#Merlin's staff

[casually-eat-my-soul]

I know how the Merlin fandom makes jokes about George, like how Merlin doesn’t like him, and he doesn’t like Merlin, especially how they dressed him to look like Merlin but picture this:

George dressed like that because because he actually likes Merlin. He thinks Merlin is an Icon. He saw Merlin talk shit about Arthur and was like “I’m going to worship this man until I die”

I just think it would be funny in fics if he and Merlin were friends. George straight up lying to Arthur, covering for Merlin when he need to do magic things.

Arthur: “MER LIN — George have you seen my manservant anywhere”

*cue explosion in the background”

George, who help Merlin sneak out: who is Merlin, never heard of a Merlin

I just think it would be funny

[fluffypotatey]

I find it deeply aesthetically pleasing, character-wise, that Arthur and Merlin are both very much like their mothers, which is especially meaningful in Arthur's case since he's never known his mother beyond a single painfully brief meeting in "Sins of the Father."

Not only does Arthur look like Ygraine (which adds several layers to the clusterfuck of his and Uther's relationship) but it's clear that he takes after her temperament, too. Yes, he sometimes shows his father's temper, and yes, he does stupid things when he's in a temper, but unlike Uther, who literally took his prejudices to his grave and beyond, Arthur never stays mad at people, and he's overall a far more caring and kind person than his father, which is an interesting case of nature vs nurture.

And then on the other hand, we have Hunith, who told a mounted, armed brigand to go fuck himself, later fought another (also armed) brigand with a twig broom, harboured fugitives on multiple occasions, and raised an illegal magic child out of wedlock, and Merlin "Fuck the Police" Ambrosius, who got in a fistfight, got thrown in jail for the fistfight, called the prince a bitch to his face in a public market square, got in a second, armed fight all within his first 48 hours in Camelot, and then committed treason on a daily basis for the next 10+ years, compared to Balinor, who became a weird antisocial hermit that lived in a cave for twenty years.

couldn't have said it better myself bestie

also, there's a reason hunith and ygraine never met in the show. their dynamic duo would outshine everyone, they'd be unstoppable, untouchable, I FEEL ROBBED

[trollhunters-eldritch-princess]

i love how much needless sacrifice is such a constant theme within tales of arcadia.

[groundbreakingdot872]

but what if when Merlin becomes inducted as Court Sorcerer under Gwen’s rule, all the Camelot staff tell him they’d actually known all along…

And what if!! they’re all wiping away tears at the ceremony, proud smiles on their faces WHAT THEN

[whynotreinventmyselfeveryday]

I know we all talk about how it’s a wonder merlin wasn’t found out but he really is such an unsubtle motherfucker

[tattoosifuckinglove]

[many-gay-magpies]

come to think of it, tales of arcadia and bbc merlin would make a disturbingly fitting crossover.

[pinterest-staff]

@my-destiny-my-chicken so true bestie

[icecreamkink]

uther is paranoid abt magic but the most fairy looking mfers show up in his castle and he's like sure stay a while

[benetnvsch]

Finally made myself a Carrd (half bc I feel left out bc everyone else has cool ones and half just to see if I could LMAO) and all of all things it's merlin themed -

I planned on making it themed to characters I've been more recently Brainrotting over but put in a place holder merlin icon just while I was setting things up and then?? I grew attached and planned the whole theme around him smh this is what he would have wanted I walked right into it huh </3

[fluffypotatey]

Back on my "Dragonlords with dragon traits" bullshit and man. Imagine if they had eyeshine. It's caused by a reflective layer of tissue in the eye, called the tapetum lucidum, which is how nocturnal animals see in the dark. (Best example is how a cat's eyes glow when you shine a light at them.) It's not noticeable under normal circumstances because they're usually around other people in the daytime, or if it's dark, there's usually torches, a fire, some kind of light source that'll hide it.

But imagine being on night watch, coming around the corner in a dark corridor, and all you see is a pair of eyes shining in the dark at you like

And you almost fucking shit yourself, but then you hold out your torch and it's Merlin. Just Merlin. The servant with the silly ears and stupid scarf. That's all. Right?

ok so imagine:

You're a guard on the nightwatch. It's your first time here. Typically, you would be tasked with patrolling the second floor courtyard during the day but there weren't enough guards for the nightwatch (too many prisoners escaping and whatnot), and staffing chose you because you were new to the castle anyways.

So, it's your first day on the job. You're partnered with one of the seasoned guards. He's a little strange. Always snacking, always giving you furtive glances with a sly smirk. You really want to knock him off his socks, but the job comes first (unfortunately).

After hours of silently contemplating whether it'd be worth the loss of another job by hitting your companion right in his smug face, the two of you hear a loud crash near the kitchens. You can't tell if you're relieved or disappointed by the distraction, but both you and your companion investigate the noise.

"Who's there?" you shout.

Your companion smacks the back of your head.

"Yeah, great going there, now they know where we are and could kill us!"

Such a paranoid watchman, you think to yourself.

No one responds to your shout, but there's some shuffling and a shadow appears near the torchlight. Despite your companion's protests, you move quickly to the shadow and find--

"Merlin?"

