series: the point of realisation was probably when Merlin rescued him during his time being possessed by the drowned druid boy, upon which he says: "you know, Merlin, you're much braver than you look." This is the first time Merlin has revealed his more BAMF side to Elyan, and in this moment, something unspoken passes between them. If not mutual understanding, it is at least Elyan realising what Merlin does beneath his carefree exterior, and despite the possession, I think he acquires a lot of new respect for his friend.

(also are we going to ignore that the lake funeral implies that it was arranged by Merlin. How close were they and what stuff did we miss out on behind the scenes for him to be trusted with this?? I need to know)

Elyan and Mordred have a friendship in series 5. If the earlier headcanon about Elyan learning to control his magic with druids is true, perhaps he may have recognised Mordred from his time there. They probably didn't acknowledge it much, but it created a bond between them.

And now for the mythological context!!

Of all the Knights of the Round Table, Elyan's backstory is perhaps the most estranged from the original legend (of course all of them are fairly disconnected *flashbacks to pope-gwaine* but Elyan's is w a c k y)

As a consequence, there is little to draw on for behind-the-scenes evidence of magic.

Elyan, or Helayn, was another Knight whose origins stem from France (the Vulgate Cycle, I think, though he could have surfaced earlier). He is said to have joined Lancelot in exile after his affair of 'courtly love' with Guinevere (go and look up this concept- it gets convoluted in the myths but is really interesting in terms of both origin and content). Anyway, his exile here could represent the time he spent out of Camelot before his appearance in s3, and relates to hiding from harsh laws, particularly if we regard Lancelot and Guinevere's relationship in the same way as we do in the Vulgate Cycle (basically keep the context with the appropriate work and it sort of makes sense)

I appreciate this seems a little like grasping at straws but that's literature I suppose ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

In the legends, Elyan is nephew to another of Arthur's knights, Sir Sagramore. This knight is less famous than some, but at one point, he embarks on a quest to find the fay. The fay are closely linked with the she, and perhaps also live on Avalon, somewhere mortals are only supposed to see moments before death. Perhaps Elyan can be associated with this magic?

In reality, there is little written of Elyan and no prose or poetry dedicated to him so it's quite hard to find stuff about him.

Also legend!Elyan is heir to the throne of Constantinople, which just goes to prove how widespread and deeply convoluted the mythos is.

#pope-adopted-gwaine and emperor-of-constantinople-elyan team up in an epic crack-y au lmao #honestly the idea of elyan having magic is so plausible but also so sad #he isolated himself and then lost the person he cared about and that's heartbreaking #won't stop the headcanoning though ✌️ #bbc merlin #bbc elyan #sir elyan

[fuckyeaharthuriana]

I watched all the arthurian tv series I could possibly find and put them all from best to worst (imho)

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

Here I considered miniseries part of the tv shows/series list! 

(the sequel to this movies post)

The Legend of King Arthur (1979) - my favourite arthurian media EVER. Among movies and tv shows, this is my favorite ever. It focuses a lot on Morgana and Arthur and on her revenge in particular. If you like Morgana, this show is for you. It also has a great Mordred, and some very beautiful moments for Bors.

Kaamelott - Amazing arthurian parody that starts as full on sketches and gets pretty serious and dramatic by the 5th season. It focuses mainly on Arthur.

Arthur et les enfants de la Table Ronde (animated series) - amazing animated show about a kid Arthur living in Uther's castle and having a bunch of adventures with Guinevere, Morgana, Gawain, Sagramore and Tristan. Pretty heartwarming!

The Boy Merlin - while I am not a Merlin fan in general, I still loved this miniseries which focuses on Merlin's childhood and small adventures without being too cheesy.

Arthur of the Britons - I love this show, and I am a big Kay fan so this show is really a gift. Sadly, it lacks in arthurian events/characters.

The Mists of Avalon (2001) - I hate the novel, but the miniseries managed to cut out my least favorite parts, and kept the bone structure of it. It also focuses on Morgana and she is played by one of my favorite actresses.

The Adventures of Sir Lancelot - episodic and fun, this has one of my favourite Lancelot ever. The only thing I disliked was that there is no overall plot or drama

Camelot (Starz, 2011) - the series was cancelled after the first season so it never gets to other events, but as a Morgana focused series it was pretty amazing. Arthur was quite weak as a character, but at least Eva Green was in it.

The Legend of Prince Valiant (cartoon) - this is my favorite adaptation of Prince Valiant and it has tons of arthurian elements, in particular it also had some great episodes for Gawain and Guinevere.

Fate/Apocrypha (anime): This season is not connected with the other seasons and can be watched alone. It is about humans summoning historical figures as servants to fight and obtain the Grail (basically a wish-giving object). Mordred is one of these figures.

Trollhunters (animated series) - (only first season and third season) The arthurian elements are pretty vague at the beginning, but the new season explored Camelot and the relationship between Morgana and Arthur. In general, Morgana is a great character in this show.

The Librarians - Mainly not an arthurian series, but it is a general fun show and it has Galahad as one of its main characters, with some specific episodes about him.

The Adventures of Sir Galahad - a fun watch but very repetitive. Still, I enjoyed this one tv series where Mordred and Galahad actually interact

Cursed (Netflix) - Tv show focusing on Nimue. Pretty fun, especially by the end, but many times the whole "this character by neutral name... is actually *insert arthurian character here*" ended up being not necessary and pretty fanservice-y, without any real meaning.

