#not sure what Lancelot's going to think when he learns it though

[liminalpsych]

A very, very roughly sketched, unedited scene that wouldn't leave me alone this morning and demanded to be written (....oh hey @queer-ragnelle! I accidentally made a Lusty Month of May / May Day Parade contribution!):

The week they arrive at Sorelois. Perhaps even the day. Guinevere is half-mad with rage and grief, reeling from Arthur's betrayal, the loss of her marriage, of her court. It's the usurping of her entire life.

It makes her bold. It makes her want to be cruel. It makes her want to strike back or to take what she wants or to rebel in some small or large way. It makes her want to hurt Arthur in turn, or transgress since she has already been spurned from society and convicted for something for which she's innocent.

"There is something I wish to see," Guinevere says, there in the somber quiet of the receiving room with Lancelot, Galehaut, and Lady Bloie of Malehaut. An announcement to the air, undirected.

Lancelot responds first, of course, as expected. He kneels before her, the picture of earnest devotion. "Whatever you wish, my queen, I will strive my utmost to bring it to you."

Across the room, towering nigh to the ceiling even leaned against the wall as he is, Galehaut watches her with a carefully neutral expression. Unblinking, unsmiling, and there's the barest tightening around his eyes. He is wary of her still, and senses her mood.

The Lady of Malehaut is a different kind of unreadable entirely, lounging next to her with a spot of embroidery to keep her clever hands busy. Her full mouth is always a breath away from smiling, like she carries with her a trove of private amusements at all times. She observes from beneath half-lidded eyes, her needle flashing through cloth more by touch than sight.

Guinevere lifts her loyal knight's chin with a touch of her finger. His lips part, eyes wide and wondering. She smiles. "I want to you to give Galehaut a kiss."

Ah, if only she dared to watch Galehaut's expression in that moment! Yet she must keep her focus on Lancelot. His face pales. His breath catches in his throat. His pulse thrums against her finger like a trapped and frantic bird. "M-my queen?" he stammers, gaze darting side to side as if for an escape.

Her smile sharpens, serpentine. "Do you not wish to?"

"I— I am not—" He's breathing rapid and shallow now, on the edge of panic. It's a pretty quandary she's put him in, one with no known safe answer, and he's reeling under it.

(She feels more steady by the moment, her control re-establishing in the small sphere she still possesses.)

Galehaut steps forward. There's the edge of fury in his warning, in the creak of leather and the rattle of maille. "My lady," he rumbles.

Now Guinevere looks his way, and she lifts a graceful eyebrow at the storm in his countenance. Lancelot quivers beneath her touch, unmoored by the loss of her pinning gaze. "Will you tell me truly that you don't want this, Galehaut?"

He halts. His jaw works; the stormclouds thicken. He glares, proud and silent.

Guinevere laughs. It's a free, bell-like sound—as playful as a day a-Maying. Lancelot stills and his breathing steadies, soothed by her apparent merriment. She makes a show of taking pity on him, releasing his chin to stroke his cheek. "Do you wish to kiss me?" she murmurs, leaning closer.

His breath catches again, no different than before. He nods.

She kisses him, sweet and soft; he returns it with a small desperate sound against her lips. (It tastes like power.) He's breathless when she pulls away, and she smiles down at him, indulgent. "I know Galehaut desires a kiss from you as well," she says, "and he is the one who brought us together, yes?"

Another nod, and Lancelot seems more dazed than panicked now. Swaying towards her, and glancing shyly towards his boon companion, who draws a sharp bracing breath.

"It is not as if he's a lady," she says with a wink. "So it is not being untrue to me. And it is my request, is it not?"

"Y—yes, my lady...?"

"Do you not want to kiss him?"

"I..." Those expressive eyes flicker from her lips to Galehaut's and back again. His breath quickens again, but this time it is a little less panicked. "My lady, you ask hard questions," he says at last, helplessly.

She laughs again, darkened with satisfaction. "Kiss him, then," she commands, "and then tell me if you want to do it again."

"My lady," protests Galehaut, strained—oh, and there is longing so sharp that it is agonized, bare and naked in every rigid muscle and the aching furrow of his brow. He looks at Lancelot like a man starving. He looks at Guinevere like a man betrayed.

To give Galehaut what he so desperately desires, when he knows it is something she can take away at any moment? To receive a kiss from his Lancelot, but only on the order of Lancelot's lover-queen? For Galehaut to touch his companion in the way he desires, but only so long as Guinevere allows it, never knowing truly if Lancelot would have initiated on his own, never being certain of Lancelot's desire?

It's a power like none she's ever wielded before.

Lancelot stumbles to Galehaut on unsteady legs with a last hesitant glance over his shoulder. Guinevere smiles encouragingly and nods her approval. One last nudge—and still, Galehaut could refuse Lancelot. Galehaut is sworn to neither Guinevere nor Arthur; he needs not obey her. Galehaut could save the last unconquered edges of his heart and maintain this last barrier of distance. He could still refuse himself what he wants so badly.

Galehaut tenses, and Galehaut wavers, and Galehaut's heaves great draughts of air as if he's in the thick of a melee.

Lancelot reaches out, and Galehaut surrenders.

[theroundbartable]

What do you think are Merlin and Arthur’s greatest personality strengths and weaknesses? Why? What do you love about their dynamic?

OOoh... interesting question.

Arthur Pendragon:

Arthur's positive traits, his strengths, are also his weaknesses. He questions everything. He tries to see the good in people and tries to do right by them. It is kind of why he's such a resetting character. Because every time he reaches out to something, like magic, he gets proven otherwise. Yet, he can't NOT question it. He's trusting and forgiving and yet, he's the character who has most often been deceived, lied to and actively betrayed. In a strange way, this behavior makes him extraordinary. He has trust issues, in the end, but he still offers his trust to his knights and especially to Merlin. In a way, he tends to overlook the bad things people did because he values their positive traits more (like with Agravaine).

And of course, he cares more about his kingdom than himself. His kingdom is even more important to him than his father or any of the people who's love he craves.

Other weaknesses of his are obviously that he can't do basic stuff like brush his hair or cook. And I'm pretty sure he's somehow cursed that all these magic events happen around him.

Another is his self worth. He sees worth in everyone else but never in himself. His life is important only to protect Camelot. His life belongs to his people and he really does believe that. It's not that he thinks he's worthless, it's that he misinterprets it and lives as a breathing sacrifice.

Merlin:

Merlin's strength is his confidence and his faith. From the moment we first see him, he's able to face one of the most powerful people in the world and not back down, even though he knows he has to hide his magic.

He is brave and selfless. In the sense that he doesn't care about his own feelings and life as much as about others, especially Arthur. And of course, he hates conflict.

Merlin is NOT trusting. Not the way Arthur is. Merlin trusts people he has seen do good in action. He does NOT trust people he doesn't know, and in some cases, even his friends. Best example for this part is Lancelot's shade, whom Merlin almost immediately suspected. I think, in a way, he seems more naive and trusting to us because for us this is fiction and just a show. But to Merlin, it is significant that some stuck up noble saves his life without question, or that someone is willing to keep his magic secret for Merlin's sake, or that the dragon helps him find his purpose and helps him to better Camelot. That is why Merlin's trust is RELIABLE, while Arthur's is not. And that is why Arthur trusts Merlin's instincts. I think Arthur knows that Merlin has a better hunch for people's true intentions than he does. It is just that after a while, he thinks he's learned from previous mistakes and he doesn't want to be so bad at it, when HE'S the one who should know, after being betrayed so many times, while Merlin is JUST a servant with no such history (that he knows of).

Their dynamic:

How could I start this part other than with 'they are two sides of the same coin'. And I think it's really fucked up because imagine a coin with a person on each side. They would NEVER be able to ever fully see each other.

Imagine that. I think, Arthur's side is the one with the number on it that tells him exactly what his worth is, where he's supposed to be, supposed to go, what he can be exchanged for.

On the other side is Merlin who is the side that talks about where he's from, what his traditions are, etc.

Merlin has to learn his self worth through the storyline, Arthur needs to learn the traditions and where he is from and what he is truly fighting for. That's kind of why I love the metaphor.

It also means that Arthur can never truly know who Merlin is unless Merlin tells him. Can't know magic, can't know his own background and the circumstances of his birth.

And Merlin can never truly see how important he is to the kingdom. He only knows he's tied to Arthur and that SOMEDAY it will be better. That he's already reached his destiny doesn't even occurr to him.

It makes me wonder what it means when Arthur dies, in relation to this metaphor. Is the side blank now? Has the coin simply been flipped and now Merlin is at the front? What does it mean???

Anyway. What else I love about their dynamic is how intimate it is. I'll say it as I always do, I think Gwen is the better queen and makes more sense to marry Arthur since they both see only the future of the kingdom. But that is the point. Their relationship is public and a symbol of peace. Merlin's and Arthur's shared destiny is always private, always hidden behind layers of lies. Even when they finally share their true feelings, it remains intimate and private. When they are together, they are focused on themselves and their soulbond.

Where Gwen and Arthur discuss the future of the kingdom and what to do with their people, Merlin is personal reassurance for Arthur.

Here are two example scenes that shall make this more clear.

In the episode where Arthur is meant to marry Elena, he asks Merlin what he thinks about the arranged marriage. And Merlin goes on a rant to tell Arthur that his feelings matter. That being emotionally available, by choosing himself and who he loves, he WILL be a better king. In Merlin's rant, Arthur's happiness comes fist. The kingdom, second. Even though they are clearly interconnected.

Arthur had a conversation with Gwen about the marriage beforehand and Gwen accepted his responsibility to marry for the better of the kingdom, putting CAMELOT first. While promising him that he can be happy with his wife too. Even if she's not what he wants at first, he can grow to love her.

Neither of those are bad things. As I said before, Arwen makes sense and MORE sense for the kingdom. But Arthur and Merlin are more private and intimate and basically soulmates. Romance aside, this is what I think makes their dynamic so fascinating to me. It is friendship, a deep emotional bond that often times goes beyond normal friendship. (Not necessarily romantic, but definitely deeper than best friends.)

There is more I love but I don't want to spam the tumblr. Lol. Thank you for the question, anon :)

[invisibleraven]

Haunted Holidays

December 6: Snowflakes <-AO3 link!

When Caleb declared he wanted Willie to experience a real white Christmas, the boy wondered if he intended to make it snow in LA at first. He was a magician after all. But when Willie had asked, Caleb had smirked and told him no, he hadn’t quite mastered control of the elements yet.

Instead he was going to take him up to a ski chalet for the holidays owned by a few friends of his. Willie didn’t know how to ski, but Caleb assured him he could learn, even if he was sure Willie would like snowboarding more.

Only when they arrived at the chalet, there wasn’t a bit of snow in sight. Clementine looked apologetic, telling them the forecast called for flurries later today, with a few inches overnight so they could hit the slopes tomorrow.

“There is another family here, and they have a little boy your age,” Clementine assured Willie, secretly handing him a candy cane with a wink.

Willie grinned, sucking on the treat, clutching Lancelot close as Caleb escorted him to their room. Caleb told him he was free to explore as long as he stayed out from underfoot and was back before dinner. Willie agreed to those terms, grabbed his jacket, patted Lancelot as he left the plush dragon on the bed, and took off.

