#the obsession with 3 strikes again... 3 agents 3 realms of 'being'

[welcometoteyvat]

furina albedo scaramouche all speedrunning the "complex relationship with their creators, humanity, and "godhood" " challenge (with varying degrees of success)

[shibanatsuo]

I’ve recently came to understanding that no new ship or obsession can ever beat my old ones. And that I always come back to my roots. So here it is, more than ten years since I opened a whole new world that is bbc merlin to me, my rec of absolute goodies.

listed by word count

mostly modern or reincarnation au because canon hurts and even canon divergence can’t save me from the pain

plan to update whenever i find something new

1. Loaded March by Footloose [E, 1.2m+] ❤️ 

Captain Arthur Pendragon has put together the best team of specialists that the SAS has ever seen, but when his superiors assign Lieutenant Merlin Emrys as his communications officer, Arthur does everything to make him feel unwelcome. Arthur's job is to protect and guide his team through dangerous missions, and he worries that he can't do that when the newest member has a mysterious background and acts suspicious when he thinks no one is looking.

2. For Want of a Nail by 0hHeyThereBigBadWolf [T, 234k] 

Fleeing from Essetir in the bloody beginnings of the Purge, Hunith finds herself on the doorstep of old friends. That's all it takes to untangle the skeins of destiny and weave a new tapestry.

3. Shadowlord and Pirate King by Footloose [E, 216k]

A fast ship, a good crew, a treasure, a Clan to lead -- that's all Arthur Pendragon has ever wanted. He sits on the Council, he supports his father's kingship, and he keeps an eye on the Imperial Conglomerate when they come too close to Pirate space. One day the Conglomerate infiltrates the Clans and poisons the King. Arthur must search for a cure to keep his father alive and the Clans from civil war. An escape route, a sharp knife, a target, the shadows at his command -- that's all Merlin has ever needed. He fulfills his assignments, he uses the Sterling to sustain his once-royal House in their exile, and wages a private war against the Imperial Conglomerate. When he learns of an elaborate plot to assassinate him, Merlin does the opposite of what's expected. He flees onto a Pirate ship. There's a saying among the Pirates: that one's fate is written in the stars. Destiny will always set to rights what has been made wrong. Arthur and Merlin know that they were meant for the other from the moment they meet. They can feel it from across the galaxies separating them. Nothing can stop them from being together or from fulfilling an ancient prophecy.

4. Unstoppable Superweapons by Footloose [E, 147k]  

Merlin is a recent graduate with a double doctorate in metaphysics and physics. Arthur is a low-level paper pusher with a desk in the sub-basement of MI5. They live in a world with ridiculous laws and restrictions against anyone who might be supernatural in any way, shape, or design. Merlin has huge debts looming over this head, a few quid left in his bank account, and no job prospects. Arthur is pushing thirty, in a dead-end job with no chances of promotion to fieldwork agent, and is thoroughly bored with his life. One ill-advised Craigslist advert, five pushy mates, one nosy all-knowing sister, and a hacked email account later, Merlin and Arthur take the world by storm. (Or, more precisely, they take over the world.)

5. The Dragon Rises by Footloose [M, 123k] 

Merlin has three strikes against him: he's one of the last surviving members of the grove of Ironwood, he's renowned as the dread sorcerer Emrys, and there's a large reward hanging over his head like Damocles' sword. After decades of running, there's nowhere left to go. His dream of peace -- Ironwood's dream -- seems impossible to achieve until he meets the young son of a thane whose greatest secret is a traitorous desire for more than the tyranny that runs rampant throughout the Kingdoms of Albion.It was disaster that brought the world to this. It's war that will cleanse it of its sins. But it is prophecy that heralds the day when the guardian of the realm can wear his mantle once again, and when the King of Kings will rise to take the throne that is rightly his.

6. Merlin: A Hogwarts History by Mamalazzer [M, 85k] 

After spending the better part of a thousand years as a professor at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Merlin had given up hope that he would ever see Arthur again. Then Christmas 1993 happened and Sybil Trelawney wheezed out a prophecy about the return of the Once and Future King.

7. Accidental Memory in the Case of Death by derryere [E, 74k] 

Tony O does not befriend losers. Tony O is not gay, not crazy, he is not particularly nice and he is most definitely not royalty. Destiny disagrees.

8. Drastically Redefining Protocol by rageprufrock [E, 70k] 

In which Prince Arthur meets Merlin and all hell promptly breaks loose.

