#but this really gives me the vibes of leon and percival

[gldnstrngs]

merlin characters & the kpop groups they’d stan

(this is not factual at all. this is just me putting my interests together as a neurodivergent person is prone to do LMAO)

merlin: he would probably get into kpop listening to 2nd gen groups casually such as SNSD, but absolutely LOVE txt when they have their first comeback with “the dream chapter: magic”!!! trust that he would be at the barricades at their concerts

arthur: he would’ve known about kpop through morgana and gwen, but very likely tease them about it. merlin would be the reason why he actually starts listening and he would become super attached to bts. i can see him connecting to their lyricism and the humanitarian causes they support :’)

gwen: she would love stayc. she is a cutie. stayc are cuties. it just makes sense!!! she would’ve been their #1 supporter since their debut. also she would’ve been one of the stans to defend “teddy bear” with her life (because it IS a bop!)😭

morgana: trust that she would discover purple kiss’ “intro: crown” music video and become OBSESSED with them. she would love their aesthetics and the witchy vibes of their songs. before that, she would’ve listened to dreamcatcher because of their vibes and also casually listen to kpop in general, but it’s purple kiss that she becomes a stan of

leon: i can see him having an appreciation for 2nd gen kpop groups. i’m not really sure why like it’s really just the vibes he gives. he would get song recommendations from merlin and find himself liking shinee the most, but would overall still be a casual listener

lancelot: something tells me that he would LOVE red velvet. no explanation just vibes. i feel like he would bop to “peek-a-boo” and bad boy idk… he’d also probably listen to txt and stayc for merlin and gwen but for him, red velvet stays 🔛🔝

elyan: he would’ve definitely listened to stayc at first because of gwen and like them a lot, but stumble across seventeen and be obsessed with “very nice” 😭 he would probs still be a casual listener but be tuned in for every comeback

gwaine: TRUST that he would stan a group as cunty as kiss of life. he would’ve already started listening to some groups because of merlin (his impact🙂‍↕️) but really vibe with kiss of life when they debuted. he would definitely play “midas touch” on repeat frfr. additionally, he would also love le sserafim and enhypen because they are also cunty

percival: twice. he would love twice. why? because the idea that a big tall strong man loving a slayful girl group like twice is iconic. he would have been there for their pre-debut survival show “sixteen” and be a sana stan for life. he would learn all of their dances in private and try to not dance to them any time he hears their songs

mordred: he would listen to kpop so merlin would finally like him LMAO. he would definitely vibe with txt, but i think he would hear “oh my god” by (g)-idle and be drawn to them. rip mordred you would’ve loved soojin😔

uther: ok hear me out. uther would NOT gaf about kpop. he would probably think it’s evil because of all the magical concepts groups follow. but he would then hear aespa and listen to their entire discography while pretending to be a kpop hater

gaius: he would’ve learned about kpop through merlin (once again, his impact!!!) and like txt. ultimately, he would just be a casual listener mainly for merlin

(if there are any more characters that people want to know which kpop groups they’d listen to then lmk bc this had no business being so much fun)

[film-score-simp]

OKAY FOOLS HOW YALL DOING IM BACK AFTER BEING DEAD FOR LIKE MONTHS-

See, I had a Thought which the Merlin fandom might be interested in. Especially the fanfic writers.

I was browsing Pinterest, as you do, and stumbled across a few tumblr posts instead of actually looking on the site… again, as you do.

And I came to a fun idea.

So y’know how with some pieces of fantasy media they go ‘oh with the amount of stupidity here this is totally a D&D game’?

Well… that, but Merlin.

Like we already have scenes that would totally fit the bill of a D&D game. The whole scene with old Merlin and the knights with the stepping stool onto the horse is just so unbelievably D&D, and I can imagine the scene with the “..reading poetry.” as just real bad persuasion/deception rolls from both Merlin AND Arthur.

Just imagine the chaos.

Here are my personal headcanons for their classes, but feel free to debate about it:

Merlin: Sorcerer. This man is too much of an idiot to be a wizard (though he DOES get hurt enough to be one), and I reckon being a wild magic sorcerer would totally fit the bill. He’s powerful, but hijinks must ensue- thus, the wild magic. Or perhaps not. People might assume it’s wild magic and turns out it’s just Merlin thinking he’s funny.

Arthur: Bard. Immediately. He’s got paladin energy as in like the ‘Chosen One’ and also he’s a knight, but he’s so stupid and also charismatic that he just gives bard to me. Like he’s so stupid and charismatic with literally everything, that Merlin ended up liking him. Like this man is a himbo that dresses brightly.

Morgana: Absolutely a warlock. She would have so much fun with eldritch blast, and being weird and spooky totally fits her vibe later in the series. She would probably be the one to sometimes have the braincell in the party and use her magic responsibly… but also eldritch blast. You gotta use eldritch blast-

Mordred: I don’t think he has chill enough vibes for the druid stereotype, but he definitely could be a druid. Giving funky nature powers to this kid would really be a hilarious idea. Like imagine Mordred with wild shape. I also think he has the possibility of being the Dionysus kind of druid… y’know, the greek god who turned people into dolphins just because? Yeah, him.

Gwaine: Barbarian. Or fighter. He may be a knight, sure, but with the amount of bar brawls he gets into? Absolutely. The fool definitely would fist fight someone in a dark alleyway at 2AM, it’s just what he’s like. He likes to hit people and drink alcohol- it just fits his whole MO.

Percival: Also a barbarian. His entire thing is strength, and the ‘little man’ comment just screams of a man with high intimidation. He may be a gentle giant and not going for the whole stereotype of angry rage beast, but this guy can totally scare without it.

Lancelot: Lancelot is a paladin. He’s the very epitome of ‘Good Boy.’ This guy is such a Righteous knight and just a generally cool person that I think that a god straight up WOULD get in contact to have him fight for the forces of good. I love this man so much. I also love paladins. Perfect combo.

Elyan: Elyan’s a cleric. He’s caring and loyal, as well as not bullying Merlin regularly. He’s also pretty cunning so possibly rogue there as well? I’d be more inclined to lean towards cleric the most though, cause he’s one of the most chill knights and also balances out the chaos of Gwaine and Percival as a duo… they’re nuts-

Leon: Also a paladin. Less of a ‘pure and true soul’ guy like Lancelot, but more of a ‘stands for what’s right and upholds the law’ kind of paladin. Like he’s totally a follower of chivalry with all the traditional ways of doing things- always respectful and polite but just kinda a little at arms length.

Guinevere: Stereotypical druid. Totally a tree-hugger and loves plants. Also she gets to be a Disney princess now and talk to animals in forests. Living out her best life in the forest with her whole cottagecore aesthetic. Even with her becoming queen, she’s totally still a druid. Albeit a royal one now.

Gaius: Oh he’s so gonna be an artificer. But specifically an alchemist artificer. He can make healing potions and mix weird medicines together, sure, but jesus christ the old man gets into just as many shenanigans as the main group. I mean, the whole possession fiasco with the goblin is enough proof for that-

(And before anyone tells me a character’s missing, it’s been a while since I watched the series, I’m trying my best hhhh-)

[pendraigon-moved]

 hi   sorry,   but   i   love   them.

[bitsandbobsofwriting]

Is there a character you find difficult to write? How do you feel like your sense of each character has changed over the course of writing them?

This is such an interesting ask I love yooouuuuuu!

Ok SO, I used to find writing basically all of the knights kind of difficult, bar Gwaine, just because NONE of them have as much screen time as they deserve (I was about to say "especially Elyan and Percival" but then realised it would also be "especially Leon and Lancelot and Gwaine and Mordred"😅). BUT it's gotten easier to write them as time goes on.

I always make a concerted effort to make sure all characters present speak in equal amounts, OR I try to give Elyan/Gwen more attention, 1)because they’re some of my faves, I have to admit, and 2)because, as much as it isn't as bad as in other fandoms, I do see POC fans talk about the racism sometimes (mostly about either stereotypes, or characters like Elyan and Gwen basically just being forgotten), and I want to combat that where I can.

