#Merlin canon era

[whydon-twego]

When Uther decides to sacrifice a life for a son and Destiny chooses the life of Ygraine Pendragon, Uther begins a genocide against the people who possess magic. Little does Uther know, however, that this will cause the magic to concentrate in the earth, to concentrate all at once and give birth to the most powerful being that has ever existed on the face of the earth. But what Uther also does not know is that the magic has split and half passed to his son Arthur, dormant, to keep him safe until his other half goes to find him and they can finally be together and reunite all of Albion under two great leaders.

When Arthur and Merlin meet for the first time, Arthur has a secret and Merlin has a secret. It's the same secret.

[allovertheplaceficrecs]

No man's land by thenerdyindividual

The dragon Lords live in no man's land. On an errand for Gaius, Merlin finds an ex-Camelot Knight in need of saving. 

Words: 50,961

[thesongistheriver]

Arthur stripped off his nightclothes and stepped into the water, hissing a bit at how it was slightly too hot. That never happened when Merlin was—Stop! he ordered himself. If Merlin didn’t have time to serve him any longer, then that was how it would be. 

Regardless, the thought had made something nasty settle in the pit of his stomach. After he’d gotten over his—episode, he decided to call it, earlier, he’d tried to work out why Merlin stepping away from his duties troubled him so deeply. It wasn’t as though he were leaving Camelot entirely, and even if he were …

Except Merlin had never been anywhere but by Arthur’s side. Despite a less than auspicious first—and second—meeting, they had fallen into each other’s orbit so quickly that Arthur himself could scarcely recall the last time he had undertaken any endeavour, large or small, without Merlin. Over the years, Merlin had learned to read Arthur perfectly, every mood, every thought, and most surprising, Arthur welcomed it. Uther had drilled it into him that a prince and future king could trust no one—trust was a vulnerability. 

But it wasn't, with Merlin.

[cinnabon-sweetroll-tiramisu]

Merlin's little shoulder angel telling him to wear a pretty dress for Arthur whilst his tiny shoulder demon says he should just wear nothing but heels and a thong.

[mythmerth]

do you have any favorite canon era fics? I love a modern merthur but there's something so healing about the canon era ones!!

ooooo yes I do! there’s actually so many I love that it’s hard to verbalize, I go back to canon era perpetually in between modern. It’s like I need both or else I wither away. Now canon era and canon in line with the series fics are a bit different, but I’ll focus more on ones that feel closer to canon series!

For really long ones, To Bear our Teeth and our Hearts by queerofthedagger and so close and I’m halfway to it by ariadne_odair have a very close place in my heart. these are like my go to rereads when I’m itching for canon era that will always hit where I need it to. just excellent works, make me giggle and fulfill the canon merthur needs in me.

Glow Gold by BelleCow was a really excellent post finale (arthur survives) canon era fic- Arthur’s characterization I really really loved. Like he is so AUUUGGH you know what I mean?

Requiem of a Forgotten Prince by kairennart and queerofthedagger also was a really great canon era fic. Has a unique premise but the spell works really well within it, just love love love it truly.

And… when discussing canon era but significant plot/character divergence, I’ll recommend The Ballad of the Moon by Ro_88. This is one of the first Merlin fics that I ever read, and it’s intense but the plot and the resolution was really crazy and enjoyable! the new lore they made while still having the canon era feel is really impressive.

thanks for the ask! there’s literally so many and I don’t know whether to focus on one or recommend multiple. being the indecisive person I am I’ll just throw these all out there~

[justaz]

i desperately crave full power merlin. he was messing with time when he didn't even know one (1) spell, imagine what he could do at his peak bc i genuinely believe we never saw that. a man said to be the embodiment of magic?? said not to have magic but to be magic?? god just imagine it, wielding power like an extension of himself, taking down armies with a wave of his hand, not uttering a single word, traveling through the wind, carried by the elemental magic and reappearing halfway around the world in a single moment, traveling the same through time, reappearing in greece centuries before the romans invade, reappearing in the aztec empire before colonizers landed on their shores, reappearing in new york as cars fly past him and buildings reach up to the heavens.