The chalet had a nice great room, with a roaring fire, lots of games, and books for those who didn’t want to partake in outdoor sports. Willie promised himself he’d check all that out later, but headed for the lawn.

He left his coat open and had his toque shoved into his pocket instead of on his head, but it wasn’t overly cold out and Willie doubted there would actually be snow with it being this temperate. Instead he looked for a good tree to scale or a cool looking cave to explore.

Instead he found a little blonde boy, maybe a year younger than him, in a warm looking parka and a hat with a tassel on top.

He unfortunately found him by barrelling into him and ending them both laying flat on the ground.

“Ow…” the boy groaned.

“Oh sorry!” Willie said, popping up and giving the boy a hand. “I totally didn’t see you there, my bad!”

“It’s okay,” the boy said. “My coat cushioned the fall. I’m Alex by the way.”

“Willie.” He looked toward the gray sky and hummed. “You wanna play hide and seek?”

“We don’t know these woods, what if we get lost?” Alex asked, looking worried.

“That’s half the fun!” Willie exclaimed. “But we could go exploring instead. I don’t think there’s bears or coyotes.”

“Bears?” Alex squeaked.

“Don’t worry, you can hold my hand,” Willie assured him, and tugged him towards the woods.

They spent half the afternoon merrily exploring, though they found the fence before any creatures, and those were all birds and an odd field mouse. “Not even a raccoon,” Willie grumbled.

Alex giggled at that, swinging their hands between them. “I’m kind of glad about that, they have rabies, and that wasn’t on my Christmas list.”

“Mine either, but it still would have been cool to see one,” Willie admitted as they emerged from the tree line, back to the yard of the chalet.

But then they looked, and the ground was littered with white. “It’s snowing!” they yelled simultaneously, twirling around in the flakes. Stretching their tongues out to catch the flakes, laughing when Alex claimed the ones in January were better. Kicking the dusting on the ground up, trying and failing to flick the fine powder at each other.

“William!” Caleb yelled from the door. “Zip up your coat at this moment! I can’t afford for you to get me sick before the clubs’ New Years Eve extravaganza!”

Willie grumbled, and did as he was told, sticking his tongue out at Caleb as the man mimed the hat too, but he did as he was told. Willie hated getting sick so he supposed it was cold enough to justify the extra layer.

“Is that your dad?” Alex asked.

“Yup, he’s a buzzkill,” Willie replied. “But otherwise he’s pretty cool.”

“He doesn’t look like you-does your mom?” Alex asked.

“Caleb adopted me, and he’s gay, so if I had another parent it would be a dad, but his last boyfriend was a giant butt, so he said he was fine with the two of us for right now,” Willie explained.

Alex’s eyes were as wide as saucers at this, but then his mom called him to come in and wash up, which meant Willie knew he was going to get called in himself soon. “Could we play some games together later?’ he asked. “Maybe see if this place has good hot cocoa with marshmallows?”

“I’d like that,” Alex admitted, then rushed in to give Willie a quick hug before running off. Leaving Willie beaming as the snowflakes blurred Alex’s retreat, and he raced after, uncaring about the cold and wet, but really looking forward to enjoying his first white Christmas with Alex. And little did he know it, but it would be the first of many.

[mdhwrites]

Concept Pitch: Morgan: The Future King of Camelot

The base premise is that our hero takes on an alter ego by wielding Excalibur. It gives him leather armor, a cloak and a mask though rather than full plate, though anyone who knows him would say that big, bulky plate male wouldn't fit. He's not exactly what people think of nobility after all what with his snark, bit of a loner personality and how rude he can be. He swears too much to be a knight of Arthurian legend many would say and he'd agree. HIS name is Morgan. After being rejected from the drama club AGAIN for not being able to act but at least being allowed to be a part of stage crew since he's a senior and he has been trying to get in for over three years now, he meets the lady of the lake by hanging out with some dudebro friends who are giving him shit for not getting a real part. Machismo stuff leads to increasingly dangerous things happening that are tests of chivalry until he jumps into a cistern because above the rushing water he faintly thought he heard a woman calling his name. He gets the sword and superhero antics begin. Or, well, begrudgingly begin. Like I said, he wouldn't exactly count himself as a knightly soul even as he never even hesitates to use the blade to help people. He even blames the sword because it whispers encouragement to him and he's worried this might be a symbiote situation. It's not, it's just Excalibur attempting to make sure the wielder is learning and being a king and is usually pretty happy to be told to shut up since Morgan is doing his job anyways. Villains would of course come in all shades inspired from the Arthurian canon but that doesn't just mean the villains. Fighting reincarnations of Arthur's knights would be a real thing, often in the process getting the ability to turn Excalibur into a weapon affiliated with them. Final boss gets warned about by the Green Knight who after testing him himself and giving him the gift of nature magic to add to his arsenal, warns him against the written serpent. Even just that much of a mention of Arthur though is enough to get the old king to turn his gaze upon where he'd thought he'd felt a pulse from his old blade.

So he arrives, love interests and besties start interacting with him and getting turned into his court, including this being when the girl he likes in Drama gets with his best friend in the drama club so, you know... Gwynevere and Lancelot. It's a shit show for his life personally, especially as old allies like The Green Knight, father to a love interest, disappear, knowing better than to stick around for whatever Arthur is going to do. But at first, Arthur and Morgan aren't enemies. Arthur is sponsoring the play, being the owner of Round Table Pizza because that's funny to me, and, well... He thinks Morgan quite literally can't be the wielder of Excalibur. Even when they shake hands and they both get a glimpse into each other, it only cements it further in Arthur's mind that something is wrong. When he asks for Mordred though, Morgan has no idea who he's talking about but that he should drop all the legend stuff. It's not good for anyone. Then Arthur pushes it by finally confirming something that had been extremely hinted at up until now by accusing him of being Mordred. That he should kill his false name and take up a proper male name if he wishes to pretend to be one.

Morgan never changed his name though when he figured out he was trans. He has a good relationship with his parents, never hated the name and when he tried using it in a more masculine tone, he felt it fit. So he never changed it. Of course, that's impossible to Arthur who wants a return to old things and so to him, this makes the current rightful king to Camelot a woman. He needs proof that the sword made the mistake though so time to fight! After all, if the sword is sane at all, him trashing the theater room while everyone is around will force Morgan to fight, which of course it does. Eventually, Morgan uses trickery, which is nothing new, to thrust through a fake rock with Excalibur to try to beat Arthur since Arthur is mostly wiping the floor with him. He's more experienced, he's stronger and his magic is better. Even without the sword, he's still a nightmare of an opponent. The problem is that the sword doesn't care if it's a real stone or fake one and it blasts everyone back from being planted back into a stone. Everyone... But Arthur, who was throwing a blast to counter the stab and so protected himself. He shatters the rock before the sword can finish changing it to real stone... And then leaves, saying he has a kingdom to build. Mordred doesn't exist after all and there are no knights for which to oppose him.

Classic disempowerment arc begins where a contrast between Arthur actually making the underground crime elements of the cities his minions and soldiers since they are strong and fighters while Morgan is still standing up for people and being a hero of a sorts, even without the sword's power. He does accidentally show he's still got a bit of power, like Arthur did, since he can still use his magic but it's never on purpose. It's just his heroic will made manifest. But he isn't going after Arthur himself because, well, he got his ass kicked with powers and its ARTHUR PENDRAGON. If anyone's a good leader, it's him. That changes when Arthur, in full regalia like he was during the fight but now looking even bigger and more intimidating, tries to make himself king. To turn the new city into his Camelot. For subjects, he releases prisoners and the like, claiming that the rules and order of this land is corrupt. That it no longer knows chivalry, even stating explicitly how it thinks women can be knights as a part of it. This gets Morgan so mad that he can't ignore how much magic he just conjured up and so he does two things: Remakes his knight costume to wear and Two: Calls the costume self Mordred. He never gave it a name before, usually referring to the other self by Excalibur or the like since that's where it comes from but never bothering with a name himself. That's not really who he is. BUT it is who Arthur is. Arthur tried already to hurt him with titles. To push him down by trying to come up with a deadname for him. Morgan doesn't care though. Call him what you want. His actions are what matters. So why not the name Mordred for a costume? He's just doing it because he knows it'll piss Arthur off, especially because all the footage fails to show one thing: Arthur actually using Excalibur. He goes out to fight Arthur, having riled the king up with rumors about a Mordred going around. When Arthur spits at him about finally taking the name of the usurper now, he laughs it off and says he needs to go to more Halloween parties. His name is still Morgan. That doesn't change how the fight is going to go. Morgan does taunt Arthur about using the blade though. He's having to dodge for his life while doing so but he's savvier now and he's not trying to win. Not yet. He's just making him angry and when he points this out, it throws Arthur into an all new frenzy. This isn't chivalry! This isn't honor! And so, in a practiced motion, he draws Excalibur! Aaaaand immediately the tip of it slams into the ground. It has rejected him. He is able to hold it but wield it? No. And power from it is flowing directly into Morgan as he just walks up to Arthur. He states that things like doing what you need to protect people, standing up to evil, showing understanding and making sure even the smallest, most marginalized get a fair shake are honorable and chivalrous. But Arthur sees him, sees his binder, and rejects him despite how small he is. Despite how weak he is. Even now, Arthur was willing to fight an unarmed opponent. He might have magic but what is magic compared to the might of Excalibur? Especially since he never once attacked Arthur in this fight. He claimed to want to talk and see Excalibur.

He takes the blade, full plate finally donning him as a crown appears on his head. It then all morphs to be effectively his normal clothes but metal. A new armor for a new age. He raises the blade... And gives Arthur a nick on the neck. He doesn't need to kill Arthur, not when this speech already did. Arthur shuts his eyes, sighs and whispers that he will make a good king before fading away, finally finding peace after so many centuries after he thought his ideals were dead.

Wrap up with Morgan getting with one of his love interests officially now that things have died down, the play FINALLY being put on and an epilogue of someone asking Morgan what he'll do as king. If he'll ever take up the mantle. He says he doesn't know, nor does he care. He'll just keep trying to do as much good as he can and anyone who tells him he can't can go fuck themselves. He's still Morgan and nothing, not even destiny, is every going to change that.

======+++++======

I came up with this in 3 hours. As someone on my Discord pointed out, this is a full series synopsis effectively, probably actually really well paced for three seasons theoretically, or as a pretty decent book series that I'd assume would at least take... A quarter million words to tell? Probably a good deal more depending on just how many villains Morgan has to face? And again: I came up with it in three hours.

My brain just runs fast. Me not producing material is NEVER going to be an ideas problem. The closest it will ever come to that is my brain grid locking between too many ideas and not being pulled in any one direction, something most people can actually fight through, especially if they have multiple projects to work on. So yeah, reminder that if you'd like my take on a concept, let me know. Hell, you want to ask questions about this concept, go ahead. I detail the third act/season pretty heavily but I have deeper ideas for some stuff like the Green Knight.

Oh, final note to include: I felt really happy when one of the trans members of my Discord really liked the explanation for why Morgan doesn't have a dead name. That was actually come up with on the fly as my brain suddenly remembered Morgan Le Fay's name wasn't Morgana. Like... mid write up and the write up in Discord only took 20 minutes.

Alright, now it's links time.

I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!

I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead. If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.

A Twitter you can follow too

And a Kofi if you like what I do and want to help out with the fact that disability doesn’t pay much.

