#UNDER my actual mordred posts too..

[knightofmordred]

ppl in the tags of my posts saying they hate mordred

[prue84]

The Current and Future Pendragons

Fandom: BBC’s Merlin (canon divergence, post-canon) AU AU: The Royal Husbands (Aithusa Pendragon)

High King Arthur Pendragon and the royal family of Camelot.

AU in which a series of canon divergences lead to Arthur surviving the mortal wound inflicted him by Mordred at Camlann and, with the help of Merlin who then becomes his Prince Consort, bringing the golden age foretold by the prophecies.

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Manip planned few years ago, but started on the prompt of @tavernfest​. It's all @papysanzo's fault on Tumblr for reblogging the May round. Also @merthurotica​, but their post on my RSS feed turned up later.

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More about the AU under the cut and also at the AU edit. (More fanworks from this AU at the links above) (All rambles and how this manip was made under the cut. Please suffer with me.)

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Arthur Pendragon, king of Camelot and High King of Albion. He successfully reunited the lands as the prophecies said, and also brought back magic. Few years after the victory of Camlann he married Merlin, who has become prince consort and second ruler of the kingdom. But, since unfortunately Merlin might be many things, but a woman with a womb he's not, Arthur (with Merlin) had to find a way to conceive a heir while being married to a man. Cue in Mithian, crown princess of Nemeth, equally saddled with the duty to give the throne a heir but uninterested in finding a husband trustful enough to sit at her side without potentially become a danger to her right to the throne. Together, the three of them reach an agreement that satisfies them all and they've been tight-close since. Their peculiar settlement initially was met with confusion and diffidence, but Mithian earned herself the thrust of everyone, and eventually the title of Queen of Camelot, third in line after Merlin. Peter is the first born of this union and rightful heir to the throne of Camelot. He's a talented swordsman but he suffered through all his teen years because of the never-ending comparisons with his warrior father who is on another fighting level. With age he learned to accept that he'll never be a war king and nobody ever asked him to become one either. He isn't his father, his name isn't part of legends or prophecies; he wasn't born to unite Albion but to keep it united once the Age of the Once and Future King sees its dawn. He will be a good and fair king for the peaceful times of the golden age, and his duty will be to make sure all his father - and his father's husband - sacrifices won't be wasted, that what they built is preserved. Susan was conceived because Mithian wanted both a heir for her to entrust Nemeth and a daughter. She's stubborn and strong but also capable of great empathy and kindness, as her mother and the Pendragon women (when they not meet High Priestesses who manipulate them). She's a formidable archer. Handsome Caspian, the son of Gwaine and Lady Vivian, is courting her and she welcomes this game, but Susan is enjoying too much her freedom to settle for a marriage and a family of her own. She has time though. Aithusa is the cute, small thing of the family, although she's actually the oldest of the new Pendragon generation - not counting the centuries spent in the egg that make her older than the castle of Camelot itself. As per usual with the dragon race, Aithusa's growth is stunned by her remaining with her parents. Only by being left on their own to tend to themselves, a dragonling is forced to grow. Thus, despite she was hatched on the dawn of the golden age, before Arthur married Mithian, she's still a dragonling that can fit Arthur's shoulders - her second favorite spot after the sling she made Arthur wear for years under his shirt. She learned the human language and can talk with her half-dragon impaired siblings Peter and Susan, but her speech pattern still needs some work. She doesn't care though. She's not so eager to leave the nest.

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Aithusa, (officially the ward of the king, unofficially considered by anyone in the court his scales-covered, flame-breathing daughter) is actually the eldest, since she was the first to come to the family. So yes, she's the older sibling. Make of this knowledge what you want. She also is firm that Arthur is a dragon, just one kind that looks like humans. But he's totally dragon. And if he doesn't breath fire or doesn't understand the dragon language, is all Uther's fault who didn't teach him his dragon gifts. Since Arthur is clearly a dragon, while Mithian sadly isn't, Peter and Susan are to her half-dragons. She still claims that it's because of the half human blood in their veins that they are impaired and don't have any dragon skill.

There's a fanfic for Aithusa as the (still only) daughter of the royal husbands during Father's Day, if you're interested.

When the time comes, and Arthur retires to Avalon to sleep, Peter will ascend as new king of Camelot, whose court will be moved to the renovated Castle of the Old Kings (or a new castle - still have to decide on this). Susan will succeed to Mithian on the throne of Nemeth. Aithusa will inherit the nest itself, the castle of Camelot, to own and protect until Merlin will be ready to make use of it.

I decided that Caspian would be Gwaine's (and Vivian's) son out of looks alone, and out of a (wrong) belief that he was meant to be Susan's love in Narnia. I never watched the second movie, and by the time I finally read the books, I didn't want to change it. For the same reason, I don't have a woman for Peter. A potential daughter of Gwen and Lancelot wouldn't be bad, but not necessary. (The AU idea ends with Arthur's travel to Avalon for his sleep and a mention of Peter moving the court to another castle, to then a time skip focusing on Merlin, so I didn't really focus on Peter's or Susan's life.)

While I'm writing this I wondered if Merlin wouldn't want to have a child so to kickstart the dragonlords kind (although, unless Magic changes its rules, the child would never inherit the dragonlord powers, since Merlin doesn't die). It never occurred to me before. I'm not sure he'd feel like having children, if he already knew that he would be immortal and he would then be forced to see his children grow old and frail and then die. But who knows. He could have one or more with Mithian, especially once Arthur is gone to Avalon. In case, Edward Pensive is there for the picking. Also Lucy.

About the AU When Lancelot is sent sent back to the world of the livings after he sacrificed himself to close the Veil, Gwen realizes that, between the two boys she loves, a relationship with a knight of humble origins has better chances than the one with a king that comes with a throne and a heavy kingdom, and so she picks Lancelot over Arthur. Arthur, who has given his blessing to the couple, doesn't find the time nor interest to find himself a wife and he's still a golden bachelor by the time Camlann happens. Merlin manages to save him and they eventually acknowledge their feelings. The Court backs Arthur's wish to marry a male servant on the premise that Arthur will pick a woman to give the kingdom a heir. And here comes Mithian, who might be more interested in women, so Camelot and Nemeth can make an agreement that will make both households happy. Since Mithian is wonderful, and fondness between her and the Royal Couple of Camelot grows, she's eventually given the title of Queen of Camelot, third in line after the King and the Prince Consort. Arthur and Mithian will have two children, the first born a male who will inherit Camelot and the second a daughter that will inherit Nemeth.

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Tec stuffs (aka Behind The Manip) Both a challenge and a nightmare. The original picture is four people. I needed five. Now, onto the specific characters - in order of making. Mithian, who had to be moved to make space for Merlin, was surprisingly easy to make. I wished to delete the lions on the dress, and replace them with either the Pendragon dragon or the Nemeth bull, but it was too much even for me, so I gave up. Removing them altogether felt odd - the dress is black with little movement, and without the lions it felt just one blotch of black. Susan. I'm not satisfied. The actress picture was perfect in pose but it has something in colors/lights that makes it stand out and look a bit more fake. Whatever. Peter. It took me a while to find the picture that would fit the body. Initially I kept the original body's curly hair, for I didn't feel like William Moseley's hairstyle would acceptable in a Medieval setting. But then I changed my mind, and remade it. He might be a bit too stocky for my liking but the body is that and making him less bulkier is out of option. On the chest the costume featured a cross: I erased it to be replaced it with the Pendragon dragon in the same style. Quite proud of how that turned out. Can't say the same for the sword. Yes, Arthur's son has a name sword which is coincidentally the sword of Peter Pensive. But the change was a given. Merlin was one challenge. I planned to use another body for his (the same king from Vikings but with another costume) but the picture just didn't work out. The one I chose... featured the man from the knees above. Which meant reconstruction for legs (which meant stealing the legs from Arthur's base - coincidentally it's always the same character!)... and the cloak. That was the true challenge! Also. I like how it turned out, but it just irks me that Colin doesn't look in the camera. But that picture was perfect and the result is fine. It did take me some tinkering to place the circlet but all in all I'm satisfied in how prince Merlin turned out. Bonus point for my headcanon marriage ring that didn't look good (the manip is too small for decent rings renderings), but I managed to add another from a jewelry maker that does rings in a style very similar to Ygraine's canon ring. Be sure to visit their Etsy and die. Ygraine's sigil, that replace the medallion the original body was wearing, is a given as well. Too bad we don't have a decent prop pic of it. Now. Arthur. Bloody Arthur. Tinkering with the original body to change colors from blue to red was funny. The rest NOT. Replacing the original sword with Excalibur, which was mandatory, gave a mild result. Ygraine's ring is there but, given the small size, isn't looking good enough. And those were the easy things! Because then it came the time to place bearded Bradley. Now. We do have few nice bearded Bradley pics, courtesy of the man himself, but they were mostly too small to work with in this manip - and/or in poses that wouldn't fit the body. You might say: there's Vikings: Valhalla. No, my friend. I downloaded ALL the screencaps available and very few worked, and - given the costume the character wears, there was never a inch of Bradley's bearded neck. In the end I worked with one of the pics Bradley released on Instagram. A pic with a black background in which bear and hair blended in. And an hard shadow on the right side of the face. A nightmare to cut, a nightmare to fix. And then the crown. The crown comes from The Hollow Crown. It looks similar but it isn't the same refurbished prop (different decorations, slightly different proportions of the fleur-de-lis). Years ago, when I saw the pics, I decided this would be older!Arthur's crown, for it's more regal with its fake gems and golden coating. There wasn't a pic with the proper perspective, so I had to tweak it a bit. It doesn't look awful, mind me, but I feel something's off with how it's placed on Bradley's head. I can't tell what, though - I used one of Arthur's coronation pics as reference while working, but still I can't fix what's wrong. In hindsight I wonder if I should've used a crowned Arthur pic with the original crown and be done with it. And then Aithusa. We literally have two pics of her, unless you want to work with night/dark screencaps. I knew where I wanted to have her, no idea how to. Still not happy. Does she looks fake? Yes. But at this time I just gave up. Whatever. (Besides, the other options didn't work. Her standing promo pic at Arthur's feet? Her fore legs are in a different perspective. Her standing promo pic on Arthur's shoulders? There was enough space, her head would be cut out from the picture and there was no way to extend the base pic by 50px, that specific background is a bitch to work with).