I guess I just struggle more with characters I haven't written as much about, like Morgause, and background characters/characters that were only there for one or two episodes, like Kara/Daegel/Will etc. But whenever I struggle I go back to either various BBC Merlin compilations on tiktok/YouTube, or I just skim through episode transcripts to get a feel for things😅

My writing has definitely changed a lot, mostly in skill level lol, and structure; they went from bare-basics drafts, to almost fully fleshed out fics. Plus I slowly started adding characters didn’t used to write with. I never used to have Mordred (or Morgana, really) in most of my old things. Or Morgause or Uther. But that's clearly changed😁.

I definitely got better at writing people’s physical mannerisms, especially Morgana, Arthur, and Merlin, when I began to understand more the way I personally wanted to present them. Morgana with her cunningness, Merlin with his observation skills and ability to lie and think on the spot, Arthur’s habit of getting flustered with emotions, but being confident in his other abilities, etc. 

Speech, I do think I’m better at, you’ll have to let me know. It always felt a bit clunky and forced when I first started writing, but I think the more I wrote, the more I got a handle on the register/tone/vocabulary that each character would use. Before, Merlin, Morgana, Uther, everyone, would always speak in the same way. Now, it’s a little easier to tell from the dialogue alone, the structure they use/the actual words they choose etc, who is speaking. Obviously it’s not perfect, but I like to think in the almost 18 months I’ve been going that I’ve improved a little😅

The knights are a little more difficult, the sense and vibe I want to give each character depends on the fic. though there are some things that stay pretty consistent, as I’ve developed my writing and the way I want to portray them. For example, Leon is almost always Tired and Big-Brotherly, and Gwaine is always deceptively smart and observant. The others vary a lot more, though Mordred is always somewhere on the scale between Teasing-Younger-Brother, and Worshiping-Devotee, Percival is always a gentle giant, and Elyan is quiet but smart and skilled and funny. I think Lancelot probably varies the most, and that’s because his role, in Merlin’s life and in the fic as a whole, can be drastically different fic to fic. He can either be the Teasing Best Friend, the Worried Older Brother, the Partner, or just Part of The Gang. It is fun, writing them all and trying to force in my own ideas and headcanons about the characters whilst also making sure it fits the fic, and fits at least adjacently with canon.

I adore Gwen, and she’s almost always Merlin’s best friend in some manner in my fics. I like giving her and Merlin moments of just... bestie energy, with no one else there and nothing to disturb them. But I also like making her smart as hell and badass, and just... emotionally intelligent, more-so than basically everyone else in the show. I think in the beginning I wrote her as a bit... background-y. She was just there, crying when the fic was angsty, and smiling when the fic was happy. I want her to be important and, if not in the forefront of the whole fic, at least have a few lines/chapters which are just about her to give the fic some depth/emotional grabbyness, if that makes sense.

~

ANYWAY I love you and I loved these questions and let me know if you want to know anything else!!!

You can ask from This List of Questions, or ask your own!!

[onceandfuturequeenmerlin]

My Merthur and Merlin sexuality headcanons

Merlin: bisexual and genderfluid. You can’t give me him dressing up as a woman and be caught holding so many dresses in canon and not have him be genderfluid. Also I hate how his canon relationship with Freya and his crushes on Sefa, Morgana, the disguised Nimueh, the troll pretending to be Catrina, and Gwen are erased and he’s just seen as gay. Especially with his raised eyebrows reaction whenever Mithian arrives at Camelot or when he sees Isolde with a sword. He even thought Vivian was beautiful till he learned how rude she was. Just because he didn’t fall under the Lamia’s spell (it’s literally because of his magic not because he’s not attracted to women, he didn’t fall asleep during the sleeping spell in the pilot either, that’s how his magic works!) and just because he got so obsessed with one man (Arthur) doesn’t mean he’s only interested in men. He’s immortal so why would he limit himself to only having relations with one gender for eternity? Or care about his own gender? 

Arthur: gay or bisexual. This one is harder for me because he’s so repressed that I can see him just being gay and also every relationship he’s had with a woman in canon has either been the result of an enchantment (ex: Sophia and Vivian) or there was just no chemistry and it seemed like it would be a friendly platonic marriage for the good of Camelot (ex: Gwen, Elena, and Mithian). But him being bisexual makes sense to me too. Maybe he’s demisexual and just can’t feel that way about anyone till he’s emotionally connected with them and that’s why it seems like he only has romantic and sexual chemistry with Merlin. 

Morgana: I headcanon her as aromantic and asexual most of the time. I can accept and read fics where Morgana is Arthur’s straight sister though because I know she had crushes on men in canon and because Katie McGrath had chemistry with Colin and Bradley and Eoin. However I can only read fics where Morgana is Arthur’s straight sister when she is shipped with certain men who I think she would actually respect and find attractive (Merlin, Gwaine, and Will if he survived). Most of the time I just can’t see her being interested in a relationship with anyone and only finds people attractive aesthetically. I feel like she probably went through a phase thinking she was a lesbian because she wasn’t interested in marrying a man but then she was like wait I’m not interested in being with a woman either... what am I?

Lancelot and Gwen: the straight couple in the group. I just didn’t get the vibe that Lancelot had a thing for Merlin, I feel like he just saw him as a little brother and I didn’t really get Morgana x Gwen either. 

Percival: straight. I didn’t really see the chemistry between Percival and Gwaine.

Gwaine: bisexual.

Leon: the longsuffering asexual friend waiting for Merthur to happen. 

Elyan: ace.

Mordred: gay. I ship him with Daegal.

Princess Elena and Lady Vivian: lesbians. 

Morgause: aroace. 

[lit-in-thy-heart]

so to counteract some of the merlin angst that has been on my dash over the past few days, i just wanted to quickly talk about the hopelessly-devoted-to-gwen people in this scene:

yes i am pissed that they cut elyan out (i giffed this directly from iplayer, haven't edited it in any way) but we all know that he is grinning from ear to ear because his sister is queen and now can boss him about and he's never going to hear the end of it but he doesn't care right now

leon is smiling in a way that i don't think he's ever done. his whole face is quite literally illuminated...like even his beard seems to be beaming??? anyway. you can tell he's trying to keep a lid on it because he's a knight of camelot and has to be, in some respects, a machine, particularly when in the presence of other citizens (i'm not entirely sure exactly who is there but it's obviously more than just the knights, where he can let loose a little) -- but this is his childhood friend. two of them, really. he and gwen grew up together, especially with her mother serving in his household, and for him to be a knight and her to now be queen...he can't quite believe it. he looks so proud as well, and excited, like this is it, this is what we've been working towards. because gwen is so well-suited to the role and he knows it. and it gives them more opportunities to regularly interact with her and there will finally be a more constant and commanding voice of reason to help him out with the chaos of camelot's knights. he had always told her that she deserved the world, and now she's got it.

gwaine, shockingly, seems more composed than leon in terms of pure glee, but look at the way his head moves. maybe i'm projecting but it looks like he's rising on his tiptoes in an effort to see what's going on -- and he's raising his head to make eye contact with someone, perhaps? just that lil bounce i can't, you can see that he is actually thrilled and that smile is definitely more of a smirk -- though not a malicious one -- and i bet my ass that he's looking straight at gwen and thinking of a whole list of things to pass (good) comment on afterwards. most of them will include opportunities to take the piss out of arthur together (with merlin) because she can legally do that now. i wouldn't say that he's overwhelmed with joy, but he's definitely pleased. if he wasn't a knight then he would absolutely be turning around behind him and excitedly going 'i know her!!' and when he next goes to the tavern and gets slightly too drunk he will be telling people that he once flirted with the the queen but, being ever so humble and good, she didn't flirt back and it's a good job she didn't because then she wouldn't have become a kick-ass queen. and then he proceeds to ramble about how wonderful gwen is until merlin comes to collect him. but yeah in conclusion gwaine is happy but also very smug because percival owes him money (which is why he's out of shot because his barely contained annoyance at gwaine would ruin the celebratory vibe) because he fucking knew it would happen and he told half of camelot it would and now it has and he loves to be right. also gwen is great and is going to enjoy taking the piss out of arthur with the knights.

