#leon is a warlock au

[nebulasbizarreadventure]

Golden Wind D&D AU

Alright, since I've been encouraged by @razumairon and I've been thinking about this for a While, Bucci Gang in a D&D setting!

(My thoughts on La Squadra can be found over here)

Giorno: Half-elf, Circle of Shepherds Druid-- yeah, Giorno, druid; sky, blue; water, wet; I'm not sure what anyone was expecting. Bucciarati: Sea elf! I've made jokes before about him being an Archfey Warlock and his vibes also suit Paladin (Oath of Devotion, maybe?) but I think, ultimately, I like the thought of him being a Bard--College of Lore to be specific. ... And for those of y'all who watch Tulok's Building Character yes I got that idea from him, but listen. If it works it works. And then you swap in the Reborn lineage halfway through the campaign-- okay, no, I'm kidding about that part. Abbacchio: Lineage-wise I don't think I settled on anything specific for him (I feel like there's a bunch of arguments you could make for various ones for him) but what I am very solid in is him being a Knowledge Cleric! (He tried the Paladin thing and it didn't work out.) Narancia: ... Honestly, I like the idea of him also being a half-elf (maybe half-Eladrin?), but regardless, he's a Drakewarden Ranger. Yes, his little dragon spirit buddy would be Aerosmith. Fugo: Fallen Aasimar, Way of Mercy Monk-- Now, before y'all say anything about that particular subclass, hear me out: the Hands of Harm feature to inflict necrotic damage, and the Physician's Touch feature, which lets him inflict the Poisoned condition on something he hit with Hands of Harm. It's The Vibes. Trish: Tiefling, College of Glamour Bard. Specifically, she's a Bloodline of Glasya Tiefling, since Glasya's the one I can easily see Diavolo having dealings with. Mista: Human, Champion Fighter. I don't know what y'all expected.

[daisymintt]

I have too many ideas for Merlin fics so I’m just gonna dump them here, if you write one please tag me I’d love to read it!

• Arthur is seen as a traitor to the crown and is about to be killed when Merlin saves him and they go on the run and become some of the most well known bandits in Camelot, the Fallen Prince and his Warlock (inspired by Americano by Lady Gaga)

• A beast that feeds off magic goes to Camelot and takes Merlin, Arthur and the Knights embark on a rescue mission

• A visiting Noble introduces a new “sport” to Uther, sorcerer hunting. In which a captured sorcerer is released into the woods with only the clothes on their back and are hunted down by knights and specially trained hounds. Intrigued, he partakes of this “sport”. Merlin is disgusted and goes into the forest to help them escape only to become the prey. Will he be able to keep his magic secret? Or will he be doomed?

OR

• Merlin on the run inspired by the song Run Boy Run

• Rumor Has It/Rumor Mill, a bunch of different rumors start cropping up in Camelot varying from absurd to believable

• A visiting Lady takes a shine to Merlin, Arthur gets jealous.

• Arthur and Merlin are on a hunting trip and stop at a tavern. While there they overhear a local ghost story about an ghost that of a Lady who lived in the manor up the street. Her husbands kept dying “mysteriously” and she went mad with grief. They say the manor is haunted. Merlin takes it seriously and Arthur teases him about, later they go to the abandoned manor and have an encounter with the ghost. Get trapped in the manor. The ghost carries a bloody hatchet. Nearly takes Arthur’s head off. Similar to Constance Hatchaway.

• Stardust AU

• Arthur follows in his dad’s footsteps and sets out to kill the last Druid, a boy called Emrys. Little did he know that his friend Merlin was that druid. Inspo: Still/Neva Flows Reprise

• 1920’s America Merlin runs a speakeasy

• Gaius is away dealing with an outbreak of sweating sickness at a border town leaving Merlin as acting Court Physician while he’s away.

- A visiting Nobel lady goes into labor, Merlin has to help her.

• Merlin catches a cold yet refuses to stop working, his magic is also affected. Every time he sneezes something magical happens leaving chaos in his wake. His magic stops reacting when he Gaius sneaks him a sleeping draught mixed with some cold medicine (or at least the medieval equivalent that addresses the symptoms), Arthur not so subtly frets about Merlin’s wellness.

OR

• Merlin overextends his magic and when he gets back to Camelot he tries to do a small spell and it doesn’t work, discovers he has a “Sorcerers Cold” it doesn’t affect the physical body but the magical one. In other words, how magic is on the fritz until he can get some proper rest.

• Last Night Gus episode where they super drunk and wake up in weird places. They spend the day trying to piece together what happened last night

• A sorcerer disguised themselves as Merlin to get close to Arthur

OR

• A shapeshifter that appears as your hearts greatest desire appears as Merlin to Arthur and lures him into a trap, Merlin has to save him. Classic who’s the real Merlin scenario where Arthur has to ask a question that only the real Merlin would know the answer too.

• A vampire arrives in Camelot.

• Merlin’s shadow has the wings of a dragon, Arthur notices

• Merlin and Arthur have been arguing over something for a while now, Leon is tired of being stuck in the middle of it and traps them in a room. He refuses to let them come out until they figure out whatever they’re fighting about. (Ten minutes in the closet trope)

• A drunk Merlin finds himself in Arthur’s room, Arthur takes care of him. Merlin is very affectionate when drunk. (Inspo: bad idea right? By Olivia Rodrigo)

• Merlin and Morgana are friends and Arthur is jealous of there close bond, Arthur thinks that they’re courting and confronts Merlin about it.

• Morgana or someone casts a spell while the knights, Arthur, and Merlin are asleep on a quest that joins their dreams together. Merlin is very skittish afraid that he may accidentally reveal his magic. Inspo: A Nightmare on Killmotor Hill! Season 2 episode 19 of Ducktales.

• 5 weird places Merlin has fallen asleep and one not so weird one (it’s Arthur’s bed)

[achillesuwu]

Well, after many research on ao3 for very specific kind of fic I guess I will have to make my own food.

Hopefully I won’t forget and write the fic but : post canon AU where Arthur, Gwen (*insert awkwardness of Arthur finding out he was in love with Merlin in the last ep and Gwen trying to break the new that she and Leon got married + Lancelot in the background *) and the knights come back but like… 300ish years after their time and like. They get caught with a group of strangers by *insert guys who were ‘just’ doing ‘mildly’ illegal magic things but Arthur &Co walked into it so they caught them*

Anyway, Arthur Gwen and the knights are like stressed + trying to find out what is happening (while being in a cave and chained. What a way to come back to life—)

Meanwhile the others people who got cough a bit after and are now with them are like

Bad dude 1 : *feed up monologue about their mess up work*

Dude 1 : lol

Bad dude 1 : do you wish to die ?!?

Dude 2 : lmao you are such a moron

Arthur, internally : why am I stuck with suicidal people—

Bad dude 2 : how dare you—

Young boy with squire looking clothes but also not really looking like it’s a squire’s clothes : dude, just look *point at a boy* at who it’s

Bad dude 1 & 2 & the rest of the bad dude : ????

