#<- quote from merlin or me who knows at this point

[rushingheadlong]

(Left: Photo from an ebay listing from Magnifico Vintage Magazines; Right: Photo from a PDF scan from worldradiohistory.com)

I stumbled across this article (from Record Mirror magazine, 30 March 1974) and wanted to share it because it’s a fascinating follow-up to this article I’ve previously shared from Melody Maker which was printed a week prior. 

The Melody Maker article looked at the role of big business in the music industry, specifically by using Queen and another band Merlin as examples of “hyped” groups i.e. artificially manufactured to generate maximum interest. While this may be somewhat accurate for Merlin, it’s not true for Queen at all - and as the Record Mirror article above shows, they were not happy about this comparison.

(Left: From Record Mirror magazine; Right: The photo in question from Melody Maker)

Lead guitarist Brian May picked up the paper and waves it under my nose. "This article is the biggest load of rubbish I've ever read in my life", he declares vindictively. "Look, there are people going to read this article - some of them won't have heard of Merlin and some of them won't know us. The headline screams out commercial pop. They've printed a very old picture of us, which we hate, looking extremely poppy and underneath it is the word HYPE. The whole article says in a suggestive way that Queen are a hype."

So Brian is certainly not happy with the Melody Maker article - or at least he doesn't like the photo they chose! I suppose he would've preferred something from the Queen II shoots instead, though it is rather funny for him to call a photo taken only a year prior a "very old picture of us".

But alright, surely the rest are concerned with things other than how they look...

(Left: Roger quoted in Record Mirror; Right: Freddie quoted in Record Mirror)

"Freddie and I used to sell old clothes. In fact Freddie used to design and MAKE our stage costumes. We've always taken care to make sure that our clothes are just right and look good. Perhaps they'd prefer it if we went on in dirty jeans, but we don't really think the public want to look at that. I think they'd rather see something that looks good." ... "Oh, really," [Freddie] exclaims in disgust, "this paper has no flair - I mean to print this picture three times in succession... and just look at my arms!" He was horrified, "look how fat they appear, now my arms aren't like that at all - what do you think?" He rolls up his sleeves for me to inspection and I'd like to state here and now that the poor dear's arms are quite, quite slender!

...okay, that's on me, I should've realized that the two fashionistas in Queen would have thoughts about their appearances and such. Or at the very least I should've expected Roger to bring up the Kensington Market stall! Poor self-conscious Freddie, but at least it seems like the interviewer reassured him about his arms!

Enough about clothes and photos though, I wonder what else the opinionated Roger Taylor had to say about the Melody Maker article?

(Above: Roger quoted in Record Mirror)

"That's exactly how we think it is," joined in their drummer Roger Taylor. "Supported by the fact that they've compared us to a totally new band who we've never heard of. We don't want to say anything against them, but apparently they're just a straight pop band. Whereas we've been playing and working up to this for years. Christ, I'm 24, Brian's 25, Freddie is 27, John's a bit younger 23. Plus the fact that we're all intelligent enough not to want to be put across in that way. We want to put our music first."

Honestly, Roger makes a really good point here. When the Melody Maker article was printed, Merlin had only been together in their current form for less than a year and had only released one single. Their first (and only) album wouldn't be released for over 6 months, and unfortunately they would be disbanded by this time the following year.

That being said, the emphasis on their ages is very funny to me because while Merlin might be a young band, the individual members weren't exactly far off from Queen's own ages and experience.

Their lead singer, Allan Love, was born in 1946 just like Freddie and had already been in the music business for seven years. The youngest member of the group was guitarist Jamie Moses, who was only 19 at the time, but even he had been performing semi-professionally for six years. In fact, all the members of Merlin had some degree of previous experience in other bands and the rest of them were right around 23-24 themselves, the same ages as Roger and John!

But speaking of John, what does he have to say about all this?

(Above: From Record Mirror)

By this time John Deacon (who reminded me of the Alice's doormouse) had woken from his slumbers (too many late nights and early mornings), he was reasonably cheerful for someone who had had his clothes ripped off the day before. "By the law of averages," he was saying, "it's someone else's turn to be ripped off today."

That's a lovely tidbit of wisdom at the end there, John, but what on earth is that about your clothes being ripped off?? Unfortunately there's zero elaboration on this in the article, so I guess it's just left to us to imagine.

So, any final opinions from the boys?

Above: From Record Mirror magazine

Phew! If after all that you think that the lads are hypersensitive to criticism and feel animosity towards their critics, then let Roger put you straight. "No, we don't hold grudges - we just go round and wrench people's arms and legs off. Or send them bags of wet cement, nothing too violent!"

Amazing response, perfectly executed by the one who would later refute a Rolling Stone article about Queen by writing them a letter on an airline sick bag.

Never change, Rog. Never change.

[kissme-withyour-cherrylipstick]

I finished the Merlin fic that has been consuming my life for the past 8 months. It's 196k words. Time to start the editing phase

[ellecdc]

Hi! I’m back 😬. I’m still extremely new to requesting so feel no pressure to write this soon. I was thinking of quiet!reader, who gets nervous when she is around Regulus and instantly starts saying the most out of pocket things and being chatty to fill in the silence. Regulus finds this amusing and usually keeps a serious, quiet demeanor to hear the weird things that come out of her mouth. 😊

looolllll the second I got this request it made me think of that Philomena Cunk meme on TikTok where people were like 'me whenever the conversation lulls' - so I had to borrow that quote!!! (let me know if you find it). Thanks so much for requesting babes - hope you love it 🫶

Regulus Black x quiet!fem reader (who can't shut up around him)

The world was out to get you, that much you were certain of. You were certain of this fact because this was the third time this week that your table in the library had somehow attracted the elusive Regulus Arcturus Black. 

Usually, this would not be an issue. In fact, one could argue this was a rather nonissue, seeing as you were sort of embarrassingly completely infatuated with the aggravatingly quiet boy in your year.

However, it appeared that the company of one Regulus Arcturus Black short-circuited some fundamental part of your brain which caused you to blurt out the most asinine comments known to all of wizardingkind – nay – humankind. The universe has never seen the likes of such horrible conversation. 

It went a little like this: 

Earlier in the week you had set up your arithmancy homework out in front of you at your favourite table in the library. It was your favourite table because it had a window view, but that window view was the least distracting window view in the whole library. It also was the perfect distance to a fireplace, meaning you could manage to stay warm in the stone castle during the cold Scottish winters. 

Unfortunately, it seemed, the table didn’t give you a good vantage point to alert you when one Regulus Arcturus Black made an appearance.

“Mind if I sit here?” A quiet voice startled you out of your calculations, causing you to overturn a pot of ink in front of you.

“Fucking Merlin and Morgana! I- oh, erm, uh, no I uhm, fuck.” You sputtered as you split your attention between the boy standing across from you and the pool of ink quickly making its way towards your skirt. 

With a non-descript flick of Regulus’ wand, the mess was gone – though the damage to your parchment was unsalvageable.

“Oh, uhm, thanks. Sorry I – erm, have a seat. Although, you might not be safe!” You tried to joke but your voice came out disturbingly high, and the (failed) ‘joke’ made you flush hot with shame.

“I’m usually way cooler than this.” You tried to argue, before you realized that someone way cooler definitely wouldn’t have just said that.

Regulus was either unbothered by your horrifying actions or chose to ignore them. He opened his textbooks and began taking notes like you weren’t even there, while you sat in the most awkward and uncomfortable silence of your entire life.

It wasn’t long before you decided you couldn’t take it anymore, standing abruptly – so abruptly, in fact, that you had to quickly save another pot of ink from spilling – and began hastily gathering your things. Regulus did look up at this, and his eyes on you seemed to cause another malfunction to your central nervous system.

“Well, I must be off. I have other homework to dump ink on.” You said, except you didn’t deliver the sentence as a joke and it sounded all too believable – paired with your actions today, and you were certain he believed that’s exactly what you were off to do.

“Toodaloo.” You called and ran from the library.

Toodaloo!?!?! Are you fucking serious!?!! TOODALOO. Oh gods.

You didn’t dare return to the library the following day.

The day after that, though? It was fair game.

You were once again sitting at your favourite table and had ensured you placed a sticking charm on the bottom of your ink pots to avoid any more unfortunate accidents, when the clearing of a throat interrupted your studies.

“Mind if I sit here?” Regulus asked quietly, motioning to the seat across from you.

He’s kidding, right? After what happened two days ago, he can’t possibly want to sit with you?

Nonsense, perhaps this is just his favourite table in the library too.

You were determined this time not to make a fool of yourself.

“Have you finished the rune translations for Professor Babbling, yet?” Regulus asked.

No, the world was definitely out to get you.

“I, erm, I’ve started it. I believe it references the magic practiced by the Egyptians during the Predynastic period. Quite interesting stuff, Ancient Egypt. Did you know that Egyptians believed the most significant thing you could do in your life was die?” 

You were talking a mile a minute. You knew this to be true due to the fact that your tongue was actually tripping over your words, but while your brain was shouting shut up shut up shut up shut up, your mouth just kept moving.

“Is that so?” Regulus asked, his eyes squinting ever so slightly as he scrutinized you.

“I don’t know actually.” You admitted, realizing you may have just lied to Regulus Black about Ancient Egypt. “I, I suppose I meant that they put way more emphasis on death than life.” You cringed again. “I don’t know if that’s true either – it’s just, it’s... it's the pyramids!” You shouted desperately, earning you a shush from the librarian. 

“The pyramids?” He asked incredulously, a smile playing on his lips.

He was making fun of you, surely.

“Yup. Pyramids.” You squeaked, turning your face back towards your textbook.

“And you got all of that from the runes translation?”

Your face burned in shame.

“Uhm, no. The runes said no such thing. I just…know things.”

“You know things?”

“Right like, uhm, oh apparently Shakespeare didn’t actually write any of the works attributed to his name. Did you know that? William Shakespeare’s parents were illiterate - which doesn’t necessarily mean much because, perhaps he became learned later in life, right? However, William Shakespeare’s own children were also illiterate. I mean, what famous playwright wouldn’t teach their children to read? It’s all bollocks.” 

You had to catch your breath at the end of your tangent.

“That’s a bold claim.” Regulus said plainly. 

Fucking hells, was it hot in here?

“Right, well, erm. I have to go.” You said as you gathered your things and rushed towards the door.

“Uhm, Y/N?” Regulus called.

“Yes?”

“Your wand?”

You looked back at the table and, sure enough, your wand sat forgotten in your place. 

“Right, thanks. Uhm, best of luck on the rune’s translation. Let me know if you need help and erm, uhm, I - bye!”

You stayed out of the library for two days after that.

Which brought you to today. You decided to try to save yourself the humiliation and Regulus the hassle of having to sit with you by finding a different table. You would leave your favourite table to Regulus if it meant saving yourself the embarrassment of uttering absolute nonsense to your schoolgirl crush.

