#all time favorite Knight in Merlin bbc

[errant-knight17]

[functionalasfuck]

Me: BBC Merlin is my favorite show of all time. Longest standing fandom I have ever been in. I am borderline obsessed. These are my emotional support characters

Also me:

“Arthur is just Ken”

“it genuinely angers me that the only people Merlin has killed are sorcerers or sorcerer accomplices driven to ‘evil’ by systemic oppression and genocide but has never really killed any of the people in power perpetrating such a genocide”

AKAB “All Knights Are Bad” sure y’all get to not oppress the poor but you’re also upholding a genocide so FUCK that

Arthur, I love you, but you could have been replaced with literally any of the knights and the prophecy would probably have come sooner. The only reason you’re the once and future king is because you are next in line for the throne so you becoming king wouldn’t cause a war and you have the “super rare” attribute of being convinced maybe genocide and starving people is bad. But only with a decade of convincing

Merlin why aren’t you using your powers to create a Camelot Underground Railroad, my dude

Kilgharagh, I know you are just a plot device the writers used to allow for there to be more seasons than necessary, but I would wear your skin for my boots if I could.

Merlin the revolutionary WHEN???? How DARE you take that from me. How DARE you make Merlin be passive to a genocide and just play bodyguard for 5 seasons and then kill off his fucking charge before any TRUE systemic change could happen. I will NEVER get over this

[wordsinhaled]

is there legitimately anyone out there who watches bbc merlin and is normal about arthur and merlin??? is there anyone who watches, in a totally normal way, merlin sprinting through the forest to save arthur from being fucking sacrificed to the sidhe in a lake, like literal fan fiction trope level faerie court shit??? merlin ripping off his jacket like he's the hero in an austen novel to throw himself into a lake and save arthur from drowning ??? (we're not gonna talk about the foreshadowing. we're just not gonna talk about that part.) but okay, like, my favorite thing about merlin is he's all deceptively fey and shit, and arthur's the warrior, the prince, the knight, but literally at the same time arthur is thee damsel in distress of all time. arthur "YOU managed to knock me out?" pendragon and merlin "i'm clumsy and hapless and the kingdom loves to pelt me with fruit for being useless except when i'm saving your life literally every day with magic that i wield as effortlessly as breathing" emrys, tell me that isn't THE combo, like ???

THEY WERE SUPPOSED TO UNITE THE KINGDOM OF ALBION. they were supposed to bring magic back to camelot!!! together!

adlkhflkgjhlkgjh

[fuckyeaharthuriana]

mordred through time (movies, tv shows, opera and musicals)

Part 4: From 2014 to 2017

Other Parts: Part 1: From 1949 to 1981 -> here Part 2: From 1982 to 2002 -> here Part 3: From 2002 to 2010 -> here Part 5: From 2018 to 2023

For this part I just wanted to talk a bit about sympathetic Mordred.

Through time we started to see a more sympathetic Mordred. I think the first iteration in audio/movies/tv was the the Blind Guardian's song in 1995. For the first time we have Mordred as a protagonist, mainly lamenting of regret, pain and lonliness. While I do not know why they decided to focus on Mordred, it is also notable that writing a more sympathetic Mordred was already happening in novels, around the same time. I used the arthurian list of novels I made so I might have missed any, but at this time we have 1956 "The Great Captains" by Henry Treece, "Sword at Sunset" by Sutcliff, "The Wicked Day" (the first novel focusing on Mordred as protagonist) by Mary Stewart, 1982 "The Idylls of the Queen" (Phyllis Ann Karr), 1983 "The Mists of Avalon" (Marion Zimmer Bradley), Persia Wolley's 1987 Guinevere trilogy, 1988 "The road to Avalon" by Joan Wolf and 1988 "The Book of Mordred" by Hanratty all depicting Mordred as a more round character, as someone the reader can feel sympathy too or even enjoy or relate to.

A slighty sympathetic but still villanous potrayal can then be found in 2001 ("The Mists of Avalon" miniseries) but we have to wait till 2008 ("Merlin", BBC) to have a tv Mordred who is actually shown trying to do the right thing (at least for a bit), and working with Arthur. I think this is more due to the fact that "Merlin" often tries to depict villains' origins and motivations than a real conscious attempt to redeem Mordred or make him less villanous.

Other following examples are the kid movie 2010 "Merlin and Arthur the Lion King" and the album 2014 "High Noon Over Camelot" that positions Mordred in a co-protagonist role and fully allows the listeners to empathyze with him. The Fate franchise (the introduction of Mordred should be around 2012 in the novels) continues on this trajectory, making Mordred a main sympathetic and beloved protagonist in many of the adaptations.

2014 High Noon Over Camelot album by The Mechanisms: The song I used is "Peacemaker". The album has multiple arthurian characters sung by different artists, and Mordred is interpreted by Ashes O'Reilly. This is also the first time we have an explicitly queer Mordred (outside of novels), as Mordred is a trans man in this retelling. The story is a Western reimagining of arthuriana, and another case of a sympathetic Mordred - this time Mordred is more overtly sympathetic and even reconcile with his father Arthur at the end.