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Credits

1. + 18. Vikings, season 4 promo pictures. ( farfarawaysite.com/section/vikings/gallery4/gallery21/gallery.htm ) 2. Janet Montgomery from Salem, season 1 promo picture. ( farfarawaysite.com/section/salem/gallery1/gallery14/gallery.htm ) 3. Anna Popplewell from Reign, season 1 promo picture. ( farfarawaysite.com/section/reign/gallery1/gallery1/gallery.htm ) 4. Vikings, season 2 promo picture. ( farfarawaysite.com/section/vikings/gallery2/gallery1/gallery.htm ) 5. Colin Morgan from We Hunt Together. ( farfarawaysite.com/merlin/actors/colin/filmtv3/gallery.htm ) 6. The Hollow Crown, season 1 - Henry V. ( farfarawaysite.com/section/hollow/gallery1/gallery3/gallery.htm ) 7. Merlin, deleted scene - screencap. (Merlin's Keep at Far Far Away) 8. Spinner ring by artisanlook on Etsy. ( etsy.com/listing/462981991/spinner-ring-ruby-ring-silver-band ) 9. William Moseley from Bonnie Paul's 'It Was Love, Now It's War' Music Video photoshoot. ( justjared.com/photo-gallery/2650927/william-moseley-bonnie-paul-it-was-love-now-its-war-01 ) 10 + 11. The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian original prop (Peter’s sword and scabbard). ( uk.propstoreauction.com/view-auctions/catalog/id/78/lot/18159 ) 12. Merlin, original prop. (Merlin's Keep at Far Far Away) 13. Bradley James, photoshoot by Jose Palma (2021). ( instagram.com/p/CVvMc_AMC8m ) 14. Merlin, season 2 promo picture. (Merlin's Keep at Far Far Away) 15. The Hollow Crown, season 1 - Henry VI. ( farfarawaysite.com/section/hollow/gallery2/gallery2/gallery.htm ) 16. Bradley James from Vikings: Valhalla, 2x06 - screencap. ( kissthemgoodbye.net/PeriodDrama/index.php?cat=510 ) 17. Merlin, 4x11 - screencap. ( kissthemgoodbye.net/merlin/index.php ) 19 + 20. Merlin, creature picture. (Merlin's Keep at Far Far Away)

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Crossposted Livejournal: prue84.livejournal.com/97890.html Dreamwidth: prue84.dreamwidth.org/89442.html Deviantart: deviantart.com/prue84/art/The-Current-and-Future-Pendragons-964446326

[gertritude]

I binged🏴‍☠️ hazbo hotel like an hour ago and the songs and voice talent are insane. They carry the show. I especially liked the ones with alistor. Maybe I'm cringe but I find him very fun

There are nitpicks I have with it but overall I didn't find it too bad except for the horrendous pacing and way too many characters. Slow the fuck down

The post I accidentally deleted was actually about the poor pacing - specifically, I was a little peeved at people who excused it because "they might not get another season!" Like, if you're only getting eight episodes.... Then I'm sorry, but you're gonna have to start cutting plotlines and characters. I'm so extremely baffled by the decision to include what seemed to be every idea the creator ever had for the series in one season. Is it because they decided to have it be canon with the pilot, while also not including the pilot with the season and just kind of assuming you watched it...????

Also anon I am so sorry but alastor is the character that works the least for me. The writers want u to think he is so cool and scary and badass but he isn't. He's like if Jeff the killer and fandom bill cipher had a baby. One of my least favorite character archetypes/personalities in general. His design is terrible. Sexymancore but no sexy. The writers made him associated with voodoo solely because they thought it was spooky and it pissed off every actual practitioner of the religion. As if that all wasn't enough, he even has an undercut under that fuckass bob. I think his voice is cool and the general concept of "old timey radio demon who hates modern tech" is good, but these are the only bones I can throw him. Why does he have to be in two of the really good songs. My OC Mordred would kin him that is how goofy he is to me

[comical-icicle]

how did nh pull bard just wondering?

I tried to find it somewhere but nada

Probably because I haven’t posted anything about that.

It is a great question and I have thought about it before (briefly). I don’t really delve into romance that often and the ship was more spontaneous of ‘what would they be like together?’ Like at first I was trying to come up with a reason to ship them, as if it would be checked (?), but eventually threw that out the window and rolled with the spontaneous ship for just the vibes they have. Hence why there’s nothing really about how they got together originally. Also because I wasn’t very confident about it at first.

But now that I have more confidence in this ship, I’m actually a little excited to talk about it, even if it isn’t set in stone and I may change it. I just have thoughts right now and being encouraged to talk about it I am hyped.

Under a read more just so main tags don’t have to deal with my nonsense. I’ll give them that.

I’ll try to make this as simple as I can, so a lot of stuff will be left out. I’m just going to cover the tipping point that will get them to hang out with each other more. So… if this isn’t what you wanted, sorry, that’s what I got.

The catalyst would definitely be super villain island so… thank you Zeus? At least in terms of Nervous Heart actually talking with Mordred without being too stressed out. Considering the start of the dream is about being trapped in a room and how she knows they’re located in erehwon prison, it’s a familiar feeling and she doesn’t like it. BUT ANYWAY, it’s not the worst when someone else is there.

Being able to go into bard’s dream and just chat with Mordred for a while? Yeah, seeing him actually in front of her, even if it’s only a dream, was a major reminder that bard is a person that has more thoughts to them than just taking over the universe. That didn’t help the fight in the dream where she actually gets the totem which she thinks will help bard be not evil. The guilt would be eating at her continuously. Then it turns out that Zeus was manipulating her the entire time, not helping the guilt as now it was for nothing. And now villains are loose and she’s got Zeus to deal with so she doesn’t have time to process it before she heads off to kick Zeus’ ass thanks to Poseidon.

Now uh, I do think that bard finds out about the fight because I think with the whole islands being destroyed, it would have been a big deal that covered several islands, and that’s kind of what makes them interested in seeking out Nervous Heart again, not because of any heroics but because a mortal fought a god- the king of gods no less- and won? How?? Details??? Especially because I think bard has the ‘how does this work?’ mindset, whether it be electronics or events. They just have to know more. Nervous Heart feels too guilty about causing the whole thing to really reject, which Bard does catch onto and uses to their advantage for a bit (resentment for being defeated both in their dream and in life most likely) before they stop doing that because it started to not feel good.

Uh… hopefully this answers your question? This could make sense or it could be nonsense rambling. I don’t know. Again I am filled with thoughts after being prompted, but I didn’t want to make this too long so I tried not to get too caught up with specifics. I didn’t want to overexplain in case that this isn’t what you mean or you wanted me to refer to something else. I’m not sure!

But uh… yeah, thank you for letting me think about these idiots, even if my thoughts are all over the place! I didn’t want to take up too much in the case that it was too much.

[pangolen]

merlin liveblog tag quarantine post

edit: hit tag limit and got onto desktop to make it a readmore instead

tags were:

#merlin you are so FUCKING stupid

#the camera zooming everywhere is so good

#arthur and morgana have such incredible sibling energy even from the start #also i want the afanc to be some guy in a suit so bad #ALSO imagine if arthur had known about merlin's magic starting from this ep #i'm p sure that's not the case tho but i mean. i never actually finished watching the series

#i bet there's fanart somewhere of bird!merlin and bear!arthur. somewhere #i'm not gonna go look for it tho

#merlin truly causes as many problems as he solves

#gaius: you're being mature. too mature. suspicious.

#ugh gwen please don't be into merlin you can do so much better #also merlin do better @ falsifying documents #also uther is so frustrating. mr head it's a joy to see you but jesus christ

#gwen truly gets paired with Everyone and actually you know what good for her

#haha lancelot has a lance now

#merlin you're so fucking bad at hiding your magic it's insane you don't get caught by anyone who would hate you for it

#'the law is the law' uther you're literally the king

#how old are merlin and arthur supposed to be anyway

#AH! beetle episode #also probly once i'm done watching all this #i'll try rereading that longass fic i have in my bookmarks #one of the five million time travel fics in this fandom

#adhd KING #it's time for merlin to Touch Everything!

#god this is such a cheap plot it's painful

#oh ok so arthur is 25 or around that age #good to know #so was his actor! neat! #then can we also extrapolate merlin's age as 22ish or is that wishful thinking

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anyway uther continues to be frustrating. they should just let the beetle kill him.

oh also as long as we're extrapolating ages, that would make gwen about 28 and morgana a mystery because mcgrath's dob isn't on wikipedia so it's impossible to know. i also can't remember if morgana is supposed to be older or younger than arthur. oh well!

i want to ruffle merlin's hair

oh these are the lake fairies or whatever right

i am bundling morgana up in a blanket and holding her close. she needs COMFORT she needs someone who BELIEVES her!!!!!!!

merlin is truly too good of a friend

it is kinda sweet actually that arthur trusts merlin so much that he can even struggle under an enchantment forcing him to believe someone else over him 🥺

(i'm such a sucker for soulmates you guys)

THE THING IS... i think this early on arthur would have been willing to keep merlin's magic a secret, if it came out in the right way. like yeah he'd feel betrayed and conflicted but once he cooled down like. it would become pretty obvious that merlin has been using it to help him. and probably save his life on multiple occasions, even only this far into the series. ughhhhhh

GROANS mordred episode......... makes morgana's villain arc so much more annoying later........ like hey! look at all this compassion she has!! haha yeah. so anyway morgana is evil now and only cares about how she's technically a rightful heir to the throne <3

ajsvdjsvdjd "what if magic isn't something you choose... what if it chooses you..." rly love that the first episode is like "people have to actively choose to learn magic otherwise they can't do it" and at this point it's "actually magic is innate"

idk man if a dragon told me i had some great destiny i would suspect it of trying to sell me something. no matter how big and cool the dragon was and even if it sounded super wise and spoke in riddles. strange women lying in ponds distributing swords etc.

