#I am however having fun

[onelinemanytimes]

Taking a Closer Look at Fresh’s Actions

Fresh does a lot of weird stuff, even weirder if you don’t know why he’d make the choices he does. The perception of Fresh amongst fans is all over the place, so knowing Fresh’s character is nigh impossible unless you’ve spent a lot of time and effort trying to get ahold of it.

Luckily for you, I have in fact spent a lot of time and effort trying to understand Fresh and learn everything I possibly can about him, and I’m here to try and tackle explaining what the heck Fresh has been up to- because why he would act how he did in these combat scenarios is a delight to analyze.

So let’s get this ball rolling! For clarity, I’m discussing Underverse 0.7 Part One here, analyzing his actions in the animation and how well it suits his character, and this post is part one of multiple. The next part is posted!

Starting with the least surprising action taken by Fresh; 

1: Running away.

This one isn’t too hard to understand no matter how you slice it. Most interpretations of Fresh would have him run away here- but for those who may not know it, it will be explained nonetheless! Especially because he runs away multiple times in the various conflicts, showing that this isn’t just something he was doing because of Error, this is a regular response to any kind of confrontations like these.

Fresh running comes from a variety of places that tie into each other. The most important reason to run is the fact that he wants to live above all else- NOTHING is more important to him than his own life, and any choice that has a real chance of putting his life in danger he will avoid as much as possible. 

So obviously, a fight with Error is a situation he would just leave, especially given he now has everything he wants out of this place. Error is very strong, and Fresh was able to score a good attack because Error was distracted and he had help. Fresh does NOT want to get into a direct fight with Error if he doesn’t have to. So he gets outta there baby!

Fresh has another big reason to run away, however, and this reason ties into why he would choose to run away from Ink as well! That reason is his persona- being a super radical 90s broskie is also important to Fresh, and preserving the perception that he’s a harmless weirdo is a part of that. If people saw him fight, they would know he’s actually pretty powerful and worth being scared of, which is terrible for him!

He needs people not to be afraid of him. He needs people to trust him, or at least he needs them to underestimate him- and he succeeds, wonderfully.

Fresh IS regularly underestimated- you can see this actively in the way that Ink just brushes him off when he initially confronts him with a complaint about the gift. Ink doesn’t see Fresh as very important at that moment, and not a big deal- which at THAT point, is a detriment to Fresh, so Fresh starts to push the idea of the opposite. Getting in Ink’s way (and surprising ink as he does so) and telling Ink he’d show him “who’s really da weakest,” referencing the fact that people see Fresh as weak.

And that they’re wrong to think so.

But that’s getting off topic from his habitual running away! So I will offer a very important piece of insight that’s easy to miss if you don’t stop and consider it yourself, given it’s not stated explicitly.

Fresh DIDN’T run from Ink. He did run from Error in the start, but he did not actually run from Ink. He at best pretended to run from Ink, because he knew he had a reputation- and he knew it would work with his plan. 

How do we know he wasn’t running away? Because if he was running away, he would be gone. Fresh has more than enough ability to get away whenever he wants, if he actually wanted to escape he could have ran off into who knows where in the multiverse and hid via teleportation before Ink had a chance to blink. If he actually wanted to steal the vials, he wouldn’t have shown them to Ink, he just would have left with them.

“Running away” was part of a much larger manipulation of Ink on Fresh’s part.

2: The larger manipulation

You may be less aware of this depending on how big a fan of Fresh you are, but this guy is a liar and a manipulator of the highest order. He enters any situation he can with a fully thought out plan, and acts how he needs to in order to execute that plan. His motives are his own survival, of course, as far as the results he gets, but the method is fun.

He does enjoy having fun. His idea of fun is being successful, especially at other people’s expense, and he enjoys winning so much he’s likely made his persona a game in of itself, that he wins when he convinces people it’s real.

But today he isn’t focused on THAT game. The goal of the game today is to possess Ink, but there’s a catch here. Ink doesn’t have a soul, not traditionally, and Fresh needs to use the energy out of a host’s soul to survive and successfully possess them. Thus the goal of the game is revealed; He needs to make Ink drink as many vials as possible.

You may notice that he missed one! You noticed wrong- He couldn’t let Ink drink the last vial for reasons that I’ll explain in a moment, because I want to go through the first part of the interaction first.

