Doc M -- A wonderful little historical jab at KoH and the fanfiction it spawns when it is, in some respects, fanfiction of history itself. I admire the time and the research you must have put into the creation of this little gem. It was funny and very sure of itself narritively (albeit a little sparse where the prose was concerned) and I enjoyed reading all of it. The inclusion of all the music was an especially wonderful addition. I'm sorry to say I'm probably guilty of some of Juliet's sins, which made this story just that much funnier. Job well done!

A beautiful story!

Goodness, that is a beautiful story. It's very well written, and has certainly made me stop and look at the King in a different way.

Keep up the excellent work!

This was so beautiful. I love the way that you've taken everything stereotypical of a fanfic--handsome heroes, time-traveling maidens, and chivalrous knights--and turned them on their head. This story was sweet, sad, and unexpected--and one of the best fanfics of any kind that I've ever read.

Thank you so much for your amazing Mary-Sue story. It's one of the best fanfics I've read so far, really!

Compliments for having chosen a time where Baudoin's illness has already made him confined to bed and where he's almost completely blind, compared to most stories dealing with an earlier time or showing a more idealistic state of his health. It's in his utter helplessness and frailty that you show his remarkable strength and greatness and I have rarely felt so close to him, perhaps not even while watching the movie. You manage to combine bittersweet details with flippant statements which function excellently as comic reliefs („...she knew that he had as much chance of health as pigs have of flying.“) without losing the right balance. Your magical description and characterization of our beloved boy let us see his inner beauty in such a convincing way that the idea of Trish prefering her „hopeless“ „fin amors“ with Baudoin rather than any „fulfilled“ affair with an Orlando-like „hunky“ knight becomes understandable. (Not that I could not have understood this before!) I like how you develop Juliet's character in as much as she herself is touched by the King's greatness and tragic heroism and starts to understand that „one doesn't need a face with a personality like that“, even though this change in her comes quite quickly and a little out of the sudden.

I love the wry sense of humour and the wits you have given him. („...I can still make a damsel swoon!“, „I won't break, you know.“). It's quite the kind of humour I would have given him as well. Great job done, he needs humour -and it makes him immensely charming. :-)
And oh! the lute and the troubadour theme. (Sigh!) So suitable for a relationship with Baudoin. (Actually, the lute in your story has finally convinced me to post a little sonnet of mine which until now I did not dare to share.)
I like the historical accuracy as well as the hilarious little asides of modern fandom, especially the Phantom reference. (A „lumpy port-wine stained“ Gerry Butler... nice description!)

You also manage to deal the by nature difficult time travel setting. I often have problems with time travel stories but this works perfectly for me. Trish's attitudes towards a „What if“-situation are highly admirable and she is fully aware of her responsibility towards Baudoin as well as towards history. Her love for the King is so true that she does not selfishly take him with her into her time but instead keeps common sense. For me it seems totally realistic that even if „what if“ came true and such a phenomenon as time travel existed there would be other obstacles and problems which would render any futher wishful thinking to pieces. Time travellers just should not meddle with the course of history. Well, of course, this matter-of-fact conclusion of your story is a little disappointing because it also stops the reader's imaginary time travel as well, but, as I have already mentioned, it seems to me absolutely plausible and even if I wished for more I can't seriously imagine another ending. The King of Jerusalem has to die as history tells us. Sad, but the way it was. Trish accepts this and in this acceptance she shares a trait of greatness with her „bel senhor“ (and makes her, in my eyes, worthy for him).

In one word, your story is awesome! :-)

Such a delightful way to enlighten an Orlando Bloom fangirl of the true history of Kingdom of Heaven. Ironic how just yesterday I was discussing with one of my sisters, how the other who has a very fictionalized view of history needs a brutal wake-up call ... such as being sent to that time in history for a month or so. Though, dear God the damage she might do makes me cringe. Luckily, the Crusades are far too early for her taste, as her area of obsession is the late 18th century. This story was the perfect way of dealing with such a fangirl even if her stay was brief.

I will say that the final chapter was heartbreaking. It's so very tragic that leprosy is easily cured these days. I've always been of the belief that the smallest alteration in history could change everything -- especially concerning the Holy Land.

Trish's acceptance and understanding that without Jerusalem and world he knew, he would be utterly lost, almost made me cry -- and that's a rare thing, indeed. Seems lately, Baldwin has done the most at making me cry.

And I shall stop now before I start turning this place into my own private message board like we've done to the Baldwin livejournal community, hehe.

Wonderful story. ^_^

Thanks, Erik! Glad you enjoyed!
Of course she didn't *mean* that... She was trying to put on a bit of a tough front because the discussion was heading into too difficult emotional terrain for her. The moral problems of the situation were something she was still grappling with.

Well, hello. I got your email, thank you, although I was somewhat surprised.
I like your story, too, although the character of Trish seems somewhat fake. If she loves him as much as she says, then her comment about not being able/in the mood to care for him, were he to be brought to the future, doesn't make sense.
I like the historical accuracy, though. And I'm glad it's not a what-if story, like this other one I've been reading the summary of... "What if King Baldwin had had a wife", those are always **.
I'll read some of your other work, too, so you'll hear from me again!

Erik

Beautiful

Beautiful...

Hi DocM!
It seems sensitive authors like to delete my reviews, so I finally got my own account.
Once again, I must say I love this story!! Unfortunately, I could not find your email adress. So if perhaps you could email me first, I'd be grateful. Thank you!

Lavender

LavenderBlossom, Bila - please e-mail me!
I've made a few small tweaks to the story to sharpen things a bit in places.

Hello DocM.
It seems as if I have to say thank you to you twice.
Once for this truly amazing story, which restored my faith in mankind as there are still people out there who do not only know what it is they are talking about but who also work it into such a charming story, and again for your support concerning my review of 'Kingdom of Heaven or Hell'. I feel very passionate about this subject and so I sometimes come off a bit harshly, but certain people, Juliet-people, just infuriate me!!
So thank you! I'll keep an eye on your stories, you seem to have enormous talent.

Un-fricken-believably good. I LOVE this fic. Nice work.

Author Note:
Thanks! Bila - yes, the title of the story is deliberately ambiguous, as to who is the Sue. One of the threads I was interested in is re: time-travel characters learning to behave responsibly (Trish with her phone-pics, Juliet with everything at first!) and not interfere with history, even when it comes to saving lives, & c.
Re: Trish, her affection for the King is her only virtue (and, given her own unattractiveness, there's some point to the fact that she felt more comfortable with him as he lost his looks and his sight), and she is a psychological bully to Juliet, who is immature and silly, but not actually evil. Perhaps I should point up more that the other characters only accept her because she keeps the King amused. She blends in more simply because as a research student of that era, she knows more about the period than Juliet, who is only an undergrad and studies literature. Both of them learn from each other in the end.