[talesfromtheenchantedforest]

Lancelot’s poor fucking doctor

Then he lay down because of the great grief he felt, and in doing so, he caused his wound to open; and a stream of blood spurted from it as though from a wounded animal, and he immediately lost consciousness. When his physician saw that, he said to the squire, “You’ve killed him by your words.” Then he had Lancelot undressed and put to bed, and did his best to stop the bleeding, for otherwise Lancelot would quickly have died.

All that day Lancelot was so weak that he could neither open his eyes nor speak; rather, he was near death. The next day he gathered his strength as best he could and pretended that he was no longer in pain and was fully cured, and he said to his physician, “Master, thanks be to God and to you, you have done so well and expended so much attention and effort on me that I’m now well enough to ride without causing myself any pain; and therefore I would like to ask the lady of this house and my companion, the knight who is here, to give me leave to go see this tournament, for the flower of knighthood from the whole world will be there.”

“Oh sir,” said the learned man, “what are you saying? Even if you were now mounted on the gentlest horse in the world, you can be sure that nothing could prevent you from dying before you had ridden an English league; for you are still so terribly weak and ill that I don’t think anyone except God can fully heal you.”

“Oh, fair master,” said Lancelot, “for the love of God, can’t you tell me something different?”

“No,” said the doctor, “I can tell you only that you’ll die if you leave here in your state.”

— The Death of Arthur, Chapter 4, Norris J. Lacy translation

[dontfightmecauseillcry]

DP X BBC Merlin

Let me just make this clear I’ve NEVER stopped being in the Merlin Fandom

But lately, there this surge of Merlin content on Tik Tok and Pintrest, I think someone said its cause the finally that broke us was on or near Christmas?(Haven’t been here THAT long) And I’ve also been reading timcharg’s Merlin rewrite on AO3 so that’s what happened to me for my brain to do this and the fact that crossovers have me in a choke hold

If you look at my stuff, you’ll see that I’m hipper fixated on DP so that’s self explanatory... anyways

------

Sooo We all know Danny is a sarcastic piece of **** right? Well so is Merlin, Now image the two of them be friends, Danny would cover for Merlin so much weither he’s a servant, knight or villager. The chaos Merlin could achieve would be glorious. No to mention him joining Merlin. Heck Danny could pass as Merlin’s back from traveling brother as some lame excuse (or rebirth) and Hunith would totally play along

The part I want to focus on is Knight. 

Danny bored out of his mind decides to pick a random portal in the GZ and go through it, he has nothing to lose, his friends and family have long since peacefully past away so why not. ( would like to point out he has not aged since he was lets say 25, his prime, so that he’s closer in age to the rest of them)

He ends up in the BBC Merlin world and finds out that the Legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the round table are true if a little wrong from what he knows since he didn’t read those books, but everyone has heard to Excalibur (Imagine Danny reaction to Merlin pulling the story out of his ***). He decides to keep away from Camelot but fate hates him and he meets Gwiane while traveling. Daniel Nightingale, likes to be called Danny, reminds Gwiane of Merlin so much he can’t help but befriend him.

Danny realized that fate dragged him into this mess when Gwiane askes him for help one day and all of a sudden he’s helping prince Arthur? And then he’s being asked to fight and be knighted and he just can’t say no to Prince Arthur freaking Pendragon! 

After everything has settled down he feels something off about Merlin and Merlin feels something off about Danny. *Insert Big confrontation/ reveal* And Danny joins Lancelot in the “we know” club and they both tag team in covering for Merlin. Why doesn’t Danny tell Gwiane? He knows what its like to have that big of a secret and if Merlin doesn’t want him tell he won’t, though he does say it would be a good idea (insert the hc that the knights know and are pretending not to to make Merlin more comfortable)

Ok sooo now that Danny is here, lets save Lancelot! 

He calls bs on the veil NEEDING a sacrifice to close it. Sure a sacrifice would close it if there weren’t any alternatives (like him not being there) but would the veil needs is power to close, (and that’s what souls are, energy/fuel/power) luckily he has power. It would probably take a lot out of him and he would be in a short coma but no body dies! He wouldn’t tell anyone his plan either to not over complicate things. Merlin knocking out Arthur to stop him sacrificing himself, Lance sneaking away so Merlin doesn’t sacrifice himself, Danny pushing away Lance and closing the veil himself and knocking out. 

Danny makes up some bs excuse on why he’s still alive, “The veil needs a sacrifice, but it doesn’t necessarily mean a human one guys! The lady probably gets a kick out of killing people when they don’t need to die. Oh, how I figured it out? Ahhh- to be honest I didn’t know it would work,,, ummm I sacrificed my ability to read yeah totally, lady was so mad it worked too, ha! Even if I did die I would have gladly done it :)”

Danny says that since he never gave up his ability to learn, he could relearn how to read, loop holes baby! He uses this as the primary cover for Merlin. “Where were you last night””Teaching Sir Danny how to read”. Danny would love troll everyone. If Danny didn’t tell Merlin and Lancelot about being half dead he would have by now.

This is all my brain has got! Hope you enjoyed my brains shenanigans. I just think Danny would have fun in Camelot

[bitsandbobsofwriting]

A new servant desperately struggles to understand what exactly Merlin is:

A cryptid? Arthur's boyfriend? Simply a dude? The court jester? Something else entirely? Who knows, certainly not the new guy.

The first time the new kitchen-hand, Tristan, saw The King’s dark-haired servant sprinting down the corridor, he couldn’t tell if the man was laughing or crying.

He was fast, faster than Tristan thought possible for someone whose arms were so full of laundry, but he politely steps out of the way, coming to the conclusion that he must’ve been late for something. At least... he did think that, until he turns the next corner to see three of The king’s most trusted knights peering out of windows and into random doors. Tristan freezes in the corridor, he’d heard that servants were treated extremely well here, but he’d only been employed for a few days and he didn’t want to risk anything by pushing past or addressing his betters.

One of the knights, Sir Leon, his brain helpfully supplies, spots him stood there, and his annoyed frown quickly morphs into a friendly smile:

“Pardon me, sorry, I don’t suppose you’ve seen Merlin around anywhere, have you?”

Tristan’s eyes go wide and the grip he has on his tray tightens, but he forces himself to take a breath and answer, trying his best to keep his voice even:

“Merlin is... The King’s manservant? Tall, with dark hair?”

Another knight pushes forward, he looks to be the oldest, with dark hair falling in an almost deliberately tousled way around his bearded jawline. His charming grin seems just a little too wide to be genuine, but Tristan isn’t quite sure if that’s because he’s about to take pleasure in punishing someone, or if he’s just being polite to a stranger:

“Yeah, yeah that’s him, seen him? Arsehole turned our shirts pink in the wash, and something tells me it was deliberate.”

Tristan gulps at the accusation and he takes a shaky step back, but before he can even think of defending the stranger that he now thinks must’ve been crying, the last of the three knights, a giant, if Tristan believed in such things, steps forward:

“Don’t worry, we won’t beat him too much.” 

He says it with a grin and a quirk of his eyebrows, but once again the kitchen-hand can’t tell if it was cruel or genuine, if he was being sarcastic or not.

“Uh... yeah, he turned left at the end of this corridor, but I didn’t see where he went after that, I apologise.”

Sir Leon waves away his apology with a smile, looking to the long-haired knight with a raised eyebrow:

“The stables?”

The man grins widely, nodding his agreement as he turns his grin to the giant. Sir Leon offers Tristan another soft smile, murmuring his thanks before moving past him, elbowing the other two to prompt them in to thanking him as well. The three of them march down the corridor with almost vindictive smiles on their faces, and Tristan prepares himself to see a vacancy note, or possibly a funeral invite, posted on the notice board by the next morning.

When he passes a window that evening to see the King’s manservant being carried on the giant’s shoulders as five other knights pelt them with gloves, a grin on every face, he decides that... well... it’s probably best to just not to ask.

~

The next time he sees Merlin, a few days later, The King is also there.

This is the first time Tristan has been in Arthur Pendragon’s presence, and though the other servant’s all rave on about how awkwardly kind he is, he’s a bundle of nerves. Not even Cook’s stories about how often she whacks The King’s knuckles with a wooden spoon when she catches him about to pilfer something stops Tristan’s heart from racing. 

The King was overseeing a few of the servants decorate the main hall for a feast, and whilst Tristan is certain that that’s not something The King normally does, he doesn’t question it, just thinks that maybe the other servants had been telling the truth, and he was a genuinely nice, but normal man. 

Merlin stands at his side, and though Tristan can’t hear their conversation, the two of them are clearly bickering over something. The servant can’t help his curiosity, wanting desperately to move closer to find out what sort of things The King allows his servant to bicker with him about; luckily, the table right next to them has yet to be laid, so he moves towards it quickly. He doesn’t even glance at them, terrified of being caught out, but perhaps Merlin surviving the knights non-wrath the other day is encouraging him, and his steps don’t falter. Their words come in to focus, and he has to stop the confused, and slightly horrified, frown from spreading across his face:

“Arthur, I swear to the Gods, if you make me wear that hat again, I’ll piss in your wine and serve it to you in front of a crowd.”

The King scoffs just as Tristan shakily begins laying down the cutlery:

“That’s treason, Merlin.”

“Do I look like I care? Not only will I piss in your wine, I will not hesitate to push you over a balcony at the first opportunity. This hall is high up and it’s a long way down to the gardens. He drank toxic wine and turned loopy and tipped himself off a balcony and went splat! That’s what people will say. I’m not wearing the Godamn hat.”

Tristan has to focus extra carefully to stop himself from gasping; Merlin just threatened to kill The King... that’s got to be a death sentence. Pissing off some knights that he’s obviously friendly with is one thing, but threatening to kill The-

“Ha ha. Very funny. If you can’t tell, Merlin, I’m being sarcastic, I know you struggle with complex concepts like that.”

Merlin just rolls his eyes, crossing his arms as he says with no hesitation:

“My mind is more than capable of coping, My Lord, it’s your belt I worry about being able to cope nowadays.”

Tristan bites his tongue to stop himself from yelping and turns away so neither of them can see his horrified face. The King just makes an outraged noise in the back of his throat, and Tristan can hear Merlin snort in laughter at whatever expression Arthur was wearing to match such a noise:

“Go to the stocks. I want you there for three hours.”

Tristan lets out a confused breath; Merlin threatens to kill The King, and gets playful sarcasm, but he implies The King might be a tad overweight, and gets sent to the stocks for three hours? How is that-

“Yeah... no. Not happening. The feast starts in less than two hours and I still have to help Guinevere organise some stuff in the courtyard, do Gaius’ rounds for him, then put an extra hole in your belt and help you get dressed because, despite being a grown man, you’re still an idiot who’s incapable of putting clothes on in any sort of decent manner.”

Tristan finds himself relaxing a little. This seems to be the norm for them, but surely... surely The King had a line somewhere, and a servant just flat out refusing to be disciplined must be where it lies?

Arthur just scoffs, and Tristan angles his head in such a way that he can see him roll his eyes:

“Fuck off.”

Merlin grins, seeming to cast a suspicious gaze over the room to make sure no one was watching and somehow completely missing Tristan stood just there, before saying quietly:

“You love me really, you prat.”

