#damn Arthur you are lucky Merlin loves you lol | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

hayleysstark · 5 years

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*Queenie appears wearing a Hufflepuff robe and scarf* I'm curious...which Hogwarts house would you sort the Merlin characters? And, if you're comfortable sharing, do YOU identify with a particular house, or multiple houses? Have a pleasant day, and a cookie, too! *Hands you a chocolate cookie* P.S. It's from Publix. I can't bake to save my life, but Publix can turn out some damn good cookies lol

OH MAN YOU’RE A HUFFLEPUFF ?????? lucky bastard, you get friendly housemates and your dormitories are right by the kitchens ???? unfair. im calling bullshit. wtf. who allowed this. who allowed Hufflepuffs to be the luckiest honestly. unfair. ALSO all chocolate cookies are good cookies, i appreciate any and all chocolate cookies on offer tbh. actually. i appreciate any and all cookies period.

also i am a Ravenclaw!!!! not v smart, but i value knowledge more than anything else, so it’s the only House that i fit lol

fghyghgbn all right all right but i’ll have you know, one (1) immortal warlock emrys is too old, too tired, and too sober for all the drama and Discourse™️ ((and believe me, Sorting fictional characters brings a lot of Discourse™️)) so the consequences for this are firmly on YOUR head, my Queen.

Merlin is a Slytherin. and don’t none of y’all @ me about this. don’t none of y’all come at me with “uwu he’s actually a hufflepuff, sometimes he can be a halfway decent human being for two (2) seconds” don’t!!!!!! do that to me!!!!!!!! i’m old!!!!! i’m tired!!!!! and i’m too sober!!!! Hufflepuff Merlin is honestly dead to me !!!! also this would get WAY too long if i stopped to list all the reasons why one Merlin Emrys is, in fact, more Slytherin than Salazar himself, but this is obviously a controversial choice, so i’ll just remind y’all that this is still where i stand:

tl;dr: Merlin Emrys may be an absolute dreamboat but don’t let those gorgeous clavicles or peg-me eyes fool you, he is still a man who will stop at absolutely nothing to get what he wants, including manipulate his best friends, attempt to murder his best friends, actually murder somebody who presented zero threat to him just to protect his secret,,,,,,, need i go on????

Arthur is a Gryffindor, with strong Hufflepuff tendencies. all right, i admit it, this is one area where i could absolutely change my mind at any point. Arthur definitely has as much Hufflepuff in him as Gryffindor, to be honest - he makes mistakes, sure, but he’s got his heart in the right place, and he genuinely just wants to love and be loved. he’s the heart and soul of the series, and Camelot as a whole, and i do think he would be an excellent fit for Hufflepuff House, but ultimately, he prizes his courage far more than his compassion, so i think he would wind up in Gryffindor either way.

Gwen is a Hufflepuff, with strong Gryffindor tendencies. we got a complete reversal for our beautiful Queen here!!! Guinevere has a lot of Gryffindor in her, there’s no doubt about that, but she’s the polar opposite of Arthur. she holds kindness in far higher regard than bravery, and for all her nerve, the Hat would put her firmly in Hufflepuff.

Morgana is a Slytherin, with strong Gryffindor tendencies. honestly, i could go either way with this bitch. yes, she’s cunning, she’s ambitious, she’s determined, and like Merlin, she’ll stop at nothing to get what she wants (although, terrible as Merlin is, Morgana’s motivations are far less admirable.) but, for all her faults, Morgana is a lady with a strong, unshakable sense of justice. she doesn’t want to kill Arthur and claim Camelot as her own just for kicks. she wants to remake Camelot, reshape it, she wants to tear it all down and rebuild it from the ground up. she wants to make a haven for sorcerers. she wants to create a sanctuary for magic. she wants to build a safe place for people like her. as twisted as her viewpoint is by the end of the series, she genuinely believes she is fighting for what’s right, and her own sense of her nobility could easily place her in Gryffindor.

Gaius is a Ravenclaw. don’t get me wrong, Gaius definitely has a Slytherin streak of his own, and you’d better believe it’s a mile wide, but he values knowledge and intellect above all.

Kilgharrah is a Slytherin, with strong Ravenclaw tendencies. not to say Kilgharrah isn’t absolutely brilliant, because of course he is, but he’s no scholar, and ultimately, he’s cut from the same cloth as Merlin and Morgana. he will do what it takes to survive. and the pursuit of knowledge will always come second to that.

and for all the rest:

Leon is a Gryffindor, with strong Hufflepuff tendencies.Lancelot is a Gryffindor.Gwaine is a Gryffindor.Elyan is a Gryffindor, with strong Hufflepuff tendencies.Percival is a Hufflepuff, with strong Gryffindor tendencies.

great to hear from you, as usual, Queenie!! 💖💖💖 have a wonderful day!!