9. Following the Beast by Footloose [E, 66k] 

Arthur grew up surrounded by emotionless attendants, was forced to suppress his true nature, and was regularly trotted out as a special-occasion showpiece for the entertainment of pedantic mortals. As he approaches adulthood, he decides that it's time for him to break free of the leash and to take his rightful place on the throne.There are agents of Heaven and Hell who would stop him. His own half-sister desires the power for herself. His human father refuses to allow Arthur out of his control. The Fallen sperm donor responsible for Arthur's existence wants to take his place.Arthur's young. His power has yet to mature. All the allies he has made and the loyal men who follow him won't be enough to protect him until he can build the Kingdom he has dreamed of since he was a child.He needs the help of the person who makes angels and demons quaver in fear at the mere mention of his name. Of the broken, down-trodden man who is now a pale shade of the terror he had been decades ago. He needs Merlin, and Arthur has every intention of making Merlin his.

10. Ashes, Embers, Flames by unpossible [E, 65k] 

Merlin sees him across a crowded living room and promptly spills his beer down the back of the couch and over some hapless stranger’s neck.

11. Good News (is on the way) by derryere  [E, 60k]

Arthur, a travelling businessman, decides to rent a room with the Wyllt family while in town. Hunith is charmed. Her son, Merlin, is not.

12. Something Unpredictable by alby_mangroves [E, 38k] 

Arthur’s treehouse was the same as Merlin remembered it, all of it was. Maybe a little smaller, but then everything was, now. And then there was Arthur himself; and it wasn't so much that a lot had changed about him, not really, it was only that everything had lengthened and broadened and become more.

13. Time’s up by la novocaina&Sabira, translation from russian by Detochkina [E, 31k] 

Is there anything in common between drugs and excellent grades? Or business and psychology?  The answer is simple – in the world of big money a lot can happen when you’re bored to tears. Under pressure from his father, Merlin becomes involved in a strange relationship. At first, he can’t get out of it; on second thought – he doesn’t want to.

14. Gibraltar May Tumble by shes_gone [E, 24k] 

Merlin's life in London is a bit of a mess: his career is trapped somewhere between student and professional, his love life is trapped in a relationship gone sour, and most days he feels physically trapped in the tiny, shared flat he can't afford to move out of—until an unexpected opportunity sends him packing for the coast. There, he meets someone who might be in a even worse fix than he is: Arthur, a Victorian-era sea captain who's trapped, a bit literally, between life and death, and who refuses to leave the house he died in over a hundred years ago.

15. The Practice Boyfriend by giselleslash [M, 24k] 

Merlin’s been in love with Lance for years, but he hasn’t had much experience dating and he wants to figure out the ins and outs of dating before Lance comes back into his life. Cue Arthur and his manwhoring ways, ready and willing to show Merlin the ropes.

16. But It's a Good Refrain by lady_ragnell [T, 23k] 

Arthur doesn't care much about the popular radio program Dragon's Lonely Hearts until his ex-girlfriend calls in to slag him off and get advice. When he calls in and has an on-air argument with the host, it starts off more than he expected, including meddling friends, overinvolved fans, and maybe love.

17. All of This Was Only Coming Back to You by giselleslash [T, 16k]

Arthur and Merlin drift apart and break up, but sometimes the end isn’t always a forever kind of thing.

18. the good times are killing me by minor_hue [E, 15k, not on ao3] 

In which the boys pretend to still be together for Christmas (and there is more than one kind of charade).

19. Post-it Note Romance by fuzzytomato [M, 9k] 

Merlin has never had a secret admirer before so he’s fairly certain this one has the wrong guy.

20. Spartacus and the Open Taxi Door by fuzzytomato [M, 8k] 

Merlin works in a coffee shop, is a literature student, lives with Will, flirts with Gwaine, is friends with Gwen and has a stunningly normal life. Until Arthur walks in and changes everything. 

p.s. would be forever grateful for recommendations on your most favourite fics :)

[vicecityhq]

██████████████]99% LOADING...SUSPECT INTO THE APD DATABASE...

WITNESS(ES) SAY HE REMINDS THEM OF: the Italian Mafia, the sound of Lo-Fi beats, a coffee house . With a slight resemblance to NAKAMOTO YUTA of/the NCT 127.

CLICK BELOW TO VIEW ENTIRE FILE.

FULL FILE:

Last Name, First Name: Maiko, Akuyoshi ALIAS: The Crow Realm of birth(if earth, nationality): Japanese Age: 73 Date of Birth: October 31st, 1948 Gender: Cismale Preferred Pronouns:  He/Him Species: Demon Occupation: N/A Sexual Orientation: Bisexual

VISUAL FILE:

Skin Color: Pale Eye color:  One dark grey almost black the other black with red, white and gold flecks in the iris Scars:  two burn scars on either temple, faint scars on his wrists and ankles from long term restraints Piercings:  10 up his right ear from lobe to the top, 5 on his left ear (double lobe, cartilage, helix and daith) Tattoos:  Many sporadic tattoos up his arms, and a few on his chest, hip and back. Hair color:  jet black with a white/greyish streak in the front Abnormalities:  his eyes, and his hair color is natural Horns/ wings/ etc: Transformed form: Akuyoshi’s transformed (demon) form is a four eyed creature with two long black horns coming from his head, dark shadow like wings sprout from his back. The corner of his mouth extend into a sharped tooth grin and his nails grow to abnormal lengths.