With that, Merlin reaches up to yank at a lock of The King’s hair before hurrying off in the direction of the courtyard before Arthur can react. The King jumps slightly, clearly caught by surprise as an annoyed flush rises on his face, but Tristan just frowns in confusion when his shock gives way to a softly amused smile.

Huh.

~

The next few times Tristan saw Merlin made him fear for the servant’s safety. He was being taken on hunts by The King and his knights, that’s meant to be for squires, to learn the ropes and gain experience in tracking and riding. 

He supposes it isn’t entirely unheard of for a servant to follow their master on a hunt, but with the way Merlin complains without pause, and The King in turn complains about his complaining, he thinks it would better for everyone if Merlin just... didn’t go. When he brings it up to another servant, a lovely woman named Guinevere who had helped him get unlost at least three times in his first week, she just laughs and smiles at him pityingly:

“I wouldn’t worry, those two have been like that forever, they’re practically inseparable.”

Tristan responds with a rather intelligent sounding:

“...What?”

Gwen laughs softly again, shaking her head and patting his shoulder consolingly:

“You’ll get used to it, they’re just... like that.”

She gives him one more smile before turning to wave the boys out of the gates and walking back to the castle as if this were the most normal thing in the world. Tristan supposes that it probably is.

The next time Tristan sees Merlin leave the city gates with the knights, Sir Elyan, Sir Mordred, and Sir Lancelot this time, it’s distinctly worse. Because he’d caught sight of the patrol rota last time he ran food down to the training ground, and he was certain that those three had a city patrol right about now.

Before he even has time to gape in shock, he hears Merlin’s pleading voice as he trails Sir Elyan like a lost puppy:

“Please, El, I promise to stay out of the way, I will do anything, but I swear to the Gods if I have to spend one more minute around that prat, I’ll hurl myself from the battlements.”

Swearing to the Gods and threating to hurl various people, including himself, from significant heights seems to be some sort of theme for The King’s manservant. Before Tristan can consider the implications of that, Sir Elyan turns to Merlin with a wide, teasing grin on his face:

“You know, I would’ve let you tag along for free, Merlin, but now that you’ve promised me something I feel the need to take advantage.”

Tristan tenses at that, a shot of ice spiking down his spine. He has keen eyes and sharp ears, he knows that Sir Elyan is the lovely Gwen’s brother, Sir Mordred seems to have an... odd worship for the servant, and he’s definitely picked up on the close bond between Merlin and Sir Lancelot, but is this where Camelot’s image comes crashing down in Tristan’s head? He knew that it was better here for servant’s than other Kingdoms, but there are always people who’ll take advantage of their position, no matter where you are. Merlin’s shoulders just drop and he asks in a sulking voice:

“What do you want?”

Tristan grits his teeth, moving his gaze so no one would catch him glaring at the knight as he tries to figure out a way to help, a way to get this virtual stranger out of being... abused, in such a manner. If he’d carried on glaring, he would’ve noticed Elyan’s soft smile and amused raised eyebrow:

“Next time you gather herbs for Gaius, bring back some more of those flowers that you got for Gwen. She said they added vibrancy to the house, whatever that means, but they make her happy, so...-”

Merlin just giggles and nods and Tristan relaxes, looking back to them with a confused smile on his face. That was... actually kind of sweet, he can definitely see the resemblance between the knight and his sister:

“-AND I want whatever Arthur’s having for dinner tonight, his food always looks way nicer than ours.”

Merlin lets out a faux annoyed groan, but then rolls his eyes and grins, nodding:

“Consider it done. Can we go now? I really don’t want to risk him seeing me and giving me some stupid chore to do.”

Elyan laughs and nods, and the four of them begin making their way out of the courtyard and into the city. Sir Lancelot finally joins the conversation, clearly amused as he says:

“You know it’s literally your job to do chores, right?”

Merlin turns to glare at him as Sir Mordred and Sir Elyan laugh, and Tristan only just hears his reply as the castle gates shut behind them:

“Fuck off.”

Tristan decides it would be pointless to bring this up to anyone again, he figures he’ll probably just get the same answer as last time.

~

The next confusing incident happens only a few days later. But Tristan supposes that at this point... it really shouldn’t be confusing. Gwen was right, he did just... get used to it.

He heard the steps pounding down the corridor before he saw him, but they were coming fast and hard, so he presses himself against the wall, holding the tray to his side to protect it as best he could as Merlin comes skidding round the corner. 

He stops just long enough for Tristan to calm himself by spying the wide grin on his face, but he’s quickly sprinting down the hall again, laughing as he waves whatever it is he’s got clutched in his hands. The second set of loud, rapid footsteps stops Tristan from stepping away from the wall quite yet. Just a moment later, Sir Gwaine follows Merlin’s skidded path around the corner, though the heavier man overshoots slightly and he runs into the wall opposite Tristan with a crash and a deep groan.

The rebellious knight gives a wide-eyed Tristan an awkward nod before pushing himself off the wall and following Merlin’s blazing trail, screaming down the corridor:

“I warned you Merlin!! Don’t come between a man and his ale, now give that back you bastard!”

Tristan hears Merlin’s laughter grow louder, even from the two corridors away that the other servant had managed to race to.

He shrugs to himself, waiting for a moment to see if anyone else was going to come barrelling around the corner before sighing, and continuing his journey up to the visiting Lord’s chambers.

It was unusual, he thought, how quickly he’d come to terms with the fact that a servant was sassing The King and pranking the knights and inviting himself on various hunts and patrols that he really had no business on. Unusual indeed.

~

He’d learnt to ignore it. Or at least brush it off.

In the two weeks since Merlin had (presumably) stolen Sir Gwaine’s skin of ale, he’d seen the servant call The King a long list of imaginative insults (what the hell is a dollop head?), walk around with Sir Leon’s cloak on because he was a little chilly, accuse someone of treason (and somehow been right about it), and threaten to kill at least seven people; including, but not limited to: The King himself, The King’s already dead father, some stuck up Noble (though that was under his breath, Tristan just happened to be stood next to him), and Sir Percival.

And Gwen was... absolutely right. He's just... like that. He's Merlin, and that’s what Merlin does.

So when he turns a corner in a rarely used to corridor to see him pressing The King against a wall, snogging the life out of him, Tristan simply turns around and walks back the other way. Both of them look fairly happy with the arrangement, and they’d probably chosen this corridor for the exact same reason Tristan had: it was out of everyone’s way, and was unlikely to be inhabited.

He thinks it’s odd, how... un-odd he finds it. He absent-mindedly thinks that, with the way they acted around each other, he really should’ve seen this coming. A sudden thought occurs to him, and he ducks into a storage cupboard, laying his tray down carefully as he rummages through the boxes. He lets out a quiet “Yay” when he finds what he’s looking for, carefully picking up his tray with only one hand and nudging the door open again with his hip. 

He walks back towards the corner he had just turned (and turned again) making a conscious effort to keep his steps quiet; he places the danger sign, usually used where walls had collapsed or windows had been smashed, in the middle of the corridor, a clear indication of “Do Not Enter”.

He nods smugly at his quick thinking and easy handy work before mentally planning the quickest route to the kitchens and following it hurriedly.

He casually wonders if he has time to circle around to the other end of the corridor so he could put another sign down before Cook gets angry at him for being late. Probably not. At least, not before they... finish up and move on. Hmm. He suddenly panics about the thought of them seeing the sign and knowing that someone had spotted them but... well. Hopefully they would just appreciate it and move on.

Yet again, he decides not to bring this up to anyone. He may or may not have overheard a few of the knights making some sort of bet, and he may or may not want to watch on with amusement as they fail to realise that all of them have already lost.

Tristan smiles to himself; working here had turned out to be rather entertaining, in the end.

~

THE END

I know it’s short, but I really didn’t know what else to add without it sounding like I was just repeating myself over and over😅

I hope y’all enjoyed it!!

[awesomeanimelover39]

Hi againnn!!! Hope you're having a great day!

Can I request for Ikemen Revolution Headcanons Black and Red Army reaction if MC outsmarts them in strategy???

Thank you very much!

Yay!! (sorry this took so long, I have no excuse) When you say strategy, I'm going to assume you meant like a game? If you want something else, let me know and I'll do that as well. (Red Army under the cut)

Requested by @revolutionmc

Ikemen Rev Armies if MC Outsmarts them in Chess

Black Army

Ray Blackwell:

When you challenged him, he didn't miss the glint in your eyes

He sensed a t r a p

But he played along because he was interested to see your skillset

It took you about as long as you though to beat him

It wasn't easy, but it wasn't enough to make you sweat

He's very impressed with you

Ray shook your hand after the game and was about to stand up with a look of defeat when you pulled him back down

You wanted him to buy you ice cream as a reward??

Fine~ you deserved it

He wants to learn from you, perhaps this will help him in the future against Fenrir...

Sirius Oswald:

The fact you were able to find a time when he wasn't lecturing the children soldiers is incredible all on its own

He wasn't surprised when you won quickly

This was something you had told him before you were good at

He challenges you a second time a week later for fun

You gave him pointers on his game and he greatly appreciated it

It was calming to listen to you explain something he knew you were a genius at

He finds someone with a big brain attractive

He also finds someone who understands the battle side of his life a good partner

Luka Clemence:

He only played because you begged him

At some point he couldn't take your puppy eyes anymore and gave in

He isn't ashamed to lose to you

It's better than losing to someone who's bad with strategy games like chess

You honestly went easy on him, but didn't have the heart to tell him that

What you did notice though, was how his strategic thinking was strong yet emotional

When you told him that, he suddenly became very aware of how good at strategy and observation you really were

You're kinda scaring him now

Seth Hyde:

You wanna play chess? Sure ☆

He was actually really good at it

He finds your shocked face cute

But minutes after saying that, he was forced to eat his words when you won and he made the same face

He wonders where on earth you learned to get that good?!

He listens to you as you tell him where you learnt and how much you've played before

Although he's shocked, seeing your strengths and interests makes him feel closer to you

He's honoured to have lost to his MC

Fenrir Godspeed:

*Maniacal laugh*

Now this should be interesting

He's beat you many times before this

Why. is. he. so. GOOOOOOD.

This time however, was different

You had been practicing more and more and reminding yourself of your own tactics

Watching you two play each other looks like a true battle

You're both intense and serious for longer than both of you can remember

It had gotten down to almost calling a draw when you saw it: your chance

Upon winning you stood up and screamed in victory loud enough that Sirius came running in the room

Fenrir claps and laughs while you bow/curtsey and stick your tongue out at him

You both play each other many times after that

He is having way too much fun, and so are you

Both happy you've finally met your match

Red Army

Lancelot Kingsley:

He always enjoys spending time with you, even if you're twitching with fierce competition

You weren't the least bit surprised he was good at this

He was the leader of an army after all he had better be good at strategy

Winning almost shocked you the first time

You actually challenged him a few more times just to make sure you weren't lucky

He didn't like you flaunting how good you were at this game, but he is impressed by your abilities

Low-key though it was hot

Jonah Clemence:

You were a little afraid to challenge him

You knew him to be a mean winner when it came to childish things, but he was an even worse loser

You were sure you were gonna win from the start

His first move was not strong enough and you already had the game in the bag

After kicking his butt, he said nothing

He huffed and spun away from you

But you did hear a small whisper of praise from him

After fifteen seconds of silence he turned back and thrust his pointer finger at you screaming

"I CHALLENGE YOU TO ANOTHER GAME OF CHESS"

Dramatic much

You won again

He doesn't mind losing to you, but could you PLEASE let him win in front of King Lancelot???

lol no ❤️

Edgar Bright:

Another one you were afraid to play

But this was because of a more... sinister reason

You were scared he was gonna kill you if you won

When you admitted that he chuckled and placed his hand on your head promising that wouldn't happen

What was unclear was whether he was saying he wouldn't kill you or that you wouldn't win

After winning you slowly pulled his king off the board before making eye-contact with him

He had the same unreadable smile on his face but his hand reached across the board and shook yours

In reality he was just messing with you, he liked how you were brave enough to show him your true strength, and also the fact you were making the face of a doe about to run from a predator

You should challenge him again, he's like a computer; slowly learning from every move you make

Play him too many times however, and you'll find you can't win anymore

Kyle Ash:

Why would you want to play chess?