Merlin (1998 miniseries) - while I enjoyed it, in particular the second episode, I generally disliked many of the "beauty as most important for women" elements

Merlin (BBC) - I enjoyed the first two seasons more than the rest. The show ends up with a lot of plot stuff missing or forgotten and it ends up with no particular coherent plot at all.

King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table (anime) - I am still at episode ~ 12, but I am really enjoying it. It focuses on the adventure of Arthur on a journey (with some other knights) to find out who killed his parents and stop the big anime style villain

Sir Gadabout - I only watched a few episodes so take this with a grain of salt, but it's a funny parody show, but nothing special

Il cuore e la Spada - an Italian Tristan and Isolde tv show

Stargate SG1 season 9 and 10 - This was a good show, but it's this low because the arthurian elements of these "arthurian seasons" are only a few.

King Arthur's Disasters - Episodic parodies about Arthur, Lancelot and Guinevere (mainly).

Fate/Stay Night and *Fate/Zero (*anime) - The anime has some arthurian elements (Holy Grail and Saber/Arthur), but I did find it pretty confusing e boring.

Once Upon A time - The tv show had some arthurian elements and then an entire arthurian arc. Unfortunately they dropped so many plots points that it literally made no sense.

Merlin's Apprentice - Melrin 1998 without the interesting parts

The Seven Deadly Sins (Anime) - It has Merlin, Tristan's Dad and Lancelot's dad among its main characters, plus other arthurian characters and Arthur as a guest character. It has some really problematic elements and the third season was also pretty boring.

Mr Merlin - this is barely arthurian. It's also about Merlin in modern times, and nothing too exciting.

Alias the Jester - I don't even know why I watched it. It only had, like, one arthurian element and in general it was pretty boring

Not watched/in the list:

Arthur And The Square Knights Of The Round (I watched some episodes ages ago, but I remember nothing)

King Arthur and the Knights of Justice

Blazing Dragons

Guinevere Jones (it's impossible to find in English)

Merlin (1980 German tv show and, sadly, I don't know German)

Arthur Prince on the White Horse (sequel of the other arthurian anime that I have to finish)

Space Knights (I only recently found out about this and haven't watched it yet)

House of Anubis (never found it in English)

Merlin (2012, only in French)

Runaways (I watched the first season, and have yet to get to the arthurian elements in the third)

Honorable mentions:

The MacGyver's arthurian episodes are among my favorite Connecticut Yankee adaptations. Doctor Who Battlefield was also a pretty good arthurian arc.

#arthuriana #merlin #camelot #kaamelott #king arthur #tv shows

[nelson-riddle-me-this]

Film soundtrack: Camelot

I have not seen this film or listened to the album before, so here are my live thoughts as I listen for the 1st time.

NEVER HEARD BEFORE | want to listen to | the worst | BAD | whatever | not my thing | GOOD | great | favorite | masterpiece

01. "Prelude and Overture"

Something about how this begins - it feels like they cut an intro, it just starts and I feel out of the loop. Also, as is usual with Broadway-film adaptations of this era, the orchestrations are larger and a little bite'ier. Pretty strings. Got that 20th Century Fox string sound - but wait, this is a Warners movie -OOOHO WAIT IT'S Alfred Newman conducting [longtime head of the Fox music dept.] heheh so I *am* right. Pretty ballads - "If Ever I Would Leave You". OOH these strings on "If Ever I Would Leave You" are GORGEOUS. And tail out. Beautiful!

02. "I Wonder What The King Is Doing Tonight?"

Richard Harris is a lot friendlier than Richard Burton was in the role of King Arthur on Broadway - and I'm into it. Also, I dig the brighter tempo here - makes it feel like we are indeed on the eve of a momentous occasion (wedding). Okay I wish they'd play with dyamics more - especially on lines like "he's wishing he were in Scottland fishing tonight" or "he's searching high and low for someplace to hide". Missed opportunities for text-painting.

03. "The Simple Joys of Maidenhood"

I can't help compare Vanessa Redgrave to Julie Andrews. Redgrave doesn't have an unpleasant sound, but she's lacking personality. I dig the 'Bolero'y millitaristic snare drum. Much of the joy in Julie's performance is how she mixes surface-level sweetness, and conniving seduction (think Betty White as 'Sue Ann Nivens' on THE MARY TYLER MOORE SHOW). But Redgrave's performance doesn't seem to be all that thoughtful. Also, not a fan of that ending, it doesn't feel like an ending, "Oh, it's over! That was it?", but perhaps it makes more sense with picture.

04. "Camelot and the Wedding Ceremony"

Nice bassoon. ?harpsichord?? So far this arrangement is the closest to the Broadway. I wish the strings were legato/slurred on "by order Summer lingers through September". Maybe I am too mickey-mouse'y with the text painting I want, but I prefer specificity. I like the pulling back the tempo a bit there. Love these woodwind lines! Oooh love it again, we're pulling the tempo down, dynamics, and slurring. Love it. Build. Build back up! YES! Lovely! OOoh this little Medievel winds passage! And the chorus! Oh those woodwinds are gorgeous. I need to learn more about them - recorders??? At first the singers didn't sound especially English, more American. As I listen more, their pronunciation is pretty English. But perhaps the harmonies are very American - like what you'd hear in a Disney movie or Mancini score of the era - so even sung with appropriate pronunciation they sound American?