merlin just screams relief to me. obviously he's ecstatic, but the way that his smile sort of holds after he's shouted? and his eyes seem to be focusing on something different to the others? idk i just get the feeling that the others are looking at something and merlin is looking beyond it. as if he's running over the past few years and all the encouragement he's given these two people and is finally relieved that something hasn't blown up in his face for once. what's also interesting is where he's stood. obviously he's the protagonist so visually it makes more sense to have him there than on gwaine's shoulders to see over leon, but his placement at the front is like arthur and gwen are acknowledging the role he had in their relationship and saying you are important, thank you for what you've done. and merlin is seeing two of his closest friends marry, like leon, but he's also seeing the beginnings of the golden age that has been promised to him since he first arrived in camelot. in arthurian legend, merlin has the gift of foresight (for example he knows that nimue is going to trap him in a tree when he wants to have sex with her as soon as he sees her -- doesn't stop him from wanting to have sex with her but that's a whole other thing) and this gif sort of nods to that. he's not only seeing the ceremony, but he's seeing the future they will all build because of this marriage. because finally, finally, everything is starting to work out and he must be doing something right. and gwen! gwen is back! he can talk to her again!

in conclusion: everyone fucking loves gwen and is thrilled that she is officially joining the gang.

bonus: gaius is just glad that all the drama is over and that he's still alive

[aftertheskyy]

Merlin SPN au

Ok Supernatural AU where Arthur is Dean

They’re both very like. Idk. Protective, “single man tear,” repressed kinda vibes yk?

And Leon is Sam

Uther is obviously John Winchester

Saving people, hunting things, the family business blah blah blah

Merlin is Cas

Special powers

Freya as Hannah (kind of had a thing with Cas?)

Sam! Leon getting caught up in all the Destiel/Merthur stuff

Gwaine is Gabriel and I will die on this hill

Imagine him with like. A green apple lollipop all the time

ALSO Gwaine putting Leon in the herpes commercial please give this to me

GWAINE DRESSING UP AS DR SEXY

Kilgharrah as Chuck

You know, just really frustrating characters that you wanna punch?

Nimueh as Amara

Elyan as Gadreel? Kinda stuck here

Mordred as Jack because remember back in season 13 when Dean hated him and Sam was totally taking care of him? Same thing with Merlin and Arthur. Plus they’re both smol bois

Morgana as Rowena because yes.

Agravaine as Gordon

They both start out okay but lowkey sketchy, only to show their true nature later on

Lancelot as Kevin Tran

They both try to be level headed but end up getting whisked away in the chaos

Gwen as Donna! Both are tough as all hell but literal cinnamon rolls

Cenred as Crowley? 

GAIUS AS BOBBY

AND GEOFFREY AS RUFUS

And the two of them being cranky old men together man I love this

Hunith as Jody Mills

Mithian as Charlie Bradbury. No you cannot change my mind

Also idk where to put this but Excalibur gives off the same vibes as the Colt in season 1

Percival as Garth

PERCIVAL BRINGING OUT MR FIZZLES

Daegal as Adam. Kind of forgotten about but we all love him anyways, yk?

Cas! Merlin saying “We all matter” and then leaving him for dead

Sadly there are wayyy more Supernatural characters than Merlin characters so I missed a lot😭 but here we are

[hiimsociallyawkward]

a servant of two masters

hi friends welcome back to me aimlessly ranting about merlin. up today we have 4.06 and this episode. wow. literally just the title gives me everything i need and i'm absolutley here for the chaos that will ensue. hi bestie @lady-ofmagic-andstars

i love them in their capes

i want a cloak

dude the 'oh it's not gonna happen' and then it happens trope is so dumb but i laugh every time

notice how the knights ripped off their capes

dude people are falling off of horses and out

MERLIN

ok ok but how is he injured. ik this is rated for kids but i really dk how badly merlin is injured. it looks like just his shoulder but he shouldn't be almost dying like his yk?

:,) arthru making jokes

ok but i love arthur taking care of merlin

alskdjflsadk them trying to make jokes to make each other feel better :,)

stop arthur. stop telling the truth merlin's not dying here 😭

bestie vibes only deadass

HAHA

a s s

side note, the site i get my screenshots from- this picture has 61 views while others average maybe like 10-15?? perverts HAHA just kidding

sok i'm actually really curious as to what merlin's injury is

alsdjf;lasdfjsaldfjsaldf merlin making the rocks fall

idk if it's jut the angling but i felt like the enemies were way too close for merlin to create an entire rock barrier. i don't have any screen shot evidence but so you're just going to have to take my word for it

ok but like who even are these men. they were working for morgana trying to capture arthur?

and what's morgana going to do once she has arthur? kill him and take his place on the throne? remember how well that turned out last time she tried that? no one wanted her. idk idk morgana is just confusing as to what she wants

pls die agravaine

haha strangely fond of the boy? there's nothing strange about it

ok i laughed but i also felt bad when morgana splashed merlin awake and flailed around like a fish

dude merlin is so snarky here and i'm HERE for it

ok i like the knights being competent. thank you thank you

and now they're riding back into camelot with their capes on? you're telling me they traced back their steps to find their capes, dusted them off to make sure that they weren't too dirty and didn't have any leaves or branches still sticking to it before riding back to camelot? iconic

poor gaius. ok he's the worst but he does think of merlin as his son and this makes me sad

ok i have a dumb question. do you think merlin understands whenever other magic users are casting spells? ok i feel like this is a dumb question now. but like, is magic a language? are all incantations in a different language, so when other person who knows magic is watching you- they know what you're trying to do and such? i feel like "of course they'd know" but i'm basing that assumption on hp where everyone knows that alohomora is alohomora and where everyone knows that lumos is lumos. but what about here? does merlin know what she's incanting? can he slightly understand it even if he's never seen/done it before? is magic a language like latin, and even if you aren't completely fluent, you and parse together things and make an assumptions?

arthur is just so sad here

i just, i have to have these here

yes bby figure out that we have a traitor

gaius is not slick in the slightest. yes. look at the traitor king

wow morgana being able to bond with the snake? i wonder how

ok question, does the fomorroh have some sort of loyalty to whoever calls them?

✨kill arthur pendragon✨

ok that snake going in his neck is actually scary

pretty castle counter: 5

btw this is actually my zoom background sometimes. it depends from call to call but it changes between this pretty castle and peeta mellark

G E O R G E

ok i've seen all the tumblr posts but it doesn't get less funny. the 'merlin's missing and we can't find him so we're going to replace him with another manservent dressed EXACTLY like merlin so arthur feels better' makes me chuckle every time

i would like to have that for breakfast

i like the loyalty arthur thank you. i love the loyalty pls. i love that they're friends. like, i love the romance but i love just people being friends too

ok this whole scene. arthur wanting to look for merlin because he has to at least try, gwen just wanting arthur to be careful and to come back to her, gwaine being buds. i love all the friendships in this and just yes thank you

ok ok ok ok ok ok ok ok i'm not at the hug scene yet but i know it's coming and i'm beyond excited

ok this sound track is so cute.

saldkfj;asldkfjasldkfsd

matching icons for you and your best friends

deadass if someone wants to change their tumblr icons so we can match hmu bc i'm 100% down with that

another pretty castle scene

SASSY MERLIN PLS

ok ik this is dumb to comment on because i feel like it's not tremendously hard to execute but i love the differences that colin made in regular merlin and fomorroh merlin. it's the best

they say it later in the episode but i find it hilarious how bad of an assassin merlin is

dude pls you're pouring poison in front of EVERYONE else?

BOG MAN. ok guys i'm calling you guys bog mans now.