Older lady in the background : for goddess’ sake ! The prince, you moron !!!

Arthur & co : ???

Gwen & Leon : *confuse face*

Bad dude 1 :

Bad dude 2 :

Bad dude 3 : when you say the prince you mean —

Another boy : THE prince

The prince in question, last descendant of Gwen & Leon:

Bad dudes :

Dude 1 & 2 : you are so freaking death lol Lord Merlin is going to kick your ass

Gwaine : *mouthing confusingly ‘Merlin’ right behind Arthur*

*door flying open and getting smashed on the wall*

*Insert badass (unwilling) King Regent with eyes glowing who pull out a sword from his heart, blood everywhere, looking totally unbothered as he let the sword fall on the ground and says ‘I will ask one more time. Do you surrender ?’ *

I just think it would be very neat.

Also Merlin had been king regent for like… 130 years. My man want to retire but the 2 first heir just… fucked off to live their lives add the fact that after 60 years people are like ‘another king ??? Wtf that one is very good’ + very few actual heir + magical being not giving a fuck about mortal king and only listening to Ermys and you get an unwilling warlock doing State paperwork for a century

(Arthur new found queerness is making hard to fonction in these conditions)

*this was written at 4 am by a non-native speaker in the middle of his pre-exams session*

[marikn]

Fuck it I’ve got serious brainrot so

Merlin characters as dnd players

Merlin: elven sorcerer (named Emrys ofc).

- Draconic bloodline with gold dragon (Kilgarrah) ancenstry

Arthur: human fighter (look I’m not saying he’s basic I’m just saying it fits).

- Definitely had an elaborate plan to romance Merlin from the beginning, but got lost in the roleplay and ended up in a relationship with Gwen’s character

- his PC is 100% a self-insert. He used his real first name and tacked on Pendragon as a fantasy surname

Morgana: tiefling warlock

- she and Arthur definitely planned out the sibling drama backstory together and were so excited to reveal it to the party

- her character’s name is Morgana Faye (my modern!au hc is that her name is actually Morgan and they call her Morgana as a joke/ nickname of sorts. She used it for her PC)

- her patron is her fiendish half-sister Morgause, who repeatedly tries to get her to betray the party

Gwaine: dwarf

- he’s either a bard or a rogue idk

- probably has a high CHA stat

- flirts with all the NPCs

Lancelot: human Paladin

- didn’t want to play at first

- Merlin made him

- his patron is Emrys (who is revealed to be a lesser god about halfway through the campaign)

Percival: Goliath barbarian

- gwaine picked it for him

Mordred: elven Druid

- Not sure about the race for him…

- Druid only seemed appropriate lol

Leon: forever DM (rip)

- has a DMPC called Leon the Long-Suffering who he created purely to deal with the party’s bs (he’s a Paladin)

I cannot for the life of me think of anything for Gwen and Elyan so feel free to add your ideas and let me know if I missed anyone

[rageagainsttheapathy]

MERLIN STRANGER THINGS STEDDIE AU

Prince Steve who starts off arrogant and prattish because of his strict father and asshole noble friends, but cares deeply for his people and wants more than anything to be a good ruler, who makes constant fun of Eddie as his new manservant but it gets fonder and fonder as time goes on and in the end can’t imagine living without him.

Newly arrived warlock Eddie who was born with magic and gets sent to live with his Uncle Wayne in Camelot in the hopes that he can learn to control his gifts and find his place away from the small village he grew up in, only to end up in the service of the Worst Man Ever ™️ who is loud and demanding and privileged and… strong, and kind of caring, he guesses, and also protected him that one time and tries to cheer him up in this really emotionally stunted but genuine kind of way and - no he does not like him!

Lady Nancy, the King’s ward who is furious at the injustice she sees throughout the kingdom, who champions druids and magic users and isn’t afraid to confront Steve about his worst tendencies. (No Evil! Nancy in this au - she has an arc that involves her stepping close to vengeance, because she’s tired of being nice and wants so badly to go apeshit, but in the end is saved from that path by the power of friendship and this Big Sword she found) she ends up advisor to the throne once King Jackass finally dies, and forces Steve to promote Robin to the same position, even though Steve planned to do exactly that anyway, that’s his Best Friend, Nancy, what do you take him for?

Maidservant Robin who becomes fast friends with Eddie when he first arrives, who is fiercely loyal to Lady Nancy and constantly annoyed with Steve - right up until they start spending time together and save each other’s lives and there’s a brief moment when Steve thinks that he’s in love with her because she’s pretty and clever and isn’t afraid to yell at him but they very quickly realise that they’re better as friends, not least because Robin is totally in love with Nancy.

Jonathan as a knight, who appears and saves the day and also kicks Steve’s ass on the training field, who protects Eddie when he finds out his secret and then goes off to do his ‘lone wolf’ thing à là Lancelot

Argyle as a Druid who hangs around outside Camelot and gives cryptic but helpful advice and also takes in wounded travellers and nurses them back to health (cough, Jonathan, cough) who later helps Eddie to accept the hard parts of being destined for something.

All the kids are there too, of course, but I haven’t decided what I want them to be and Hopper should be a Leon-Esque figure who starts of a distant and stoic knight of the Old Guard but slowly becomes closer to the main group, acting as a father figure and also occasionally going Beserker mode in battle because why not

Joyce gets to be a whole new character! Because there is a tragic lack of women in Merlin canon who show up for more than one episode. Something something convoluted side plot in which she shows up in Camelot looking for her missing eldest son who ran away to be a knight, cue Steve sending Hopper, his most mature and loyal knight to accompany her on her quest, during which they encounter multiple obstacles, engage in Shenanigans, and fall in love, much to the horror of Jonathan who has to watch them kissing after they slay the Generic Magical Beast of the week

[tumbleweeddesktop]

Im not saying Bayonetta AU XLeon where Leon is an umbran warlock who has a contract (and romantic relationship) with an infernal demon but I just think it would be neat

[spunky-89s-sunshine]

Masterlist of My Favorite Fics

None of these fics are my own, but I needed to organize all my faves for easier access.

Baldur's Gate 3

Halsin

Rescue and Rehabilitation

Self-Image Hurt/Comfort

Bears Have Needs

Fox and Bear

Tav vs Halsin Distractions

Astarion

Professor AU

Arrangement Series

Sex Post-Nightmare

Parents?!

Squirmy Feeding -> Sex

Tav Sister Seer

Vix's Bardlock Series

Halstarion

Strays

Migraine

Gale

Post-Game Reclamation

Tav Died, But She's Fine

Fluff, Smut, and More!

