#alternate merlin

[tiodolma]

🤔 I imagine that the universe Merlin and Morgana arrived in will have to rearrange itself around them. Some things change, others stay the same:

- Merlin's mother is Nimue, rather than Hunith.

- Morgause grows up with her parents. When Morgana's counterpart is born, Gorlois and Viviane are like, maybe we should name our daughter Morgan instead of Morgana. Later, another daughter is born called Elaine.

- Mordred is born to Gorlois and Viviane. Morgana is happy that little Morgan has him as her brother, while Merlin is going through another five stages of grief or something.

- Balinor senses him and Merlin have a connection and just assumes that's because they're blood kin. Merlin doesn’t tell him that in another universe the man was his biological father.

I'll have to think of more changes... 🤔🤔

what a lively colorful world this wouldve been.

Merlin going over five stages of grief over mordred is hilarious tho. he defiinitely would do this. HIs Morgana would be elated but also sad that she never got that kind of family.

It's also a nice coincidence that alternate merlin will also have blue eyes like nimueh hahahaha but god that kid would probably spoiled af

baby arthur's going to grow up with all these magic kids is cute.

[ollyrewind]

With you, I serve

With you, I fall down

Watch you breathe in

Watch you breathing out

[that-nerd-who-writes-fanfiction]

I need a fic where Arthur knows magic isn’t inherently evil but doesn’t know about Merlin’s magic.

So he sees his new manservant being terrified of anything magical and tries to convince Merlin that magic can be good.

Meanwhile, Merlin thinks that Arthur knows about him so he’s trying to subtly convince Arthur that he should stop bringing it up.

Morgana just cackling in the background.

And it goes on until Ealdor when Arthur is like: “why the hell are you so anti magic if you have it?!”

And Merlin is so confused: “you didn’t know? But you kept trying to reassure me that you weren’t afraid of me.”

And Hunnith is watching all this unfold like: “ah yes, soulmates. Two sides of the same coin but if the coin is anything like their brain cells, it isn’t worth much.”

[wistfulvulpine]

S1 vs S5 + extra

templates by bugbug_com

[cinnabons-treasure-trove]

Consort Merlin: [shining Arthur's armour]

King Arthur: [staring at his consort] You know you're not my manservant anymore, right love?

Consort Merlin: [humming] I know, but your safety is still my priority, that includes making sure your armour and weapons aren't rusted or tampered with.

King Arthur: [smiling fondly] Of course sweetheart.

[aeshamish]

another AU(?) where's merlin is mermaid🎣🎣

im so in love with mermaids AU i can't not to draw this🤧🤧

[moon-meteor-star-sun]

What if I wrote a very complicated Marauders fanfic that’s a Merlin au with Wolfstar and maybe a little Jegulus and Sirius was Arthur and Remus was Merlin and it had a bit of angst but was a happy ending?

[motionsikmerlin]

system of a down's hypnotize/mesmerize era

: )

[spookyspiritwriter]

Thinking of writing a modern day Merlin au.

Like, it's him sitting in a coffee shop, and he's just about to leave, when in walks Arthur, dressed up in a suit, ready for work, and Merlins freaking out in his head like "omg he's finally reincarnated!" And then he does something and Arthur gives him a business card, and then the next chapter or something pans to him being Arthur's personal assistant, and the entire Camelot gang works there too, and no one remembers anything for a while except Merlin.

Posted the first Chapter of this on Ao3. The Title is The Bitter Smell of Coffee by SpookySpiritWriter.

[tiodolma]

I imagine this happening regarding jealousy...

Morgana: *presents all her arguments against Nimue and how Merlin shouldn't talk to her*

Merlin: My lady, if I didn't know better I'd say you're jealous.

Cue denial and both proceeding to argue about it.

Merlin: ...Morgana you actually care about me?

Morgana (red faced from all the Nimue exposition she just laid out): I DONT CARE ABOUT YOU I HATE YOU. YOU POISONED ME STFU

Merlin (coming closer, with shoujo sparkle eyes): no... you do.

Morgana (backs away, hits the wall): I... I...

Merlin: (actually presses into her personal space)

Morgana: (blasts him away)

Merlin: Ow

Morgana: GET YOUR PRETTY FACE OFF OF ME YOU JERK

Merlin (cradling his bruised cheek): You called me pretty?