2011 recording of Albeniz's "Merlin": Piotr Prochera plays Mordred. This is another recording (no dvd, this has been shared by Piotr Prochera acor himself on youtube) of the "Merlin" opera.

2015 recording of "Le Roi Arthus": This opera is probably my favorite arthurian opera. It was created by Ernest Chausson between 1886 and 1895 and it is sung in French. Mordred is a bass and a classic villain, here jealous of Lancelot and the attention Guinevere gives Lancelot. This 2015 version was a modernized edition, with the knights depicted as modern soldiers. Mordred here is played by Alexandre Duhamel.

2016 Rex, youtube webseries: This series is on Severe Chill Studios' Youtube channel, with 48 short episodes. The series is a vlog of arthurian characters living in modern times (no reincarnations, just reimaginings). It follows Rex (Arthur) a student who is dealing with his abusive family and the brothers Merlin and Lancelot. Moore (Mordred) is Arthur's spoiled and arrogant friend (played by Daniel O’Sullivan). He lets Rex crash at his place for a bit, and is often depicted insulting his mother and calling her slurs. If you decide to watch this just know the series has some pretty heavy themes (a part from domestic abuse it also touches on terminal illness). Youtube link.

2017 Fate/Apocrypha: This is one of the many anime adaptation of the Fate franchise. Mordred is voiced by Miyuki Sawashiro. The Fate franchise is massive and deals with numerous spin-offs or even alternative realities to tell the tales of wars/battles for the Holy Grail mainly fought by Servants who are personification of historical/legendary figures. Fate/Apocrypha is based on a series of novel and is an alternative timeline to the previous Fate/Stay Night anime and also the first time we have Mordred in the anime. Mordred is here a Servant, they are the cloned-son of Saber (Arthur/Arturia, who is a woman) and Morgana. Their story is massive so let me just say I am using they/them for Mordred because the Fate series is very ambigous regarding theri gender. They are born as the close of a woman (Saber) and often referred with female pronouns through the series, they hate being called "a girl", and also hate being called "a boy". While I do not think the series was making an effort to actually depict a non-binary character, I do believe Mordred can easily be read as one.

2017 King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table: 2017 was a wild year for arthuriana but nothing was as wild as this movie. The movie follows the life of some arthurian characters' descendant living in Thailand. Morgana and Mordred (banished in arthurian times) ended up in space, working with aliens, and are now back to destroy the descendants. The movie is full over dramatic close up, Morgana turning into a mecha, fighting scenes and more. Interestingly, given how ridiculous the movie is, Mordred is depicted as a sympathetic (almost) villain. He is played by Russell Geoffrey Banks.

2017 King Arthur: Excalibur Rising: The scene I used in the video is right at the start, as the movie is set after Arthur's death. While Mordred might seem sympathetic there he is actually a pretty violent villain for the rest of the movie. The story is focused on Owain (Arthur's illegitimate son) trying to take back the crown from Mordred and Morgana. Here Mordred (played by Gavin Swift) is Arthur's incestuous son with Morgana.

2017 Legend, youtube webseries: A webseries you can watch on Tufts University Television's channel (link here). The series has 7 episodes and an epilogue and is set in a university. Each student is an arthurian character, with Mordred (Morty) as the overly joking, friendly guy who is hiding some deep hatred and jealousy towards Arthur. Unfortunately I do not remember if Mordred is Arthur's half-brother or just a friend. Mordred is played by Yuval Ben-Hayun. The story and production were pretty good, so I recommend it!

2017 Mordred La Revolte: I cheated a bit as this movie is the end of a long webseries. The series started in 2013 and run till 2018 with two season and can still be found here on youtube. The series was created by Tommy-Lee Baïk (who also played Mordred) and is in French. Unfortunately I cannot really tell how arthurian the series is, but the plot does not mention other arthurian characters. If I am not wrong, la Revolte is simply S2 turned into a movie.

2017 Fate/Grand Order The stage - Divine Realm of the Round Table: Camelot: Part of the Fate saga but in the Grand Order timeline, this is a stage adaptation of one of the events in the videogame Fate/Grand Order. In particular, it should be the same story shown in the later movie Camelot part 1 as the full title is Fate/Grand Order THE STAGE - Divine Realm of the Round Table: Camelot Replica; Agateram. I will explain more about it in the next part of this Mordred series. Chihiro Kai plays Mordred.

[dilfdarthvader]

The official 'OP has read 500 Merlin fics in a month' rec list

I am truly deep in Merthur hell and have recently hit around ~500 fics read for this fandom so far. As such, I wanted to compile my favorite Merthur fics so far.

(if y'all like rec lists, i might do an obikin rec list too!)

Secretary by Candymacaron

rating: E

Summary: Job-hunting has familiarized Merlin with rejection. Most of the listings in the paper require qualifications he lacks, or prior job experience no eighteen year old would have. One listing sticks out at Merlin—a simple advert, with the word ‘Secretary’ written in bold typeface. (A Secretary Movie/BBC Merlin AU in which a fragile Merlin learns to love his job, himself, getting spanked, and his boss. All in that order.)

one of the first fics i read in this fandom and!!!! it's such a good secretary au (which is always a classic for any kink readers)

The Wedding Night by s0mmerspr0ssen

rating: E

ship: Gwen/Merlin/Arthur

Summary: The consummation of a royal marriage must be witnessed by a third party. Naturally, for Arthur and Gwen, that witness is Merlin.

