#or canon adjacent. idk

[adhd-merlin]

So I’ve been in the bbc merlin fandom for a bit now but I still havent really explored everything and I love asking peoples opinions so .

What’s your favorite AU and do you have any song or fic recs for it? Or art? Bc id love to see it!!

Sorry @itsjustclaryy this has been languishing in my inbox for a while because, well. The thing about me is that if you ask me a question about a specific thing, my brain will immediately wipe itself of all knowledge about that thing. It's like the opposite of that "don't think about a white bear" exercise.

I also haven't read a lot of Merlin fanfiction — partly out of choice, because I wanted to write my own without committing unconscious plagiarism.

So I sort of put this ask aside until I could think of at least one thing.

I assume you mean AUs as in genuine alternative universes rather than just canon-divergent scenarios? I haven't read many of those, mostly because modern AUs tend to remove magic from the picture, and I think that's such a fundamental part of Merlin’s character that it might as well not be Merlin at all. And also because I like magic.

So, for modern AUs, I like those that still preserve the magic element — like magical realism and urban fantasy.

(I can only remember reading one of those, and it was about magic users still being an oppressed minority and being, like, monitored by the government ? Having to wear some kind of tracking device? And Merlin being an activist campaigning for magic-havers' rights and being kidnapped by Arthur. I can't remember the details, I can't even say whether I liked all of it, but I was intrigued by the premise).

For canon era!AUs, I like the idea of universes where magic is legal and/or Merlin is either a literal prince or in a position akin to royalty (think King of the Druids) and he gets to interact with Arthur on a more equal footing. Or even just fics that change something about Merlin's status, like — I remember reading a story in which Merlin was kept as a prisoner/slave by another king, who used him for his magic (think of a "King Alined and his jester" kind of situation), and Arthur met Merlin while he was staying at this king's castle to negotiate a treaty. (Does it count as a "proper" AU? I'm not sure). But again, I have no links at hand, sorry.

I also enjoy soulmates AUs because I'm basic. But really, they work so well for this fandom.

Generally speaking, I enjoy fics that explore power dynamics, a lot, so I'm always a slut for Dom/sub AUs and the like (which I don't even know if it's a thing in this fandom?)

Sorry, I realise I haven't actually recommended anything and this probably wasn't what you were looking for, but yeah, I really haven't read many AUs.

Perhaps someone who follows me might have some actual recs :) I'll add to it if any specific fic comes to my mind.

(For now — this dragon!Merlin ficlet is adorable.)

[noxious-fennec]

Hands are too shaky these days

[silverthelovebug]

Yasammy Week ~ Day 5: Track Meet

Sometimes, Yaz needed that extra push to get to the finish line. Usually she’d picture her mom, cheering her on from the bleachers; she’d imagine going home to the smell of her kebabs with a shiny medal around her neck, or the praise of her personal trainers and coaches. Her mind would even wander to Sammy in Texas, picturing she was cheering her on, too. No matter how bad her legs burned, or how much sweat she had accumulated — that push is what kept her going.

@yasammyweek

The sketch of this drawing was so funny actually I did NOT know how to do the track field background. Sammy is Yaz’s number one supporter and I’m so glad the entire fandom agrees !!! They are so ride or die too, did you see Yaz defending her in Season 1 ??? Also The Long Run reference/j she was using her memories of Sammy as a lifeline that episode ,,

[fantasykiri5]

you said bribes?? :> 40 whole seconds ago??

and i do love smallidarity so win-win! (love boat boys too, but i'm an ethubs shipper till the end) speaking of ethubs... could i request something fluffy with Etho and Bdubs? whatever you're in the mood for with 'em! romantic or platonic!

Pick up your lanky ass minecraft-boyfriend bridal-style! Why? Well, it’s quick, it’s easy, and it’s free!

[animucrystal]

do people really look at arthur and just go “yeah hes allistic” like that is the most autistic man ive ever seen (half joking). arthur is so driven and steadfast in his ideals so when something shakes him it shakes him Hard. its hard for him to regulate emotions well (trauma + autism). he trusts easily, which is funny because he says he doesnt when he so clearly does. hes “dense” at times and doesnt pick up on a lot of subtleties, and when he does he finds it hard to express what he wants to say (again this is both a trauma thing and an autism thing). he fidgets, especially with his mothers ring. theres alot more i could name but thats all i could think of right now

some hcs: he likes routine and this is mostly the reason why he gets annoyed at merlin whenever he unknowingly derails it, i got this one from a fic actually but i think one of his special interests is just like cataloguing and organizing things and when he was younger he liked doing that with bugs and as he grew older he had to focus his attention to more “practical” things (because of uthers insistence) so he does this with weapons as well as like utilizes this skill in directions as well, this guy hates so many textures i feel and all day everyday hes seconds away from a meltdown (which manifests into snappy anger) but he grits through it because he cares more about duty than his “weird brain problem”

i think itd be funny (and sad) to imagine arthur thinking he was probably cursed as a child, then a magic a reveal happens, then after all of that arthur asks merlin if he Is cursed and merlin is like “i think youre just. Like That. but thats okay im also kind of Like That” and arthur realizes that his manservant truly was just a little weirdo and that wasnt just his magic talking and maybe HES also a little weirdo. solidarity