damn dude that's your DAUGHTER where's ur fucking heart. #1 worst dad award

yeah merlin just throw it in a lake. it's a good thing no mortal man knows how to SWIM.

merlin really should've come clean in this episode (moment of truth). destiny or not this is probably the safest time to do so. like merlin you KNOW worst case scenario, arthur leaves you behind in the village. best case scenario, he accepts you fully and swears to keep your secret and respects you more, AND you get to use your innate talents to help your home village. ugh

like he DOES get to use magic but someone else covers for him. it's stupid. and the ending is supposed to be like "see it's better he doesn't tell arthur" but like. is it. is it worth it for another 5 seasons of hiding and pretending he can't do incredible things. that doesn't have to be the crux of the series

hedge maze episode i guess

if i ever see someone portray morgana as keeper of the brain cell i will fling myself into the fires of hell. she's JUST as impulsive as merlin and causes just as many problems.

tho admittedly gwen is probably more likely to be assigned Brain Cell Keeper. but she's so likely to go along with what the others come up with i don't think that's a fair assessment of her either

merlin just let uther die already jeez

also you should visit the dragon sometimes just to talk. why is it always "i need your help" "i need your advice"? it's never "hey do you want company". also lmao @ merlin asking for help to protect uther

"arthur's not ready" damn that sucks. can it be any worse than uther tho? (ok probably)

also GOD uther is SO READY to trust in morgana's intentions even tho she's consistently proven herself to be manipulative and more than willing to go against him when she disagrees with him on something. like yeah i meant what i said earlier about her being compassionate but she is also manipulative & selfish and it's incredibly stupid for uther to trust her

"that would make me as bad as him" ok gwen i guess but like. imo you could kill multiple people before you were anywhere near as bad as uther

"your father was the greatest man i've ever known" and so you fucked his wife lmao okay

"i know i'm not an easy man" LMAO

oh he regrets it that means it's fine then alls forgiven

oh rip merlin. it was a nice run

man. merlin's little brother energy is truly off the charts

ok season finale let's go

MAN. i love this monster it's so fucking cool

SIGHS. UTHER.

hey why DID he take merlin to go fight the questing beast. as far as he knows merlin is a clumsy servant with limited fighting ability

i mean it's GOOD that he brought him but still.

i thought arthur was scratched, not bitten?

yeah that was definitely a scratch. maybe it's another case of the cgi not matching the script

i don't remember who dies in arthur's place. hunith? it wasn't gaius, right? (was it???) w/e i'm stopping after this i think regardless

shcsjdvdjdvd is he going to carry that rainwater all the way h--oh nvm it's Water Which Has Been In The Cup not, drinking directly from the cup. anyway i think gaius is going to die. i feel like i should remember this

could you imagine if merlin actually died from this lmao. welp that's the show! roll credits!

is this show implying that merlin was kept safe because he had the rabbits foot

oh i guess it was hunith then ok. rip. narratively gaius would've been more impactful.

ah. THIS is why i couldn't remember who died alright

thinking about that art where two people keep working their way around the other to protect them from a bullet or whatever

merlin is going into the avatar state now

also i think killing nimueh should count here and let gaius live—ah

oh okay. so no one we care about died then. okay.

this show is so fucking stupid

lmao dragons pissed

yeah okay that's enough of that. liveblog done!!!!!!!!

[cosmik-homo]

For some reason I literally cannot find the post where I talked about my rewrite of The Hanged Man Rusts so Brian actually explains the trans thing and still gets rejected by Arthur but I am once again thinking about it.

'But that's the Means-Before-Ends mode'- well ever in a moralistic and not utilitarian system of morality I think explaining Mordred is trans is The Better Thing Brian would do, not only because explaining more clearly he is alive will help in the Good Deeds of relieving Arthur's grief, but because as a trans person the idea that mentioning a person has changed their gender from the one assigned at birth is morally wrong and taboo enough for a robot that prefers to Do No Harm to abstain from it at the price of an entire planets life is kind of insulting to me?

It's too much like how conservatives try to sweep queer identities under the carpet in Polite Company, and besides, even from an ally standpoint...

There is nothing wrong with being trans, and while outing is an issue and is not ok, it is not objectively horrendous to discuss a trans person's agab or transition.

that kind of thinking stems from and helps uphold the idea that trans people universally aspire to be seen as Cis People Of Their Target Gender and to let no one know of their transness- it's the same harmful idea that leads to the prevalence of empahsizing passing instead of normalizing trans bodies.

There's nothing objectively wrong with a trans character in a narrative having some of their struggles relate to their gender or due to dealing with cisnormativity/transphobia, but since the mechanisms are, well, the mechanisms, they're trying to make queer normative stories, and in this story specifically, I am a little bit disappointed of it- because in my opinion, and even tho I think Arthur would have dismissed Merlin anyways, the narrative and wording sort of frames it like The Prophecy Is Not Getting Through and the basis for a happier ending is failing because of Mordred's gender change- if he were not trans, and Brian just sang of the return of a daughter, the narrative doesn't say what would Arthur say, right? The key to the tragedy here is presented as the miscommunication, instead of it being Two Factions Not Seeking Out Each Other, Despite Mordred's Attempts. I actually feel like I would prefer, if any trans struggle, a straight up 'mordred faces transphobia' variant to this round about 'my robot tried to be A Good Non-Outing Ally And Look Where It Got Us' variant.

Specifically I think "I Would Rather Not Mention About This Aspect Of This Person Because It Could Be Impolite To Acknowledge, even if it harms the efficiency of my request that you support this person" really rubs me the wrong way due to my experiences of Ableism that operates like this. Amongst abled people, they consider calling someone disabled a value judgement of them or an insult (incorrect, obviously), and sometimes their attempts of dancing around actively mentioning a person's disability can do great harm and great delay or barrier when it comes to the conversation of giving that person accommodation. Mordred is trans, and no longer Arthur's daughter, despite being at one point known in that way- and there is no need to sugarcoat or gloss over that fact, because in a queer-normative future, i would expect understanding that trans genders are valid and true as much as their cis counterparts- that manhood that is SPECIFICALLY TRANS is just as real as cis manhood, and being trans does not detract from it. the fact that a gender identity is transitioned into rather than born in does not make it any more fragile- Mordred's having-been-a-daughter does not make his manhood less valid, so there is nothing harmful in explaining it, and it's ok for a Means Over End robot's morals.

And again, this story is not that much about Brian's Means-Justify-Ends/Ends-Justify-Means modes and their ethical choices! That's a secondary theme!! Getting rid of this miscommunication and having Arthur reject him anyways brings forth so much more the themes of War, Peace and the ways the two groups view themselves and each other while also deepening and highlighting Arthur's conflicted characterisation, the idealized, disconnected nature of his grief- more for a concept of the past he had then for an actual autonomic child- and his tiredness!!!

Which is why you should try singing my version and see if you like it:

Arthur, my sheriff, I've news to cheer you

Your child yet lives, and drawing near you.

Been saved by tribes which you misjudged

Then he changed his gender and name.

You lived, and grieved you'd ne'er again see him,

But still he came though worried how you'd act*,

So recognise, embrace and believe him

And you may yet save your world.

Hanged man I don't want to hear it,

A family is more than blood.

I have enough men to protect here,

Let Saxon sons go as they come.

I've got all those I've trust around me,

This world is hard, and I must be too

There's none of that trust left for you,,

*'though feeling deceiving' once again falls into an uncomfy transphobic territory for me, but I think it is a good lyrics and if you are comfortable with having that you're welcome to keep it. Again nothing wrong with representing trans people facing transphobia, I personally don't feel comfortable having that line out of my mouth.

So yeah! It's folk music, ish, it's open to changes, and I still think about my version of the narrative now and again and want people to see it.

[xviruserrorx]

Ask game that @bbcfandomsuniverse recently did (hope you don't mind me jumping in 😊)

Their post is over here in the larger font like above with the questions if they are easier for you to see! But from here on the text will be in the standard regular font, Thank you!

How many works do you have on AO3?

-Nine? And far too many WIPs that are like two paragraphs from being finished

What’s your total AO3 word count?

-92,277

How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

-On AO3, 4 but In my little book of things and my docs a lot more...

BBC Merlin, Mortal instruments fandom, Durarara, The Umbrella Academy (*ones not posted* Penny dreadful, Robin of sherwood, BBC Atlantis... And other horribly written things for many many anime and manga series)

What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

• Rain Before The Rainbow- 146

• Snow and Powdered Sugar- 49

• Broken Raven- 39

• The Ingenuous- 21

• I Do Not Love You Except Because I Love You- 20

Do you respond to comments, why or why not?

Yes! I always try to respond to comments and continue what whatever they talked about or just give my thanks.

What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

It's not currently posted but it's another one of my fics that is almost finished and pretty much is a retelling of the Diamond of the day of BBC Merlin if events had gone differently with saving a bunch of characters including mordred, daegal, kara, sefa, Gilli among many others and it's very angsty. Like tears and sobbing angsty...

Do you write crossovers? if so, what is the craziest one you’ve written?

I actually wrote ONE crossover that I never posted and it was a disaster... I will never mention it again.

Have you ever received hate on a fic?

I wouldn't call it hate but it was simply someone voicing their opinion on the fic which yeah... Kinda you know hurtful to me but i'm just a stranger to them that's writing fanfiction so...

Do you write smut? if so what kind?

Nope no nopitty no

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

To my knowledge no. And also who ever does steal my fics you picked the most worst person to do it from XD. (But in all seriousness if someone ever finds one of my fics posted anywhere else or under a different user name please message me here on Tumblr 😊)

Have you ever had a fic translated?

No, but again I'm completely open to it and would love for my fics to branch out to all of the non-english speaking audiences.