My bookmark note read: "did i start watching merlin for the show or for the smut fic? this fic makes me think it's the latter". This ship is just SO GOOD too.

Next to You (It's the Rule) by LunaMyLove

rating: T

summary: Arthur and Merlin have a special relationship. They always have, even when they were prince and servant. While many question it when first noticing, eventually it becomes an understanding in Camelot—and even among some other countries—that where there is Arthur, there is Merlin. And, where there is Merlin, there is Arthur. Or Arthur and Merlin's relationship as witnessed and explained by others. Also, or Five times someone realizes that Merlin is the Queen, one time Merlin realizes it himself, and one time he owns it.

such a fluffy read that had me giggling and kicking my feet in the air and twirling my hair. instant reread

all the scars at the start (I could’ve showed you) by AgapantoBlu

rating: T

ship: Gwen/Merlin/Arthur

Summary: [In which Gwaine accidentally brings Merlin's dead girlfriend back to life as a ghost. Leave it to Arthur and Gwen to overreact over every small thing, but being very chill about the very big thing.]

you'll need to be logged into AO3 to read this, but boy is it worth it. i was sobbing. full on sobbing. 10/10

Glow Gold by BelleCrow

rating: E

Summary: Merlin takes the final battle into his own hands after Mordred's blade finds Arthur's heart. Wielding power over life and death there on the battlefield, Merlin's magic is revealed. But the only surviving witness is Arthur, and he has carefully spun the tale to keep Merlin's magic a secret. The King is determined to keep it so until he can drag the truth from Merlin's lips and press his own revelations back into his sorcerer.

this fic gave me a magic kink. i had to keep pausing reading bc holy shit.

Fit for a King by Clea2011

rating: E

Summary: Merlin is a prize fit for a king. But the king he was intended for hasn't taken that prize. When the king of the faeries loses his big-eared, argumentative and troublesome bedmate, he orders his people to find a replacement. Nobody disobeys Oberon. Ever. But Merlin is Arthur's.

FAE! FICS! i love love love this fic and it was so fun and full of some fun familiar characters

so close and I'm halfway to it by ariadne_odair

rating: M

Summary: Merlin swears he doesn’t go looking for trouble, but it seems to follow him around regardless. After being ambushed by a group of bandits, it’s up to Arthur and Merlin to rescue the rest of the knights. Of course this involves journeying through a forest full of magical creatures- because nothing in Merlin’s life is ever easy. That would be more than enough for Merlin to deal with, but nights alone in the wilderness and escaping death every five minutes, have a funny way of bringing two people together. Merlin doesn’t want to reveal his true feelings to Arthur, but then he never wanted to reveal his magic to anyone, either. And look how that turned out. It's a lot easier to manage Merlin's secrets between them when they're surrounded by nothing but trees. But Arthur and Merlin will have to return to Camelot eventually. Merlin's destiny might just be closer than he thinks.

and finally, the first fic in a decade that kept me up until 2am to read. this fic made me fall in love with fics again.

[merunair]

I got reminded BBCs Merlin exists and that spiraled into remembering a bunch of other really, really shitty adaptations of Arthurian canon and now I'm mad so I'm going to list some true facts about it that should hopefully demonstrate why adding "gritty realism" to it pisses me off so much

-Morgan le Fay serves as a Rita Repulsa-esque figure who throws problems at Arthur. She is also a wholly separate person to Morgause, the mother of Mordred. Morgan le Fay is a badass sorceress who's only motivation for being a Saturday Morning Cartoon Villain(tm) is that Guinevere snubbed her in some way.

-It's full of Welsh folklore, especially regarding faeries, and initially started as a recounting of a bit of Welsh military history before people started adding their OCs to it. It then broke containment and spread across europe, especially during the renaissance.

-Loads of the knights have superpowers. Straight up superpowers. Gawain gets stronger (and in some sources, bigger) the higher the sun is in the sky. Kay has some sort of fire shit going on... It's great. People would add their own guys to the round table and give them Cool Powers because they could. Though mostly it was just super-strength. This fell out of favor as it was Christianized because people are COWARDS.

-Lancelot is a French guy's OC, and despite the whole thing being full of those, Lancelot is the most OC of them all (affectionate). The second most OC of the bunch is a dude known for his edgy coat that he always wore that belonged to his dead dad (I am not joking)

-Half of the dudes are described as 'the fairest' or 'the most handsome'. Some have the caveat of 'second only to Arthur'. I legit read a description of how handsome a random knight was that filled a full page once. This is hilarious.