[msue0027]

Rip merlin, you would have loved tesco next to the castle

[thefabledpheasant]

It was then he was reminded Uther has a key to his chambers

Reference:

[likeapaperplane]

Here's my entry for @howwebeginfest and for @merlinbingo !! It fills my Art format : Unusual perspective prompt Leon and Arthur first meeting featuring young star-strucked squire Arthur and young knight Leon. I hope you enjoy!

[bellamyblakru]

@its-hyperfixation i am so fucking sorry its so late😭today was the first day i tested negative!!! and with that good news, i wrote you a tiny oneshot in honor of our wedding anniversary. i love you so so so so so much. and im continuously proud of everything you do. im beyond grateful to have you in my life, and i hope i can keep you in it for absolutely ever. thank you for sticking by my side for so long😭🩷i will stay there for as long as you’ll have me!!!! i love you my love, my arthur to my merlin, my rowan to my aelin, my f1 to my kpop🥺🩷one day!!!

do not feel sorry (it’s just like a yawn when it is not enough)

Merlin was trying—really, he was, but after five nights in a row of the same fucking nightmare, sleep was almost as nonexistent as his appetite at this point.

But he was fine.

He told Gaius that he was fine after he tripped and fell over the desk that’s been in that same spot for over five years, he told Gwen he was fine after stumbling into her during their morning walks, he told Lance and Gwaine he was fine when he managed to avoid having lunch with them four days in a row.

Did they believe him? That didn’t really matter, nor did he try to look too closely at their suspicious eyes following him everywhere he went.

Arthur pretended not to see Merlin drop all the laundry the third time in a row, or when he spilled all the dishes three inches away from the table, or when he slipped on the floors he just cleaned and fell directly into the king’s arms. Arthur had simply righted Merlin back up and went on his way. It was actually quite out of character—so much so that each time Merlin fumbled, he stayed completely still, waiting for the yells of annoyance that weirdly never came.

By the sixth day of mistakes, Merlin had enough.

“Are you okay?”

Arthur peered up from his lunch, looking first at the dirty laundry spread out on the floor then at the frustrated, and rather exhausted, Merlin whose hands were firmly on his hips out of frustration.

“Me?”

Merlin rolled his eyes, “Yes, you. Who else would I be asking?”

“I’m fine,” Arthur chose to ignore the jabs for now, focusing on Merlin’s face as it morphed back and forth between confusion and tiredness.

“Are you sure?”

Arthur stood up, stretched, came around his desk, and then leaned against it to have a better look at his servant.

“Yes.”

Merlin narrowed his eyes, but it truly did seem his king was feeling alright. He figured he might as well talk about what was wrong here.

“Well,” Merlin started, unsure yet loud enough that he could hear, “you haven’t been yelling at me.”

Surprisingly, Arthur let out a loud chuckle, the noise making Merlin’s eyes widen in even more confusion.

“What’s so funny about that?” Merlin crossed his arms defiantly, kicking some pretend dust on the ground to avoid looking back up. “It’s true.”

“Ah, Merlin,” Arthur laughed a little more. “Is that the only thing you wanted to talk about?”

Merlin would be lying if he said he knew that his king meant—and with the lack of everything lately, he was sure it was affecting what he could have missed.

“I think so?”

Sighing, Arthur walked towards Merlin, and then suddenly guided them both to the edge of his giant bed. Merlin let him—out of confusion and mostly because of the fact that he couldn’t fight him off even if he wanted to.

“Morgana and Gwen told me I had to be patient with you, but, honestly, with the way you’re going, I think you would kill youself before saying anything to me.”

Merlin tilted his head, “With the way I’m going?”