#merlin #bbc merlin #ask #queenie

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serceleste · 5 years

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tagged by @rain-sleet-snow !

Author Name: celeste9

Fandoms You Write For: I’ve written for quite a few over the years but right now mostly Star Wars, and then MCU.

Where You Post: These days, just AO3, and sometimes snippets or short random stuff on Tumblr.

Most Popular One-Shot: By far it’s No More Secrets, and it continues to boggle my mind how often it still shows up in my daily kudos emails, 5 years later! It’s a Merlin/Arthur (BBC Merlin) kidnapping leads to magic reveal fic I wrote for a gift exchange after I had already begun falling out of love with the ship, and it’s one of those things where I’m absolutely thrilled people loved it so much but it’s not one of my own personal favorites, so.

Most Popular Multi-Chapter Story: In a Palace by the Lake, what I think of as the secret Prince Finn fic, lol. Not that surprising it was popular, it’s mutual pining where Finn’s a Force-sensitive prince and Poe is the idiot in love with him, ha. It was posted fall 2016, so it missed the true heyday of stormpilot frenzy but was still early enough that it was a genuine fandom juggernaut at the time.

Favorite Story You Wrote: Oh, damn, I don’t know. I judge everything I write but it’s nice to realize that there are stories I genuinely love, even if I always think they could have been improved. So I could name a number of fics here, but the first one I always think of is This Is the Road to Ruin (We Started at the End), my Finn/Poe/Rey/Kylo Ren First Order AU. It remains the longest and most ambitious thing I’ve ever written, and I’m honestly still really proud of it.

Story You Were Nervous to Post: All of them!

How Do You Choose Your Titles: I keep a list of song lyrics and poetry I can dip into, and when that fails usually something fairly generic from the fic itself.

Do You Outline: Nope, who has time for that?? I fly by the seat of my pants!! And it probably shows, lol. In seriousness, I write as stuff comes to me and then go back and fill in the blanks where needed, and I do put forethought into where I’m trying to go, but just in my head, never in a structured outlining way.

Complete: 541 fics on AO3, plus IDK how many drabbles and 3 sentence fics and other assorted tiny things I never posted there, and there’s a handful of cringey things I never bothered moving over from ffnet.

In-Progress: lol, this will take a while!

- Poe/Rey pwp

- Finn/Poe/Rey touch starvation

- time travel Poe/Rey + Kylo/Ben

- canon AU where Muran shows up alive, Finn/Poe + Poe/Muran

- canon AU Poe/Kare/Iolo where Iolo doesn’t join the Resistance with them

- SW/MCU fusion Bucky/Finn/Poe/Rey

- Poe/Luke where Poe went to Ahch-To

- dark Rey/Poe where Rey gains control of the FO and defeats the Resistance, capturing Poe in the process

- Finn/Kylo redemption fic involving hugs

- Finn/Poe undercover fake married

- Poe/Jess friends with benefits

- Finn/Poe leaning into the age difference

- Poe/Kylo where Poe goes undercover to the FO to try to turn Kylo back to the light

- sequel to the Prince Finn fic

- Poe/Leia through the events of the Poe comic up to the end of TFA

- sort of a Leia & Luke epistolary fic, letters she never sent him while he was missing

- Finn/Poe/Rey stranded on a planet with Luke

- vague possible follow up to the darkjedistormpilot First Order AU where they find the Resistance

- that Inside Llewyn Davis Llewyn/OMC fic I started once

- I have tons of little snippets of stuff that may or may not ever get turned into actual fics, Rey/Jess, Rey/Poe, Finn/Poe, Poe/Hux, Poe/Ben(Kylo), Finn/Poe/Rey, Poe/Leia, Poe/Jess...

- I have a lot of partially finished fics from old fandoms and/or fandoms I still write for but are just so old that I’ve forgotten where I was going with them, and it feels sad to admit they’re never going to be finished, especially the ones that had a lot of words!

Coming Soon/Not Yet Started:

- I still want to write the “5 times Finn wouldn’t let Poe blow something up + 1 time he did” fic

- I have a bit of something I cut from another fic I always meant to recycle into a developing relationship Rey/Jess fic

- still want to turn a snippet into a “5 times Poe and Lando had a one night stand + that time they realized five one night stands might be a relationship” fic

- always meant to write my Poe/Black One fic

- sometimes I think about the Finn/Rey figure skater/hockey player AU I wanted to write while I was in the middle of an exchange

- the dream I had where Bucky was rescuing tied-up bearded Steve wearing the stealth Cap uniform really wants to be a fic

- I never wrote the Leia/Holdo/Poe fic of my dreams

- I’m always thinking about crossovers

- ...I have a lot of ideas, okay

Do You Accept Prompts: I do, but I’ll be honest, if you prompt me at the moment I’m not going to write it, I’m lucky if I churn out a couple hundred words on the weekend and I still have likely unattainable goals of finishing some ST related WIPs before Ep IX comes out.