-There's a knight called Bedivere (he whose name has no set spelling) and he's my favorite. He has a prosthetic hand, is head butler, and is the only bitch to survive the big last battle in retellings that I respect. He's also one half of a comedy duo with Kay, also in retellings that I respect. I am admittedly biased because I played him in a middle school production of a really bad adaptation of a knockoff spamalot

-People just fucking murder each other on accident all of the time to show off how STRONK they are. After jousting got added they started having the horses die when lance met shield which DOESN'T MAKE SENSE but is there to, once again, show how STRONK the knights are.

-More on the note of casting, but there are dark skinned people in the canon. Specifically Moors (which is old europe for muslim north-african people with dark skin, a term not really used anymore because it wasn't actually one ethnic group but several). MORE SPECIFICALLY there is one explicitly biracial knight who's the son of one of the other knights and a (and I quote) "Moorish Princess". His name is Morien because people have never been subtle and was one of the knights for whom the tales waxed poetic about how stronk and handsome he was.

-Saved the best for last but this all gave way to the an early historical examples of larping and possibly kinning. King Edward the Third loved a knight named 'Sir Lionel' so much to the point where he'd hold big round table tourneys where everyone would larp as different characters from Arthurian legend (himself always being Lionel) and even named his son after him. The kicker? Lionel doesn't actually have that much in the way of story. He has like one story to himself and is functionally a sidekick in every other appearance I can find. King Eddy 3 had a Blorbo.

All of this to say that Arthurian canon is lovely and goofy and if I see someone make Morgan le Fay into Mordred's mom again I will spew fire and rain hot, bloody terror from the skies. I also think we should start adding OCs to it again and nobody can stop us.

[that-nerd-who-writes-fanfiction]

Hello.... Can I ask your top 5 (or top 3) favorite characters from Merlin BBC? And why you loved them? And your top 5 favorite moments from the series? Thanks if you want to answer....

Hi, you’re welcome to ask anything:)

My top five characters (in no particular order) are Lancelot, Gwen, Arthur, Merlin, and Morgana

Lancelot because he was just an all around great guy from the start without sacrificing character development. He’s probably my favourite character in the show for that. The way he prioritised friendship and Gwen’s happiness over a romantic relationship, the way he cared about his friends was just something I really loved seeing in his character. Also how respectful he was of magic even when he was scared, he didn’t draw his sword at Kilgharrah and he was so nice to the river spirits too. Just the best knight (in my opinion)

Gwen because she was such a compassionate person, she was never afraid to call Arthur out when he needed it, she and Merlin would’ve been better friends through all the seasons if the writers didn’t forget to carry that on, she was also a brilliant Queen and it was so obvious how much she loved her friends.

Arthur because he was overcoming trauma, worked to be a good king for his people, he was always kind to his citizens and cared for their wellbeing. Also his friendship with Merlin, and his trust in him. He was stubborn and it definitely took him time to learn from his mistakes with thinking he was above people, but he’s always cared about his people. In episode 2, he believed a servant accusing a knight of sorcery, he disobeyed his father to get Merlin a cure in episode 4, I could go on.

I’m trying not to ramble too much. The show’s been my special interest for a while, I could go on for hours /lh

Merlin because he’s so nuanced as a character and doing character analysis for him is always fun. The contrast between choosing magic and Arthur throughout the show, surviving and dealing with the trauma of believing he’s a monster unless he’s serving Arthur and giving his whole life to Arthur. (Kilgharrah is awful, but that’s a whole other rant)

And Morgana because she’s also really fun to think about and analyse. The show really did us dirty in not showing anything for why she became evil while staying with Morgause. But in season 1 she was brave and kind and always stood up for what she believed in, which was her main character trait throughout even while she was evil, she stood up for what she believed. She was absolutely manipulated and groomed by Morgause to some extent, which is why she lost the kindness (the writers did her dirty) but it’s so interesting to think about the nuances and moments where her older character breaks through.

As for top five moments, (there’s more than just five but narrowing it down as much as I can)

Season 1 episode 4 when Merlin realises Morgana and Gwen are coming to help him, also when he’s talking to his mother. But this whole episode is amazing.

Season 1 episode 13 when Merlin says goodbye to Arthur before going to sacrifice his life

Season 2 episode 2 for the Arwen date in Gwen’s house

Season 2 episode 13 when Balinor and Merlin are talking over the fire

Season 3 episode 11 because it’s one of the only times where Merlin genuinely helps a sorcerer over Arthur (except Freya because she was a love interest and Daegal because he wasn’t actually a Druid)

And finally because this is getting long,

Season 4 episode 1/2 for the deleted scene where Merlin and Lancelot are talking in the hut

(I have more but I’m already over five)

[thebroccolination]

ELYAN!!!

I NEED ELYAN FIC RECS.

I NEED THEM LIKE I NEED LIFE.

I just watched "A Herald of the New Age" for the first time and my god????????? This moment between Elyan and the Shrine Boy was hands-down the sweetest I've seen in the entire series.

THAT IS THE BEST KNIGHT. THAT ONE.

After Elyan disturbs the shrine in the forest by drinking from the well because Gwaine drank all his water (I already shipped the hell out of it before this and now I ship it even harder), this ghost boy shows up before him twice and terrifies him.

And yet???

His first impulse is to hug and protect this child.