[devilsskettle]

i think some of the popularity that meta horror has garnered is a little bit disingenuous tbqh even though i do like some of the movies that have come out of the subgenre, people don’t realize that the foundation of the slasher genre was established in the 60s/70s and a lot of the 80s movies that have become so classic were already riffing off of the tropes established by those movies before full fledged meta took off. the idea to make friday the 13th was sparked by the commercial success of halloween. the original script for slumber party massacre was a parody of the genre and the movie retains much of that humor which is referential to past slashers by nature. + it intentionally uses typical slasher tropes around gender and sexuality to bring forward the concerns of teenage girls. is that not something that meta horror is frequently touted as doing? child’s play is like a slasher, “except —” which is what a lot of meta horror comedies do now (“slasher except it’s a possessed doll” is not that far off from “slasher except it’s freaky friday” and whatnot). this isn’t to say that scream isn’t foundational to what the slasher genre evolved into or that contemporary meta slashers aren’t doing something interesting but i also think they tend to lean towards cynicism towards the movies they’re deriving their themes from + they’re not even as different as they think they are from “classic” 80s movies that already are borrowing from classic slashers which in turn borrowed from even older horror (for example, in halloween, laurie is watching the thing from another world from the 50s which was adapted into the now classic john carpenter’s the thing in the 80s). and of course many of these older horror movies were adapted from literature which also inspired more literature. like the shelley/byron/polidori scary story writing contest is now legendary but also you don’t get the shining without the haunting of hill house (and you don’t get the haunting of hill house without turn of the screw, for example) and the shining is probably one of the most referenced movies by other media of all time. horror has always been an intertextual genre let’s stop pretending it didn’t become “self aware” until 1996

[ladsofsorrow24]

its interesting to see how so many people come to the conclusion that ww is the one to butcher his job because he fell in love with vash

when, i think he actually did fulfill every single requirements of the job knives forced him to take

because the funny thing is, vash will always ended up confronting knives by his own will, no matter what. knives didn't have to put ww on babysitting duty (which, shows how much he look down upon humanity that he think someone like ww isn't that big of a threat to him) but yeah maybe ww got in this position just so knives could show vash how irredeemable humanity is and why they're not worth it...

but i wonder if he actually predicted just how much this puny human will affect vash's motivation to defeat him

idk i'm just talking out of my ass here but i think the first and last time wolfwood actually abandoned his post to prioritize his personal matter is when he leave to fight chapel and livio. that's the only time he put himself first before his job, and even then it's not literally him putting himself first, but rather the people he loved and cared for

fuck it, ww is such an interesting character...

[reanimationstation]

i like to think that sammy probably uses his sanctuary to calm himself down (or to wildly dissociate)

[doinkmaster5000]

messy thoughts on the chosen one and the dark lord’s relationship leading up to the showdown. might not be saying anything new but i wanted to get my thoughts down

the timeline in my head is: escape from ALANSPC, rampage, tco starts to feel bad / tdl gets more bloodthirsty, attempt to settle down, showdown.

plenty of people have talked about tdl’s mission and how that must have come up in his relationship with tco. my interpretation of it is a constant tug in his body that ebbs and flows, something that he can ignore or divert into some unrelated destruction in order to satisfy part of the craving without straight up attacking chosen. i think the showdown was a relief for him, like scratching an itch, but it’s also frustrating: he’s been holding off this scenario for years. he doesn’t want the fight but doesn’t want to change. i think he’s optimistic enough to think this can be a bump in the road for them, to hope that tco will eventually come back around. i don’t think he would (or could) have killed chosen, if given the opportunity, but who’s to say.

the virabots are for dark (his colours his design his goals) but ALANSPC was a gift for chosen. unfortunately, for tco the virabots are the final straw. i think tco would have tried to curb tdl’s bloodlust earlier, on top of taking less and less active roles in their destruction over time. narratively, it’s not very fair to tdl if the showdown is the first time this conflict has come up between them. the destruction was something they shared, that brought them together, and it’s understandable for tdl to want to maintain this status quo. it’s his whole thing. i wonder how much he noticed tco’s growing disdain for his actions, if he took it into consideration while setting up his virus. if he hid the project until it was complete so there was no chance for tco to talk him down, or if he hoped getting to destroy ALANSPC would make chosen change his mind.

near the end, i think chosen was smart enough to know the confrontation was coming, but too attached to dark to acknowledge it. he knows there’s no going back from this. chosen’s big on choices, free will and self determination, but he doesn’t have the sort of programmed intent that dark does. there is no dark lord without death.

[birdinabowl]

I’m thinking about redesigning my corrupted pearl desgin

[dazzlerazz]

I should play CF again with a fresh clear head just to see if I actually like it without fandom bullshit clouding my mind

[patchodraws]

alright besties, ya gotta do something for me, and that is send me recs for korrasami fics but SPECIFICALLY either missing scenes from book 3 and 4 or asami going to the south pole with korra fics 👀

[r0semultiverse]

Voice headcanon: Richard Horvitz or Shelby Rabara

[windupaidoneus]

but like i had it lined up how emet would return in my mind palace. you know. i had it allll lined up. & now im like. fuck. i gotta be real i think hed probably mold his appearance to not look like solus anymore im not sure hed rock with associating himself with that anymore after being freed from zodiark's thrall this is a little much. you know

[fictiongods]

I love when I say a take and then I get to say “this is true because canonically…” it really is the best feeling. Like yes I did get this from THE Main Source. Yes this is correct and you can’t actually say I’m wrong I have FACTs. INFORMATION. DATA.

[supernaturalkickparty]

Really surprised with all the comparisons/jabs made to Sam and Dean no one made a Flowers in the impala Attic jab