05. "C'est Moi"

Frano Nero. Never heard of him. He's fine, but feels like a step-down from Robert Goulet. He lacks that clear strong edge that Goulet has. He's not as commanding. When Goulet praises himself, I buy it. Like he has the confidence and strength to really sell what he's singing. This man isn't selling me. Maybe that's a choice - maybe they want us to see him as a phony who's over-selling himself. But I feel like I still have that with Goulet and it's better because you feel like you're reading beetween the lines a little more - like resisting an extremely good/slick car salesman.

06. "The Lusty Month of May"

Nice opening. Pretty. I love the slower tempo for this - enhances the seductivness. Gorgeous strings. And we accel! Nice! Good ?harpsichord? Now I still don't like her as much as Julie, but Redgrave works better here than in "The Simple Joys of Maidenhood", staightforward lustiness is a little easier. This 3' section is nice, though I wish it were faster - a merry-go-round, but slightly unhinged.

07. "Follow Me and Children's Chorus"

Gorgeous, tinkly. Gorgeous chorus. They're stereo ping-ponging the choirs!!!! It's really effective. Oh and the childrens chorus is so sweet. This is a completely different approach than the OBC, but it works so well. Helps that this is an utterly divine song. Favorite track on the album so far, probably to remain so. HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS TRACK.

08. "How To Handle A Woman"

Oooh he's upset and we're fast! This works! Even if he's generally warmer than Burton, Harris can still do angry! And pull it back, sweet and intimate. Oooh this whisper'y smolder bit O.o and now we're past the intro. I kind of like Harris better than Burton - his warmth is really an asset for this character. Oh yikes that Merlin line is very sexist :/.

09. "Take Me To The Fair"

The tempo is - not sure if it's even slower, but it's looser, and I don't like that. The precisely on-the-beat phrasing of the OBC (both vocally and instrumentally) communicates that Guenevere has this all planned out, it's an act, it's a trap, she's manipulating these silly men. Oh, the transition from "well, Sir Sagramore" to "you may sit BY me at the ball" is awful - either she just keeps going through it (but in a weird way) or they did a pickup and spliced her in there so she's slightly overlapping. Sorry Alfred Newman, but this is not IT. Who cast Redgrave? Who thought casting a non-singing actress in a role originally played by a remarkably strong actress-singer? I like the little harpsichord section. Worst Redgrave number so far. An insult to the OBC. I promise this is a good song, got listen to the cast album

10. "If Ever I Would Leave You"

Oh, so we're right into it! Nero's lack of boldness as compared to Goulet kind of works here - sweeter and softer for this intimate love song. Lots of this arrangement is just imitative of the vocal - which is nice but can get a little tiresome when it's not really in-the-pocket. Still this man doesn't have the presence that Goulet does. He just doesn't command your attention. Like this string interlude. Different. Flute :) adding ?oboe? under it. Violins. Now violas? I like it. Oh and I think the violins are doing finger tremolos. Great! The new interludes on this album are gorgeous, when the film people really get to go off and do their own thing, it's great. And are we back to the vocal? Yes, this works. Oh these strings are GORGEOUS. I miss the ?timpani? hits of the original, but actually given that Nero is not as powerful a vocalist, letting the strings lead those hits is a good choice.

11. "What Do the Simple Folk Do?"

Oigg Redgrave. Like the harpsichord and very 'royal' woodwinds. And tambourine. Very medieval. Yay, we DO get a whistling section! This is adorable :) I like this. BOOO Vanessa!!! Oh, I like the "their own folk - throne folk" rhyme, don't remember that from the OBC. Oh and Harris can get big and bold too!!! I really love Richard Harris in this. HE HAS THE RANGE. Oh, is that Marni Nixon? Sounds like her. Did you know the film composer Bronislau Kaper gave her her first break? He needed someone to dub ?Virginia O'Brien?'s singing voice for some picture, and looked in vain until some paige at the studio recommended her fellow-paige, Nixon, and the rest is history! I like this ending! Harris really carries this song on his back.

12. "I Loved You Once In Silence"

The guitar is neat, very different from the OBC - though I confess I don't remember this song as much as the others. See this is something Redgrave can do. Her soft kind of weak voice works for something intimate and straightforward like this. Still, I don't like her voice and every once in a while something in her tone feels so amaeturish that it bugs me. Oh dear, only Redgrave and Nero together. :( they just both seem like space-cases. They're not compelling. Perhaps they have screen presence, but they don't have audio presence.

13. "Guenevere"

Oooh love these ?string harmonics?! Eerie. Like this! The studio chorus is great. Some of the strings are too loud - I suspect that's just a mix issue. Oh I love the tambourine on 2 and 4! I love how large this sounds! That ?horn line? kinda steps on the male vocalists there. Oh I really love every spot the tambourine is here, huh! OH YES! BUILD! GLORIOUS!!!! Oh and the bell.... let the bell toll....... yesesssssssssssss........ fade..... Second-favorite track!

14. "Finale Ultimo" [Camelot (Reprise)]

Aww, Dicky Harris is sad :'( but I love the harp here playing the brass/w.w. figures we heard in "Camelot". Nice clarinets. And the guitar. Nice snare rolls. And here's the big finale! Big chorus! Oooh these harmonies have such body. Love hearing them linger. Get soft. BIG AGAIN! BIG DISNEY MOVIE ENDING!!!!!!!!