What you had forgotten, however, was how the world was absolutely 100% without a doubt out to get you.

“Mind if I sit here?” Regulus asked quietly, causing you to look up so quickly and, not being used to this table and unaware of the fact that you were sitting under a light sconce, you smacked your head rather painfully in the action.

“Son of a fucking dugbog.” You spat miserably as you rubbed at the sore spot already producing a lump on your head.

“Why?” You all but screeched.

Regulus tilted his head at you as one of his eyebrows raised. “Why?”

“Yes, why.”

“Why what?”

“Oh for – why do you want to sit with me?!”

He looked close to smiling as he scrutinized your form. “Do you not want to sit with me?”

“Of course I want to sit with you!” You admitted embarrassingly - and loudly - earning you a shush from the librarian.

“So, I can sit here then?”

You groaned and let your head thump onto the table in front of you – at least now you’d have a matching lump on the front of your head too.

“At the risk of me making a total and utter fool of myself? Sure, be my guest.”

You swore you heard him chuckle under his breath as he pulled the chair out across from you. You didn’t dare lift your head, however. Perhaps if you couldn’t see his piercing silver gaze, or his adorable black curls, or his stupid smirk, then maybe you wouldn’t be forced to say something ridiculous. 

“What? No fun facts for me today?” Regulus – the arse – asked from across from you.

You raised your head slightly, though left your shoulders at table level as you levelled him with a glare.

“You’re doing this to me on purpose, aren’t you? What, you get off on me making a fool of myself?”

Regulus smirked, though something in his eyes turned a little soft as he spoke. “I don’t think you make a fool of yourself.”

You scoffed and let your head fall back to its previous spot with a thud. “You’re an arse and a liar, Regulus Black.”

“Okay, perhaps you’ve been a little foolish.” He conceded, causing you to groan into the woodgrain of the table. “But I’ve enjoyed every second of it.”

Your head snapped up at that, and even Regulus grimaced as he watched you just barely miss the light sconce behind you.

“You’ve…enjoyed me making a fool of myself?” You asked incredulously.

Regulus moved his head back and forth in a sort of ‘so-so’ gesture. “I’ve enjoyed getting to listen to you. Why do you think I’ve been asking to sit with you all week?”

Apparently, your table wasn’t Regulus’ favourite table. Or at least, that wasn’t what made it his favourite – it was the fact that you had been sitting there that had made it so.

And ever since then, whatever table you were sitting at in the library – one would likely find Regulus Black there too.

[ronance4everbrainrot]

MMMMore incorrect quotes from Merlin Academy! (with ships) Long post

Maleficent: Listen, we’re done, we’re over! Okay?

Hades: Whatever bitch, you ain’t never gonna find no one like me.

Maleficent: Yeah, that's the point shithead!

(gasp the IT-couple has broken up. I have a feeling it could be like Jade and Beck but they are both Jade)

---

Fay: Fight me!

Hades: Ha, look at your size! What are you gonna do, kick my ankle?

*Later*

Morgie: Why is Hades crying?

Maleficent: Fay kicked them really hard on the ankle.

(Maleficent was impressed)

---

Fay: Why are we friends?

Maleficent: Poor decisions on your part.

(like either of you don't like each other. Ha ha)

---

Fay: So, I heard you like bad girls… I time travel in Animal Crossing.

(I don't even know what that means but okay)

---

Fay: Maleficent.. I'm gonna cry!

Maleficent: Please don't.

Fay, crying: Request denied.

---

Maleficent: I never understood why people cared so much about their dumb friends until I got a dumb friend myself.

Maleficent: *Picks up Fay*

Maleficent: I’ve only befriended Fay for a day and a half, but if anything happened to them I would kill everyone in this room and then my self.

(Only she is allowed to bully Fay)

---

Uliana: I'm bored.

Maleficent: Wanna commit first degree murder?

Uliana: Sure!

Ella, hearing them: No- Stop, don't do that! Put that knife down! Put Bridget down!!

(She is the mom of the group for some reason)

---

Ella: Don’t say a word.

Bridget: Fergalicious.

Ella: Bridget, I said no words.

Bridget: Oh, I see how it works. Two weeks ago, we’re playing Scrabble, it’s not a word, now suddenly it is a word because it’s convenient for you.

(Canon)

---

Bridget: Can you cut me some slack, Ella? I’m sort of in love.

Ella: I’m sorry, but that’s really not my problem.

Bridget: I’m in love with you.

Ella: *blushes* Oh. That brings me in the loop a little.

(duh)

---

Charming: The moon looks beautiful, doesn’t it?

Bridget, looking at Charming: Yeah… but do you know what’s more beautiful?

Bridget and Charming in unison: *sighs* Ella

(🎶I'm sorry that you 🤭 seem to be confused 🤔 she belongs to me 🧐 that girl is mine 😑 🎶 honestly that song has been playing in my head for a while for no reason) (it's now making me realize how Bridgella is kinda giving "it's over isn't it" idk why)

---

Ella: A mouse!

Maleficent, pulling out a knife: Go back to where you came from or I'll stab you.

Hades, pulling out a frying pan: It'll make a nice meal!

Bridget, giving the mouse cheese: You deserve a treat, little guy.

Morgie gasping: It's Ratatouille!

Hook: His name is Remi, dummy.

Ella: ...I was going to say to just trap it and throw it out the window... what is wrong with you people.

(I just had to. Also she is excluding Bridget from that statement)

---

Hook, to Morgie: I'll be under the mistletoe when you start feeling desperate!

(yeah)

---

Uliana: Oh, so when crows remember people who wronged them and hold grudges, its “intelligent” and “really cool”.

Uliana: But when I do it, I’m “petty” and “need to let it go”.

(I mean that thing with the flamingo feathers was your fault 🤷)

---

Bridget: Hey, Ella, have you thought about having children?

Ella: ...

Ella: Does looking over you and the others not seem like I already do? Because I promise you, it sure feels like it.

Hook: But we're not childr-

Ella, already distracted: HADES, PUT THE FIRE DOWN!

(again. She is the mom of the group for some reason. Give her a rest)

---

Morgie: Hello friends!

The Squad:

Morgie: You might be wondering why I’m taped to the ceiling

(you'd think it was Hades and Hook. But they are just as amused and surprised. Idk how Morgie made that happen)

---

Uliana: I should've left you on that street corner where you were standing.

Morgie: But ya' didn't!

(canon? It is now)

---

Hook: You know my motto: carpe diem, carpe noctem, carpe coles.

Ella: Seize the day, seize the night, what’s the last one?

Hook: Seize the dick.

(Slay King Slay)

---

Bridget: *Gets down on one knee*

Uliana: Oh my god! It’s finally happening!

Bridget: *Collapses*

Uliana: The poison’s kicking in!

(Yeah. Honestly. It's got something. But idk)

---

Fay: Where have you been all day?

Bridget: Oh, just dealing with things way beyond my maturity level.

(like having broken up without actually dating because it was just a one sided homoerotic friendship)

---

Ella: When you said 'Magic in Bed', I wasn't expecting this...

Bridget: *pulls out card from deck* Now, was this your card?

Ella: Holy moly-

(See what I mean. Also canon)

---

Hook, Hades and Morgie in the back of Ella's car: MCDONALDS! MCDONALDS! MCDONALDS!

Bridget/Fay: We have food at home.

Ella/Uliana/Maleficent: *pulls into the McDonald's drivethrough*

Hades/Hook/Morgie: YAYYYYYY!

Ella/Uliana/Maleficent: *orders one black coffee and leaves*

(Ha Ha. Sad)

---

Hades: Legend says that when you can’t sleep, it means you’re awake in someone else’s dreams.

Hades: When I find out who you are, I’m going to punch you in the face.

(um. It's not me....I swear)

---

Uliana: I love sarcasm! It’s like punching people in the face, but with words!

(not like you can easily punch others with your eight arms)

---

Uliana: Stop failing.

Hades: Don’t tell me what to do! I'll fail right now!

Hades: *Succeeds*

Hades: Dang it!

(he finally realized he's a god. But still failed not to listen)

---

Bridget: Morgie told me that brown is just navy orange, and I have never been more disappointed with something I agree with.

(omg I'm a navy ginger)

---

Ella: *sneaking in through their window*

Bridget: *turning in their chair and flicking the light one* You want to tell me where you've been all night?

Ella: I was with Charming?

Charming: *turning in their chair* Wanna try again?

(Gasp. What was Ella doing 👀)

---

Ella: I can’t believe we have to be stuck in this room together!

Uliana, swallowing the key: Truly (poor) unfortunate (soul).

(oh. She was stuck with Uliana...ALSO WHAT- ULIANA?! THE KEY? 😭 Nah)

---

Uliana: I thought you were going to give me a book recommendation or something.

Ella: *laughs* Book recommendation? I can’t read!

(new HC: Ella can't read. Or more like, has a hard time with it. Idk lol.)

---

Ella: I’ve come to a point in my life where I need a stronger word than fuck.

(absolutely)

---

Morgie: Don’t mansplain this to me!

Uliana: Wh- I’m a woman! I can't mansplain anything to you!

Morgie: …Well, I’m a feminist, and I believe a woman can do anything a man does!

(he's got the spirit)

---

Hook: I made lightly fried fish fillets for dinner.

Morgie: Dude, It’s 1:15 am, what the fuck.

Hook: Do you want the lightly fried fish fillets or not.

Morgie: Well, I mean yeah.

Hook: So come downstairs while they’re still hot.

Morgie: Wait, you just made them?

Hook: Yeah, I wasn’t tired so I decided to make lightly fried fish fillets.

Morgie: Say lightly fried fish fillets one more time James.

(Morgie uses Dude romantically. And when he's annoyed at Hook he calls him by his first name)

---

Bridget: My level of gay has reached “sighing deeply whenever anything extremely heterosexual happens near me”.

(that's me with movies/series. She's definitely not talking about Ella and Charming)

---

*The Squad when asked about their earlier confession of love*

Ella: Yeah, you're lucky. I like you.

Bridget: I'd understand if you didn't feel the same way...

Fay: *has a panic attack* What confession?

Hook: *winks* I know, babe. You like me too.

Hades: So what? Are you going to date me or not?

Uliana: It was a dare.

Maleficent: Your smile is like a magic spell, and it's annoying me daily

Charming: Let's flip a coin. Heads I'm yours. Tail you're mine.

Morgie: Relationships are like a walk in the park. Jurassic park.

(I added the last three myself because I wanted them all to have one. What do you think? Accurate?)

---

Ella: Here's two facts about me.

Ella: 1. I hate hot people/royalty

Ella: 2. I'm a hypocrite.

(canon)

---

Fay: You saved me! Why?