Morgana (head tilted high): I AM NOT BLIND YOU ASSHOLE

Merlin (now suave): Well my lady, if it helps you sleep at night, you are the most beautiful creature I ever beheld

Morgana: (throws all the chairs and tables at him)

[mandoriana]

WHAT IF... Merlin and Arthur had children.

So, I wrote a post about an alternate universe where Arthur and Merlin had a night together, leading to Merlin having a magical pregnancy known only to Gwaine, Lancelot, and Gaius. But in this universe, Merlin wouldn't tell Arthur about their children, and Arthur would die without knowing he had heirs with the most important person in his life. However, I felt a bit sad about this tragedy and thought it would be interesting to imagine what Arthur's relationship with the children would be like if Merlin had told him or if Arthur had found out.

Anyway, after Merlin and Gwaine fled together in the middle of the night, Arthur would first be worried, thinking something had happened to Hunith or something else. Then, he would be sad that Merlin didn't trust him enough to call him, and then he would interrogate Gaius and Lancelot, knowing they were the closest to Merlin. Gaius would lie, saying that Merlin needed to be taken elsewhere because the "parasites" were worse and Gaius couldn't do anything to help (this was the lie he told Arthur to justify Merlin's belly). So, Gaius sent Merlin to another doctor. Arthur would question where Merlin was sent, but Gaius would refuse to answer. Of course, Arthur wouldn't fully believe Gaius, which would make him question Lancelot. Lancelot wouldn't mention the pregnancy but would be responsible for informing Arthur about Merlin every week.

In the first week, Arthur would hold on, living calmly though anxiously. In the second week, Arthur couldn't stand being without Merlin anymore and would send a letter to his uncle Agravaine, asking him to "guide" Arthur as the king's advisor. Agravaine would kill Uther in the third week, and everyone would believe it was a peaceful death, but in reality, Agravaine suffocated Uther. In the third week, Arthur would try to communicate with Merlin because he needed him by his side during that difficult time. By then, the whole kingdom would be worried about their new king, as Arthur would be increasingly bitter and sad. After a month without Merlin, Arthur would stop speaking unless it was to give orders. Morgana would be trying to infiltrate the kingdom through Agravaine, but Arthur would barely notice due to the lack of Merlin to warn him, although he also wouldn't fully trust his uncle, as he would be irritated with everyone who wasn't his servant and friend.

Only when it was already the second day of his reign, Arthur would tire of waiting for Merlin and decide he was done waiting. He would wait for Lancelot to leave to fetch Merlin's letter and follow him from a distance, leaving the kingdom in the hands of Leon and his uncle. Of course, Lancelot wouldn't reveal the druids' hideout, but a druid would deliver the letter to him personally. Arthur would then follow the druid to the camp, and that's when he would see Merlin. Merlin, who has pointed ears, golden eyes, messier hair, smoother and paler skin, dressed like a druid and looking beautiful like an elf, and with a huge belly thanks to his 7-month pregnancy with Arthur's quadruplets.

Arthur: Merlin? *Arthur calls breathlessly at the sight of his friend who now looks almost ethereal.*

Arthur was at a loss for words to begin expressing himself. No druid would stop Arthur from approaching, as they were all aware of the prophecy and knew that "no half can truly hate the one who makes them whole." Merlin was also speechless upon seeing his beloved prince, now king, before him after so long apart. Usually, Merlin would be worried about approaching, fearing Arthur's reaction, but with his hormones and emotions controlling him now, Merlin tries to approach for a tearful hug. Arthur steps back, surprised by the sudden reaction, which makes Merlin withdraw, scared and crying.

Arthur: Merlin... *He tries to approach to apologize, but Gwaine appears and points his sword at Arthur* Gwaine!?

Gwaine: I don't know what you did to him, Arthur, but if you touch my friend, I'll kill you and then myself.

Arthur is furious at first until he notices Merlin still crying and looking desolate. Gwaine realizes that Arthur is not there to harm Merlin and lowers his sword to let the king pass. Arthur approaches Merlin carefully to prove to Gwaine that he does not wish to harm the servant. Arthur kneels beside his best friend, and as soon as he is close enough, he pulls Merlin into a desperate hug. Both were desperate to be together again.

