#Magic ban lifted

[hopelessromantic5]

Merthur with King Arthur and pre-Court Sorcerer Merlin.

(Don’t worry though, when this is continued, he will be given his rightful place.

If I have to write it a thousand times, I will see Merlin get his happy ending, dammit.)

“Um. Merlin?”

The manservant had been daydreaming again.

It was honestly getting out of hand.

Two moons had passed since Merlin finally told Arthur about the magic.

It went better than expected.

A great deal better.

He didn’t even really seem surprised. If Merlin could count on himself as a reliable narrator of the story, he would say he saw relief flicker across Arthur’s face before he began asking questions. But Merlin was basically imploding on the inside and terrified that he was about to lose his best friend and his home in one fell swoop, so he might’ve imagined it.

Thankfully, Arthur seemed more anxious for answers than anything. He wanted to understand. After a week of catching him up on the last five years of their lives, magic included, Arthur seemed at peace with it.

A week later was when control began slipping from Merlin’s grasp, ever so slightly. Arthur came to him on a random day in the spring, and nonchalantly said he had some documents he’d like Merlin to read over. Make sure they were presentable for council.

Merlin thought nothing of it, he’d done it countless times thus far, and was secretly looking forward to proof reading speeches for the rest of his life.

You can imagine the shock when he approached the desk and found a repeal of the magic ban. Sitting there, in the sun, in Arthur’s perfect penmanship.

Merlin began weeping.

He could almost hear in his head,

“Don’t be a such a girl, Merlin.”

But it never came.

Instead, the King silently joined him by the desk, and embraced him, for maybe the second time in all of existence.

They hugged like they were trying to meld themselves together.

Arthur had one broad arm wrapped behind Merlin’s neck and the other locking him in by his lower back.

They were two pieces that somehow fit perfectly together.

Merlin hid his, probably unsightly, face in Arthur’s neck and willed the tears to stop themselves falling.

A few heartbeats later Arthur whispered,

“I’m so sorry, Merlin.”

Merlin involuntarily scrunched his eyebrows at that. Yet, he did not let go. He did not want to leave, not yet.

“Why are you apologizing?”

A whisper came back,

“I hate to see you cry.”

Merlin wished on every star in the heavens, that he could’ve seen Arthur, in that moment.

But he would not let go. Not until his King did.

At present, things were moving along very well with the repeal. Especially among the townspeople, who are more than welcoming towards the Kingdom’s new citizens.

However, Merlin found himself with a whole new set of challenges.

Merlin was definitely not staring at Arthur as he shuffled through reports at his desk. Though, the sun was casting the perfect halo on his blonde head. It painted a picture that was wholly ethereal, calming.

When Arthur looked up from his papers suddenly, Merlin went back to his polishing like he never stopped.

Because he didn’t, of course.

That would be inappropriate.

That’s when he heard,

“Um. Merlin?”

The raven boy’s head snapped up from the sword in his lap, and found amusement in his King’s eyes.

“What?” He was skeptical, narrowing his gaze.

“Are you planning on turning my chambers into the Royal Gardens or is this your only idea on how to spruce up the place?”

“What on Earth are you-“ spinning around in his chair, he finally saw it.

Vines wearing tiny purple flowers were slowly crawling their way up the bed-posts; bigger, colorful flowers were beginning to bloom from the cracks in the stone floor.

This is not good.

“Uh, I have to-“ he huffed, placing the sword in his seat and running for the door. “I need to go, sire.”

“Merlin, what are you-“

“I think I’m coming down with something. I’m just gonna go see Gaius about it.” Before he closed the door behind him he yelled “I’ll be back with dinner.”

And then he was gone.

[springs-hurts]

I love Kilgharrah saying to Merlin "An half cannot truly hate what makes it whole" And that implies Arthur can never hate magic, not truly. He himself might think he hates it, but deep down, in denial, he knows he doesn't. I love that. And I'm sad I can't write it and others are not using it to make Arthur's character more nuanced.

My most favorite headcanon is that magic loves Arthur, magic and Earth/nature/camelot. I love it sm, like imagine Arthur wasn't blind to branches falling all around him, he just thinks they're normal cause it's been happening since he was 3 year old and a tree lowered it's branches to let him have those tasty red fruits. It's nothing big.

anyway, back to main point. Arthur thinks he hates magic, as his father wants him to, but not really, he doesn't. Magic is part of him, both literally and figuratively. His other half is magic, he exists because of magic, how could he hate it?

