Merlin read a lot of takes on Arthurian legend. He couldn't help himself. He kept telling himself he would stop, that he knew better, but he just couldn't help himself.
It hurt to read about versions of Arthur that achieved things the real Arthur never had a chance to. It hurt to read about Morgana's that did the right thing. It hurt to see all that could have been.
And it was infuriating to read about Guinevere being dismissed as silly or stupid or a bad queen. It was infuriating when they painted Morgana as justified or Uther as heroic. And Merlin had not been a manipulative old man, thank you very much, and he had most certainly not helped Uther commit adultery with Gorlois' wife. Just . . . No.
All of it hurt. It hurt when it was similar and it hurt when it was evident just how much had been forgotten. It hurt when they painted his friends as villains and it hurt when they were glorified as saints. It always hurt, but he just couldn't seem to stop.
This one was no exception. It was a reincarnation story, so at least he didn't have to read about Arthur dying again, and it kept everyone on the right side, so that was something. It did paint Mordred and Arthur as half brothers, but honestly, by this point he was used to the weird family mix-ups. He was starting to wonder where he was - seriously, there was no way Arthur would have reached that age without him - but there was a fair bit of Uther bashing. He liked Uther bashing. It was therapeutic.
Gwen was a perky, blonde, idiot. Perky, he could see, if you were squinting. Blonde, no. Idiot, no. And the only person he'd ever heard call Lancelot "Lance" was Gwaine, and he didn't think it was a coincidence that Gwaine had walked away from the practice field that day with a few extra bruises.
Still. He'd read worse. The perspective was interesting, too - he wasn't quite sure who the main character had been in her original life, but judging by the fact she was falling in love with Arthur and her name was Elaine, he was picturing her as Elena. Princess Elena'd been pretty much forgotten though, so he was curious to see who the author would paint her as.
Annnd she ended up with Arthur. Well, Merlin wasn't there to put things back on track. Of course she did. And it turns out she was -
Wait, what?
No. No way.
THE LADY OF THE LAKE?!
Arthur had been kissing Freya?
He did not need that picture in his head, thank you very much.
Still, he supposed indignation was better than moping . . .
. . . .
A/N: Avalon High by Meg Cabot is a real book with a premise I'm pretty sure you can guess from the title. It's a quick read with some good parts, but as a Christian I objected to the way the characters kept taking the Lord's name in vain, and as a reader, I objected to the way the rest of the series was available solely as bad graphic novels. I didn't object to them shipping Arthur, or Will as his reincarnation's called, wtih Elaine in the book, but it hit me suddenly what Merlin's reaction would be. Thus, this.