Arthur: What happened? *He whispers against Merlin's curls*

Merlin: I... *Merlin stammers, feeling almost ashamed to speak* I have magic... *Merlin hesitates to continue, almost afraid, and Arthur tightens the hug to give him confidence* and... and I'm pregnant...

Arthur: What... but, you're a man, how...

Merlin *sobbing*: I'm not human... my body doesn't follow the same rules as a common human body and... and I needed to leave so no one would find out...

Arthur quickly connects the dots about the times they both drank to celebrate and ended up in the same bed. Arthur trembles as he realizes what Merlin means.

Arthur: You... you were hiding from me...

Merlin *nods between anguished tears*: I'm sorry... I'm sorry, I didn't want to leave you, but I was scared... I...

Arthur looks at Merlin, noticing the other man's knees bleeding from being on the ground. He steps back and stands up. Merlin thinks his king is going to leave or kill him and cowers before him. This breaks Arthur's heart, who just bends down and lifts Merlin in his arms.

Merlin: Huh? *looks confused*

Arthur: How many children are we expecting?

Merlin is too surprised to respond, and Gwaine, who is crying with relief while watching the scene between the two, speaks for him.

Gwaine *emotional*: Four, sir, there will be four.

Arthur's eyes shine with emotion and admiration as he looks at Merlin. He is upset to be the last to know everything, but he is so happy to have Merlin back and even happier to know he is going to be a father, that he couldn't care less about the painful revelation that his beloved hid from him.

Arthur: I'm going to be a father... *he whispers*

Merlin watches with shining eyes as Arthur seems to hold back from jumping for joy. Everything after that is quick. The druids pack their things and prepare to return to Camelot with the king, the knight, and Emrys. Merlin tells Arthur about his first months during the journey and says how difficult it was to stop himself from running to talk to Arthur. He also talks about all the cravings he had during the first months (Arthur makes a mental note to remember to ask the cooks to bring Merlin everything he desires). When they arrive in Camelot, everyone quickly "connects the dots" upon seeing Merlin with a pregnant belly and Arthur riding with him. At first, everyone thinks Merlin was a woman all along, but when they notice the servant's golden eyes, they simply know it's magic.

Agravaine: Sir...

Agravaine is the first to receive Arthur and his guests. He seems nervous about the presence of the druids, but even more nervous about the new presence of Merlin (remembering that Agravaine arrived after Merlin was already away from the kingdom).

Agravaine: Who is *hesitates*... the lady?

Arthur dismounts and picks Merlin up in his arms to carry him to Gaius.

Arthur: This is my spouse. *Merlin looks surprised at Arthur* He has been away for a long time, I decided to bring him back now that my father is gone and I am the king.

Agravaine stares at Merlin's golden eyes and protruding belly and immediately knows that Arthur's "woman" is going to be a problem for Morgana's plans.

Agravaine: Sir, she looks like an elf, *stares at Merlin with disgust* and you know that faerie creatures are not to be trusted...

Arthur: That's enough! Merlin is trustworthy, and I don't want to hear you speak about him in that tone ever again.

Arthur then carries Merlin to Gaius's quarters, ignoring all the looks they are getting. Gaius is relieved to see his boy looking healthy but terrified at the idea that Arthur might do something. Fortunately, Arthur proves his love for Merlin by stating that the druids will stay with them until Merlin gives birth.

The babies are healthy. Gaius assures Merlin and Arthur that their children are fine, and Arthur takes Merlin to his room, where he orders Gwen and George to be Merlin's attendants. Gwaine and Lancelot are assigned to be Merlin's personal knights. Agravaine questions whether it's a good idea for Arthur to give so much power to someone who isn't even his queen yet, but Arthur is no longer listening to his uncle. All Arthur can think about is Merlin and their children.

During the last months of Merlin's pregnancy, Arthur is the best companion possible. He loves Merlin, loves the children, and is always thinking about Merlin's desires and what he wants. And yes, he is giving too much power to the man he hasn't married yet, but who could blame him? Merlin looks divine and is all emotional and affectionate. Arthur has never felt so loved and cherished before. The two are more connected and in love than ever, and everyone in the kingdom can see how happy their king is, which makes them happy too.

Of course, not everything is perfect, and Morgana discovers the pregnancy. She connects the dots about who Emrys is and realizes that her best chance to take over the kingdom and seize Arthur's throne will be when Merlin is at his weakest, that is, when he gives birth to the babies.