This seems like something that could put him to sleep quickly

But since he can tell it means a lot, he agrees to play ONE game

He lost fast. Very fast.

Fast enough that you had to ask him if he was faking it so he could stop playing

He swore that wasn't it, he just wasn't very good

When you blushed and asked if he wanted some help, he wasn't so sure at first

But the fact that you would be near him sounded good

What he didn't expect was to actually learn a lot from you and like the game a lot more

Maybe he wouldn't mind playing again some time

Zero:

He actually asked you to play

He had heard heard you brag of your skills before

He just wanted to see this for himself

He was good, but, not good enough ;)

Upon losing he smiled and looked at you with awe in his eyes

He asked you to challenge the other and prayed you would beat them too

He cheered you on quietly each time

You literally couldn't be any more attractive to him right now

You were focused and confident

He honestly could watch you play for hours

[teamxdark]

Ten years later, Lancelot writes her another letter.

cw for referenced death under the cut. In my SatBK verse, "Elaine" refers to Maria.

Dearest Elaine,

It has been ten years now. Ten years since I found you with your eyes open and empty, and my life was permanently changed.

Remembering that day is far too easy. I remember the coldness of the room, the smell in the air, but most of all I remember the way you felt, so heavy and stiff, and the way you looked. I remember how the horrible image painted itself behind my eyelids for months, until all I could see was you whenever I closed my eyes.

So easy to remember, yet so difficult to handle.

I was unwell for so long, dear sister, after I found you on the floor. I remember how days would blend together and how pain would give way to terror whenever I lied in bed at night, as though I was waiting for your return, and you would ask me, why? Why hadn’t I come to find you first?

It kept me up at night, wondering. Would I have been able to protect you, had I not gone for the first foes I had found? Did you die waiting for me, crying out for help that wouldn’t arrive until it was far too late to save you? Did you, perhaps, resent me for not being there when you needed me most?

I remember when the maelstrom of grief shifted into nothing; a way to cope, I’m sure. I remember growing cold and aloof, empty had it not been for the last gift you had given me.

Galahad saved me, I swear it.

Dear sister, I thank the gods for him whenever I can, for he kept me from diving into the abyss of emptiness that ripped open before me after your passing. I know it is not right; by all means, he should have been your son, raised under your care and nurtured with your love, which I remember was strong enough to envelop our town, the kingdom, and perhaps the world as well. Yet, I cannot fathom a world where he calls me “Uncle” rather than “Father”, a world where he lives, learns, and trains far away in Corbenic rather than with me in Camelot, a world where does not run to my side every day, with the same kind of love in his eyes that I recall in yours.

You would have adored him, and he would have loved you in turn. I know this one truth, solid and steadfast in the sea of uncertainties and guesses that flooded my mind for so many years.

It got easier with time, but that is not a comfort to me.

How could it be that you were such an irreplaceable part of my life, and yet now I can go days, weeks, even months at a time without thinking of you? You are gone, most certainly not forgotten, and yet you no longer remain in my everyday thoughts, and my tormented mind has quieted down, though not silenced. I had always thought that I lost you in the most complete, irreversible way on that day, ten years ago, but I fear now that that was but the beginning.

Am I, perhaps, losing you more now, as your memory in me becomes more fragmented and incomplete? I can still remember you, I think of you as I watch Galahad grow, I think of you every time I practice our dances and when I see a painting reminiscent of your own. You are in the skies which reflected the color of your eyes, you are in the flowers you loved to watch bloom every spring, you are in the cold and rain that you detested, and you are in the letters that you’ve written to me, stored away safely yet out of mind… but you are becoming lost in me.

Why does moving forward feel like a betrayal, when I know that is what you would have wanted for me? If I do not think of you every day, if I do not remember every detail down to the smallest mark or wrinkle on your face, then who shall? Are you doomed to simply disappear one day from all thoughts and minds and memories? Is that the fate of us all?

I am scared, Elaine, to forget you any more than I have, and yet I know I shall. No matter how strongly I keep you in my heart, I lose more and more of you with every year that passes, and that knowledge is so painful to accept.

Sometimes I ask myself if you would be proud of me, and the part of me that knows you says yes, while the part of me that knows that I know nothing says that I shall never have an answer. You have not followed me this far… you stopped a decade ago, and all I can do some days is wonder. I wonder, if you were permitted to catch up on the years you have missed, if you would focus on my accomplishments, or if they aren’t enough to outweigh my disappointments and failures. What would you say of the changes I’ve gone through? Or have I scarcely changed at all in your eyes?

I love you. I love you and I miss you and some days it truly hits me how you were taken from me and I break down because there is nothing left I can do.

I know you loved me, too.

I wish I could hear you say it to me today.

I cannot remember your voice, Elaine. I’m so sorry.

My world keeps turning, pushing me forward with or without my approval, and I know it is unfair to keep looking back so much when I know that is not what you would have wanted from me. Perhaps, in another decade, I will have more to offer you. More stories, more changes, more satisfaction with the person I have become and will be.

All I can do is trust you and remember. It does not need to be every day that I think of you, no matter how much that feels like a lie.

I miss you.

I miss you and I miss you and I miss you. I can only hope that you are at peace.

Forever with me, forever in my heart,

Lancelot du Lac

[forthegothicheroine]

Hi!! So I don't really know if this counts as a headcanon request per se, but... I was wondering what the Princess of Swords LIs initial reactions to Rowena being kidnapped were? Because by the time we see them they're all basically in rescue mode, so I was curious as to what they were like when they first realized. (Also, I'm super glad you're continuing PoS and I can't wait for the next part!)

This is a great question, I'm sorry it's taken me so long to answer! It is a lot of fun thinking about this stuff! It's also a good chance to think about what feelings they were already starting to have for Rowena at the time. I think we can assume that after she vanished while riding, if Arthur and his knights couldn't tell from any trails left behind where she'd gone, then Merlin made sure to give helpful clues to speed the plot along (a wizard did it!)

Lancelot liked Rowena, though he was also dealing with a crush on Guinevere that had not yet fully blossomed (at least, not in his path!) He accepted her favor on an impulse, but still took his role as her champion deadly seriously. In "The Knight of the Cart", his original story, much is made of Lancelot just fucking bolting on foot and horse and cart when he learned Guinevere had been kidnapped, and I think that probably happened here, especially if he was propelled by an explosion of anger because how dare this happen to her.

Gawain rocket-propels himself into action much like Lancelot, but he'd be a lot more optimistic about being able to save her. While I generally prefer the "flower of chivalry" Gawain from poems like The Green Knight, I do like him to have at least a touch of Mort D'Arthur's "dangerously unstable hothead". Of course that medieval dickweed Maleagant kidnapped a princess, someone was going to have to do something about him sooner or later, but now time is imperative that the princess-kidnapper get his shit wrecked!

Kay liked Rowena a bit against his own will, and I imagine dealt with three reactions- "I'm going to go take care of this right now!", "Let some younger man do it, I've never been anyone's epic hero" and "What if a younger guy fucks around showing off or looking for glorious fights and gets her killed?" (Pointed look towards Lancelot and Gawain.) This would lead to the knightly version of those latter-day westerns where the aging gunslinger gets out his coat and weapon because someone has to do something, even if it has to be him.

Morgan spent her whole life clawing her way towards a place where nobody could ever hurt her, so while there would be some of Lancelot's rage, there would also be a deep and profound fear that this sweet girl could be placed in danger with none of her own defenses to help her. She'd helped Arthur before but rarely went on her own "quests", but this one was extremely personal. Someone should have been there for her mother, too.

Mordred, of course, didn't know Rowena had been kidnapped until he saw her in the tower! He was already falling for her, but in that moment, when he saw that she was in danger because this lowlife he was manipulating put his hands on her, he made an instantaneous decision that her safety was more important than any immediate scheming he had going on. It wasn't even a question.

Arthur hadn't done much personal riding to the rescue since the last war, but if there was any chance his presence could bring Rowena back safely, he would go. He would feel immensely guilty because Camelot was supposed to be a safe place where this sort of raiding by the nobility didn't happen, and now someone he'd become fond of in a short time was in danger because he had failed. (He's also probably the only one to have the thought that if she died it might mean war with Ireland, but that was an additional weight on top of everything else.) He also felt guilty again afterwards when Guinevere pointed out that if she'd been kidnapped he would have sent Lancelot to rescue her. He worried that she was right.

[douxie-casperan]

Rise of the Titans and the assassination Hisirdoux Casperan’s character development

I’ve been ranting so much since Wednesday morning that I finally condensed by thoughts of WHY this one subject keeps setting me off namely the utterly diabolical way they handled Douxie and Archie’s relationship in Rise of the Titans and how it wasn’t just enough to hit him with the nerf bat.

Please note I’m at the point where I literally cannot tell the difference between Aaron headcanons, Teny headcanons and my own they are all mixed together in the blender that does funky things. I also apologise for typo/weird wording it’s half 1 in the morning and I’d rather sleep than edit.

~

If asked to sum up Hisirdoux Casperan there are certainly several things that come to mind:

Sees the value in people as a whole and will find do anything if there is a chance of help someone out

Prefers tactics that disable/banish rather than kill an enemy yet willing and able to pull the trigger if circumstances become forced

While not academically inclined he is very capable of thinking on his feet and outside the box calling back to his time on the streets where a split-second decision making is the difference between being caught and not

Terrible at planning he’ll be in there figuring it out as he goes along which is what makes the previous point so vital to literally how he goes through life

A natural charmer that would let him talk his way out of trouble 9/10 providing a perfect cover for his distrustful nature and reluctance to be touched by random people

Very down to earth, humble and never one to brag unless outright sassing someone

Will bang out some hot tunes at the drop of a hat, his love of music has never wavered once since he caught the bug despite instrument hopping ironically becoming a jack of all trades much like his magic style

The earliest memories he can recall are him as a young boy lost in the woods where he was for an unknown amount of time before his soon to be familiar finds him amongst the roots covered in dirt and drying tears, there is nothing before that. Unbeknownst to him is the colour of his magic matches the blue of a lost mother’s eyes and the song that haunts his nightmares as much as fire could well be hers though there is no way to be sure. From that moment on Archibald, shortened to Archie, would become his entire world and their friendship only becoming closer during the years they prowled Camelot together trying to keep themselves in one piece until the fateful day Douxie tricks the wrong person leading him straight into the path of the famous wizard Merlin Ambrosius.