PERSONAL FILE:

RELIGIOUS BELIEF:  N/A SINS:  greed  /  gluttony  /  sloth  / lust  /  pride  /  envy  /  wrath VIRTUES: chastity  /  charity  /  diligence  /  humility /  kindness /  patience /  justice KNOWN LANGUAGES: Russian, Japanese, English and Below Average Korean SECRETS: The reported terroistic attack on the KGB agency was carried out solely by him, he was in the wind before they could find him. SAVVIES:  Guitar, Tinkering/fixing things, Cooking, Assassin work Powers & Abilities: Darkness manipulation, minor pyrokenisis, the ability to possess the living(any 'undead' creatures are immuned), life draining, Infrakenisis (with limitations due to being on earth), Demonic Psionics (with limitations due to being on earth), and able to summon creatures from hell.  Expert Stealth, Assassination Tactics, Knowledge in various tranquilizers and poisons, Knowledge in various ways of body disposal, Advance knifing abilities (this includes throwing knives, regular knives, swords and katanas). Traits: patriarchal & mysterious

BACKGROUND CHECK:

Date of Birth: October 31st, 1948 Date of Death: [ if applying for an undead character ] Crime Record: He hates most authority figures, the ones that use their power over others to control them. He’s on many watch lists for assassination of political leaders (rumored), various counts of murder (alleged), various counts of torture (alleged) and a connection to a wealthy and quite suspicious operation worked out of the human city (also alleged), he has never been convicted. He is also technically the sole suspect of the slaughter of 25 KGB agents, 3 high ranked scientists and 2 high ranked psychologist back in 1964.

Background/Biography:

tw: this passage includes vague descriptions of murder, mind control, non-l conscentual impregnation, drug use, sexual abuse, rape, abuse of a minor, blood , parental death, death during childbirth and torture.

Once you are locked away by fiery bars, too powerful to be allowed loose in the human realm or any other, when some from even the darkest depths and realms fear your name on their lips you find yourself, aching to create the chaos you so desperately seek. Cursed to spend the rest of your days roaming the underworld in a special sanctuary for the protection of other hellspawns...and the world,  with no way of getting to those realms, in fear of their ultimate destruction what could you possibly do to sate your disgusting lust for those around you to suffer. Easily, he would say, a powerful demon whose name they refused to utter, you create someone else to do the job for you. Sure possession is an option, but all it takes is some divine force to remedy that, especially when it comes to humans, so you….steal a vessel, create living breathing flesh to carry out your sadistic tendencies while you watch from the depths of Hell. All you need is someone to hold it, just for nine months.

Akame Miako’s obsession with the occult lead to her being that vessel. An only child to a hardworking and quite wealthy family in her village she seemed to counter the intense loneliness with spell books and rituals, stories of demonic possession and seances peaked her interest and she went as far to invite one into her home...kind of.  Akame didn’t think the stories were true, easy access to summon something that even some other demons feared was far fetched for a mere mortal like her, besides even if she did , she was sure it’d be harmless, as harmless as demon could get. The translation from Latin to Japanese was a bit murky, she did all the things she was supposed to do, shut the door, lit the onyx colored candles and chanted his name. It tasted foul on her lips, metallic and sour as if blood had suddenly come up her throat like bile. The room grew in heat and sweat matted her jet black hair to her forehead, with all this build up the young teen would think that something was bound to happen right? But simply only the candle blew out, casting her room into darkness only set alite by the moon, of course she was right, it was all hullabaloo probably something conjured up by her great great gran something to spook their little village.

But what Akame hadn’t known, was that she’d open the door for exactly what He want ed, she would become his vessel, allowing him to breathe life into flesh another piece of him roaming the planet. It only took a few weeks for her to notice the signs, a usually healthy 18-year-old spent her mornings vomiting crimson, and her nights in searing abdominal pain, maybe a plague was sweeping through their village once more, it wouldn’t be the first time and sure wouldn’t be the last, but it had only been Akame who was harboring this, torturous disease. She hid it for as long as she could, not wanting her parents to worry, time off work meant a dwindle in their status and that was something they couldn’t afford, it wasn’t ‘til her mother founder her, writhing in pain on the floor that the village doctor was called, with a diagnosis no one was expecting, Akame was pregnant. There was no way of convincing her parents that she hadn’t gone against her pledge to wait ‘til marriage. They hadn’t believed that she was some Virgin Mary and she couldn’t even explain it herself. But, an unwed mother and her father’s place in the countries politics was something that they couldn’t afford, they’d locked her away until the babies birth, and it wasn’t until then when they found something was horribly, horribly wrong. It was a taxing birth, the room creaked and groaned, disembodied voices filled the empty space, her stomach twisting and contorting as the creature fought its way out of her. It tore her apart, as it crowned, and Akame was not equipped to handle it. Her feeble and young, she perished as the baby was born leaving her parents in mourning, and the doctor in fear. What was it? Why had it come with jet black hair and dark eyes? Why had it rejected the doctors blessing, crying and wailing as if the prayer was causing it great pain? He could only advise its remaining living relatives one thing, get rid of it.