The day finally arrives, and everyone in the kingdom is eager for the arrival of the heirs, excited to see their future sovereigns. The whole kingdom is celebrating, and all the knights and druids are on full guard, ready for any unexpected attack. Agravaine is outside the room waiting for Morgana's signal; Arthur and Gwen are in the room holding Merlin's hands and helping him endure the pain. Since the pregnancy is magical, the druids are present to feed Merlin with magic, as the babies are feeding off Merlin's magic.

The first baby is born, a boy with brown hair and golden eyes full of magic. When the baby cries, the candle flames burn brighter, and the whole kingdom hears the roar of a lion. The future king of Camelot is born, and his name is Gordic Pendragon.

The next to be born is a girl, a baby with black hair and eyes shining like gold. This is Princess Rowena, a beautiful girl who, when she screams at the top of her lungs, shatters windows, and the whole kingdom can hear the flapping of an eagle's wings.

The next to be born is Helga Pendragon, with golden hair and eyes full of light. Unlike her siblings, when she cries, the earth does not tremble, but flowers bloom, and everyone in the kingdom can feel a slight tremor under their feet as small flowers appear.

The last to be born is a boy with black hair. His birth causes anguish because, unlike his siblings, he does not cry or scream. Salazar Pendragon is held by the druids, who stop feeding Merlin with magic and start transferring the magic to the youngest of the family. There are long minutes of pure despair before Salazar finally starts to cry and breathe. His cry is not as loud as his siblings', but the sound of a snake echoes in the waters of the kingdom's rivers.

The druids blow a trumpet to celebrate the birth of Emrys's children, and the people rejoice. Unfortunately, this was the signal Morgana was waiting for. She leads her army of immortals against Camelot, and hell breaks loose, similar to the Kyuubi attack during Naruto's birth. Morgana appears inside the quarters where Merlin, Arthur, and the children are. She takes Helga as a hostage. The knights try to fight, but Merlin knows it won't work due to the magical nature of Morgana's army.

Arthur, Gwaine, and Lancelot fight Morgana and manage to make her release Helga. Still weak and exhausted, Merlin gets up and goes to the battlefield. With all his remaining strength, he uses his magic to paralyze the entire army, but this leaves Merlin vulnerable, and Morgana takes the opportunity to cast a fire spell that burns Merlin. The army remains frozen in time, but Merlin "dies."

[escespace]

Merlin And Arthur modern settings with a twist

Merlin walks into his trusted coffee shop. Locally owned, familiar customer service, he's known them since he moved to the city. Strangely there's someone at the cash register when he goes to place his order , it's not a place where there are lines or a lot of new customers.

He doesn't pay much attention until the conversation in front turns up the volume beyond what is normal for the quiet place.

"There is no way to screw up a simple order of black coffee and yet human idiocy ends up surprising me!" Said the burly blond who turns his back on him

"Hey hey! that's enough, My friend"

"Do I know you?" He turns to it and can tell that the front is just as impressive as his back had indicated.

"I'm Merlin..."

"so I don't know you"

And we know how this romantic introduction continues. The difference is that this time Freya, who is working the cash register, has been tired of the customer since he came into her store like a wrecking ball pushing other customers and ordering fancy franchise coffees until that after a lot of time wasting she forced him to make a normal request, then she decides to push the coffee in the hands of the unknown man as a courtesy of the house hoping that he would eventually go away (and hoping she would not have to intervene in whatever that pair is referring to by " Take You Apart" and "blows")

The unknown blond does not leave but has the decency to seem surprised by the attention he's been drawing as he retreats to the corner table.

Merlin is near the cash register to talk to Freya but it seems that the only thing he wants to talk about is the blond idiot, which tires his friend out. With a cake stuffed in his mouth she shushes him away, which makes him sit at a table with a direct view of the blonde.

From that position Merlin comes up with the brilliant idea of playing a harmless joke.After all, anyone who yells at the adorable Freya deserves it, right? I won't say yet what happens but it involves public wifi.

It's only when Arthur arrives at his apartment complex, where of course all his loved ones live, that he notices people looking at him strangely. Leon handed him a cream without saying anything when he passed by. Morgana can't stop laughing like a deranged hyena and Gwen is hovering around him like a disappointed mother, trying (and failing) to give him a lecture on safe practices (SAFE PRACTICES OF WHAT?)