[golfcoursewitch]

Coven meeting summary:

PowerPoint night!

Liam: the recreational benefits of lighting things on fire

Kel: top ten US laws strictly prohibiting arson

Dot: special interest info dump: pokemon

Me: the history of Oreos

Riley was going to present with Forrest but they didn’t show up today so Riley was left alone

In other news, Dot has introduced me to pokemon games, I will not be active for a while

[karistiltskin]

sometimes i like to fall asleep to the idea of every kingdom being scared of camelot because king arthur decided to lift the ban on magic and it’s revealed that emrys is his right hand man. like yes, wreak havoc and scare your enemies.

on the other side of this, the castle staff and knights have to bear witness to arthur and merlin’s shenanigans everyday. because tell me why arthur is chasing merlin around the castle with porridge stuck in his hair and a spoon raised in his hand while merlin is cackling, bumping into every surface ever.

[cryptid-crow-wizard]

Merlin: we’re going to overthrow Uther and put Arthur on the throne. Any questions?

Gwaine: Yes, since when do you want Arthur on the throne?

Merlin: Since he is the next in line and is actually a more decent option and will lift the magic ban with correct guidance.

Gwaine: Ok new question, why are we trying to lift the magic ban?

Merlin: Cause I have magic.

Gwaine: No more questions let’s kill Uther.

Lancelot: I have a question. Don’t get me wrong I’m also on board with killing Uther, but should we be plotting treason in front of the king’s ward?

Morgana: No worries I’m also on board.

Lancelot:

Lancelot: Isn’t he like your father tho??

Morgana: He is my father but had me out of wedlock and doesn’t claim me so i won’t be a contender for the throne

Lancelot:

Morgana: Also I have magic and have been watching him kill those with magic my whole life

Lancelot:

Morgana: I’ve been wondering when it will be my turn to burn at the stake

Lancelot:

Gwaine:

Lancelot: Yeah ok that tracks.

Gwaine: I’m back with questions why don’t we put Morgana on the throne?

Merlin: Cause we want people to accept the king and they already accept Arthur.

Morgana: Don’t worry we’ll be “guiding” Arthur the whole time

[koffeinkaos]

Some evil sorcerer after magically appearing in the throne room: Arthur Pendragon, this was a long time coming. You don't remember me, do you?

One of the guard tries to get a hold of the guy but his hand just goes through him like he was made of smoke.

Arthur: Who are you and what do you want

The sorcerer: Six years ago you and your knights were responsible for the death of my entire family. You murdered them. They were good innocent people. Their blood is on your hands.

Gwen next to Arthur: We understand your anger and your grief. My father was executed too under the magic ban but we lifted it and we're trying to do better. I'm sorry for what happened to your family.

Sorcerer: It doesn't change anything. The Pendragon rule has brought nothing but death and fear. It must end. I spent years following you around, getting to know your dirty secrets. One of them is currently with me and if you don't leave Camelot until midnight I will kill your one true love.

Arthur very confused, looking over to Gwen and the back at the guy: You will never get your hands on Guinevere.

Sorcerer now with a grin: oh I'm not talking about your queen

Now everyone looking around to check if anyone was missing.

Sorcerer exasperated: I am talking about that pretty servant of yours

Arthur: Merlin!? Why the hell do you think I'm in love with him??

Leon huffing: Let me guess, the longing stares?

Sorcerer: uhm yes and the

Leon nodding: the intense flirting, the being attached by the hip?

Gwaine laughing: don't forget the innuendos

Gwen: You keep bringing him to our dates

Sorcerer: I didn't know that, that's fucked up

Gwen: He's grown up with Uther, he's a good man but-

Arthur: But!??

Merlin yelling from somewhere in the background from wherever the sorcerer was hiding: Don't interrupt her you oaf.

Arthur, pouting: Sorry

Gwen: He needs Merlin to help with his emotions. I truly understand and respect the effort and passion on your part but we actually need Merlin to get him to be reasonable.