ASLDJFALSDFJS THE JEALOUSY SCENE

i am cringey but laughing at the same time you don't understand why am i this childish

ok but arthur is being so sweet right here. i feel like he's not trying to be showy in front of gwen, i feel like he wants merlin to rest and that's so sweet. he's so patient right here and i love him

i miss the gwen and merlin friendship actually

dude merlin is roasting gaius so hard today

leon geeking out over weapons is so cute. omg he's such a tiny nerd i love him

laskjflasdfj THIS SCENE. this makes up for the stew jokes that i may or may not still be mad about

i love that the knights LITERALLY turn a blind eye it's actually hilarious

LOOK AT MERLIN BEING COMPETENT?? HE'S SO SMART WITH THE ARROW RIGGING THING

it's literally treason leon pls and you're laughing you're the best 😭😭

i wish we had a pervical back story arc

ok i think it's dumb that i laughed when merlin ducked but i stand by that

ok why do i feel bad for arthur a little. he's talking abt some semi-deep stuff. not deep deep but like, he's trying to ask for advice from his friend, his close advisor. he would've never talked to merlin like this is season 1-2 but here he is, talking about trust. and MERLIN is trying to MURDER HIM. yes. i admit it's a little funny when i'm just watching merlin trip over things and such, but when i listen to arthur talking i feel slightly sad

literallly. merlin's passed out on the floor and arthur doesn't even think anything is wrong

gwen's face when she knocked merlin out is so cute

oop. why is arthur standing in agravaine's door way like an absolute robot

cyes arthur. figure him out

i hate agravaine. i just want arthur to be happy. he's only trusting agravaine because agravaine is family.

stfu agravaine 'you're all that's left of my dear sister' SHUT THE FRONT DOOR

ok there's a repeat of the castle from earlier but i'll spare you

pls this bath scene is so awkward. tt not being able to trust anyone anymore and we're laughing at merlin but arthur's talking so sad and deep

pls this bath scene is so awkward. that's all the notes i have

again, i miss gwen and merlin

merlin is MONCHING on those berries. i'm craving berries now

ok but like. yk that pouch that gaius is using to make the forromoh dormant? what if merlin tucked it in his neckerchief as a precaution. i'm just saying.

aslfkjasdaskdjf the tavern

yall why did merlin have to stop his horse to drink the potion

i want the knights to have a cool band name or smth yk what i mean?

i like that merlin is still a little in the camelot red. it's not the same shade but yk what i mean

HAHA LEON AND PERCIVAL BEING PUSHED TOGETHER. I JUST KEPT ON SCREAMING SUBTEXT SUBTEXT

damn morgana wants RESUKTS. i dont blame her

the frist interaction with merlin and morgana in the hut is so awkward. pls.idek how to comment on it

deadass morgana's dress is so pretty.

magic fight! magic fight!

stfu 'rightfully mine' pls

hehe there's a leaf in his hair

ok i feel like i should've commented more on the magic fight but idk bro

so ik that colin was in this whole episode but it really only just now feels like merlin is here and i think that's fun

arthur is the cutest. i'm loving this dynamic you have no idea. i live live live live LIVE off banter. pls

guys i'm sad apparently i can only put 10 pics in a post but pls enjoy this one pic of arthur right here 😭

ok idk abt you but i'd love to hear jokes abt brass

agaragvaine pls die already

YOU'RE SUCH A PERV LITERALLY

GO

AWAY

NOW

dude that last scene was actually really pretty and i'm sad that i can't attach it now

anyways thanks for reading my long ass rambles. but i'll be back next week to the secret sharer i'll catch you on the flip side

[queerofthedagger]

Morgwen, Merwaine, Gwapple, Gwaine/Percival, Merlin/Arthur/Gwen

Wow alright, thanks so much for the ask! ❤️ I’m going to put most of this under a cut so it doesn’t get too long,

Morgwen

when I started shipping it if I did:

I basically liked them from the start, but only got really invested in it when @atlantablack dragged me into the angst-potential of the ship without any mercy. ❤️

my thoughts:

Pre-season 3 they’re cute, but then this ship offers so much potential for angst and heartbreak, it’s fantastic. All that pain of betrayal and being torn between love and convictions/loyalty, and how you can mourn someone who’s still alive but... doesn’t exist anymore in the way you loved them.

what makes me happy about them:

On the first glance, they look like they both got their shit together, but actually they’re a chaotic duo that you really shouldn’t mess with.

what makes me sad about them:

How they ended; from a certain point onward, it’s nearly impossible to give them a happy ending. While I love that about the ship, they do both deserve to be happy so... yeah.

things done in fanfic that annoys me:

When Gwen’s made out as a pushover who yields too easily to Morgana, or when Morgana’s actions are glossed over or excused too easily.

things I look for in fanfic:

All the conflict, all the angst. Either forgiveness that’s worked for, or none at all. To me, this is a lovers-to-enemies ship, and I want the whole mess that involves.

who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other:

I’m really fond of Gwen/Leon or Gwen/Gwaine, and I don’t really ship Morgana with anyone else tbh.

my happily ever after for them:

As you might’ve guessed by now, I’m not really into them for the happy endings, but if I had to pick one, it would probably be something along the lines of them sorting themselves out over season 3 or 4.

who is the big spoon/little spoon: 

Gwen’s the big spoon, a relict from the time she comforted Morgana through her nightmares.

what is their favourite non-sexual activity:

Sparring! They’re both really good with a sword, and love training together.

Merwaine

when I started shipping it if I did:

I don’t really ship them much tbh. I can see them having a friends with benefits thing going on which Gwaine is more invested in than Merlin.

my thoughts:

I love them as a friendship, and I also think there were some unrequited feelings from Gwaine’s side, which is fun to explore.

what makes me happy about them:

They’re such a chaotic duo, and I love them getting up to all sorts of mischief.

what makes me sad about them:

I personally don’t think they would be happy with each other long-term, and if I stay with my own headcanons, it’s definitely sad that Gwaine was left pining after Merlin while Merlin probably remained oblivious to it. Of course, losing Gwaine still would’ve hit Merlin hard which is also just sad.

things done in fanfic that annoys me:

I don’t really read fic for them.

things I look for in fanfic:

See above.

who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other:

Merlin: Arthur, Leon, Mithian

Gwaine: Elyan, Gwen, Elena

my happily ever after for them:

Gwaine gets over his feelings and they stay good friends while being happy in their respective relationships.

who is the big spoon/little spoon:

I think they would switch a lot.

what is their favourite non-sexual activity:

Going out for drinks, then roaming the streets when nearly nobody else is out anymore and causing a lot of, mostly harmless, mischief.

Gwapple

when I started shipping it if I did:

Hahaha. I don’t, really, though it cracks me up.

my thoughts:

Every fandom needs a food-crack-ship, and we couldn’t ask for a better one.

what makes me happy about them:

Uuuh. Gwaine deserves good things, so why not apples?

what makes me sad about them:

No apple lasts long. Poor Gwaine.

things done in fanfic that annoys me:

..... let’s see. When the apple doesn’t have solid characterization. 😔

things I look for in fanfic:

Gwaine getting all the love and appreciation he deserves 😂

who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other:

No one. Gwapple or no one, of course.

my happily ever after for them:

Gwaine on an apple farm.

who is the big spoon/little spoon:

Oh my god. The apple is the big spoon, obviously. 😂

what is their favourite non-sexual activity:

Picnics. ✨

Gwaine/Percival

when I started shipping it if I did:

I’m not really invested in it either way, but mostly through fandom after I watched the show.

my thoughts:

It’s a fun ship, and they’re very cute!

what makes me happy about them:

I think they’d be good for each other and balance each other out very well.

what makes me sad about them:

Gwaine’s death-scene. God.

things done in fanfic that annoys me:

I... don’t really have an opinion either way. When it feels as if the ship is only there to pair them off somehow, I guess.

things I look for in fanfic:

See above; I don’t really search fic for them specifically, but if they’re there, I like to see that they’re together because they fit each other well.

who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other: 

Gwaine: Elyan, Gwen, Elena

Percy: I’m kind of fond of Percival/Freya!

my happily ever after for them:

They live long happy lives. Yes, the bar is low.

who is the big spoon/little spoon: 

Mostly, Percy is the big spoon, but sometimes Gwaine wraps himself around him like an octopus and Percy actually loves it.

what is their favourite non-sexual activity:

This is really basic, but I think taking rides around Camelot and challenging each other in training.