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

No, but I would love to work with another writer on a fic! I actually really want to but have no clue how to even go about it.

What’s your all time favorite ship?

Oooo, I'm gonna go back to my beginning fandom roots and say a platonic relationship I love is from an anime called Princess TuTu and it's Fakir & Muto... I watched the anime along with another one called Sugar Sugar Rune when I was like 4 and they will always hold a special place in my heart along with the Original Fruits basket and the Manga...

What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

Probably one of my Umbrella Academy fics that I had started to write. Mostly because when a lot of stuff happened with the very strong opinions in certain comments it made me loose inspiration and hope in writing for the fandom in a way. But it was my favourite idea and now I can barely look at it anymore...

What are your writing strengths?

Figurative language my beloved... I mold and bend works like clay to my will and abuse them for the sake of art. I sometimes place words that have no correlation besides each other but with their surrounding pears have all the meaning of everything I mean for them to say. My teachers all throughout school loved and hated my writing all the same but i always counted it as one of my strengths.

What are your writing weaknesses?

That I get distracted in words and go off on off topic tangents. I always do this and I have to stop myself. And like I've said before this just end up a old tangled yarn ball of metaphors that in another persons hands, the knots are yanked at and pulled so impossibly there's no chance to get it undone. But in mine, the twist and turns of yarn become limp and fall so incredibly loose between my fingers. So I want to make my writing able to be untangle without too much of a yank or tug.

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

I've done it myself with Raphael Santiago from Mortal instruments in Spanish and Small dialogue bits I'm okay with. But if it's like a full speech I'm not too keen on it even if I understand the language.

What was the first fandom you wrote for?

Wait funny story real quick, I recently found my old notebook I used to write fanfiction in when I was like 8 and it's atrocious. But if I remember correctly the first fanfic in their is with Magi (another anime and manga series very dear to my heart) but if i'm correct the first piece of actual fanfic I wrote was a bit earlier and it was Pandora Hearts maybe? Or even around the time that shows like Avatar and Teen Titans aired...

What’s your favorite fic you’ve written?

I have to go with "The Ingenuous" mostly because I remember many years ago thinking those two would be good friends but completely abandoned the idea because it was like 2015 and I thought the fandom was dead... And also because these two don't have a canon relationship I have taken free will with it and halfway through writing it I realized their relationship has elements of practically me and one of my friends I've known my whole life. And that person is very near and dear to me and I've always held them close to my heart... So really that fic just has everything of me and I've given my all into that fic.

I'm tagging

@zoingfandom and @ohanahoku-ao3 and thats It because I feel awkward tagging other people I know are Ao3 writers XD

Zoing & Ohana please save me from my awkwardness and tag more people please, I beg of you. But also Anyone else if free to join in!

[martilyongabo]

some fate characters with dnd(ish) races! i’m not so familiar with dnd race specifics so the interpretations are very loose. explanations are under the cut!

diarmuid as a human that sort of became a faerie after being raised by aenghus! i noticed in my surface research that donn (or dunn) was referred to as an ancestor of the gaels. the way i understood it was that donn was a human that ascended to the position of underworld god, so di could have been human himself :0 i also sort of wanted to play with the concept of di being able to move between the three realms (human, dead, fae) hence his travelling getup.

artur (i kinda hc’d artoria as nb for a long while) is, quite predictably, part-dragonborn! i took more inspiration from the lion king outfit, mostly because i prefer the more mature look of it. i think these traits would extend to mordred, but i’m still on the fence whether morgan and oberon would have them as well, since it might make their designs too noisy :0 we’ll see though if ever i get around to drawing them!

as for gilgamesh, he’s an aasimar! being 2/3 divine, i thought he’d have a bit more uncanny appearance! the original descriptions of aasimar from base dnd left me wanting a bit more, so i added some traits from @filibusterfrog​‘s uncommon aasimar and teifling traits post! his outfit is a bit of modified version of his caster appearance, with his coat taken off because i thought he’d want to show his angelic attributes (there are actually supposed to be feathers on his shoulders but i realised that i never really cleaned up the sketch, woops--)

anyway i’d be really surprised if someone actually read through all these HAHAHA but ye! hope you enjoyed reading some of it and please stay safe and healthy.

[swarmkeepers]

3 & 4 for the abernant sisters? 👀 (my sister and i have been trading food we don't like that we know the other likes our whole lives and thinking of the abernants learning that kind of thoughtless intimacy between sisters... listen to me sola i know i'm predictable but listen)

3 & 4. quietly picks out the things you don’t like to eat on your plate and transfer it to theirs without you needing to ask them to & quietly gives you the things you like to eat from their own plate + adaine & aelwyn  (prompts linked here)

(post-sophomore year, in the chaos that is a mordred manor dinnertime. at lydia and ragh’s dinner table there will be rice and there will be lumpia because my diasporic half-orc agenda continues (and also if family style asian home cooking isn’t the epitome of saying i love you through food i don’t know what is, the prompt made me do it!). thank you ket i hope i did your favorite elven sisters justice)

In the house that no longer exists, Aelwyn sat at their father’s right hand, across the table from her sister. 

In this house that Aelwyn sometimes cannot really believe exists, she sits next to Adaine, sliding next to her sister on the bench they have claimed for their own because Kristen and Fig cannot be trusted to sit on a bench for fear that they will stand on it to make proclamations, or try to vault spectacularly over it instead of sliding into their seats. 

When Adaine was little she used to kick her feet under the table, restless and reckless and making it her own fault when she stubbed her toe on the table legs or banged into Aelwyn’s feet. 

Aelwyn has forgotten many things about her own life (She has lived so little of her lifespan. She wonders if what she has already forgotten will fade away, just a few months in a sea of other forgotten memories as she ages, or if she will remember their absence forever). 

But these little annoyances from childhood remain—annoying and endearing and just so, so Adaine—clear as day from when she was little too, still petty enough to remember those slights clearly. (Aelwyn wonders what memories Adaine has that she might call just so, so Aelwyn. She can’t think of anything worth remembering.)

Now Adaine doesn’t kick her sock feet but just pulls them up on the bench to tuck them under her as she sits. Something in the back part of Aelwyn’s mind reminds her that this is bad manners, but most of her honestly agrees that this is necessary at this dinner table, where the extra few inches of reach let Adaine beat Fig to the last of Lydia Barkrock’s excellent eggrolls. Aelwyn is learning things every day, lessons that come much harder to her than the effortlessness of abjurative spellwork or dragonfire conspiracies or how to flirt and act at Hudol parties. Now Aelwyn is learning to sit next to her baby sister at dinner without commenting on her feet on the chair; to dodge Ragh Barkrock as he carries a giant steaming pot of rice out to the table; to silently flick up a little arcane ward between Fig’s hand and the plate of eggrolls just in time for Fig to be distracted by Adaine starting to reach for the last one; to not be surprised when Fig starts half-jokingly hollering at Adaine for it. 

There are so many quiet things to learn and Aelwyn thinks maybe she needs to start a new spellbook to remember them all. There are so many quiet things to learn between her and Adaine, and there are so many loud things to learn about living in Mordred Manor in the bunk under her baby sister’s. On any given day Aelwyn doesn’t have nearly enough of them prepared, or maybe it’s that she doesn’t have enough slots to do all of them yet, but she wants to have them all to hand in a spellbook to try again and again and again until they come cantrip-easy. 

Next to her, Adaine is crowing gleefully with her eggroll in hand as Fig rolls her eyes and settles back in her seat. Aelwyn snaps back into focus (little things. One thing at a time) to find Ragh piling far too much rice on her plate, and she hurriedly shakes her head in a “no thank you that’s enough” because Ragh always says “tell me when to stop” and doesn’t pay attention to whether you’ve heard him. He just grins and tries to give her an elbow-bumping RVS secret handshake while also holding a very heavy pot of rice with the other arm, and Aelwyn will never have his dex but she does try to elbow bump him back. Adaine just leans over and scrapes half of Aelwyn’s rice onto her own plate, and Aelwyn’s fingers twitch to cast the same little ward to stop her. “What in the world are you doing?”

Adaine just puts Aelwyn’s plate back down, half her rice gone. “Stealing your rice!” she says as if it’s simple as anything. “Ragh gave you too much and I know you never eat more than one scoop, so I’m taking it.” She picks up a clump of rice she’d dropped on the table in the transfer—Aelwyn had noticed, and it was bothering her—and just reaches for the sauce bowl, pouring sweet chili into a little pool on her own plate and then adding a glob to Aelwyn’s own plate without even asking.

A year ago in their father’s house that no longer exists, Adaine wouldn’t have dared. Here and now in the manor, Aelwyn’s just confused. 

“Adaine!”

Her annoying, endearing little baby sister just shrugs at her. “Aren’t you going to want it for your eggroll?” 

Aelwyn looks down at her plate to see, sure enough, half of Adaine’s prized spoils of her little war with Fig on her own plate next to the rice, an eggroll broken in half with crispy skin and juicy filling. 

“You’re welcome,” Adaine says smugly, in the exact same tone that she uses to loudly declare victory over Fig in little dinner table skirmishes.

It’s good food, Lydia’s cooking unquestionably the best in the house, and eggrolls secretly are Aelwyn’s favorite of the non-waybread foods she’s started eating more of ever since moving into the Manor. Aelwyn knows more manners than to not take it. And knows better than to not say thank you.

“Thanks,” she mumbles, and Adaine just shuffles over on the bench a little to rest her head on Aelwyn’s shoulder as she munches on her own half. 

Aelwyn is learning many things but she thinks she knows what to do here, just leaning her head over on top of Adaine’s and smooshing her cheek into the top of Adaine’s hair. Adaine can probably hear her chewing and it’s probably horrifically bad manners but Aelwyn doesn’t care to remember that right now.