-------------------------------------------------

Ultimately it's not as tight or well-cast as the original Broadway cast album. Vanessa Redgrave is not a good Guenevere - she lacks the spark, sacharine underhandedness, deliberateness, and vocal chops that Julie Andrews brought to the role; and she doesn't supply anything meaningful in their place. Franco Nero is a watered-down Lancelot and lacks the commanding presence and powerful voice that made Robert Goulet so effective [I did some research and it seems Lancelot's singing voice was dubbed by Gene Merlino]. -2 for them, but +1 for Richard Harris, who brings a warmth to King Arthur that Richard Burton lacks, and yet he is powerful, commanding, even angry when he needs to be. The studio chorus is GORGEOUS and truly one of this album's great strenths. The arrangements/orchestrations are very pretty, though don't always feel as thought-out as the OBC. It's likely a larger orchestra, so I understand that things might not be as tight and you might want to take tempos down for that reason, but it really waters down a few numbers. Ultimately this is an uneven album, the OBC is far better. But at the very least I recommend this version of "Follow Me".

#camelot #camelot 1967 #film score #alfred newman #my apologies for taking so long to respond to this #i really enjoyed listening to this #thank you Zach <3 :D

[ullmina-eatingsoulsforbreakfast]

Glad it makes you happy! If you don’t mind then, Could I ask for a few more? Like Mordred?

You can ask me about every characters that you can think of (except Pazz please, Pazz terrifies me) ♡♡.

First impression: At first, I thought "this one is supposed to be the handsome knight in shining armor." I didn't have a good impression about him. He was too "perfect" for me to love him and also too perfect to truly be what he pretented to be. But I didn't care that much about him either. Nevertheless when he "kissed" Ocoho I thought "oh maybe he is a great guy after all" but it didn't last long. (Like 50 seconds)

Impression now: I dislike him but I'm far from hating him. He was raised as a human tool/ weapon. In fact, I feel pity for him. With such a father it's not surprising if he acts like that. His only purpose in life is to serve. He can't feel love or compassion or pain and I think it's extremely sad as well as kind of terrifying. I think he is victim of his infection and his father. But it doesn't necessarly excuse how he acted and how he thinks. He has no sense of honor nor moral values, maybe because of his lack of feelings but I think you don't necessarly need to feel to be just. He has no understanding of what is just or not. About that, his father is to blame.

Favorite moment: When Ocoho makes him feel her grief and pain and he starts to feel remorse.

Idea for a story: it would be great if someone could save him from his father or if he saves himself. If he could learn what is just and what is not, he would be a great knight. If someone who can feel empathy is by his sides. It would be interesting to see him learning how to be a "human being" with moral values. But I don't know why I feel like his only chance of redemption will be death (it's maybe kind of cliche I don't know), a pessimistic part of me thinks that he is a lost cause.

Unpopular opinion: I have no idea.

Favorite relationship: haha. Is it possible to find one good relationship involving him? I would say Sagramor. A doomed "friendship". Their story is tragic.

Favorite headcanon: I would have said "he starts to hate his father" but the dude can't feel anything so I don't know.

#radiant

[djemsostylist]

My absolute favorite part of the de Troyes Grail story is when Percival is just like, sitting outside Camelot, staring at the snow because it reminds him of his girlfriend’s face and Sagramore thinks it’s weird, so he tries to fight him and Percival just like, lays him out and goes back to staring, so Sagramore goes into Camelot and is like “yo, there is a weirdo sitting outside and he won’t say his name” so naturally Kay, being an Asshole, goes out to beat him up and force him to come in, and Percival breaks his arm.  So then Kay goes back in to whine, and by this point Arthur is like, “okay wtf is going on” and then Gawain is like, “hey, why don’t I go out to talk to this guy” and Kay like, gets all sneery and is like “oh, what, so you can talk to him and be kind because you are just such a nice guy” and Gawain is like, “yes?” and Kay is like “I hope you get YOUR collarbone broken” and then Gawain goes out and is like, “hey man, are you okay, you look like your are going through something” and then Percival is like, “yeah, I miss my girlfriend and also these dudes keep coming out and trying to beat me up :(  “ and Gawain is like, “oh, no, that’s just Kay, he’s a dick” and then they go into the hall together and Gawain (who’s arm and collarbone are not broken) is like, “Here is the sad knight” and Arthur is like, “Oh, hey” and Kay just like, combusts.  It’s so great.  Kay cannot conceive of why people like Gawain just because he’s a nice person and isn’t just a constant asshat all of the time and every time Gawain beats him just by being a nice person and not an asshole, he gets sent into like, a rage.  

Also, de Troyes takes care to point out that Kay is Tall and Strong and Blond (with a braid!) and is basically the hottest dude at Arthur’s court (think Thor?) but because he is a Major Asshole at all times, he’s actually not the hottest (and I’m guessing the implication here is that Gawain is, both because Lancelot only exists in the Knight of the Cart and I’m convinced de Troyes hates him, and also because de Troyes really loves Gawain and so do all the ladies).  

#arthuriana #arthurian legend #chretien de troyes #gawain #i love how much of an asshole kay is in de troyes #he's literally just a dick all the time for no reason #and everyone is like 'oh kay you are a dick' #but that's just like how it is #and gawain is just nice #and slutty #those are the threads that remain #also I'm utterly convinced that the knight percival meets at the beginning who thinks he's both stupid and delightful is lancelot #like it makes sense #lancelot would meet a stupid kid in the woods #and take the time to explain what a shield and a lance are bc he's just so amused and charmed by this idiot #but we don't know #de troyes would probably argue with me about this since he hates lancelot #but it's my headcanon so you can't take it away

[queer-ragnelle]

Arthurian characters I believe in my soul are gay

Agravaine: He is just such a gay man whether he’s cis or trans or single or married to Laurel doesn’t matter he loves men end of story

Galehaut: You’d think it’s a given, but Lavinia Collins wrote him straight with sons, so he has to be mentioned and it’s non-negotiable

Bedwyr: He is Kay’s companion, they come as a set, the better half of married couple middle management, nicer of the two but he will support Kay’s antics so tread carefully

Percival: Pronouns irrelevant—they are a big fat gay who turned chivalry into a butch gender

Galahad: Straight people don’t act like that even if they’re Catholic actually especially if they’re Catholic

Sebile: One lesbian to rule them all, I mean, she hit the jackpot with Morgan obviously come on

Kay: See Bedwyr, also the nickname thing just has vibes, why you thinking so much about other men?