Sorcerer Desk Sex

Rolan

Noble Background Tav

Post Final Battle, Yay We're Alive

Tiefling!Tav Teases Rolan, Then Fucks Him

Rolan Eats His Feelings

Post-Battle Comfort/Cuddles

Stressed Hot Springs

Embarrassing Encounters

Raphael

Last Light Inn Bath

Favorite Warlock Needs A Bath

Raphael/Haarlep Masterlist

Other

Zevlor Just Needs A Hug

Zevlor Leaders in a Hot Spring

Gortash's Persuasion

Varied Masterlist

Another Masterlist

Resident Evil

Leon S. Kennedy

Assistant

Gun Range

Stressed Welcome Home

Masterlist of Spice

Sleepy Morning Sex

Incubus x Hunter

Another Masterlist

A Homecooked Meal

Vampire in a Library

Lonely Homework

Bad Day Made Better

Keeping Quiet in a Closet

Chris Redfield

Newlywed Welcome Home

Angsty Exes on a Near Death Mission

Sex Pollen/drug

Morning in Bed

Teasing Chris in a Meeting

Other

Ada x Reader x Leon

Training Sesh Chris x Leon x Reader

Distracting from Homework C x L x R

Gym Showers C x L X R

Marvel

Druig

Sparrow Series

Incentive Series

One Mind Series

Spicies Masterlist

Headache Fluff

Other

Jack Thomson Masterlist

Jack Thomson I hate you but I don't

Stucky Tattoo AU

DC

Dick Pic Series

Batboys Masterlist

Clark Kent Flannel

Oliver Queen Jealousy and Miscommunication

Other Fandoms

Klaus Mikaelson Werewolf Series

Kol Mikaelson x Depressed!Reader

Kol Mikaelson is an Ice Pack

That One Damon Fic

Eddie Munson Masterlist (Rumor Series)

Stranger Things Fuckery

Stiles Stilinski Collage AU FWB

Teen Wolf Spiceies Masterlist

UNCPanda's Masterlist

Aaron Hotchner Moose the Dog

Draco Malfoy 4pt FWB -> Lovers

[errant-knight17]

All’s Fair in Love and War.

A Romantic Comedy.

Another Modern Au where there is Jealous!Arthur because I love that for him... this time he overhears Gwaine telling Percival that he maybe might be okay maybe a little in love with Merlin, and that everyone’s favorite warlock™️ doesn’t know. Arthur gets suddenly jealous and doesn’t know exactly why (Okay, he does, he’s just lying to himself) and he decides to ruin Gwaine’s chances but forgets to tell Merlin that the King of Camelot himself holds feelings for the Warlock. Chaos and surprises ensue for the love of Merlin, but Merlin is rather oblivious, as he too suppresses centuries old feelings. But is it Gwaine or Arthur? And will the long suffering Leon and Percival, plus Gwen, Gauis, Elyan, and Lancelot be caught in the middle. All’s fair in love and war, or so it’s been said, but the King of Camelot gives it new meaning. Hopefully someone can confess before the new threat to Albion’s future arrives along with an old Frenemy.

[kristiliqua]

MY TAZ AU INFO STUFF :) !!!

ok So . the ipre ! is benchtrio + sbi plus schlatt bc i needed someone to be lich barry :) fuck yea

sooo tommy and wilbur !! are the twins (the brothers) - tommy is taako and wilbur is lup :] - in Their specific dynamic . or smth . as in - no one is like . Fully a character , they have different roles n characteristics (?) from different characters n stuff -- like . tommy isnt Fully like taako , he's just like taako w the twin slash brother stuff - he's kinda more like magnus . Kinda

ranboo ! was the journal keeper :) is a cleric slash wizard (psa - i do Not know Any dnd shit , not rlly . all ik is from taz lmfao -- so if anything is inaccurate to the game , i ,,, dont care) and is a full elf ! theyre shy n nerdy like lucretia n barry , ig

tubbo is a fighter ! the protector of the group (like magnussss) :D !! isss a goat hybrid . idc if its not in dnd shhhush -- beeduo r in a queer platonic relationship :] their relationship's dynamic is similar to barry n lup's - ranboo is like barry and tubbo is like lup !

tommy is a rogueee !!! and is a decent wizard as well ! he's learnin the magics :)) - he excels in transmutation magic , which he learned Purely bc of the prank possibilities . he is Surprisingly good at it (he started learning magic bc of wilbah) -- he is a quarter elf and the rest is human bbyyy (crimeboys r biological brothers)

wilbur is a wizard :) !! (and a lich cough cough) he is learning rogue skills (haha brothers learning each other's skills haha) and is pretty okay at it . doesnt put Too much time into learning it . he is half elf n half human ! he has long pointy ears , while tommy has human sized ears that r a little pointy :)))

phil was the captain of the ipre .! he becomes the director of the bob . he is Maybe tommy n wilbur's bio father - three quarters elf n one quarter human , he is . is a magic man , wizard stuff and cleric . also is good at fighter shit too ! he's the one who erases their memories , like lucretia , w the same motivations n intentions as well :) ! (he asks ran for his journal , and bc he's the captain n ranboo trusts him , ranboo gives him the journal and ,, yea)

techno is phil's assistant in the bob !! lad's a fighter B) uhh . might be part elf or a hybrid or smth , not sure . he's called the wordless one :))) so ig he's Sorta like davenport but also Definitely Not

schlatt is lich barryyy - he's friends with wilbur . is a ram hybrid , and uhhh . is the red robe that appears thruout the arcs n stuff , aka barry . lich barry . yea

now for the more minor ish characters !!!

charlie slimecicle is roswell and instead of clay its slime . i take no arguments fuck u , its perfect

i wanted june to b someone like . correlated to charlie butttt - it ended up being crumb .! ik theyve like . Never interacted , but i feel like the vibes work , so . crumb cuptoast it is

the uhhh prophet lady in refuge is karl . for pretty obvious reasons

errr the main robber guy in refuge (idk) Could be sapnap ? or at least Implied to be sapnap ? bc why not

john slash the hunger isss eret , i think ! n ranboo is the one to talk to xem :))) umm - angus is shroud , bc why not . HURLEY N SLOANE ARE PUFFY N NIKI !!! in that order . its perfect and i take no arguments on that one

karry n killion (btw if i misspell any names then thats my bad But idc . dont point it out bc i literally couldnt give less of a shit lmao) are guqqie n aimsey !!!!! in that order :)))

umm garfield the deals warlock ? i originally made him quackity but for Reasons (that youll know very soon) he is now ted nivision !!!! and leon or whatever (the gachapon guy) is scott smajor . its the vibes , man

i did Not know who to have as johann . so i chose cpk bc he has similar vvvvibes . and uhhh i made sneeg be avi bc i could :)

juaquin is eryn !!!! we love juaquin n eryn in this household

lucas is sam , and moureen (lucas' mom) is ponk !! bc we need sam to want to save someone for crystal kingdom to happen n whatnot

noelle is clementine :) ! n kravitz is quackity . i previously made it clara but ittt just didnt fit well enough for me , so . quackiteeee it was

also the raven queen is ofc , mumza :D

klarg issss ,, henry , i guess .? its kinda eh to me but whatever idk 😭😭 he could just stay as klarg honestly

i made magic brian be billzo bc its funny . magic billzo . (that Does mean he fucking dies but um . L)

btw i had the idea for tommy to have a pet fish , like magnus w steven . and the pet fish would be named clementine and live in a magic sprite bottle (iykyk) But . noelle is clementine and unle -- IN THE MIDDLE OF TYPING I GOT THE IDEA OF NOELLE BEING SHELBY NVM NOELLE IS SHELBY SHUBBLE NOW . so clementine in the sprite bottle is real now ig :]

umm - hodgepodge n upsie are both different versions of sam nook - ig sam nook is sorta just . the general base of any ai sam makes for robots - hodgepodge is sam nook: education edition and upsie is sam nook: elevator edition which is Sorta confusing bc when u shorten them its both EE but like . yea (also i realized i could make one of them fran but . i feel like neither fit so ig not)