Merlin/Arthur/Gwen

when I started shipping it if I did:

I’m not really invested in this either, but season 5 gave me some vibes and then I kind of absorbed it through fandom eventually. 

my thoughts:

I think they’re very cute and would have an interesting dynamic if done a certain way.

what makes me happy about them:

They all deserve good things, and I think they’d make each other incredibly happy.

what makes me sad about them:

The whole tragedy of how they ended; the idea of a poly-relationship where at least one part eventually dies is just... oof.

things done in fanfic that annoys me:

If the relationship between the three isn’t balanced, or if it’s made out to be super-easy once they agreed to it. Relationships generally take work, and a poly-relationships specifically requires a lot of open, honest conversations and reflecting on yourself. I want to see the struggle with that.

things I look for in fanfic:

See above.

who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other:

Gwen: Morgana, Gwaine, Lancelot if it’s done a specific way

Arthur: Merlin

Merlin: Arthur, Leon, Mithian

my happily ever after for them:

Arthur survives Camlann, and they happily rule Camelot together for years to come.

who is the big spoon/little spoon:

Arthur is the smallest spoon, Merlin’s the middle-spoon, and Gwen’s the big spoon.

what is their favourite non-sexual activity:

Anything that involves getting out of Camelot for a bit, picnics, enjoying the calm and peace of the forest. Also, they’re all addicted to cuddling and you can find them in a pile of limbs more often than not.

send me a ship or a character and I’ll tell you what I think!

[panharmonium]

I would like to add Gwaine to the list of friends Merlin had. Especially in the 3/4 seasons he really was ride or die for Merlin, they shared intimate details with each other, they truly trusted each other. There were instances where the show alluded that Gwaine knows about Merlin's magic and is fine with it.

hi there!  i’m assuming this is in response to the post i reblogged about will and lancelot being merlin’s only “real” friends?  

i’m actually happy to write about this, now that the question has been posed - it’s been a while since i wrote anything long about gwaine!

fair warning in advance: i don’t personally classify gwaine the same way i do will and lancelot, and that’s what this piece will cover in more detail, but these are just my own thoughts, and it is totally cool for everybody else to have different opinions.  my take is my take, but it does not have to be everyone’s take - if people wanna scroll past because this isn’t their vibe, i don’t mind in the slightest. :)

so, without further ado - i LOVE gwaine, and i have written extensively about how amazing his relationship with merlin is (some examples here, here, here, and here, if anybody’s looking).  he is the most likely of all merlin’s living friends to ditch arthur in the name of addressing merlin’s needs, which is super important, and he also has a much healthier friendship with merlin than arthur does (in my own personal opinion, of course, which nobody is obligated to share).  he definitely does go ride or die for merlin in S3/S4, i agree.

but my own thoughts on this particular point are still the same as they were in that original post.  i tend to hide my clarifications/explanations in the tags, so they might have flown by, but i’ll just copy/paste the relevant bit here for ease of access, as some background for the rest of this post.

re: will and lancelot were merlin’s only ‘real’ friends:

#what this does not mean: merlin has no other friends!  merlin doesn't have meaningful and important relationships with other people!   #what it does mean:  #every single one of merlin's other relationships is undergirded by the sickening knowledge that those friendships are conditional   #every single one of his other relationships is accompanied by the constant undercurrent of 'they would hate me if they knew'   #merlin knows his friends 'care' about him   #except they don't really; because it's not truly him they're caring about   #they care deeply - about someone merlin made up   #about a facade.   #in the most basic sense   #those relationships aren't Real   #the love merlin feels for the people in them is real   #but you cannot truly be 'friends' with somebody who doesn't even know who you are   #you cannot be loved without being known   #you certainly cannot be loved without being safe

obviously i suppose a person’s thoughts on this would be different if they headcanoned that gwaine knew about merlin’s magic, and that’s fine.  i personally do not believe canon indicates or supports that, but i’m not out to convince people to abandon their own fanon interpretations of things; i’m happy just hanging out in my own space talking about my thoughts.  me writing meta is the virtual equivalent of me talking to myself in my room - if other people have different conversations with themselves, that’s fine :)  i don’t mind if other folks organize their thoughts about things differently.  

in accordance with that - everybody please feel free to continue on with your own interpretations, and ignore mine if mine do not appeal to you!  if people are interested about how i organize my ideas on this, though, they are essentially as follows:

1) a cage fighter, a class traitor, and a fake sorcerer walk into a tavern

ok, to start with - here’s a graph.

(...who tf starts a meta post with ‘here’s a graph’ lol i just drew a venn diagram for the first time since like...middle school...i LOVE fandom, man, this is RIDICULOUS)

anyway

this is a very rough interpretation of how i think about gwaine, lancelot, and will:

to address some of these elements individually:

lancelot and will give merlin something that gwaine can’t - safety, authenticity, the comfort of being known and seen for real, a respite from constantly qualifying every friendship with ‘they would hate me if they knew’

lancelot and gwaine, likewise, give merlin something merlin wouldn’t be as likely to get from will (if will were still alive, i mean) - an understanding of merlin’s devotion to the Crown, a supportive ally in the fight to promote arthur’s reign and keep arthur/camelot safe

will and gwaine, for their part, are more likely to tell arthur to go fuck himself, if it’s important for helping merlin, and that’s a different kind of support that merlin also really needs.

and will, on his own, gives merlin something that neither lancelot NOR gwaine can provide, which is a friend who isn’t connected to or even particularly interested in arthur pendragon (merlin has nobody in his life like this, not after will dies) - somebody who knew and cared about merlin before merlin had any proximity to arthur, before this whole ’destiny’ issue reared its merciless head.

everybody in merlin’s life matters to him and gives him something important.  gwaine is STUPIDLY important to merlin.  the love there is real.  but in canon, because gwaine is not in the know, gwaine is still one of the people from whom merlin feels compelled to hide himself.  gwaine is right up there alongside gwen, arthur, elyan, percival, etc - every other person who merlin loves, who merlin nonetheless constantly, back-of-his-mind fears, ‘they would reject me if they knew.’

the above is part of why i personally have never been too interested in ‘so-and-so knows about merlin’s magic’ canon-imaginings.  there’s absolutely nothing wrong with them, and i’m sure people must have tons of fun with them - and in an AU context maybe i would have fun with them too - but as hopeful interpretations of actual canon, they don’t appeal to me.  merlin’s near-total isolation and desperate, constantly-frustrated desire for real, honest love is an inalienable aspect of his character for me, one i can’t separate from who he is and why he does the things he does and why he eventually ends up in the place where we find him towards the end of the show.  

2) i just want someone to see me for who i am

i have seen a bit of sentiment out there along the lines of ‘merlin should have told (x person) about their magic’ or ‘(x person) obviously doesn’t have a problem with sorcerers,’ but i guess i personally don’t think it’s as clear as all that, and i think me saying it is would be doing merlin a disservice.

merlin’s desire to be seen/known/accepted is literally the most base urge he has.  if he truly thought he could tell somebody safely, he would.

i think merlin knows the people in his orbit well enough to know how they feel about sorcery, at least in a general sense.  and even if they aren’t bloodthirsty bigots like uther, they aren’t exactly welcoming magic with open arms, either.  at the most basic, elementary level, merlin understands something that we don’t like to think about: none of his friends ever challenge arthur on the sorcery ban or express any dissatisfaction with the political status quo, and, even absent outright bigotry, this fact speaks loudly enough in and of itself.  merlin’s friends might not be out clamoring for sorcerers’ blood, but they aren’t criticizing a society that criminalizes sorcery, either, and they are never shown to have a problem with the way things are, even though the way things are is wrong.

The Way Things Are is, in fact, unjust.  it’s oppressive.  and allowing that state of affairs to continue, unquestioned and unchallenged, when you have access to the king’s ear and aren’t personally in danger of being persecuted, indicates that you’re okay with the injustice.  that you’re comfortable with the oppression.  that you don’t see a problem with the status quo, and that you're unbothered enough by it to let it be.

it doesn’t matter that merlin’s friends have never straight-up said ‘boy, magic sure is evil’ onscreen.  they never say that camelot’s policies are wrong, and that delivers a clear enough message on its own.

3) it is not a crime to fight for your freedom

to bring this back to gwaine specifically, since that was originally the focus of this ask -

for me, for all that i adore gwaine, and for all that i think he was, for the most part, an INCREDIBLY sound, healthy relationship for merlin, the truth is that gwaine is as much a part of this problem as everyone else.  does that mean i personally think gwaine would have summarily dumped merlin if he’d found out merlin had magic?  no.  but i don’t think it’s as uncomplicated as maybe we wish it might be, and i think merlin has every right to be as uncertain of gwaine on this issue as he does of everyone else.

for one thing, like i said before, even gwaine, who used to have fewer qualms than any of the knights about pushing back on arthur’s BS, has never said a word about camelot’s injustices, or ever acknowledged that the laws of the land are unjust to begin with.  

for another, there are specific moments that kind of make you wonder.

