#cywyllog

[storytellerknight]

Arthurian Music Meme- Christmas Style Take Two

Day Twenty-Two: Christmas Eve by Blackmore’s Night

I kinda really didn't want to bring Cywyllog into this since their relationship is incredibly convoluted in my head--too much to cover in these drabbles.  But this is one of their songs for me, so there was really no way to get around it.  Every other way I tried to approach this song just felt wrong.     

More to the point, George and Aaron were out, Gareth was on his nightly call with Lindy and Gary was stressing with Lynette about her upcoming show.  If he called now, he wouldn't have to worry about anyone interrupting him.  

He was calm now.  In control.  He had spent a good week with his family and was about as far away from angry as he could get.  If he made the call now, they could truly make amends.  If he made the call now...

The phone began to ring before he could bring himself to pick it up.  Starting, Moe lifted the phone and studied the number.  It wasn't one he recognized.  "Hello?"

"Oh, so this is your number."

"Lee?" Moe asked, unable to believe it was her.

"Surprise," she said dryly.

"How'd you get this number?"

"I'm going to assume you programmed it into my phone, although I don't actually remember.  Do you?  I didn't think we were that drunk."

"The next morning was rather stressful," Moe said.  He didn't think they'd been that drunk either.  "If you've had my number the whole time, why haven't you ever called me?"

"I wasn't sure it was correct," Lee said.  "I wasn't sure I wanted an easy way to talk to you."  

Moe understood that sentiment.  It was something of a Pandora's box she had opened by calling him.  "So why now?"

"Because it's Christmas.  Because I thought you could use a friend.  Because you ran because I told you to, so I suppose I owe you some help in the emotional fallout."

"You don't owe me anything.  You were right.  I couldn't not do it just because it's not what he wanted."

"I'm glad.  I'm glad you don't regret it."

"You know what I do regret?  I regret not trying just because our parents found it inconvenient."

"Me too," Lee said.  

"So now what?"

"Now we wait.  We'll get our chance, Moe, you can trust me on that.  But now's not the right time.  I've got more school.  You've got this state legislature thing.  Now's no good.  But we'll get there."

"You sure?"

"I wouldn't have risked dialing the wrong number to wish you a Merry Christmas if I wasn't sure," Lee said.  

"I'm glad," Moe said.  "And Merry Christmas to you too."

"I'll be seeing you," Lee said and Moe waited for the line to disconnect.  "Don't call him."

"What?"

"Do you really think any good will come out of calling him?  You'll just get hurt again and you deserve better than that."

Then the line did go dead.  Moe lowered the phone from his ear and placed it on his nightstand.  He was going to go see if anyone was doing anything interesting downstairs.   

[lucrezianoin]

arthurian au ideas #18: Daemons: 11. Three forgotten ones

Sophie Lowe - Clarissant Todiramphus sanctus Michelle Rodriguez - Cywyllog Caracal caracal Anders Baasmo Christiansen - Vortimer Simia sciureus

[storytellerknight]

Thirty Days of Arthurian Literature

Day Thirteen: A character you think is misrepresented/underrepresented a lot

Do you want the short list or the long?  Because I could be here a while, is all I'm saying.  

I'm going to go with an nontraditional choice.  I'm going to say Cywyllog.  I can only think of two books that she's even appeared in-- Bernard Cornwell's Warlord Chronicles and Helen Hollick's Pendragon's Banner series.  And in both books her characterization is just strange.  In Cornwell's book, she's a serving girl who, if I'm remembering correctly, had a not entirely consensual relationship with Mordred.  In Hollick's book, she's a shrewd and calculating woman who marries Arthur's bastard son to increase her own standing and then turns on the family when she learns what a raw deal she got.  