JENKINS IS JACK MANIFOLD its perfect fuck you .!!!! benchtrio (mainly tommy ,, n tubbo) just harass him on the rockport limited lmfao

jess the beheader is beau (the beheader) !!! and i had graham the juicy wizard be replaced with scar and grian bc i wanted them somewhere in here :))) theyre the Wacky Wizard Duo (tm)

im prob forgetting some characters but errr ehhhh Whateverrrr . um - istus n pan stay the same ! same with fisher and junior :]

also id like to point out that i kept the sapphic rep as sapphic rep in this au as well . bc i think its neat B))) (didnt want to replace the rep with cishet white men shit lmaoo)

nnnnn thats it .!! uhhh - if u have suggestions feel free to give some :)) Constructive criticism , pls ! kk ty for reading B) !!!!!

also have a little additional taz crimeboys doodle for ur troubles , Smile

[theeeveefan]

My Pokémon sword and shield monster au

I’m going to be doing a Pokémon sword and shield monster au and I’m going to do draw the characters as the monster listed here. In my Pokémon sword and shield monster au the main player Character, gym leaders, champion, the rivals, and other characters are monster and they live together.

Milo-human plant monster

Nessa- sea monster

Kabu- oni

Bea- gargoyle

Allister-ghost

Opal-witch

Gordie- Sasquatch

Melony- yeti

Peirs- vampire

Raihan- human dragon hybrid

Leon- werewolf

Marnie- vampire

Bede- genie

Hop- werewolf

Rose-zombie

Oleana- werecat

Sonia-witch

Victor-mummy

Gloria-faun

Professor magnolia-witch

Team yell grunts- vampires

Klara- moth woman

Avery- warlock

Mustard- oni

Honey- gorgon

Peony- werecat

Peonia- werecat

So that was the list of the Pokémon sword and shield characters that are in my monster au.

[mythgirlimagines]

If you were to assign each member of the group in the Medieval AU a DnD class (and subclass if you feel like it), what would they be?

...i feel like I'm forgetting someone...

Leon- Ranger or sorcerer? Sorcery could be from his bloodline

Hiro- Cleric, he's convinced his clairvoyance came from some higher power. Whether or not that's true, well...

Ibuki- Bard! Even though she left being a siren, music is still very important to her

Kazuichi- Fighter, since that would make him skilled with weapons

Teruteru- None of them really feel like they fit? Closest I've got is druid

Kaito- Warlock, basic description fits p well with his backstory

[theinternetmoviedataband]

My 100 best movies of all time

As a start, this is a top 100 I made back in 2018.

To make things tasty, the first rule I followed was "no more than one movie per director". The second one was "don't get mad trying to order that top 100, just write it down".

I told myself a lot of lies about the fact that this top could change any day but I'm too lazy to make a new one every day. So here I am, stuck with this one :)

BEST MOVIES OF ALL TIME ACCORDING TO ME (with no particular order)

Kiss Me Deadly (1955, Robert Aldrich)

The Professionals (1966, Richard Brooks)

Indagine su un cittadino al di sopra di ogni sospetto (1970, Elio Petri)

Queimada (1969, Gillo Pontecorvo)

C'eravamo tanto amati (1974, Ettore Scola)

Reservoir dogs (1992, Quentin Tarantino)

The Killing (1956, Stanley Kubrick)

Notorious (1946, Alfred Hitchcock)

The Asphalt Jungle (1950, John Huston)

Les enfants du paradis (1946, Marcel Carné)

Kiss Me Stupid (1964, Billy Wilder)

Sullivan's Travels (1941, Preston Sturges)

The Shop Around The Corner (1940, Ernst Lubitsch)

Rio Bravo (1959, Howard Hawks)

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962, John Ford)

The Conversation (1974, Francis Ford Coppola)

Le trou (1960, Jacques Becker)

Dead Poets Society (1989, Peter Weir)

Le salaire de la peur (1953, Henri-Georges Clouzot)

Judex (1963, Georges Franju)

The Departed (2006, Martin Scorsese)

The Prestige (2006, Christopher Nolan)

Unbreakable (M. Night Shyamalan)

Le cercle rouge (1970, Jean-Pierre Melville)

Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo (1966, Sergio Leone)

Curse of the Demon (1957, Jacques Tourneur)

Singin' In The Rain (1952, Stanley Donnen - Gene Kelly)

Hero (1992, Stephen Frears)

It's a Wonderful Life (1946, Frank Capra)

All About Eve (1950, Joseph L. Mankiewicz)

Das indische Grabmal (1959, Fritz Lang)

Le voleur (1967, Louis Malle)

Born Yesterday (1950, George Cukor)

Ben-Hur (1959, William Wyler)

Seven Samurai (1954, Akira Kurosawa)

Ginger e Fred (1986, Federico Fellini)

Small Time Crooks (2000, Woody Allen)

Barton Fink (1991, Joel and Ethan Coen)

Batman returns (1992, Tim Burton)

I due superpiedi quasi piatti (1977, Enzo Barboni)

The Goonies (1985, Richard Donner)

Carlito's Way (1993, Brian De Palma)

French Connection (1971, William Friedkin)

The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957, Jack Arnold)

Gremlins 2 (1990, Joe Dante)

The Bad and the Beautiful (1952, Vincente Minnelli)

Warlock (1959, Edward Dmytryk)

The Unknown (1927, Tod Browning)

Johnny Got His Gun (1971, Dalton Trumbo)

El ángel exterminador (1962, Luis Buñuel)

Le grand blond avec une chaussure noire (1972, Yves Robert)

Down by Law (1986, Jim Jarmusch)

Jurassic Park (1993, Steven Spielberg)

Ladri di biciclette (1948, Vittorio De Sica)

Man without a Star (1955, King Vidor)

Peter Ibbetson (1935, Henry Hathaway)

City Lights (1931, Charlie Chaplin)

Il mio nome è Nessuno (1973, Tonino Valerii)

Excalibur (1981, John Boorman)