It's no real secret that Merlin is a very closed off person who keeps his emotions as well guarded as his secrets, prefers the style of negative reinforcement over positive encouragement and is a very strict perfectionist in his. At this point in his life he can be very easily described as a disaster that is genuinely doing his best with every little mistake held of his head and his future self when brought back to that time period is belittled by Lancelot (Errand boy) and Arthur (Boy) too meaning it’s hardly a wonder his confidence was very fragile revelling in the times where he could do things without being told off for it. With Morgana largely ignoring him too (Though personally I like to think as he got older she’d occasionally take an interest until the blistering arguments with their master started to talk over daily life) a certain disguised dragon would have remained a lifeline and give that physical affection he craved much like being told he’d done well never seemed able to earn.

With Killahead he’d lose that home and family he made leaving just the two of them behind struggling to figure out their place in the world that had abandoned them.

There wouldn’t have been the words for it back then but the way he had been treated prior was outright abusive instilling very bad habits into Douxie yet by irony he was always willing to give people the benefit of the doubt and help those in trouble without thinking earning a reputation as the Shepard of Fire. He refused to become like him seeking to be better, perhaps not as a wizard (Even though he was learning new charms and spells along the way) but certainly as a person. Despite everything he suffers through or witnesses in the intervening years, the loss of friends and kindling of far newer ones he never loses his good heart 

That said is it any wonder that after rightfully sassing Merlin for resurfacing, ignoring his existence despite being in the same town and only visiting him to run a finding errand that all the confidence he’d managed to build completely from scratch after Camelot wavered causing him to fall back solely into trying impressing his old Master who was acting like his humble apprentice must have coasted the past few centuries who himself fell back into old habits of belittling? It’s only when Merlin started to truly listen and acknowledge that this was not the same Moppet he once knew after Excalibur was fixed that their relationship finally started to become more like equals. After the defeat of Janus the changeling that broke into the castle he touched Douxie’s shoulder with a genuine smile and for a second he simply didn’t know what to do because the old man never did this before his brain kicked into gear and realised he’d finally earned that one thing he’d been so desperate for his entire life: That in Merlin’s eyes he could be more than a failure who only caused problems for the closest thing to a father figure he’d ever had, never solved them.

A staff will be earned, history would be set back on trap by banishing Morgana tag teaming with Archie because they know one another inside and out, as promised he’d get the kids back to the present but soon after things would go badly wrong. They’d lose Jim and because of his very nature he’d make a gamble to try and get him back because that life is worth trying for just for in a moment of surprising selflessness Merlin would be sacrificed to save him. The only constant in his life apart from Archie would apologise, openly express pride and how the greatest thing he’d ever done was saving this orphan, call him son for the first and final time before turning into ash in his arms. There would be no time to grieve for things will barrel into the crescendo of Douxie sacrificing his own life to buy everyone time to escape because if they did that everything he’d ever done would be worth it with one last whispered goodbye.

(Zoe sees him fall, so does Archie – His heart would break if he was conscious just like theirs does when his body crumples into the ground)

On the very fringes of the Light Realm he is gifted one more conversation with Merlin in a truly heart-breaking sequence (THANKS TENY) where they can just talk without any fear of consequence or politics and just be completely honest. Douxie is allowed to stand equal to Merlin, to have the hug he’d needed since he was a child and be allowed to simply let go of every pretense and cry his heart out because this can never happen again. He’s allowed to say goodbye to both his master and Morgana who had both shaped so very much of his life but like the painting he’d always remained firmly in the long shadows of until that moment.

When Hisirdoux Casperan finally leaves Wizards if we just accidently deliberately put the shawarma back in along with checking in with Zoe before departure, it is with having learned to live during his wandering years but this is the point of true freedom because he can finally escape into his own light with Archie by his side to keep Nari out of the hands of those that would see the world harmed. It won’t be easy but it feels possible somehow even with the knowledge everything is simply running on borrowed time.

Then Rise of the Titans happens.

At first everything is genuinely fine! No more running, they engineer a solution shut the Order’s magic down to make them a lot less dangerous and potentially at least incapacitate them until they can come up with a longer-term solution but all the best laid plans and all that. Douxie’s quick thinking stops the train from crushing any of the people below and it’s a very him style move to switch places with Nari to stall for time because for some reason the plot disabled Claire from portaling her or any of the threatened people/heroes to safety. He openly sasses the Order despite knowing the consequences will be bad for him because once again he’s managed to trick them, buy time that at the other end isn’t even slightly utilised until he’s forced back into his own body in excruciating pain. Archie immediately mobs him with comfort just as he has done every single time the wizard is distressed or collapsed with exhaustion without thinking because that is what their bond is like, incredibly close and far more than the Soul Bond mark that connects them together. They’re very alike in that regard, you have to earn the right to touch while equally knowing exactly what form the other needs the most in that precise moment in a way very few others could.

Bar the moment of figuring out that an illusion is in place to hide where the Order is opening the Genesis Seals and the brief insistence on reconnecting with Nari somehow Douxie manages to forget everything that makes him who he is after this point choosing to stand in the background being very no thoughts head empty or can only use the most basic spells of his youthful days not the seasoned master wizard he should be. Nomura is treated like an innocent slip rather than an outright death he did absolutely nothing to prevent (Not to mention the stupid daytime thing) nor seems to care particularly about afterwards yet with Nari’s he’s allowed to openly grieve in a gorgeously animated visual showing how he’d failed to keep her safe despite everything. He did nothing to help here either mind despite allowing himself to be tortured in the same piece of media to keep her safe, just watched another loss happen right in front of his eyes in his conga long line of them.

Then there’s Archie, oh god then there was Archie.

The dragon who even here he’d been shown to have an incredibly close bond with him decides you know what sod that tell him goodbye I’m going to make a joke about having a kingdom now dad and me are trapped in here forever. Douxie on his part looked sad for all of three seconds saying that he hoped he’s happy like it's a pet that wandered out into the world one day and never came back instead of a lifelong companion that has been there for as long as he can remember. He was now completely alone in the world since Zoe was also written out entirely and because every bit of his background had been forgotten about it somehow meant nothing. This wasn’t “I know you miss him, I know you need to grieve but you are running out of time” moment like things had been with Charlie, this was “cool shapeshifting dragon cat is now stuck in a plot hole that’s a shame” with zero pay off or any of the genuine reaction that should have been there or hell even trying to Ohana him back that very second because it never should have happened in the first place. Then even this wasn’t enough somehow, they managed to de-power Douxie even further into uselessness bar the (Admittedly nifty!) sticky feet stunt, the one who fought Skrael and Bellroc to a stalemate was shunted aside with barely a thought and his head would somehow get even emptier.

The one person who knew the danger of time magic the most stood by and said nothing.

The one person who would suffer the most by a reset because the lynchpin to his issues would be asleep if you got it wrong and should have drilled it into Jim’s head the best time to aim for stood by and said nothing.

The one person who had just suffered the loss of his familiar, best friend and only family along with the almost sister like Nari stood by and said nothing.

Then to add further insult to injury the caption when Douxie and Archie is shown says Some go their entire lives living an existence of quiet desperation because every drop of his character growth, his ability to finally start addressing his trauma instilled back in the 12th century, the staff he longed for was instead openly mocked by going “Aww he got his cat friend back how nice!” Everything he’d rightfully earned and had now would be unable to progress until certain criteria are met because it hinges entirely on the Trollhunter going to Merlin’s tomb and there’s only so much your support network of two (One if she’s written out) can do, the root of the majority of his issues all stem from one man.

And this folks is why I’ve been going on multiple rants about Douxie in particular, everyone was hit with the out of character bat to some degree in this film but when they came for him they didn’t just stop after they took his legs out because they wanted him to suffer from something he’s never had any control over to begin with all over again. Abuse survivors deserve better, these characters deserve better and we as viewers deserve far far better writing than we were forced to endure.

[shadamyheadcanons]

If you’re still doing the thing with the characters, I’d really like to know what your headcanons are regarding Silver? Also, canon be damned, Shadow being Silver’s dad is adorable.

I’m not really the type to put time limits on prompts like this, so anyone’s free to ask. Forever. Unless I specifically tell you to stop.

Send me the name of a character and I will tell you my:

1: sexuality headcanon

Bisexual. Have I ever felt he was flirting with a male character? No. Have I ever shipped him with a guy? No. But as I read in a YouTube comment once: “Bi silver is the least surprising thing in the world.”

2: otp

I’ve never seen him with anyone but Blaze. I like how they’re on the same deep, intense wavelength, but she still finds him endearing. I’m glad they completely broke all logic and put her with him in Sonic ’06.

3: brotp

Blaze again. They’re that good of a match.

4: notp

Never thought about it. I see him shipped with so few characters. I sometimes see him in polyships with Shadow, so I guess I’d say those two. I can’t help but see them as relatives, canon be damned. I’m less bothered by Silvamy, particularly as a one-sided crush, because the case for her being his ancestor is weaker.

5: first headcanon that pops into my head

Going along with my (canonically false) idea that he’s a Shadamy descendant and knows it, it’s weird and unnerving to him anytime he sees Amy fawn over Sonic. No matter how uncomfortable it makes him, though, he knows he has to let things play out on their own, so he kind of just hangs back and cringes.

6: one way in which I relate to this character

I’m easily swayed by others. Dedication to one’s ideals is a great trait to have, but it can lead to naivete, which can be dangerous, something I’m sure Silver would agree with. I’ve gotten better at resisting that as I’ve matured. Hopefully he will, too.

7: thing that gives me second hand embarrassment about this character

I’m sure a lot of people would talk about how he’s easily manipulated, but I’m more bothered by his ridiculous quill style. Does he do that on purpose? How much control do hedgehogs have over that? Are his just unruly? Is that the style hundreds of years in the future? Do you think he knows? Idk. The back is perfectly fine, but the front...god. It’s alright in shots where it’s more swept-back, but when he’s standing still and it sticks up? It’s been said that it looks like a face-palm. I don’t disagree with that analysis.

8: cinnamon roll or problematic fave?

He is the very embodiment of a cinnamon roll. Just...god. Watch this video. His dialogue; the way Sonic’s trash talking goes over his head because he’s just a genuine, sweet boy who’s spent too much time saving his future to learn how to talk to people; his clumsy, endearing attempts to plant a garden; the way he was absolutely floored by the “beauty” of a desert; how the poor guy flailed like he’d never been hugged before when Amy met him--he’s just such a cute, awkward, lovable character! Why don’t I write this guy more often...?

For those who need more context for the “Silver is a Shadamy descendant” thing, check out my SDS tag. You want to know what I think actually happened? Some of the writers sincerely thought Silver was or could have been descended from Shadow and acted accordingly. Some of the more convincing evidence for this: Ian Flynn flat-out said he thought Silver was a shadamy kid, tongue-in-cheek or not, and Shadow and Silver are Lancelot and Galahad (father and son) in SatBK. We know the writers cared about which knights were who: Gawain was particularly loyal to Arthur, mirroring Sonic and Knuckles’ close friendship; Percival was said to have spent some time dressed as a girl, aligning with Blaze’s gender; and Lancelot was Arthur’s biggest rival by which I mean he cucked Arthur by sleeping with his wife, an implication Sega had to dodge by conspicuously NOT making Amy the Guinevere to Sonic’s Arthur in the ONE game where she finally gets a date with him, and that’s absolutely hilarious to me. The sheer potential of shadamy is so strong that Shadow cockblocked Sonic in a game he’s not even technically in. They MUST HAVE known Galahad was his son. It was only after these things were said and done that ONE (1) person from Sega shut it down, and now we’re supposed to pretend there’s no credence for this. I refuse.

