#gradalis

Oooh Gawain. Gawain, Gawain. Gods she probably looks just like her dad. That probably did not help with her entire issues.

It makes me so happy that she can lean on Kay. That she knows he holds her in highest esteem and he loves her because of what she's done, not in spite of it. It's so important that she has someone she can confide in, someone she can cry on. They're family fr..... Gawain really did deserve a good hug and I am most happy she got one!!

Also on a design point I hate how tiny her eyepatch is. Please make it bigger, it's unsettling.

The sheer fucking irony that Arthur's wife shows more consideration for Mordred that Arthur himself does. She likes him as a person and the mere fact that she sees him as one is already more than what Arthur managed (now to be fair she got to form her opinion of him as person before learning the prophecy aspect).

It makes me happy to see Mordred not forgiving that easily. On one hand he deserves peace of course but on the other he has every right to hold a grudge.

Ambivalent about her offer. I don't care if Mordred becomes king. I just hope he becomes happy.

AND WHAT A CHAPTER!!!

(^local Dinadan simp high off several Most Excellent Dinadan scenes)

Oh this was so so good. I had forgotten about Médisante (fascinating that Brunor wasn't there, as he was nominally the one here to help Médisante, but he must be aware that Dinadan is better at finding out the truth than he is).

The sheer tension between what are probably the two most clever characters in the series?? Damn.... Dinadan sussing out Pretty Much Everything and Morgane being an excellent liar (probably she's had practice. What with lying to her son and about her son for his whole life) AND her pointing out very accurately that he has little proof... I'd think Morgane's magic on Médisante would be a good proof of Something Fishy Going On, tho?

Uh oh, Din has noticed that something is off with Mordred. I have no doubt that he's going to try to use the journey to cheer him up AND find out what's up with him lol.... My boy can multitask.

Breuse you might be an unrepentant asshole and traitor and liar. But at least you're honest with yourself which fascinatingly makes me think of Dinadan. It's also a good quality to have, which means he does have one of those!

For real tho, fascinating interaction. If he succeeds in killing Dinadan I shall not be responsible of my actions but looks like Morgane doesn't know Mordred is with him..... I bet Breuse will attack and Mordred will do something revealing that there's something going on with the graal.

Also also Dinadan is gonna know he was right on the money if he gets attacked right after accusing the queen.

And the Breuse and Morgane conversation.... On one hand it's obviously Morgane's right to decide whether or not she wants to sleep with him (or more?? His feelings did seem surprisingly genuine) but it's also interesting that Breuse feels strung along. And she has demonstrated a surprising level of honesty towards him. In fact he might be the person she's the most open with which is so interesting of course. Breuse of all people?? Who might sell your secrets for coin??

I can honestly understand how he'd think they're friends. He said she saw herself in him and I believe he felt similarly for her. So interesting. Asshole to asshole bond.

Him quitting after this feels a bit like he's not gonna stay now that he knows she's not gonna put out, which would be an asshole move but we already knew Breuse was like that, but I also feel like he's a bit fed up with her attitude as well.

He really did remind me of Dinadan this chapter - pointing out truths, being a bit too honest, and finally... Being very very aware that the royalty thinks itself the center of the universe and it's plain bullshit. Morgane thinks only of her pain, which, to be fair... Many people in pain tend to do. But she does have a duty to her people which she's probably not fulfilling in favor of sowing discord.

Get called out, Morgane! And by what might be her only friendly acquaintance as well, brutal.

The dragon is well! And the giant is well! And Perceval is well! And the giant now has hope that he can find a community of his people and live in peace!! Wailing!!

And Perceval feeling happy he got to help........ Baby boy....

And! Finally!! The giant has a name!! It's Aodhan! And I love him immensely. I know we're probably never gonna see him again but I love him.

Kshshsh wow going from that feel good moment to Mordred and Morgane...... And seeing that she's hiding stuff from her daughter.... Now to be fair Mordred also hasn't told her but he's not the parent in this relationship. Morgane asking who will take care of her now that Mordred left her side made me jump instantly. Hey isn't that your fucking job?? And it satisfied me immensely that Mordred seemed to think the exact same thing. Yeah, Morgane, apparently you're not up to that job hmmm? I love how it gets more and more apparent that she's not a good mother.

That shady Perceval-looking character was Merlin in disguise..... That's on me for assuming people with white hair are related to Perceval. Also, is it me or do Merlin and Morgane have the same eye color? I wonder if it's a magic thing.

I like having Merlin's insight because Morgane has a pretty good poker face so it's hard to see that she's feeling cruelly gleeful at the moment. But, like Arthur, it feels like she cares more about what Mordred represents rather than who he is. Yet again I am praying for Din and Brunor to adopt him.

[insert customary complaining about the lack of Dinadan] [my keyboard has started predicting it]

I got secondhand anxiety from Mordred being in the spotlight but he handled it super well! I'm worried about him tho. It makes sense he'd be different since this is, what, a two years timeskip? But he does look a tiny bit dead.

What Is Going On With You, Perceval-Looking Person

Also worried about Morgane's smile.

And... It just gets sadder when you notice Mordred not caring at all for the round table. And it's all because of Arthur's treatment of him. Wow, it's almost like treating children well regardless of their origin is the right thing to do.