After a while they finally take pity on him (more like they want to see his face when he finds out) and they show him a Twitter post he apparently made that same afternoon where he asked: "what could it mean if there are itchy welt near my You know?"

HE DOESN'T EVEN POST ON SOCIAL MEDIA

That one was definitely not posted by him. But then, what happened?

He delegates to Morgana the task of investigating what happened because he has no experience with technology and she has contacts. It is clear that someone entered his media but they doubt that it was only to post a silly message in an abandoned account.

The problem was that Morgana's contacts couldn't find anything even the next day. Luckily, Arthur was expecting it and didn't stop, instead preferring the old way. He checked the time the post was made and remembered that right at that the day before at that moment he was in the annoying cafeteria.

Surprisingly, the tall black-haired man is there again. And Arthur's not lying to himself, the back and forth he had earlier with that guy distracted him from the terrible day he'd been having, you could even say it was fun. He can go and bother him and do what he came to do, he is a multitasker and a skilled one at that.

"looking for trouble again?"

"That would be looking for you and, no thanks, I wouldn't disgrace myself that way"

...

"You think you're so smart but the truth is it takes more than just a quick tongue to get you far"

"You wish you could see my tongue being quick, my friend, you're not so lucky"

...

"that's not even a word!"

"Didn't you hear me say it? Let me repeat it, DOLLOPHEAD! That's what you are! "

...

And somehow they end up talking about why Arthur is there:

"Hahahaha! Whoever made this is a genius!"

"It's an eight-year-old's joke. It's not funny or stylish. Apart from that, this person entered my abandoned social networks, I don't even remember the last time I logged in... Who knows what else he has done with my data"

"You know what? I have exactly what you need"

He hands him a card that says "Golden Age: Private Investigation" and Arthur laughs

"What? You a private investigator?"

"If you don't want it..."

He tried to take it from his hand, but Arthur quickly put it in his suit jacket and, without stopping to stare at it, he walked away.

A week passed before he decided to visit the supposed offices of Golden Age and it was not in the least because of his problem with infiltration of his social networks. The truth was that nothing happened after the damn post. There was no missing money or corrupted files, and Morgana had her best technicians checking the devices associated with the organization at all times.

Before Arthur reaches the building where the offices are, he notices that there is a commotion in a remote place. There he finds Merlin surrounded by unfriendly looking men and what does the idiot do? He makes them even angrier with his mockery.

Arthur couldn't even get close because Merlin ended up showing them something from his phone. He held the device being too haughty and it seemed to be well earned given the cautious reactions he received

It seems that it was not enough because the next moment the thugs were advancing on the slender black-haired man. He was agile enough to get under the pile of arms but almost ran over Arthur, who was stupidly blocking the exit from the alley, before continuing straight towards the road with tremendous car traffic

Arthur will never admit that he was paralyzed when he noticed that Merlin didn't even take his eyes off his cell phone as he continued running. The thugs followed soon after, though not as nimbly, among the honking vehicles.

It was a miracle (more likely thanks to his obsessive observation skills) that he noticed what was really going on.

It wasn't that Merlin was a lucky bastard. The bastard was controlling the cars in some damn way until he finally reached the opposite end of the street Just as the police sirens started to sound nearby and the thugs had no choice but to start running towards a parked van

Now, now. If there's one thing Arthur is grateful for in life (and there isn't much of that) it's for making him smart. He's gotten to where he is because of his abilities, despite what anyone says, among which he takes most pride in his ability to recognize talents that would be valuable in his organization, and no matter what Merlin was doing he surely could serve well in the team.

Unbeknownst to Arthur, of course, that during the week he took to think about whether or not he should go to Golden Age, Merlin was also doing research and nothing he found about Arthur sat well with him.

This is then just the beginning of the most ridiculous and exasperating relationship of rivalry-friendship (and perhaps something more) between a genius hacker with a Robin Hood complex and a corporate who works on a line not very legal (aló? Mama? I'm in love with a criminal)

.

.

.

