#c; nimueh

[galaxydrcaming]

@lcnelylcves​

Nimueh brushed her fingers over the plant, smiling in a way that made her look more dangerous than friendly. With those who didn’t have magic, she’d always be more guarded. “As I said, it is sorcery. Magic, dear. I am a being of magic, with more in common with dragons than I have in common with you.” It was just in her veins. Magic came as natural to her as breathing, and she’d practiced much longer than it might seem to be possible, given her youthful appearance.

"Magic..” Anya repeats with a raise of her eyebrows, still in disbelief with it all even though she had seen it just now. “I never implied we had anything in common, but alright.” Her temper slips through as she clears her throat. “This world just becomes more and more strange by the day.”

[emerillons]

who is the best villain in merlin and why is it nimueh

[thenerdyindividual]

Ship ranking?? Uhhhh I want in!

The most random ships I have:

Mithian / Vivian, Mithian could turn out to be the one to free Vivian from the enchantment and make her into a better person!

Hunith /Uther or Ygraine / Balinor or Hunith /Ygraine etc etc. All the combinations

Gwaine / Elena I just think they're neat. They both have chaos energy. Plus, Elena's Father seems like a chill guy who would accept a peasant (who isn't actually a peasant huhhhhhhh)

Hear me out... Finna / Alator.

Nimueh / Freya

Julius Borden / Will

I swear I am not throwing these name out randomly there's a thought process behind it

Like Nimueh is of the old religion, so maybe she finds Freya after death in Avalon. And Freya being the kind soul she is can help her heal and grow out of her hatred.

And for Julius and Will... Picture a world where Will didn't die. And now everyone thinks he is a sorcerer. Julius hears rumours of the son of the last dragon lord living in Ealdor. So he goes there and he assumes it's Will, and Will just agrees to cover for Merlin, so he has to fake being a Dragon lord until the letter he sent reaches Merlin to warn him and to idk get help? But huh huh they actually fall in love.

Okay! There’s a lot here and I’m going to unpack all of them! This is fun!

Mithian / Vivian

I’m in favor of lesbian queens ruling a kingdom together, but also I like Mithian and feel she deserves better than Vivian. And I really dislike Vivian because she was mean to Gwen and I adore Gwen. I’m just not that interested in Vivian’s character, personally. I think Mithian, Gwen, and Morgana are all more interesting in her. So for that reason I rank it:

E-Tier

Hunith /Uther

No. Just no. Okay I know Uther was probably not always a genocidal maniac, but to quote Brennan Lee Mulligan “Before you were a fascist, you were a bully.” I think Hunith deserves to get her needs met by someone who would not one day gleefully send her son to the pyre. I rank this ship:

E-Tier

Ygraine / Balinor

Ohhhhh now this has some interesting vibes. Does Ygraine have a romance with Balinor before meeting Uther? Does she find out that Uther cheated on her, and got revenge on Balinor? Was it both? Does that mean that Uther and Ygraine were an arranged marriage? If so that makes Uther and even bigger hypocrite by using her death to justify his hatred.

For sheer implications and intrigue, I rank this:

C-Tier

Hunith /Ygraine

Ooooo a parallel to Arthur and Merlin, hell yes. I’m in favor of more sapphic romances in this fandom, and this could be fun. But also I now want an extremely cracky one shot where Merlin and Arthur are dating and introduce their moms, only for their moms to start hooking up, much to the horror of Merlin and Arthur.

I rank this:

C-Tier

Gwaine / Elena

I see this one a lot in the background of fics and I’m never much of a fan. It’s just a little too quirky for me. Like I’m sure there’s a fic out there that could get me to ship it, but most of the time it feels like people just want to ship the chaotic one with the chaotic one. It rarely feels thought out to me, and often feels like shoehorning it in because everyone needs to be a couple.

That said, it’s never enough to make me click away from a fic. And I could see how I would enjoy it if there was more time and thought put into their relationship. I mean, Gwaine is wandering rogue pre season 4. Chances are he ended up in Gawant at some point right?

I rank it:

C-Tier

For the potential

Finna / Alator

Tbh? In my soul, this is canon.

B-Tier

Nimueh / Freya

I just feel like Nimueh would trigger Freya. Super powerful, super scary, witch lady? After Freya got cursed dating Nimueh would just set Freya up to be terrified all the time. I don’t vibe with it. Also I think Freya has been through enough and doesn’t need to be fixing Nimueh.

I rank it:

D-Tier

Julius Borden / Will

Here’s the thing, I love Borden as a character but I like to make him Merlin’s shitty ex. I know the go to is Cenred, but he has way more chemistry with Borden.

So as far as shipping him with Will? Idk man. I’d maybe be tempted to read the fic you described because it sounds fun as hell, but Borden is just such a fun scummy piece of shit that I don’t ship him seriously with anyone. So without reading that fic, going on vibes alone…. I rank it:

D-Tier

Send me a Merlin Ship and I’ll rank it on a tier list. Note: This is a subjective ranking and a low ranking in no way means that I am shaming you for your taste in ships.

[adhd-merlin]

Merlin S1 rewatch: episode 4 🌼

4 episodes in, and our boys are already tripping all over themselves to die for each other. Insane.

I don't have many funny comments to make about this one. It's a solid episode.

Arthur is an incredibly brave and chivalrous knight, Merlin is an extremely powerful sorcerer, and Uther is an utter bastard. Characters effectively distilled to their essence.

random thoughts & comments

• For all that it's a silly family show, the sets and locations are so beautiful. Look at this!

• Nimueh is so gorgeous in her blue turban. I can't blame Merlin for the flirting.

• Her fake name is Cara (!). But spelled with a C. Caras/Karas are not to be trusted, I guess

• They were really going all in with the red & blue juxtaposition

• I love Arthur red studded jacket. Why did they deprive him of his fun little outfits in later seasons! He's even wearing jewellery!! Wtf is this necklace, btw

• Stupid question but how did Nimueh know Arthur would end up with the poisoned chalice?? She just put it in the box

• Well done Gaius for identifying the poison in 0.5 seconds. That's got to be some kind of record. Does he train for that? Does Camelot hold an annual speed poison-identification contest?