[lovelukz]

hot take I REALLY love uther as a character. he makes for such an interesting antagonist to merlin because of how similar they both are in terms of duty and perspective—both kings in their own right. I really think the show would’ve dwindled without him and anthony head absolutely kills it in this role

The fact that Merlin is clearly uthers favourite servant is so funny to me. Because on one hand, utter dislikes Merlin as a servant, nm a person because all Merlin will ever be to uther is a peasant.

but the fact that he also see how devoted Merlin is to Arthur and honestly lets Merlin get away with a lot of shit. He flips between “ugh I hate Arthur manservant” and “you all should be as loyal as Merlin is, see Merlin, be Merlin”

Not to mention the whole magic thing. I hate uther, but unfortunately his character is really fun to laugh at.

[theroundbartable]

Camelot is hit with an amnesia spell to forget their prince. The sorcerer's goal was to make sure Camelot doesn't have an heir.

So, Arthur wakes up, one day, with no servants serving him ane being treated like a thief who invaded the castle.

Not even Morgana, Gwen, or Merlin recognise him and Merlin is apparently not even a servant anymore. Just a full time physician's apprentice.

Arthur: Merlin, I know you don't remember me. No one does, but I'm Prince Arthur!

Merlin: *suspicious* Camelot doesn't have a prince

Arthur: You have to believe me!!! I don't know what kind of spell would do this, but you have to help me!!! Well, technically, I need Gaius help, but you're my best friend and I can't do this without you!

Merlin: aha. I'm not saying I believe you, but I wouldn't mind helping you overthrow the King

Arthur: No, that's not what I- ... What?

Merlin: is that not what this is about? You wanting to be prince? I'll help you if you want. You can't be as bad as Uther.

Arthur: excuse me?

Merlin: you can't be telling me you like Uther. You just told me you want me to find a spell to make you prince.

Arthur: no! I wouldn't go that far- what would you even know about magic?

Merlin: *grabs Arthur by the chin to glare at him threateningly* Nothing *viciously* Obviously. And if I did, you'd be dead if you learned of it

Arthur: *actually intimidated* I-

Merlin: *turning away* I'll do the dirtywork for you, Arthur, was it? In exchange, I need you to lift the ban on magic

Arthur: you can't seriously ask me that -

Merlin: I'm not asking. That's my condition.

Arthur: ... What on earth is going on?

[keitorin3]

Short: It's Merlin

Random Knight: *Witnessed Merlin calling Arthur a prat* Sire, are you just going to just let him talk to you that way? 😤

Arthur: It's Merlin, what can you do. 🤷🏼

Noble: *Upset with Merlin's presence during court and used his now absences to complain* As King you should have more sense then to let some farm boy advise you in such delicate matters of court! 😤

Arthur: It's Merlin. He who takes care of the castle servants, who is the apprentice physician that sees to the people downtown off duty and who is well acquainted with the merchants by name. That Merlin. 🤨

Noble: ...

Arthur: Any other questions? Good, let's see about lunch. Someone call Merlin back from town, he knows how I like my sandwiches made. 🍞🥪

Princess: *Trying to be seductive and pretty* I hear your looking for a Queen? 😉

Arthur: *Not interested and wishing to strangle a court elder* Apparently... 😒

Princess: I could be your Queen~ *Tries to touch his arms sensually*😘👑

Arthur: *Disgusted and Panics* 😬 Sadly you don't meet my requirements.

Princess: Well, what are your requirements? I'm sure I can more then meet them~😘

Arthur: Black hair, large ears, calls me a prat and male.

Princess: *Flabbergasted*

Arthur: *runs*

Knight on the side: It's Merlin. Just so you know.

Gwaine: So is anyone gonna tell him or should I?

Leon: It's been over a Decade and sadly the King has yet to admit it.

Percival: It's just Merlin. The guy doesn't even hides how devoted he is to Arthur.

Leon: Unfortunate really. Arthur was never able to place a label on what he felt for Merlin. Anything that boy does is instantly just categorised as "Merlin".

Gwaine: He gets his own category? Where do we go under.

Leon: "Merlin's Knights" apparently. He said as much while drunk and wistfully talked about retiring into the countryside and buy a farm where he and Merlin can own a cow and some chickens. He especially wanted the chickens.

Gwaine: *Laughs*

Percival: Damn, he's got it bad. And I can't even deny it. We basically did come together thanks to Merlin. But why chickens?

Leon: Said it was a engagement present for Merlin.

Percival: ...

Gwaine: ... Called it.

Knight: *Sees magic near Merlin* Sorcerer! *Arrests him and goes to the King*

Arthur: What is this?