“Dumbass,” Arthur gently flicked his servant’s forehead. “Do you even know that you look like a walking carcass?”

“Do I?” Merlin looked down at himself, moving his fingers back and forth. “I think I look normal.”

“Yeah, that’s the problem,” Arthur sighed again, rubbing his own forehead in frustration. “Merlin-,” he looked the warlock directly in the eyes, the motion freezing Merlin more than anything could, “-what’s wrong? Why aren’t you getting sleep?”

As if that was all it took, Merlin immediately slouched, his eyes watering up at the question, and he tried to cover it up with his hands holding his hands. But it was too late, Arthur had already seen it, lightly forcing Merlin’s hands away to rub the tears off himself. The featherlight action was so tender that Merlin felt like he was barely even there.

Was this actually his Arthur? His Arthur, the one that gets annoyed too easily? Mad quickly? Kills for a living? Was he always this soft?

“Merlin,” another tear wiped away, “please tell me what’s been going on. I can’t help you if you don’t let me in.”

That was the point, wasn’t it? Merlin never wanted to let people in, to see the world as burnt and empty as he sometimes saw it, to see the world as broken and shattered and lost as he did.

“I…”

And when Arthur only looked back at him with so much concern and attention, Merlin felt he had no other choice but to tell the truth.

“I…been having nightmares.”

“Do you want to talk about them?”

Merlin hesitated. Did he want to? No. Should he? He remembered his mother once telling him that burdens are better lifted when they were shared by the shoulders of the people we loved, and suddenly, he didn’t want to keep it a secret anymore.

His head fell to his king’s shoulder, “It’s always the same. I’m on the pyre. You’re on the one in front of me. But,” Merlin shook his head into Arthur, the king responding with kind reassurances and soft motions on the warlock’s back. “But I never burn—it’s you. I watch you burn and burn and burn, and I can never get to you in time. One night, I would get mere inches away before it exploded, while the other I would be too tightly bound myself to even get an inch closer—but every night I never make it to you. I can never save you.”

By the end, Merlin’s cries were being completely absorbed by Arthur’s newly cleaned red tunic, but the king didn’t complain nor move, only holding the warlock closer to him.

“When I try to eat, I can only taste soot. When I blink too long, I see your face staring at me through the flames. When I walk, I see you getting further away from me. I’m so tired, Arthur…”

Merlin’s voice quieted as he continued, his wet eyes blinking slowly on Arthur’s shoulder.

Arthur took Merlin’s face between his hands, gently lifting the servant to face him, before whispering, “You’re safe here, Merlin. You can sleep here—I’ll keep us both safe, okay? No one can get in here and take me away.”

Merlin drowsily nodded, his face covered in snot and tears and a sadness that Arthur hated to see more than he could even admit.

Slowly, Arthur moved them both to lay on his bed, Merlin tucked safely in his side, the warlock’s legs wrapped around the king’s torso as if to make sure the man wouldn’t move a muscle as he slept. And even though Arthur wasn’t originally tired, being wrapped up in someone he loved so completely drew him right into a peaceful sleep (and not that he will mention it, but these past few days watching Merlin was ruining his own sleep schedule, too.).

By the time Merlin woke up, it was early daylight. He barely opened his eyes, opting to slowly rubbing the person’s back that he held in his arms.

His eyes flew open and his body stiffened once he remembered he doesn’t sleep with anyone, but he only found a softly smiling, already awake Arthur looking at him with so much love that Merlin’s fully melted back into him.

Was this heaven? Merlin would have to say it was at least it’s his perfect heaven.

“How are you feeling?” Arthur asked, his voice still a bit raspy from sleep.

Merlin didn’t avoid the usual urge to move Arthur’s hair out of his face, “Better. You?”

Humming his “good,” Arthur basically purred into Merlin’s hand, making the warlock giggle, moving to play with the king’s hair instead.