• Luckily Gaius’s book contains all the information needed to retrieve the flower required for the antidote – what it looks like, where to find it, what to expect when you get there. Top 10 restaurants in the area. It's all in there.

• I've missed Uther! He's a great character/antagonist. "I can't stand by and watch [Merlin] die." / "Then don't look." (!) Banger of a line. And Anthony is an amazing actor.

• After having watched the entire series, I feel like S1 Arthur comes across as more of a noble and good guy than in later seasons? I can't put my finger on why, exactly. Perhaps the way he stands up to Uther with no hesitation. I don’t know.

• I like that Arthur gets to defeat the Cockatrice all by himself. So often in the series it's just Merlin (literally) working his magic behind the scenes and Arthur taking all the credit, but in this episode he very much deserves to be called a hero.

• Speaking of which, the way Arthur just defeats that Cockatrice and then carries on like it was no big deal is kind of funny. (Like... he just threw a sword at it? And it died? Alright.)

• Nimueh is so bad at acting like an innocent damsel in distress. Definitely nothing at all sus about her situation. "Please help me, good sir! Why, yes, I do know where to find the flower you're after. Just follow me into this dark cave. No need to take your sword." Arthur are you dumb (don't answer that)

• Nimueh is like "it's not your destiny to die at my hand!" Mmkay if you know who's going to kill him what's this all for then 👀

• I LOVE Merlin guiding Arthur to safety with his magic. I've said it before but (ironically) there isn't enough magic in this series. I think this is perhaps the coolest act of magic we ever see Merlin perform. And even if the CGI is at times hilariously bad, this globe of light looks pretty cool. Quite powerful, both visually and symbolically (and also literally. Merlin’s not even conscious).

• Uther has done some truly fucked up things (both on screen and implied) but crushing the flower needed for the antidote is just so needlessly cruel that I still think of it as one of the worst things he's done.

• Gwen to the rescue <3 I know everyone goes on about how sweet and kind she is, but she can also be shrewd when the situation calls for it. She's good at thinking on her feet under pressure, and it's a trait that shows in other episodes.

• Arthur and Gwen cooperating to save Merlin – love to see it. (Arthur, that's your future wife! Look at him. He doesn't even know. He doesn’t know he'll turn into a complete simp for this woman.)

• Interesting that Gwen's first reaction to Gaius's "We might need to use magic to prepare the antidote" is "but we can't! it's forbidden!!" GIRL, THE BOY YOU FANCY YOURSELF IN LOVE WITH IS DYING. MAYBE CHILL. But I guess it says a lot about Uther's reign of terror that this was so unthinkable to her.

• If I remember right (and I might not), Gaius uses magic only 3 or 4 times in the entire series and always to save Merlin's life (or to save Alice, once). It's a fairly consistent trait throughout the series that he's actually quite reluctant to use magic (whether because he's vowed not to, or because it brings up unwanted memories. Or both). It's always a last resort. I know no one cares, I just find it interesting.

• GWEN AND MERLIN'S KISS! I wonder how Arthur would have reacted at finding out that Merlin kissed Gwen first. WE WERE DEPRIVED WE WERE ROBBED

• Why didn't Uther question the fact that Merlin survived?? First he's s all intent on letting him die to teach Arthur a lesson, then he goes "haha, well done son, you were right to defy me" (??) Did he find out about Gwen and Arthur’s subterfuge to get the flower to Gaius? He must have, I suppose, but he's remarkably chill about it (I'm surprised he didn't accuse Gaius of using sorcery to save Merlin)

• Something tells me we haven't seen the last of Nimueh yet. I don't know what. Just a feeling.

[dialux]

I’ve spent the past couple weeks enmeshed in Merlin ALLLLLLLL over again, but rather than simply reading fic/looking at art, I went back to source material and watched half the tv show which was a) an excellent decision, everyone’s fucking gorg, b) an excellent decision, the show’s actually so good, c) a HORRIBLE decision, because now I have opinions on what the show should have been.

So! Without further ado: Enjoy Dia’s Merlin Plotline (For Five Seasons).

Season One: Pretty much the same as canon. Merlin learns about Nimueh, who is the primary antagonist, and we get to know all the characters we know and love. The season ends with Merlin returning from defeating Nimueh, entirely certain that he cannot/must not ever reveal his magic to anyone in Camelot.

Season Two: ALSO pretty much the same. But this time, when Merlin and Arthur go to the crystal cave, Arthur learns about Merlin’s magic- and Morgana’s. Shaken and distrusting, Arthur returns to Camelot to confront his father, but before he can, Morgause attacks. Arthur goes with Merlin to Kilgarrah’s cave and offers to ease his sentence if he tells them how to defeat the undead. Kilgarrah refuses, furious that Merlin dared to bring a Pendragon to him, but tells them that the only way for Arthur to survive is to kill his own kin. Arthur goes to Gaius to ask for help, where Gaius tells him that Morgana is his sister. Arthur refuses to kill her and Merlin defends him, but Gaius drugs them both and then poisons Morgana. In the aftermath, Morgause and her army disappear with Morgana, Uther is severely weakened by Morgana’s departure and starts passing many of his duties onto Arthur’s shoulders, and Arthur tells Gaius that his position is forfeit in the royal household. Because Merlin supported Arthur’s decision not to kill Morgana- and was drugged himself by Gaius- they build a tentative accord between each other, and he remains as Arthur’s manservant.

Season Three: Arthur and Merlin have reached a shaky balance with respect to Merlin’s magic, though there are still hiccups. They keep searching for Morgana, though without much hope; Gaius is training a few apprentices to be his successors. Arthur is, functionally, regent, and courting Gwen. The first half of the season is Arthur and Merlin settling into their new roles, with Arthur learning more about magic and Merlin supporting Arthur in his expanded duties. About halfway through the season, Morgana returns to Camelot, and her miraculous survival seems to rejuvenate Uther, who takes back many of his responsibilities. Arthur and Merlin still believe Morgana can be redeemed, but their methods of doing so are not immediately effective. Arthur clashes repeatedly with his father, unwilling to be as passive as in the past. This culminates in Arthur deciding his father’s imprisonment of Kilgarrah is unjust, and trying to identify the last surviving dragonlord to keep Camelot safe even after Kilgarrah is freed; Merlin later tells him that it’s his father, and they set out to find him. When they return from their quest, they learn that Morgause has attacked again, aided surreptitiously by Morgana, and the only way to beat back this army of the dead is through dragonfire. Merlin releases Kilgarrah and Morgause is defeated. But Kilgarrah then turns on Camelot and brings down half the castle, trying to reach Uther; Merlin, in full view of the court, commands him to stop. Uther demands Merlin be burned alive for sorcery. Arthur refuses, citing Merlin’s choice to protect Camelot rather than let the dragon destroy it, but Uther refuses to heed him. Arthur, Merlin, and Gwen flee from Camelot that very night.