I made the most wounded animal noise when he did this??? Like, especially in an episode where he's punched unconscious by Gwaine and then Percival, Elyan's gentle and protective nature is so, so beautiful. He immediately offers to help the child, too, and I don't think the insinuation is that the child was using magic to influence him. I think it was just Elyan's empathy.

Man, what a great episode.

To recap, I watched season 1 of Merlin as it was airing, lost all interest when season 2 began, then just exclusively read fic from then on until my friend was like, "PLEASE WATCH THE OTHER SEASONS WITH ME," and I said, "Yeah, okay," so we've been gradually doing that for the past two years.

Therefore, I only knew Elyan through fic until now and, like??? I knew plenty about Gwaine and Percival and Leon and Lancelot from the fic I read (canon and AUs alike). But I only remember Elyan being mentioned in fic occasionally? And it was either just in passing or as The Older Brother of Gwen. At the time, I always figured, "Well, maybe it's because Elyan didn't get a whole lot to do in the show." And, sure, he doesn't seem to have as much screentime as Gwaine or Leon so far (I haven't seen S5 yet), but this whole episode was about Elyan! And we find out so much about who he is!

I've now seen more of Elyan's personality than I have of Sir Ripped His Chainmail Sleeves Off, and I've seen lots more of Percival in fic. Even when Elyan's possessed in this episode, we find out plenty about him through the other characters reacting to it. The general consensus is, "Whoa, Elyan went after Arthur?" even though his sister was just banished and a few characters think that would be enough to turn his loyalties (I still can't believe the writers expect me to believe that nonsense was consistent for Arthur's character like the writing in BBC's Merlin was very weird sometimes).

This one episode has made Elyan my favorite knight.

HOW IS THERE NOT MORE FIC ABOUT ELYAN.

OR AT LEAST BIGGER ROLES FOR HIM IN ENSEMBLE FICS?

On the bright side, I just went looking for Elyan/Gwaine fic and there was literally one posted two days ago set after this episode and I'm going to read it ASAP and then scour the rest of the tag for more. \:D/

Like, man, I've never written Merlin fic before despite the hours of my life devoted to reading Merthur fic but I think I have to write some Elyan/Gwaine when my friend and I finish watching the series. :')

(If anyone with Elyan fic recs of any kind reads this please please please feed me.)

[theroundbartable]

If you don't mind me asking, can I ask your top favorite fics that you've written (feel free how much that you want to list)? Why they're special to you? Is there a specific inspiration when you wrote them?

Ooooooh, that is a very good question.

On my ao3 count, I currently have 125 published works. 3 of them are works in progress, one of them is discontinued. (I have a rather good publish - actually finishing ratio.)

I'm gonna list a few but in no particular order. It's just my personal highlights. For a full fic list, you can find my stories on ao3, aka, HERE.

No... just no (Merthur)

For some reason, out of all of my fics, this one is the most popular (so far). The idea was that Merlin is caught doing magic and just thinks: Lol, I'm Emrys, whatcha gonna do? kill me? I'm immortal, lmao. The inspiration was that I just wanted Merlin to carry on with his life when Uther tries to kill him and fails every time.

Connecting the dots (Merthur)

While this one doesn't have the best world building, it was definitely the most fun to write. The brainstorming had me laughing at work like an insane mad man. I loved working on this one, it made me very happy. The premise is that the knights make up stories to explain the strange things that happen in Camelot. It's a game, like D&D and they accidentally end up being right. Somehow I turned Gwaine into a god and the whole D&D game into a religion were people get babtized when you put them in the stocks. It makes no sense but it's so absurd that it's funny again XD

Chosen (Merthur)

This one is depressing but it marks a certain change in my writing style. When I wrote this, or rather, AFTER I wrote this, I swore to myself to only ever write happy endings again. This one really hurts, so I wouldn't advise to read it ;)

I realised how my writing influences my own mood and what I needed to do to keep myself happy. And that making myself happy is a good thing!

Clockroom (Merthur)

This is my oldest ongoing project that requires an enormous amount of work. Because of historical research, working with literal transcripts of the episodes, and because it's timetravel and time travel is IMPOSSIBLE to write... at least well... at this length.

Reversed (Merthur)

The premise is that everyone knows Merlin has magic - except Merlin. Before I wrote this, I actually had writers block, so I told myself: You always think backwards. How can you make BBC Merlin backwards? This was the result.

And I really think that this is one of the best fics I've ever written. Merlin's stubbornness and the way magic works in this fic have really influenced later one shots, but this one is very special to me because it wasn't meant to turn out as deep as it has.

The magic realm (Merthur)

Likely my best world buidling concept, challenged only by Dragon island. Well except for Incarnation but that's a novel I'm working on, not a fic. The idea is that the day Merlin loses his magic, Arthur is ready to turn to magic for help. Gaius sends them into the magic realm to learn magic there. Only that Merlin IS magic and so everything in there is connected to him in some way. I loved how the characters turned out and how magic is seen, depending on who is looking at them.