The first thing Fresh has to do is upset Ink, which is VERY easy to do with a few things. Firstly;

Fresh stole Ink’s… inks. The sash- he straight up stole that. It may have fallen off of ink in the battle with Error, but he snatched it and was keeping it hidden on his person for use in his plan directly. Fresh knows that the vials are how Ink functions- he calls it out directly when showing Ink he has them. Look at how shocked Ink is to see him with them- Ink was wholly focused on finding the vials, only to see that Fresh had found them first and was keeping them from him intentionally. 

This is the start of making Ink upset with him, albeit not the first thing Fresh did directly to upset Ink. Fresh also used the “gift” he’d gotten from Ink, the unlimited vial, on Ink. He FORCED Ink to drink it.

This is almost funny! When you see it initially it’s so sudden that you might laugh as a first instinct, because it seems so out of left field. But it’s not. And then you realize Fresh genuinely made him drink it, and you realize when he shows the rest of the vials he knew what he was doing. He was making Ink be effected by something, and it’s important to note that while Fresh knows how the vials WORK, he doesn’t know what each one individually DOES. Especially not the unlimited vial, something that’s never been seen before.

Well, he needs to make Ink upset. And he also needs to find out what this vial even does, and he knows if he shoves the whole thing in Ink’s mouth Ink’ll have a reaction large enough that he can probably guess what it does and react appropriately. Thus this scene, and then the one after where when witnessing the state Ink was in, he makes fun of him.

He calls Ink out on trying to give him a gift clearly not meant for him, and especially trying to get him to drink something that would probably cause him distress if it worked. Making fun of Ink for it, and then revealing the rest of the vials, setting up perfectly for the next part of his plan. He’s underlined how important the vials are for ink, and shown that he has them. Now he needs Ink to feel desperate enough to drink them right now.

Obviously, he can’t just force Ink to drink all the vials like he did the unlimited vial. Ink would never let him pull it off, and he’s not about to try and pin down Ink, protector of the multiverse single handedly to even start attempting that. He needs to convince Ink to drink them himself- which is the next immediate thing he does. 

He tells Ink he’s gonna show him who’s weak, and then “runs,” initiating a chase. He knows Ink will follow him, because Ink is impulsive and upset with him right now, and needs the vials back. That means he can convince Ink to drink them himself.

Fresh starts out the chase poking at Ink’s fears and current concern, remarking “I bet ya’d hate to have nothin’ left.” Turning around to see that Ink is chasing him with a blaster, he can be sure that step one is complete without a doubt, as Ink has indeed decided to chase him, but he has to keep up the illusion of this being a “real” chase. The idea that Ink actually has to catch him and fight- so he pretends to be surprised at Ink being upset and chasing him!

But his smile and shades switching to say “OKAY” betrays the truth for us, only happening as Fresh turns away from Ink. He knows he’s in the clear and just has to keep up appearances long enough for Ink to drink the rest. 

His next comments also betray a secondary goal; Making sure Ink uses as little magic as possible. The plan is to possess ink: He needs Ink to have the maximum amount of power possible when he gets there, so he IMMEDIATELY reprimands Ink for firing off an attack at him. Warning Ink that if he keeps attacking he’ll run out of magic before he gets the vial back, and reminding Ink of the danger of that- Fresh has his vials, if he runs out of magic he’s hosed.

This is also why it’s important that Fresh is being CHASED by Ink, not FIGHTING Ink. He probably could fight Ink, but it’d be inefficient and dangerous. He needs Ink to be taking him seriously enough to drink the vials when getting them back, hence the threat of taking them and disappearing that pushes Ink to make sure he has the power he needs to grab them.

Then, he carefully starts giving Ink back some of the vials. Making it seem to Ink that this game of cat and mouse is going to be one he’ll draw out as long as possible- making it seem more important to Ink that he catches Fresh as soon as possible, otherwise he may actually lose some of the vials.

An interesting thing to note in this screenshot, by the way; Jakei’s attention to detail is astounding. The vials on the sash are in the same order as they are on the tracker- albeit while upside down now it’s reversed. But the order goes Orange, Yellow, Green, Teal, Blue, Pink, etc… And Jakei made sure to have the spots for Green and Yellow empty! Obviously, he’s throwing them out here…

But the slot for Blue is ALSO empty. We saw Fresh holding it earlier- but he didn’t put it back in the sash. He kept it on his person, likely because it’s the vial that’s most full. It’s also worth noting that he tossed out Green and Yellow- he doesn’t know what each colour does, but he DOES know those two are by far the emptiest vials at this point. Tossing them to Ink won’t make him too powerful, it’ll just make him hopeful enough in his success to continue the chase while Fresh continues to make fun of him for it.