Season Four: On their way out of Camelot, Arthur, Merlin, and Gwen are chased down by a furious Morgana, who insists on joining them. The four of them spend the season living, alternately, as vagabonds, mercenaries, and hedge knights; they meet up with Lancelot, Gwaine, Elyan, Percival, etc. The season is full of Merlin learning magic (hatching dragons!) through a variety of sources, wandering Albion, and understanding all that has been lost since Uther’s Purge. Arthur and Morgana learn the difficulties of being a commoner and Arthur gains a new understanding of Gwen; Gwen, however, starts to have second thoughts about her relationship with Arthur now that Lancelot is back in the picture. Arthur’s uncle Agravaine comes to join their party, but Merlin and Morgana immediately suspect him as working on Uther’s behalf. This culminates in Agravaine finally revealing that Morgause is not dead but has partnered with King Odin and promised him Camelot; they have been slowly poisoning Uther since Arthur left to weaken Camelot’s defenses. Arthur and his band of knights- and the army Merlin, Morgana, and Gwen have spent the season gathering- return to Camelot to save Uther. But they are too late. Arthur returns to Uther freshly buried, a kingdom in disarray, and his own people distrusting the army he brings home. To bring them all together, Merlin tells the people to go to Lake Avalon, where he asks Freya to part the waters; a sword is revealed to be embedded within the stone. Arthur pulls Excalibur out of the stone, gains his confidence and inspires his people, and kills Morgause.

Season Five [First Half]: Having defeated Odin, Arthur has established Camelot as a place for magic to thrive and shine. Merlin hears of magic-users in Essetir being taken as slaves by the king, and insists that they must try to stop it. Merlin and Gwaine go to Lot’s kingdom in disguise and accidentally perform a coup; Merlin rules in Arthur’s name before Arthur comes to claim the lands as his own. In Essetir, he meets Mordred, who was captured by slavers after fleeing Camelot. Though uneasy, Merlin takes him under his wing and trains him, both in magic and, through Gwaine, in combat. Meanwhile, Caerleon, fearing Camelot’s growing military might, attempts to attack Arthur, but is repelled; Morgana then names him as High King on the battlefield, and all four kingdoms kneel to him. The tensions between Lancelot, Gwen’s, and Arthur grow daily, but the growing needs of Camelot mean they can none of them address them properly until Lancelot decides to go and help rule Essetir instead of standing in Gwen’s and Arthur’s way. Arthur and Gwen decide they should get married, and she is crowned as High Queen over Albion. Morgana is officially named Arthur’s heir.

Season Five [Second Half]: In the second half of the season, there’s a time jump. Mordred is a knight and a sorcerer, and all of Albion is at peace. Merlin is now the established court sorcerer and physician; Arthur’s knights are all acting as regents in various fiefdoms across Albion. Magic is a force for good and evil; Merlin has built schools for learning and pockets of entirely magical villages have cropped up. But Morgana’s dreams are uneasy, and when she tells Merlin, the two of them go to the crystal cave to get some more clarity. On the way back, they stop in Essetir, just in time to save Lancelot from an assassination attempt, though Merlin has to put him in a coma. Against Arthur’s advice, Gwen goes to Gaius and learns of a magical object called the Holy Grail, which could relieve all wounds and turn a life immortal. As High Queen, Gwen then issues a challenge to all of Albion for the Holy Grail, promising riches beyond all imagining. Arthur and his knights, called to by honor, go on the quest. Merlin returns from Essetir with Lancelot’s body and tells Gwen the Holy Grail is nothing other than the Old Religion’s Cup of Life, but it has been destroyed by the Druids when they learned of Morgause’s intent to steal it. Mordred then tells them that the Druids didn’t destroy it, but hid it instead, in a place with many magical trials; Merlin, and Mordred head out to overcome them. On the way there, they meet Arthur and his knights, and they join forces. Mordred is compelled by a vision on the way there and stabs Arthur with Excalibur; Merlin manages to grab the cup and come back, but Arthur refuses to take the water, instead insisting Merlin give the water to Lancelot. Merlin takes Arthur’s body to Avalon, where Freya, Morgause, and Ygraine are there to receive him. They bury him with honor and send Merlin off with the knowledge that Arthur will rise again. Merlin returns to Camelot with the Cup of Life and revives Lancelot. Gwen has exiled herself to a monastery to repent for her mistakes, but Lancelot tells Merlin that he will go after her, though the choice will be hers in the end. Morgana is crowned queen. Merlin serves as her advisor, but at the end of her reign, he retires to Avalon, where Arthur lies still, and places the entire lake under an enchantment, set to be broken only in the time of Albion’s greatest need.

[tiodolma]

As someone who likes Merlin x Morgana i feel like i am obliged to give my own two cents on the question: should Merlin have revealed his magic to her early on?

To me, he didn’t have to tbh.

Why?

A. Morgana already hates Uther. There were too many unpleasant secrets regarding her identity. Her upbringing made her vulnerable.

He had been told by the all his mentors not to trust her despite him wanting to do right by her. And regardless of whether he told Morgana about his magic or not, Morgana had long been resentful and distrustful of Uther herself due to the latter’s injustices. She was bound to betray the king one way or another. She was bound to meet and trust Morgause one way or another. She would still find out her true parentage. She would still have been manipulated by Morgause nonetheless. The fact that not only was Uther keeping major secrets from her, but Gaius, her primary physician, kept her drugged and ignorant, in time the truth will have had to come out and she will have still been rightfully outraged. Also at some point she would have had to know that she and Arthur were half-siblings.