Here, in this house that Aelwyn pinches herself a little to remember actually exists, her baby sister is pressed into Aelwyn’s side, picking food off her plate and trading back Aelwyn’s favorites in turn. Aelwyn dips her eggroll in sweet spicy sauce and lets herself not care about manners and thinks that for once she’s sure that this moment is worth remembering. 

from the prompt list linked here! i’m closing prompts from this particular list simply because i have so many excellent ones to get through

[supercantaloupe]

@dimension20alphabet​ prompt fill #6: Flowers

title: A Little Fall of Rain - campaign: Fantasy High: Sophomore Year - 1882 words - set post-fysy

Aelwyn learns a new way to grow.

The window of the wizards’ tower overlooks the backyard of Mordred Manor. 

There’s a small graveyard plot, its grass overgrown. There are a few trees, as old and strange and history-filled as the rest of the house. There’s a hill that gently slopes down to the edge of the woods, a short walk into which you’ll reach a creek. But you can’t see that from the window; just the hill and the trees and the messy grass.

Aelwyn spends a lot of her time looking at that yard, when she’s home-where-it-does-not-feel-like-home. Plain and drab and sad. Her sister and her friends go to school and the adults go to work, but Aelwyn spends most days home alone. She can hardly stand to look at that empty yard for another second.

So, she decides she won’t.

She goes to the library one day, and spends hours browsing the shelves and reading, taking notes. She comes home in the evening when the library closes with a stack full of books, and stays up late reading them in bed while her sister trances in the bunk below. The next day she scours the garage and basement and storage of the manor for tools, anything she can scrounge together. She gathers them out back in preparation, leaning them against the wall outside. The next day, she goes out again, borrowing cash from Jawbone to get the items she’s missing. She thinks about stopping by the mall, too, for the right outfit, but Sandra Lynn catches on and gives her an old pair of boots and overalls for free.

The next day, she gets up early, and gets to work. 

The first few days are nothing but digging, ripping up grass and sprinkling fertilizer and turning the soil until there are new, neatly defined beds outlining the house and the yard, blank canvases.

She loses two days to a spring thunderstorm, one raining her out all day and one sunny but swamped with mud, setting her progress back at least a few more days. She feels like tearing her hair out, and throws a trowel across the yard in frustration. 

She comes back the next day, pulls the trowel out of the ground from where it’d stuck, and gets back to work. She spends hours one day lining the beds with rocks to keep them neat and pretty, and checking the levels of soil temperature, nutrient balance, everything. She makes a chart in her notebook, portioning out where everything will go. 

The next day she spends ten straight hours planting. Her only break, around noon, is when Jawbone comes out and brings her a sandwich and a lemonade and practically begs her to take a rest. She obliges, if only to quiet the distracting growl of her stomach. He has to come back out and drag her in when the sun goes down for dinner, despite her protests. When she washes up to eat, it takes her two minutes of scrubbing to remove the dirt stubbornly caked into her fingernails. 

If there’s anything good to come out of being an unemployed, out-of-school teenager slowly and painfully rebuilding herself from trauma, it’s that Aelwyn has a lot of free time. Free time she spends every day out under the sun in her new garden, planting seeds and sprouts and monitoring their progress, new greens popping up row by row. She covers the beds with mulch and straw to protect their roots, just like the books say to do. She waters them every morning, and curses when the rain comes and renders her work redundant. Her delicate elven skin starts to burn in the sunlight, even after she takes to wearing a wide-brimmed hat, but after so long it just starts to tan instead. Now when she washes in the evening she sees someone her parents would have hated – face sweaty and flushed, hands caked in dirt and callouses from work – and it feels good, in a strange way. There is a satisfaction in going to bed each night, climbing up onto the top bunk and collapsing in the pillows with the deep-set, satisfied exhaustion of hard work in her bones. 

Her garden starts out well enough, neatly arranged and manicured and ready to go. Then days pass, and weeks, and there is not much more to show. Nor is there enough new work to sustain her breakneck pace. Aelwyn stares out the window of the wizards’ tower and grows restless and frustrated again. She’s doing everything right. She’s double checked every book in the library about it. Why aren’t they growing? Why isn’t it perfect?

The manor’s inhabitants have long since figured out Aelwyn’s project, and her dedication to it, and they respect it. They don’t bother her when she’s working and they don’t offer to help, an interference. But visitors don’t always get that so intrinsically, and the Bad Kids have a lot of friends. There are the girls who live here, and then their male partymates, and occasionally other guests. The half-orc brings a satyr girlfriend along often, most times he visits.

“I like your garden,” she says. Aelwyn is sitting on the back porch, staring broodily over her stunted plants. She glances over her shoulder at the satyr unkindly, she who has broken the unspoken rule against disturbing her in her yard.

Aelwyn grunts and turns back, scowling. “I don’t.”

“O-oh,” Zelda says nervously. “I’m sorry, that was stupid. It’s, um, it’s just…fine?” she stammers to correct herself.

Aelwyn huffs. “They won’t grow properly. I’ve done everything right.” She gestures in frustration at the neat rows of plants, manicured but underwhelming. 

“Some people, uh, some people just don’t have a green thumb,” Zelda says. “I mean, like, satyrs are supposed to be, like, really in touch with nature and stuff, right? But I can’t even keep a fern alive in my room, it’s like, crazy,” she continues. Aelwyn grunts again. “Have you tried talking to a druid?” Zelda continues. “They’re supposed to, like, know a lot about plants, right?”

“I don’t know any druids,” Aelwyn says bluntly. She’s talked to Sandra Lynn; a ranger is as close as she can get, but Sandra Lynn doesn’t know any more about gardening than Aelwyn does.

“I could ask Danielle for you?” Zelda offers. Aelwyn turns again and looks at her, confused. “Danielle Barkstock. She’s, uh, my party’s druid.”

“Danielle Barkstock,” Aelwyn repeats, placing the name. “She was one of those girls in the crystals.”

“Um,” Zelda says. “Yeah. Um. We all were. Uh…we formed an adventuring party together after…that.”

Aelwyn laughs once, no humor to it. “I’m sure she would love to help me out with my pathetic little shithole here.”

“I could ask her for you,” Zelda repeats, sounding intensely nervous again. “I don’t have to tell her it’s for you.” Aelwyn looks her over again. “Sorry, it’s a crazy, stupid idea, I’m just…ignore me, haha, it’s stupid–”

“Would you?” Aelwyn cuts her off, sounding uncharacteristically soft. Zelda blinks, then nods.

A few days later, all the Bad Kids and all the Maidens are over at the manor for a party. Aelwyn pointedly stays out of the way, spending the afternoon in her garden. She hears the back porch door slide open and looks back to see who’s there. Zelda, and a half-elven girl with flowers braided into her hair. Actually, there’s a third with them: a small silver fox. 

“You must be Aelwyn,” the half-elf says.

“You must be Danielle,” Aelwyn returns coolly. Danielle descends the porch steps and wanders through the garden, observing Aelwyn’s work silently. Aelwyn waits, kneeling in the dirt, for any kind of feedback. “You’re a druid, then?” Aelwyn says, breaking the awkward silence. Danielle nods. Her fox wanders between the plants, sniffing them as it goes. “You know what’s wrong here, then? Why they won’t grow?”

“I know more about animals than plants,” Danielle responds neutrally. Aelwyn shuts up and looks down. “But I think I have an idea here,” she continues, finally looking at Aelwyn. She turns around and meets her gaze, hopeful if restrained. “It’s too perfect. You have to step back and let them grow on their own for a bit.”

Aelwyn’s brow furrows, confused. “I’m doing everything the gardening books say to do.”

“Then stop reading books,” Danielle says simply. “Plants are living things. They’ll tell you what they need if you let them grow and listen.” With that, she walks back to the house, her familiar following at her heel. 

Aelwyn blinks, dumbfounded and confused, and offers a feeble “thanks” as she goes. Danielle holds up a hand but doesn’t look back.

It feels strange, and foreign, and wrong to sit back, but Aelwyn forces herself to heed the druid’s advice. She returns the gardening manuals to the library. She spends time in her garden still, but without tools in her hands. She lays in the grass and looks at the sky. She drinks tea and reads under the shade of the tree. She keeps the grass in the graveyard plot trimmed.

It does take a few days for her to notice, but her plants do start to grow again. They creep beyond the boundaries she’d so carefully delineated for them, and she fights the urge to trim them back. She watches and listens to them closely, not with the eye or ear of a drill sergeant but of a parent, a real one, a loving one, one like Sandra Lynn who offered her overalls and one like Jawbone who brings her lunch and lemonade and asks her to rest. She finds what the plants ask for, and she gives it to them; plucks insect pests from their stems, prunes diseased leaves, ties them to stakes so they can grow tall, waters them when they’re wilting. 

By summer, it is no longer just green. Aelwyn wakes up one morning and looks out the window in the wizards’ tower, and for the first time, she sees pink. The next day, yellows. Soon, there is a rainbow of flowers blooming all over the yard, of a variety and vitality Aelwyn has never seen before. Her old home had a garden, sure, but it was too manicured, too neat, too formal, too artificial, and never was she allowed to tamper with it; that’s what hired landscapers were for. Mordred Manor has no hired hands; Aelwyn has her own.

Jawbone and Sandra Lynn meet her in her garden one day. It’s sunny and hot out, and Aelwyn is watching the bees and butterflies flit from plant to plant, drinking their fill of sweet nectar. They say how beautiful it is, and Aelwyn agrees. They tell her how proud they are of her work, and she agrees. They say they’re proud of how much she’s grown. (At first she thinks they mean the plants, but she realizes after what they really mean.) And they thank her for livening up the manor, and bringing some color out to the yard.

When they go inside, Aelwyn gets up, and grabs her shears. She finds the best blossoms from the best plants and carefully snips them off, tying their stems together in a bouquet with ribbon. And she sends them to Danielle, with an apology and a thank you.

[wingletblackbird]

My Complicated Thoughts on Merlin

I started watching Merlin because I’d seen a lot of posts about it on Tumblr and heard good things. I struggled to watch it once we got to Season 4 though. I don’t think I have ever experienced such a love/hate relationship with a series in my life. I’ve tried to figure out why I have so many mixed feelings. Writing this post is cathartic, and has led me to the ultimate conclusion that I am in love with the potential of this show, but I don’t actually like what we were given. 