5.05 (’the disir’) is a good example of this - when gwaine finds osgar in the woods, the two of them have this exchange:

you are a sorcerer, a heretic, and a murderer.  

the rhetoric of this sentence frames all three of these things as equivalent entities - criminal ones.  

to pick this apart more carefully:

a) sorcerer

it’s worth noting here that we’re never told osgar has done anything worse than evading arrest for the crime of being a known sorcerer.  when leon mentions him in the council meeting, the conversation consists solely of the following:

“as you know, a few days ago our garrison in the forest of breckfire intercepted the man who goes by the name of osgar.”

“the sorcerer.”

“the same.  they were trying to apprehend him when he used his powers to escape.”

and…that’s it.  osgar’s crime, as far as we know, was simply being a sorcerer (and then, after that, attempting to escape an unjust arrest, thereby killing a knight in the process).  there’s no mention of any other activities that would have warranted his arrest in the first place, other than the possession of magic.

but magic, even on its own, IS a crime in camelot - and gwaine levels the accusation at osgar as such.

b) heretic

that’s a hell of a word to throw around, if you think sorcery is chill.

“heretic” isn’t a mild accusation.  "heretic” has vitriolic severity behind it.  people are accused of heresy when they’re perceived to be in brazen defiance of what is (in the eyes of the accuser) unquestionably right and correct.  “heretic” is like…it’s like blasphemer.  the connotation is not just that something is bad, but that it’s sinful.

for gwaine, either osgar’s association with sorcery and/or his defiance of camelot’s army makes him a heretic.  and that’s not something a person who is down with sorcery or supportive of a magic-user’s struggle for freedom would say.

c) murderer

if gwaine were cool with sorcery, we would expect him to understand that a sorcerer who resisted arrest for the crime of being a sorcerer isn’t a murderer.  

it’s like kara said in 5.11 - it is not a crime to fight for the right to be who you are.

camelot has been killing sorcerers for decades.  osgar mortally wounded a soldier (not an innocent civilian, i might note) who was trying to imprison him.  he was resisting the armed forces of an oppressive state.  that’s not murder.

somebody who understands that camelot is an oppressive regime wouldn’t think of this as murder.  they would understand that it is not a crime to protect your own life when the state has literally been trying to exterminate your people for years.  and even if osgar had been engaged in rebellious activities against the state (which as far as we know is not the case - nothing like this is ever referenced!), they would understand that people with magic have long been overdue for a righteous uprising.  

but gwaine is a little more like arthur, in this moment - he sees the “wrong” that osgar has done (in the form of sir ranulf’s death) without seeing the thousands upon thousands of wrongs that camelot visited upon the magical community first.

4) you can’t go armed into a sacred place

the rest of this episode is similar.  gwaine pays just as little heed to merlin’s warnings as the rest of the knights, when merlin admonishes them that the disir’s cave is sacred.  gwaine doesn’t relinquish his sword or take special care upon entering the cave.  in fact, he is the one who outright interrupts the disir while they’re speaking - as they’re telling arthur a series of hard truths, that he’s persecuted magic-users, “even unto slaughter;” that he’s desecrated their space: “you come here, to the most sacred of the sacred, to the very heart of the Old Religion, with weapons drawn - trampling hallowed relics - treating our sacred space like you do your kingdom - with arrogance - with conceit - with insolence - ”

and gwaine cuts them off, pushing to the front of the group and shouting at them “enough!  you speak of the king!”  and that’s when the fight starts, when mordred gets stabbed.

someone who was fully accepting of magic, or who knew anything about it at all, would not have behaved this way.  they would not have bristled at hearing how arthur’s regime unfairly persecutes the magical community.  they would have known that it was true.

5) i just want to be myself

the above is just one example, but it’s a clear enough one to illustrate what i mean.  gwaine IS an amazing friend to merlin.  he does treat merlin well.  and merlin loves him to death.  but gwaine is NOT totally chill with magic.  i’m not saying he actively hates it, but he is not, from what merlin has witnessed, entirely safe.  merlin loves him, but he can’t be himself around him.

and i do think that pains merlin terribly.  all these people who he loves so much, and every time he’s with them there’s always that whisper: ‘this is a charade.  all the love in my life is a lie.  they only like me because they don’t know me.  if they knew who i really was, this would be over.’  

and we wonder why he never tells anyone.  we tell him he ‘should’ have told gwaine, gwen, morgana, arthur, like it would have been easy, or even possible, for him to ever consider putting himself in a position where he could lose what precarious, partially make-believe connections he has.

merlin, in the later seasons, when he worries about his magic being exposed, isn’t afraid of being executed.  he’s afraid of becoming even more alone than he is now.  and he has good reason to feel that way - even people who appear to put him first aren’t fully on board with the thing that makes him who he is.  and merlin knows this.  he’s seen it.  none of his friends are out fighting for people like him at court.  some of his friends shake their heads and assure arthur “you are a good and just king” when arthur expresses concern that maybe the disir are right, maybe he has indeed transgressed.  some of merlin’s friends used to buck the system in defense of the powerless, but now they defend the regime even when the accusations levelled against it by an oppressed population are true.

merlin knows that revealing himself is a kind of risk that could very plausibly end with him utterly disowned.  every single friendship he has is subject to this justified fear, this bitter knowledge.  merlin has every reason to doubt the soundness of his relationships.

and, circling back to the thing that started all these musings - the only friends who never made him feel that way were will and lancelot.

that’s all i mean when i say that will and lancelot were merlin’s only “real” friends.  i wish there were a better word to use than that, because i really don’t mean it like…as if merlin’s relationships with other people weren’t…valid, or important, or based on true love and care.  they were.  but there’s just not a better way to express that will and lancelot were the only people who ever even knew who they were friends with, who saw merlin for exactly who he was and said “i love you still.”  they were the only ones whose friendship was something merlin didn’t have to be afraid of losing solely for existing.

i always think of morgana’s line in 2.11 - ‘i don’t want to be brave.  i just want to be myself. i don’t want to be alone anymore.’

around everyone else, merlin has to be brave.  he has to keep up the pretense, which means even when he’s surrounded by friends, he’s completely isolated.

with will and lancelot, though, he could be himself.  with will and lancelot, he wasn’t alone.

6) post-script

i really appreciate being given the opportunity to muse to myself about this in more detail - i actually needed to think through some things regarding gwaine anyway, for writing purposes, and this was actually really helpful in organizing my brain.  so thanks, anon, for the prompt!  

i know my answer probably runs counter to your own interpretation of things, but as i said, this is just my own personal outlook.  i typed it up because the message got me thinking, and because i know i have a couple of friends who might find it interesting, but my thoughts apply only to me, and i do not mind at all if folks think about these things differently!  nobody is obligated to agree with anything i write, or give it any further thought, or even read it at all - we’re all going to engage with this story in different ways, so if anybody finds that this isn’t their cup of tea, please feel free to scroll on by, and keep having fun with this show in whatever way makes you happiest! :)

[oohlook-thevoid]

Ranking Rating the Merlin ships

I’m bored and procrastinating doing more productive things plus I was already doing this in my head so I guess I’ll share and you can all tell me how wrong I am or whatever,,, jk please don't. Also to note these may not be all ships, they’re just ones I have seen on past perusals of ao3 or on here basically. 

Merthur

7/10 - this is like the main ship of the fandom and I get it, y’know they almost died for each other several times and so on but like, canonically, it really is not the best ship. Like, we’ve got to admit these two did not have the healthiest relationship - Merlin was basically obsessed with saving Arthur because of the prophecy and did so at the expense of helping magic eventually and then Arthur was just kind of a dick sometimes because he’s emotionally repressed and all that. But I mean it does still have a lot going for it, mainly the mass of great fics that make it all a bit more even and healthier, so it gets a 7. 