B. She may root for Merlin but she was against the crown.

I do not believe for one second that had Merlin revealed his magic to her, she would have remained on the Pendragon’s side of their world (aka the "good guys”). Although She was little bit like Will, Gilli, Freya, who could convince Merlin to fight for himself and the magicfolk, Morgana also had the makings of characters such as Kara, Edwin, Nimueh and Sigan. These four tried to show Merlin a better/freer world but also went on to harm Gaius/Arthur, which became their death sentence.

As we can see, Morgana was theoretically located in between these two groups. That made trusting/joining her already very precarious for Merlin.

The real tipping point would have been Arthur. Morgana seemed to be influential enough to guide Arthur to follow his heart and go against Uther when it counted. In another world she would have convinced Arthur to take the throne for himself. As long as Arthur stayed alive, then Merlin would be on Morgana’s side. Gaius, who’s technically pro-Uther, can be still be convinced to the magicfolk’s side as long as the Camelot prince was safe.

C. The prophecy

The bigger problem though was that Morgana, from the beginning, has already been pegged as "designated dangerous potential enemy of the state” by both Kilgharrah and Gaius. Regardless of what she did, Merlin will always have that piece of info at the back of his head. No matter what Merlin did to prove them that Morgana isn’t like that, Gaius and Kilgharrah never stopped reminding him of her potential to "do evil” or go opposite of Merlin’s pathos. That kind of thing can mess up someone’s brain, especially powerful young men who had been thoroughly convinced that they will be the "light and savior” of his people some day in the future. His later actions and mindset is proof of the prophecy (and gaius’s philosophy) already having a profound effect on him.

There are really too many factors tbh. Merlin’s loyalty and focus was really pulled into so many directions, so many options. There was never an easy way for Merlin x Morgana to become satisfying.

.....

Merlin’s biggest sin was really using Morgana’s unfailing trust on him against her when he poisoned her. They were friends. Morgana had wholeheartedly trusted, respected and admired him, even more than Arthur did.

Merlin didn’t need magic to earn Morgana’s complete trust and love. He didn’t need magic to lose it either... That was simple use of hemlock. The moment he chose to do that, to not give her a choice in death, to not tell Morgana of his plan, to not completely trust her just once, to betray her for the final time, even when he was counting on Morgause to lift the curse on her... that already set Morgana’s path to her hatred of him in motion.

Merlin’s fear, indecision, distrust, empathy caused him to make horrible yet very realistic decisions. He continuously backed himself into a corner until there was no one left who could root for Merlin himself, not the Emrys of destiny. His lack of clear ambitions or plans made him gullible and vulnerable of Gaius’ and Kilgharrah’s mind games. Out of options, he would have had to defend status quo as long as possible, to become a reactionary hero that relied on brute force and prodigious talents to subdue his "enemies”. He would be the natural adversary of people like Morgana, Morgause (and everyone else).

It’s fascinating. And it hurts.

[jasminedragonart]

So, I'm thinking about BBC's Merlin. As I sometimes do in my day to day life, and I was thinking about Sins of the Father where Ygraine reveals Uther traded her life for magic. And I'm just very confused about it.

So, we know Nimueh was Ygraine's friend. Bestie if you will. Like she says so in the first season. We also know Nimueh is the one who performed the magic to make Ygraine pregnant. But, that's what confuses me because Nimeuh would not want to kill her friend. Especially the queen who is very beloved and would end up having negative consequences of her death bestowed on the people of Camelot.

So how did Ygraine die? Nimueh wouldn't have allowed Ygraine to die, let's just state that now. But she also knew the magic had a price. So she must have had someone else in mind for the exchange. It's not like she can't pick anyone either. Like she chose Merlin's mother because she wanted to punish Merlin. Then she traded Hunith for Gaius. So she can pick who to sacrifice. And maybe it chooses in the bloodline. Maybe. But I'm not convinced it does because then Nimueh wouldn't have agreed to do the ritual in the first place.

My theory is that Ygraine wasn't going to die. I think someone else was planned to die. But, after watching House of the Dragon, I can't help feeling like there might have been some people who didn't like the idea of magic. Of someone being more powerful than them. Maybe some people in court. And that they could have messed with the birth. Maybe they said Arthur was breached and Ygraine needed to be cut to get him out. Not a full on c section, but women used to die from a lot of things during childbirth. Especially in old times where things weren't sterile.

Killing Ygraine might have been planned so they could set Uther down the purge path.

I mean we don't know how that birth went. We don't know if she died after Arthur was out of the womb or a few minutes after he was in this world. Speaking of, wouldn't Ygraine have been getting sick or died as soon as Arthur was conceived? That baby's life was tied to someone's death. He should not exist in the womb unless someone is dead. How is this possible?

I genuinely think it was meant to be someone else.

Anyway, conspiracy time over.

[lesbicosmos]

bbc merlin liveblog - s1 ep4: the poisoned chalice

apologies for the inevitable length of this post, this ep is one of my favs

why does like everyone in this show have blue eyes?? merlin, arthur, morgana (ish, katie has heterochromia), nimueh, literally almost everyone has blue eyes

merlin is me whenever and i see a pretty woman, just almost cease functioning

arthur making merlin wear that outfit and that fucking hat is probably one of the funniest parts of the show

"she's pretty isn't she?" gwen see a woman and not immediately call her pretty challenge (she failed)

MORGANA WITH THE PURPLE DRESS AND THE BLUE SLEEVES ABDBRBSHDBS

damn merlin rly seems intent on sacrificing himself for arthur, and this early on aswell

merlin claims the drinks poisoned and arthurs all "oh merlin shut up ur so dumb" but then merlin drinks it and is poisoned and now it's all "ill go get this incredibly rare flower even if it's a suicide mission im not letting merlin die" what do u have to say abt that arthur 🤨

s1 morgana was so sweet i miss her

"you're not leaving this castle tonight." and he took that as a challenge

"sometimes you've got to do what you think is right and damn the consequences" one of my favourite quotes she's so iconic

honestly if morgana told me to do anything id just do it immediately no matter what-