Hades: People would think I murdered you if I didn't.

(people being Maleficent, also Ella and Bridget)

---

Hope you liked it!

Does Uliana have a crush on Ella? Maybe. Does Ella like her back? Absolutely not.

Ok byeee

[theroundbartable]

(sending hugs)

what are your thoughts about aithusa? personally i love her way to much, but she rarely comes up in fandom discourse

HEY :D Thoughts about AIthusa, huh? I have many of those. Thoughts, I mean. In my brain. They like to swim around and create a whole mess of things sometimes.

I think the reason why Aithusa doesn't come up in fandom discourse often is because there isn't very much to say. Aithusa was born, then color coded as a sign for the golden future of Camelot and was then abandoned by Merlin. Tortured by a crazy guy. Then raised by Morgana and used to create the sword that later killed Arthur. Whenever they come up in fandom discouse, it's mostly about Merlin doing his job as Dragon Lord right or wrong. But you wanted my thoughts, so I'm gonna allow my head to spin weird shit around the ungendered Dragon. (That is why I will use they/them pronouns for Aithusa.) When it comes to Aithusa's name, not the canon translation, I mean what it literally means, it's hard to find, since they used old English for the language of magic, and I think Greek for the language of the Dragon Lords (which doesn't necessarily have to apply to the Dragon names) and I haven't seen anyone make a post about it. All I get from Google translate is "Hey you" in Gaelic and that's a bit useless. Or well, this:

The automatic language recognition in Google would let me interpret Aithusa as a gift to the world. Or Arthur, depending on your shipping interests. Or, you know, if I could make up the Old English maybe pseudo-parts of the word (the writers were very lazy in BBC Merlin, they are literally quoting Beowulf when Merlin magics the blue ball in the poisoned chalice.). Something fitting I found in my old English dictionary is agan, meaning to possess, and to own, and thus (spelled with a thorn which my keyboard doesn't have) meaning as follows. So, in my absolutely amateurish and interpretational, and way too far reaching ways, I would say Aithusa could mean: A(gan) thus (a): To own the future.

(Again, you asked for my thoughts, this is not canon and probably pointless, I just needed to go down this route first.)

In the fandom wiki, we find THESE informations on Aithusa.

So, things we do know are very few

Aithusa is a baby

Aithusa was tortured and is therefore crippled

Aithusa cannot talk

Aithusa probably has Stockholm Syndrom because of Morgana

But you know, I think it's very interesting to know that Aithusa is the Light of the Sun, the literal sign for a Golden Future and that very sign can be hurt by a mere human. Not only does this mean that humans can kill Dragons (the Dragon lore doesn't make any sense, I swear to god) but it's also meant to be symbolism. Merlin, just like Arthur, is shown to be his own doom through Aithusa. They are hidden, tortured, kept from living their truth, abandoned by everyone who should be leading and protecting them.

With Aithusa being born it means that at that point, Merlin had already fulfilled his destiny. At this point in time, the golden age is already there and it should have been a sign for Merlin to speak up about his magic. He never did, that's why Aithusa remains mute. And just like magic itself, when harmed or in danger, Aithusa can easily be used for evil.

Apart from the symbolism and their part in Arthur's death, Aithusa doesn't contribute much to the story, I think. Yes, they console Morgana and they are like the continuation of the Dragon lineage, but that's ultimately pointless. Aithusa will be, inevitably, be the last Dragon. Which is honestly really cruel, but again, parallel to Merlin himself. That's where Aithusa's arc ends, unfortuntaley. Personally, knowing all that, I find Aithusa hard to use as the character they are in canon. With what little defines their character, you have to ultimately change everything about them to use them in fun fics and comics and stuff. That's why they end up as a little dog creature so often.

Don't get me wrong, I love Aithusa. But I love FANON Aithusa, just like I prefer fanon Sir Leon over canon Sir Leon. Because fanon Aithusa is like a domesticated chicken that Merlin keeps in his rooms or fights custody over with Morgana while Arthur is either oblivious, supportive, or being gaslit. But maybe I am overlooking a lot of things. So, if any of you like to disagree or add anything to my points, feel free to engage ^^

[skellseerwriting]

Death and Rebirth Part 1

Hades x Phoenix!GN!Reader

Gift

Word Count: 1,035

Warnings: Hades’ self confidence, Hades thinking he’s a “cool guy” (lol), Uliana is a little menacing (to me), this chapter is short but the rest won’t be, the romance in this series is more of a subplot (there is romance but there’s also another plot going on)

Summary: Hades is already bored with Merlin academy. Nothing is interesting to him anymore. Class is boring, students are boring; they’re all just a bunch of humans and faes. Then, he sees you, and he’s not quite sure what you are…

Important Note!: This story includes lore I made up for phoenixes, so it is not accurate in that regard (they’re not real anyways, so it’s not really “inaccurate”). Information on that will be revealed naturally throughout the series

It was only a few weeks into the school year and Hades was already bored.

At first, he was interested in what classes there might be. Anything with magic caught his interest. Real quickly, he learned he didn’t like any of them.

The other students weren’t any more entertaining, either. Outside of his friend group, which contained a sea creature witch, a dark and powerful fae, a quarter-fae shapeshifter, and a human pirate who’s skills and attributes more than made up for his lackluster nature- Hades found the rest of the school to be, well, boring.

As he walked through the fountain courtyard he passively took note of the people around him, sensing their nature. Being a powerful god who regularly dealt with all sorts of people in the underworld had its effects.

Human, he noted. Another human. Fae. Half fae. Human. Fairy. Human. Fa-

Wait.

Hades paused, looking at you standing nigh fifteen feet away. You looked human, but he sensed something different. Something… magical, perhaps? It definitely wasn’t fae. It felt nothing like Maleficent’s dark aura, either (which was different from most fae). It felt… more powerful? But, as he looked at you, all he saw was a sickeningly sweet smile on your face as you talked to a human student.

Before he knew what he was doing, he was walking right towards you. The student saw Hades approaching and scurried away with an “eep!”, leaving the two of you in each others space.

Standing there awkwardly, he realized he didn’t even know what to say. You just looked at him expectantly with your head tilted and your lip curled; amused.

“Uh…” He was at a loss of words. He realized how uncool he looked right now. Maybe he should just walk away. No- that’d look weirder. Then you’d go telling people how the Hades just started gawking at you silently.

Opting to just ask at this point to save face, he cleared his throat.

“What are you?”

You looked at him quizzically.

“Huh?” You went, slight smile still on your face, although more perplexed. Oh great, now you were going to think he was just weird.

“I-“ he coughed. “Sorry. I just- you don’t… seem.. human?”

“That’s because I’m not!” You chirped.

“Well, what are you then?” Hades asked, not expecting a straightforward response like that.

“Hmm,” you thought for a moment before perking up. “It’s a secret!”

Well so much for asking.

“Why, though?” He questioned, scratching the back of his neck.

Blinking once after a moment of silence, you said:

“Because you want to know.”

“Seriously?” He felt a little agitated.

“Yes.” You stated, then angled your head the other way. “How could you tell I’m not human?”

Beginning to smirk, he quoted you.

“‘It’s a secret’.”

Rolling your eyes with a smile, you made a bravo motion.

“I assume it has to do with your godly nature?” You said that last part a little mockingly. Hades didn’t mind, however. You were the most interesting thing that had happened since Mali accidentally made scales grow from Uliana’s skin.

He gave you a brief nod. He was reputable around school for that. Some scared little royals had even spread a good rumor that he could kill someone with just a single touch. Most started avoiding him after that, which was fun. Of course, they were mixing up him with Thanatos, who was the god of death, but when he brought it up at one point he was met with a “who?”

“Well,” you interrupted his thoughts. “If you stick around, you might just find out.”

And with that, you spun around, and it seemed as if the earth spun with you as wind swirled leaves where you had stood. He barely noticed that your top had a gaping hole in the back, as something bright caught his attention in the middle of your spot.

Stepping forward, he crouched down on the stone tiles. It was a feather. A decent sized, fiery orange  feather.

Picking it up gently between his thumb and finger, he could feel magic coursing through it. What kind of bird did it come from? And did you just give this to him? Or was it some kind of coincidence?

Standing up, you were nowhere to be seen; leaving Hades with more questions than he started with.

“Where did you get this?” Uliana asked demandingly.

Hades had shown her the feather, questioning her about its origins. He considered telling her some student had given it to him (he thought that’s what happened, anyway). Ultimately, though, he didn’t want to risk sicking Uliana on a poor (possibly innocent) person. He wasn’t that cruel. And that had nothing to do with the fact he wanted to learn more about you.

You were interesting, and he liked interesting. There was no way he’d get to know about you more if Uliana started breathing down either of your necks. So, he told her that he found it on the courtyard grounds.

“Maybe an orange bird flew by?” Morgie posed, eager to provide suggestions to Uli.

“Or someone dropped it.” Maleficent suggested.

“No.” Uliana stated, clutching the feather. “There’s no possible way this fell from a bird. And there’s no way someone dropped this.”

Hades began to feel a little nervous, though he didn’t let it show.

“Why is that?” He asked, though he almost didn’t want to; afraid of what she might say.

“Because this,” she held up the feather, staring at it in awe. “Is a phoenix feather. They went extinct centuries ago, and you can only get one from them if they let you pluck it. If someone was carrying this, they would’ve been careful enough not to lose it. The only place you can see one now is in a museum. And the black market every decade.”

Woah. Hades took a step back. And you had just given that to him? What if he hadn’t picked it up?

“But someone must have been carrying it.” Morgie insisted. “Otherwise that would mean there’s a phoenix around here. Wouldn’t that be something.”

“Yes.” Uliana mused, making Hades feel uneasy as she twiddled the vibrant feather in front of her eye. “It would.”