The servant freezes, sighs, and turns around grumbling about something or whatever (you don't care enough to listen). He lifts his head up to the hallway's ceiling, praying (you bet) that maybe this night ends quickly. When he brings his head back, you yourself freeze as you are met with red-like eyes flashing right at you.

"Uh..."

"Again, Merlin?" says your companion. "You said you were done with stealing the pastries during the night."

Merlin gives your companion a sheepish look and turns away almost like a little kid caught stealing cookies from the jar. You can't help but notice that his eyes are no longer that strange reflective look now. They reminded you a little of a cat or an owl or...anything that doesn't resemble a human.

"Yeah, I know," Merlin says with that soft smile of his. You forget why the servant had unnerved you in the first place. "Old habits, ya know?"

"I understand." Your companion nods then grabs you by the arm. "Well, I guess we'll just leave you with a warning then! Remember to be careful on your way back to bed. I heard there's a monster prowling about."

Merlin gives a nod in response with a blinding smile. Again, his eyes give that same reflective look like an animal's would. You can't help to flinch.

The two of you walk away from the kitchen (more of, your companion drags you but semantics). You're still a little unnerved from what you saw that you don't even pay attention to where you're being dragged to until you arrive back where patrols began.

"What's-"

"You saw nothing."

You blink, surprised at your companion. He's clutching your arms very tightly, looking right at you (too close, if you're being honest).

"Merlin," he says slowly, "was just getting a night snack, right?"

"Right."

"You saw nothing strange."

You open your mouth to protest or maybe question why this should matter. Or maybe why Merlin's eyes were so strange. But he cuts you off shaking you a little.

"You saw nothing!"

Feeling a little delirious, but thoroughly shaken, you nod. You're beginning to piece together why the guard is doing this, but not everything is there. Yet.

"I saw nothing."

[livvyofthelake]

“it doesn’t add up” “it’s not a triangle pythagoras it doesn’t have to add up” slay richard!

[godofstory]

why is Merlin trending and where did the messages go😭

[maleficarlife]

Bioware releasing items pack for mages in DA2 be like

Bioware: Here is your dad old staff with andraste nude on it! And his old mercenary robes and even the old orlesian outfit he wore at a ball when he slipped in to see your mom! Isn't it sweet how all those family items stayed in your cantina up to now?

Also Bioware: Oh and here we also have Freedom's Promise, a staff that once belonged to a legendary mage advisor of Calenhad The Great. How your dad has it? F if we know!

[ofglories]

“NO” / Caster Arthur ( look he has to protect him son- )

|| A meme that tumblr apparently ate since it's impossible for me to find

It all happened too quickly for Arthur to fully process.

What had been a normal lesson with him balancing on a fallen log while Merlin spoke swiftly changed for the worse. One moment the boy had been laughing at something his teacher had to say, the next he was blinking stars out of his eyes, staring up in confusion at Merlin hovering over him. Then, something wet fell on his cheek, drawing jade green eyes towards Merlin's shoulder where they grew wide in shock. Arrows, several of them from what he could see, peppering his foster father's shoulder and back.

His breathing picked up, hands beginning to tingle uncomfortably.

"M...Merlin...?"

Arthur shoved himself from the ground, pushing Merlin back as gently as he could, shuddering at the feeling of the man's blood on his hands. It didn't feel like human blood any more than it looked like it at all, but it was still blood. Still something that belonged inside. A quick scan and... there. The men who shot his teacher, had seemingly been aiming for him.

They were still carrying their bows, though they were tossing them aside now as they approached.

The setting sun glinted oddly on their crimson mail, a vaguely familiar crest on each of the trio's right pauldrons.

His hands burned hotter, everything growing muted oddly in his ears while, at the same time, grew brighter and brighter in his eyes. There was something wrong, but Arthur didn't care. Whatever it was, he could deal with it later, he decided, even as the oak of his staff creaked ominously in his clenched hands as he stood. Facing the men, the knights, the boy raised it to point at them in warning. It wasn't deserved, of course. But he had to give them a chance to walk away on their own first.

"G-Go away. Leave!"

"Look at that, the boy's practically the spitting image of him," one of the men laughed, still approaching.

"Almost. More like a scrawny little cat than a dragon, I'd say," another responded. The third stayed silent, pulling a rope from the pouch at his belt and...

Arthur didn't know what happened next.

Later he would remember yelling at them to leave one more time. Would remember striking the ground with his staff with only a wordless desire to scare them away running through his mind. The oak shattering in a burst of light was something he only knew from the splinters in his hands later. But the golden light that filled his eyes, filled the air with color and an echoing roar that had the men screaming before the light engulfed them?

That he only knew from Merlin's account later.

Much later, after Arthur was busy fretting about his broken staff.

[achyrov71]

The Life and Death of a Soothsayer

Once upon a time, in a town not too far from the edge of reality, there lived a woman named Olga Petronova, a fortune teller of considerable reputation. She could predict everything from winning numbers in the lottery to the date of her next haircut. But, as fate would have it, Olga was completely unable to foresee her own future. On one particularly stormy Tuesday, which Olga was assured would…