After a few seconds of peaceful silence, Merlin felt the guilt gnaw at his heart enough to stop and look at the king in his arms.

“I’m sorry if I made you worry. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

Arthur huffed, moving Merlin’s hand back to their place in his hair. “You made everyone worry, you dingus. I was yelled at to give you space by multiple people—but it turns out I have very little patience for such things.”

Merlin laughed lightly—that was more like the king than anything else that has happened lately.

“Merlin,” Arthur smiled, making sure the servant was looking at him. “You are not alone anymore. I know you had to be for so long, but you’re not anymore. Not as long as I’m around. I know how much shit you carry—please let me help you hold it all. I have broad shoulders, I can carry more than your scrawny little things.”

Again, Merlin puffed out a laugh, but he stopped in favor of holding Arthur’s face, holding the golden king so gingerly as though he was made out of porcelain.

“If I burn, you burn?”

Arthur took Merlin’s hand from his face and kissed his palm—“Wherever you go, I go. And if it be to death, let it be. I go willingly. No fires can stop our future. We will always find our way around the scorched edges.”

“Together, huh?” Merlin whispered, still in a bit of a disbelief that this was real, that Arthur had accepted him so completely that they could do this as one.

“Hmmhmm, but before that,” Arthur jumped up randomly, surprising Merlin as the king’s hand reached out for him. “Let’s get breakfast.”

Giggling, Merlin gratefully grabbed the offered hand, his starving stomach roaring as if in answer.

It wasn’t going to be easy or perfect or without pain, but his dream was wrong. He knew that now.

If Arthur was on the pyre, Merlin was always going to reach him—no one, nothing, could ever stop him otherwise.

[nametheshadows]

A Merthur fic? In the good year 2024?

Prince and Pyre

potterwatch

Summary:

Tonight they raise the pyre. Tomorrow someone dies. Ever since he knew shapes he could pick them from the landscape – the gallows, the pyre, the drowning pond – Arthur is an expert of them all. He has seen the flames go up – seen the crackle spark of tinder, the rush of flame to fire – heard the screams and the sobs and the pleas for mercy. He has even heard the prayers. He pretends he has not heard the prayers – focuses instead on the sharp slice of wood catching light, the flames that dance, and leap, and crawl – ember-clawed – up leg and arm and chest and torso. He can pick the point when hair catches light – knows the temperature at which skin melts, the point at which the prayers stop – when the syllables fall to wails to sobs to silence. It takes days to wash the smoke from his skin. Faced with Merlin's magic, Arthur must chose -- His or his father's Camelot.

[whydon-twego]

Merlin thinks that Arthur is the most ridiculous person in the whole of Camelot, who is oblivious to everything around him. But Merlin never notices Arthur's gaze lingering on him. No matter how much the sorcerer tells everyone that he never takes his eyes off him (heaven forbid!) there are moments when Arthur raises his eyes and stays looking at him, the love-struck eyes of someone who can say nothing, and Merlin never notices. Arthur thinks that Merlin is the most ridiculous person in the whole of Camelot, who is oblivious to everything around him. And he's thankful for that.

[moonytoasted]

⋮ HP masterpost: founders era and characters ⋮

. . . . . ╰──╮꒰ founders era ꒱ ╭──╯ . . . . .

this is the first era of hogwarts. as the name implies, this era is the one in which hogwarts was founded. this era has a mild reliance on canon content for important events, but characterization is left almost entirely to the fandom. . . . . . ╰──╮꒰ characters ꒱ ╭──╯ . . . . . interestingly, the founders have been widely headcanoned to be the pevensie children from the narnia book series. all four founders were originally friends. ocs are important to this fanbase, as there are only 6 canon characters.