Part 2

Taglist:

@lesbpotmurdocklokistan

@mushroomdemon9

[worth-this-and-more]

Do think sel is jealous of valec

[spoilers for legendborn and bloodmarked, read at your own caution ;)] im hella late in answering anon this is in my drafts for like days and i forgot this one was asked I'm so sorryyy and i also don't have my tablet rn so i cant ss the specific parts but nvm imma just quote them

oh absolutely haha he's hella hella jealous and I've got proofs

so the main one where sel alsolutely is jealous

Sel shakes his head. “Don’t listen to him, Briana. He’s trying to convince you he has use here. He’s made up some reason to give you information, hoping it’ll turn into a debt you owe him.” Valec’s had enough. “You getting close to the edge again, kingsmage? Jumping to the worst-case scenario first. Assuming I want to tie Bree to me beyond the bounds of this conversation. Keep her for myself?” “Don’t you?” “Well,” Valec considers, smiling with not a small amount of fang. “Yes.” A minute tilt of Sel’s chin. “Watch yourself.” Valec’s smirk blooms wide. “The difference between you and me, Kane, is that I am a transparent sort, who’s happy to say out loud all that I desire.” Brown eyes flicker to red and back. “You want the same, you just can’t come out and say it. Not really.” Sel’s answer is a stunned silence. William flushes pink, and Alice looks downright disgusted.

i would also love to point out that sel was silent but William blushed. now i am so so so sure that their talk in the car on their way to volition?? bro i wanna know what they talked about because William sure as hell knows what sel and bree have going on, he definitely does. he's gonna be the kenji here i swear.

also, the balcony scene yall asdfghjkl like who's gonna say he's not jealous he is two steps away from killing valec whenever he says shit like that lmaooo

"Merlin's thoughts were harder and sharper than my own. Vicious in their clarity." Sel grimaces. "I wonder if it is because, unlike me, he was a half-human, half-demon... just like-" "Just like Valec." The tension in Sel's jaw tells me that my guess is right. Nick looks between us. "Who's Valec?" Sel's expression sours. "A rogue cambion and demon power broker with Rootcrafter ties." Nick's brow furrows. "Is he after Bree?" "Depends on how you define 'after'," Sel drawls. "Valec isn't trying to kill me," I clarify for Nick. "So that's refreshing." Sel snorts. "Valec flirts with you enough that it might kill me." Nick's eyes widen. "A demon power broker flirts with you?" He turns to Sel. "Who does this guy think he is?" "I can handle Valec," I say, rolling my eyes. "He is half demon, and apparently the balance makes him at peace with his demon side."

also the fact that nick said nothing about selwyn's feelings about someone flirting with bree. idk if this is poly confirmation or the fact that nick's plan includes him going somewhere and leaving bree and sel together but yall this is hilarious

[merlinfic]

group ask for lost fics #45

Hi y’all! Below are a few lost fics that us mods just can’t seem to find. That being said, we’re hoping that you lovely followers are able to help! If anyone knows any of the fics below please reply below if you know of a fic!

Note: previous group asks and all lost fics!

Anon 1 asked:

I’ve looked for this particular fic for a long time now, but it was a modern day Christmas fic in which Merlin and Arthur are together and Uther disapproves <<>> I can’t quite remember specifics other then Arthur being jelly of Merlin dating someone else? Or something to that effect anyway long story short they wind up together in the end and Uther gets past his bias X’D I’m sad to see you guys go, but I’m so grateful for all the fic recs that have been left <33333

Anon 2 asked:

hi! thank you so much for all your hard work over the years and helping to keep this fandom alive, ive got a lost fic. i dont remember much but there was a noble of some kind who was mistreating servants and he tried to mistreat gwen and merlin stepped in for her and then arthur came to save the day. thank you !! <3

miraniel asked:

Combed all the tags I could think of & still can't find this fic, worried it's deleted: Merlin, Gwen & Gwaine r captured by bandits/minions looking for Emrys. Merlin casts a protection spell on Gwen before they're caught. Evil sorcerer tries to take Emrys's power by absorbing it into a (staff? crystal?) but absorbs Merlin's soul too. Rest of fic is about getting M's soul back in his body. At one point, he & Arthur share a body. I think Kilgarrah fixes them in the end. Ty SO much! Love this blog!

Anon 3 asked:

hello! do you perhaps know what fic those quotes are from? do you know how much i love you? do you know that i would do anything for you, anything at all? crown and kingdom and anything ever promised to me, i’d give it up, i’d give it all up—tell me, do you know? / and arthur loves him, he loves him so much that he fears his chest will splinter open and spill all of it into the space between them.

Anon 4 asked:

there was this fic i read some while back where merlin was a royal, and arthur and merlin were like bffs. i think arthur was the head knight?? there was a particular scene were merlin got a dragon tattoo on his back. i wonder if you might know which fic this is? thank u so much

the-tortoise-lady asked:

Hi :D I adore you people!! I'm looking for a fic set in Camelot, where Merlin is hurt (I think it was something with his leg? Not sure tho) and then Arthur spends a lot of time with Merlin, caring for him a bit? And there's one moment I remember when he's reading to Merlin and they're all cuddled up on some sort of sofa and there's a lot of emotions and feels? And fire in the fireplace? It's definitely Merlin/Arthur I think, I guess there also were some love confessions? I just sadly can't seem to find it.. I know that I read it on ao3 I hope you can find it (no pressure tho please!!) Lots of love and appreciation and a big thank u from me :)

Anon 5 asked:

Hi, I hope you have a nice day :) I've scoured the internet and also your page for this specific fanfic that I read a while back. Essentially Arthur finds out about Merlin's magic and holds him at swordpoint. They stand right next to a cliff and Merlin startles which makes him fall off. Merlin then discovers his own immortality, when he wakes up at the bottom of the cliff. But him being kept alive does not mean he is healed of his injuries. He puts himself back together for months down there if I remember correctly. The druids show up to help at a certain point I think. Please help me, I loved that fic so much :(

thelady-mary asked:

Hello, I just wanted to say that I'll miss this blog DEARLY and everything you guys did here, it means a lot to me, truly. Ok, so I've ADHD and I can't describe things for shit so I'll put the fanfic I'm looking for as a list. 1- it was some sort of 5+1 type, with multiple chapters, I remember that includes some jealousy and he knows about the magic. It was like Arthur was learning little things about Merlin that he started to love. 2- the things that he learn (and what I remember) was: Merlin's body hair grows really fast and he said that Gaius believe it was an outlet for his magic, they're traveling and M forgot his blade (the thingy that shaves beard) and he has this beautiful beard and long wavy hair by the end of the week, when they come back A is occupied with stuff and didn't saw M all day, but at the end he's back with short hair again saying that Gwen and George helped him with his chores so he could get a hair cut and shave; also A talks about how he recently learn that dyes are expensive and wants to know how M have such a colourful wardrobe and he says he only have two tunics because his mom helped a merchant out once and he gave her two pieces of fabric with she made the tunics and his neckerchiefs; Merlin knows how to write beautifully, calligraphy and all, M gets sick in this part and they communicate via little notes send it via George who told A that he was hesitaning into giving him M's note on the beginning because he thought it was improper, A keeps one that says "I believe in you" because he needs it emotionally; Merlin can compose music and he did compose and wrote an entire play (or just one song, I don't remember much), he dedicated one song to Arthur. 3- Arthur makes an announcement talking about love and union, looking directly at Merlin, hoping that he would understand that it was more or less about his feelings for him. 4- the song dedicated to Arthur it was about a Knight falling in love with his servant (and I believe running away with him, but don't quote me on that) 5- Arthur believes that the song is about Lance and Merlin's relationship, since is about a knight and not a King, and decided to go after him thinking his heart belongs to another. 6- Merlin confess that he wrote the song dedicated to him and ask what he thought about it, but Arthur is still under the wrong assumption and says that he liked the "song about the boat" better. 7- Merlin is devastated and I remember Arthur seeing him with Lancelot, with him giving him comfort 8- I don't remember how, but they confess to one another and have a little fight over the song part. And this is all I remember, I'm sorry if is really big or even impossible, but I'm desperate.

Anon 6 asked:

Hello! First of all, thank you for the years you've spent helping so many of us with finding fics, it really is very appreciated. Now, I've been wondering whether to ask or not for help with finding this fic for a while, but knowing you're going to soon close it up made me get over my shyness and just ask. The fic has Gwaine, Merlin and Arthur out doing... Something, and Merlin is forced to use his magic. Gwaine takes the fall, and Arthur banishes him to the nearby kingdom. I specifically remember Gwaine hugging Merlin and making him notice thar Arthur only drew out his sword after thinking it wasn't Merlin the sorcerer. The next part (I can't remember if it was a new chapter or a new part, sorry) has Arthur needing a sorcerer's help to decurse a land, I think, so the the knights of the round table all go to retrieve Gwaine. He and Merlin try to keep the lie up a bit, but then the truth comes out. That's all I remember, I hope it's enough. Thank you a

As always, this post will be updated if/when any fics are found!

[tansyuduri]

Merlin Loregasm Rewatch S1E4

Hi Everyone! Welcome to my rewatch of Merlin focusing on the lore. I am a giant nerd so pretty excited about this. We're on THE POISONED CHALICE

OKAY so @catsconflictscopicsandchamomile our resident Old English expert explained to me something really interesting. the spell used by Nimueh draws its power from the Spear-Danes, the semi pagan culture featured in Beowulf (Who had their own lake lady in Grendel's mother who was likely a priestess of the old religion And linguisticly called Disir) There is more though The first lines of the spell also seem to be Nimue saying she owes her magic to the spear Danes (that Grendel the monster in Beowolf ate) At this point I'm wondering if its meant to establish she is saying HEY MY SPELLS ARE PAGEN This will not be the only Beowulf reference in this episode. (Its never referenced or quoted after this episode) I'm wondering if the translators threw this in as a joke or easter egg Or in my freind's words "fuck it. lets canonize Beowulf in this universe real fast" (Okay I just discovered one of their choices I'll talk about later and HOLY FREAKING SHIT)

Mercia is traditionally thought of as a kingdom formed during the anglo-saxon settlement of Britain (Which occurs post Merlin acoirding to Merlin having saxons of enemies in later seasons) The historic king Arthur if he existed was said to have fought against the anglo saxons but this is just a footnote as we are focusing on Merlin Universe) HOWEVER a 13th century text says "“Pagans came from Germany and occupied East Anglia, that is, the country of the East Angles; and some of them invaded Mercia, and waged war against the British.” 

British here being Original pre-saxon inhabitents. SO it is possible that a Mercia existed before The Anglo-Saxons. This could also be the Historian using the name he knows. Bayard is not a recorded later King of Mercia either so good choice in name if we want him to be a Britonic king from a Mercia founded before the Anglo-Saxons apear. Fun fact Mercia also resisted leaving paganism longer than any other Anglo-Saxon kingdom! BUT Anyway in Merlin Mercia is a thing, Its ruled by Bayard, and its color is blue. It would be in the midlands of England most likely.

Also he was at war with Camalot, but now is not. I wonder if that has to do with Uther having not inherited but taking over the kingdom! Uther: The treaty we sign today marks an end to war and the beginning of a new friendship between our peoples

I also think Uther as a peacemaker is interesting, especially as we see this more than once. It might be why some people view him as "A good king."

So this at first glance SEEMS like it hints more toward paganism. Beltane is a Gaelic May Day festival. But its renamed version May Day was not exactly Christianized. See most other big Gaelic festivals (usually religious) Were kinda taken over by Christianity when it came. Yule became Christmas Samhain became All Saints Day (All Hollows Eve) ETC. Beltane was also celebrated in some places ALONG with Christianity until the 1800s. (Scotland did this specifically) In modern times Beltane is VERY Pagan. And it is very possible this hints further toward the Camalot is pagan or just nonreligious side of the entire debate. (Despite people using words like god or hell.) But it's not quite as conclusive as many other type of references would be.