He also is aware of Ink having magic at his disposal from the infinite vial from before, because surely if it worked like the other vials it’d work to power him as well. He uses it to his advantage here, calling Ink a liar again (something he saw firsthand upset Ink) and calling into question whether the infinite vial is even worth anything. Pushing the idea that Ink desperately wants the sash back by intentionally making fun of it.

It’s a subtle thing. But by making fun of Ink’s want to get the vials back, he’s introducing that idea to Ink again- that Ink needs the vials, that he absolutely has to catch Fresh ASAP to get them back.

Ink grabs the Sash and rips all the vials away from Fresh after. All but one…

He drinks all the vials he has immediately, as we see on the tracker. But Fresh stops running, which to Ink would be strange. Maybe he thinks he’s lost? But with the amount of confidence Fresh has, that’s clearly not true. Ink’s also definitely aware that Fresh has the Blue vial. But after playing keep away for so long, Fresh does something that absolutely baffles Ink.

He tosses Ink the vial.

This doesn’t make any sense to Ink and it shows. When Ink catches the vial he doesn’t drink it immediately. He looks at Fresh, trying to actually listen to what the other is saying now, trying to understand why in the world Fresh would hand it back to him after keeping it from him very intentionally before now.

And then in an instant Fresh is in front of him. Very close. And after having lorded it over Ink this whole time, calling Ink impulsive and foolish and lording himself as being smarter and better at this than Ink is, he reveals his hand.

He’s wanted to possess Ink this whole time. He just needed to use Ink’s impulsivity against him, and he succeeded with flying colours. Ink is also immediately aware of the fact he messed up, reacting in frustration at having been duped like that, which is quickly shut down. Because again, this spotlight is on Fresh, this is HIS success and Ink’s failure, and Fresh is having the time of his life with it. He is having so, so much fun being better than Ink.

Now I mentioned before and you can see it here, so as the last thought to end off this part of the character analysis; Why didn’t Fresh want Ink to drink the blue vial? If you look at only the goal to possess Ink, that doesn’t make a lot of sense. Wouldn’t having Ink drink all of them give him more time?

It would! However there’s another bigger plan at play here that makes it worthwhile for Ink to have extra paint when he’s through with him; the fact that Fresh wants to survive.

I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but in Underverse the multiverse is doing pretty rough. The doodlesphere is in shambles, multiple AUs have been directly disrupted, the main timeline itself is under attack right at that instant and it’s getting worse, and Fresh can’t predict everything. He can tell it’s getting worse and worse though- which means he needs something from Ink.

He needs Ink to stop being an antagonist. He needs Ink to save the multiverse because he knows Ink actually can. That means he needs Ink to be emotional when he’s done with him- because while possessing Ink, he’s going to be consuming all the material that Ink had drunk up to that point. So there needs to be a little extra left over for Ink’s sake.

This is why he gives Ink the blue vial in a way that doesn’t prompt Ink to drink it. He’s the hero fighting an antagonist here, but he’s doing it by essentially out-villaining Ink. Forcing Ink’s hand and trying to make him realize he can’t keep playing games with X Gaster, he needs to fix this, and quick. 

Besides, he doesn’t need THAT much time to deal with Error. That’s just icing on top for him.

That’s all I think I can say in this part of my analysis without making this post REALLY stretch too long- so I’ll be making a part two!! Further discussing things like Fresh’s mindset while in this fight, more about his actions while fighting Error, and whatever else I can fit into that post. Look forward to it!!

[egophiliac]

the lovers, reversed

(aka I'm still freaking out about Jou)

[starry-bi-sky]

wolfpack. aka: if not friend, then why friend-shaped?

"Hey-- uh, Danny?" There's an almost imperceptible tremor in Tucker's voice.

Danny doesn't look up from what he's doing, his pencil scritching across his notebook as he tries to do another quadratic formula question. "Hm."

"What's -- uh -- what's with the dogs?"