The Miakofamily wasn’t to keen on killing an  infant, in fact they flat out refused, telling the doctor there must be some way to get it far away from them without causing it any harm. They traveled for years, keeping the demonic entity at arms length before an unsuspected visitor received a tantalizing letter. The man was stone cold, with a charming smile, he had a weird accent and shining blue eyes, he’d pay them good money to take the now toddling child into what he called, a ‘school of reform for lost boys’. They took the bate, and the money, almost sad to see it go but happy to be rid of something that they were sure harbored some evil, the thing that killed their daughter, their only child. He said he’d rid it of whatever evil’s that may have come with it, that where it was going it would emerge a new man, and maybe one they would want to communicate with again. Masked by pearly gates and brass door knockers, they weren’t told about the extensive training, and weren't told about the weapon he’d become. How they would abuse him, strip him of his identity and show him how to use his striking looks for his own gain. They didn’t tell him about the monster he’d become, the new man that they’d create on their own accord. And he excelled, climbing in their ranking and leaving bodies and broken bones behind him. His body filled, cut clean, and he followed orders to ever ‘t’. He was reformed sure, a weapon now, molded to their perfect standard, used and abused, raped and pillaged for their own use somewhere in the world, they wanted a monster, masked by something so beautiful and enticing, and so he became one, using his powers at their will. It was a team full of creatures just like him, western Asia’s super weapon.

They assumed that he would continue to stay obedient, assumed he’d bend to their every will, for the rest of his life, but they were not careful, and let him in too close. He became conniving, manipulative, a teacher’s pet with a vendetta against the system and so he took the teacher’s job. Worked his way up until he was eye to eye to those that made him. And then, he destroyed them, and oh, how Olympus has fallen. He left with his life, though he cannot say much for the others. They had taken it all from him, he had no memories of what was before them, no images of family, of what an actual life was. Just a name. His grandfather was long gone, not that he knew, not that he cared, but he took what was given to him, a bank account, frozen until he was eighteen, when he was supposed to return, about 110 million yen,  what was left of what they had, a supposed consolidation for abandoning the child,  his grandmother fine  and comfortable and she came looking, more than once she came looking and each time he left, ran far away from her, he didn’t know her never knew her, not like she wanted. He had become something absent of emotions, absent of memories, he was just a surname, but a name he could not live up to. Thus, he became someone else, just as they wanted.

He wandered on his own a bit, finding solace in the underground, and a band of misfits just like him. But touring, guitar shredding and becoming a confidant didn’t scratch that itch they had created for him. The itch to draw blood, hear torturous screams and extract the information that he wanted. The woman he had met had humanized him, made him feel less of a robot, less of a monster, showed him that he could make genuine connections even if they felt idle or like autopilot. Though, those thoughts still persisted, so he sought out ways to cure his hunger, more like the chef that could cook up such a feast had found him, a tragic case, sucked into another tragedy.

INTERVIEW QUESTION (para sample): “Just run us through what happened that night”. - Officer

Akuyoshi spit on the ground and slumped back in his chair. The officers furrowed their brows, though fear was apparent of their faces. “We know who you are.” One of them spoke in English, the demon only erupted into a dark laugh, one that drained the color from the younger officers face. “Good.” His Russian accent was sharp, cutting through them like sharpened blades.

“If you want information, you wont get it from me.” He said tilting his head back, wet, sweat covered strands falling from his face. The ex agent had already began picking the lock on the cuffs behind him, brow ticking as they came unlocked. It was in a blink of an eye, blood splattered his face and the ceiling, the elder officer going to the ground with his hand grasping at his throat in panic, the one that was left only looked at him in horror, frozen in place and unable to run to safety, and Aku took the opportunity, taking both of his cheeks in his palms before twisting his wrist, the sound of the snap satisfying.

He disappeared in a cloud of dark smoke, before appearing before the camera that filmed the interview room, “Bozhe pomiluy svoyu dushu,” he said darkly, the word echoing off the walls like the demon’s father had began to ascend before he snatched it from the wall the last thing the overseers seeing was his large smile spreading towards his ears.