Mirror of truth (Merthur)

This one was an accident, really. Originally, Merlin was meant to be Camelot's champion, but then I thought about borders and how would the mirror know how to show Merlin and I got so deep into it that I eventually realised that Merlin couldn't be Camelot's champion at all. It was mind blowing. As I believe it is to you when you read the summary:

Every ten years or so a tournament is held between all the five kingdoms. In which one (strongest of the kingdom) sorcerer is chosen as a representative of their king/queen/crown bearer. The monarchs, however, do not choose the sorcerer for themselves, which Arthur is thankful for, since magic is still banned in Camelot. Instead, they are chosen by the mirror of truth. It shows the face of the strongest sorcerer in said lands, so Arthur can reach out to them. When the mirror finally chooses the participants, Camelot's champion is......... well i mean, who is the strongest magic user in Camelot? Exactly! It's Morgana. After all, Merlin was born in Cendred's kingdom.

8. The eternal suffering (Leon & George)

This one is special because it's not about Merthur. This is a fic that marks me as one of the two first people within this fandom who wrote Leon & (servant) George fanfics. And I am very proud to have coinvented this ship (although I'm more inclined towards them being entirely platonic). The idea was that I saw many parallels between Leon's and George's character and started imagining them complaining about their jobs to each other.

9. Everything I do, I do for you. (Merthur)

This one isn't even good. The reason this one is dear to me, is because of how much honesty and truth I put into these words. It was inspired by real life and I should warn you before you read it. It's a bit heavy. This one and Regent have the same/ similar orgigins and themes and may be the most painful for me personally to revisit.

10. Haunted (Merthur)

The ghost!Arthur Au no one asked for. It switches between funny moments and heartbreaking pasts and I think it's one of my better paced and thought through fics.

I just often keep wondering what Arthur does in Avalon and then I sometimes wonder, what if he didn't go there at all?

11. Free Delivery (Merthur)

This one is definitely one of my better thought through fics. I made notes and everything! Haha XD This one was inspired by DIrty Laundry, THE Klance fanfiction. I was rereading it and it somehow - I dunno - developed into this fic.

12. The Joker (Klance)

I can't believe how old this one is. Personally, I liked Alternative realities better, but people keep commenting on this one more. And well... comments inspire. That's why I've started a new fic in the godforsaken year of 2024. The Joker was just me mary sueing Lance. Because why not?

13. Second Chances (Drarry)

So far, this is my only Drarry fic and it is the LONGEST fic I've ever written. Including the clockroom. This one has been 2 years in the making and over 300 pages and I am TIRED. Anyways, I hope I'll be able to finish this one eventually. Otherwise my gf will kill me, I'm afraid XD

The idea is that Draco is a therapist, because I love psychoanalysing him and I wondered what he would do with himself after the war. I also tend to write time travel on accident, so that happened too. This was once supposed to be a one shot. Can you believe it?

I think 13 is a good hill to die on. Thank you for the ask, anon ^^

[katabay]

Hi! I hope this ask will not take up too much of your time if you don't want, but my friend sent me your comic about Perceval's temptation/awakening and intertextual narrative haunting and it's kind of tipped me over the edge into ferally needing to sink my teeth into Arthurian myth. I'm insane about it. I read the whole description/caption several times.

However, I don't know where to start and feel very overwhelmed by the huge body of works there are out there. Would you perhaps be able to recommend a small pile of things to start with when wading into the fray?

Thank you for your time and I hope you have a good day!

to be 1000% honest, I started out with Arthuriana by getting way too into analyzing the thematic structure of BBC's Merlin which prompted me to read a lot of scholarship on Merlin (like, the broad literary tradition of Merlin), and somewhere in there I veered off into fixating on Grail Quest narratives which led to me reading all the big Perceval texts

my most entry level I Am Completely Unfamiliar With These Texts starter kit is probably to browse through Concepts of Arthur, pick a favorite knight and then read texts featuring that knight! if the summary of the text sound fun, then get into it! if it sounds uninteresting to you in the moment, skip over it, it'll be there later if you decide the themes are compelling. if you end up focusing on Merlin over the knights, I'd go to Merlin: Knowledge and Power through the Ages, Stephen Knight :)

also The Acts of King Arthur and his Noble Knights, John Steinbeck. I've been thinking about this for a thousand years

[fluffypotatey]

Leon for the send me a character, please?

favorite thing about them

he’s just a guy lol Leon is just a knight who knew Arthur pre-Merlin & post-Merlin and suffers because of it

least favorite thing about them

he has barely any screen time to really develop as a character. most of the stuff i enjoy about him are headcanons lmao

favorite line

“Driving you mad isn’t he?” <- thinking he’s joking with Merlin about killing King Arthur

“I’ll, uh, leave you to your poetry then.” <- Sir Leon the Long Suffering 🫡 witnessing his king and said king’s manservant struggle to come up with a lie for why they are in an empty corridor at night. alONE

brOTP

love his dynamic with the other round table knights! they’re so goofy altogether 🥰

OTP

don’t have one 👉👈

nOTP

ummmmmm idk i’m indifferent/neutral to most of his ships

random headcanon

he names all his weaponry. you know that “these are my ladies” meme? that’s Leon but with his weapons (i headcanon that his favorite is crossbows)

unpopular opinion

he not a bad or super bland character canonically; he’s just underused :( when he does have his moments, they’re great! just wished he had more

song i associate with them

uhhhhhh idk never thought of one sorry

favorite picture of them

uh the one that used to be a s2 or s3 poster for bbc merlin but it’s just Leon. like Leon’s face is everywhere. it is the funniest shit ever and i don’t know who made it despite my hour long search T^T

Send me a character and i’ll list my thoughts on them!