He looks up now, and finally sees where Tucker is -- standing in the doorway of his room with an ashy look on his face and a skewed, nervous smile. He's got a white knuckle grip on the doorknob. Sam is wide-eyed behind him, and using him as a partial meat-shield.

Danny looks down to the two giant ghost wolves sprawled next to him lazily. One large green one with his head in Danny's lap, letting him use him as a prop-up for his notebook. Another equally large black one splayed against his hip, sleeping on her side with her head tilted inward to his calf.

Automatically, a grin tilts across Danny's face, and he lifts his notebook up to scratch behind the green one's ears. He opens a lazy eye, one that is bloody red with a ring of yellow around the pupil, before slipping it shut and leaning his head into Danny's touch. "This is Sirius and Procyon," he says, and reaches down to scratch Sirius' belly. "And they're not dogs, they're wolves."

"Great," Tucker says, his voice suddenly much smaller and faint, "Love that distinction."

Sirius makes a great big groan, and Danny's grin widens, his heart swelling with fondness. His hand slips away from her belly, and before he can put his notebook back down, Procyon pushes his head up his lap until his ear is against his stomach, demanding pets now too.

Sam peeks her head up from over Tucker's shoulder, "I think what Tucker's asking here is what are they doing here, Danny."

He shrugs, scratching under Procyon's chin. "They kinda just showed up. I tried sending them back to the Zone, but they keep returning." And they were weirdly intent on just following him around, which is the only reason he gave up on returning them. They weren't causing trouble, and they knew how to hide around the living. Plus, he just loves dogs. "So now I have two wolves living with me."

This, oddly enough, did not do anything to calm Sam and Tucker down. Tucker's mouth purses into a thin line, and he presses the sides of his palms to his lips in prayer. "How have your parents not found out about this?"

Danny wordlessly raises his hand, and his sleeve slides down to reveal a thin chain bracelet hooked around his wrist. He whistles sharply, and both Procyon and Sirius jerk their heads up to look at him, ears pricked up and eyes alert.

Silently, he points to his wrist and rattles it twice, and in unison both wolves stand up and pounce. Instantly, they turn into a respective, opaque black and green mist that swirls around the bracelet and forms into two, flat wolf charms.

Both wolves are posing in the stereotypical wolf howl, with little stars indented on the sides. Procyon's charm has the Canis Minor constellation engraved on it, while Sirius has the Canis Major.

Danny faces Sam and Tucker, and points at his wrist. "Like this."

[hinamie]

summer is coming so i'm giving them the beach day they deserve

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Do you like sci-fi and indie animation? Check out Monkey Wrench!

[civetside]

more funny doodles!!! this time harrow nova version

[moeblob]

So does he, Gallagher.

[ex0toxin]

awughhh silly shipchart.. my canonverse hcs 🧠

og post

[sforzesco]

giulia farnese, lucrezia borgia, caterina gonzaga

we are. figuring out looks. slowly but surely, we're figuring out looks.

⭐ places I’m at! bsky / pixiv / pillowfort /cohost / cara.app / insta / tip jar!

[bandtrees]

they would get divorced in one universe just to find eachother in another one

alternatively titled: sometimes you're the level-headed token flesh-head impulse-control-and-polycule-member of a stubborn, eccentric, and hearty telephone-headed drug addict, and there's cruelty in the world you deem fit to suicidally fight, and that either goes about as well as you'd expect it to, or you learn about love and the value of your life and junk along the way

[overtake]

Was on a train from Berlin to Amsterdam after Euro quarters and thought what if backpacking Daniel (late 20s, mild crisis about what he wants from life has led to him bumming around Europe) and football fanatic Max (just finished university, his teaching job begins next school term) were also on a train from Berlin to Amsterdam after Euro quarters

Daniel’s greasy curls are matted against his oily face and he can still catch pungent whiffs of last night's nauseating adventures, despite the two showers with gritty bars of hotel soap he’d taken before running for this train. His hair has dried down gross and stringy, crushed against the hood of the jumper he should not need in July. Suffice it to say, he is not looking nor feeling his best, and it manifests in his arms trembling as they weakly attempt to throw his oversized duffle bag onto the train rack.

“Jesus fuck,” he mutters. He’s never been this hungover in his life, probably. His mouth tastes like stale beer and his eyes feel like sandpaper, and he’d really like his body to stop shaking.