Dance of the Vampires (1967, Roman Polanski)

Au hasard Balthazar (1966, Robert Bresson)

Be Kind Rewind (2008, Michel Gondry)

The Fly (1986, David Cronenberg)

Mononoke hime (1997, Hayao Miyazaki)

Les Douze Travaux d'Asterix (1976, René Goscinny - Albert Uderzo)

Touch Of Evil (1958, Orson Welles)

Star Wars (1977, George Lucas)

The Empire Strikes Back (1980, Irvin Kershner)

Groundhog Day (1993, Harold Ramis)

The Front (1976, Martin Ritt)

Big (1988, Penny Marshall)

El secreto de sus ojos (2009, Juan José Campanella)

Amores perros (2000, Alejandro González Iñárritu)

El espinazo del diablo (2001, Guillermo del Toro)

The Man in the White Suit (1951, Alexander Mackendrick)

Village of the Damned (1960, Wolf Rilla)

The Thing (1982, John Carpenter)

Ms. 45 (1981, Abel Ferrara)

The Gunfighter (1951, Henry King)

Copland (1997, James Mangold)

Terminator 2 (1991, James Cameron)

Starship Troopers (1997, Paul Verhoeven)

Le Schpountz (1938, Marcel Pagnol)

12 Monkeys (1995, Terry Gilliam)

Man on the Moon (1999, Milos Forman)

Imitation of Life (1959, Douglas Sirk)

The Most Dangerous Game (1932, Ernest B. Schoedsack and Irving Pichel)

A Perfect World (1993, Clint Eastwood)

Dances with Wolves (1990, Kevin Costner)

Gentleman Jim (1942, Raoul Walsh)

Good Will Hunting (1997, Gus Van Sant)

Elephant Man (1980, David Lynch)

Casablanca (1942, Michael Curtiz)

The Man with the Golden Arm (1955, Otto Preminger)

The Killers (1946, Robert Siodmak)

Punch-Drunk Love (2002, Paul Thomas Anderson)

L'Atalante (1934, Jean Vigo)

La classe américaine (1993, Michel Hazanavicius and Dominique Mézerette)

Back to the Future (1985, Robert Zemeckis)

Un singe en hiver (1962, Henri Verneuil)

[bitsandbobsofwriting]

Another Warlock?

Leon cries a lot, Merlin is protective, and Arthur has to confront the cruelty of his Kingdom’s justice system.

To say that Gaius was surprised when Sir Leon burst into the Physician’s chambers late one evening, pale and sweaty and shaking, one hand shielding his eyes and one hand supporting himself on the door frame, would be a VAST understatement.

He goes to rush forward, not able to recall a single time he’s ever seen the normally incredibly put together man look so shaken, but the way Leon almost falls back in his effort to keep his distance stops him in his tracks.

His breathing is deep and dangerously fast, but before Gaius can call for help or demand the knight tell him what’s wrong, his voice comes out, rushed and cracking and desperate:

“Merlin?? Gaius, where’s Merlin, I... I need Merlin.”

In his shock, both at Leon’s whole terrified demeanour, and the tears he can now see dripping down the other man’s cheeks, he answers without thinking:

“At this time he’ll be in The King’s chambers. My boy are you sure there’s nothing I can-”

Before the physician can finish, Leon bolts from the room, the door swinging shut behind him as he stumbles his way down the corridor as quickly as he can, thinking of nothing but how much he needs Merlin.

His brain fails to make the connection between “The King’s chambers” and “Arthur”, and the knight sprints through the halls, bruising shoulders and elbows on doorframes as his sight is blurred by tears and a shaking hand.

Gaius considers following to make sure he doesn’t hurt himself, but the man is very private, the type to never share his troubles. The physician decides to check in on Arthur’s chambers in a candle mark or so, just to make sure that no one needs any treatment or enforced bedrest; he settles back onto the bench, resuming his previous task with half his mind focused on how terrified Sir Leon had looked, and trying not to worry too much.

~

Arthur was sat at his desk, forehead resting on his hand as he tried to force himself into reading just one more page of the month’s food inventory report. It was boring stuff, but he was King, this had to be done. Uther had never bothered, but Arthur’s head had been filled with ideas on how to better redistribute food since long before he became King, so he never gave up an opportunity to double-check the reports.

Merlin was settled at his dining table across the room, carefully polishing each of Arthur’s many blades. His sword was the first to be done, but Arthur had rather pettily demanded that Merlin also see to the various daggers and knives that The King usually kept hidden around his room, despite the fact that none of the had been used in the three months since Merlin had last cleaned them.

Frankly, Arthur had started to find Merlin’s quiet grumbling a pleasant background noise; he always seemed to be able to concentrate better when in the other man’s presence. Despite Arthur’s boredom and headache, and Merlin’s exhaustion and aching hands, there’s nowhere else either of them would rather be.

The King had just about given up on getting anymore work done; it was late, and he had to give in to the idea that his headache was only going to get worse, so he organised the papers into rough piles on the desk and lent back in his chair, hands folded in his lap as he blinks up at the ceiling. He looks down just in time to make eye contact with Merlin, and he returns the man’s soft smile before he can stop himself.

Merlin raises an eyebrow, almost certainly about to say something scathing about Arthur’s Kingly Mask slipping in the evening, but before he can utter even a word, the main door slams open with a crash, bouncing off the wall loudly.

Arthur stands quickly, tensing when he realises that the sword normally hidden under his desk is currently on the other side of the room with Merlin. The servant already has a dagger expertly held in one of his hands as he moves around the table to see who had burst in, and Arthur makes a mental note to make sure Merlin knows how to use it properly at later date.

The King goes to rush around the desk, but a sharp intake of breath from Merlin as he drops the knife on the table and holds a firm hand out to him, undoubtedly telling him to stay where he is, stops him in his tracks. Arthur trusts Merlin, despite not being able to see whoever it was that had practically broken the door down.

Arthur blinks in surprise when he sees an unarmoured Leon stumble round the corner, hand over his eyes and shaking as he calls Merlin’s name, his voice cracking as tears stream down his pale cheeks. Arthur gulps and goes to move towards him, but finds himself frozen when Leon collapses to his knees, both hands now clamped tightly over his eyes as his sobs become audible. Merlin rushes to him, falling to the floor in front of the knight and taking his wrists in soft hands, not even bothering to look to Arthur as he focuses all of his attention on the distraught man.

“Leon? Leon you need to tell me what’s wrong, I can’t help you if I don’t know what’s wrong.”

Arthur marvels at the way Merlin’s voice wavers only slightly, though quickly reminds himself that the now fully-fledged physician was used to dealing with panicking patients, it’s just Leon that he’s not used to panicking.

Leon’s breathing is deep and uneven, and Merlin moves one of his hands to the back of the knight’s head as he stutters out a frantic:

“Merlin, I... please- I need help... please make it stop, I don’t- I don’t know how to make it stop, please.”