Sagramore: He and Agravaine are ex-boyfriends obviously

Gromer: Specifically if we assume the one from Turk and Wedding is the same guy, involvement with Gawain plus invisibility cloak potential is just so fruity

Lionel: Hand to god I can’t think of a time he was associated with a lady I don’t think he even knows knights are supposed to perform feats for them and I’m not going to tell him

Yvain: The marriage to Laudine was a fluke they divorced amicably and he’s living his truth now and that truth? Pet play

Laurel: “Wife” of Agravaine shut up it’s a piece of paper she wouldn’t touch a man with a ten foot pole it’s called lavender marriage sweaty look it up

Lucius: That man wants Arthur so bad it makes him look stupid

Pinel: Yeah the poison apple guy he has the same vibes as Gromer the obsession with Gawain comes with cannotations

Brangaine: She’s not upset Isolde drank the love potion because she was trusted with it, she’s upset they didn’t drink it together

Tor: My friend Tor told me he likes men, hope that clears things up

#Arthurian legend #Arthuriana #sir agravaine #sir Agravain #sir Galehaut #sir bedivere #sir Bedwyr #sir percival #sir Perceval #sir galahad #sebile #sir kay #sir Sagramore #sir gromer somer joure #sir lionel #sir Yvain #sir owain #laurel #lucius Tiberius #sir pinel #brangaine #sir tor #sir torre #marked mature bc I have minor kink jokes in there #these are just my silly opinions & this by no means everyone else is cishet lots of them are bi but that’s a different list #acespec would also include Galahad but that’s a short list & Dinadan deserves his own post #anyway #my post

[gellavonhamster]

la tavola ritonda liveblogging(ish) 1/?

the tribute that Cornwall has to pay the Irish king includes three camels, three lions, and three leopards. Considering the fauna of Cornwall, I believe this was included specifically as an additional pain in the ass

the Lady of the Lake is referred to as the sister of Morgan le Fay - I wonder if it is meant literally or figuratively (as a fellow sorceress)

I am almost certain that I've already read something in which a boy sees knights for the first time and mistakes them for God and/or angels and then proclaims that since knights are so beautiful, he wishes to become one, but here it is Lancelot and I could swear I've come across the same scene with Perceval

oh hey, now Lancelot is sitting at the table of the less cool knights and a maiden who never spoke before speaks to him. Yeah, it appears he's doing a bit of a Perceval thing here

Arthur's war against Galehaut is combined with war against Mark, didn't expect that

Morholt meets Tristan at the court of the French king, compliments his beauty and prowess, and the court jester prophesizes that "the beauty and prowess of this young man will cost you dear"

(sorry, I'm not using the Italian versions of the names in this post except for direct quotes lest I confuse anyone, because some of these are very different from English ones)

Isolde's mom gave up being a doctor because she couldn't save her brother :(

Isolde is twelve when they first meet?? And Tristan and Palamedes are both, like, fifteen... they're babies...

And it's not hard to tell they're fifteen, lol

and then Braingaine asks Isolde which one of the two guys she likes the most 🥰 babies!

oh, and apparently Palamedes and Tristan would die on the same day?..

and now Tristan is doing the Perceval thing by looking at the blood on the snow and thinking of Isolde

Breus Sans Pité is described as the "anti-lover", and Tristan, after defeating him, orders him to surrender to Gawain, who is "the lover"

Isolde's dad: alright, Tristan, I'll give my daughter to your uncle and not to you, since you insist so, but I don't like this and I'm going to pray he dies soon

I don't think I've seen any other version before have other people than Tristan and Isolde affected by the same love potion? Here, Isolde's dog licks some of it and becomes extremely loyal to Tristan and Isolde (three days after their death, she is found dead on their grave). Also, the loyalty of Brangaine and Gouvernal to Isolde and Tristan is amplified by them inhaling the smell of the potion

Brangaine was hoping to remain a virgin her whole life, but still agreed to slept with Mark pretending to be Isolde on their wedding night :(

BRANGAINE!!!

girl NO :( you deserve better

Sagramore the what?

#arthurian legends #arthuriana #gella talks arthuriana #talk talk talk #tristan #isolde #king mark #palamedes #lancelot du lac #sagramore the desirous #brangien #why did i make this my tag for her this form of her name is not that common...

[wheremyhotchocolate]

All the Knights of the Round Table I could remember ranked

Because I was bored and need to express my love/hatred for these characters.

NOTE: I am well aware that there are a shit-ton of Knights, but I decided to just work with 50 because I’m supposed to be asleep and some of them don’t have enough of a personality for me to make accurate judgments on them

Also, I gave a brief description thingy of them for reasons.