“Do you need help?” A voice says from behind him, sounding lightly amused at his suffering. He turns — too quickly, very bad idea for his dizziness — to see a guy around his height but twice as broad, an orange Dutch national team kit stretched tight across his wide shoulders and showing off the round shape of his soft chest. There’s remnants of last night’s face paint still on edges of his cheekbones, the heavily smeared lines vaguely resembling what was once Holland’s flag. Blond-brown hair pokes out the edges of a garish bucket hat, and a crowd of friends in their own patriotic attire behind him are observing them with interest.

How these guys escaped the Euros viewing less fucked up than an Australian watching the sport for the first time is beyond Daniel’s comprehension, but he’s too grateful for the assistance to do much more than grunt an assent and thank you as the guy reaches up and pushes Daniel’s bag up the final few centimetres.

Daniel heaves out a grateful breath and collapses into the open seat below his settled bag, prepared to curl up against the window and contemplate all his life decisions on the six hour train journey and attempt to not spew in a public and embarrassing manner.

Dutch guy glances over at his friends, who have taken up three of the four seats at a table, and then, insanely and without invitation, seats himself right next to Daniel.

“Big night last night?”

Daniel stares at him for half a second, trying to make his brain come online enough to form words. “Uh, yeah. Was in the fan zone. Don’t think I stopped drinking until two hours ago.”

The guy offers him a big, crinkly smile. “Oh, same. Haven’t slept yet.”

“How are you so put together?” Daniel asks. He grimaces as the train begins to move, throwing one arm over his eyes and squeezing them tightly shut until the motion sickness eases ever so slightly. “I’m going to die, I think.”

“Practice,” the guy says solemnly, patting Daniel’s shoulder sympathetically, then letting it linger for a few seconds longer. Oh. Oh. Daniel’s too hungover to even think about the movement involved in sex right now, but like, yeah. This guy is big and strong and hot, and he’s quietly pleased with himself that he can pull even looking and smelling like this.

“I might need some of your training,” he says, flashing a big smile and then remembering the food stuck between his teeth that he couldn’t get out with brushing, floss long lost in the depths of his hellhole bag. He purses his lips together quickly, trying to hide the evidence.

Hot Dutch boy doesn’t seem to notice anyway. He just pulls a water bottle from his blue backpack, propped carefully on the fine hair dusting his delicious thighs, and offers it to Daniel. There’s a fancy luggage tag on his bag, and Daniel steals a glance at the MEV spelled out in delicate gold letting. Very cute, him branding a cheap backpack like that. “Thirsty?”

“Very,” Daniel says, gratefully taking the bottle — opened, he notices, which means these little plastic coils have been sucked between the plush pink of this guy’s lips and rested against the cute freckle decorating the top one — and swallowing down a long gulp.

“I’m Max, by the way,” he says when Daniel is done drinking, careful to ensure his fingers brush against Daniel’s hand when he takes the water back. He’s not aiming for any subtly in his intentions, particularly not with the intense stare he’s directing at where Daniel licks the remaining droplets of water from around his mouth.

“Daniel,” he responds in kind. When Max has placed his water back into its pocket, he takes Max’s hand and pumps it dramatically. “Enchanté, Max.”

Max has long fingers, his nails short but well-groomed. They’re a sharp contrast to Daniel’s bitten stubs, the edges of his thumbs permanently red and half-bleeding. The dark hair of Max’s arms trails up to his hands, which are moisturized, strong, and big enough to wrap around the expanse of Daniel’s throat.

“Will you be staying in Amsterdam long?” Max asks.

Daniel shrugs, tapping one worn-down, stained Van against Max’s navy blue sneakers. “Dunno. I could be convinced to extend my trip if I had a good tour guide.”

He knows Max’s friends are listening in, can see them whispering and giggling and taking photos to probably send in a larger group chat, but he focuses his attention on Max’s pretty blue eyes and the way Max’s hand is still loosely holding his.

“I don’t actually live in Amsterdam,” Max admits. He bites at his lower lip, dragging it through his straight, pearly-white teeth. “But I don’t mind sticking around for a bit.”

One of Max’s entourage leans over, says something to Max in Dutch that sounds like a protest, but a dark-haired boy slaps him in the stomach to shut him up and rolls his eyes at Daniel as if to apologize for his friend’s behaviour.