OH MY GOD ITS MAGIC AGAIN WHO WOULDVE GUESSED /S

morgana going against uther from the very beginning i love her

the fact there are multiple instances throughout the show of merlin and arthur saying each others names in their sleep...actual soulmates im telling you

why is there a dinosaur in the forest i know mythical creatures exist in this but that is a whole dinosaur

there was no need for that awesome sword twirl but arthur did it anyway bc he's a dramatic bitch (and we love him for it)

"everyone in this show is so dumb they'll literally do anything if a pretty woman told them to" i say as if i wouldn't do exactly the same thing

arthurs actually deaf how did he not hear nimueh doing magic til she was literally yelling the incantations

that shot of arthur just hanging onto the rocks in the dark shouldn't be as funny as it is

m a g i c o r b o f l i g h t

can arthur hear merlin talking to him through the orb orrrr

attack of the shitty cgi spiders

god this is so gay it's literally a knight in shining armour/damsel in distress plotline

THE SHEER PAIN AND HEARTBREAK ON ARTHUR'S FACE WHEN UTHER CRUSHES THE FLOWER IM GONNA CRY

four episodes in and literally everyone is willing to risk their lives for merlin...so true

yknow we call him dumb so often but arthurs actually so smart when he needs to be

"i need some fresh water" is just gaius speak for "i need you to fuck off so i can do some illegal shit rn"

god gaius's facial expressions are gold 😭😭

"his heart has stopped" as if anyone's gonna believe that this is episode four and he's the titular character 😭

the first thing merlin does after waking up from lethal poison being sassing gaius is so true

the way arthur looks at merlin throughout that last scene, that's such an "im in love with you and im so relieved you're okay" look

the prolonged eye contact i cannot they're so gay

[merlinssaggyyfronts]

i present to you my au where nimueh raised merlin, more well known as my au to make him more bamf

[lit-in-thy-heart]

so this may be a bit of a jump but hear me out:

kara gets introduced with very little backstory aside from knowing mordred when they were young. it can be assumed that she grew up with druids, perhaps, and that people she loved were probably killed by uther. other than that, we have no clue about her past.

but this isn't the first time the name of kara has popped up. because nimueh used it (albeit with a 'c' instead of a 'k') as her disguise in 1×04. and, with the exception of tristan, no name is repeated in the series.

coincidence? perhaps. or perhaps not.

because something that has always bothered me is why nimueh waits almost twenty years to exact her revenge. there is absolutely no mention of her having caused trouble pre-canon, so it just seems like she's been quietly existing and then one day decided to fuck shit up after two decades.

unless she had a child. and perhaps that child was left in the care of druids because nimueh, as a high priestess and a very personal enemy of uther, knows that she will always be hunted by him. but the druids cause no harm and keep themselves largely hidden away. and her child can have more of a family than nimueh could ever offer, a family like she used to have on the isle of the blessed.

then she hears that the camp she left her child in has been destroyed by uther and everyone who lived there is either dead or presumed so.

so she decides to take her revenge. and when she arrives in camelot, the home of the man who supposedly murdered her daughter, she takes her daughter's name. cara.

little does she know that her daughter is very much alive and will grow up to be just as strongly opposed to camelot as her mother was.

[thenerdyindividual]

for the ship tier list thing! i bestow upon you: arwenism. because arwen is everything and everything is arwen

(another one i want u to rank is nimueh/ygraine because yuri)

You submitted arwen truly seconds after someone else did! You can find my ranking of it here:

I will rank Ygraine/Nimueh though! I think there’s some potential there! We know Nimueh was at court for a long time, and in canon she claimed that she and Uther were friends. Surely she and Ygraine became close too. Did they carry on an affair under Uther’s nose? Did Nimueh pine after Ygraine for years and the when Uther cheated on her, she turned it Nimueh for comfort?

There’s something there and I am a sucker for a tragic romance. So I rank this:

C-Tier

Send me a Merlin Ship and I’ll rank it on a tier list. Note: This is a subjective ranking and a low ranking in no way means that I am shaming you for your taste in ships.

[chishiyasan]

NIMUEH ➤ 1x04 | The Poisoned Chalice

[merlin-gifs]

Hello Merlin fans, today we bring you The Merlin-gifs Alphabet Challenge! What is this challenge!? Well, for starters, it has no starting date and no deadline... which means your contribution to the challenge has no expiration date. You may start today, tomorrow or in three months and you're free to choose WHEN to post! For each letter of the alphabet, you are given a prompt (a character, a place, an episode, a colour or a technique) and "officially" you are required to make ONE post per letter, but if you're feeling creative and inspired, feel free to pick more than one option. This challenge is open to any kind of creative content (gifs, graphics, fanarts, photo edits, picspams e.t.c.). We are a gif blog so we can only reblog gifs but don’t let this halt your creativity. The only rule is that you can't skip any letter!

A: Arthur Pendragon / Aithusa (4.04) / Alora (#cc9966) B: Balinor / Beginning of the End (1.08) / Black & White C: Cenred / Camelot / Capes D: Dragoon / Dragonlord / Daegal E: Elyan / Ealdor / Excalibur F: Freya /Fyrien (Castle of) /Faceless G: Gwaine / Guinevere / Gaius H: Hunith / High Priestesses / Horseplay I: Isolde / Isle of the Blessed / Ismere J: Jewels / Jade (#00A86B) / Juggling K: Knights of Camelot / Kara / Kilgharrah L: Lancelot Du Lac / Lady Morgana / Leon M: Merlin / Mordred / Morgause N: Nimueh / Nemeth / Navy Blue (#000080) O: Old Religion / OT4 / Orchid (#da70d6) P: Princess Mithian / Percival / Pale Colours Q: Queen of Hearts (3.10) / Queen Annis / Quick Silver (#A6A6A6) R: Royal family / Red (#FF0000) / Rising Sun (Tavern) S: Sophia / Sorcerers / Sins of the father (2.08) T: The Thomas / Tristan / The Crystal Cave (3.05) U: Uther Pendragon / Uther’s Ward / Unicorn (#9f90d0) V: Vivian / Valiant / Vibrant Colours W: Will / White (#ffffff) / Wicked Day (4.03)  X: Ships (ex: Merlin x Arthur) / Xotic (#863336) / Xoxo (romantic of platonic kisses) Y: Ygraine / Young Warlock / Yellow (#ffff00) Z: Zenchua (#d23c77) / Zonk / Zzzz Don't forget to include this hashtag: #merlinedit (and/or #merlinalphabetchallenge) to share your graphic content! Have fun!