The Portrayal of Oppression/Morgana’s Arc:

Morgana’s arc could have been way more interesting, but they skip over too much important character development that we needed to see. In the beginning we see that Morgana opposes Uther’s cruelty. She is portrayed as being compassionate. We sympathize with her plight, especially once she discovered she has magic. 

This leads to an interesting moral dilemma. Should Morgana simply assassinate the king? Is Merlin’s long-game with Arthur more effective or moral? Uther is killing innocents. A revolution might be considered just. 

Instead, extremely rapidly, Morgana is played as the bad guy simply because she has decided to betray Camelot. We see her slaughtering innocent people herself when she becomes Queen. Why this transition to becoming like Uther but with magic so quickly? It made sense for her to want to assassinate Uther. That does not immediately make her evil. That needed to be more gradual. I saw the motivation for her hatred of Uther. But how she became evil, that is not portrayed well at all. 

We see hints of Morgana’s self-centeredness when she refuses to leave the Druids even knowing they’ll be slaughtered. Examine that streak. Show how a good cause can be corrupted by someone who becomes drunk on hate and power. The show tries, but it doesn’t quite get there. Show me that even a righteous cause can be led by a corrupted individual. 

Worse, the show does not show the nuance in any satisfying way. Show me that Morgana’s crusade against Uther and Arthur can actually be justified given that the law indicates that they would kill her and her kind. Morgana could legitimately consider Merlin a traitor. Her initial opposition to Uther is justified. He has committed and is committing genocide. Killing him could be seen as defense herself and other innocents. This could be opposed to Merlin’s bloodless coup, if you will. Which is the better option? What are the pros and cons?

And speaking of such oppressions, Merlin frees Freya and helps with Mordred. We really could have afforded to see more about how Merlin helps sorcerers escape, or about an underground network in general. How do they see Merlin? Do they hope he will influence the future king? Do they see him as a traitor? We see hints of this throughout the show such as with Gilli, but the writers never truly take it there. The story with Gilli ended up being about the corruption of power etc., and I liked it, but there was more to that story that needed to be addressed. Is it right or wrong for Merlin to defend Uther? Does it depend on the context? There are many times Merlin does that.

How Merlin Views Arthur:

Speaking of oppression, let’s talk about the effect it has on the psyche of Merlin. When we first meet Merlin, he has a strong moral compass, and confidence in his abilities. What he does not have is good self-esteem. He wonders if he’s a monster. He struggles because he is so powerful with something that is hated and can get him and his loved ones killed. Imagine the kind of fear that can creep into your soul when you have been watching people like you get executed since you were a child. Worse, you struggle to control your own abilities. You love your magic, maybe, but you also loathe yourself for the danger. 

Merlin, then, is a prime target for believing in Destiny. It’s nice to think he has a purpose in this after all. It is pretty clear that the Dragon is being manipulative. I don’t blame him after being trapped for decades. But Merlin is vulnerable and initially starts to protect Arthur because he needs to think he has a reason to be the way he is and is not a monster.

Having said that, I think we can say that Merlin does quickly come to love and respect Arthur. He believes that Arthur is a good man and will lead a good kingdom. All of these are good reasons to stay in his service. It is a good way to eventually show Arthur that magic can be good, to get a kingdom without oppression and the bloodshed of a revolution, and to protect a man he considers a friend. 

The problem with this is that by the end of the third season, Merlin’s double or triple motivation seems to narrow down in focus to simply protecting Arthur. Okay...but when are you going to have him see magic is good? I understand Merlin not being able to outright say anything because that might make him seem like a sympathizer, or just because of a lifetime of fear. But after all that subterfuge with Dragoon the Great and you can’t come up with a way to show magic doing something good without implicating yourself? Trust in Arthur’s character that you extol?

The fact is that by not revealing his magic to Arthur at the multiple different opportunities offered implies that Merlin does not in fact believe that Arthur is the man Merlin claims he is. I equally understand that growing up under that kind of oppression Merlin is not thinking straight. (Gaius does not help.) Furthermore, once you’ve risked your life to protect a man, it can become very hard to back out because you’ve already lost too much. It can also be hard to admit to secrecy after years of a relationship. But Merlin’s actions show that in the end, he does not trust Arthur, which is why he was supposed to have been protecting him. This suggests that Merlin is really just being emotionally manipulated. He has grown up in this oppression, and wants to believe his magic is good, and he has sacrificed too much, lost too much, at his point so he protects Arthur...even at the cost of other’s of his kind. 

If anything, Merlin goes from a kind-hearted boy who rescued people like Freya...to being willing to turn a blind eye to their suffering....!? Merlin goes from confident in the first season, with a clear moral compass...to being less so later on? When in theory, especially with Uther dead, he should be safer? More willing to take risks? 

There is another military aspect to consider as well. Morgana is a legitimate threat and without magic, Camelot cannot defend itself well. By not telling Arthur about his magic, or by not finding a way to make Arthur think about magic, Merlin is endangering everyone in Camelot. Arthur cannot defend his kingdom without the tools he needs. Merlin is now disrespecting his king, and making the decisions that are Arthur’s to make. How can Arthur command his armies without vital information? Merlin is powerful enough to be able to flee Camelot on the off chance Arthur tries to execute him. (In which case, maybe Merlin should join the other side.) He chooses to risk every life in Camelot rather than reveal his secret and help Arthur plan. That was acceptable for a minor coup when Morgana first took over. It’s not so great as the stakes progress.  Merlin was always willing to risk his life to do the right thing. And yet, when it counts the most, when Arthur is the one on the throne, he doesn’t?

This is never addressed in any satisfactory manner. 

Arthur’s Arc and Unfulfilled Expectations: 

This leads us to Arthur’s character arc. If Arthur’s character had shown Merlin the same respect in later seasons as in the first couple, I don’t think Merlin would have been placed in the position of having to truly betray his kind or indicate his trust in Arthur was wrong. Arthur even early in their relationship, like with Valiant, listens to Merlin. However, in later seasons, after so many years of faithful service, (and being right), Arthur is quick to dismiss him. (And then even that might get reversed in a dime...what are the writers thinking?) Of everyone from the knights to Gwen, Merlin is afforded the least recognition or respect it feels like at times.

Arthur also in the beginning showed concern for his friend. Additionally, he showed great concern in his own constipated way for Merlin’s feelings when he was down. Not so much in the later years... Why?

Moreover, has Arthur really learned to treat everyone as equals? Or only the one’s who have done something for him?

I don’t blame Arthur for his stance on magic much, because he has little reason to believe otherwise. However, in the earlier seasons we see him defying his father over things like killing Mordred, a child. Yet, in later seasons, he never seems able to step out of his father’s shadow. Never seems to truly realize how abysmal his father’s rule was. The Arthur of the early seasons ought to have grown enough to be able to do that, and therefore safely allow magic again. This does not happen. He is shown as being devastated by what he did to the druids...is this ever followed up on? 

This leads into unfulfilled expectations. Arthur was supposed to usher in a period of peace. Did he? No. And no matter what Kilgharrah says, I’m not buying it. If they had framed Kilgharrah as lying about that and manipulating poor Merlin for revenge, it would have made for a dreadful tragedy. As it is, it’s just a huge let down. If they had shown Merlin to be a tragic victim of oppression and manipulation who ended up not serving the man he thought he was...it would have been horrifying but interesting. As it is, I just hate it. 

Why would I want to watch someone who has been oppressed and threatened with death, lose everything to protect what he hoped would be his friend and his freedom, only to have to live with just being used? And be told that eventually, if you wait long enough, then you will have succeeded? That this was a good thing?! Is framed as a good thing? NO! I was sold a story about a man in a position of power being befriended by a man who has been oppressed. The man in power learns from his friend and becomes a man who helps liberate the oppressed. Together they create a better world. Eventually, the man in power dies tragically and we all cry. Instead I got this absolute garbage.  

I can see why Merlin’s fandom is so prolific. It is perfect for fanfic, because we have an interesting premise and interesting characters, but god-awful canon-writing. BBC Merlin is garbage with potential. 

[mystech-master]

My FGO Servant ideas/Servants I'd expect

These are some Servant ideas that I have had since I've already asked what you guys want.

I know that the Servant has to be someone that people know for the most part, since almost every Servant is someone that everyone knows with a few exceptions.

Some spoilers for other Fate works bellow

Saber

Yagyu Jubei, the One-Eyed Samurai. I feel like his NP will be some kind of Mystic Eye under his eyepatch or something. But if they want to go super Bullshut, I could imagine him being a Pseudo-Servant of Yvette L Lehrman.

Archer

Tchaikovsky, composer of 1812 Overture. The Orchestral song featuring CANNONS! I have already made a Reddit post about it here. I am trying not to just shove people in Caster

Angelica Ainsworth, holder of the Gilgamesh Class Card in Prisma Illya. I wonder how Archer/Caster Gil would react to her, or even Enkidu. I mean we know Kid Gil isn't fond of her.

Lancer

Arachne, the Spider-Woman Weaver. Her Lance would simply be an enlarged sewing needle. She'd either be a sort of Spider- Centaur, or the Spider-Legs would be coming out of her legs. For some extra shit, she might be merged with the Japanese Spider-Yokai Jorogumo, or just reference it similar to how Galatea referenced the tsukumogami. Also, her being a woman made into a monster by Athena, Medusa might gain a new friend.

Sigma,>! Maiya Hisau's son from Fate/Strange Fake. Apparently the True Lancer of the True and False Holy Grail War!<. I really just want him in to see how he'd interact with the EMIYA family. ~~Someone give Shirou/EMIYA some guy friends!~~ Of course, we'll need to wait a long time for strange fate to finish to get him since the author doesn't like using f/sf characters for anything else atm.