“You can rent a car and drive yourselves back,” Max snaps at him in English, then turns his soft attention back to Daniel. “So, tour guide. I better work on a good list while you sleep.”

Daniel drops his head down to Max’s shoulder, already making a plan for how he can casually rearrange his body to end up with his head on those plush thighs. “I guess we should find a few things to do around the city while the cleaners replace our sheets, yeah.”

Max laughs. “Do you enjoy football? We can go out and watch semis together, maybe.”

“To be honest, I’d never watched before,” Daniel admits. “I’m mostly into UFC. I just thought it seemed like a good time.”

Max brushes his fingers through Daniel’s gross hair as if it’s something soft and precious. “I’ll explain it all to you. It’s really such a good sport. Do you know anything about English football? Virgil plays for Liverpool.”

He’s off after that, explaining leagues and players and rules to Daniel, doing all these cute hand gestures and making himself laugh with all his little jokes. Daniel doesn’t even mind that he can’t drift off to sleep. He’s content listening to the rumble of Max’s voice, steady like the movement of the train, as he curls himself up into a tiny ball to rest his cheek on the smooth, pale skin spreading out of Max’s terrible khaki shorts.

He thinks he’ll like Amsterdam.

[trekkerac]

Tonzul doodles again🧍‍♂️. i have other characters

[bisclavret]

like many who have suffered at the hands of bbc merlin before me, i recently indulged in a thought experiment in which i outlined my own version of seasons 3-5 that stay thematically and tonally in line with the show (except they're less fucking stupid). but then i quickly realized that focusing on details is pointless: all you need is to solve the one Big Problem the show has, and the rest will follow. the problem in question? ✨morgana✨

i like the first two seasons. s1 achieves what it sets out to do and has fun while doing it, and s2, while flawed, sets up a ton of potential that the following seasons unfortunately squander, beginning with the insidious season 3. you can only distract me with cute knights and goblins and fart jokes for so long before i start seeing through you, evil, evil season of television.

my hypothesis is that if the writers had crafted s3 morgana into anything more sympathetic than a violent half-alive poltergeist that can never be reasoned with because she's suddenly terminally off her rocker, everything would've fallen into place. a sympathetic morgana would've made real, valid arguments against uther (and arthur) that wouldn't just be the ramblings of a woman possessed. her betrayal of arthur would have stemmed from her feeling increasingly morally superior to him because of his complacency in the face of their father's tyranny. under morgause's guidance she would stop believing that arthur is capable of change, and the whole point would be that she might actually be right. arthur would have to actively try and prove her wrong, instead of getting praised for doing the bare minimum because the bar is on the floor.

furthermore, morgana's prophetic dream about arthur and gwen becoming king and queen and her decision to prevent this however she can is a direct parallel to merlin learning about that same prophecy and making it happen by any means necessary. merlin's desires about his and arthur's futures are subtextually fueled by gay love and devotion, so why couldn't morgana's be? why couldn't she properly express her bitterness that arthur gets to be with gwen in a way she can't "took gwen away" from her, instead of suddenly declaring that gwen is nothing more than a servant, after two seasons of demonstrating again and again that she loves, values, and respects gwen more than anyone else in that godforsaken castle?

following this, an angry and emotionally volatile but still sensible morgana asking gwen to stay by her side during the coup of the castle in the s3 finale and gwen going behind her back to help arthur and the knights would've hurt like a bitch. double-sided betrayal! gwen having a real plot! the proper beginnings of a toxic yuri that would shape a generation!

then there's the utter hubris of having morgana shoot arrows at the same civilians she worried herself sick over for 2 seasons — even morgan, her medieval counterpart that was rooted in every sexist trope in existence, doesn't just go around killing senselessly but instead has (often petty!) personal vendettas against gwen, arthur, and the knights. morgana had every right to be sick of the pretensions around chivalry in camelot (she was always quick to mock it, even in s1), and to lash out at the knights and soldiers after years of feeling powerless in a castle full of armed men that blindly followed her oppressor. the show conveniently forgets that morgana was victimized as a woman as well as a sorcerer those first 2 seasons.

but like i said, this is not just about morgana. allowing her to remain a real and multifaceted character even as she betrays everyone in pursuit of her ambitions would've given the rest of the core four more interesting conflict to work with: merlin because he would have to experience real consequences to his actions, arthur because he would watch his sister go against his father (and his knights, and his birthright) and experience some actual internal dilemmas about it, and gwen because she would be forced to choose between morgana and arthur without the pretense that it's an obvious or easy choice for her to make.