[tiodolma]

Musings while I was making From Now On We Are Enemies

A. Merlin's unchanging appearance throughout the art and throughout the seasons compared to Morgana is so so jarring and honestly upsetting.

B. Merlin having killed more influential people than Morgana got me really depressed for a while.

I drew 16 characters in the third picture. All of these were the influential characters that died personally by both Merlin's and Morgana's hands.

Merlin killed 10 - Mary Collins, Edwin Muirden, Nimueh, Aulfric, Sophia, Cedric/Sigan, Agravaine, SIdhe King, Pixie, and Aredian the WItchfinder.

Morgana killed 5 - Tauren, Elyan (not intended), Gwaine (left him to die), Alator (the only one that was truly killed deliberately), Morgause (as sacrifice).

tbf Morgana in the story killed more but most of those were extras and footmen (guards, and etc.). and not necessarily characters whom the audiences have gained emotional attachment to. Morevoer we can't rule out Merlin killing innumerable bandits and faceless enemies either.

Both Merlin and Morgaba weren't innocent in what they did.

ALSO Merlin and Morgana both killed Uther. nuff said.

Another thing

C. I realized that if I moved the axe to a position above merlin and morgana in "I'm just a man on the balcony"

It's like the symbol of the magic ban, of the execution is gonna cut them both apart from their shared spot on Morgana’s window. Isn't that poignant and true to the story, then? Despite both fighting for their freedom, Merlin and Morgana's main point of contention in the story was always whether to keep Uther and Arthur, the steadfast symbols of anti-magic bigotry, alive. That was the axe that divided them. And at the end they both forgot that their freedom was what they initially fought for. The fight for magic was forgotten and the result was them not getting the freedom, happiness and lives they both wanted.

tbh i didnt intend for this but i am pleasantly surprised.

[sharks-reef]

Merlin Au # i forget cuz i havent posted one of these in what? a year? 2 years?

So! It's been about 1500 years since Arthur died. All those magical creatures that were driven to near extinction have made a good recovery and live in the protective barrier the Merlin has established around the lake ( its like a good 50 mile diameter ). Morgana, Mordred, Nimueh, Morgause and all the other big name magic users have been renicarnating every century and seeking out Merlin. Not for revenge or anything, just because he is the only one theh know. Eventually Merlin and the group form a tight bond. Anyways, its what ever year you would like it to be and Merlin has turned his grief ( he had long forgiven Mordred and Morganna and now just rage at Sidhe and Avalon for keeping Arthur ) in raw, pure rage. One night, while the 'magic council' was over at Merlin's home, Merlin is silently raging and eventually says "the Great Dragon before he passed told me Arthur and the lot would come back when Avalon needed him most. There have been so many wars, how have we not needed them once?" and he procceeds to go on a tirade which eventually leads to him declaring 'fine, you want the biggest threat? I'll give you a big threat' and he goes on to damn near burn the whole country to the ground, have all the world leaders fearing him and essentially has brought upon dooms day. The magic council stands behind for multiple reasons a) they dont want to get in his way, b) its about time he wwent ballistic, and c) they want to ensure their friend comes out of this alive. Arthur and the group come back with a brief mission that they are to kill Emrys. Arthur doesn't remember his final days and nobody else knew except Lancelot. Lance seperate from the group because while theyre set on killing Emrys, Lance wants to help put Merlin back together. I cant wait to see how magicgeddon plays out.

[fishoutofcamelot]

I saw your r recent contribution to the post about hard vs soft magic systems and I agree wholeheartedly. You also mentioned having a bunch of worldbuilding and stuff about the magic system, and I was wondering if you'd be willing to share some?

(For reference, this is the post in question)

Certainly! While the worldbuilding/magicbuilding hellscape i was describing in the notes is actually in regards to an original-content wip I've been working on, i also have a LOT of headcanons regarding the BBCM magic system too! (Do not ask about my wip's magic system, because i won't be able to shut up about it)

WARNING: long post ahead and mobile won't let me include a cutoff/read-more line. If you're not interested, get ready to scroll down like your life depends on it (and it does).

So! First things first. Here's what we know about the BBCM magic system:

Magic requires spells, most of the time. This seems like a no-brainer, but still an important distinction. There are a lot of magic systems that don't require vocalized spells - Avatar: the Last Airbender, Fullmetal Alchemist, and Ninjago, to name a few. Spells are rather common for wizard/witch/medieval fantasies, and are typically used to control and channel the intent of the magic. This suggests that the magic of BBCM is some kind of force or energy that needs spoken commands to control.

Spells are repurposed words from Old English, aka the language of the Old Religion. (Let's ignore the obvious anachronistic nightmare of the fact that Old English is exactly the same language they would've been speaking in this time period.)

The use of a spell causes someone's eyes to flare gold, plus that fancy wooshing sound effect that Arthur miraculously never hears. This suggests that magic somehow changes your physiology, although it could be also just be a side effect of channeling.

However, magic doesn't always require a spell. Though never fully explained, it appears to be something only innate magic users are capable of - Merlin, Morgana, Mordred. It is something less controllable than spellwork, typically governed by moments of strong emotion rather than logical intent.

The show consistently flip-flops between the idea that magic is something you're born with, and that Merlin is rare for being born with magic. It's never clarified just how someone acquires magic. Gaius asks Merlin where he studied, suggesting that it's something you can learn, while Balinor claims that you either have it or you don't. Though not confirmed fact, i suspect it's similar to how it works in the show Supernatural. There, some witches are natural-born, while others are taught (and some get their powers from spooky demon deals).

It has a life-for-a-life policy. Basically like the Law of Equivalent Exchange from Fullmetal Alchemist, a life cannot be created without another one being sacrificed first. This rule only canonically applies to creating life/the Cup of Life, and any other possible applications aren't addressed.