(For context despite it saying we've Arthur here is talking about Merlin, who just announced his cup was poisoned, exclusively which is interesting!) See slow gin is a type of alcohol made with juniper berries and blackthorn fruits. It was traditionally brewed (With a lot of home brewing) in October and November and used as a warming drink in the depths of winter. AS you can tell this episode does not take place in winter. I think there are two possibilities for Arthur picking this drink specifically to mention despite that. The first is that as a prince perhaps the drink is available to him year round if he wants it and he doesn't know that is not true of most people yet. The second is he is so panicked at the prospect of the trouble Merlin is in his mind latched on to the first drink that popped into it.

Okay, so Mort means death in Latin. And the ending suffix here Usually makes the word an adjective from proper or place names BUT often appears in flower naming. So basically this plant is named The "Death Flower" Flower or "Capital D Deathly" Flower

Gaius: it can only be found in the caves deep beneeth the forest of Baloch The flower grows on the roots of the Mortaeus tree.

Uh okay. THERE IS SOME SHIT GOING DOWN with this plant. First of all, flowers growing from the roots of a tree is just weird. flowers are basically there to attract things to pollinate a plant usualy. If a tree has flowers they do not grow from the roots. Second of all its kinda weird for flowers or trees to grow in DEEP caves. Sunlight cannot read them there. I would give it a pass if it did not say deep because if there were cracks in the ceiling of the cave that could put light though. It does kinda explain why they can ONLY be found there though. If its so odd and specialized it might be the only place it can grow.

This flower is either innately magical in some odd way or does not conform to evolution. So at this point I am pretty sure it was bred/engineered/magiced into being but some sorcerer. Likely specifically for poisoning people. and that person wanted to limit the people who knew of it and thus kept it in once set of caves. BUT SOMHOW news got out about it. Ok so I also looked up Baloch. In Welsh it can mean dig or sorry. In Irish it means boy and in scottish the same thing. So no info to be gleaned from that

Gauis: A cockatrice-- it guards the forest. Its venom is extremely potent, a single drop would mean certain death. OK first of all I'm doubling down on there being some past sorcerer, Because they were FOR SURE using these as guard dogs. Second of all I LOVE Merlin paying fast and loose with magical creatures from folklore because I can too in my fics A Cockatrice in folklore was a monster created when a toad or snake egg was hatched beneath a chicken. It could kill with a look, or a breath, or a touch, and was basically a two-legged dragonish creature with a rooster head. In the Merlin world it is very diferant. We'll see one soon! "Few who have crossed the mountains of Isgard in search of the Moraeus flower have made it back alive." Yeah can't find any meaning behind the name Isgard! BUT HAVE I MENTIONED I THINK A SORCER ONCE LIVED IN THE CAVES/FOREST.

Okay I think this is a reference to the actual historical job of taster. Basically important people (ESP royalty) would hire someone to taste all their food before thay ate it. That way if it was poisoned the taster would die instead of them. It was viewed as a pretty plum gig because poisoning didn't often happen (ESP if people knew there was a taster) and the taster got to eat REALLY good food and get paid for it. I think its also an interesting character detail that while this kinda implies that Uther might have someone (At least for his private food and not banquets) We see multiple times that Arthur in fact does NOT. It is quite possible he managed to put his foot down and get out of this somehow because he believes it to be wrong. Which not gonna lie is a very Arthur thing to do.

(Context: Arthur talking about how Gaius said they can save Merlin if they get the leaf so it is not a fools errand) Waiiit is this trying to imply that Gaius was the one who brought up the idea that one could use the old religion to give Uther a son? I mean we knew he was the messenger. but HOLY SHIT. And if that is true, Uther somhow forgave him? Why would Uther forgive him? The only thing I can think is if Gaius talked about how magic had tricked him and gave Uther something else to blame. This is all conjecture though. Uther could be referring on how Gaius is close to Merlin or something else. It just feels like it might be a nod at what all went down around Arthur's birth.

Okay so this is Merlin quoting Beowolf here. A Poem that is yet to be written down but might have had some oral tradition and actually takes place at the traditional time Arthur is said to have lived. Merlin is basically talking about how Arthur/Beowolf is endowed with honnor. This happens right after Arthur decides to ride out to save Merlin.

Magic Rule Established: Potions/Poisons can be more potent if magic is used in their preperation

Okay MORE Beowolf

Merlin says Arthurs name then basically talks about a young man doing good deeds.

Playing hard and fast as I said. LOOK Dinosaur!

Okay so more Beowolf At this point I am 99.99% sure the people hired to write the spells at the time where having the time of their life. Let me explain

This line talks about gifts of treasure (the light) he conjuress to help Arthur. Fine. BUT then it mentions Arthur being under his father's protection. Expect Merlinto protectg him. The spell writers used a freaking old english poem to let Merlin call himself Arthur's "daddy" I am not sure what I am expected to do with this knowledge. (It might have been chosen so they could use the next line of the spell but THEY DID NOT HAVE TO DO THIS) The next line (Which is actually also the next line in the poem) says something about how so that when Arthur is older his companions can stand with him when war comes.

Okay so yeah turns out there is no tree or roots. I'm chalking this up to he said she said. STILL GOING WITH THE SORCERER.

OKAY so it a potion is made using magic the antidote may ALSO need magic

Oh look our first hint Merlin is immortal. I find his brand of immortality intersting. HE CAN DIE he just comes back after a bit.

[that-nerd-who-writes-fanfiction]

What do you think are Merlin and Arthur’s greatest personality strengths and weaknesses? Why? What do you love about their dynamic?

Heads up, I’m autistic and this has been my special interest for way too long and I don’t have anyone to talk to about it so this post is going to be a very long one.

My favourite thing about the writing of the show (which isn’t great, but separate issue) is how every character manages to make a complete 180 from the beginning to the end, turning their initial positive traits into negative traits while not sacrificing character development to do so. It’s a skill I haven’t figured out how to use very well in my own writing and envy greatly, but I can talk about it for hours.

For Merlin, his devotion to Arthur is easily his most interesting strength and weakness to me.

In season 1, it’s great because he finds out he has this grand purpose and suddenly all the things he’s struggled with, feeling like a monster, feeling cursed etc, suddenly make sense to him. It’s too much to put on a child (because he’s somewhere between 16-18 at first but that’s never confirmed) but if it helps him to see the beauty of magic and to see more than just “I felled a tree and almost killed a man” -based on the conversation with Will in season 1 episode 4- then that’s great.

So as the show progresses, he starts getting to know more about himself and what he can do, but because his two mentors reinforce that he’s solely tied to Arthur, every good thing he learns about magic is connected to a man who hates and doesn’t understand magic. Also someone who he has to hide from in order to protect himself and not end up on the pyre. At the same time, he also never has a chance to learn about his magic and where it came from like Morgana did with visiting the Druids and Kilgharrah was never exactly forthcoming with information.

I think that’s why Morgana and Merlin’s differences and similarities are so interesting to me, but that’s a different thing.

Anyway, by the end of season 4, Arthur is betrayed by Agravane and we see just how devoted Merlin is to Arthur in all the best ways. He assembles an army, restores Arthur’s hope and belief in himself, saves Arthur’s life while risking his own and then killing the uncle who betrayed him, (the brilliance of Agravaine dying with magic and Merlin simply stabbing Morgana was absolutely amazing, but again, I digress.) he also reunites Arthur with his love, and swears fealty to him despite being ‘just’ a servant.

At the same time, he uses magic to block Morgana’s powers to make sure they can win, and he does this by sneaking back into Camelot in the middle of the night and not sleeping for over 48 hours in order to do it. His devotion to Arthur goes so deep that he’s willing to destroy himself for it. That’s one of the less extreme examples, he does try to die for Arthur multiple times, but you get the point. Even if he isn’t dying, he’s living just for the purpose of serving Arthur and doing anything it takes to keep him safe. Even at the cost of Arthur himself, (not wanting him to choose between magic and his beliefs, which was literally Arthur’s job to choose as a king who’s responsible for all the people in his kingdom)

And he even says this in season 1 episode 13 when he says “his life is worth a hundred of mine” when he believes he’s going to die to save Arthur’s life after the questing beast and again at the end of season five, “I didn’t want to put you in that position”

I’m sleep deprived, please don’t make me recite whole episodes to remember quotes.

I just realised how long this is getting, so I’m going to try and wrap it up.

Anyway, by season 5, Merlin becomes so consumed by his fear of losing Arthur that he completely loses sight of what’s important, returning magic to Albion and ending the purge. I know they said the goal was peace at the end but in season 1, Kilgharrah sort of cryptically said he’d be returning magic. So he thinks Mordred needs to die, but he can’t get Arthur to see that because even if Arthur knew he was going to die by Mordred’s hand, I think he’d probably let it happen and just do the right thing as long as he did live.

Merlin knows this so he feels responsible for keeping Arthur alive by keeping secrets which is ultimately a final betrayal for Arthur in his last days while he’s coming to terms with it. He was more upset about the lies and the deception than the magic, which I’ll get onto in a minute, but Merlin’s solution of shielding Arthur instead of doing the right thing is ultimately what leads to his downfall. (Basically the Disir episode)

That’s a very condensed version, I’m more than happy to do a separate post with a full character analysis going through each major episode and what it says for anyone in the show if you want to see it.

Anyway.

Arthur’s greatest strength and weakness is his goodness and the trust he puts into the people around him so blindly.

In episode 2, he has a conversation with Merlin about Valiant cheating with magic to kill knights. Arthur believes him, albeit cautiously, and Merlin proves him right to do so in the end.

So he knows from the beginning that Merlin is trustworthy and loyal to a fault, but then he starts seeing all the other people in his life believing he’s doing better and opening up to him more. By episode 4, we see Gwen feel comfortable enough to call Arthur out for being ungrateful with Hunnith’s food in Ealdor, we see Morgana repeatedly encouraging Arthur to stand up for what he believes in, even if that belief is different from her own which he absolutely needs and will forever be her greatest act of love for Arthur in my opinion, Uther is slowly becoming less cold towards him too since Merlin came into his life and he started making these changes.

I’ve more to say on Uther, but separate thing.

He loves these people, even if he’d never admit it, so he sees the best in them. Love is blind and all that.

In season 2 episode 8, Merlin chooses Arthur over magic and even Arthur himself when it’s revealed that Uther used magic to conceive an heir. Merlin sets Arthur back in his progress to seeing that magic could be used for good and isn’t inherently evil, but at the same time sets himself up as choosing his side with magic while Arthur has his first betrayal from Uther.