even morgause and gaius would come off more interesting as mentors: neither one inherently evil or inherently good, both jaded by events that happened before our protagonists were even born, both heavily influencing morgana and merlin into fulfilling roles that they think are appropriate, but that morgana and merlin may not have chosen for themselves had they not been under their care.

you get the gist. if the show followed its own setup, morgana's mistakes wouldn't lie in cheap and senseless acts of violence but in alienating the people she loves because she is too hurt and jaded to trust them. meanwhile, everybody else would feel guilt over "failing" her and yet they would be too caught up in their own (sometimes flawed!) beliefs of right and wrong to truly see her point of view.

arthur would convince himself it was sorcery that corrupted her. merlin would know that isn't true but he wouldn't be able to argue without confessing everything, which is the defining conflict between him and morgana and it's cheapened when she's just an evil witch caricature and merlin is framed as inherently virtuous in contrast. gwen, too, would become a more active participant in her own life by choosing arthur over morgana and choosing to rule camelot with him instead of just waiting politely to see where things go.

and, of course, uther's downfall and death would be quick, final, and completely earned — when and why did the show even decide he of all people was the sympathetic villain, anyway?

lastly, and perhaps controversially, i think morgana should've learned merlin's true identity by season 4. her being the first of the main characters to find out makes perfect sense considering their shared history and their interconnected and mirrored arcs. even the show seems to agree, considering she does find out a little before arthur. but the narrative itself tried pointing flashing neon arrows towards this way earlier — there is a whole entire episode in s4 where merlin being emrys is repeatedly spelled out for morgana and she still isn't allowed to see it. that episode makes her look like the stupidest person to ever live, which is pretty funny im not gonna lie, but also another frustrating thing in the endless string of frustrating things that make up this show.

morgana learning that merlin has magic would've transformed the source of merlin's anxiety from a crippling fear of being outed someday to the crippling fear of knowing she could out him at any moment. this would make him want to beat her to the punch (perhaps he'd consider killing her for a minute and decide against it because she isn't a cartoonishly insane evil person in my version of events) and maybe he would even feel some tentative excitement at the idea of coming clean, now that it seems inevitable. after all, he always intended to tell arthur eventually! and i think gaius would have to admit outright that he does not want merlin to tell arthur he has magic because he, gaius, simply cannot risk such a gamble. it would be so interesting to see gaius and merlin clash and disagree once it becomes obvious that it's not merlin that isn't ready for the reveal, it's gaius. delicious!

with morgana's knowledge looming, things would inevitably spiral into a magic reveal by the end of season 4. i picture this season as an absolute mess of miscommunication between everyone at camelot, which is, y'know, canon. growing increasingly cunning and vengeful, morgana would use this tension to her advantage, destabilizing the court from the outside while she creates alliances with other sorcerers outside of camelot (instead of living alone in a hovel for no reason — morgana le fay i'm sorry i'm so sorry they gave you agravaine instead of your all-female entourage oh my god).

and here's where the events would change beyond recognition (aka here's where the meta becomes the fanfic i refuse to write). picture it with me: a militia of sorcerers infiltrates camelot and arthur and gwen have to set aside their differences (assuming gwen kissing lancelot and arthur overreacting happens, which it should) for the good of the kingdom as well as for love. picture high priestess morgana in her element, side by side with a bunch of misfit sorcerers that aren't so easily vilified, chopping down camelot's soldiers and knights and assuredly making their way to the newly-minted king.

then, just as it starts to seem that all hope is lost, in swoops merlin (the actual merlin, not his old fart disguise) on dragonback (kilgharrah hates morgana so much i know his sexist ass would stoop to anything to stop her)!!! imagine merlin showing off the extent of his powers in front of everyone and preventing the sorcerers from getting any further, declaring loud and clear that camelot is protected by him, by emrys. imagine that display of power alone being enough to send everyone home.

imagine the loyalties clearly drawn: merlin on arthur's side, morgana on the sorcerers'. imagine arthur, feeling confused and betrayed by everyone at this point, banishing merlin despite everything he's done for him in the angstiest, most emotionally dysregulated scene the show had ever put to screen. imagine merlin starting season 5 free at last but very lonesome, an embittered dragonlord like his father. imagine the absolute mess camelot would become without him, even with gwen — now queen guinevere — there to pick up the slack. imagine arthur actually earning merlin back, finally growing into his role as king as he does so. imagine the reunion.

