#there could be improvements obvs but other than that: solid game!

[skleech]

finished silent hill 4 and managed to get the good ending

[astralalmighty]

Part 3 of Aithusa as a Human Child

Part 1 Part 2 Part 4?

Before they know it, her vocabulary has expanded to Wennie (Gwen, Elyan teases her relentlessly), M’anna (Morgana, and she loves how it sounds like mama), Ertur (Arthur), Waine (Gwaine), L-yen (Elyan), Lance (obv), Percy (also obv), Merdred (Mordred), Eon (Leon), Gay-us (Gaius), and Merlin (it’s one of the few she can pronounce perfectly)

And a host of other words, including berry and horse and daisy and the occasional curse word (much to Gwaine’s delight, Merlin’s dismay, and the rest’s amusement)

She quick to talk, just like walking, and Merlin suspects her dragon blood to have something related, but doesn’t dare mention it

And while she was “born” bald as a q-tip, her hair starts growing, and to much surprise, it’s shock-white (just like her scales, but only Merlin knows that)

One (1) person accused it of sorcery, but Arthur was quick to make them shut up

(Merlin would never deny the insurmountable joy when that man was sent away, especially when Arthur sought his eyes out—not Aithusa’s, despite being curled in his arms—but Merlin’s, and gave him a soft smile and determined nod)

Again, time passes fast (or she’s growing quickly), and the city thrives under Arthur’s reign

The new and improved council officially consists of Morgana, the knights, Gaius, one or two members from Uther’s reign, and several new ones from various backgrounds and statuses

Unofficially, it also includes Merlin and Gwen, who are usually seen by their respective Lord/Lady’s chairs

Arthur is thrilled with the group and Camelot’s success. He’s able to tackle several difficulties that Uther barely contained, and he starts to consider which of Uther’s laws to change

(It pains him to do so, but when Leon pointed out Arthur had waived the death sentence multiple times for various reasons, Arthur knew he couldn’t weasel around the laws forever)

Magic, though, remains a touchy topic, especially around Arthur and Uther’s death

But, as luck would have it, Aithusa starts to show signs of magic

Merlin catches her levitating toys, and is initially a mix of terror and awe

After a frustrating conversation with Kilgharrah, they realizes that despite the spell, some aspects of Aithusa’s dragonborn nature will always show

After discussing this with Gaius, Merlin decides to try and teach her that some magic is okay, but not all of it

He takes her on walks and shows her the beauty of magic, but is sure to forbid her from doing magic outside of their strolls

He can’t control what he doesn’t know, though, and that’s how Gwen and Morgana figure it out—when Aithusa gets bored and makes her horse run about the room untethered

Gwen and Morgana’s fear outweighs their curiosity, so the girls hide Aithusa’s magic and don’t even bring it up with Merlin

And then, of course, Gwaine and Lancelot see her grow a flower

And Percival watches her steal a bread roll

And then Leon and Elyan see her magically tie a guard’s shoelaces together and cackle when he tripped down the stairs

And resultingly, everyone except Arthur knows about Aithusa’s magic, but they don’t know that the others know

And then, Arthur’s got babysitting duty when a mild plague sweeps through the town, and he and Aithusa are locked in his room for safety

Aithusa—bored with Arthur’s games—starts making shapes out of the firesmoke

Arthur is convinced he’s hallucinating until Aithusa purposely makes a dragon fly into his face

And then he has an identity crisis over magic and Uther and his reign and Aithusa’s innocence and he can’t kill a baby and wouldn’t dare send her away and Merlin will be crushed and oh god how many others were killed like this?

Aithusa is blissfully unaware of Arthur’s internal conflict, instead making more shapes and colors from the ash and flame

Arthur watches in amazement as a series of butterflies fly out of the smoke, unharmed by the fire

He realizes that magic surely can’t be evil, no matter what it did to him or his father, because Aithusa is not only a baby, but a kind, sweet, sometimes devious child whom he loves as his own daughter

He can’t hurt her, no matter what the laws say

Thankfully, the plague ends with minimal death, and Merlin and Gaius are out like lights for a solid three days

(It took a lot out of them, okay?)