Merlin frowns, trying to calm his own breathing as he runs his desperate gaze over the knight’s body, trying to figure out what was wrong, but it’s Arthur’s sharp gasp and muttered "what the fuck...” that has him look up.

What he sees makes it decidedly harder to keep calm.

The pillow that Arthur had thrown at him that morning was floating a few feet off the ground, as was a vase of flowers by the (thankfully swung shut) door. The flames in the lit hearth were colourful and jumping, filling with odd shapes and seeming to shiver in time with Leon’s panicked wheezing, and the curtains were shaking in a wind that wasn’t there.

Merlin gulps and curses to himself quietly before looking back down to Leon, grabbing his wrists and trying to pry his hands away from his eyes:

“Leon, I need you to look at me. Everything’s going to be ok, but I need you to look at me right now.”

Arthur is still frozen in place, hand twitching by his hip as he subconsciously reaches for his absent sword. 

Merlin still ignores him, rubbing his thumbs over Leon’s wrists softly as he carefully pulls his hands forward. Leon finally gives in, letting Merlin hold his hands close to his chest, shutting his eyes tightly and struggling to draw breath:

“Open your eyes, Leon. I promise that you're safe, ok? I promise I won’t let anyone hurt you, but I need to see.”

Leon shakes his head slightly and whimpers, and Merlin glances over the knight’s shoulder as a loud pop sounds from the fire. The servant moves one of his hands back to Leon’s hair, stroking slightly as he asks him to open his eyes again, trying to keep his voice soft even in his panic. The older man finally complies, and Merlin clenches his jaw to stop himself from gasping at the gold of Leon’s irises.

Merlin glances behind him briefly, but is grateful to see Arthur’s bewildered gaze focused on the floating pillow rather than Leon, and looks back to him with a soft smile on his face, laying the knight’s hand flat over his chest as he speaks:

“I need you to calm down, ok? Everything’s going to be ok, there’s nothing wrong with you, and I won’t let anyone come anywhere near you. We’ll figure it out, but I need you to take deep breaths ok? Can you manage that?-”

Leon nods slightly, leaning forward and pressing his hand into Merlin’s chest as he pushes his forehead into the servant’s shoulder. His breathing slows slightly, and Merlin is grateful to feel the hitches in his breath grow less erratic:

“-That’s it, just one breath after another, ok? You’re absolutely fine, Leon, I’ll keep you safe, just breathe.”

It takes a few minutes of Merlin’s soft words and quiet encouragement, but he’s grateful to see the fire die down to a normal size, the curtains stilling, and everything that had been floating drop to the floor. He’s relieved when the vase lands softly, knowing that a loud crash at this point would probably just set the shaking knight off again.

Though he definitely tenses at Arthur’s outburst:

“What the fuck?!”

Leon falls back onto his hands, scrambling back and staring in terror over Merlin’s shoulder towards the befuddled King. Arthur recoils slightly at the fear on Leon's face, but before he can react, Merlin jumps up, leaping forward to grab Arthur’s sword from the table and twirling it expertly in his hand as he moves in to a defensive position in front of Leon’s still-cowering form:

“I won’t let you hurt him, Arthur. You'd have to kill me before I let you lay a hand on him.”

Leon stands on shaky legs, desperate to stop Merlin from putting himself in any danger, but his fear stops him from doing anything other than grip the back of the servant’s tunic in shivering hands. Arthur just looks even more confused, his wide-eyed stare moving between the terrified knight and angry servant:

“What are you talking about?? Will one of you please tell me what just happened?!”

Leon sniffles quietly, tugging on Merlin’s shirt lightly, but Merlin just holds a hand out to the side, gesturing for Leon to stay behind him and keep quiet as he strengthens the grip on his sword:

“It would seem, Sire, that Leon was born with a touch of magic, and it’s just made its first appearance. Like I said, You’d have to kill me before I let you hurt him just for existing.”

Arthur takes in a sharp breath and Leon whimpers slightly, but Merlin just squares his shoulders even more and adjusts his grip, glancing to the other weapons on the table. He knows he probably couldn’t take Arthur in a swordfight, but he rapidly comes to the conclusion that he would happily out his own magic if it was the only way to protect his friend.

Arthur holds his hands out placatingly, but doesn’t make any moves towards the table or Merlin and Leon, speaking slowly, despite the clear worry and suspicion in his voice:

“Merlin, you can’t be born with magic. So just explain what’s happening, the truth this time. If he’s been cursed or something, then we’ll fix it, no one’s going to hurt him.”

Merlin snarls slightly. Before, when Arthur’s backwards views and misunderstandings about magic had just affected him, it just made him sad. Now they were putting Leon in danger, doing nothing but making his friend even more scared, he found that they made him angry:

“With all due resect, Arthur, are you really going to trust whatever shit Uther told you about magic?? Has it never occurred to you that any and all information on sorcery in this Godforsaken Kingdom is censored, or just straight up wrong? I’m telling you, it is entirely possible to be born with magic.”

Arthur’s expression morphs to one of anger, and Leon pulls on Merlin’s tunic again, trying to get him to step back. The servant just reaches behind him, squeezing Leon’s wrist briefly and holding his position as Arthur grinds out:

“Magic is evil, Merlin, it corrupts.”

Merlin just rolls his eyes harshly, tightening his grip on the sword once again as he argues:

“Yeah? Well this magic has been inside Leon his entire life. Do you think it possible to be born evil? Do you think Leon was born evil? Do you think he’s been evil all his life and just not known it? Or do you think he suddenly, a few minutes ago when his magic first manifested itself, made the switch from good to evil? Look at him, Arthur,-”

Merlin steps to the side slightly, gesturing vaguely at an almost-hyperventilating, still-crying Leon behind him:

“-he’s fucking terrified because his head has been filled with lies and he thinks one of his closest friends is going to strap him to a pyre just for existing. At which point I feel the need to remind you that if you want to burn Leon, you’re going to have to burn me right alongside him.”

Leon’s teary eyes widen and he tugs on Merlin’s shirt again, his voice quiet and cracking:

“Merlin, no, you can’t-”

Merlin shakes his head, not looking away from the shocked King as he strongly says:

“I can, and I will. I promised you I would keep you safe, and that’s what I intend to do. I think it’s time Arthur learns the truth.”

Arthur is taken aback at Merlin’s protectiveness at first, but quickly bristles at his words, tensing and narrowing his eyes as he says:

“And how would you know all about magic, Merlin, you’ve never seemed to take an interest in it before, never bothered correcting me before.”

Merlin looks at The King like he’s an idiot, eyebrows raised and mouth open, freezing like that for a moment of two before he speaks incredulously:

“Are you serious?? I grew up outside of Camelot, where accurate information about magic is far more readily available. I know a hell of a lot more about sorcery than you, I just don’t talk about it because your head is full of lies and you’re a stubborn prat.”