(Arguably from Merlin as well, but one is a young man in a crisis situation, the other was a fully grown adult with all the information available to him and time to think it through before still deciding that a life for a life was worth it)

In that betrayal, that’s the first time that he really has anything negative to say against magic since in his mind, it deceived him and made him almost kill his father. Any hope he has of seeing magic for good is delayed, proven when he tells Merlin he was “confused” and I can’t remember the exact quote but that he’d also lost sight of what was important.

This is set further when Morgana reveals her magic at the same time as she’s revealing that she sides with Morgause, in Arthur’s eyes he just sees that his sister (who is apparently also his biological sister, another betrayal by Uther) has turned to magic and then turned evil. Merlin doesn’t do anything to dissuade this idea other than a few comments of his own guilt about there being people better suited to helping her.

He never questions Merlin on why he believes that because he trusts him so deeply and unconditionally.

If he had, Merlin wouldn’t have needed to confess to Magic. Will in Ealdor could’ve been his excuse for knowing that magic isn’t inherently evil. He could’ve explained that Morgana always had magic, that she was terrified, that he sent her to the Druids to help but Uther would’ve killed them so when Morgause offered her unconditional support and told her that she wasn’t a monster or anything in that vein, of course Morgana latched onto that because it was finally an answer and something hopeful. She did exactly the same thing Merlin did with Arthur, Kilgharrah, and Gaius, and I really can’t blame her for it. Her earlier actions can be justified but from season 4 onwards, there’s only so much I can say to defend her.

But if Arthur would’ve known that, he would’ve been a lot more open to the idea of accepting Morgana’s magic, maybe even learning about it if it meant getting his sister back.

But his blind trust is what gives him this huge disadvantage.

Agravane, a man who’s been completely absent from his life, is immediately given trust because he has a connection to Arthur’s mother. Arthur wants to have a family when his have all either died or betrayed him, so he lets Agravane be his chief advisor and despite several warnings from Gaius and Merlin, he’s still surprised when he’s betrayed by this man he’s never met.

Arthur has this such inherent goodness that the idea of betraying anyone is inconceivable to him. (There’s a joke in there somewhere about Arthur being quite literally inconceivable too)

I’m once again realising how long this post is, I didn’t think it’d get this long so I’m going to wrap it up. If anyone wants more in depth character analysis, please let me know. This is fun.

As for my favourite thing about Merlin and Arthur’s dynamic. Merthur. Basically just the ship stuff and their banter. Also the nuances in their relationship that are fun to read into and analyse but this is already too long so I’m just going to leave it there.

[pr0serpinas]

puppet on a string

Day 1 of Gaunting Salloween: Doll.

Set post-alternate canon where Sebastian, not MC, casts the Imperius curse on Ominis.

Entire collection available as lurking in the dark on ao3; Day 1 under the cut.

Text

“I’m surprised you wanted to see me.”

Sebastian’s uncharacteristically quiet voice disappeared in the gloom of the Undercroft, swallowed by detritus and sundries that used to be something else, forced into a form more useful.

“Are you?” Ominis said. He approached Sebastian from the shadows on his left side, and Sebastian subconsciously slid several steps backward, as if Ominis were the one who was untrustworthy. Then again, Ominis reflected, he was. Once, he’d hurled the epithet liar at Sebastian like the foulest slur. But the sin was not the lie; it was the utter lack of conviction. Along with other useful lessons learned at his father’s knee, Ominis had one tenet above all instilled in him: lie convincingly, or not at all.

“I just—I haven’t seen you since the catacombs.” Sebastian’s faltering tone was almost charming.

“No,” Ominis smiled humorlessly. “That was part of the deal; don’t you remember?”

Ominis didn’t need sight to know the moment that Sebastian’s own eyes went wide in realization.

“What—”

Did Sebastian notice that he had backed himself against a pillar?

“Incarcerous,” Ominis flicked his wand lazily. Sebastian’s outraged gasp answered for him: no, he remained as blissfully unaware as usual. “‘Will you stay out of sight?’” Ominis quoted mockingly.

“Ominis—”

“‘Will you remember this?’”

“Ominis, I never would’ve if I’d—”

Ominis snorted and held up a hand. “That’s the point, Sebastian. You don’t even know the basics of the Dark Arts. Why in Merlin’s name would it affect someone’s memory?” He adopted a faux-professorial voice, as if Sebastian were his willing pupil. “Tell me, how would it be the slightest bit useful to someone whom one wishes to enthrall if the victim doesn’t remember anything?”

“Ominis, please, I never meant—”

To the untrained ear, Sebastian would sound sincere. Ominis may have called Sebastian a liar, but he never was one to be taken for a fool. He twitched his wand, and a well-aimed silken rope muffled Sebastian’s voice. “I apologize,” he said, and unlike Sebastian, he meant it. “I didn’t wish to mislead you into thinking that your fumbling exclamations would change the outcome.” Stubborn to the last, Sebastian let out muffled shouts of raw panic behind the bond. Ominis rolled his eyes. “I’m not going to hurt you,” he explained with exaggerated patience, though Sebastian’s fear wounded him. Hadn’t he proven that he would put Sebastian’s happiness before his own, even past the point of reason? That was what motivated him now: not vengeance for the wrongs done to him, but the desperate desire to save Sebastian from himself.

He had paid careful attention to the necessary details. Cressida, Amit, Garreth, and even sweet, unassuming Poppy had unwittingly provided themselves as test subjects—not that they recalled it. He wished he’d been able to practice on someone as strong-willed as Sebastian, but he could no longer afford to delay. He raised his arm, let his wand guide him, and drew in a grounding breath. “Obliviate.”

Ominis concentrated, not wanting to prune more than was necessary. He envisioned memories in Sebastian’s mind as clearly as if they were his own. In the blink of an eye, the crypt vanished. On an inhale, the scriptorium dissolved. Exhale, untold hours in the Restricted Section became comfortably mundane afternoons studying in the library or reading in the common room together. A little more, now. Ominis grit his teeth with concentration. Solomon, with a hand unused to comfort grasping Sebastian’s shoulder. Under the table, Ominis’ hand clenching Sebastian’s, tethering him. This was the tricky part. An insinuation, a whisper in the ear, nurtured into conviction in the span of half a heart’s contraction. Enough, now. Ominis broke the connection, vanished the silken bonds, and eased Sebastian to the floor with brutal efficiency.

Barely a minute later, Sebastian blinked awake to find Ominis on a chair off to the side, reading languidly. Sebastian yawned hugely, jaw cracking. “I’m sorry,” he said, sincere at last. “I promised to help go over your History of Magic essay, didn’t I? Merlin, I’m no better than you, falling asleep over it!”

Ominis carefully schooled his expression into inscrutability, though his heart thrummed in his ears. “I’m awake this time,” he drawled.

“Not when it counts,” Sebastian said fondly. He sounded lighter than he had in months.

“Maybe it’s not history that puts me out, just Binns,” Ominis replied. He stood, stretched, and tucked his book into his satchel. The portcullis creaked open to let them out.

“You’re lucky he’s too blissfully unaware to notice you sleep all the time,” Sebastian said with mock severity. “Anyone else and you’d get a detention on our last free weekend. Are we…” Hesitancy crept into Sebastian’s voice. “Are we still on for the weekend? To visit Anne, I mean?” Ominis’ heart stuttered. “I just…she won’t say, she’s being brave, but I can tell. It’s…she’s…well, I don’t know how many more times we’ll be able to visit. Solomon warned me what to look for.” No anger. No righteous indignation or incipient madness. Just resignation with an undercurrent of grief.

Ominis’ chest expanded. “There’s nowhere else I’d rather be,” he said gently.

Behind Sebastian, Ominis allowed himself a secret smile.

[sexy-sapphic-sorcerer]

asking about your piss take headcanon that merlin and dr who take place in the same universe

hell yeah!

ok so in Journey's End (4x14) the Doctor explains that Gwen from Torchwood looks exactly like Gwyneth from The Unquiet Dead (1x03) due to 'spatial genetic multiplicity'

Russell T Davies described it as the 'repetition of physical traits across a time rift'.

Oh, the time rift in Cardiff? the time rift only 16 miles away from Caerleon, where Camelot was supposedly located

which is interesting because you know who else bares a striking resemblance to Gwen and Gwyneth? Lady Helen from the first episode of Merlin

(and I think she also low key looks like that actress Eve Myles, but maybe that's just me)

if this isn't enough to convince you, need I remind you that the characters of Arthurian Legend very much exist in the whoniverse

the Doctor's involvement in King Arthur's life is incredibly convoluted and contradictory, even within DW canon. But many stories involve the Doctor intervening to ensure that things go according to Arthurian Legend and earth's history remains consistent

for instance, there is a plot in Classic Who where Arthur's body is placed in a spaceship at the bottom of the lake, in an effort to follow the legend that he is "in eternal sleep until England's greatest need", as Ace quotes. The Doctor says that Merlin must have been involved and yet the spaceship is activated by the Doctor's voice, which is "exactly the kind of thing (the Doctor) would do". Leading Ace to ask:

clearly, some of Merlin's actions are fixed points in time and the Doctor must confirm that those things come to pass at some stage in his future

so, when does the Doctor go back to intervene with Arthur's burial and various other events? is it during the Seventh Doctor's run? One story suggests that it was the Eighth Doctor

but I would argue it was the regeneration after that. The version of the Doctor who attempted to make peace during genocide against his race and was betrayed and defeated. The last of his kind, desperate and ruthless

the version of the Doctor that sounds eerily similar to Kilgharrah (and also a bit like John Hurt)

you know, Kilgharrah, who manipulates Merlin to act in accordance with an abstract fate that only he understands

"but the Doctor can't be Kilgharrah, he's a dragon!"

bet. 2 words: chameleon arch

it can modify a Time Lord's biology, turning them into a different species. Sure, usually into a human, but who's to say that it can't work for dragons?

Time Lords still retain their time sensitivity, which would explain how Kilgharrah has an innate knowledge that some events are fated and others are subject to change

and then Kilgharrah's laments about "watching civilisations rise and fall" and his vengeance against Uther are repressed memories from the Time War

maybe it was while the Doctor was a fugitive from the Time War and he decided to kill two birds with one stone and go into hiding as a dragon. and then also make sure that the Arthurian Legend timeline was in order

so, destiny doesn't exist at all, it's just the War Doctor spouting out bullshit riddles to keep the time stream straight

of course, if these characters exist in the same universe, what about Merlin/Jethro, Uther/Mr Finch, Gaius/Dr Constantine, Gwen/Katherine, Percival/Jeff, Nimueh/Lady Christina, Lady Vivian/Jenny, Will/Cline, the list goes on

I have crack theories for those too, each one more deranged than the last, but this post is long enough already

[fog-and-rust]

Hogwarts Legacy Incorrect Quotes Part 4 (feat. my Hufflepuff!MC, Ellie)

Sebastian: Dear Diary, my teen angst bullshit now has a body count.