While they’re conked out, Arthur—being impatient—starts discussing magic without them and asks for the council’s honest genuine opinions

There’s a mix of results, some advisors think magic is okay, some agree but are unsure on how to handle it, others are 100% against it, and all in all it’s confusing

When Merlin shows up after three days of tough, cutthroat debates, he has to physically stop himself from jumping for joy that the debates actually started

And suddenly, all eyes are on him and Gaius for their opinions on magic

Gaius quietly recalls the years before the purge, when magic peacefully coexisted. It benefited them, and it was beautiful, and all the older advisors remember the days when sorcerers performed great feats, doctors saved hundreds of lives, and magic was freely taught and celebrated

Then, Merlin describes magic as a tool, no worse than a sword a knight may use. He points out that it may be used for good, and it may be used for bad, but it’s not naturally an evil or corruption, nor is it a natural beauty or good, it just is

And well, if the council wasn’t convinced before, they surely were now

Arthur sets forth the possibility of relinquishing the ban, but doing so slowly and subtly—a treaty with the druids, a repeal on the death penalty, all things that would slowly convince the people of magic as a neutrality, not an evil

(Merlin could kiss Arthur right now, but he settles for a smile ((not that he doesn’t want to)))

And everyone relaxes a little, because now—just maybe—Aithusa can live in peace, without fear of death or burning or some other horrendous ending (not that no one would save her first, but the relief is still tremendous)

[violetrance]

Idk where this sudden burst of confidence came from but i am seeing people who were doubtful are now so sure of klance endgame. Yes Jeremy said something will happen but I am still doubtful and I could beat myself up for it but he could be talking about any one not just klance. Sorry but I have been in a fandom where people were so sure of this pairing becoming canon and it had so much evidence as well but it didnt happen. I was confused and heartbroken and Im scared to be diappointed again.

Lemme say this first, if Klance doesn’t become canon it’s not a big deal okay? I know a lot of ppl will be disappointed, but don’t let this rule over your life. And you can still ship them even if they aren’t canon, cuz tbh a lot of fanon has made this ship more enjoyable rather than canon :)

But on a side note, I’m going to summarize some really solid proof and evidence that Klance has a very good chance at becoming canon:

1. Jeremy emphasising that something might happen between two characters in terms of the LGBTQ rep in the show

(Let me also say that Keith and Lance will obvs not be the only LGBTQ rep in the show, but in terms of Jeremy’s wording they have a very good chance at being apart of this rep as a same sex couple)

- Lance will have an end game romance (his romance will bring him in a different place than where he first started in the series, they will be someone he needs instead of someone he wants, Jeremy also mentioning that eventually you’ll find that one person instead of kind of going all over the place) - In terms of this, when did we REALLY start to see Lance mature and branch off into his arc, s3 with Keith. Not to mention their last interaction was with Keith reassuring Lance about his position on the team, this obviously helped him bcuz look at him now

(- Also Lance needs someone who is self assured - Keith is off on his own arc too and he’s come across his mother. His mother is the main reason why Keith isn’t self assured and afraid of rejection. Him meeting her again will definitely help improve his character as a whole)

- Lance parallels Blaytz, the original Blue paladin, like to the point where it’s not even a coincidence (Blaytz was shown flirting with a male) - adding onto this, the amount of bi flag symbolism portrayed around Lance and even some of his moments with Keith isn’t coincidental, but very purposeful. Lance making similar expressions towards Keith as he has Allura?? Allura and Keith paralleling each other?? These are also not coincidences. Lauren’s art with Lance holding the LGBTQ sign a long with Shiro, someone he’s looked up to and will most likely be an aid to him through this? Just like Hunk was to Keith for his Galra reveal, and Allura was to Pidge during her Gender reveal (Shiro is most likely LGBTQ too, just like how Allura is a female in terms of gender, and Hunk is Samoan in terms of race) 