[brother-emperors]

Hello :) do you parhaps have and could share any arthuriana book references for someone who wants to get into it but doesn't know where to start?

Also your art is amazing and beautiful and everytime you post a new piece i stare at it in adoration and then go try to find and read the cited sources, so thank you so much for sharing your art with us :)

ough, there's probably some arthuriana blogs on this site who have a much more entry level friendly rec list/equipped to answer this than me, because my interest in arthuriana follows specific historical focuses and genre discussions. literally I read the prose tristan because I was scrolling through jstor and a text on the law in camelot mentioned the murder of dinadan, and I went, oh HELLO---

tldr; my other historical interests gave me enough background info that I comfortably jump around wherever my curiosity takes me, so I'm absolutely useless for this 🙃

tbh I'd probably just look up a summary of the main block of arthuriana texts and pick whatever sounds most fun or focus in on a knight you like and run them through a jstor search. perceval and tristan are my favorites, and kay compels me too. watch bbc's merlin and weep over gawaine, then do lancelot du lac (the film) and cry over gawaine a second time)

additionally I'd rec Stephen Knight's Merlin: Knowledge and Power through the Ages and Caitlin R. Green's Concepts of Arthur to go alongside it all because I think both books fuck severely

[witchmd13]

Hello.... Can I ask your top 5 (or top 3) favorite characters from Merlin BBC? And why you loved them? And your top 5 favorite moments from the series? Thanks if you want to answer....

I just noticed this ask in my inbox. I'm so sorry. I don't check desktop tumblr that much anymore and asks get so easily lost on the app. I hope it's okay I'm answering right now :)

My top 5 favorite characters are: Arthur, Merlin, Gwen, Morgana, and Lancelot.

Arthur is the character I relate to the most in the show. just a bisexual disaster who can't handle emotions and always puts too much pressure on himself. Also, despite being born privileged and growing up sheltered, he always tries to be better and he listens to others and I love him for it.

Merlin. I mean who can't love Merlin? He deserves the world honestly. Above all, I love him for how good he chooses to be. He has all this power to do anything he wants. He could literally be a god, but he chooses to stay in camelot in constant danger and protect his friends and try to build a better world.

Gwen means so much to me as a character, especially in the early seasons. most of my favorite quotes from the show are hers. you have no idea how many times "worry is not a wise counsel. forget everything else. you have to follow what you believe is right" saved me from falling into an anxiety spiral. she will always have a special place in my heart.

Morgana, well, what can I say about her that's not already obvious lol. to me, she represents all the rage all of us develop growing up at seeing unfairness in the world. and while she lets her hatred of it consume her and make her bitter, instead of trying to cling the tiniest bits of love that you can find in it, like merlin did, I still love her anger and relate to it. in the end, she did do what she believed was right and damned the consequences and I think there's something to be said about her fighting for what she believed to be right until the very end.

Lancelot, well, Gwen and Lancelot's story has always been one of my favorites since I was a kid. I've always liked Lancelot more than Arthur ironically lol so I liked him the moment he showed up. He's still my favorite knight and his story in the show is just so tragic and I have a thing for tragic characters in general.

I yammered on a lot about my favorite characters so I'll keep my favorite moments brief. I'll try not to make them shipping specific!

Merlin drinking the poison for Arthur in the poisoned chalice and Arthur's entire reaction, going against his father for merlin and everything.

Arthur's apology for what he did to the druids' camp.

Merlin confronting Uther's ghost in the death song of uther pendragon.

Lancelot getting knighted as himself.

Morgana's "and you, Uther, are going to hell."

Thank you for the ask! and again sorry for not noticing it earlier!

[wordsinhaled]

favorite thing about bbc merlin is how it starts out as this campy joke of a show and merlin's idk, knocking things off of tables and bumbling about, right? then by the start of series 4, with an entire two whole seasons still left to go, merlin looks like he's lived a hundred lifetimes and everyone around is just, "ah yes, this is Arthur's Important Person," and people are reverently giving merlin the bridal carry whenever he's hurt, gently setting him down by riverbanks...