***

[At some point in the beginning of the game. Let's pretend that teachers are concerned with bullying]

Professor Weasley: What would you do if one of your classmates viciously teased you again and again?

Ellie: Oh, that’s easy. I’d take a quill—

Professor Weasley: To write something to your teacher?

Ellie: —make sure that it’s really sharp, and ram it into their eye at full tilt! Leander always says the quill is mightier than the sword because they can’t outlaw bringing quills to school!

Professor Weasley: *internal screaming*

***

Sebastian: I have yet to encounter a problem where an Unforgivable Curse didn't factor into the solution at least in some way.

Anne: This is why uncle doesn't fucking love you!

***

Ellie: You really put aside everything and came all this way for me? How did you even get here so fast?

Leander: Several school rules violations.

Ominis: Three counts of using my relations.

Garreth: Roughly thirteen vials of my latest experiment.

Imelda: Also, I used the enchanted bludgers to hurry them up.

***

[MC keeps using her friends to break into Ravenclaw common room]

Ravenclaw knocker: What is a dream?

Ominis: Dream - the first thing people abandon when they learn how the world works.

[the door opens]

Ellie: That's too dark, edgelord.

***

[After Astronomy lesson]

Garreth: Ellie has no survival skills, her need to win has replaced them.

Amit: That can't be true!

Garreth: Watch this.

Garreth: Hey Ellie, race you to the bottom of the stairs!

Ellie: *jumps from Astronomy tower*

***

[After she and Poppy freed a dragon]

Leander: What in Merlin's name is wrong with you??

Ellie: What? No good morning?

Leander: Good morning, what in Merlin's name is wrong with you??

***

[The squad gathers in the Room of Requirement]

Ellie: Alright, listen up you psychos.

Ellie: Not you, Amit. You’re an angel and we’re thrilled you’re here.

***

[In the goblin mines]

Ellie: We have fun, don’t we, Amit?

Amit: I have never been more stressed out in my entire life.

***

Ellie: We are not mad, Sebastian. We are just disappointed.

Ominis: No, we are mad.

Ellie: Yes. We are. We are livid. But we are going to let this one slide.

Ominis: No, we’re not!

Ellie: I am not a mind reader, Ominis!

***

Duncan: Everett, Ellie keeps bullying me, what should I do?

Everett: Ask a teacher for help.

[The next day…]

Duncan, to Professor Ronen: Will you help me beat up Ellie?

***

Professor Weasley: Godric's heart, how would you explain this kind of crude behaviour?

Sebastian: I'm gonna have to say verbally.

Ellie: Because judging by that tone of voice...

Garreth: ... You might not be in the mood for the dance performance we've prepared.

***

Ellie: That has to be the dumbest thing I’ve ever seen.

Amit: For the benefit of everyone present, I will clarify this is not a challenge.

Sebastian, Poppy, Natty & Garreth: Awww...

***

Ellie *going on another quest*: If there's going to be a big dramatic scene, wait until I get back.

Poppy: Of course, I can't flip this table by myself.

***

[AU where Leander and Ellie are the ones who fight a troll in Hogsmeade]

Ellie: Just stay calm! You already have everything you need to beat it!

Leander: The power to believe in myself!?

Ellie: No, you already know Diffindo! Slash it!

***

Sebastian: Am I going to far?

Ominis: No, no, no. You went too far about 2 weeks ago. Now you’re going to Azkaban.

***

Ellie: *sneaking in Hufflepuff common room late at night*

Poppy: *sitting on a sofa and casting Lumos* You want to tell me where you've been all night?

Ellie: I was stargazing with Amit?

Amit: *sitting on another sofa and also casting Lumos* Wanna try again?

***

Ellie: I have so much energy, I want to compete with Imelda or commit a petty felony... which should I do?

Leander: Please don’t get arrested.

Ellie: No promises!

Sebastian: Why not both? Get creative!

Ellie: Wonderful suggestion, thank you.

Leander: Please don’t encourage her, Sebastian.

***

Amit: Small creatures are much more vicious because they have a smaller body to bottle up all their emotions.

Everett: Ridiculous. Give me some examples.

Duncan: Puffskeins?

Samantha: Cornish pixies?

Ellie *chilling in Ravenclaw common room*: Chomping Cabbages.

***

[the Squad at flying lesson]

Garreth, Leander, and Amit: *flying normally, enjoying the view and talking*

Imelda, Poppy, and Ellie: *flying past them, as fast as they can, chasing Duncan who is screaming*

***

Poppy: Could you at least try to see this from my perspective?

Natty: *crouches down*

Imelda: *kneels down*

Ellie: *sits on the floor*

Poppy: ...

Poppy: I hate all of you.

***

Ellie: *falls down the stairs*

Amit: Are you okay?

Leander: Stop falling down the stairs!

Duncan: How’d the ground taste?

Ellie: *getting up like nothing happened*

Ellie: *releases Chomping Cabbages*

Duncan: Mom, pick me up, I'm scared.

[thenerdyindividual]

Ship ranking?? Uhhhh I want in!

The most random ships I have:

Mithian / Vivian, Mithian could turn out to be the one to free Vivian from the enchantment and make her into a better person!

Hunith /Uther or Ygraine / Balinor or Hunith /Ygraine etc etc. All the combinations

Gwaine / Elena I just think they're neat. They both have chaos energy. Plus, Elena's Father seems like a chill guy who would accept a peasant (who isn't actually a peasant huhhhhhhh)

Hear me out... Finna / Alator.

Nimueh / Freya

Julius Borden / Will

I swear I am not throwing these name out randomly there's a thought process behind it

Like Nimueh is of the old religion, so maybe she finds Freya after death in Avalon. And Freya being the kind soul she is can help her heal and grow out of her hatred.

And for Julius and Will... Picture a world where Will didn't die. And now everyone thinks he is a sorcerer. Julius hears rumours of the son of the last dragon lord living in Ealdor. So he goes there and he assumes it's Will, and Will just agrees to cover for Merlin, so he has to fake being a Dragon lord until the letter he sent reaches Merlin to warn him and to idk get help? But huh huh they actually fall in love.

Okay! There’s a lot here and I’m going to unpack all of them! This is fun!

Mithian / Vivian

I’m in favor of lesbian queens ruling a kingdom together, but also I like Mithian and feel she deserves better than Vivian. And I really dislike Vivian because she was mean to Gwen and I adore Gwen. I’m just not that interested in Vivian’s character, personally. I think Mithian, Gwen, and Morgana are all more interesting in her. So for that reason I rank it:

E-Tier

Hunith /Uther

No. Just no. Okay I know Uther was probably not always a genocidal maniac, but to quote Brennan Lee Mulligan “Before you were a fascist, you were a bully.” I think Hunith deserves to get her needs met by someone who would not one day gleefully send her son to the pyre. I rank this ship:

E-Tier

Ygraine / Balinor

Ohhhhh now this has some interesting vibes. Does Ygraine have a romance with Balinor before meeting Uther? Does she find out that Uther cheated on her, and got revenge on Balinor? Was it both? Does that mean that Uther and Ygraine were an arranged marriage? If so that makes Uther and even bigger hypocrite by using her death to justify his hatred.

For sheer implications and intrigue, I rank this:

C-Tier

Hunith /Ygraine

Ooooo a parallel to Arthur and Merlin, hell yes. I’m in favor of more sapphic romances in this fandom, and this could be fun. But also I now want an extremely cracky one shot where Merlin and Arthur are dating and introduce their moms, only for their moms to start hooking up, much to the horror of Merlin and Arthur.

I rank this:

C-Tier

Gwaine / Elena

I see this one a lot in the background of fics and I’m never much of a fan. It’s just a little too quirky for me. Like I’m sure there’s a fic out there that could get me to ship it, but most of the time it feels like people just want to ship the chaotic one with the chaotic one. It rarely feels thought out to me, and often feels like shoehorning it in because everyone needs to be a couple.

That said, it’s never enough to make me click away from a fic. And I could see how I would enjoy it if there was more time and thought put into their relationship. I mean, Gwaine is wandering rogue pre season 4. Chances are he ended up in Gawant at some point right?

I rank it:

C-Tier

For the potential

Finna / Alator

Tbh? In my soul, this is canon.

B-Tier

Nimueh / Freya

I just feel like Nimueh would trigger Freya. Super powerful, super scary, witch lady? After Freya got cursed dating Nimueh would just set Freya up to be terrified all the time. I don’t vibe with it. Also I think Freya has been through enough and doesn’t need to be fixing Nimueh.

I rank it:

D-Tier

Julius Borden / Will

Here’s the thing, I love Borden as a character but I like to make him Merlin’s shitty ex. I know the go to is Cenred, but he has way more chemistry with Borden.

So as far as shipping him with Will? Idk man. I’d maybe be tempted to read the fic you described because it sounds fun as hell, but Borden is just such a fun scummy piece of shit that I don’t ship him seriously with anyone. So without reading that fic, going on vibes alone…. I rank it:

D-Tier

Send me a Merlin Ship and I’ll rank it on a tier list. Note: This is a subjective ranking and a low ranking in no way means that I am shaming you for your taste in ships.

[malinaa]

2023 WRITING REVIEW

tagged: no one i just wanted to do this and i forgot about it soz </3 tagging : board of directors i'd tag u here but this is mostly fic-based so sorree... anyway if u have already done this my b.... i wld like to see ur post tho @evcndiaz | @brimay | @usignedupforthis | @seek--rest | @posallys | @dustorangeheartssnowman | @adhd-merlin | @queerofthedagger

number of stories posted to ao3: 34 ±1 bc i updated a fic from a while back <3

word counted posted for last year: 90k... a feat (i wrote more but it was ofic so add like maybe 10k to that)

fandoms i wrote for: alex stern series, merlin, house md, pjo, spidey, hunger games, doctor who, & the grisha trilogy

pairings: merthur / arwen / mergwenthur / mergana, darlingstern, hilson, percabeth, petermj, everlark, tenrose, malina

stories with the most KUDOS: jealousy, jealousy (house md) with 522 <3 BOOKMARKS: except my life (merlin) with 137 <3 COMMENT THREADS: rip current (pjo) with 38 <3 *technically the answer to all of these is tested with torment but that's a fic i updated so i don't reallyyyyyy count it

work i'm most proud of (and why): thread of gold (arwen, bbc merlin) because i don't exactly post 2nd person fic and tbh most people HATEEEEE 2nd person fic AND i got people to enjoy it. HA!

work i'm least proud of (and why): coffee drinker (gen fic, bbc merlin) because it was just a promptfic and i didn't even really feel like posting it but i wrote it so i might as well yk?

share or describe a favorite review you received: any review that quotes a line but this one from judas kiss (arwen, bbc merlin)...