Arwen

7/10 - even though this is one of the only canon ships, I feel it’s a bit underappreciated in a way because of the merthur love out there. Anyway, arwen is an equally good ship and Arthur and Gwen were just really cute together; when I was watching s5 most of the scenes they were in (Edit: I’ve just remembered I specifically mean the scene when they’re de-mind-controlling Gwen at that lake cauldron thing or whatever, they were very cute there), I was just like they’re a really good couple, they work. I mean there are certainly downfalls which is largely the writing and treatment of Gwen in those later seasons but overall they really were a good couple who deserve better.

Merlance

9999999999/10 - PERFECTION. Like, Lancelot knew about Merlin’s magic and still cared about him greatly and this was the one relationship in which Merlin could be entirely honest and himself and Lancelot was just so so good about it. And also when Lancelot said “I look at you and wonder about myself, would I ever knowingly give my life for something.” and Merlin said “You have to have a reason. Something you care about. Something that’s more important than anything.” and then Lancelot sacrificed himself being the only one who knew Merlin was going to thus giving his life for Merlin. Just these were two amazing dudes who deserved better and by better I mean each other because they were in love your honour. 

Merwaine

10/10 - I mean come on first of all “help a friend” “Arthur’s lucky to have us” “not Arthur” like, Merlin understand that this beautiful chaotic man loves you. Like it is undeniable that Gwaine is brought into this all because of the fact he cares about Merlin, like that’s what brings him into all this. In fact it’s so undeniable that even when I’m reading merthur fics there’s a magic reveal and Arthur’s all like “begone foul demon” waving his sword about all threatening like whilst Gwaine is there like “wow I don’t give a shit because it’s Merlin and I love him end of discussion”. And sometimes it’s even like Arthur attacks Merlin and Gwaine stops him which like,,,,,, it is very clear that we can all see Gwaine is a fucking perfect man for Merlin and someone just needs to tell the dipstick warlock this so they can date. 

Perelyan

5/10 - tbh this could probably be higher but my awareness of Percival and Elyan is shamefully minimal. Like I’ve seen the show, they were there but I can’t say I remember that much. Still, from what  I do recall, they seem to have a good friendship going on so y’know if they ended up in a relationship I wouldn’t be opposed. Could be nice.

Perelyaine

6/10 - basically same as above but Gwaine’s here too now so I have to give an extra point.

Perwaine

6/10 - I mean the scene in Diamond of the Day where Morgana’s torturing Gwaine and he screams and then Percival just fucking hulks out from where he’s tied up and breaks free to get to Gwaine like,,,,, get you a man who can do that. 

Mergana

0/10 - Morgana is a lesbian. Thank you for coming to my TED talk. 

Merdred

-2/10 - I just simply do not vibe with this ship in the slightest. I mean firstly there’s the matter of Merlin just hating Mordred (wrongfully so imo but still). And then just, Merlin was like basically adult and Mordred was small child the first time they met so like I just can’t say I vibe with it. Mordred is the child of the group and he shouldn’t be dating anyone, that’s it basically. 

Freylin

6/10 - I can almost guarantee they’d score higher if someone had been allowed to live longer but alas the writer’s ain’t shit. They are the peak of deserved better though.

Morgwen

9/10 -  ah recall the earlier seasons when these two where just in love and everything was incredible. “Something to cheer you up, I know you’re not sleeping well” “You cheer me up.” That’s love bitch. Anyway these two could have had it all as shown by every early season interaction the had but no once again the writers had to fuck it up. So anyway thanks to them a point has had to be deducted off of perfection because it isn’t cool to torture and brainwash Gwen in the dark tower Morgana (also because of that stupid queen jealousy shit where Morgana was like Gwen can’t be on the throne like can it girl we know you you used to want to share that throne with her).  

Gwencelot

5/10 - I think what they had was sweet but I also think that, at the end of the day, they both at other people out there who they work better with than with each other. Still, I love them both and if they wanted to be happy together then I’m rooting for them. 

Mergwen

3/10 - but only if we’re talking romantically. Platonically their friendship is like  ∞/10. They deserved more screen-time together in later seasons but regardless earlier seasons tell us that their friendship is unmatched and I can live with that.

Merlin x Gwen x Arthur

8/10 - I don’t know the actual ship name for this but I know I’ve see it somewhere. Anyway, fuck love triangles, polyamory saves lives. (this sentiment can also go for any other love triangle or even love square on this show that you can think of)

Leon x anyone

-7/10 - yes, this isn’t a real specific ship. yes, I’m aware of that fact. But I had to say, given I’ve seen various ships with Leon, that overall no. Leon is long-suffering and tired of everyone’s bullshit. If Leon is going to date someone, it will be someone nice and sensible who he deserves and who doesn’t add to the chaos going on around him. 

On that note, I’m done, you’re welcome. 

[tracle0]

WIP Bops Tag

So I got tagged for.... two music/listening related games in the span of two days so I will. Do both in one to save myself idk making another post lmao

First one: I think you just list things you’ve been listening to. Maybe the last ten things you listened to? I don’t know man. Tagged by the wonderful @kaatiba​ thank you boo 

I have been listening to...

Cloud Cult - I stand by the fact that Cloud Cult 500% have the best bops for apparently all my wips. ‘Time Machine Invention’ is peak Leon, don’t try and tell me otherwise. ‘It’s Your Decision’ gives me big Percival vibes. ‘Good Friend’ apparently works for every single WIP I have because I write about friends too much.

Night Vale - I missed Night Vale ok. I’ve listened to it all already, but I wanted to hear the Strexcorp arc again, and the liveshow and Carlos man. Carlos. 

I’ll Follow You Into The Dark - isolated song, but I have been listening to it over and over again, because it’s somehow playing my heart strings rather than a guitar. I am obsessed with this song. I learnt it on the ukuele as soon as I could. Major Mika vibes. Made me realise ‘ohhh he’s Catholic ain’t he’ and also made me figure out his friendship with Lynne more. Thanks, song.

Vienna Teng - someone else mentioned her recently, and I went ‘oh yeah I used to listen to her I should do that again’ the only memory I have of hearing her songs is. Not good. So I’m trying to get other memories down lmao.

I need to listen to...

Jake Parker Plagorised My Book which is a very cheerful subject. Quick run-down; Jake Parker is the creator of the yearly Inktober challenge. He plagorised the book of a black artist. I figured I should understand the Drama and then decide what I’ll do in October if not Inktober. 

Okay that’s like five, good enough. Next tag game;

Rules: Share some songs that have inspired your WIP or characters, then tag some people to play! - tagged by @albatris​ thanks homie and I’ve decided I’m going to jump around between WIPs becuase I want to. 

So first off I feel like the songs that first made me go ‘oh I could make a story out of this’ - DIAS spawned from ‘Hopeless Opus’ by Imagine Dragons. I got the idea for like. Two characters who were seperated for some reason, both regretting something, and went ‘okay! How.’ and my brain spat out Leon and Ant.

Whereas wip4 sort of spawned from both ‘On Melancholy Hill’ by Gorillaz, obviously, and also ‘Light a Roman Candle With Me’ by fun. And I cannot tell you at all why this story spawned from these songs. I think it was mostly... for Melancholy Hill, it gave me isolation vibes, and Roman Candle was more... a desperate reach for connection. wip4 has a focus on friendship. I guess that works? 

DIAS again - ‘The Cave’ by Mumford and Sons is. Peak DIAS, not gonna lie. I have officially storyboarded out an entire animatic that is just the entire plot of DIAS to this song. Every verse sort of follows each act of DIAS and uhh

So make - your sirens song and sing - all you want I will not hear what you have to say

I can’t say why because major spoilers, but that lyric. Fits. Very well. 

I mentioned ‘Time Machine Invention’ by Cloud Cult being a major Leon song, because it is, so I’ll talk about that here; Leon gets blown up at one point, and loses his leg. This, along with the fact he thinks Ant is dead, makes him Very Depressed. Vincent comes along like ‘hey dickhead stop being depressed’ except said in a slightly nicer way, and gives him a vote of confidence he needs to get up and try and fix one of the problems he has, that being the leg. 

If we give this moment our fullest attention, we’ll just keep moving forward, with no need for going back.