1.       Sir Mordred (I have a thing for questionable morals and misunderstood characters. I could write an essay on my love for him)

2.       Sir Galahad (pure boy. Deserved better. I also ship him with Mordred)

3.       Sir Gareth (SUNSHINE BOY)

4.       King Galehaut (underrated and probably definitely gay for Lancelot)

5.       Sir Kay (lovable asshole)

6.       Sir Gawain (“and Sir Gawain lay in his gay bed”)

7.       Sir Dinadan (”he probably walked across the channel”)

8.       Sir Palamedes (most relatable)

9.       Sir Percival (other sunshine boy)

10.   Sir Ferifis (sunshine boy the third)

11.   Sir Bedivere (he yeeted the sword back into the lake)

12.   Sir Yvain the Lion (lions are cool, much like Yvain)

13.   Sir Astamore (underrated bb…plus his name is cool)

14.   Sir Lamorak (didn’t deserve this shit)

15.   Sir Dragonet (comic relief)

16.   Sir Balin (he’s trying, ok??)

17.   Sir Brunor/La Cote Male Taile (everyone thought he was a joke till he saved the queen from a lion)

18.   King Pellinore (He’s funny in the movies)

19.   King Leodegrance (was entrusted with the table after Uther’s death)

20.   Sir Ywain the Bastard (needs better)

21.   Sir Daniel (defeated Gawain, that be cool)

22.   Sir Agravain (less-lovable asshole, but still lovable)

23.   Sir Tristan (that love story tho)

24.   Sir Lancelot (overrated, but still cool)

25.   Sir Lucan (loyal wingman)

26.   Sir Hector de Maris (doing his best)

27.   Sir Caradoc the Younger (that moment when you were named after your dad but he wasn’t really your dad)

28.   Sir Ector/Hector (Arthur’s foster dad, congrats on sticking with him this long)

29.   King Bagdemagus (he was important once)

30.   Sir Aglovale (overshadowed by Percival’s glory, good boy)

31.   Sir Morien (Aglovale’s son and a POC)

32.   Sir Tor (wants to be cool)

33.   Sir Ironside (underrated ex-murderer)

34.   Sir Safir (#makeSafirpopularagain)

35.   Sir Pelleas (married Nimue and I’m jealous)

36.   Sir Sagramore (angry and virtuous, much like me)

37.   Sir Gingalain (he gave up his love and his name is amazing)

38.   Sir Elyan (needs more love)

39.   Sir Segwarides (you banged my wife but it’s cool)

40.   Sir Bors the Younger (only grail knight not to die and now he’s sad)

41.   Sir Lionel (he has a cool ass birthmark)

42.   Sir Constantine (succeeded Arthur which are some big shoes to fill)

43.   Sir Griflet (also yeeted the sword into the lake)

44.   Sir Adragain (was a Knight of the Round Table before it was cool)

45.   Sir Ulfius (Uther’s wingman)

46.   King Uriens (a bit of a dick to Morgan? Not cool)

47.   Sir Mador de la Porte (kind of an idiot)

48.   Sir Gaheris (I have this weird hatred for Gaheris after reading The Idylls of the Queen, so F him)

49.   Sir Maleagant (evil)

50.   Sir Pinel (FUCK this guy. Like Gaheris, The Idylls of the Queen made me hate him. I could make an essay on why I hate him. He’s such a dick)

#arthurania #arthurian legend #arthurian literature #arthurian mythology #king arthur #the knights of the round table

[amarsiro1976-blog]

And were quite surprised to find ourselves in a a narrow passage of green! A narrow road lead through the "forest", or rather, Shupari bagan and Paan bagan, as we gradually came to realize. After traversing through this passage of green for about 10 15 minutes, we finally approached a clearing. And what a "clearing" it was. Lol I love how people complain about a drama sub. That is what this is. People should be able to say whatever they want. I start by saying I am pretty ambivalent about Tati, I appreciate her hustle, 고령출장마사지 but I also dislike the pseudo science she "researches" amongst other things. If she ignored the launch, ppl would have given her shit. She does a review, ppl give her shit. These facts were sure; regard ing them there was no doubt, no reason for doubt. There was but one question: might there be still other enchantments, UNKNOWN to Merlin, which could render Sir Sagramor's veil transparent to me, and make his enchanted mail vulnerable to my weapons? This was the one thing to be decided in the lists. Until then the world must remain in suspense.. While this is anecdotal, having lived in an old house in the inner west for a while, it is very obvious that these cracks are not just from meteorological or geological conditions. Our house is full of weather cracks which are tiny and fine, and they open and close as the ground changes. These are giant structural cracks and crumbling that are very obviously caused from some serious movement 고령출장마사지 and vibrations below. This moment irked so much because up until now the progression of technology in MCU made sense.brainpostman 2 points submitted 4 days agoIt just Peter does it so casually. No equipment, no tools. Toss it in there and get the webfluid. They came to her willingly, and Dorothy passed her hands over their faces and forms and decided one was a girl of about her own age and the other a boy somewhat smaller. The girl's hair was soft and fluffy and her skin as smooth as satin. When Dorothy gently touched her nose and ears and lips they seemed to be well and delicately formed.. I think it is really important to crate your dog. They like being in an enclosed space where they can feel safe. Crating should happen regularly, like a few hours later in the morning and a few hours later in the afternoon (or whenever he regularly lays down for a nap). If you spend more time submitting to reddit than reading it, you almost certainly a spammer. As a rule of thumb, for every post promoting your own video(s), you should have made 10 other submissions or comments on other posts. (Bear in mind that pointless comments like "nice" and "lol" do not count as actual contribution.). Through the obscurity, which prevailed most immediately under the eastern mountain, a small and uncertain light was plainly to be seen, though, as it was occasionally lost to the eye, it seemed struggling for existence. They observed it to move, and sensibly to lower, as it carried down the descent of the bank to the shore. Here, in a very short time, its flame gradually expanded, and grew brighter, until it became of the size of a man's head, when it continued to shine a steady ball of fire. Even in the time of Cook, a man who left his fireside for such expeditions underwent severe privations. A yacht now, with every luxury of life, can circumnavigate the globe. Besides the vast improvements in ships and naval resources, the whole western shores of America are thrown open, and Australia has become the capital of a rising continent.