Upcoming Story You Are Most Excited to Write: tbh right now I’m excited whenever any words at all get produced, it’s a low bar

#meme #writing #star wars #marvel #me

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saintsandmisfit · 7 years

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tag 20 how ever many people you’d like to know better!

i was tagged by @bakksana (only for you gashii

don’t ignore this on pain of severe disappoint from me

name: taha (that’s it, don’t rhyme anything with it because i’ll hurt you xoxo)

zodiac sign: libra (idk what this means except apparently i’m super flirty, says tumblr posts)

height: 160 cm (so basic but i look taller than i am because i’m scary i guess lol)

last thing you googled: “why is north america so shit”

favourite music artist: hkeem ft. temur (this question is painful)

song stuck in my head: DNA - Kendrick Lamar

last movie you watched: Get Out (so damn good guys, please watch it)

what are you wearing now: pyjamas (24/7)

why did you choose your url: because i’m an even hoe duh

do you have any other blogs: …no

what did your last relationship teach you: are you satan

religious or spiritual: religious

favourite color: red, black, gold

average hours of sleep: 6-7 usually, 5 if i’m trying to be annoying

lucky number: 9

favourite characters: holy trinity (sana + even + isak squad), tony STARK, bucky barnes, arthur pendragon + merlin (i know, i know), harry motherfuckin’ potter + hermione granger + ron weasley (golden trio), lily potter, nymphadora tonks (who am i kidding, i love them all), james tiberius kirk + bones + spock (kill me - holy trinity #3), how long do i keep going

how many blankets do you sleep with: 1

dream job: i mean…. study manager at pharma-company, yeah lets go with that

i tag @buckywithegoodhair (go along w/ it), @isaks-even, @ashtunwrin (babe pls), @nokomoko, @mikaelsyousef, @thickskinandelasticheart, @softestisak + EVERYONE ELSE—— i’m going to stop now cause i hit that wake threshold

#question tags #gashii noooo

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typewritersandtentacles · 7 years

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Merwin prompt: Eggsy thinks Merlin Is cheating on him. He isn't - insert hing he is actually doing. Happy ending please :)

(Sorry this took so long! I’m slow at these. And this turned out longer than I planned lol. Also this is unbetaed. You can read it here on AO3)

“So where do you want to go for dinnertonight?” Eggsy asks as he taps at his phone, letting his mum know he couldpick Daisy up that afternoon.

“Afraid I can’t tonight, lad,”Merlin replies, not turning away from his laptop.

“Oh?” Eggsy glances at him,frowning. They’d already confirmed plans that morning. “Are y’ working lateagain?”

He tries to quell the disappointmentcreeping into voice. Merlin doesn’t need to feel guilty about working. He trieshis best, and Eggsy fully understands. Without Merlin, this entire place wouldfall to pieces. Perhaps he can coax Harry into joining him.

“Yeah,” Merlin says, finallysparing Eggsy an apologetic smile. “I’ll probably be home late tonight too.”

Eggsy’s stomach drops a littleforward, but he nods and soldiers on. “Try not to work too hard,” Eggsy saysand drops a kiss on top of Merlin’s head. As an after thought he suggests, “Icould bring dinner by and we could eat here?”

“Not necessary,” Merlin saysquickly. “It’ll be boring, and ye shouldn’t waste yer evening sitting aroundhere.”

Eggsy frowns, though he supposesMerlin is right. It’s usually dreadfully boring when Eggsy hangs around waitingfor Merlin.

“Well, maybe Harry can get a pint,”Eggsy murmurs, more to himself than anything.

“Afraid he’s working late too,”Merlin says, already turning his back to Eggsy.

“Bollocks, okay.” Eggsy shakes hishead. There goes his night. “See y’ when y’ get home babe.”

He leaves, thinking no more on thematter.

Until two days later when he comesacross Merlin and Harry whispering to one another, their heads tucked close. Itwasn’t an uncommon sight around the estate. With Harry now taking the mantle asArthur, Merlin was constantly at his side, discussing one matter or the next.They were in constant gravitation of one another, pulled like the sea to themoon. If Eggsy was a pettier man he would have been jealous, but he knew thatwhile Merlin’s and Harry’s relationship ran deep, it was purely platonic.

Or at least, that was what he toldhimself when they jumped apart upon his greeting. Merlin quickly smooths hisguilty expression into a neutral mask and says, “Good to see ye lad.”

“Did y’ come home last night?”Eggsy asks. Merlin hadn’t been there when he woke.

“Afraid not. Tristan had a missionproblem,” Merlin says with a sigh, the dark circles under his eyesconfirmation.

“Seems things were a bit morecomplicated than we originally thought,” Harry adds. “I’m afraid I kept Merlinaway. Apologies, my dear boy.”