Which is honestly, just really good life advice, but is also kinda Leon finally starting to let go of the guilt he has over possibly killing Ant and starting to live life without any new regrets. 

wip4 again because this is getting long but I still have things to talk about; ‘Turn The Lights Off’ by Tally Hall is big It vibes, and I cannot tell you how but it does. I’m delighted to put ‘Holding Onto You’ by Twenty One Pilots as a major Keaton song, for the simple reason that Holding Onto You has tried to be a wip song for EVERY SINGLE wip, but it finally actually fits. Heck,

I’m taking over my body, back in control, no more shotty,  I bet a lot of me was lost,  t’s uncrossed and i’s undotted

is like. The first verse, and is also major Keaton being like ‘WOW WHAT THE HELL I WASLITERALLY DEAD UM WHAT’ and also the entire struggle against It. Fun times. 

‘Hello, My Old Heart’ by The Oh Hello’s is a Big Percival Mood, and I can’t really explain why - extreme protectiveness over himself and trying to save himself??? Maybe. Uhh. I’ll give you an Abby song and then done with wip4 - ‘Icicles’ by The Scary Jokes fits her freakishly well. I just found out the artist is nonbinary, which is cool, but I’ll talk about that another day. 

I can only be forgiven if I'm givin' myself up to you  On a silver serving tray  Must I bare myself to the stabbing of your knife and gnashing teeth  While our lovely company appears so entertained?

I think Abby recognises that she is in the wrong for a lot of the story, but also thinks that admitting this to Percival would sort of... reverse their roles? That he’d want revenge and would inflict the years of pain she’d put him through onto her. He wouldn’t but she doesn’t realise that. So ‘must I bear myself to the stabbing of your knife and gnashing teeth’ is just. What she assumes she’d have to deal with. 

Okay! Final song and it’s for DIAS and also for Simon cause we’re talking about villains okay. He’s got ‘The Greatest Show’ but specifically the cover by Panic! At The Disco. Simon is, to quote the lovely Summayah, ‘a dramatic fuck’ and this song is dramatic as fuck. 

Don't fight it, it's comin' for you, runnin' at ya It's only this moment, don't care what comes after Your fever dream, can't you see it gettin' closer? Just surrender 'cause you feel the feelin' takin' over 

Which is a pretty good way to explain Silvertongue commands and his general attitude to them, don’t you think? 

I’m done now. I have more songs and entire playlists but I’m done, I’ve rambled enough, this is long. I will tag: @joyful-soul-collector @druidx73 @petrolstationflowers @scmalarky @the-starlight-chills and you sir, over there, please, tell me about songs.

[aftertheskyy]

Modern Middle School Merlin

My brain is Big and I lost the ask. So good job to me. But I got an ask for modern middle school Merlin and friends, so here we go!! This is really chaotic. And wow, this is a lot longer than I thought it was gonna be. @ilovemosss and @once-and-future-dawn MY LOVELIES, THANK YOU FOR THE IDEAS

Merlin and Morgana are going through their emo phases together so they exclusively listen to MCR, P!ATD, and FOB

Everyone first thought they were dating, but now they’re the only openly gay students at the school

Merlin is crushing on the super popular kid (who is also the son of the principal), Arthur

Morgana, meanwhile is pretty much in love with her other best friend, Gwen

Merlin, Morgana, and Gwen are totally a friend group

Gwen and Lancelot are middle school theater kids in those choirs that are just bad but you don’t realize how bad they are until you’re in high school. I don’t miss middle school. 

Uther is the principal. I kinda imagine him like Mr. Rooney in Ferris Beuller’s Day Off

Hunith is a total PTA mom who bakes The Best lemon bars and brings them to the meetings

She and Uther Do Not get along because she wants to encourage more school policies that would help the students and bring in speakers to educate them on certain topics and Uther is a dick and against them.

But he’s also jealous of how good Hunith’s lemon bars are

Anyways

Because Arthur is the son of the principal, he has to keep his grades up and even though everyone hates his dad, they love Arthur

Arthur’s best friends are Percival, Lancelot, Elyan, Gwaine, and Leon

Percival is that one kid who hits puberty before anyone else and towers over everyone. He’s also in band. He just gives off middle school band vibes, but not high school band, you know?

Elyan is a total science nerd

Gwaine is a TikTok kid. My mind is made up.

He’s the class clown type of person, etc. 

Leon is on student council and he’s just kind of Done with middle school

Despite their different interests and groups, they’re great friends and I see them as those little 13 year olds who hang out at the skate park cause they think that they’re just So Cool

Gwen starts going to watch her brother and so she and Lancelot can run lines afterwards

She brings Morgana who brings Merlin because “You know who will be there.”

So this is how Merlin and Arthur actually meet and start hanging out, rather than Merlin crushing from afar

Gaius is the science teacher and he drinks Red Bull because he has Merlin, Arthur, Gwen, Morgana, Gwaine, Leon, Lancelot, Percival, and Elyan all in the same class (Not at all based off a real-life teacher of mine who drinks Red Bulls almost every class)

As Merlin gets older, he starts to hang out in Gaius’s classroom whenever he has free time. On rainy days, the whole gang eats lunch in there.

SCHOOL DANCES. Anyone remember those horrific middle school dances that only played one hit wonders and Justin Bieber? And the whole gym reeked of pubescent pre-teens, clip on ties, sixth grade girls in dresses that were way too old for them, and Capri Suns?

So Morgana gets up the courage to ask Gwen (Merlin gave Morgana a big pep talk before) and Gwen happily accepts

Arthur asks Merlin about a month before the dance. They’re on a field trip and Arthur hasn’t really come out to anyone yet (especially his father) but he wants to take Merlin to the dance so badly.

Merlin’s had a crush on Arthur forever, and being the only openly gay person at school, he thinks it’s a joke 

Arthur gets really confused and they start arguing but Merlin finally accepts:

“So are you going with me or not?”

“Yes, you moron, I will.”

“I’m not joking- wait you will?”

“I just said that, didn’t I?”

“Oh...cool”

It’s adorable

[aftertheskyy]

I just saw your John Mulaney posts and I am DYING! Your mind is so brilliant. I love you very much ❤️❤️❤️

On the same topic, I don’t know what to consider this as but headcanons for comedian!Merlin?? maybe what types of comedians the characters from Merlin would be? Or what types of jokes they would brand? I have been thinking about this for a while, and it’s just such a funny concept to me 😆💕✨

❤️💕❤️💕❤️

Merlin Humor!!

HELLO MY BEAUTIFUL FRIEND❤️❤️❤️ I'm in love with this idea

Merlin laughs at anything. He’s just a happy lil boi who’s always ready to hear a joke or crack one if the mood calls for it. 

He’s like the guy in Mary Poppins who is on the ceiling cause he loves to laugh- just happy and smiling

I think he has humor like Andy Griffith or Dick van Dyke

Arthur is the one who rolls his eyes at the jokes but secretly loves them. If Arthur happens to make a joke, he immediately looks at Merlin cause he knows he’ll get a reaction out of him

Gwen loves the innocent jokes that are nothing else but cute. The ones you’d tell to a younger kid

“How does the ocean say hi? It waves!”

Gwaine makes fart jokes. The end. 

Nah, let’s elaborate on Gwaine actually

He has about 6854321 variations of “Why’d the chicken cross the road?”

But Gwaine loves laughing at anything- all around, a great sense of humor, very slapstick at times

Lancelot...the only way I can describe his humor is summer camp humor, which makes sense in my head. But they’re jokes that are like...not jokes?

“What’s red and smells like blue paint? Red paint.”

“What should you get if you don’t have a watch? A watch.”

That’s Lancelot

Elyan has a super dry sense of humor. Kind of like Frasier? Just really sarcastic and witty. Also super self deprecating

Or like

He kind of gives me Jerry Seinfeld vibes in the sense where it’s kind of logical, kind of exaggerated

But Morgana is even more dry and even more sarcastic. Sometimes very raunchy and risqué

Gwen is appalled but still laughs

Percival will say something funny but not realize it was funny til everyone’s laughing

Leon makes puns

He’s really proud of them and just thinks they’re Peak butttt they’re not 

Likeeee they’ll approach a tavern and Leon will be like “Look! It’s all mead fresh here! Haha! Get it? Mead? Taverns?”

Ik this wasn’t really comedians...I’m sorry😩