Arthur takes in a deep breath, his face falling into a worrying mix of confusion and sadness. His eyes dart around slightly and his hands twitch as he thinks, obviously trying to come to some sort of conclusion that makes sense in his head.

He looks up suddenly, freezing once again as he stares at Leon, only just now seeming to notice how terrified he looks. How terrified Leon, the only swordsman Arthur has ever met who can consistently beat him, one of his closest friends and most trust advisors, a man seven years his senior who had always supported him and offered advice... how terrified that man looks. Of Arthur.

Merlin relaxes his posture slightly, lowering the sword as he stares at Arthur with a slight suspicious frown on his face. Leon breaks Arthur’s stare, gaze darting to the weapons on the table before he glances briefly to the door.

Arthur’s face falls even further, looking just a tad horrified that Leon thought Arthur was going to attack him, that Leon though he might have to make a run for it. The King finally looks over to Merlin, his eyes wide and tears gathering as he takes a staggered step back, his voice barely above a whisper:

“How... how was my father so....”

His words trail off and Merlin lowers his sword fully, letting out a gentle huff of air as he raises a mournful eyebrow:

“Wrong?”

Arthur nods, and Merlin takes in a deep breath, sighing as he tries to decide just how truthful to be:

“Magic... magic killed his wife. He ignored the warnings, didn’t consider the consequences, and was blinded by fear and hatred and a need for revenge, a need for someone to blame.”

Leon takes in a surprised breath at the same time as Arthur, and The King takes another step back, leaning tiredly against his desk as he stares at the floor, muttering:

“The apparition of my mother was real, then?”

Merlin shakes his head, taking a step towards him but still keeping his distance, hyper aware of Leon still stood behind him:

“I don’t know whether the apparition was real or fake, but it... it was telling the truth, I think.”

Arthur nods absent-mindedly, frowning at his feet for a few moments, the silence heavy and tense on everyone’s shoulders. Merlin can’t help but feel a spark of hope in his chest; was this it?? Was this when things changed?

The King looks up again, hands clenched tightly and tears still gathering in his eyes as he stares at Merlin:

“Merlin... how many- if people can be born with magic, if it isn’t actually evil, if it just... is, how many... how many innocent people have died, have been hunted, burned?-”

Arthur takes a few steps towards his friends, letting out an incredulous, almost manic laugh as he runs his hands through his hair roughly:

“-How many innocent people have I killed, just for existing?”

Merlin sighs and shakes his head, finally dropping the sword back onto the table and closing the gap between the two of them, putting a strong hand on The King’s shoulder:

“You can’t think like that, Arthur, you were just following orders, you didn’t know any better.”

Arthur meets Merlin’s gaze, rapidly blinking away the tears as he mumbles:

“You managed, Leon evidently managed.”

Merlin frowns again and shakes his head, looking back to Leon in confusion:

“Hmm. I grew up outside of Camelot, remember. Leon however... the magic inside Witches and Warlocks tends to manifest in the teen years. I mean, it can happen earlier or later, but you’re, what? Thirty?”

Leon gives him a weak smile and raises an eyebrow:

“Thirty-five.”

Merlin’s frown just deepens as he looks Leon up and down. The knight drops his smile and gulps, not understanding the problem as Arthur sidesteps the servant:

“Witches and Warlocks?”

Merlin hums absent-mindedly, still staring at Leon:

“People with natural, instinctive magic. Sorcerers and sorceresses are people who study it, they’re taught it from scratch, like you were taught how to use a sword. Witches and Warlocks are born with an innate ability.”

Arthur nods, but finally notices Merlin’s confused stare and Leon’s uneasy frown:

“What is it, Merlin? Is Leon... ok?”

Merlin shakes himself out of his stupor, blinking in surprise and looking between the two concerned men:

“Oh! Yeah, I’m just... why now?? For your first outburst, that was pretty weak, especially considering how freaked out you were, so you obviously don’t have all that much natural magic, so why did it take an extra twenty years to make itself known?”

Leon just shrugs his shoulders slightly but Arthur blinks his eyes in surprise and steps away slightly:

“You really do know a lot about magic, don’t you?”

Merlin nods again, looking just a little embarrassed as he shrugs and runs a hand through his hair before turning back to Leon and pushing him to sit at the table. Merlin sits next to him, twisting in his chair slightly to face the still tense knight, and Arthur sits slowly opposite him, clearly waiting for some sort of explanation or... something. 

Merlin continues to stare at Leon, evidently trying to figure something out, and he takes a deep breath before slowly mumbling:

“Something must’ve changed.”

Arthur raises an eyebrow, gesturing vaguely for Merlin to continue:

“I mean... magic has strict rules, even seemingly random instinctive magic works in specific ways. There has to be a reason that yours has suddenly decided to come out and play. So... what changed? Why did your magic stop hiding?”

Leon scoffs slightly and sits back in his chair, all of a sudden realising how tired he is but still being unable to untense:

“I... you talk about... magic, as if it’s sentient.”

Merlin smiles slightly, fondly almost:

“It is, in a way. Not so much for regular sorcerers, but for people with instinctive magic, you don’t... control it, you ask it, you work with it. It will react to your needs and wants and emotions, it’s part of you, but it’s also... separate. It will try and protect you and the people you care about, without you even realising sometimes. Maybe... maybe that’s what happened.”

Leon fiddles with his hands in his lap roughly, picking the skin at his nails as he gulps:

“What do you mean, maybe what happened?”

Merlin smiles, taking Leon’s hands in his own and raising a disapproving eyebrow at the blood just started to seep through old scabs:

“Maybe it was protecting you, keeping you safe. Held itself inside until... I don’t know, it was safer?”

Arthur finally pipes in then, interrupting Merlin’s verbalised stream of thought:

“But it wasn’t. Granted, I haven’t executed many people, but I’ve been King for years, and up until five minutes ago I was still under the impression that magic was evil.”

Merlin shook his head:

“No, not safety from you... safety from Leon.-”

Leon recoils slightly and Arthur frowns in confusion:

“-Something about you changed. Your... views on magic?”

Merlin tilts his head as he says it, obviously asking, and the knight bites his lip, gaze darting between the two men nervously. Arthur just gives him a smile and nods encouragingly. Leon shuffles in his seat uncomfortably, not making eye contact with either of them as he quietly speaks:

“A few months ago I... saw someone do magic, in the castle. I was angry at first, but it seemed so... innocent. It didn’t hurt anyone, it had no consequence, it was just... it looked natural.”

The knight finally looks up again and Merlin nods knowingly, making a mental note to find out who was stupid enough to use magic in the-

...

He notices the pointed way Leon is looking at him, and he scraps that mental note in favour of making a new one, reminding himself to thank Leon later for not immediately killing him.