Holy heavens, have mercy on me and stop sending me ideas because I don't know how to write them!!! 😫😫😫

I swear that after so much thinking about this idea I already know what the first meeting between Arthur and Merlin's associates in Golden Age would be like: Lancelot and Gwaine (a disaster involving weapons and a very stressed Merlin). I also know that Arthur is in a relationship with Vivian at the time he accepts his friendship with Merlin for what it is (and neither of them like each other romantically at this point but they don't need to be in love to be their weird themselfs with each other) And VIVIAN BEGINS TO COMPETE ALONE FOR ARTHUR'S ATTENTION (She thinks she's competing against Merlin but the reality is there's no competition to begin with)...

Now now if only I could SIT DOWN AND WRITE INSTEAD OF FANTASIZING

[merlinktober]

Merlinktober will be returning for 2024!

As the days get shorter and October gets closer, so does our challenge to appreciate two marvelous things: Merlin and ink!

Stay tuned for this year's list and spread the word 🖤

Again I'd like to thank @lefayeart, who started with the 2019 list and @schweetheart that kept the event going before me.

I'll love to see what comes out of everyone's pens this year!

[hopelessromantic5]

I feel bad for not having posted any merthur in a while.

Here’s a small, Cinderella-esque AU snippet from my drafts. 🫶

Apollo didn’t even snicker in discomfort at the boys approach, in fact, he almost preened.

“He’s beautiful.” The boy murmured, putting his palm flat to the horses snout. Apollo loved it, which was strange.

“He never lets anyone touch him, aside from me.” Arthur says, mostly to himself.

“Tell them to be gentle. And approach with respect.” The boys, startlingly blue eyes flick up to Arthur then back down to the horse.

“What do they call you?” He asked before he could think better of it.

“Never mind what they call me.” He patted the snout once more and moved two paces back, finally taking in Arthur’s full form.

“What is someone like you doing in the forrest alone?”

“Is my identity that obvious?”

“I’m afraid so, sire.” A small smirk finds its way onto his face. “It was your cloak…and your posture, that gave you away.”

Arthur laughed despite himself.

“Well, now we are unbalanced. You know my name and I do not know yours.”

Merlin did not respond but the small smile didn’t leave his face as he turned to look out into the forest.

“Your knights will be here soon, Prince Arthur.”

The prince snapped his neck in that direction and held his breath, listening for sounds of movement. He heard none.

“How do you know?”

That got him a small shrug.

“I have my ways.” The raven haired boy began gathering his bag full of plants.

“I fancy keeping my head, sire, so I’ll be taking my leave. You will be safe with them.”

“Why would they take your head?” Arthur couldn’t help but question gently.

The boy shook his head and said nothing.

His blue eyes found Arthur again, which caused little bubbles of nerves in his stomach.

“Please, be careful. These woods are not always kind and surely will not show a Pendragon any mercy.”

“If that is the case, how are you surviving without a weapon?”

“Who said I didn’t have a weapon?”

The sound of hooves and clanking armor distracted his eyes, and when he looked back to the spot the boy had been standing, he was gone.

Vanished into thin air, or into the trees. But Arthur never heard a rustle, never a footstep.

He was disappointed to see him go but glad that he was gone before the knights broke through the tree line. If Arthur’s suspensions were correct, he didn’t want the boy interrogated by them either, even if a handful of them were as noble as they come.

Arthur didn’t really want to take that chance.

[birdbrainedboy]

I’m normally not one for modern AUs, or AUs in general (I think characters usually have better chemistry in their established universes), but good LORD Merthur is the exception.

I have no idea why, but modern Merthur AUs where Merlin is Arthur’s secretary have a chokehold on me. I think it’s because they perfectly transition their dynamic to the modern world- the “taboo” aspects of it as well as the banter.

[bisclavret]

gwaine being like fine i'll join your cringe round table after a whole season of resisting it makes a lot more sense when you put it within the context of the fact that just a day or two before arthur knighted him he fully thought he was about to live out his last days as a slave cage fighter for a guy named jarl and he had been there for god knows how long. hes like yeah okay the tyrant king uther isnt even dead yet and i just watched prince arthur hold a child at knifepoint to barter with peaceful druids for a sacred cup that he then immediately lost and my crush and lifeline and tether to sanity merlin is already ignoring me in favor of this new old friend lancelot and i have 20+ years of conflicting emotions about knighthood because of my dad's mistakes but i have accrued so much fresh ptsd from days/weeks of surviving by killing men with my bare hands as a slave fighter for fucking jarl that idrc about all that right now