- That being said since Keith literally fits the characteristics of Lance’s end game and he is NOT straight, but also Lance will most likely fit into the LGBTQ category as well based on that evidence, they both have an extremely good possibility of being an end game couple 

- Since s1 Keith has shown interest in Lance, ever since their romantically coded bonding moment (that moment parallels Hunk and Shay who are romantically coded, and A LOT of their other moments parallel Lotura who are ALSO romantically coded, this is not a coincidence) - But like I’ve emphasised, their romance is slow burn, once they start something between each other it NEVER finishes because they are dragging it out to a certain point

- Jeremy’s smile every time someone mentions Klance? How hyped he always is for them? And now revealing that something will happen between two characters? It’s not a coincidence. But if Keith and Lance just end this all off as an amazing team and good friends, I wouldn’t even be complaining, but all of this just fits too well for that. Jeremy has also said they become better friends in the future, so that’s also important to note too

- Also Lauren mentioning that the characters need to stand on their own before getting involved in romance? That is literally the main purpose of Keith and Lance’s separate arcs right now. I have no doubt in my mind that the heart grows fonder with distance trope is in play right now

2. Lauren and Joaquim deflecting Klance

- These two emphasised that Klance was never supposed to be intentional, meanwhile they literally BLATANTLY parallel two romantically coded pairs and they have offered up a ship name called Laith that literally means LION, Lance being Keith’s stability? Is someone really going to try and tell me that this was “accidental?”

- Also, they deflect so much huge plot points in the show just for the purpose that nothing will be spoiled, they did this with Pidge being a boy, they did this with Allura not being paladin material, they did this when saying romance won’t be a huge focus in the show and then literally romantically coding Lotura in the next season…

- So the fact that they’re doing it with Klance is rlly not a coincidence. Ppl always pull out that card with them saying they can’t go back and make Keith and Lance in love cuz they’re ahead of the storyline. Ever thought that’s because they’re already in love and that’s how the storyline’s already written out? Ever thought that it’s cuz they can’t make them in love right off the bat since their relationship is slow burn? You know, cuz they’re not trying to cater to shippers. Nowhere in that interview did they flat out say Keith and Lance have no possiblity of falling in love or that they weren’t canon. Cuz they CAN’T. Also I wouldn’t even be surprised if that was deflecting too, considering they’ve said that Korrasami were only gal pals and look where they are now…

3. Them saving Shiro

- A theory has already been written about this and I was thinking about it for a long time too, but Keith and Lance will most likely be the ones to save Shiro from the astral plane or whatever virtual mindscape he’s in LOOL

- I’m not going to go too deep into this bcuz it’ll be hella long, but think about what could happen between them considering this is a STRONG possibility:

- They will definitely grow closer bcuz of this (considering Keith has been the only one Lance has gone to about his issues in the first place, love is about being vulnerable after all, which is literally what HE wrote in his guide to falling in love)

- Considering the show is not yet over, this will give them very good development in their relationship (the bedroom scene and bonding moment parallel each other, where they both started to see each other in a different light, but before anything could become of it they were cut off from each other) - Lance rejected Keith claiming that they bonded and grew closer bcuz he wasn’t fond of him in s1 and also his character was not at the point where it is now. Please imagine the Lance from right now being told about their bonding moment, he’d be so much more open to it. Keith leaving the team (coincidentally right after he grew closer to Lance too) bcuz he was afraid of rejection so he broke apart from them first, now he’s come across his mother and she will help him improve himself. Once he returns from this, he will let his family in more and Lance too trust me. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that both of these plot points in which they could have gotten closer and fallen in love could be easily fixed by the seperate arcs that are occuring right now

- Lance and Keith’s storylines are so interwined as well like (don’t follow in his footsteps? How their lions parallel their actual characters in terms of each other? We literally see Keith through Lance’s eyes the first moment they meet and they are set up as a pair immediately. And there is SO much more)

They actually have proper development between the other for it to build into a relationship in the future. Jeremy saying that there’s prob gonna be an end game between two same sex characters further proves that. And if it doesn’t happen, again, it isn’t the end of the world, but after writing all of this, it just makes the most sense rn.