Knight: Sire! I witnessed this servant doing Sorcery! *Points to Merlin*

Arthur: It's Merlin.

Knight: Yes Sire. He was doing magic.

Merlin: Arthur I can explain-

Arthur: *Raises his hand up to pause his words* You sure of this?

Knight: *Says smugly* Yes Sire!

Arthur: Right then. *Proceeds to go to his desk and picks up something before signing them with his seal*

Arthur: Hand this to Geoffrey, from henceforth the Magic Ban has been lifted.

Knight: WHAT!? 😱

Merlin: WHAT!? 🤯

Knight: B-but- my King?! WHY!?

Arthur: *Casually shrugs* It's Merlin.

[mysticwolfshadows]

I see a lot of Arthur making Merlin Court Sorcerer after learning about his magic (and forgiving him for the lies). But I want to see more of... Arthur just not realizing how powerful Merlin is. Like, Arthur finds out, and then realizes that Merlin uses it for chores and dropping tree branches on bandits. He doesn't know about him being a dragonlord, or about Nimueh, or about the prophecy. So Arthur thinks Merlin is just another sorcerer.

So then, when the laws are changed and they're talking about getting a Court Sorcerer, Merlin isn't brought up at all. Merlin doesn't care, either, since he doesn't want a title. So they try one person, and they turn out to be shit, Gaius refuses because god damn he just wants to retire, and there may have been a few assassination attempts during interviews.

So Camelot doesn't have a Court Sorcerer forever, but they have sorcerers everywhere, and Arthur needs advice on magic, so he asks Gaius and Merlin, the only sorcers that he knows. So they teach him about what they know. Like warlocks being rare people with inate magic power. And how being able to cast spells without incantations is extremely difficult and only done by the most powerful of warlocks.

And then, almost a year into not hqving an offical Court Sorcerer, they're preparing for the 1 year celebration feast of the ban lifting, when an assassin shows up out of nowhere. And Merlin, tired and working overtime to get this feast ready, just shoots the assassin a look, and the man crumbles to the ground.

The knights and Arthur are just... so confused. And poke the motionless on the floor. And then look at Merlin, who is still smoothing out fancy linen tablecloths. Andd Arthur just kinda points and asks, "did you...?"

And Merlin just glances over and nods. And Arthur looses it.

"You used magic. Without an incantation. And you never told me you could?!"

Merlin just blinks. "Didn't think I had to?"

That night, at the feast, Arthur anounces Merlin as Court Sorcerer, much to Merlin's horror.

[giveaway336]

Since I very sincerely doubt Uther managed to kill ALL the Dragonlords (they're knights, not the KGB, and it was a lot easier to disappear back then) imagine them returning to Albion from Rome or whatever to find Cousin Balinor's only son is ruling Camelot and the Druids, is best friends with an immortal knight and one dude that's been raised from the fucking dead, is bonded to THEE oldest dragon they've ever heard of (and who is also nuttier than squirrel stew) and a semi-feral hatchling that barely listens to four (4) people max and hisses/bites/claws at the rest, and oh yeah, is married to a fucking Pendragon.

Family dinners must be a hoot and a half.

oh to be a fly on the wall when they finally make an audience in Camelot. oh to see Merlin's face morph from apprehension to wonder to exhaustion to horror because they're telling Arthur everything they know.

[fiftysevenacademics]

Here's the thing that gets my goat about Colossal Biosciences trying to sell itself as a conservation group: We already know how to save endangered species and have brought many back from the brink. They claim to have introduced badly-needed genetic variation into several red wolves using their cloning technology, although so far I've seen no independent confirmation of this. If so, this may be of some benefit to species undergoing a genetic bottleneck, although I will wait for further research and expert commentary before I make up my mind on that one.

Saving endangered species requires protecting their habitat, helping them grow their population through captive breeding programs or other measures, and protecting them from intentional and unintentional harm by humans, predators, or a degraded environment.

Some of you might have seen me posting about how excited I am to watch a peregrine falcon from my office at work. The reason is because when I was a child, there were only 324 nesting pairs left in North America, where I live. Thanks to banning the pesticide DDT and a captive breeding program, they are now a species of least concern that has surprised everyone by adapting very well to urban life.