Loki, god of mischief. Maybe being half-Jotunn can be a good enough justification to keep him as himself and not need to be a Pseudo. I like OSP's interpretation of a "genderfluid benevolent but mischievous Hearth Spirit who protects the home and family". Genderfluid would open up for one of Fate's many genderbends they love doing, but if they kept him male and make his character about all the kids he has, then imagine...Loki, who is a god of mischief and a dad.........Loki making dad jokes. Although I feel like they might go with the female Loki one since Fate loves Genderbends and IDk if Japan has an equivalent to dad jokes. The reason he'd be a Lancer is the spear of Mistletoe he gave to Höðr which then resulted in Baldr's death which is treated as the precursor to Ragnarok.

Rider

Jiraiya, the Gallant Ninja. It was either this, with him riding his summonable Toad (I mostly think of this video), Assassin b/c Ninja, Caster b/c of reasons covered in the video linked before and some similar videos by the same guy, and Saber with the Nakirimaru, or "wave cutting sword," used to exorcise the Snake Spirit from Orochimaru. I went with Rider so the Rock-Paper-Scissors match of Frog-Slug-Snake matches the classes of Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Orochimaru respectively.

Caster

Tsunade, the Slug Maiden. The reason is mentioned above in Jiraiya's segment.

TOHSAKA, Rin as a Counter Guardian. The closest we'll get to actual Rin on her own with no other god(dess) inhabiting her body as a servant. NP would be the Jeweled Sword Zelretch. Also, imagine Ishtar seeing the older Rin (her vessel)'s more developed body and getting pissed.

Orpheus, the musical son of Apollo. Considering one big part of his story was being so bummed about his wife dying that his music just depressed everyone, even the gods, with his bad vibes, I could imagine them making him into sort of an emo guitar player or some shit. But if that is too lame then giving his Lyre some Siren Song-esque powers might be something since during his adventures with the Argonauts, since when the sirens began to sing he "played music that was louder and more beautiful, drowning out the Sirens' bewitching songs."

Assassin

Not too sure on the spirit, hopefully a Death God, but I want a Pseudo-Servant of Kairi Sisigou. I mean a Necromancer Mercenary, TELL ME that doesn't fit. Also the possible fun interactions he can have with Mordred again, and her family and new friends.

I mentioned above, Orochimaru, with him being a Pseudo-Servant in Souichirou Kuzuki. I just needed a snake-themed servant to put him in because I know everyone wants him as a pesudo so Medea can have her husband.

Berserker

Kriemhild, wife of Siegfried. Either this or Avenger. Berserker would be the most fitting for my idea, but Avenger would also fit and most likely have cooler animations I bet. As the wiki says about her personality: "Kriemhild held a "deep‐rooted and blind love" for Siegfried, such that it's described as "passionate love that repays the murder of one’s loved one with twice the payback." Siegfried's death, rather than assuage the feud with Brunhild, caused Kriemhild to "burn with the flames of revenge."' NP being a more demonic/dark version of Balmung. I wanted her to be a sort of obsessive wife and mother to Siegfried and Sieg (I like to imagine them having a mentor-student to father-son dynamic), the family dynamics between the three would be fun to imagine.

Lycaon, the wolf king. He once tested Zeus' omniscience by serving him the roasted flesh of Lycaon's own son Nyctimus, in order to see whether Zeus was truly all-knowing. In return for these gruesome deeds, Zeus transformed Lycaon into a wolf. He'd be a pseudo for Svin Glascheit. I just needed a wolf spirit to put Svin in. I mean everyone already is imagining Berserker-Jack the Ripper using Flat as a vessel.

Magni, son of Thor. Do I even need to explain who I am using as a vessel for this Spirit?

Avenger

Pandora, the all-endowed first woman. At first, I was unsure about her class. Yes, the whole thing of Pandora's Box was made as a punishment for Prometheus stealing fire (I wonder how Fate would interpret this with the whole Age of Gods vs Age of Man thing), but as the wiki says "She was given knowledge by the gods that she had to wait until humanity perished so that she can finally open the box and release the world's true potential. Because of her immortality, Pandora suffered greatly as people unreasonably tried to kill the undying mud doll whenever they discovered she wasn't human. After so many years of suffering, Pandora began questioning on why she had to go through this for humans."

Captain Ahab, Captain of the Pequod. >!Implied to be one of Watcher's Shadows in fate/strange fake, so the reason he'd be unavailable is stated above!<. His NP would be his prosthetic leg made out of whalebone, which may give him some aquatic abilities. Or it might be the harpoon that he got tangled in which resulted in his death.

MoonCancer

Tsukuyomi, the Shinto Moon God. Using Hakuno Kishinami as a vessel. I mean combining the Admin authority from the EXTELLA's Regalia which grants him kingship of the Moon Cell with Tsukuyomi's moon god authority would be pretty cool. I know a lot of people want a Dioscuri situation where we get both male and female Hakunos but I feel like it'd be one or the other. Of course, this is only if Hakuno NEEDS a god in him. I partially Headcanon that the reason BB made Jinako a MoonCancer was as a test run for when she does it to Hakuno.

Alter Ego

Ergo, The Man Who Devoured God. From The Adventures of Lord El-Melloi. " Because of the method of creation he has several gods within him after devouring their flesh. All three gods within him, one of which is Sun Wukong, have the shared themes of "water gods" and "hands"." Having 3 gods fits man other Alter Egos haveing 3 gods in them (Sakura Five, Ashiya Douman, and Sitonai).

>!U-Olga Marie, the Alien God. The Best chance we get of having Olga back. Similar reason for being summoned as Kiara.!<

Lemme know what you guys think of my ideas and if you'd add anything to them.

[spidersmiceandeverythingnice]

Just realized I never posted this during LB3 despite the fact that I had some very Thematic Brainwaves about my Mastersona, Yu, Koyanskaya and of course Diarmuid. Under the read more if you are interested -

Koyanskaya savored the looks on their faces as they beheld the vial.

One dose of antidote. The only contingency plan.

It didn’t take long for the realization to sink in, but Koyanskaya quickly added, “Oh, and don’t even think about splitting it between the pair of you. The poison is well-integrated into your system now. You’ll require the full dosage if you even hope to have a chance at surviving.”

Goredolf’s pale, sweating face was a special treat. Either he was a bigger idiot than Koyanskaya had thought, or he was a true mage, who didn’t realize that Zoe Venier would probably let him take the antidote without much fuss if he only had the sense to ask.

Poor girl, Koyanskaya thought, smiling faintly as she watched Zoe attempt to school her features into stoicism. It didn’t come naturally to her, that was for sure. She was a quiet girl, normally, though she’d been known to display quite the temper. But in the face of her own death... Oh, she was frightened. Even after all this time, after all she’d survived. Perhaps she was more frightened than ever before.

But the ensuing squabble quickly lost its spice for Koyanskaya. Goredolf suggested that they duel with rock-paper-scissors. Zoe, with a wry, faint smile, accepted. While they haggled over terms, Koyanskaya decided that she ought not to waste her time. Bound, sitting in the dirt, surrounded by enemies, fresh out of the eternal Shi Huangdi’s torture chambers - it wasn’t like she had anything else to do but gather more intel in her condition. Even if she would inevitably turn against Chaldea later, she should learn all she could about such a valuable client.

There were many Servants with Zoe this time - a surprising number, actually, considering the amount of mana it would likely take to sustain them. Given her present condition, she surely was feeling the strain of it. But of the motley crew, there was only one that Koyanskaya didn’t really know yet.

And just her luck, he stood over her side, guarding her.

Diarmuid ua Duibhne, Lancer. According to the records that they’d obtained from Chaldea, he was one of Zoe Venier’s original three Servants. He was not spectacular, a thoroughly average hero from an obscure legend. Koyanskaya wasn’t in the business of underestimating anyone but even she took one look at his perfect, beautiful face and dismissed him.

But he’d changed.

He had not disappeared, nor had Zoe re-summoned him. He had simply changed at some point, not long after Koyanskaya had left the Scandinavian Lostbelt. Rather than the famous twin spears, he now carried two blades, one of which was nearly as tall as he was and radiated a positively demonic aura. His combat parameters seemed to have expanded somewhat due to the class change, but otherwise, there was nothing different about him. But a normal Servant changing themselves was impossible, and this was doubly true for Diarmuid ua Duibhne, who had been defined by his curses, if by nothing else.

Koyanskaya had been wrong to ignore him, that was for sure.

But she was big enough to admit that. Now it was time to have some fun.

Eyeing him, she spoke with a sweet idleness. “You know, I really have to wonder if she’s feeling the affects of the poison or not.”

Diarmuid kept his eyes squarely on Zoe. It didn’t take a genius detective to know that she was his ultimate weakness, in all the ways that mattered.

“I mean,” Koyanskaya continued, with a smile. “What’s her body count at now? Well, the last one is easy, just ten thousand, but we never did get an accurate estimate of the Yaga population, come to think of it. Does it count if they were technically beasts? What do you think?”

He didn’t even react to her words. It was not in Koyanskaya’s nature to crave attention from beautiful men, but the silent treatment annoyed her. It almost wounded her pride.

“In any case, do you want to hear my theory?” Koyanskaya looked up, putting all her weight into her gaze. “I think that - despite all the blood on her hands - Zoe simply believes that everything she’s done has been completely justified. That’s why she isn’t showing any symptoms. Can you imagine? Obliterating entire worlds, entire cultures, erasing it from existence, from memory. For that not to bother her in the slightest - it’s chilling! Do you think that maybe she even enjoys - “

“It seems to me,” said Diarmuid, “that you fundamentally misunderstand who we are.”

Koyanskaya smiled. “Oh?”

“For example,” Diarmuid went on, still watching Zoe and Goredolf. They were nearly ready to begin their matches now. “When you mocked the Director before, I thought you had simply picked him out to be an easy target. Someone with his disposition must be child’s play for you, naturally. But now you’ve admitted that you don’t understand the first thing about Zoe, either.”

“Why, perish the thought!” Koyanskaya simpered, baring her teeth in a wicked grin. “I pride myself on my information-gathering efforts, you know.”