This rule apparently doesn't apply to animals, as Merlin brought a dog statue to life without killing anyone (that we know of), and Valiant's shield had three live snakes in it. However, it's possible that lives were taken as payment in the process of animation without Merlin's knowledge, but it never happens on screen so we don't know. So either a) animals don't have souls to exchange in the life-for-a-life policy, b) they do but it happens off-screen, or c) those animated animals aren't actually alive.

The Cup of Life infuriates me from a magicbuilding perspective. Ignoring the obvious question of how it came into the druids' possession, its existence isn't clearly defined. Does it require the fancy rain ritual that Nimueh gave it, or was she just extra? Why does drinking from it give you life, while bleeding into it makes you undead and also mindlessly obedient to the sorcerer who made you as such? Were there life-for-a-life consequences for creating an immortal army? Wtf happened on the Isle of the Blessed to allow Merlin to "master life and death", and what does that even mean? All valid questions that never get answered.

Spells sometimes need need a 'source'. Think the staff from "The Tears of Uther Pendragon" and Morgana from "The Fires of Idirsholas." It is unclear what makes these spells different/special.

There is a power hierarchy. Some spells are too powerful for some practitioners to cast, although the reason for this is unclear. Does it drain you of energy/life force? Do you exhaust/overwork your magic muscles? Do you get a little pop-up that says 404 Magic Not Found? Unclear.

Magic is something that can be trained and improved. For example, Morgana gradually became more powerful over time. Merlin naturally had a lot of power straight off the jump and just had to discipline it, but he's a ~special~ case so he doesn't count.

There are some subsets of magic that are definitively born traits. Morgana is a Seer, possessing this capability even before her magic manifested. Likewise, Merlin is a dragonlord, which he inherited from Balinor. Although Balinor did mention that it wasn't a sure thing he would have the ability until he faced a dragon, so there may be some variation in whether or not someone lucks out in the Magic Gene Pool. This may suggest that natural-born magic is hereditary, as both Morgana and her sister Morgause had it. Vivienne and Gorlois both probably didn't have it, otherwise you'd hear Uther bellyaching about it, which raises the question of where they got it? A grandparent, perhaps? Maybe they both carried a recessive magic gene or something...

Unless you're Merlin, magic can be taken away by the Gean Canagh. It's not explained how this is possible, though, as it's never explained how you acquire magic in the first place. But Merlin never lost his magic because he's "magic itself" which if you ask me is just a deus ex machina wrapped inside a headache wrapped inside a heaping load of chosen one bullcrap. But it's canonical lore, so we have to consider it.

Despite my previous complaints, i actually find the idea of Merlin being "magic itself" rather intriguing. Is he a creature of magic, like a dragon or a questing beast? Is his body made of magic, like how a statue might be made of clay? Does it run through his veins like blood? If this is the case, then why didn't he suffer more severe ramifications for losing his magic? Why didn't it kill him? How did it restrict his magic in the first place? Placebo effect? The fanon explanation is that he's "the living embodiment of magic" but that makes my bullcrap richter scale shoot off the charts because that makes NO sense whatsoever. "Son of the earth, sea, and sky?" What does that MEAN?

There is a vivid link between magic and the Old Religion, which has its own beliefs and rituals and deities. Primarily, the Triple Goddess. The Triple Goddess is actually an existing deity in Neopaganism and Wicca. This also suggests the existence of the Horned God, another entity from neopagan lore and her masculine consort/counterpart, but that is never confirmed.

WHO. OR. WHAT. IS. THE. FREAKING. DOCHRAID. She's described as a creature of magic, which suggests that humans/humanoids can be creatures of magic, fueling my theory that 'Emrys' isn't human.

Destiny exists. It is unclear who creates/writes destiny, who controls it, who or what is privy to knowing about it, and what that means for the concept of free will.

The crystal cave is a thing, i guess. It's the heart of magic, is haunted by Taliesin, and is filled with prophetic crystals. I actually skipped the episodes that involve this stuff because i disliked them, so i don't know much about the Crystal Cave. Apparently ghosts can manifest there tho???

The veil is a thing too. It is unclear how some spirits can retain their human figure and mentality, like Balinor and Uther, but others become dorocha. I imagine its also like Supernatural - being a ghost for long enough will drive you insane, and though it takes a while all spirits eventually turn into dorocha.

Creatures of magic exist. These are normal creatures who have magic imbued into them somehow.

Okay, i think that's everything we know. It seems like a lot, but keep in mind that all of those rules are VERY nebulous. But that at least gives us a jumping-off point!

So here's my working theory/headcanon.

Magic comes from a connection to the spiritual energies of the Triple Goddess. Kinda like a third eye, and for the sake of simplicity that's what we'll call it. The druids have adapted a way of life that revolves around faith and magic, likely in an attempt to cultivate and one day attain this Third Eye. Like Gaius, who trained with the High Priestesses, you can study and practice and discipline yourself into acquiring it.

Magic is a cosmic force owned by the Triple Goddess, accessible to anyone with the Third Eye link. Imagine the Triple Goddess as a milkshake and the so-called Third Eye as a straw. The studying and training that people dedicate their whole lives to is basically just looking for/building a straw.

However, some people are just naturally born with a straw in hand, but require practice and study to be able to properly use it. Or like Morgana, it takes a few years for them to even find it/activate it.

Spellcasting is essentially just sucking through the straw, and the vocalized spells gives that Magic Milkshake some purpose/intent/shape.

The bigger the spell, the more Magic Milkshake is required. Some people have bigger/wider straws than others, so magic comes easier for them. But with enough training and practice anyone can widen their straw/strengthen their straw-sucking muscles to cast with the big leagues.

The Gean Canagh devours your straw/Third Eye. Perhaps you have to rebuild a new spiritual connection from scratch, or perhaps it permanently severs any and all connection to the Triple Goddess. Like getting excommunicated from the Church, only worse.

The Crystal Cave was/is the Triple Goddess's home, but she's out of town on a business trip atm so she left the spirit of her most loyal follower, Taliesin, to look after the place. It's super powerful and has all those cool crystals because it's hella steeped in her magic juices.