[the-onceandfuture-king]

War || Self-Para || Past

A commotion in the courtyard had stirred him first as the heavy gates clunked and groaned apart, amplified by the quiet of the night. Voices called, mail clattered and booted feet echoed in running place around the stone walls of the castle. Arthur stared at the ceiling and let out a sigh. Torches flickered in the midnight air. It was not worth waiting for the sound of shoes to reach his chambers, he thought as he slipped from the comfort of his bed and the warmth of his new wife, and silently pulled on his trousers. Something had been brewing for months, though he kept his concerns quiet for the sake of a moment of marital bliss. For a normal life. Even as he moved about his room, ready to make an exit, he did not want to stir her from the dream that had carried their hands and their hearts in their time together. Everything would be fine, the illusion would not shatter and he’d be back in bed before the birds began to sing. He tied his laces and left one last gentle peck on Guinevere’s forehead, before stepping out into the corridor and greeting the soldiers racing toward his room with a weary smile.

Only a handful of men occupied the seats in the hall, half dressed and bleary eyed, some likely still drunk from the night’s charades. For all but Merlin of course who had never looked fresher in all his life and, as he learned later, had been sat in that very spot, expectantly nursing a cup of hot water for over an hour before the commotion had started. The cause of said commotion sat beside him, cheeks raw from panicked tears, his hands black and swollen, and a streak of blood crusted to his left side as the druid rambled on about purely irrelevant matters. It was easy to forget, he thought as he crouched beside the boy - for that was all he truly was - how young much of his warbands were. Though he let none of his tired thoughts penetrate the morning air, as the boy spoke with a quiver of leagues of armoured men marching south, of how they’d captured him and a score of other scouts, of how they had killed all that weren’t useful and sent him off with a message, after smashing his hands with a rock so he could not even hold a spear for the coming battle. Arthur gazed at the damage and imagined he might not ever hold a spear again.

“They said you- you have to renounce your,” the young man swallowed and kept his eyes in his lap, “your wife-”

“Whore was the actual term,” Merlin interjected with his usual thin, unreadable smile. He was always the perfectionist, in love with the details, though often Arthur wondered if he liked to say things as they were to stir all kinds of emotions in his fellow men - whether for his own pleasure or to incite a driving passion in their hearts, he couldn’t quite decide.

“Or they’d,” he licked his lips as he continued, “sweep through you like a plague.”

Arthur closed his eyes, fingers finding his chin and scratching their way through the stubble, as a deep sigh pressed at his chest.

“How many warriors were with them?”

“About…” He stared at the ceiling. “Two hundred, that I saw.”

“Probably more.”

Sagramor leaned on the table and yawned. “With that many men, I’d say they’ll be with us in four days. Six at best.”

“Send word to the closest kingdoms,” Arthur rose to his feet and rubbed his brow. “Ask for aid, if they can provide it.”

One of the older men stirred from the end of the table and shook his head, lips finding the rim of his cup. “Don’t bother,” he said, throwing a cautionary glance at the messenger. “No one will.”

“Call for aid.”

The scoff that followed echoed around the hall, so even men who had been half asleep were alive with the sudden thickness in the air. “This is your doing,” the old man growled. At one point, he had been right hand to the previous High King and though his status had long since dissolved, he still held himself with that same air. In the earliest years of Arthur’s rule, even, he’d taken pleasure in striking the young king and it seemed now he was large enough to strike back, he prefered to assault with cutting remarks. “You think a good ruler would risk their men because you decided to break the rules? This is what happens when you insult powerful kingdoms for a commoner. If it were me, I’d send you to meet them by yourself. Then you’d be able to see what piss good love does for kings and we’d all get the fun of watching you shit yourself before they hack you to pieces.”

For a moment the hall was silent, eyes stared, things that fell were forgotten. The only thing that breathed was the wind.

“If one has nothing nice to say, one best say nothing at all. Did your mother never teach you that?” Arthur stepped forward and the adviser rose to meet him. He hadn’t stood eye to eye with the man in a very long time and while he’d grown considerably since then, the old bastard still made his hands tremble like a boy. He swallowed the feeling. “At basest, if it must be unkind, I would much prefer it constructive. In the even that I did - go out alone and shit myself, that is - do you not imagine that any of you,” he gestured around them, gaze meeting men as it passed, “would be next in line to have your head removed? They would see the the throne kingless and sweep in to steal it for themselves. So please,” he snatched the cup of mead from his fat ancient fingers and slammed it on the table, “I would like you sober and thinking of ways this might actually work.”

The advisor twitched a moment as though he was going to strike him again. It took all Arthur’s will not to instinctively flinch. But, slowly, he sank back into his seat.

“We have nearly one hundred men, one hundred and ten if we scrape the very bottom of the barrel - that is conscripts so new they lack even a knight to guide them. I do not want to ask our neighbours for help, I also am under no illusion that they will. But we must at least try,” he continued, addressing the entire room, some of whom had obviously been hoping for a brawl with all the life that had suddenly appeared in their cheeks.