Eggsy frowns but shrugs—what elsecan he do?

“Y’ coming home tonight though,right?”

“I’ll try lad,” Merlin promises andleaves.

Eggsy turns to Harry, who smilesand gestures to his office. “Care for some tea?”

Eggsy follows him in, seeing noreason to decline.

****

“Something is up,” Eggsy tells Roxya week later. “Merlin has been home twice in the week, and the second time hesmelled like Harry’s cologne.”

“That isn’t that uncommon,” Roxy states.“They work closely. And things have been hectic, you know that.”

Maybe. He’s probably just beingparanoid. It’s just, their anniversary is coming up and he’s barely seen a lickof Merlin. Everytime Eggsy tries to do something with him, Merlin avoids himlike he’s harboring the plague or something. And the last time Eggsy walked inon Merlin and Harry in a room together, they nearly darted to the oppositeends, each sharing twin guilty expressions.

Eggsy knows he’s lucky, that heshouldn’t push it. Men like Merlin don’t really go for boys like Eggsy. In allhonesty, Eggsy still doesn’t quite know why Merlin is with him in the firstplace when he can have someone as refined and handsome as Harry. The way Eggsysees it, Merlin basically settled for a chopped steak instead of a filetmignon.

So maybe now he’s finally realizinghe could have better, and he just hasn’t found a way to shunt Eggsy out thedoor.

“I know that look,” Roxyadmonishes. “And stop it. You are a catch, Eggsy Unwin. Merlin is lucky to haveyou, and he loves you. I’ve never seen him so smitten before.”

“Yeah?” Eggsy says, his fearsslightly assuaged.

“Yes. When he thinks no one islooking he looks at you as if you hung the moon and move the tides. It’sactually quite nauseating.”

“Oi!”

Roxy smiles and pats his shoulder. “Youknow I love you.”

****

Eggsy tries to keep Roxy’s words inthe back of his mind as their anniversary creeps closer and Merlin seems topull further and further away. Eggsy’s lucky if he crosses Merlin in thehallway. He tries to keep himself busy by planning the evening, arranging reservationsat Merlin’s favorite restaurant and finding the perfect gift—a rare, firstedition of T.S. Elliot poems. It cost Eggsy a pretty penny, and to be quitehonest he’d felt a bit sick when he bought it for dropping so much cash, butknowing how happy Merlin would be when he opened the gift dispelled anyapprehensions Eggsy carried.

Harry doesn’t help Eggsy’s doubtsas the week progresses. He’s being equally sneaky, sparing Eggsy queer looksthat he can’t decipher, and dodging him every chance he gets. Usually Harry isquick to spend time with Eggsy, inviting him over for lunches, suggesting pintsdown at the pub, or even just popping into Eggsy’s office for a chat. He’sgrown to become one of Eggsy’s best friends, and to have him treating Eggsy asif he were a leper leaves him more than disheartened.

Only guilty men behave this way.The question is, what are the two of them guilty of?

****

Eggsy scans the report as he walksto Harry’s office. It’s the day before their anniversary, and of course he’sbeen assigned an assignment. Luckily Eggsy doesn’t leave until two days after,so he can still spend time with Merlin.

But there are a few things Eggsywants to talk to Harry about. He doesn’t bother knocking—he never has—when heenters Harry’s office. “Hey Haz, can I talk to y’ about—”

He freezes, his heart screeching toa stop. Merlin in his on his knees in front of Harry, a ring box held up. There’sa look in Merlin’s eyes, one Eggsy’s only seen when they’re alone—it’s a lookof completely adoration—and Eggsy’s pretty sure he’s going to be sick.

“Wot the fuck is this?” He says,and it’s startling how dead his voice sounds.

Harry and Merlin both jerk around,their expressions guilty. Merlin snaps the ring box closed and stands. “Eggsy,lad—”

“No, please. Don’t stop,” Eggsysays. “Continue.”

Merlin winces and spares Harry apleading look. Eggsy snorts—and it’s unkind of him, but he isn’t feeling verybenevolent at the moment. He should have known their time was up. He was merelya stepping stone. He guesses he should feel honored to even have Merlin’sattention for as long as he did.

He doesn’t, though.

All he feels is misery. It’s alwayslike this. Happiness dangles in front of him like a carrot, and no matter how oftenhe reaches for it, all he can do is skim his fingers across it.

Fucking hell, he doesn’t deservethis. He deserves better.

He deserves to be happy.

“Y’ know wot? Y’ both can fuckinghave each other,” Eggsy snaps. He turns and strides back out of the office.

“Eggsy, wait!” Merlin and Harryboth call, but Eggsy ignores them, not stopping. His vision blurs as he makes ahasty retreat to the bullet train.