While most magic users get a standard-issue straw, others get Fancy Premium Membership Straws. Normal joe shmoes like Gilli have plastic straws, while a Seer like Morgana has a metal one or something (can you tell this metaphor is starting to get out of hand?). Those Premium Straws are only hereditary in nature. So there's a Seer Straw, or a Dragonlord Straw, or a Disir Straw, but it's also not a sure thing you'll even inherit it at all. It's all luck of the straw draw.

Creatures of magic aren't just animals that possess straws, though. They've been made/produced using magic rituals and processes and spells. Like Nimueh's afanc, nathairs, wraiths, shades, etc. So probably like a thousand years ago, some especially powerful shmuck came by and invented dragons. Which leads me to an important question: WHO THE HELL THOUGHT THE DOCHRAID WAS A GOOD IDEA.

Im reluctant to say these creatures were invented by the Triple Goddess, though, for reasons I'll get to in a moment.

So this still leaves the whole Cup of Life, life-for-a-life policy thing to be explained. I do believe that the policy is universally applicable to the creation of souls, and i do believe that animals have souls too. But individuals get their souls exchanged for those of equal value. So every soul has a certain weight to it, and you need to exchange souls of equal weight to create one. So when Merlin brought the dog to life, some random dog somewhere dropped dead against his knowledge.

Creating undead armies involves killing them and then resurrecting them. That's what 'undead' means. Zombies. So yes, to raise an immortal zombie army, Morgause's spell probably caused a bunch of people around the world to mysteriously drop dead.

Which leaves two last things to explain: destiny and Merlin.

Destiny is, i think, a combined effort between human choice and supernatural predeterminism. That is, for the most part humans make their own choices, but there are occasions where the Triple Goddess has to step in and do some course correction. Uther starting the Purge was free will, but Arthur and Merlin's destiny was an act of divine damage control. The Triple Goddess sets destiny into motion and informs a chosen few about it.

Okay SO. That leaves Merlin. And this is the bit im kinda excited about.

The Triple Goddess is a reservoir of power, a cosmic force of spiritual energy intrinsicallu linked to the fabric of the universe. People can spiritually reach out and tune into/channel her supernatural frequencies. But as a milkshake cannot suck itself through a straw, the Triple Goddess likewise cannot cast a spell. She can influence destiny, but she can't physically cast any magic on her own. That's why she didn't create the creatures of magic.

So a few years ago, Uther hecked up big time. And people of magic, the Triple Goddess's followers and acolytes and straw connections, were dying in droves. I can imagine that all those Third Eye tethers snapping en masse was painful for her to go through. She relies on the tethers to remain connected to the real world, and if all the tethers snap then she will be cut off from Earth altogether. And Earth requires magic to continue existing/thriving, so that's kind of a no-no.

So, the Triple Goddess knew that the only way to save the world was through divine intervention. Thus began the destiny of the Once and Future King and Emrys. She knew humanity is bigoted so there was bound to eventually be a repeat of Uther, so she made OaFK resurrectable, so they could keep him on the bench in case anyone ever needs him again.

Where does Merlin/Emrys fall into things?

Well. The Triple Goddess knew that saving her people and the world would require an immense magical undertaking, something no ordinary magic user would be able to pull off. But she has the power, if only she could use it. But a human can. So the Triple Goddess decided to be reborn into the body of a dragonlord's son. Merlin. Emrys. Magic itself.

Of course, this whole Being Born As A Human Thing is tricky, and as anyone familiar with reincarnation knows, you don't usually recall your past lives. So she became Merlin, unaware that he was ever the Triple Goddess. (Although she did add a clause saying she'd be destined to remember her past life eventually, which got hecked up for reasons ill explain later)

That's why so many creatures of magic/magic users recognize Merlin by his presence, why thr druids carry such reverence for him. Whereas the sidhe and other individuals don't recognize him, because they are blinded by heresy. They may have a spiritual connection to the Triple Goddess, but do not use her magic as she intended, and she's too busy wearing jaunty scarves to excommunicate them herself.

Why get the Once and Future King involved when she could just save everyone herself? Well, the Triple Goddess prefers to let the humans keep their agency and save themselves, and would rather remain in the role of protector/helper. Its just her nature.

But if that's the case, then why did Arthur's destiny fail? It's simple: Kilgharrah.

Remember what i said about the Horned God, counterpart to the Triple Goddess? Yeah, that's Kilgharrah. Like the Triple Goddess, he's another power reservoir, but he's jealous because people worship her and not him. He is against everything she does and actively seeks the destruction of the Triple Goddess's magic/influence for Jealous Evil Reasons. To stop him, the Triple Goddess enlisted some of her followers to bind him into the body of a dragon (perhaps this is how dragons were created) so he would never be able to do that. Years later, the Purge happened and "Kilgharrah" got locked away, further cut off from his power.

When Merlin walked in, unaware that he used to be the Triple Goddess, Kilgharrah seized his chance at revenge and manipulated Merlin into setting him free. Then, once free, he decided to lay claim to the power vacuum left by the Triple Goddess's quasi-absence. He began controlling destiny in whatever limited capacities he could, using magic of his own to permanently bury Merlin's knowledge of his past life. Then he ensured that Arthur would die and the Triple Goddess's magic would never return. But since he doesn't have FULL control over destiny (his powers are still limited by his dragon form, after all), he couldn't rewrite the bit where Arthur gets benched in Avalon. He's probably conspiring with the sidhe to ensure Arthur stays trapped there forever, or else he would've come back a long time ago.

As for how the Gean Canagh took Merlin's magic...well, yes, it devoured his Third Eye straw, but those are created by a strong spiritual connection to the Triple Goddess. And since he's literally the big TG himself, all he had to do was find himself again (by returning to his old home, the Crystal Cave) to recreate a new one.

Over the last 1500 years, Kilgharrah/the Horned God has been steadily accruing followers and worshippers in the hopes that one will become strong enough to release TG's bonds on him. Then he can kill her once and for all and claim full dominion over the universe, with the sidhe to support him.

I imagine that's how Arthur's resurrection would happen - Arthur and the rest of the dead Round Table are in Avalon when they learn about the treachery and plot to kill Merlin/take over the world, and spend the next few hundred years fighting their way out of Avalon.

Okay, I think that just about covers it. God, that was long. Any questions?