THIS. IS. WONDERFUL ❤️❤️❤️ *creates bookmark with gusto* I LOVE that you dug into what it might have been like for Gwen while she was under that enchantment! It was so creative to have her past memories blurring with glimpses of the present during the enchantment. I *felt* her disorientation, and it *hurt*. I felt so bad for Gwen all over again! 😭😭😭 That aspect of this story could have been a fantastic standalone one-shot in its own right, but noooo, you raised the bar and KEPT GOING and made it even better!!! I love that you showed Gwen and Merlin staying friends after Gwen becomes queen, and I love how she confides in him and how he immediately drops everything to go look for the offending piece of jewelry. The bit about Arthur’s incredulity at Merlin’s method of testing the enchantment was a great dash of humor, and I love that you fleshed out the concept of the enchantment to be something the others could experience so that they could truly *know* that Gwen had been innocent. And don’t even get me started on how much I love Arthur’s “Forgive me.” I love how he doesn’t think twice about humbling himself in front of everyone because his focus is solely on Gwen, consumed by the urgency of doing the right, honorable, and loving thing in that moment. You write Arthur and Gwen’s relationship so beautifully. 💕 Well done; I hate you (/affectionate) for all these feels. 🥰🫂👏

a time when writing was really, really hard: august through october... idek why i was literally in agony not writing

a scene or character you wrote that surprised you: writing jj in spider-man: homewrecker because i've NEVER written him before (in my memory) and i was like. Hello .

a favorite excerpt of your writing: cannae lie i have a few favs so... killing is a love language (mergana, bbc merlin) Heartbreak snakes up his throat, constricting him at the sight of her. Morgana’s beauty is incontestable even like this, but her hatred wore her down to her bones. Gone were the full cheeks and rosy lips, the perfectly combed hair, the wardrobe that would put princesses to shame. Now, her face is sunken in, her hair a curled storm, her dress is merely black rags at this point. thread of gold (arwen, bbc merlin) Your father’s presence is larger than life. Larger than love. It looms. It casts shadows long enough to hide every hope and dream you’ve ever had for yourself. the boy and the girl (malina, the grisha trilogy) Memory fractures into shards. Real or not real? There’s Mal in the meadow. Mal buried beneath the hanging tree. Mal cold in her palms. There’s a sky darker than night. Her hands bloodied. A knife lodged in his heart. Her knife. His blood. Her fault. She killed him. She loves him. Her fault. Rest her head on his still chest. Her fault. No heartbeat. Her fault. No warmth. Cold light spilling from her palms. She killed him. The Saint’s only true worshipper martyred.

how did you grow as a writer last year: my hopes from last year was that i finally finish a multichap fic.... 😭 does a short 3-shot count. besides that i wrote more consistently and i'm finally Used to my writing style. i think.

how do you hope to grow this year: hell if i know if i could write something longer than 20k that'd be great 😭😭😭😭

who was your greatest positive influence this year as a writer (could be another writer, beta, cheerleader, etc.): the board.... @rosesau / @bipercabeth / @stellwood fnh...... i'd tag katie but she absconded from tumblr smh. anyway hi freaks n geeks

anything from your real life show up in your writing last year: oh i don't even know. nothing ig

any new wisdom you can share with other writers: bro idek the more i write the more writing becomes fundamentally so hard to talk about ... sorreeee

any projects you're looking to starting (or finishing) this year: IF I DON'T FUCKING MAKE PROGRESS ON MY PLAY I WILL BASH MY HEAD INTO A WALL. THIS CAN'T KEEP HAPPENING. ATLAS AND VIVIAN YOU WILL BE WRITTEN ON THE PAGE INSHALLAH

[mask131]

French fantasy review: La Sève et le Givre

Another piece of French dark fantasy, and yet... it is the complete opposite of "Féerie pour les ténèbres" that I covered before. Where the previous work was humoristic, vulgar, filled with gross-out and violence and weirdness ; this one is a serious work of elegance, a poetic "dark fantasy" where one can even wonder if it is actually "dark" fantasy, and not just regular fantasy... Yet I still mention the "dark" part here, because this is a work following the dark side of Faerie: I am talking about Léa Silhol's "La Sève et le Givre" - which one translates as "Sap and Frost" (and... honestly the title sounds WAAAYY cooler in French)

This novel is notorious for being one of the works that received the Prix Merlin (in 2003). This prize was awarded every year to the best French (or French-speaking) fantasy novel. Unfortunately it has been stopped in 2015, after 13 years of existence...

Do you know this huge wave of YA "Fae romance" that is currently going on? This book turns out to have been a precursor to this - but I do not mean to say this is a YA book in any way, oh no! No, I rather mean that this is one of the "originals" to do the fae romance - and to do it RIGHT. I am myself not much of a fan of romances, and yet this novel worked for me because it is precisely a fae romance, and you DO feel the fae in it all. This is not something that could have happened between regular humans. It is too weird and mythological and abstract and... well, and fae. You definitively feel it isn't just a human romance with "fairy" slapped onto it like a poor sticker ; it was clearly designed as meant to explore an otherworldy, supernatural land the same way Neil Gaiman's Faerie works (like Stardust) or Brian Froud's illustrated books do.

But I digress: so, what is "La Sève et le Givre" actually about? It is primarily the story of a fated romance. Literaly: the Fates themselves announced that these two characters would fall in love... and that destruction and sorrow would ensue. She is the impossible love-child of a being of nature in full spring and of a prince of the forces of winter (the "sap and frost" of the title, uniting the two powers of the season inside of her). He is one of the rulers of the "dark courts", the Unseelie side of the world of Faerie ; a gloomy, cruel, yet beautiful lord of darkness. She was taken away from her parents as a child, raised among mortals, and was then led into the Faerie world by a dashing fae prince ; while he is aware of the girl's existence, while not knowing who she is, and only knows that she will be both his soulmate and his foe...

Now, when I put the story like that, I hear you sigh "Well, that's EXACTLY like one of those teenage-girls YA romance so filled with cliches". Except... it is really not. I purposefully showed you the story under this precise angle to create that reaction - because it isn't the story itself that makes the strength of this novel. It is the world and the style.

The copious quotes of sir Walter Scott, Walter de la Mare, Goethe and Fiona McLeod that are sprinkled at the beginning of each part of this book already give the tone for what I can only describe as... a somehow Pre-Raphaelite novel. There is a REAL stylistic effort in this book, a research of vocabulary and romanticism (n the artist movement meaning) and poetry to make this feel like an otherworldy romance. This book takes a lot of cues from works like Lord Dunsany's The King of Elfland's Daughter, which is probably the progenitor of the "fae romance" subgenre in modern fantasy... And in fact it is a lot like Dunsany's elf-works, with the twist that, unlike Dunsany's romance which shows us the elf world from the point of view of human beings, Silhol's work is about two fairy beings living a convoluted love story in the Fae realm... And this changes a LOT of things.

Because Léa Silhol really captures the feeling of what a "fae" being should be. As she said herself in the little vocabulary of folkloric terms and legendary names she leaves at the end of the book, this story comes from a decade of studying the Scottish and Irish folklores. The main characters are completely fictional, but they coexist with, cohabit with and even encounter throughout the narrative the Amadan, Arawn, Nicnevin, Finvara, the Fuath, Herne, Titania, the redcaps, the sluagh and more... As such the characters presented to us are morally complex, driven by truly alien reasonings and pulsions more linked to the seasonal powers and arcane symbolism than anything. There is a real effort to show how a being supposed to embody the youthful joy of spring mixed with the bitter cold of winter would act, and how the "dark side" of Faerie still stays wonderful, magical and beautiful, even though it is a realm of ghosts, cruelty and shadows. The very alien nature of the main protagonists does provide for the many twists and turns their convoluted, half-cursed, half-blessed relationship undergo.

And one thing I absolutely love with this novel is how while the author works well to make us enter and understand the fae world, from time to time she drops a human in the setting - just as a background detail, or a mere mention - and suddenly, by doing that, she puts back in perspective how absolutely insane, frightening or otherworldy what we are following is. This play on perspectives really highlights well how, if this story had been told from a human perspective, it would have been some insane fever dream, but because we follow the fae themselves, we flow on the "logic" part of "dream logic".

The other element I truly enjoyed in this novel's treatment of its narrative, and how it makes sure it isn't JUST a romance - is the scope. Léa Silhol makes sure to show us how it isn't just a bizarre love story - but an entire movement in the world of fairies. The very novel begins with the Fates themselves being pissed off at the dark elven lord due to some complex broken romance between them, and enacting the prophecy-curse that would be his doom... The Cailleach Bheur appears regularly on the background as this distant seasonal goddess mysteriously tied to the plot (her presence is part of the final reveals)... There is a detailed subplot showing the consequences of the Unseelie Prince's emotions and adventures on his city - which is literaly tied to him since the city was born of blood-drops he spilled in the beginnings of Faerie... And so this is as much a Dunsany love story as a divine tragedy in the lines of Greek theater, and the depiction of magical political turmoil, and a part of the myth of the great forces of nature at work... This really conveys this idea of an Otherworld in the Celtic sense of the term - dwelling of fairies and sorcerers, ghosts and gods. A place where there isn't just one random little thing happening in a corner - but where every event has weight and meaning on a grander, magical, divine scope.

Now, I keep speaking positively of this novel, don't I have anything bad to say? Well honestly, if I have anything to say it is about... the style. The language of this novel is both its strength and its own trap. Léa Silhol has a real poetic pen to her, and her chapters are a delight to read - especially in today's era where a lot of authors abandon any form of style effort in favor of narrative or character quality. This style is poetic and mythical and epic and oniric, and perfect to depict Faerie. However, sometimes (not very often but it happened twice or thrice), she lets her lyrical inspiration fly too far away, and we get into the "definitively TOO flowery". Or rather she tries specific metaphors and comparisons which... just do not work. They fall flat due to just how weird they are and how it does not work. That's where you go "Okay, now, you went a little too far in the imagery, you were being poetical, now its just weird if not ridiculous".

Hopefully as I said it is not common, it happened two or three times only... But it was enough to get me out of the book for a brief time and refrain a chuckle, all seriousness of the moment gone.

Outside of that I just ADORE this inhuman romance of seasonal fae-powers, and the chaos it brings into this world of goddesses, beastly ghosts, deadly flowers, Shakespearian magic and other haunted ponds. Definitively one of my best "fae novels" in French literature.

[EDIT: As I checked some things for this post I discovered that apparently Léa Silhol wrote two more novels taking place within the same iteration of Faerie and exploring what happened after the events of this novel... So now I know what I'm going to be looking for next time I go book-shopping!]

[EDIT: I also discovered that there is a... Redux version that was published at some point? I... I am a bit confused by that, I wonder what they could have taken out of the story since everything was already concised and balanced enough?]