***

Eggsy doesn’t really pay attentionas he throws clothes into a suitcase. He’s just grabbing them and tossing themin. He may have taken some of Merlin’s.

JB is watching him, a confused lookfurrowing his pudgy face. Eggsy can’t meet his eyes. How is he supposed toexplain to him that his daddies are splitting? That Merlin has decided he’sbetter off without Eggsy?

His phones been ringing off thehook. Merlin, Harry, and even Roxy have tried to reach him, and eventually heturns his phone on silent. He can’t deal with anyone.

I’mworth better. It’s a lie he tries to tell himself as he snaps his suitcaseclosed and hauls it downstairs. His footsteps echo in the stairwell as heretraces the steps he takes every morning. He pauses to look around when hereaches the foot of the steps. It isn’t his home, not really. There aren’ttraces of him anywhere. The décor is Merlin’s. Other than a stray leashbelonging to JB and a jacket Eggsy left abandoned on the couch, it doesn’t looklike anyone but Merlin lives there.

Eggsy’s always just adapted himselfto Merlin. He should have known it never would have lasted. He was never a permanentfixture in Merlin’s life. He was merely a passing visitor, a guest that hadlong since overstayed their welcome.

The door raddles and scrapes open.Eggsy tenses.

Merlin staggers in, relief washingover him when he spots Eggsy. “Ye’re here.”

“I’m leaving, don’t worry,” Eggsysays. He bites the inside of his cheek. “All y’ had to do was say y’ were done.I wouldn’t have… I wouldn’t—”

He chokes, damn it. A sob escapesand he tries to swallow it back. He can keep it together. He has to.

“No, lad,” Merlin whispers andrushes over. Eggsy recoils when he reaches for him.

“I wouldn’t have made trouble,”Eggsy forces out between sobs. He’s stupid for crying. Fuck, why can’t he keepit together?

Merlin shakes his head and gathersEggsy in his arms. Eggsy shoves against him, trying to fight against his hold,but eventually collapses and burrows into Merlin’s chest. It’s warm and soft,his hard muscles padded with a layer of cashmere sweater. He smells rich, likethe forest, and Eggsy wants to stay there. This is where he belongs, where he’salways belonged—at least, that’s what he’d thought.

Before he can stop himself, he asksbrokenly, “Did I do sumfin wrong?”

“Oh sweetheart,” Merlin whispersand kisses Eggsy’s temple. “No, no love. Ye did nothing wrong. Ye are so good,such a good boy.”

The praise sends a shiver washingover Eggsy. It’s all he wants to hear.

“Then why?” Eggsy croaks. “Was Inot good enough?”

He never is.

He never will be.

Merlin lets out a shuddering breaththat curls along Eggsy’s hair. He pulls Eggsy back, holding him at arm’slength, and Eggsy struggles to hide once again against his chest. If he staysthere, it doesn’t have to end. JB whimpers at his feet.

“Sweetheart, this is all a misunderstanding,”Merlin says. “Look at me lad.”

Eggsy forces himself to meet Merlin’seyes, which are bloodshot. He licks his chapped lips, his throat soar and thickwith emotion.

“I’m sorry,” Merlin whispers,cupping Eggsy’s cheek and stroking his trembling bottom lip. “I shouldn’t havekept ye at a distance these last couple weeks. But works been so busy, and thenI was trying to arrange yer surprise, and everything got out of hand withTristian, and…”

He shakes his head.

“It’s no excuse. But what ye saw,it wasn’t me proposing to Harry. I was practicing.”

“Practicing?” Eggsy repeats,blinking.

Merlin nods and let’s go of Eggsy.Realization dawns on him as Merlin gets down onto one knee and fishes the ringbox from his pocket. He opens it and holds it out to Eggsy.

“This wasn’t how I had it planned,but seeing as how I went and buggered it already…”

“Merlin…” Eggsy can’t get his brainto work. The ring is gorgeous. A solid titanium band with a single diamondembedded in the center. Wreathed around it in a gold setting are daisies.

“Eggsy, ye are the light of mylife. Ye are my heart, my soul, my very core. Until ye came along, I was justexisting,” Merlin says. The sun coming in through the windows framing the doorwarm the back of his head, casting a halo over it. “There’s no one I wouldrather spend the rest of my days with than ye, and if ye would do me the honor,I would like to call ye husband.”

Eggsy can’t get his tongue to work,but he manages to nod and squeak out, “Y-yes.” When Merlin gets the ring on hisfinger, he repeats, “Yes, yes, yes.”

Merlin drags him into an embrace,looping his arms around Eggsy’s waist, and kisses him hard. Eggsy melts intothe touch, the tears streaming down his face now tears of joy.

“I love ye,” Merlin says as hepulls away.

“And I love y’,” Eggsy returns,drawing Merlin back into a kiss.