all this and more could've been not just possible but inevitable if morgana was allowed to remain a complex character that is neither inherently good nor inherently evil: it was undeniably the biased and one-note treatment of morgana's downfall by the writers that set the precedent for literally everything else that happened after merlin chose to poison her. the show wouldn't have even had to jeopardize its tone or the monster-of-the-week vibe, all it would've had to do is admit that even the "good guys" are capable of mistakes and what makes them good is the ability to feel remorse and change for the better. (as opposed to uther, who was miles beyond redemption since way before the pilot and deserved to lose everything and die alone. OBVIOUSLY???)

in a world where morgana remains multifaceted and sympathetic, mordred would get a better arc as well, so if we really wanted to, we could still end on the same tragic note that the show ended on. with so much harm inflicted onto so many innocent people by the pendragons for so long (including mordred and the many druids and sorcerers that raised him), it could realistically end up being a little too late for anything more than one shining glimpse of king arthur and the sorcerer merlin's short-lived golden age before fate catches up to them. glimpsing that reality just to immediately lose it would've been far more satisfying and far more tragic than whatever the writers thought they were doing with all that pointless carrot-dangling.

and finally, an ending in line with morgana's new and improved arc. in this version, rather than bleeding out on the forest floor alone, she would channel the morgan le fay we know from the legends: sobered up by the reality of her brother dying, she would use her high priestess status (and perhaps also her pendragon status) to be granted passage over to avalon alongside arthur on the boat — a one-way ride — just to make sure he gets there safely. this is her penance for the harm she has caused, the same way arthur's penance is to die and leave the true ruler of camelot (gwen) behind to achieve everything he was too slow and indecisive to build while he still had time.

merlin's penance, then, would be to stay behind and watch them cross over without him, waiting and waiting and waiting until they come back or until he can finally join them. which is a bit fucking harsh if i'm honest, so i'd at least make it slightly more faithful to the legends by having him return as an old man and letting him take a long nap under a tree by the shore, his body slowly enveloped by vines like the cobwebbed fisher king in 3x08, never fully sure if he's dreaming or if there really are strange shapes fading in and out of the fog over the lake. still tragic, but nevertheless a little more open-ended and whimsical than [TRUCK NOISES] THE END!

[deoidesign]

important distinction.

Testing a few different things with this one

[vaguely-concerned]

lucanis truly has a near terminal case of burned out golden child syndrome. caterina fucked both of these kids over so incredibly bad with the dynamic she enforced there, with illario being labled the perpetual fuckup kid where lucanis 'could do no (would never be allowed to do) wrong'. the way he admits in the first coffee date scene that the only thing that happened when he showed he could carry the weight of expectation was that more weight was added makes me so sad. you can hear it in caterina's voice in his intro mission that she's incredibly proud of him, but this is clearly a leandra and hawke situation where that pride never translates into relief or resolution or unconditional warmth or understanding or anything that really helps.

[childofwonder]

I think it’s okay if Hugh and Mads don’t like the fandom. I think this year has seen the most “new” Hannibal content in ages and they were excited at first but because the fandom is so old and experiencing a new boom of popularity that it has created a new beast. When the show was airing the fandom was still as unhinged online as it is now but irl it wasn’t nearly as large at panels. Now the online behaviour is leaking into real life interactions with fans, crowds are bigger and they are uncomfortable by it. I think that Hugh has always been uncomfortable with the lengths people pushed Hannigram (as in literally making them gay and not just have a weird tension filled slightly romantic bromance) and I think Mads just doesn’t have the patience for it anymore and neither of them owe us their comfort. I do blame the fans because I refuse to get angry and waste my energy being angry at these two men for not liking their own fandom. It’s happened before and it will happen again, fans are not always chill or normal (I say this as a fan! Hugh’s face is literally my pfp! I’m parasocial asf!)

Hopefully if they really don’t like the panel experience of this year that they stop attending them because I feel the resentment will only get worse and it will make the fandom more toxic. It’s our job as fans to check ourselves and be aware of our more toxic tendencies.

To conclude, it’s okay to separate the art from the actors. They are only a piece of a much larger picture!