╰┈➤ godric gryffindor, founder of gryffindor house. also interpereted as peter pevensie. ╰┈➤ rowena ravenclaw, founder of ravenclaw house. also interpereted as susan pevensie. ╰┈➤ salazar slytherin, founder of slytherin house. also interpereted as edmund pevensie. ╰┈➤ helga hufflepuff, founder of hufflepuff house. also interpereted as lucy pevensie. ╰┈➤ helena ravenclaw or the grey lady, daughter of rowena ravenclaw. ╰┈➤ bloody baron or the baron, scorned lover and murderer of helena ravenclaw.

the list of completely canon characters ends here, although there are some that i found who may fit the time requirements. ╰┈➤ geriant ollivander: may have given rowena ravenclaw her wand. "active in the middle ages" ╰┈➤ merlin: he, morgan le fay, and helena were born post 982, and merlin was part of slytherin house (and perhaps taught by salazar himself) ╰┈➤ sir cadogan: friend of merlin, and a gryffindor. this friendship eventually landed him on the knights of the round table. his portrait is next to merlin's. ╰┈➤ morgan le fay: born post 982. king arthur's half-sister, and a dark witch. . . . . . ╰──╮꒰ disclaimer ꒱ ╭──╯ . . . . . EVERYTHING discussed is canon and from reliable sources such as pottermore, the HP wiki, or other reliable blogs.

[thesongistheriver]

Arthur pressed his head against the windowpane, groaning quietly. His brain felt like a scrambled egg. All he wanted was for Merlin to burst through the door, smiling brightly with his ears too large and his dimples too deep, and make up some shoddy excuse for his absence, so that everything could go back to the way it was before.

As if on cue, Merlin barged into the room, already mid-sentence. “—and when that’s done, I swear I’ll polish your armour and mend your breeches; I know you have training mid-morning and I am so sorry, I meant to do it yesterday but something came up and—you’re awake, and you’re not yelling at me. Why aren’t you yelling at me?” He stopped, panting slightly.

Arthur’s heart nearly jumped out of his chest at the sight. He wanted nothing more than to wrap Merlin in his arms—have you lost your mind, Pendragon? Good gods—but instead he mastered his emotions and drawled, “Good to see you too, Merlin, and how are you this fine morning?” 

Arching an eyebrow, Merlin cocked his head and put his hands on his hips. “Are you about to chuck something at me?”

Chapter 3 is up!

[onceandfutureclotpoll]

Title: Watching You Like I'm in Love

Author: General_Jellyfish, remaymber

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Summary: Arthur had been watching Merlin ever since he had first met him. He was watching Merlin just like he watched the entirety of his kingdom to protect and defend. But as fate intertwined their lives closer and closer, Arthur started feeling like watching might just not be enough.

[earlgreyinpajamas]

could you do more bed sharing for merthur please? love your blog sm <33

hello! im back from the dead and very flattered that you like this dinky blog

Royal floor by 4everSPN

Four times Merlin fell asleep on the floor of Arthur's chambers and one time he woke up in Arthur's bed.

~~~

ahhh tooth rotting cuteness? yes

2. everything makes sense when you're with me by Shana_Rose (@shana-rosee)

Merlin opened and closed his mouth twice before he found his voice. “Rowan, I think there’s been a misunderstanding.”

Rowan frowned, “Oh, my apologies. Are you not at the betrothed stage yet? When you do, please send me a letter so I can give you my heartfelt congratulations.”

Arthur grimaced, “The thing is, Merlin and I aren’t a couple.”

- Five times Merlin and Arthur were oblivious and the time someone spelt it out for them.

~~~

ok ill admit that bed sharing isnt the main event here but ahhh its such a cute fic about the most oblivious idiots in the kingdom and i cant stop smiling thinking about it

3. You're My Escape by mithian (@ella-enchanted)

After fleeing Camelot to escape assassins, Merlin and Arthur move into in an abandoned cottage and learn more about each other.

~~~

it's a canon divergent universe and it makes me a little wistful because this is truly what they could have been if they hadn't been prince and servant and men in a time of bigotry. it's beautifully written and just so hopeful TT