[help-i-need-a-cool-username]

Been thinking about what Mordred's life in Camelot would've been like if Merlin didn't hate him and then thought about how if Morgana was around she would probably always give him her favor at every tournament (until he married) and the other knights would tease him for that so have a broad outline for a Beloved Characters Dont Turn Evil AU

Morgana discovers her magic and Merlin swears to her that he'll protect her. He comforts her when she's scared and Merlin begs Gaius to share his knowledge and suspicions about Morgana to Morgana herself. One night Morgana bursts into their quarters in hysterics, waking them up, screaming and sobbing, and it feels like Merlin's hug is the only thing holding her together but its not enough. Glass starts shattering, candles flare, chandeliers fall to the ground. Gaius decides at this point not telling her will do considerable more harm than not, to both herself and others. They stay up through the night. Gaius speaking and Morgana asking questions, Merlin with a supportive hand on Morgana's shoulder. At one point Morgana tearfully asks the question Merlin asked Gaius long ago, "am i a monster?". They all fall asleep at the table, and that morning when Gwen arrives to wake Morgana only to find her absent with her blankets thrown over the bed and several things knocked over she runs and alerts the guards. The guards initiate lockdown and the commotion reaches Uther and wakes Arthur (Merlin is once again late), and they proceed to fear she was kidnapped right under their noses without anyone knowing. Arthur runs down to get Merlin so he can prepare him for the day only to open the door to find the three of them asleep on the table.

Later Merlin organizes for Morgana to learn more than Gaius can tell her from the Druids, but she intends to stay the night at least, if not then significantly longer (anywhere from a week to several months), and they have no good excuse for her to use that would allow her to leave without Gwen and guards. They come up with some very convoluted plan, which does not end up in the raid that occurred in canon, and when Gwen catches her sneaking back she lies and says she wanted to check up on Mordred (who she did run into), to see if he was with the Druid encampment that was rumored to be nearby (which he was). She didn't learn nearly as much as she hoped in those few hours, but they at least pointed her in a direction.

Morgause comes to town, and leaves Morgana her bracelet. After discovering it stops her visions Morgana takes it to Gaius, who reveals it was enchanted and looks similar to the one Lady Vivienne used to wear. Morgana states Morgause got it from her mother, but that Lady Vivienne was Morgana's mother and wonders how the bracelet ever got to Morgause. Gaius says there was a rumor that Lady Vivienne had a baby that displayed a affinity for magic, but Gorlois told Uther their baby had died before they even named her. Gaius reveals that the baby was smuggled out of Camelot and given to the High Priestesses, and Morgause might very well be that baby. Morgana begins to long for a connection with Morgause, to meet the sister she never knew of and recover something of her dead parents. When she begins secretly meeting Morgause, she tells Merlin and then asks him to come with her when she begins receiving lessons from her. Morgause tries to convince them that killing Uther is the right thing to do, but Merlin keeps reassuring Morgana that all they need to do is convince Arthur to change the law for when he is king, and he's not ready to do that now so theres no use in killing Uther before he's ready, and that she does love Uther and Uther does love her and would try to "fix" her well before he ordered her death. Morgause still wants him dead, to rush the prophecy of magic's return. Them sneaking out every few nights cements the idea that Morgana and Merlin are secretly dating in castle gossip.

Im not sure what happens with Morgause, but i think she would still take Camelot at some point and she would spare Morgana and by extension Merlin. Morgana and Merlin make sure to get Arthur out (and Merlin probably goes with him) because they dont trust Morgause to not kill him. Morgause reveals her heritage (and makes Morgana a Princess and her Heir) despite claiming the throne for people of magic and not the House of Gorlois, and the knowledge that Vivienne and one of her daughters were sorceresses leads Uther to believe he can not save Morgana from magic that is likely in her blood and THAT is what breaks his mental state. Morgana's real heritage is revealed soon after, with Uther informing Gaius that Morgana being a Princess is actually within her birth rights. Morgause continues Morgana's training because at some point Morgana has to become a High Priestess because canon. That or Morgause switches sides (this is a Beloved Characters Dont Go Evil AU might as well make it No Beloved Characters Are Evil AU) and she trains Morgana later after Arthur is a established King.

Morgause is overthrown and the Round Table formed. Arthur as well as several people in the castle know of or suspect Morgana of being a sorceress but he refuses to banish her, first believing it to have been out of her control (forced by Morgause) and later learning that her nightmares had been magic all along (how could he punish her for something he knows she had tried to get rid of for over a decade?). Perhaps he lets her keep the title of Princess, having always seen her as a sister (and someone who is compassionate for the people in a way royalty should be) and armed with the new knowledge of her being his actual sister. Everyone expects Regent Arthur to crack down on magic, its what Uther would have done and what the people want, so he does. Morgana becomes a advocate for magic, as she had been for Arthur in private as a Prince, and it scares people in the castle. They believe her to be working with Morgause, despite her arguments being for individuals' wellbeing and how punishments fuels hatred for Camelot. Several attempts are made on her life, many stopped by Merlin and Gwen and sometimes Lancelot. Arthur often "asks" Merlin for his opinion on magic and with Morgana's voice being public he feels okay with being straight with Arthur on what he thinks. Uther dies same as he did in canon: protecting Arthur from a assassination.

Mordred becomes a Knight because canon. Morgana is ecstatic to see him again and acts like a mother who hasn't seen her child in ages when she first sees him. Merlin has learned you often make the enemies that are destined to kill you (ex. trying to stop Morgana's visions from coming true) so he ignores Kilgharrah and doesn't hate Mordred (he is always wary though). Mordred alternates between childlike eagerness around the knights and following Merlin around while hero worshiping him (no one can figure out why. Their best guess is that Morgana is a mutual friend). In the beginning he kept messing up his name (calling him "Merlin" is just weird) and they often talk in their heads and therefore just stare at each other which has led to two conflicting rumors: theyre in love or they hate each other. Morgana often invites him to dinner, and when they dine with Arthur they easily slip into mind-talking (because chewing) and Arthur is convinced that they're making fun of him every time they do it. He protects Arthur when Merlin can't, often runs off to do side quests Merlin needs to do but cant get away to do, and often tags along with Merlin on his quests. Being able to share the knowledge of his destiny since Lancelot died (if he dies in this AU) relaxes Merlin's caution and allows him to be emotionally closer to him. Mordred enjoys being around Merlin and Morgana not just because he's Emrys and she's Morgana, but because they are the closest thing to home he has: they know what he is, they understand (bits) of his culture and make it possible for Mordred to share it with them, their individual magic sings strong enough to remind him of when he lived surrounded by it. He quickly grows to love them so very much and no one understands WHY. The knights tease him about it, and Morgana forcing Arthur to take Mordred on certain missions he isnt qualified for "so he can learn" does not help. Gwaine and Percival were planning to convince him that he couldnt compete in a tournament without a lady's favor because he's the rookie and his panicked look greatly amuses them only to find Morgana giving him her's before kissing his cheek. They were relentless after that, alternating between "lady's favors dont count if they're from your mom," "Mordred has a girlfriend," and whatever the medieval version of affectionately calling him "Bambi" is. Morgana sits in the stand's throne (since Arthur is competing) or besides it if Gwen is queen, and she flashes a smile at him when he comes out (Gwen too. He's a sweet kid with a baby face, of course he's one of her favorites. He also reminds her of Merlin when she first met him: kind, awkward, cute). This settles Mordred's nerves but has the unfortunate side effect of increased teasing. Merlin doesn't let it go to far, he never does, and gives them a distraction before running back to Arthur.

And then magic is brought back to the land and Morgana continues the work of the High Priestesses and helps the rebuilding efforts and they're still adventures and problems, but everyone Lives Happily Ever After

[sehnsuchts-trunken]

I don’t even know why, but I suddenly started wondering about this so now I’m in your asks and it’s a problem for the both of us lol

But anyway, what zodiac signs do you think the Merlin characters have?

YES IM SO HERE FOR THIS I THOUGHT ABOUT IT FOR SOME OF THEM ALREADY OMG

(I need to put a keep reading thing, this got too long-)

So Gwaine's pretty easy because he'd have a fire sun, and ngl a fire or a Scorpio rising (he does look like that lol) and honestly I could very well see him having any and all elements in moon. Basically (btw disclaimer idk if I'll have the patience to do this so detailed for all of them so don't worry) Aries or Leo sun because, that's just him. Like if he's Aries sun I could see him having a Leo moon, but then again I could see him having a Gemini moon, a Sag moon, or maybeeee even an Aquarius moon- that's the thing about not being able to look into his head but I just believe that he's got wild shit going on in his mind and yet none of that would clash with sun too badly, and honestly while I could see him having a fire moon, I just think he'd be suited for an air or a water moon, because like, fire signs are all out and even in moon,,, idk it just doesn't fit that well. So I thinkkkkk I'll be staying with Aries sun, Gemini moon, and Scorpio rising (genuinely don't take my word on rising signs in this, I'm working with the little, little knowledge that I've got about them, it'll take me a long time until I know as much about risings as I do about the other planets because I just completely missed out on that opportunity of studying about them when I was learning the rest for some reason)

+ because I was just reading Taurus, convinced that he's got a Mars Taurus lol

anyway that is the only essay I'll write (hopefully) so you can take a deep breath and not murder me for making this thing 2k words long :)

Percival definitely has a big, big difference between rising and moon lol, but I could see sun and moon being quite similar. honestly could see him having a libra sun, cancer moon and taurus rising. maybe a capricorn rising.

elyan totally has capricorn somewhere there. maybe even twice. could see him having both a gemini and an aquarius moon- idk. he seems like he's so,, in himself?? like he definitely needs a sign that has a huge imagination in moon. could maybe see cancer somewhere there as well but,,, hm. honestly I'd say capricorn sun, gemini moon, and capricorn rising. pisces in jupiter would make sense lol, and I could see him having a taurus mars because of that one episode with the ghost boy

Leon im sure doesn't have too many fire signs, if any, I'd put him in the "air/earth" department tbh. possibly a water moon but I don't think so. this is harder than all the ones before- for what reason lol anyway I'll do this later so let's move on!!