like. it's the fact that gwaine would follow merlin on any quest? and that merlin sends for lancelot to help arthur and lancelot comes when called? and all of the knights love each other so much!!! but especially they love merlin!!! and they believe in the world arthur is going to build!!! and like, this silly little show where uther pendragon fell in love with a troll is also the same show where you're laughing one second and the next crying about fate and love and devotion and loyalty. the same show where everyone believes in arthur but foremost they believe in merlin. it's merlin's steadfast belief that magic is good, his belief in other people, and his belief that he can do what's right in every situation, which is also his downfall, which is just awful but also riveting

it's merlin the kingmaker and merlin the pawn of fate, merlin who creates his own destiny and also his own doom by sheer force of Wanting Things to Turn Out All Right Because He Thinks They Should. merlin who loves and believes in arthur with everything he has and whose entire face lights up when he sees arthur and gwen together. merlin who just wants to see people be happy. merlin who BEGS arthur to let him go with him into danger and arthur who sends him home where he'll be safe even though it pains him to be parted. it's merlin teaching arthur wisdom and arthur admitting he has learned,

it's arthur who will be king soon and yet speaks soft-voiced to his subjects and says, i'm arthur, don't be frightened, it's arthur who kisses his father on the head and forgives him a lifetime of distance and cruelty and says i hope you'll be proud of me and resolves to be a different kind of king when it is his time, it's arthur telling merlin he is wise and brave, it's arthur who would die to save all of camelot in a heartbeat, it's the way he grows up and learns what dedication and humility mean

y'all this show just has everything ok??? everything i love

[arthurianasuggestion]

Happy birthday! My favorite arthuriana Easter egg is in one of Shakespeare’s history plays, Henry V, when Mistress Quickly mourns Falstaff’s death and attempts to comfort herself with the thought that Falstaff is now “in Arthur’s Bosom” (rather than “Abraham’s Bosom”)

I’m pretty sure that this is the only arthuriana reference in all of Shakespeare’s work (at least off the top of my head), which is strange because at least a few other playwrights of his time were engaging with arthuriana legend. Most notably the play The Birth of Merlin was mistakenly attributed to Shakespeare for awhile, but now it’s widely accepted as being written by William Rowley. It’s a shame Birth of Merlin isn’t performed more often, though: it’s certainly not the best play to come out of the early modern period, but it’s got some bonkers adultery plot lines, a “the baby’s father was actually the devil!” plot twist, and dragons hiding under a castle (just like bbc Merlin…) Overall it’s very fun and would be great to see with modern special effects.

Ooh I love that! Henry IV-Henry V is one of my favorite parts of Shakespeare, but I’d never noticed that before! Appropriate for Falstaff being a knight (Henry IV part I and II and Henry V present a far different and more exploitative take on knighthood than most of Arthuriana - which makes sense!)

A total tangent - I find Falstaff such a despicable character in the ways that he uses people and then laughs off using them as a joke. I think he is easily the most fucked up of Shakespeare ‘drunken clown’ comedic relief archetype. But then at the same time I like and enjoy Hal as a character, and he’s equally and at moments moreso complicit in the same type of behavior, so it’s all complicated.

That’s FASCINATING that it’s the only reference to Arthuriana - I wonder why Shakespeare never wrote any Arthuriana of his contemporaries were so enamored of it? Thank you so much for telling me about the Birth of Merlin, I’d never heard of it and I’m excited to look it up and read it!

[that-nerd-who-writes-fanfiction]

Hello again, ThatNerd....Do you mind if I ask your top 5 (or top 10) favorite moments from any media that you love (books, anime/manga, tv series, movies, games, etc)? Thanks if you want to answer. Sorry if I ask too much and if I accidentaly send this ask twice....

Hi! Absolutely no worries asking, I find these really fun so always feel free to ask anything you like :)

I’m sorry for the delayed reply, I’ve had a few things to deal with from health issues playing up that put posting lower on my priorities list after essential stuff between being out of it from pain or pain meds. Also I haven’t had any spoons left consider coherency enough to share anything online without sounding insane. Please bear with me, I’ve still got really bad brain fog so this might not make the most sense but I’ll do my best.

Anyway, my number one favourite moment is in A Song Of Achilles, it’s the “Name one hero who was happy.” scene in chapter ten. I’ve probably said something about it before on here but it’s my all time favourite book and Madeline Miller is a fantastic author. It’s such a well written scene and I have a poster of the quote on my wall with watercolour art of their helmets behind it.

Second is Merlin and Arthur in the disir episode when they’re talking outside the cave. Merlin getting to talk about magic with Arthur was amazing, and I’ve also spent hours over analysing everything from that scene, writing multiple fix-it’s (I can’t remember if I managed to post one of them or not) I could probably do all of these about BBC Merlin so I’ll just leave that there before I start rambling about Lancelot and the knights or Morgana.

Third, the Aziracrow kiss scene at the end of Good Omens season 2, David Tenant and Michael Sheen did amazingly there with the acting and it’s replayed in my mind at least once every few days until season 3. I wasn’t crying but it was a near thing.

Fourth is when Gandalf convinces Bilbo that the adventure is worth it at the start of the hobbit. Pretty much from the start to just before he leaves the shire. The hobbit and Lord of the Rings are some of my favourite books so I’ve read it quite a few times since I was a kid and it’s one of those moments that’s always got me grinning like an idiot.

Fifth is when Luz learned the light glyph and Eda and King see her being amazed by magic. I honestly just think it’s a really sweet moment. I could also do all five from this show on its own, but this will stop making sense if I start rambling so I’m gonna stop now.