#Anonymous #kingsman #merwin #drabble #merlin #eggsy unwin

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hayleysstark · 5 years

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Queenie emerges! Thank you for answering my asks! Don't worry about taking too long to reply, I know the Internet can be a pain sometimes lol. Sadly, I had to cancel my Netflix subscription, so my Merlin binge has come to an end for now. But, I absolutely adored watching the episodes and geeking out with you! Hopefully I can continue the series in the future. Speaking of the future, if you were able to write a season 6, how would you do it? I'd love to hear your interpretation!

Oh no I’m sorry you lost your Netflix subscription. That sucks :( I’m glad you enjoyed what you saw of Merlin, though, and thank you so much for letting me talk your ear off about it for the past few weeks lmao. I’m sure I’ve lost at least like,,,,,,,,, a hundred followers,,,,,,,,in the last two weeks alone. what can i say??? People don’t follow me to hear my thoughts and i honestly can’t blame them.

Season 6?? dfghjkytghnfgfd can i get uhhhhh a complete rewrite of S4 and S5 instead???? As much as I ADORE S4 ((Servant of Two Masters???? The Darkest Hour???? Aithusa??? The Sword in the Stone???? Lamia???? all EXTREMELY BLESSED thank you)) I can admit that it has its flaws for sure, to say NOTHING of S5 ((it was literally eleven goddamn episodes of how much filler can we pack in before Arthur has to die and it was,,,,,,,, just Objectively Bad like I can’t even.)) Like can we just. can we just talk. about S4 and S5?

S4 went all right for the first few episodes, objectively speaking - and more than all right, personally speaking. Absolutely adored the season premiere two-parter, and “The Wicked Day” was a perfect blend of solemn but hopeful, absolutely everything I could have imagined for Arthur’s inevitable ascension to the throne. I think, ironically enough, “Servant of Two Masters” is riiiiiiight about where I would have deviated from canon. Like right after it. the episode right after it.

4x07. “The Secret Sharer”. Whoo boy. You didn’t say whether you saw this one or not, so here’s the lowdown: Morgana’s been searching tirelessly for the all-powerful sorcerer Emrys, ‘cause the Callieach ((the gatekeeper to the world of the dead)) informed her that Emrys was to be her doom. She enlists the Lord Agravaine, Arthur’s slimy uncle and her personal spy within the kingdom, to try and help her find Emrys, as she believes he’s hiding in Camelot, close to Arthur. Merlin, of course, is Emrys, and when Agravaine questions Gaius in the absolute least subtle way he possibly can ((literally what the fuck Agravaine how have you survived as a spy this long)), Gaius lies like a rug. UNfortunately, Agravaine isn’t fooled, and remains convinced he knows something. Meanwhile, Arthur finally gets his head on straight and realizes there’s a traitor in his court. Give the boy a prize. Anyway, he suspects his slimy uncle Agravaine, but Agravaine turns Arthur’s distrust around onto Gaius instead, convinces Arthur to interrogate him, you know. Arthur continues to make terrible decisions and comes to the conclusion that, as Gaius never out-and-out condemns sorcery during the course of his interrogation, because he must be untrustworthy. Cue Agravaine taking this opportunity to kidnap Gaius because fuck the elderly right??? anyway, he brings Gaius to Morgana, who’s hired this dude named Alator to torture for information about the elusive Emrys. It’s really convoluted, just go with it. BUT, since Agravaine is the snake to end all snakes, he didn’t JUST kidnap Gaius, oh, no, he staged it so it looked as if Gaius ran away from the kingdom. Arthur thinks Gaius is a traitor who practices magic and scarpered at the first sign of trouble, Merlin of course knows Gaius is completely innocent, Arthur still refuses to send a search party, so of course it’s up to Merlin to find and rescue Gaius. Gwaine comes along for the ride, so go Gwaine, basically. Sir Gwaine is the real mvp and that is just the tea.

ANYWAY so now you’re up to speed. BUT. but. In the S4 rewrite, let’s make it so Merlin doesn’t rescue Gaius. Let’s make it so he can’t find Gaius. Let’s make it so he searches high and low, but Agravaine covered his tracks way too well. We can intersperse the remainder of the season with scenes of unsettling, even outright gory, if we want to go that route, torture. The viewer can see in horrific detail as Gaius’ imprisonment steadily grows more brutal and unlivable until they genuinely don’t think he’s going to last. Or, alternatively? Radio silence. Nothing from Gaius after that episode. The viewer doesn’t know if he’s dead or alive. The viewer knows nothing Merlin doesn’t. Either way, it would help set the tone they were obviously aiming for - the grim, grisly shit they never quite achieved.