People, this woman was a saint.  And I mean that in the most literal of terms-- St. Cywyllog.  I'm not saying that she needs to have the personality of a saint, but she should be more than a footnote.  I would love a book where she and Mordred form this powerhouse political alliance-- he works the court while she works the people (just... peers, people!  Mordred does not take over Camelot all on his own!  Stop doing that!).  Stop a- ignoring her, b- writing her as a one off, or c- writing them as adversaries and open your mind to the possibility of what they could do as a power couple.

(seriously, PEERS!)   

[storytellerknight]

Thirty Days of Arthurian Character Development

The List

Day Twenty-Four: Cywyllog

1. Have you ever written something about them?  What?

Err, yes and no.  When I started Heart, I had never heard of Cywyllog.  I had my reasons for not wanting to use Gwenhwyfach as a partner for Mordred, so I created an original character to stand in this role.  And then I found her and she was everything I was looking for in a lover/wife for Mordred.  But I already had this original character who I was quite attached to and didn't want to change the name.  So I gave her the surname Cywyllog.  Now that Heart is completed, I go back and forth on whether or not I want to change the name.  I try not to use original characters when I avoid it, but there's stuff I want to do with a daughter that requires keeping this name as a family name so I don't know.  I can't decide.  

2. If you could write a perfect Arthurian Novel about them, what would their story arc be? 

It's hard to talk about this character because she doesn't really have a set characteristic or story the way so many other characters in the legend do.  About the only think we really know about her is that she married Mordred and was mother of his sons (and was sainted and founded a church-- I like to ignore this and ascribe it to a descent).  I personally find it so easy to slip her into just about any situation or version of the story I'm considering.  And I do so in a way where just about the only constant characteristics she has are her pride, her passion, her vision of the future and the tactile knowledge to move towards it, and Mordred.

She sees him.  As close as he is with his brothers and as deep as his friendship with Nimue and some of the knights runs, it's Cywyllog who knows him and understands him on a level others can't comprehend.  She understands his desire to fade into the background and how it wars with his ability to lead and the knowledge of what he could do with that.  And so she gives him a place to be both and explore both without any pressure to make a decision as to one or the other.  

And he sees her too.  He sees her pride and her passion and how others ignore her.  And he makes sure he elevates her to situations where she can be heard and her knowledge and passion can be put to good use.  He defers to her not only because it's what he wants, but because it's want she wants and it makes her stronger.  

So I just really love the push pull and the various dynamics I can get out o the two of them depending on the situation.  And I've come to love Cywyllog so much for everything she can be and yet how, at least for me, so much of her remains consistent.  I don't have a perfect story for her because she fits so well into all of them.  And her struggles are different depending on the situation, but she shines threw so brightly for me that I always find myself drawn to her-- no matter how hard I try sometimes to get away from her.  

3. What point in their life would you set their story?

All over.  There's truly not a point in her life where I don't think she could be interesting.   

4. Are they more suited for a pre or post-Camlann story?

Again, both are good.  

5. Which characters would you ship them with in the story? 

Mordred, duh.  I just love them.  I love them when there is an immediate spark and they give way to their passions.  I love it when they have a friendship that slowly grows over time into something sweet and loving.  I love it when they try to stay away from each other because they believe the other makes them weak, only to slowly learn now much stronger they are together.  Honest to god, I could do anything with the ship.    

6. What would be their relationship with other characters?

Best friends with Yvain.  Because he is the person you want to be best friends with.  In my headcanon, these two are also the most emotional of their group of friends.  So they bond over their inability to communicate with the more analytically minded friends.

Nimue, obviously.  These are two awesome ladies, and I like awesome ladies who are close friends.  They're both drawn to power and want to be major players in a world that doesn't think highly of them.  It draws them together and makes them a powerful force as friends and colleagues.  

I usually see Agravain as pulling away from Camelot and the Round Table and becoming close to Cywyllog's family and serving them as a knight and soldier.  So I see the two of them as close confidants.  

7. What’s the most crack storyline you’d like to see this character star in? 

I would just like to see her in a storyline where she's not a naive girl who had no idea what she was getting into when she married Mordred or a shrew looking for power.  Like, at this point that would be a crack storyline, it's so rare to see her at all, let alone in the positive light she deserves.  