“We can’t meet them here. Why not call conscripts from the town closest to where we fight? Bump our numbers up by thirty at least.”

Arthur shook his head. “This is not their war. I very much doubt they care who sits on the throne so long as they do not take their sheep. But I suppose it would do no harm to be aware of the town and even friendly with it, in the event we should need food or shelter.” He motioned the messenger over with a tilt of his head. “Where did your camp meet them?”

The lean figure bent over the table and frowned. It was an enormous, wooden thing, circular with a map of the entire land on it, ranging from the very tip of Dumonia in the south to Gododdin in the north. Urther had commissioned it for pride and grandeur, he suspected. But much of the ornate flourishes had been worn away by time and bored fingers, and Arthur had decided to repurpose what had once been a very ornate dinner table. The edges had been carved deeper, past the border of swirls to show even some of the Saxon lands. Town names were engraved in their places and gold fittings melted down for the treasury. Sagramor had said he’d never seen a better war table in all his life.

The boy offered a lost glance between the King and the table.

“We are here,” Arthur pointed to a spot in the lower half of the map. “Those are the Beacons, Powys starts there, Gwent here.”

For a moment, the young man hesitated and then stretched himself over the board so his toes barely touched the ground, and tapped with one swollen hand at a spot in the centre east.

Sagramor leaned forward and hummed. “They’ll be going through the valley then. That might be a good place to catch them. If we’re careful they might not march us into the ground and they’ll be trapped if aid does come.”

Arthur frowned for a moment as he tried to piece together a solution. There was one there, he could almost taste it. “How many horses do we have? Twenty?”

“More or less.”

He rubbed his eyes and smiled. There was something about making the best from the worst that made his chest flutter with an odd kind of joy. Perhaps it was excitement, or maybe even hope. But he found the corners of his lips pressing with enthusiasm. “Why wait for help to cut them off? If we spread evenly, we could do it ourselves.” He hopped onto the table and placed himself over the markings of the mountains. “With a hundred men, we could send a solid fraction to cut them off to the south. Forty or fifty say, enough to build a strong shield wall, possibly two or three men thick, but also enough for them to think it an easy win. Send a score of archers into the hills on the east and the west sides with a band of our quickest men. I imagine they would like to be through the valley by nightfall, but if we arrange obstacles we could certainly slow them and with any luck, attack as the sun begins to set. They’ll be at a disadvantage at night in unfamiliar lands and to the men in the hills. Saving arrows until the shield walls clash will certainly come as a surprise, perhaps ever scarper some of the men.” He nibbled his lips as he stared at the image beneath his feet. “I will lead the horses east around the hills and to the northern end of the valley. When their army begins to fail or they begin to push the faction to the south into submission, whichever comes sooner, signal me and I will bring my horses round to trample them from the rear.”

A quiet hum filled the courtroom. Hushed voices danced the air. Whether or not it agreed with him, however, was unclear. 

“Sounds an awful lot like you’re trying to get us killed,” Kay replied with a smirk, slumping on the table and picking at the carving beneath his fingers. Even as a boy, he’d never much cared for life or death, so long as it came with a punch of excitement and, as he got older, a dash of honour. But, as his brotherly duty, he also liked to pick holes in everything Arthur did. He didn’t play into the illusion that Arthur was any better now than he had been as a child and liked to make that blatantly obvious to everyone around them. “What’s in it for me?”

The king tried to stifle his sigh and gazed, eyebrow raised, at his elder brother. “You do not get ploughed down, two to one, by an army we are completely unprepared for. We have all these resources, why not use them?”

The knight picked at something in his teeth. “And if they turn their shield wall to face your horses?”

Arthur pinched his lips together. It had been a passing concern, though he’d preferred not to air it. It didn’t take a genius to know that a horse would not charge a well formed line. At best, they’d stop blank before the mass of spears and you’d have holes poked in you. At worst, they’d jump and tumble and you would be down a horse and completely surrounded. “That is a problem for me to solve if and when it occurs.”

Kay laughed and shrugged a shoulder. “Very kingly. I’m game.” He gave the wood a solid pat and rose back straight. “Can we go back to bed now?”

Arthur’s fingers drummed against his chest and his eyes searched for faces in the crowd.

“Bedivere, your twenty best archers. Sagramor-“

“The sharpest I can find.”

“By noon. I want them out, setting traps, laying obstacles in a day’s time. Everyone else,” he raised his head to the crowd, “Prepare your men for war. Have them well fed, well armed and enthusiastic. This is not the Saxons, this is not the same. These are men that look and think like us. Remind them of that.” He hopped down from the table, letting out a low breath and motioning them away. “Rest yourselves well tonight. We are most certainly going to need it.”

In the songs that followed, they said he’d jumped to the table with an almighty roar that shook the whole of Britain, so even Powysian force were woken by trembles in their sleep; they said the king had commanded an army of fifty bright braves souls against a wave of four hundred; they said soldiers had descended from the sky like glittering angels.

Most of it was wrong, of course, though no man denied the acclaim. But despite the fantasy, that night they had glowed, as the moonlight sparkled off shields and spears and polished leather. They had fought from the ground, descended from the hills, stormed through on stallions, white cloaks folding in the wind, light rippling through the masses.

And they had won.

That time.

But as with any miracle, it came with a price.

#paras #past #headcanons #tw: gore #tw: violence