And removing Gaius from the narrative changes very little about the rest of the season as a whole. Merlin and Arthur’s relationship grows steadily more strained as Merlin continues his quest to rescue Gaius from Morgana, and Arthur remains stubbornly convinced of Gaius’ treachery. Even better? Merlin is completely, totally alone, allowing the story to take progressively darker and darker turns, and the demands of destiny to weigh even heavier on Merlin’s shoulders than they already do. The next two episodes - “Lamia” and “Lancelot du Lac” - could still happen. Without Gaius. And a doubly painful blow to Arthur in “Lancelot du Lac” - the betrayal of Guinevere, his future queen, and Lancelot, his noblest knight, is just another ache to add to the pile at this point. Even if the viewer disagrees with Arthur’s decisions up til now, his pain would doubtless give their heartstrings a tug or two. And with his and Merlin’s friendship buckling under the stress, Arthur has, or is at least convinced he has, next to no one left to turn to.

“Herald of a New Age” serves as a major turning for Arthur’s character in canon, and I don’t want to hurt or minimize that at all, but at the same time, I would certainly change it in any way I could to make it less....... dull, I suppose? I feel bad calling it that, as it’s one of the precious few episodes that focuses on Elyan, who I love and adore and support with everything in me, and oh, how I wanted to like this one, but I was honestly bored out of my mind for half of it. Not to mention, Elyan just watched his king banish his sister from their lifelong home, and he’s????? okay with it???? what. what. what. Definitely would have added in a bit of tension between Arthur and Elyan for this episode, possibly even for the rest of the season as a whole, and a hell of a lot more focus on Elyan warring with himself, torn between his loyalty to Gwen and his loyalty to Arthur.

“The Hunter’s Heart” was another one I personally found dull, but I don’t necessarily think it was a failing in the narrative itself so much as an opinion. I hold no love for Princess Mithian, and the writers’ attempts to force their series to mesh as fully as possible with the mythology was,,,,,,,,, clumsy, to say the least. No thank you. Personally? I would cut this entire episode from the series, but I recognize and respect it wasn’t exactly bad, just not to my speed.

“The Sword in the Stone”? SHIT GETS REAL SON!!!!! At the end of “The Hunter’s Heart”, we receive a small glimpse of Gaius, but it’s far from reassuring - he’s not dead, but he’s damn near close, and he’s just broken under Alator’s torture, and revealed Emrys’ true identity to a furious Morgana, who swears to topple Camelot and exact her revenge on both Arthur and Merlin, and she’s got a few tricks up her sleeve this time to ensure it happens.

Morgana marches on Camelot, and takes the kingdom, with Agravaine by her side, and as in the episode, Arthur and Merlin manage to get out of the citadel and into the relative safety of the woods, but the knights aren’t so lucky, and wind up imprisoned in the castle dungeons.

And while Morgana obviously didn’t plan on Arthur and Merlin slipping through her grasp yet again, she’s not as shaken as she could be by the thought of Emrys and his king out there working against her - we’re gonna be doing some serious switching around here, and taking the Eancanah from the S5 finale and setting it loose on Merlin here instead. Thus, Merlin is on the run with Arthur, and without his magic.

Arthur can’t know this last bit, of course, but Arthur’s having his own issues. His uncle’s betrayal has completely shattered him at this point. He’s at his absolute lowest here, out of confidence, out of courage, out of the tenacity that’s seen him through every other trial. So many have turned their back on him, after all. What’s wrong with him, he wonders, that makes them betray him? What’s wrong with him, he asks Merlin, that those he cherishes most don’t care for him at all?

The friendship between Merlin and Arthur that’s been crumbling all season faces the ultimate test here. While Merlin struggles to restore Arthur’s self-confidence, he’s hard put to keep himself going, as well - his magic defines him, his magic is who he is, his essence, his lifeblood, and what is he without it? Who is he without it? If he can’t use magic, what good is he? If he can’t use magic, what does he matter?

On their journey to regroup, and retake Camelot, Merlin and Arthur find and rescue Gaius, badly injured and in desperate need of medical attention, and of course, Gwen as well, who Arthur realizes he can no longer live without, in spite of her perceived betrayal. He’s still got a long way to go before he’s completely back to his old self, but the restoration of his relationship with both Gwen and Gaius buoys him, and it sets him on his path once again.

Merlin absolutely falls apart upon seeing his mentor in such a state, of course - look, the father/son feels would be STRONG, I’m just saying. Merlin does everything he can to save Gaius - he’s sure magic is the answer, a bit of magic would do it, if only he had his magic. He’s forced to resort to the old-fashioned way, for now, and to his own intense surprise, manages well enough to keep Gaius going for far longer than he ever would have if Merlin hadn’t stepped in at all. In fact, Merlin does a lot of things like that - things he didn’t even realize he knew how to do, things he didn’t even realize he could, and slowly starts to see that yes, his magic is a part of him, but that’s all it is. A part. A piece of the whole. And he’s the whole. And he matters, and he’s good for something, and he’s a badass, without magic, because magic is NOT all he is goddamn it!!!