Lancelot is a very water person to me for some reason, maybe throwing in some fire and earth. honestly could see him having both a libra and a sag rising, even though yes I know how different they are lol. genuinely this surprised me to some extent but, I think,,, I may just say cancer sun, pisces moon, and sag rising. or libra???? I want to say sag but it feels wrong. yeah let's go with libra rising, it may just work better. like, basing this on the first ever time we saw him, I just need to put some extroverted, sympathetic sign there, and sags are but then again they can also come across as pretty arrogant and they're impatient asf and no, that's not Lancelot (also libras have those self esteem issues lol)

Merlin very much has a fire moon, and honestly probably a scorpio moon lol, I could see that. cancer rising, and um, air sun. genuinely can imagine him having a Gemini sun, Scorpio moon and cancer rising

Morgana uh, hm, I want to say she has at least two fire signs, one in sun and one in rising, and a water moon. which is me paraphrasing that I think she has a Leo sun, a pisces moon (which is somewhat ironic and I love it) and an Aries rising (I do toooooooo <3 Aries rising is both a blessing and a curse lol)

Gwen has to have water or earth rising, and honestly i think she may just have a water moon. genuinely think her sun could be anything- okay so I may have just changed my mind a bit lol. libra sun, aquarius moon and capricorn rising

okay and I don't know about mordred just yet, not enough, so I'll leave him and come back to Leon lol

honestly coulddddd possibly see him as a taurus rising. there could be aquarius somewhere?? maybe virgo rising though. could be capricorn somewhere too i- uhh. hm. so I'd say he's a Virgo sun, an aquarius moon, and Taurus rising. idk he seems like that kinda person? it's lovely too because omg, virgo and aquarius together lol, I'm so sorry for him

[botanicallyinclinednerd]

The knights as dads:

Elyan:

Always sits with his kids after they wake up from nightmares, reassuring them and rocking them back to sleep

Reads them bed time stories and always does voices for the characters

Forehead kisses his kids a lot

When they are little he swings them around while dancing with them in the candle light of their home, and when they get older, they stand on his feet and dance around with him like that

Makes them presents just because

Fusses over them when they are sick, bringing them soup and cheering them up in anyway he can

Percival:

His kids use him as a jungle gym when they are little and he loves it. He also gives them piggy back rides

When they are small, he would gently toss them in the air and catch them again (he could still do this even when they got older, but they started to object to it so he stopped)

Is scared when they are babies he's going to accidentally hurt them because they are so tiny and he's so big, but of course he never does. He turns into an even bigger softie than usual when he's around his kids. The gentlest giant

I dont know what the medieval equivalent would be, but Percival gives me vibes of a dad that would try to help his kids with their homework and just be so incredibly lost and confused. Especially math.

Is good at calming down his kids from tantrums when they are little and from stress and anxiety attacks when they are older

Leon:

Teaches his kids life skills, how to fight, use a sword, fire a cross bow. If he were to have a daughter and she asked to be taught, he would teach her

He isn't around as often as he'd like due to his position, but whenever he is around, he makes every moment count

When ever one of his kids expresses a new intrest, Leon always listens and learns about it so he can talk to his kids about it and assist them with it if it has a physical aspect to it

His kids know so much about weaponry and the history and process behind weapons because Leon loves talking about that stuff

Is proud of his kids and is sure to tell them so

Reads them bed time stories and tells them some of the tamer knight stories he has

Leon ruffles his kids hair a lot. Its a sign of his affection. Hugs and hair ruffles that sounds like the name of the parenting book he writes and gives to gwaine so he stops coming to him in a panic every other hour

Lancelot:

Lancelot is a funny dad. He cracks dad jokes and puns left and right and breaks into a giant smile whenever his kids laugh at them (and if his friends happen to groan at his jokes, well thats just an added bonus)

He has the energy of "What did mom say?" "No" "then why are you asking me? The answer is still no" while winking at them

Is a confidant for his kids and makes sure they know he is always on their side and there for them

He's a fun dad but is also very aware and concerned for their safety and well being

"I'm not mad. Just disappointed"

Gwaine:

Is the last of the knights to have kids and he is always going to the others for advice, usually in a panic

The other knights are Gwaine's version of a modern day parenting book

Leon is either the most patient or least patient of the knights when it comes to Gwaine's questions, I can't decide

Gwaine is fairly hands on, and I see him as a bit of a helicopter parent. If bubble wrap was a thing, he'd wrap his kids in it

He becomes less reckless about charging into fights after he becomes a dad. He doesn't want his kids to grow up without a father

When they are older, like teenagers, he finally starts to relax more. Regales them with stories, help them get away with mischief. He becomes a cool dad later in life

He has a teasing sassy dynamic with his kids when they get a bit older. Loving insults that Gwaine pretends to get dramatically offended by (the smile gives him away)

He's so proud of them "they are so much smarter than me, look at them"

All of the knights:

They are all incredibly proud of their kids and brag about them all the time

The knights are uncles to each other's kids

Elyan, Percival, Lancelot, and Gwaine all dramatically "die" when they first teach their kids how to sword fight and they land a hit. Leon is much more serious about it and while he heaps on praise, he does not play dead

They get into massive prank wars with alliances. The knights have alliances with each other and they think their kids have the same alliances but they are wrong. It devolves into chaos. Alliances are broken and it becomes a free for all. In the end though, everyone teams up against Gwaine

Shout out to my irl friend Abby for squeeling with me about Dad!Knights and helping me come up with half of these head canons.

[bitsandbobsofwriting]

Precursor apology for the rambling, I just have Thoughts and I’d love to hear your own about them cause I love the way you think and interpret and handle characters. Feel free to ignore this if it doesn’t actually spark any particular thought/discussion (even disagreement) 😅

I’ve had the thought— do you think Merlin ever gets tired of everyone’s well intentions? Someone pushing him to trust people, to reveal or not reveal magic, to focus on his magic to focus on Arthur, to sleep more or eat better, to confide in people, to learn to defend himself? Not just a weary tiredness of “they mean well, but no” but pushed to the point where he starts to feel like everyone acts like they know him, know everything better (and sometimes, yeah, they do, it’s just a matter of perspective/being nagged one too many times), that turns to serious irritation if not resentment of his friends acting like he’s not “perfectly capable and been dealing with this by himself for years damnit.” In reality we know all of this is from genuine concerns but I can’t imagine that being constantly questioned about his capacity to take care of himself wouldn’t cause some sort of conflict (cause in his head being able to deal with the threats and mess and prophecy and moral quandaries is the same thing, though no Merlin, it really isn’t)

I love you!!!

And yes, I'm in total agreement with you.

First, WITH his magic:

He's got Gaius being condescending and spineless in one ear, demanding he use his magic to help Arthur and Uther and Camelot as a whole, telling him not to trust Kilgharrah or Morgana or Mordred or the Druids, whilst simultaneously telling him that Arthur can never know about his magic. The prophecy specifically says they're equals, two sides of the same coin; I understand not telling him at first, but I honestly think a lot of Merlin's fear comes from Gaius. That's got to be annoying, to constantly be underestimated and demanded of by a man who refused to face his King, and withered under his Genocidal insanity. Then he's got the likes of Lancelot and the Druids in his other ear, telling him that everything will work out ok, whilst... not really giving all that much support. I love Lance, I really do, but he really has no concept of the struggles Merlin faces, and is sort of too wrapped up in his infatuation with Gwen and his loyalty to Arthur to worry about anything else. He might be a good shoulder to cry on, but I also think he probably babies Merlin a LOT, which is understandably frustrating. He tries to force him to take time for himself to sleep or eat or just hang out/relax/rest, when Merlin KNOWS that he can't!! He's essentially got three jobs!! And no, Arthur won't lay off if I just ask him nicely (and no, I DON'T need you asking for me), and no, Gaius won't give me no chores for a week, and no, I can't just leave the Druids to deal with big beasty on their own and have a nap, and no, I can't just warn the guards about the assassin and leave them to it. That's not how any of this works. Yes, Lance means well, but his babying and nagging is, though sweet and loving at first, misinformed and condescending and insufferable after a few months/years of it.

And Kilgharrah is a whole other can of worms, what a dick. Demanding Merlin do this and that, not giving him straight answers, pretending to sympathise with Merlin and be his "kin" whilst also betraying him at basically every opportunity. Between him and Gaius, they make sure Merlin is almost completely and utterly alone.

Gaius' "good intentions" definitely come directly from fear, Lancelot's good intentions come from a lack of understanding, and Kilgharrah's "good intentions" come from a need to control Merlin at every turn. And whether Merlin sees any of this clearly or not, it definitely frustrates him. To the point that he stops going to any of them for help, and decides everything is just easier to deal with and manage if he does it solo.

Secondly, regardless of his magic:

Arthur is almost certainly the worst, when it comes to this sort of thing. He displays, every once in a while, an understanding that Merlin is braver and smarter than he gives him credit for, but he never actually treats him like it. It's like he genuinely thinks Merlin is an idiot, and interacts with him as such. He asks Merlin his opinion, and then ignores it most of the time, he never apologises to Merlin when he's hurt or trouble comes BECAUSE he ignored him, and just generally treats him like more of a nuisance. Merlin can deal with that, in fact it's actually kind of helpful for the whole persona, but when Arthur starts actually paying attention and tries to look after Merlin, he finds it both endearing, and incredibly annoying. Firstly, in the way that "you've never done this before, why are you acting like you care now?" and secondly in the way that "you're in the way, it's better when you're oblivious to me because I can get on with things." . Mostly, with Arthur, he just grits his teeth and gets through it, because he doesn't have much of a choice, but I can definitely imagine him snapping, in a small way, eventually "Arthur, I'm not a child, fuck off." or "I'm perfectly capable." or "I've been doing this for ten years, Arthur, I do not need your supervision." whilst normally things like that would be laughed off, he says it with such a tone that everyone in the vicinity is like... immediately taken aback.

With the others, it's mainly the protection. He's a servant, they're knights, it's kind of expected, but it does sort of annoy Merlin when they act like if he gets a papercut he'll die. He gets smacked around a bit by their captors once and they all FREAK out, demanding they take the punishment instead, and he just has to roll his eyes and sneakily free them with magic. He gets picked on by a Noble and they all get bristly and annoyed and it's just... frustrating, because they don't have the first clue how court works, and if they try to protect him, it'll get worse. They try to teach him how to throw a punch, or they start escorting him around town, or they put themselves in danger to rescue him, and he just can't... understand, that it's not JUST because they're underestimating him (which is annoying, but not the main reason), but also because... they love him?? They want him to be ok?? He has complicated thoughts about that because, first off, these people have no right to love him when they don't know him, and second off, everything was so much easier when people didn't notice him.

and AFTER the magic reveal?

Depending on the nature of the reveal, it arguably gets worse once they find out about his magic. They all automatically think he's weak and not that great at magic, and are always trying to get him to save his energy or train more or whatever. When someone against the repeal starts with him, they all jump in with weak, emotional arguments, which are all mostly factually incorrect, and just kind of condescending and infantilising. Then it's all "I don't need you to fight for me, not when I've been dealing with this my whole life." and "Actually, Sir Leon, you'd be wrong about that..." with a scowl and a stiff back. Even when he tells them he's powerful it's all "I'm sure you are, Merlin. Not like you've not used it for ten years." with rolled eyes and a smirk, until he goes fuck it, and shows off in a BIG way. Only then would they back off a bit, and even then... Merlin still has to glare at them or interrupt them or grit his teeth through it when they needlessly jump to his defence sometimes.

I guess it doesn’t help that he’s one of the babies of the group. I always see Mordred as the youngest, then Merlin, Elyan, and Arthur, then Gwen (I see Gwen as like... maybe two or three years older than Merlin?), then a fairly sizable gap (maybe 5-10 years?) followed by Percival and Lancelot, then Leon and Gwaine (who are, I’d say, up to five years older than Percy and Lance). But also this is all up to interpretation.

ANON I LOVE YOU THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! I HOPE THIS ANSWERS YOUR ASK SUFFICIENTLY!! :D