Diarmuid shrugged. “I would have assumed that you weren’t capable of understanding humanity, given what you are. But if you can’t even grasp the basics about someone like Zoe, then maybe we don’t need to be worried about you after all.”

But this was too good to be true. Koyanskaya tried to think back - had she ever revealed to Chaldea that she was a Beast? Perhaps Holmes had figured it out, or even the little Da Vinci, but this was the first time they had all been together since Shi Huangdi had separated the group, and they were preoccupied with the antidote. There was no way that Diarmuid could have known her true nature, unless he had recognized it on his own.

“I guess that’s true,” said Koyanskaya. “I wouldn’t know her nearly as well as someone like you. After all, you’re her loyal Servant - the perfect knight who services her every need.”

At last, Diarmuid deigned to look at her. His expression was withering. Not outright murderous, but he definitely contemplated the idea of drawing his swords. And in her current condition, Moralltach might even damage her if he really threw his weight into the strike. But naturally, he wouldn’t. His honor wouldn’t allow him to strike a prisoner, and to strike such a powerful blow would drain too much mana from his precious Zoe.

Speaking of which, they seemed to be at the last round. Zoe was patting Goredolf’s arm reassuringly as he blabbered.

“Look! They’re nearly done. Aren’t you going to stop them?”

Diarmuid sighed, and faced away from her again. “Forgive me, but may I ask if there’s a point to this conversation?”

“Obviously, Zoe wants to take the antidote herself,” said Koyanskaya, as if he hadn’t spoken. “She’s a pragmatist. I almost admire that about her, you know. But she’ll give the antidote to Goredolf out of fairness - because it’s the right thing to do - even though she knows as well as I do that Chaldea needs its only Master far more than it needs an oaf of a Director. And what? You’re just going to it back and let that happen?”

Predictably, Diarmuid replied. “In fact, her sense of honor is something that I greatly admire about her. And just because you do not recognize the Director’s value doesn’t mean he has none.”

Koyanskaya clicked her tongue and rolled her eyes. “Ugh, you’re like a fortress. Don’t you ever get tired of playing fair?”

When he didn’t answer her, Koyanskaya pretended to think about her next words for a moment.

“Hmm... well, I guess you’re not totally out of options. I guess if you’re going to let this antidote go to waste, you could always just take her to your father’s house if you can’t find another dose.”

The temperature seemed to drop ten degrees.

Got him, thought Koyanskaya, and smiled.

“Oh, no, dear me, you’re right,” Koyanskaya went on, barely concealing her elation. “That won’t do. Not really his wheelhouse, I’d say. Well, it’s not as if you don’t have other options. Though, come to think of it, you’ve never really been the type to introduce a girl to your family.”

Diarmuid was staring at her, his mouth a thin line, his eyes unfathomable.

Koyanskaya smirked back. “What? Don’t  you think Aengus Og would be just thrilled to have guests? I hear it’s lovely in Tir na Nog this time of year. Well, it’s always lovely, but that’s beside the point, isn’t it?”

The temperature adjusted; Diarmuid’s expression stabilized, and became bored again.

“Congratulations,” he said. “Though I’m not sure what you hope to gain by lording this information over me. I have no power within Chaldea’s internal structure, and I won’t act without my Master’s permission.”

The sarcasm in his voice was simply delicious. Koyanskaya leaned in.

“What I don’t understand is why someone like you would become a Servant in the first place. Why surrender yourself to the Counter Force when you could spend an eternity in paradise? And it’s not as if you could possibly have any reasons to love humanity. You might not have as many curses as our mutual friend Yu, but...”

She waited eagerly for him to respond, but he simply regarded her carefully for a moment. Koyanskaya was thrilled to learn how smart he was. In fact, he suited his Master very well. Quiet and observant. The shadow of the blade. The steady right hand. And he was far less human than he’d allowed Chaldea to believe. Did Zoe even know the truth?

In any case, Koyanskaya hoped that Holmes was listening to their conversation.

“I have no reason to curse humanity,” came Diarmuid’s reply. “Again, you show a lack of understanding. I simply followed the natural course of my fate.”

Goredolf lost the final round of rock-paper-scissors, but Nezha and Mordred held him down so that Da Vinci could inoculate him anyway. While he blubbered thanks and took dramatic, gasping breaths, Koyanskaya watched Zoe Venier. Watched her smile disappear for a moment. Watched her push her glasses up her nose, and twirl a lock of her long hair around her fingers. For a moment, the Master of Chaldea was nothing but a sad, frightened little girl.

And if Koyanskaya had noticed, then surely, so had Diarmuid.

“Oh, what to do, what to do...?” she murmured. A giggle worked its way up her throat, and she had to suppress it. “Now, I say this with all possible manner of feminine delicacy - but you guys are royally fucked. Humanity’s a lost cause, and that’s even if you somehow manage to find a second antidote. Your merry band of heroes hasn’t even gotten to the real Lostbelts yet. If my half-assed assassination attempt can knock you back this far, then how do you expect to face the rest of the Crypters?”

“We’ve faced steep odds before. I have nothing but confidence in Zoe, and in our allies.”

Koyanskaya shook her head. “I seriously can’t believe you. You have a get-out-of-the-apocalypse-free card at your beck and call.”

“That’s not how it works.”

His voice contained a hard edge now. She’d touched a nerve.

“Then, enlighten me. Because you know as well as I do - taking Zoe into the Land of Youth would end all of this. What do you care for humanity’s survival? She would never suffer again. Isn’t that what you wish for?”

She saw his eyes glint, shift for a fraction of a second, and that was how she knew she’d won. No matter how noble he pretended to be, there was still a part of him that had understandable human instincts. Fortunately for his sake, Diarmuid was spared from answering as Zoe herself approached, to engage Koyanskaya in conversation regarding their upcoming plans.

The knight was quiet, and kept one eye on her constantly going forward.

All in all, Koyanskaya considered this a resounding success.

[lhaewiel]

So, I finally got my hands on the Black Mirror game trilogy.

One of my all-time favourite games. Be prepared, bc I have a series of headcanons post-Black Mirror III.

I don’t know if I should tag for spoilers, I mean, the game is pretty old, so yeah.

Anyway, here’s my series of headcanons.

Adrian Gordon, finally free of Mordred’s curse, decides it’s time to properly sue Murray not for extortion, or blackmail, because he knows that this would be a lost battle, BUT over the USE THE GORDON’S NAME FOR HIS HORRIBLE AND TACKY MERCH AND THE ILLICIT USE OF THE GORDON’S NAME IN GENERAL

His solicitor is more than happy to comply.

THe second thing he does is making sure no one accidentally opens the portals ever again - he makes the constructors pour concrete over all openings. He’s had enough of magic portals, rituals, blood, curses and whatnot. Sister Antolini is not exactly happy, but she gets it. Yes, also the entrance to the catacombs underneath the castle’s cellar gets properly sealed.

This means the DISMANTLING OF THE GORDON’S MUSEUM.

The dismantling of the horror museum and Murray out of the game is the starting point for the people of Willow Creek to trust Adrian.

It is still a bit of a stretch to say that the Willow Creek people are warming up to him, but whenever someone hints at Adrian being an arsonist/murderer they get cut off by someone else chiming in with: that is the Crazy Yankee, our good Lord Gordon has never done anything at all.

Tom gets discovered - he was killed by Ralph, who is taken away to a proper structure. Adrian goes to visit him whenever he can.

Adrian really takes on Dr. Winterbottom’s advise: Edward is hired as butler and is allowed to live at the Black Mirror castle. Adrian also manages to hire 2 gardeners and a stable hand/carpenter. Edward conscientiously helps Adrian with administration.

Adrian graduates in Physics at the University of Bath. He then takes on photography as a hobby. He is pretty good and his photos end up through the years to several showings. He has one wing of the castle dedicated especially to his photography shoots.

He keeps writing his diary, under the suggestion of Dr. Winterbottom.

He has restored the paintings in the castle and has filled the empty spaces with photos of his mother Cathrin, his adoptive mother Rebecca and landscapes from all over the world.

He still keeps that one photo of Angelina, but it’s kept mostly under lock and key.

Edward suggests the employment of a cook and Adrian complies - mostly because Edward is not the best at proper cooking.

Because both Edward and Adrian are more or less the same age, they do become good friends - just like old Bates had been for Lady Victoria and Sir William.

Once Adrian is stabilised enough financially and emotionally, he decides that Willow Creek deserves a good revamp - who knows, the town per se is not bad, but it suffers from years of neglect.

The pub gets a new owner, who renews the whole place and brings the Three Kegs back to its golden age.

Abaya, the shop owner, renews the shop, as new people start to arrive.

The former Ashburry sanatorium, former Gordon’s palace gets a new name and a new owner - Murray, finally conceding that he is too old, retires and spends the rest of his days in his house - which is now the former museum and pawn shop.

Bobby gets a proper carer and a proper house to live in, thanks to Adrian.

Inspector Spooner gets transferred back to London, Denise leaves with him against her father’s wishes. She will never come back to Willow Creek.

Dr. Hermann’s house gets acquired by a proper pathologist.

Now Adrian needs to think to his castle in Wales. He does not know what to do with that castle exactly, but he has to bring it back. By now Black Mirror castle has been nearly all restored - new electronics have made their way in the medieval walls too - a computer and a laptop just to start with, the fire actually gave him the chance to choose furniture and decorations which are a bit more practical whilst still keeping the “old castle” vibe.

Something very similar to the Black Mirror castle happens to the Wales castle - marshes get reclaimed, the place is restored.

Adrian does find love again - he makes sure that his beloved knows everything.

They adopt for 2 reasons mainly: the blood of a Gordon is sure something to be wary, also Adrian wants to honour his adoptive mother. Also Adrian is the one and only Gordon so far, no one can say anything.

The wedding is very simple - Willow Creek residents, the bride/groom family, Adrian and the new Warmhill priest, Father Valerius.

Mark the gravedigger finally gets an apprentice BTW.

I will write more if I think of other stuff.