Arthur pulls the sword out of the stone, as in canon, and I like to imagine Merlin gets his magic back when - and ONLY when - he accepts that he’s a whole and complete person without it, because that should have been a thing at some point. ((”you cannot lose what you are” fhrfhgfggfgfdfd mY ASS. Merlin is PURE BADASSERY and UNDYING LOYALTY and y’all can leave if y’all try and say magic is all he is.))

Anyway, Arthur and Merlin and co. retake Camelot because we gotta give these kids SOMETHING, and Morgana is killed in the struggle, because let’s face it, by S5, she felt really fucking STALE as a villain. So. Arthur stabs her with Excalibur - or maybe that should be Merlin, because “Emrys is your doom” anyone? also not sure Arthur could bring himself to kill Morgana, to be honest.

Onto S5!!!! can you believe how fucking long this is already but I’m gonna keep going, because I’m really in my stride at this point. Okay, with Morgana dead, and Arthur and Gwen on the throne, Camelot has officially hit its Golden Age. Arthur has slowly begun to change his views on magic, with some small, inevitable steps backward here and there. He’s making peace with the druids, relaxing his stance on sorcerers in his city, uniting Albion, all the good shit. Gaius survived, at the end of S4, but barely, and even now, he remains weakened and frail, and everyone kind of knows he might not see the end of the year. Kilgharrah continues to give cryptic advice. Merlin wants to tell Arthur about his magic but is also a dumbass and can’t bring himself to do it even though the opportunity is RIGHT THERE and we as the audience scream at him to get a move on.

ANYWAY. With Morgana dead, no one’s left to threaten Camelot, right? Everyone’s gone, right? Merlin has all the time in the world to tell Arthur about his magic, and Arthur has all the time in the world to grow into the king Kilgharrah says he will, right?? lmao. no.

Because - wait for it - MORDRED GONNA FUCK SHIT UP SON. MORDRED’S JUST. OUT HERE. FUCKING SHIT UP. Mordred is MAD tbh, he’s really fucking sick of waiting around for Emrys to get his ass in gear and free magic and be the savior of the druids and all that shit. Mordred’s sick of it. He doesn’t care WHAT the prophecies say, it’s OBVIOUS the Triple Goddess chose wrong, and as far as he’s concerned, it’s up to HIM to fix it. So Mordred, with his ladylove, Kara, are raising a literal ARMY of sorcerers, witches, ex-druids, and the like, to exact their freedom from Emrys. They don’t care about Arthur. They’re not after Arthur. In fact, they’re pretty okay with Arthur. He’s not the man making pretty promises edged in gold and not delivering.

Mordred and Kara deliver an ultimatum to Camelot, threatening to tear the kingdom apart, brick by fucking brick, unless King Arthur gives Emrys up to them, and lets them have their way with him. Poor Arthur is like ??????????? I’m sorry????? who is this Mr. Emrys???? what did he do to piss y’all off???? can i interest y’all in a peace treaty?????

Arthur fails to comply with Mordred’s demands, and deliver Emrys to him, so the attacks begin, growing progressively more violent as the weeks go by. Of course Arthur doesn’t take it lying down - he and his knights go out to counter every assault, to try and intercept every threat, but they’re losing, and they can’t pretend otherwise. They rely on steel and sinew alone, whereas Mordred’s army uses magic in spades. They summon deadly magical creatures, they kill the crops, they manipulate the weather to bring about droughts. They do everything they can to topple Camelot. Merlin is almost sick with the guilt and shame of it all, as he watches his home torn apart, razed to the ground, all because of him. He tells Arthur the truth, and gives himself up, and Arthur’s so furious with Merlin, he doesn’t even try to stop him from heading into Mordred’s clutches, but Gwaine gets wind of what’s going down and he’s just like FUCK NO and goes after Merlin because he’s the Real MVP aaaaand this,,,,,, sounds like a bad fanfiction doesnt it ANYWAY Cue The Battle of Camlann FOR REASONS!!! and utter heartbreak. but with more time for Arthur to adjust to Merlin having magic, and working things out with him. jUST!!! more than one episode where Arthur knows the truth about Merlin!!! pls!!!! pls!!!! thats!!!! all i ask!!! also Arthur’s conscious when he meets Kilgharrah and wants to know why the FUCK Merlin is friends with the DRAGON that ATTACKED his kingdom. talk your way out of that one, Merlin. I fucking dare you.

fghytghbfdfhgfg GOD i’m,,,,,,, so sorry,,,,,,, this got,,,,,,,, so long,,,,,,,, dfhytghnjhgfghgfghgfrty if you made it to the end,,,,,,, thank you,,,,,i’m so sorry,,,,,, i talked,,,,,, so much,,,,,,,

#merlin #bbc merlin #ask #queenie #Anonymous

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