Merlin bites his lip and Leon rolls his eyes slightly, but before either of them can say anything, Arthur leans across the table, patting Leon on the shoulder comfortingly before sitting back and nodding to himself. He clears his throat and bites his lip as the two of them look to him nervously:

“I’m... curious. Of all people.... why Merlin? You had no idea that he knew so much about magic, you discover that you have magic, and the first person you rush to, you trust, you believe will protect you in a Kingdom that would see you burn... is Merlin. Why?”

Leon gulps, his gaze darting to the young servant, and Merlin widens his eyes slightly before setting his face into well-practiced neutrality and looking back to Arthur:

“Well, like I said, I grew up outside of Camelot’s propaganda.”

Arthur tilts his head and furrows his brows:

“Yes... but so did Percival and Gwaine and Lancelot. And he grew up with Elyan and Gwen, so...”

Merlin clenches his jaw, his brain running through all the possible lies he could tell. Depending on how the rest of this conversation goes, now may or may not be the time to out his own magic:

“Well... look at me-”

He throws his arms up loosely:

“-I’m one of the only people he knows who couldn’t actually do much damage to him if I turned on him. He’s a Camelot Noble Arthur, pretty much all of his friends and family would run him through in an instant if they found out what was happening to him.”

Arthur frowns mournfully, but his nod is understanding as he stares at the table for a few moments. He squares his shoulders and looks up again, his voice strong and Kingly:

“We have some laws to revise. Tomorrow, the three of us are going to visit the Druids, we can leave Leon there for a little while so he can learn to control it at least. I’m sure we can come up with some sort of excuse.”

Leon nods, but Merlin takes a deep breath before shaking his head:

“That... that won’t be necessary.”

Arthur just frowns at him in confusion, but Leon’s eyes go wide as he stares at the servant, taking his wrist in a tight grip; a clear warning. Merlin just gives him a weak smile before sitting up straight and looking to Arthur, his face blank:

“I can teach him.”

Arthur just looks even more confused, before he huffs and rolls his eyes:

“Merlin you may have an odd amount of knowledge in that big head of yours, but it would still be better for someone who was born with magic like him to help.”

Merlin doesn’t even hesitate in his response:

“Exactly.”

Arthur looks up at him sharply, taking in a deep breath and straightening his back when he notices the gold of Merlin’s eyes. It takes him a few moments to respond, and Merlin’s eyes have faded back to their bright blue before Arthur sighs and nods, not looking away as he mumbles:

“I think... that somehow I should’ve expected that.-”

The King leans forwards and puts his head in his hands, leaning his elbows on the table; he lets out a short, humourless laugh, and Merlin and Leon share a worried glance. Before they can say anything, he looks up again, a disbelieving smile on his face:

“-I’m desperate to be angry, furious, even. But after everything I’ve said, done, directly to you and in general, I really don’t think I have the right.”

Merlin shakes his head, anxiety and guilt swelling in his stomach:

“No Arthur, I lied to you for over ten years, you’re allowed to be angry.”

Arthur shakes his head again, but before he can say anything, Leon pipes up, his voice strong and no longer cracking and shaking, despite his obvious nervousness:

“That... No. With all due respect, Sire, you’re right.-”

He turns to a dumbfounded Merlin:

“-You lied because it was the only way to protect yourself. By Camelot’s laws, you- both of us, should have had death sentences from the moment we were born. Lying to save yourself torture by pyre... that isn’t selfish, or cruel, it’s... justice.”

Merlin looks like he wants to argue, but Arthur just shrugs his shoulders and nods, giving his servant a pointed glare before going back to looking curiously confused, and settling an assessing gaze on Leon:

“Can you... feel it? The magic?”

Leon shuffles uncomfortably in his seat, and squeezes Merlin’s hand in his subconscious search for comfort:

“Uh... yeah sort of. Honestly, I’m trying not to, it... it scares me.”

Merlin squeezes back before swivelling in his seat and pulling Leon to do the same, so they’re sat facing each other; Arthur leans forward so he can see what Merlin was fiddling with. The servant cups his hands and rests them under Leon’s own cupped hands, looking up to the older man with a smile:

“It’s not something to be afraid of, Leon, it’s a gift. Let go, feel it. I promise I won’t let anything bad happen. Just... feel it.”

Leon gulps, but lets out a breath and relaxes as he closes his eyes. Merlin’s grin grows, and Arthur stares in wonder at the golden glow of his eyes, his gaze darting to Leon’s face when the man begins to softly smile. Merlin’s next words come out as barely a whisper:

“Open your eyes, look.”

Leon takes another deep breath before opening his golden eyes and looking down at his hands, letting out a surprised laugh when he sees a miniature blue flame, floating a few inches above his palms. He can feel it’s warmth, feel the new odd sensation in his chest feeding it, sparking down his arms and into the flame, mixing with something that feels so very... Merlin. He looks up at the grinning servant, not able to persuade himself to look towards the King even when he hears the other man mutter, his voice quiet and full of wonder:

“A gift indeed.”

~

THE END!!!

Ok so I might write a part 2 to this, basically about Merlin teaching Leon in secret (with Gwaine and Lancelot getting jealous because how the fuck did boring, rule following, 8 years older than him Leon end up becoming Merlin’s best friend??) and a visit to the Druids and a ban repeal and a proper reveal.

BUT it isn’t a definite, and if it does happen it won’t be any time soon, so I guess just consider this done?

I hope y’all enjoyed it!! Same as always, you wanna write it up, let me know and credit and tag me!! :D

[merlinssaggyyfronts]

would i read all the harry potter books just so i could write a merlin/hp crossover fic? yes. absolutely. i would do everything for the perfect au. dont test me on this.

[merlinfic]

How to kill a king

Author: Naelyn

Rating: G

Setting: Canon AU

Word Count: 38,102

Summary: 

"That is how you deal with your problems! By politely stating your aim and waiting for your turn to come, instead of coming here with your weapons and no word of warning! D’you reckon it’s easy for me? Not only do I have to deal with the mess he,“ Merlin pointed at Arthur with his chin, “leaves behind him, but now I also have to deal with unplanned assassinations? This world has become a crazy place, isn’t that right, Gwaine?”

or:

Arthur's assassins seriously lack style, and Merlin tells them as much. The knights are stunned. So are the assassins. Also, Merlin's mad at Arthur, and so he is determined to ruin his day as much as possible. In the meanwhile, Gwaine's just living his best life (isn't he always?).

Reader’s Comments: In which Merlin is sick and tired of defending Arthur from a hundred enemies every day so he develops a System(TM).

Sassy, a bit crack-y, and with a generous dose of casual Uther-bashing. Merlin is basically advising/critiquing Arthur's enemies at this point, he's so Done.

Ft. Merlin being a little shit, Sir Leon the Long Suffering, Supportive Lancelot and Gwaine, and Arthur being very exasperated with his warlock. Mark the Shy Bandit deserves an honorable mention.

Thanks to @friendly-callistoctopus for sending in this rec!

[tumbleweeddesktop]

Bayonetta AU Leon where he's an Umbran warlock under Bayo's tutelage