The giant changing the terms on Perceval.... Typical behavior from someone who might be losing all they have left and their time is rapidly shrinking tbh. He's panicking.

Also also. The fact that the dragon now has a name, humanising it, but the giant still doesn't? There's something about that.

I loved Perceval trying to protect his ears when the giant started to shout. Obviously it must've been loud but consistent characterization + the author not forgetting about Perceval's most prominent sensory issues with noise!

And. Most likely Perceval has had to keep it together for the girl he's raising but the moment somebody provokes him? Even if that somebody is an enemy actively threatening him? It all comes spilling out. Realistic behavior tbh.

Also the parallels between the giant and Perceval..... They both lost everything and are dealing with the consequences of stuff their elders did (most precisely something their parents did! And uncle in Perceval's case) and to top it all off they're also completely isolated from their communities with only one fragile life to protect. It's not subtle.

And Perceval trying to reassure the giant despite it all..... He's so good.

AND when he said "my mentorS".... He saw Iseult as a mentor.... Wailing.

Was this chapter actually short or did I just feel that way due to the lack of Dinadan? (sorry, at this point the simping is a feature not a bug)

That said it really did feel short.

Mordred's grandpa being an ass, I'd like to say as usual but it's only the second time we see him.... No, actually, I'm fairly sure he's always like that. Will jump on any occasion to be a thorn in Arthur's side even in unrelated occasions, and he's mean about it because he knows he'll never be more than a thorn :)

I don't actually need to destroy him verbally because probably Mordred will do that in the next chapter.

Shithead classist lord being a shithead. Yes, like Dinadan, I have forgotten his name. This was not actually on purpose.

Palamedes is over it, over everything in fact. She is not happy about living in interesting times.

Mordred is being pretty cool, the cliffhanger was probably so we can fully appreciate the absolute takedown that's probably about to happen.... But, and Mordred wouldn't be happy to hear that... I think he looks like his mother. Which is uh. Not necessarily a good thing given her average mindset.

I like that we didn't even see the fight between Perceval and the giant. Probably because there was no fight at all but I liked it wasn't even represented. Like "fighting against a giant one on one is so hopeless we're not even gonna try to convey it".

I also like the giant a lot. He's taking care of a beloved pet the best way he knows (food) but he actually doesn't know shit about science, which makes sense for several reasons. One, he's young. Two, his dad was an ass who probably wouldn't have taught médecine to his kids if he'd known it, which I doubt. Third, I actually don't think giants have very good knowledge on how to treat wounds because I think they're just not used to wounds period given how powerful they are.

I had a moment of "wow, threatening someone's pet is kinda low but if your life is one the line..." and then I remembered that this a is freaking man eating dragon and three future man eating dragons! Just because it's loved doesn't meant it's not dangerous!

More Dinadan always makes me happy 🥰 so it's all good!

For real tho I just appreciate the amount of Mordred & Dinadan. They're great. That said, that panel when Dinadan says "the graal" and Mordred is like. Record scratch. That's right baby, it's not been forgotten.....

Incredibly funny that Din did not recognize the pompous asshole but it also makes complete sense because he must meet guys like that every month if not week. I'm more shocked he remembered it at all.

Mordred being sus and Dinadan honing on it... Both because he knows Mordred and can see he's being weird and because it's a bit obvious tbh. Also Mordred was getting defensive and that's a pattern that Dinadan is familiar with. I hope Mordred talks to him about it.......

Dinadan appearance! My beloved!!! He looks good!

The face he made when Mordred made a mean comment about his sister....... You can really tell he understood at once that he was a bit out of his depth (having previously been able to relate to Mordred on the subject of protective older siblings that they actually adored, it turns out Mordred's relationship with his sister is quite different to the one Dinadan has with Brunor....) but he asked what was wrong anyway.......

And Mordred answered! Of course it's probably that thing where you feel so bad that everything spills out once anyone asks anything but it still makes me happy he can open up to Dinadan...... Until he repressed it all by saying he's fine. I hope Din keeps digging. Also I like that he was a bit speechless. Sure he's probably the most clever character in the webtoon but probably can't relate to Genuinely Terrible Families because he had issues with his dad but visibly not the kind of issues Mordred is having and that sounds pretty serious actually so I think it makes sense he'd need a few minutes to process that there might be Actual Bad Things happening with Mordred.

Also miss Médisante you are so funny. Tying a ribbon to this guy's spear?? You might maybe be friends! Of course now that I think about it she needs him for an audience with the queen probably.......

The animosity between Dinadan and Médisante is funny as hell too because it looks like simple annoyance but actually Dinadan has very valid reasons not to trust her. Even beyond the fact that she's set a monster on his brother (which would've been enough tbh), Médisante is in fact probably genuinely untrustworthy. And probably she dislikes Dinadan because 1) he already didn't like her and when someone is already antagonistic from the start it's hard to get along with them and Médisante herself is like pretty hostile to begin with.... And 2) he's probably been too clever for his own good again if we follow the Dinadan pattern.

Also Dinadan said he was here to support his championS and I hope the other is Palamedes.