You may also have seen me completely lose my mind over sea otters, which, like peregrines, were nearly extinct when I was a kid. Although it's still listed as endangered, legal and habitat protections plus breeding programs have tripled the population and they are a regular, common sight along some parts of the West Coast.

These are just two particularly charismatic animals that I am privileged to enjoy seeing wild and free in nature because of multipronged conservation efforts.

The thing is, these efforts require a lot of political heavy lifting, restrictions on access to and use of environments and resources that are often very unpopular with the public, and lots of money and human labor. There's no scientific magic wand, which is the impression you get from Colossal's press releases.

IF Colossal really has such a great tool for undoing genetic bottlenecks, the right thing to do is publish it so every other conservation group can adapt it free of charge. But keeping it this super secret IP that's somehow part of an elaborate bid for venture capital investment is not good for conservation in my opinion. The most realistic outcome of their efforts is that a few rich people will get really expensive designer pets-- they probably already have people lining up to buy the designer wolves and fluffy mice.

[golfcoursewitch]

COVEN MEETING SUMMARY

The fire ban has not been lifted :( Kel is employing the “this hurts me too” strategy but it doesn’t work, Liam is suffering the most from the fire ban, Riley set up a fun field trip to a library on Thursday and we’re all looking forward to it, we mostly spent the meeting in the nearby forest trying to find rare herbs that Kel claims grow in the area, all we found was poison ivy, and a cool tree

[papysanzonew]

Guess who regretted lifting the ban on magic…………

My other Merlin art

[justaz]

need arthur repealing the magic ban bc its the Right Thing To Do and merlin is ecstatic bc finally finally he can be himself and tell arthur the truth. he can stop lying and hiding!! and the the ban is repealed and magic is free and theres a feast held in celebration and merlin lugs arthur to his chambers since the king had a bit too much wine and the night is warm and golden and steeped with happiness. merlin lays arthur down in bed and arthur looks up at him with half-lidded eyes, glazed over and warm and filled with love, and he says some sappy shit about merlin being a good friend and how loyal he is.

merlin isnt sure why his words make a stone settle in his stomach but he brushes it off and goes to bed, telling himself that he’ll tell arthur everything in the morning. then morning comes around and merlin sits at the table while arthur is eating breakfast and opens his mouth to tell him when his throat closes up and no words escape him. arthur is confused but merlin distracts him by insulting him and postpones the conversation. he’s been hiding for years, maybe he just needs to take it slow, take baby steps, let his mind and body get used to the idea of being free first.

merlin waits another week and a half before trying again. same result. the words wont come out and he’s choking on this secret he thought he could fess up to now and it takes him so long to realize he’s terrified. he isn’t sure why bc helloooo the ban is lifted!! he won’t be put to death!! what’s the problem?? he had an easier time confessing to sorcery to uther when such a thing was still punishable by death. why is it so hard to tell his best friend the truth when he won’t be punished for it??

answer: telling arthur the truth would mean telling him how merlin has lied for years and how arthur has never truly known the man he calls his friend. arthur will be hurt and angry and he’ll feel betrayed and that is something merlin has seen time and time again and he has fought so hard to prevent yet here he is about to put the same expression on his face. he’s about to break arthur’s heart once more. he can’t do it. he has to. he’ll hurt him. it gets worse the longer merlin takes. arthur will hate him. oh gods arthur will hate him.

[thedollopheadofcamelot]

Ah I rambled a bit in the tags but

I think some of Arthur’s tragic flaws are:

His need to have faith in people (Uther, Morgana, Gwen, Agravaine, Merlin, etc.)

His loyalty in others (believing the loyalty mutual)

And he always relied on others morally (especially looking to Merlin and others to make the right decision) rather than believing in himself and deciding for himself what he should believe/how he should act (and this is definitely part of his fatal flaw as a king) (and his relationship to magic was always fluid- he could never fully decide for himself whether it was truly good/evil/neutral (part of that was due to his conditioning and his upbringing))

Good luck on your presentation!

(And you can present what you want to present

I’m just rambling about some of my opinions and like my quick analysis of the series/Arthur) (Trust your instincts/your concept is good)

Im doing a tragic hero presentation for english about arthur pendragon and for his tragic flaw I'm think of doing like. his loyalty to uther. how he sort of did things based on what he thought his father wanted regarding magic and that ultimately led to camlann + his death. but I feel like that might not make sense. so I need assistance...