[sting-like-jelly]

lucrezianoin said: NEW OTP! XD also, I was wondering, in which texts is Cywyllog? I can’t find her anywhere D:

This is a weird and tricky answer. I'm not sure I've read her in any written Arthuriana so much as through oral tradition (but, you know, FUCK YEAH ORAL TRADITION). St Cywyllog is popular up in Anglesey, where her church is, and it's generally accepted local lore that she was married to Mordred and became a devout nun of the Church. Wikipedia says she's mentioned in Baring-Gould's 'The Lives of the British Saints,' but beyond that, I'm not sure.

[fuckyeaharthuriana]

Who exactly was Cywyllog? (I heard she was Mordred’s wife but I’m not sure about it, because I’ve never read about her in any old or new text.) Do you maybe know in which texts (old and new) she appears?

Yes, I’ve actually read about her sometimes and usually with sayed “welsh tradtion” but I don’t know which texts. Maybe some follower will be able to help :D

[storytellerknight]

Thirty (Twenty-Nine?) Days of Arthurian Romance

The List

Day Twenty-Six: Mordred/Cywyllog or Gwenhwyfach

1. Do you ship them

I ship Mordred/Cywyllog.  And it wouldn't take much arm twisting for me to ship Mordred/Gwenhwyfach.  

2. Is this your OTP for these characters?

Mordred/Cywyllog certainly is.  Mordred/Gwenhwyfach is a close second.    

3. Why do you like/dislike this pairing

So, Mordred kinda has this problem in a lot of texts where he is both simultaneously Arthur's heir and not Arthur's heir at all.  And what I mean by that is that Mordred is verbally recognized and trusted enough to be regent when Arthur is away but at the same time nothing is ever done to ensure he has a secure and lasting kingdom to rule after Arthur.  He supposedly has allies who are willing to rise up with him against Arthur, but we never meet any of these people.  We never see him interacting with any friends aside from his brothers.  We never see him forging alliances with other kingdoms or marrying to forge an alliance.  It's kinda a big gaping hole in his characterization that I like to fill with a- friends and b- a romance with one of these two characters.  

I prefer Cywyllog because I feel like there's more to do with her character.  There's too much of a risk with Gwenhwyfach coming off as a weird substitute/stand in for Guinevere and thus kinda treated like Mordred's way to have Guinevere when he can't have her.  And I don't like that.  So I can ship this so long Gwenhwyfach is presented as her own person who Mordred desires because of who she is and not her relation to Guinevere.  But in general I prefer Cywyllog because there's no risk of Guinevere getting tangled up in it.  

4. When did you start shipping them?

I started shipping Mordred/Cywyllog the moment I found out about her.  Gwenhwyfach has taken some more time to grow on me.  

5. Favorite and least favorite portrayal of this couple

I haven't read anything with Cywyllog I've really enjoyed.  Helen Hollick and Bernard Cornwell have both used her but I haven't enjoyed either version at all.  As for Gwenhwyfach, she and Mordred have a very enjoyable relationship in Mordred's story in Sarah L. Thompson's Dragon's Son anthology.  Least favorite is definitely Mercedes Lackey's presentation in Gwenhwyfar, the White Spirit.  The less said about that book the better.  

6. Favorite song associated with this pairing 

Oh, geez.  I have so many for Mordred/Cywyllog.  Only You by Sinead O'Conner and The Peasant's Promise by Blackmore's Night are big favorite's right now.  .     

7. One headcanon about this pairing

So my big thing about Mordred is that he doesn't actually want to be king.  So I like the idea of him marrying into a lesser kingdom with a wife who actually wants to rule.  Mordred has never struck me as a character who likes to be in the spotlight and prefers to follow rather than lead.  While I see Cywyllog as a leader.  Someone who gives orders and expects them to be followed with an iron will.  So Mordred is her support and second while she is the leader he can follow without question.